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fernweh-writes · 3 years

Note

Hey, it’s me again :3

My birthday is soon(next week on the Friday)

So I wondered if you could write headcanons for the Slasher with an Birthday S/O.

Like what would they give her, what would they do on her birthday. You probably get what I mean.

But only if it’s alright and you got time, if not it’s also fine^^

I already say thank you :3💕💕(btw I really love your writing <3)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVE, I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING DAY!! I did see the other little tidbit you sent in and yes, ofc, anything for you. Especially since it’s your birthday and you asked so nicely<3

(Going ahead and posting this a lil early… i think? I can’t remember when you sent this in sorry :/)

-Fern🌿

Slashers on their S/O’s Birthday

Warnings: NSFW content, 18+

Michael Myers

Michael has always been pretty indifferent towards birthdays. So what, you’re getting older big whoop. He doesn’t see them as important and doesn’t understand the point of celebrating them.

However, as you keep mentioning to him that your birthday is coming up, he gets the hint. Michael isn’t stupid and he knows you well enough to be able to tell what you want.

Still, Michael isn’t going to throw you a party or decorate or anything like that. Instead he makes a statement just by spending the entire day with you.

During your time spent together you find out Michael did actually buy a cake for you. Although it was also partially for his own benefit as well seeing as he has a major sweet tooth. He even got “Happy Birthday y/n” written on the top in your favorite color. When you bite into it, you realize that it’s also your favorite flavor.

After the cake, Michael brings you a small box with a horribly tied ribbon wrapped around it. Don’t look at him funny, he tried okay. So what the gift inside was most likely stolen from a victims, you got a present that you loved. Isn’t that all that really matters?

Michael isn’t much of a giver in bed, he prefers to take. He mainly focuses on achieving his own end and whatever pleasure you get during that is what you get. But tonight he’ll make a point of not only making you finish first once, but numerous times throughout the night. Today is about you after all, why not try and set a new record in bed to mark the start of a new age.

Bo Sinclair

Morning sex, congratulations, this morning you become breakfast for Bo. No need to get up early to cook for him when he can simply devour you.

Surprise! He won’t be an ass to anyone for one whole day. Just for you darlin’. If some people happen to stumble into town, Bo won’t let anyone ruin your day, and quickly has Vincent take care of them. Even Lester will help out if need be, even though Les hates participating in the “family company”.

Sneaks away in the middle of the night to decorate the house. Luckily, Vincent pitches in and helps him make everything look nice. Bo goes all out with streamers, balloons, banners, he even got you a cake!

He’s more than eager to give you your presents as well. Of course he had to buy you a lingerie set, it’s a surprise that’ll help the two of you later that night…

Bo is a simple man, he just wants everyone to know that you belong to him. So he also got you a dainty little necklace of his name. Sure it may be cute to you, but secretly he’s laying his claim to you.

Usually he’s busy with keeping up the town but just this once he spends the entire day with you. Bo spending so much quality time with you doing whatever you want really says a lot.

He may even take you to the next town over for a nice dinner. After all, no one should have to cook on their own birthday and it’ll make good use of the cute little sundress he got you and gives you the opportunity to dress up. You better wear the lingerie he got you under it though. Good luck making it to the bedroom when the two of you get back from the restaurant.

Vincent Sinclair

You’re not sure who is more excited, him or you. Vincent makes sure that you have the best time ever and makes the whole day about you. It’s the perfect chance for him to spend the whole day with you and show you how much he loves you.

When you wake up he’ll be missing. He woke up early to make you your favorite breakfast. He had hoped to bring it to you in bed but sadly you’ve always been the early riser. Luckily for you, unlike Bo, Vincent is a good cook. How do you think the three boys survived before you showed up?

Vincent has always been a more private person so while there’s not any decorations all over the house and he can’t take you out to a fancy dinner you can still expect plenty of sweet surprises. He made you a bouquet of wildflowers that he picked, got you the new books you had been telling him you wanted, managed to snag one of the vinyls for the new album your favorite artist had recently released, and even got you some new outfits that he thought would look cute on you.

Vincent would be the one to put on music and dance around the living room with you. He enjoys personal time with you and uses the day to really express to you just how much he cares for you.

At the end of the day he runs you a hot bath. While you soak in the tub he throws around the rose petals and gets the ribbons and candles ready. Before you have time to get dressed Vincent will be scooping you up, tossing you on the bed, and tying you up. Be ready for a long night!

Thomas Hewitt

There’s not really much he can do for you seeing as the town is running low on supplies. Still, he’ll do his best to still make your birthday special for you. Mainly he’s just going to kick Hoyt and Monty out for the day so that you can have one peaceful day together. Luda gets to stay seeing as she’s also happy to celebrate with you.

Thomas lets Luda Mae know he wants to surprise you with something. So while he works on the surprise she’ll make sure to keep you occupied. Luda Mae will fix your hair for you and go ahead and give you the gift that she had made you, a sundress made from floral print fabric. She’s so happy her son found someone, especially someone as beautiful as you.

Thomas will have handmade you a small necklace. Since you didn’t tell him about your birthday until shortly before the day, you left him with little time to make it. He’s lucky that your comfortable with Luda Mae and he can get her to keep you distracted,

When Tommy sees you with the dress his momma made you and your hair fixed up he almost forgets about the small piece of jewelry in his pocket.

After hearing you squeal with delight when you open his gift he’s ecstatic! He loves nothing more than making you happy. when you eagerly get him to help you put it on he thinks he’s going to spontaneously combust with his love for you.

Luda Mae will bake you a cake. You’re basically her daughter in law at this point and she’s going to make sure that you have a good day. She enjoys having another woman in the house and enjoys seeing you and Thomas happy together. You’ve given her the complete family that she’s always wanted.

Brahms Heelshire

Brahms is very good at being sneaky. At this point, Malcolm already knows that Brahms is a real person. So Brahms has no issue with getting Malcolm to bring him everything he needs and giving him the extra money for the week. He makes sure to cover all the bases, he got you presents, a small cake, and of course stuff to decorate the living room.

The decorations in the living room aren’t necessarily the best. Brahms hasn’t been responsible for doing anything like this in his whole life. But he still does his best to try and impress you and make you happy. Just don’t expect for his best to be very good. After all, it is the thought that counts.

Honestly Brahms not being self centered for once should be enough of a surprise. It’s your birthday so he’ll make sure to be on his best behavior just for you! No tantrums or arguing, he promises! He even makes sure to hide the schedule for the day to make sure you know that today you get to relax.

Of course, you’ll still have to cook since Brahms is only capable of making sandwiches. His peanut butter to jelly ratio may be perfect but that’s not exactly the type of meal he thinks you would want on your birthday. So he does make sure to get the ingredients for all of your favorite foods!

Your presents include expensive jewelry, pretty clothes, and of course lingerie although that’s more of a gift for Brahms than it is for you. He’ll have you model all of the dresses and clothes that he got you. The big finale is the lace bra and underwear that you won’t be wearing for much longer.

Brahms is a switch and usually ends up being the more submissive one in bed. Tonight however, he’ll co for a change of pace and be more dominant. For once, he was the one spoiling you instead of the other way around and that brings out the more mature and dominant side of him. Expect o be sore the next day though, Brahms isn’t exactly good with holding back.

Billy Loomis

Billy has a tendency to be narcissistic and obviously an ass. But he can also be great at hiding those traits. On your birthday he makes sure to do exactly that, really playing up the bad boy/boy next door front he’s capable of. Tatum did believe that he was practically perfect, and on your special day, he’ll do his best to do exactly that.

He may not have the same money as Stu, but he still manages to spoil you. You’ll have his full attention for the day and he let you decide almost everything. Billy even lets you pick out the movies that you watch together on your birthday, which is something he’s never allowed to happen before.

Seeing you be happy gives him a funny feeling that he’s not used to which can cause him to act a little awkward. You throw him off a little bit. He didn’t expect to care so much about someone until you fell into his lap. He’s a simp for you and he knows it. If he wasn’t then he wouldn’t be making reservations for that fancy restaurant you loved and buying you a new outfit just for said reservation. Yeah he’s down bad.

Makes sure that you order whatever you want, today cost doesn’t matter. But if he knows your favorite, he orders for you in an attempt to impress you. See, he remembers your favorite food, isn’t he just the best. Also gets your favorite over priced dessert even if you have to take it to go. He can’t bake and he knows that store bought cake just doesn’t compare to the fancy restaurants.

He bought you lingerie for under that cute little outfit and he expects to see it by the end of night. Expect to pinned against the front door before either of you has the chance to unlock it. Billy has been imagining you in nothing but your birthday suit all night and he simply cannot wait any longer.

There’s nothing he enjoys more than seeing you fall apart underneath him. He loves seeing you look absolutely cock drunk with your makeup smeared on your face. Your moans and begs eventually begin to melt together and you just become and incoherent mess as he makes you cum again and again. It’s still not enough for him though, he’s going to make you scream.

Stu Macher

He is very determined to make you have the best day over. Expect breakfast in bed! It may not be great but eat it anyways, Stu is not a morning person and he managed to drag his ass out of bed early just for you. So even if the scrambled eggs have the occasional crunch to them it’s best to just grin and bear it.

Is very determined to take you shopping. Expect for him to buy you anything that you touch or pick up. Like the amazing boyfriend he is he will also carry the many bags that you end up with. You’ll have a brand new wardrobe by the end of the day. Of course he made you pick out a few lingerie sets. He even pointed out the ones he liked and made you find your size.

Of course, Stu will still take you out to a fancy restaurant and do the whole traditional night out thing. After dinner though the two of you will end up on the roof of his house that he made sure to help you out on. Stu is secretly a hopeless romantic deep down and will spend time looking at the stars with you because he thinks it’s something that you would like. Will listen to you as you ramble on about planets and watch as you point out constellations if that’s something you do.

Stu is very clingy at all times so he will be hanging over you all day. That’s nothing really out of the ordinary though. But usually those touches include grabbing your boobs, smacking your ass, and rubbing your hips. On your birthday the touches turn more gentle. Expect him to gently tuck your hair behind your ear so he can see your face, gently caressing your cheek, rubbing your knuckles while he holds your hand, all soft and sweet gestures to convey he truly does care.

He’s usually very fast paced with everything including talking, movements, and of course that includes in bed. But tonight he’ll be slow and gentle, drawing everything out. Also makes sure to focus on your pleasure instead of his own for once.

Asa Emory

Asa never thought he would celebrate anyone’s birthday. He certainly never celebrated his own and doesn’t see the point in doing so. To him, birthdays are just another day and there’s no point in celebrating ageing. So he went about most of his life ignoring birthdays, until you came along.

Asa adored you and your enthusiasm for life and all the good things in the world. You were a bright person, especially when compared to him, and he loved the innocence about it. So when you began to mention your birthday coming up with excitement in your voice he knew that you had expectations for your special day.

He may not be a person who celebrates but he’ll be damned if he disappoints. You’re the one good thing life has given him and he’s not letting you get away from him. If that means getting you a small cupcake and sticking a candle in it and a present then so be it. He can manage doing a little something for you.

When he’s not in his collector persona he is much more awkward and an absolute dork in your eyes. So when he takes you out for a nice dinner you’ll notice his slightly off behavior. Asa doesn’t like crowded public spaces and you’ll be able to pick up on his fidgeting. Luckily your good at carrying the conversation for him.

Asa appreciates that you understand it’s hard for him. So when you begin to do most of the talking and don’t pressure him to contribute much to the conversation besides the occasional nod he’s able to relax.

On the way home he gets nervous once more. What if you hate the present he got for you or expected more. He had only gotten you one thing and it wasn’t much. But when you finally open it and you light up like a kid on Christmas morning he lets out a heavy sigh and finally relaxes. It was only a simple necklace but you acted like he had just handed you the stars.

Asa will be surprisingly gentle with you for one night. Of course, he’ll still tie you up and absolutely wreck you but he makes sure to leave out the cutting and biting out for once. The only bruises you have will be on your hips from his harsh grip. It’s the closest thing you’re going to get to love making from him, but you know him well enough to get the meaning behind it.

Jesse Cromeans

Anything you want and it’s yours, he can make anything happen for you. He makes sure to tie up any loose ends with his business well before your birthday so that nothing can interrupt his time spent with you. Of course he makes sure to spoil you even more than he normally does.

Would love to take you on some fancy vacation and stay in one of the finest hotels there. Go ahead, pick any place you want to travel to and he’ll make the arrangements. He makes sure that anywhere he takes you is more private and remote rather than tourist-y though. Both so that he feels more comfortable and so that you can feel special and not have to deal with crowds.

Does the whole flower petals on the bed, candles, flowers, ice bucket with champagne kind of ordeal back at the hotel. Did you really expect him not to though? He has the money to so why not and he knows that even though you claim it’s cheesy that you absolutely love it. Th blush on your face and look in your eyes give away your love of cheesy things and he pays attention to every little thing you do.

Of course you get new jewelry, designer clothes, and lingerie but you get other gifts as well. Pretty much anything you’ve mentioned to him recently he makes sure to get you. Rambling on about that new book your favorite author just released? It’s yours! Been needing new materials for any of your hobbies? You got them!

Expect rough sex. Jesse rarely does gentle and with how much smaller you are than him he can sometimes accidentally hurt you. Your just so small and fragile compared to him kitten, he can’t help it. Of course he always makes sure to take care of you afterwards with a hot bath and will gently massage the knots out of your muscles. Jesse always makes sure that you’re taken care of.

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felidaefighter · 3 years

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Fears To Ease And Flesh To Mend

Ranboo and Tubbo find out that unzombifying a piglin is a bit different from unzombifying a villager, and they start off parenthood with quite a few complications and in a little over their heads. For the sake of their child, they may need to put awkwardness aside and ask for help.

[Sick fic, canon divergence, Phil and Techno meet Michael, lots and lots of piglin lore headcanons] ~20,000 words per chapter

Chapter Two of Four

“Hey Phil,” Ranboo said carefully as they were coming back from trading with the local villagers, who gave good deals since they were grateful they’d been cured after being zombified, “What’s the difference between curing a zombie villager and curing a zombie piglin? Aside from the obvious.” Phil looked curiously at Ranboo while they walked. “That’s an interesting question. It is a little bit different, yeah. Technically the process itself is the same but ahhh there’s always some difficulties. Usually not worth the trouble.” Ranboo pondered this for a moment. “Huh. How do you mean?”

“Well, because of where they’re from, piglins tend to have a bit of a resistance to magic. So the rotten flesh doesn’t really heal fully or automatically the way it does for villagers. The whole process is easier in the Nether, because the lack of moisture keeps the rot slow and less likely to spread after they’re healed.” Ranboo listened intently, opening his book and scribbling notes so he could keep track. “It’s just a rare thing to see happen, is all. Adult piglins especially, they’re such a warrior-based society that waking up hurting and confused just means they’re more likely to attack the person who healed them than be grateful. Not to mention they’re still going to have infections and rot. It’s just so uncommon because you’d never try and heal a piglin that you didn’t know beforehand. It requires so much aftercare and pre-established trust, like from before they were zombified, that without it it’s just bound to lead to the piglin dying anyways.”

“Oooh interesting, interesting. But the dosage ratio of potions and apple and stuff is the same, right?” Phil nodded. “Yeah, between piglins and villagers and the little rascals, too.” He cackled a little. “General consensus tends to be it’s better to overdose on magic than underdose, because worst case scenario for inhaling too much of the weakness potion is you feel a bit queasy, and worst case scenario for eating too much golden apple is that you get a stomachache, but if you underdose the worst case scenario is they aren’t healed at all and can never be properly healed.”

They were just about at their houses now, and Phil shot Ranboo a look with raised eyebrows. “You don’t know any piglins aside from Techno though right? You aren’t worried about Techno are you mate? You don’t need to be-- he’s already gone through that process. He doesn’t need to do it again.” Ranboo stopped short. This was news to him, but also, it made for an excellent cover. For now at least-- admittedly he was still a little lacking on information for how to treat the infections properly. “Wait, really? Techno was zombified?”

“Ah, yep.” Ranboo nearly jumped out of his skin, spooked at Techno’s voice. The piglin must’ve come out of his own house to greet them as they arrived, and overheard the last bit of conversation. “An interestin’ way to enter a conversation, but yeah, I was.” Techno shrugged. “Just for a few seconds though. Happens with any piglin that wants to be able to traverse the overworld. Phil and I planned it ahead of time, so there weren’t really a lot of sores to deal with or anything. Definitely not where most of my scars come from,” Techno said with a bragging smirk.

Ranboo laughed a bit. “Of course, yeah. That’s so cool though, ‘cause I didn’t know any of that. It does make sense though, I think, yes.” Ranboo was desperately trying to sound normal and not allude to anything else at all. He really hoped it was working. “Ranboo, you good mate?” Phil asked. It was, apparently, not working. He tried to stay steady and even with his voice. “Yeah, no, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Techno kind of squinted at him, and Ranboo nervously curled in on himself just a bit, despite being slightly taller than the piglin.

Techno looked like he was going to say something that surely would’ve made Ranboo explode with anxiety, but instead, he just shrugged. “Alright. We won’t pry. Will we, Phil?” Techno said, looking pointedly at the man, who very much looked like he did in fact want to pry, but conceded with a bit of a grumble and a small sigh. “Let us know if you’re curious about anything else though. Techno and I have gone around the bend with this one, we know the ins and outs.” Techno elbowed Phil (knowing this was his way of trying to subtly pry), who lightly smacked him back. Ranboo, in turn, nodded at them. “Mhm! I will, thank you.”

Ranboo pretended not to notice as the two of them exchanged a knowing glance with one another, instead giving a wave and heading off to his own house for the night. He let out a long, shaky exhale once inside. “Okay, could’ve gone better, could’ve gone worse. Should’ve kept Michael in the nether while healing him, but we did it as soon as he was safe at Snowchester in a baby-proofed room so… Overall… not... as bad as it could have been? I think we did okay, I think we did okay,” Ranboo muttered to himself, trying to calm himself down.

Unfortunately, he didn’t learn anything about how to heal an infection, but he supposed that was typical. He didn’t ask about infections. He asked about unzombifying piglins. He did have more resources at his house than Tubbo had, though, so he went to his basement and started rummaging around in his chests to see if he could find anything of value. A little difficult with how disorganized he tended to be, but that was okay. It gave Tubbo time to respond to him after he sent him a quick message.

Secretly, Ranboo wanted to involve Techno and Phil; he knew that they and Tubbo had a bit of a rough history, but the two really seemed to know what they were talking about. And Tubbo had changed and Phil and Techno had changed, and Ranboo didn’t think they would try to hurt Michael. If there was a chance they could help Michael, he was considering risking it. He’d do anything for his son. But he wouldn’t say anything unless Tubbo was okay with it; after hesitating, he sent Tubbo another message.

<Ranboo> techno and phil might know how to help with michael’s infection <Ranboo> but i don’t know how to ask without telling them about him <Ranboo> and i won’t tell them if you’re worried <Tubbo> i don’t trust techno <Tubbo> but he is a piglin also <Tubbo> and i trust you <Ranboo> i just worry that it’ll get worse if we don’t do it right <Tubbo> it’s your call big man

Ranboo stared anxiously at the messages, thinking of his next step. He was so focused on it that he almost didn’t hear the knock on his door from upstairs. Startled, he shouted up. “Coming! I’ll be there in a second!” Giving one last glance at the conversation, he tucked his communicator away and rushed up the ladder. He opened the door and stepped outside a bit, his house being a bit too cramped to have a decent conversation. “Phil!” He exclaimed, utterly confused. “What’s up? Everything okay?” Phil was standing at the door next to a very disgruntled Technoblade, who looked like he had tried everything in his power to stop whatever conversation was about to happen and, upon failing due to Phil’s Old Man Stubbornness, decided to tag along.

“So, hypothetically,” Phil started, and Techno groaned. Phil sent one of his typical jokingly exasperated glances at Techno in response, and started again. “Hypothetically, if you were curing a zombie piglin, you’d probably want someone around who’s done it before to make sure everything went okay.” Ranboo stared at him for a moment, processing. “That’s true! Hypothetically, if I’d already cured a zombie piglin, I’d also want help with it to make sure nothing went wrong.” Phil now wore a knowing smirk, triumphant in the fact that his suspicions were confirmed. Techno sighed. “See, Phil, what you’ve done now is you’ve made a lot more work for us. Ranboo could’ve got it all done on his own and probably would’ve been fine, but now we gotta go help.” Phil turned to him as he spoke.

“Techno, you don’t have to help mate, I’ve done this on my own before--” Techno interrupted him. “Nahhhh nah nah, you can do it on your own sure, but you see I am a certified actual piglin, so you’re gonna want my help regardless. It’ll be easier with me there. I’m comin’ with you.” Ranboo just stood there, baffled, trying to gather his thoughts. They were both asking way more than he initially thought and also way less. Was this a good thing? Regardless, they had offered to help and apparently nothing could convince them not to. “Th-- Thank you…?” Ranboo said, then corrected himself, “Thank you. I uh. Hoo boy. It’s a bit of a story,” he admitted nervously.

Phil placed a hand on Ranboo’s upper arm, given his shoulder was a bit too high up for comfort. “Let’s walk and talk, then. I’m assuming this piglin you know is elsewheres, at least.” Ranboo nodded. “Yeah. Let me just, uh--” he sent a quick message to Tubbo saying they were on their way as they started walking-- “Yeah. But first uh, we already healed him. Sort of. We cured him, but he’s not healed. He’s got some really bad infections and we’re worried that some of the issues are internal. It doesn’t seem like it, but we want to be safe.” Phil’s face shifted to a look of deep concern, and mentally started making note of what they would need, as Techno looked rather thoughtfully at Ranboo, having picked up more than just the medical details that Phil was so focused on. “‘We’’? Who’s ‘we’?” Techno asked.

Ranboo stiffened, and then took a deep breath. Well, here went nothing. “So you know Tubbo? --Please don’t get mad at me,” Ranboo started, and Techno held his tongue. “When I first joined and Tubbo was giving me a tour of New L’Manberg, we found a. Uh. We found a baby piglin who had been zombified.” Something seemed to click for both Techno and Phil as a look of realization passed over their faces, and Ranboo prayed that it didn’t turn to anger or aggression. They had no reason to feel that way, he tried to reassure himself, but he knew their history with Tubbo.

“We… made him a little shelter in the Nether to protect him from ghasts and wandering off. Until we’d made a baby-proofed room for him at least in Tubbo’s house. And last night we brought him to the overworld, to Tubbo’s house, and cured him.” Ranboo waited for the backlash, and while Techno looked like he had something he wanted to say, Phil spoke first. “Keeping him in the Nether in a shelter was one of the best things you could’ve done. Most of the area around the main portal, which is what I’m assuming you used, is wasteland, so it’s really dry and that would’ve protected him as well as anything can from decaying. Techno?”

Techno, after having been given the go-ahead, was finally free to speak his mind. “Ranboo-- Ranboo I’m not really so sure about Tubbo, I mean he is one of the big government guys that hunted me down-- are you doin’ this as like, a favor to him? What’s the relationship there?” Ah. Ranboo had been prepared to talk about Michael, but this, now this was a little awkward. Instead, he decided to first pipe up to correct Techno and defend Tubbo. “Actually, that was Quackity’s idea. He kind of talked everyone else into that. I’m pretty sure at least. I think I wrote it down. He was definitely the one who organized it though. I think he was gonna do it whether we agreed or not?” Techno was very clearly making mental notes. “Interesting,” he said. Ranboo continued in his answer. “And relationship, well uh, it’s not a favor per se, it’s more like… we adopted him? Together. We adopted him together, like, as our son? And we’re married.”

“What?” Phil squawked. Techno just blinked at Ranboo, and chose his words carefully, trying to hide his shock. Actually, if it wasn’t so nerve-wracking, it would’ve been hilarious. “Well. I won’t say anything as to your choice in spouse, but this is definitely new information.” Phil, despite his ruffled feathers in both a physical and metaphorical sense, gathered himself and decided to push the other two to do the same. Quite literally-- he put a firm hand on Techno and Ranboo both and started urging them towards the portal. Ranboo let out a startled noise that was intermingled with a confused, small laugh. “Right, well, infection’s not gonna get better on its own, we can deal with this situation later. I will talk to you and Tubbo about this,” Phil nearly scolded, and Ranboo could only nod under Phil’s determination. Techno, of course, deferred his judgement to Phil.

#ranboo #philza #technoblade #dreamsmp #mcyt fanfic #they write #don't worry i'm only tagging the people who show up in the chapter!#posting it all at once hopefully that's okay #r #p #t #family bee

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tazzytypes · 3 years

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Apocalypse: Sanctuary - Chapter 17

Authors note: Hey guys! Sorry, had to delete and repost this chapter because Tumblr is, once again, giving me difficulties. Just want to thank y'all so much for being patient with me as I finished up with classes. Hoping these next few months will give me more time to work on this fic. As always, your comments and likes always make my day and help me get through the worst of writer's block and I cannot thank you enough for that!

READ MORE on AO3 or see the Master post!

When the witches got back to the academy, the sun had barely risen above the horizon. Emily hadn’t realized how accustomed she had become to the usual hustle and bustle; the silence was nearly as stinging as the constant noise.

They were all dead on their feet. After hell, sleep had eluded Emily. The fact Madison had forced her to sleep on the ground didn’t help… neither did the darkness. It was suffocating, that place. Sometimes she was afraid the underground fortress would become her tomb. They had all tried to catch up on sleep during the plane ride home, but Misty snored so much it made the feat nearly impossible.

So, barely able to put one foot in front of the other, the witches made their way through the door. Zoe grumbled about canceling classes, Cordelia muttering an agreement.

“A break? Already?” Coco said. She stood next to Mallory by the stairs, looking more like butlers than students. The pair must have been the only ones awake, looking to one other and smiling at a silent inside joke. “I like this school.”

“I trust there were no disturbances while we were away?” Myrtle asked, handing off her bags to Kyle who proceeded to take them up the stairs.

If Mallory were a bird, Emily would have said she was preening, “No more than usual.”

Kyle paused by Emily for a moment, hand extended, but she waved him forward. Kyle smiled and nodded, proceeding past them and towards the stairs.

“Oh, lover-boy,” Madison sang as he began to take the first step, pulling Emily’s attention away from Mallory and their headmistress, “my bags?

The blond man hesitated, then doubled back. He rearranged the bags on his arm and picked up the ex-movie star’s numerous suitcases, all either Chanel or some other overpriced name brand.

“You have two arms,” Zoe snapped at the woman, her own bag in hand. Emily’s gaze flickered to the floor, green eyes darting between it, Cordelia, and the scene unfurling before her.

“It’s fine,” Kyle said quietly, giving a pointed look at Zoe, “It’s my job.”

The look seemed to soothe Zoe, her shoulders tense but her back no longer arched like she was about to swing at Madison. Madison opened her mouth, unable to resist not having the last word.

A body barreling into her side kept Emily from hearing exactly what was spoken. By the look on Zoe’s face, it was nothing good.

“Oh, I missed you!” Coco exclaimed, squeezing the girl in a hug. Emily did her best not to tense, but the reaction was second nature to the brunette. “How was California?”

“Dry,” Emily said, earning a chuckle from Coco.

“Obviously you didn’t go to the beach,” Coco said, “How did it go?”

The brunette’s eyes darted to the figure moving towards them, continuing to speak as Mallory approached. For some reason, Emily had expected her and Cordelia’s talk to last longer. She settled in to place beside Coco, listening with an attentive grin.

“We’re all in one piece,” Emily said, looking back to Coco, “so I’d say rather well.”

Mallory reached out and squeezed Emily’s arm, her ever-present grin widening ever slightly. “See? I knew you’d do great!”

“Who’s this, Firefly?”

Misty had always got possessive a little too quickly. It was her vice, clinging to things too tightly. Her mother used to call her a “little python…” the snake in the garden of Eden.

Emily faltered ever slightly. As someone who kept to herself, she was more used to being the one introduced, not the one introducing.

“Coco, Mallory,” She spoke, glancing between the two girls and her new acquaintance, “Misty Day.”

Mallory rushed forward to shake the woman’s hand as if she were meeting Stevie Nicks instead of a girl from the swamplands of Mississippi.

“I’ve heard so much about you from Miss Cordelia. You’re a legend here!”

Misty pulled her shawl in tighter and glanced between Mallory and Emily. Being the center of attention was an anxious position for her. The last time she was the center of attention, she went to hell. The first time had her burned at the stake. Her steps back from Mallory and into Emily’s side were more a flight instinct than an anxious tic.

“Aw, shucks,” the swamp witch said with a flickering smile and a chuckle, “Didn’t think I was here long enough to make an impression.”

“Resurgence is a remarkable power,” Mallory insisted, “If not for you, I would have thought myself a freak.”

“Well, ain’t that sweet.”

Myrtle was quick to rescue the woman from the over-exuberance of the younger witch, placing a steadying hand on Misty’s shoulder. Cordelia was not far behind. Emily could feel her brown eyes on her back like a botanist studying a new plant species.

“While I love pleasantries,” Myrtle said, “I am absolutely famished. Airplane foods always fall flat.”

“It’s because of our sense of smell,” Emily said, trying to ignore the weird looks she was getting, “The altitude affects our nasal passages, making it harder to smell and thus harder to taste. The two are inseparable.”

“So, it’s like how parents plug their kid's nose to get them to take their medicine,” Mallory said. Emily sent her a brief, but thankful smile for making the moment feel less awkward than it was.

“Exactly.”

“Either way,” Myrtle said with a wave of her hand, “I am craving a crème brûlée with a glass of chardonnay.”

Emily smirked a bit before she spoke, “Chardonnay sounds good.”

“Not yet, you,” Cordelia admonished through a chuckle, ruffling Emily’s hair a bit, “We may be lenient with a lot of things, but underage drinking will not be one of them.”

The brunette wanted to note she had done plenty of underage drinking the night before but refrained. Part of being able to bend the rules is pretending you didn’t break them.

“Oh, come on,” Madison said, standing at the back of their little group with her arms crossed in front of her chest, “Little miss indigestion just went to hell. Let her live a little.”

“Maybe a glass,” Cordelia relented, earning a few chuckles from the group. “One.”

Emily echoed the expressions of her fellow witches, but Cordelia’s humor did not amuse her. The headmistresses statement assured her of one thing, however. The brunette had secured a place in the inner circle of Robichaux. It was a feat she would have been proud of before, but now…

Now, the real world seemed so dull. Sensations failed to feel real-- like the world was covered in a fog. Her hands would hover, expecting something to come to her palm and playing off hesitation when it didn’t. Emily had always fancied her dreams to the waking world. The real world now felt more dull than usual. The young witch found herself missing hell, debating whether or not to chase that high.

“Full already?” Cordelia asked at the table they all gathered around. Emily had been picking at her food for the past ten minutes, gaze flickering to the many conversations around the table.

Emily was quick to brush it off, putting down her fork and taking a sip of her sweet tea, “I’ve always eaten like a bird.”

“Birds eat ten times their weight,” Myrtle noted with an amused smile. Cordelia had been so tense since Hawthorne. For once, Myrtle had to be the optimistic one… if only for the sake of maintaining an air of control.

“Good thing I wasn’t talking in ratios.”

Myrtle chuckled and went back to her food, but Cordelia continued to watch Emily carefully as she turned and offered Misty her desert.

“You alright, Firefly?”

“Just tired.”

“Bad dreams?”

“Something like that.”

Cordelia’s glance flickered to her mentor. The slight quirking of the redhead’s brow gave away her own concerns. The headmistress gaze returned to Emily, her posture straightening ever slightly.

“About your personal hell?” she asked.

Emily faltered slightly at her headmistress’s voice. While they were surrounded by people, most had the decency not to eavesdrop on the more intimate conversations — feigning ignorance even if they heard every word. It was one of those unspoken rules of society.

“No. I didn’t have a personal hell.”

Shit.

Her exhaustion and weird mindset had made her careless. Then again, Cordelia was supposed to help with things such as these, right? The whole point of being here was to learn. How could she learn if she never asked questions? Why did her gut churn like she had been caught with her hands painted red?

Green eyes slowly turned to the brown ones that had burned holes in her skin since she had arrived in Mississippi. Cordelia’s brows furrowed, lips twisting in the way they always did when she didn’t have the answers.

“Then where were you?”

“… I don’t know.”

The table was consumed with silence, no one able to pretend they weren’t listening in to the conversation at hand. Coco glanced around at the table, noting the unwavering stares. Glancing to Emily, she saw her eyes flick between them all, her plate, Cordelia, and back again.

“Probably the jet lag,” the heiress said, “shit makes you forget what your own name is.”

Emily smiled with the rest of them, sending a thankful glance to the woman who squeezed her hand and smiled. The table fell back into idle chatter.

“Hell of a spotlight,” Coco whispered into her glass, eyes flickering around to her fellow witches.

Emily mimicked her movements, “you’re telling me.”

The pair shared a glance and promptly fell into laughter.

“Next time you need to swing by L.A. Beaches are crowded, but the experience is worth it.”

“There’s a tattoo parlor there I wanted to check out,” Emily noted, “Purple Panther. One of my favorite artists works there.”

“We should go and get matching tattoos.”

“What did I miss?” Mallory asked, returning from a trip to the bathroom.

“We’re all going to get matching tattoos.” Coco declared.

“Of what?”

Emily smiled and leaned in, “we should get the triquetra from Charmed.”

“Oooh, yes!” Coco exclaimed, “I loved that show as a kid.”

Mallory’s face twisted in confusion, “Haven’t seen it.”

“We’re binge-watching it,” Coco declared, “tonight.”

“My room?” Emily asked, “I have a TV.”

“No offense, your room is a broom closet.”

“Feels like home,” Emily jested, a genuine smile curling on her lips, “certainly been in it for long enough.”

Coco snorted out a laugh, infecting Mallory and Emily into a fit of giggles. The brunette could feel Cordelia’s eyes on her, a hand going to smooth down the hairs on the back of her neck. She didn’t like it, the feeling of being watched.

“Oh!” Mallory said, “I have a tattoo idea — swords.”

“Swords?”

“For the Three Musketeers!”

Emily gasped as an idea hit her, pulling out her sketchbook and scrawling out an idea.

“What if…”

She finished the crude drawing — a sword with a triquetra behind it. Some of the lines of the triquetra looped around the blade where it was positioned at the end of its point. “… we did both?”

“Both?” Mallory asked.

“Both,” Emily repeated.

“Both is good,” Coco finished, the three falling into giggles once again.

Emily was unsurprised when Cordelia cornered her later in the day. Classes had been canceled for the day, older girls put in charge of amusing the younger ones. The brunette had dozed until 12 o’clock when the cheerful laughing and screeching from the lawn kept her from falling back asleep.

Book in hand, Emily had nearly made it to the greenhouse when Cordelia intercepted her. The blonde woman had been leaning against the door of the rotting shack. Emily wondered how long the headmistress had waited for her out in the sun.

“Walk with me,” was all she said as the brunette got within earshot, her tone filled with bad news. They strolled in silence for a good while. When the playful yelling and screaming was muffled by distance and the trees around the property, Cordelia finally spoke.

“I’ve been to hell myself. It changes a person… for better or worse.”

Emily’s eyes were trained on the ground, navigating over twisting roots and rocks that jutted from the dirt. She spared Cordelia a brief glance. “Which was it? Better or worse?”

“That’s the thing,” Cordelia said, head high and eyes steady on the path ahead of them, “you can never tell which. It’s something only others can see.”

“Is this an intervention or something?”

A smile tugged at the blonde’s lips, “Or something.”

Silence consumed them once more. It became clear that Emily could either talk or they would walk until she did.

“Hell was like a dream,” the brunette relented after a minute or so, “Dreams always feel so real until you wake up. Then, you mourn the reality you lost.”

“Even with nightmares?”

“All I ever have is nightmares.”

Cordelia spared the woman a look. Emily’s eyes were trained on the ground as she took a step over a fallen trunk. Dark circles ringed around her eyes, the purple somehow making the green even brighter. Cordelia realized she had never seen Emily without them. Were her dreams something more? Something that paraded around as sleep when it was really anything but?

Emily’s words were hardly louder than a whisper, “It isn’t the situation I mourn, but the power I have.”

The book in Emily’s hands suddenly felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. It was one of her many journals, each page dedicated to the carefully worded and detailed recollections of the visions her mind procured in sleep. The voice said her dreams were something more. Emily feared the implications. She was a stickler for a little thing called proof, however. Spirits can lie and trick just as well as humans could.

Cordelia regarded the girl beside her, “Powers such as what?”

“In hell, I could pull a weapon to me as if I reached out and grabbed it with my own hand. I could conjure flames and move them to my will.”

Her words were like a snarl on her lip, a frustration that plagued her every hour. Then, the snarl faltered and the grief set in. “Everything was so much clearer… simpler.”

The headmistress stopped and placed a hand upon the girl’s shoulder, squeezing it for good measure. Emily wished she hadn’t. It was easy to hold back tears and emotions when you didn’t have to look someone in the eye.

“You went to hell and brought back my dearest friend,” she pressed, hand trailing down Emily’s arm and taking her hand, cupping it in her own, “just because you cannot perform grand acts of magic does not mean you cannot fight.”

Emily looked at Cordelia, searching for something in those brown eyes. Everyone’s eyes were covered in a fog of optimism. It made real-life feel more like a dream than her dreams did. Their gazes never failed to make her shudder. Coco was the only one who did not succumb. Thus, the only one she somewhat trusted. Carefully, Emily pulled her hand away.

“Michael brought back Misty, not me.”

It was something she had said a thousand times since her return. The people here either didn’t listen or didn’t care. Which was worse?

“With your aid.”

For a moment, Emily contemplated telling Cordelia everything. She was so desperate for answers — so desperate to cut through the fog. She was reminded of The Odyssey, Odysseus’s travel to an island where everything seemed perfect. It was so tempting to give in, to be alright with not knowing.

What was Michael?

Why did the voices speak to him?

Why did she understand their words while Misty did not?

“I had a weird dream last night,” she found herself speaking, her silence lasting a little too long, “I know it means something, but I can’t quite place it.”

Cordelia seemed content in her words, a small smile telling Emily that she had chosen the right words… even if they were not the words she had intended to speak. There was trust to be built before Emily could talk to Cordelia about hell.

“Tell me about it,” her Supreme commanded, gently ushering Emily back the way they came.

“I was in a field,” Emily started, an air of distance taking over her voice. When Cordelia looked to her, she was miles away — eyes filled with fog. “You were there just… waiting. For me, I think, but I could be wrong.”

“What happened?” Cordelia asked, “in the dream?”

“You were standing next to a girl. She saw me first… said her name was Nan.”

Cordelia’s gasp was quiet, but still loud enough to draw Emily from the fog. A manicured hand came to her mouth before going to her stomach as if the woman had been punched. Emily was afraid Cordelia might pass out again.

“Nan,” Cordelia said, speaking around a frog in her throat.

The younger witch felt a surge of anxiety. She should have said nothing, kept her mouth shut. Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut? It had been an easy feat until she came to Robichaux.

“She was sweet,” Emily found herself saying, “told me not to worry.”

Cordelia leaned on a nearby tree. Emily wrung her hands, biting her lip and waiting for the woman to say something. Her heart leaped into her chest when she heard the woman sniffle back a tear.

“Did I say something wrong?” Emily asked, heart hammering. Cordelia didn’t answer. Should she get closer? Should she squeeze her arm as Cordelia had done to her many a times? Emily had never been good at consoling. “I’m sorry.”

The woman finally shook her head, the heels of her palm swiping away the few tears that had trailed down her cheeks. “No… no, you’ve brought me a great deal of peace.”

Curiosity always got the best of her.

“Nan…” Emily said, “You recognize her?”

“She used to be a student here… before her untimely death.”

“I’m sorry.”

Cordelia sighed and straightened her shirt, quickly taking back the decorum Emily had managed to peel back. At that moment, Emily realized something darkened in her Supreme. The fog left the brown eyes and hardened into something more tangible, her jaw clenched ever slightly, and the mother-like tone left her voice.

“I’d advise you not to approach her in your dreams again.”

Emily faltered for a moment, too caught up in the change to process the woman’s words.

“Why?”

“For your safety.”

“She hardly seemed dangerous.”

“It is not her I worry about.”

Her lips opened to ask more questions, but Cordelia quickly overtook the conversation. “Tell me about the rest of this dream.”

It was probably best if she didn’t argue. Emily went on describing, glancing at the woman now and again. Cordelia’s eyes lost their dark edge as the tale continued — flying, levitation, conjuring of fire and wind — until they once again held the optimistic fog Emily had become accustomed to.

“And when I wake up,” Emily concluded, “I felt like I was not myself. That my real self lies within these dreams.”

Cordelia simply nodded.

“Dreams are more powerful than we can imagine,” she said, “it is, in short, an insight into our true nature — witch or no witch.”

“Then what is my true nature?” Emily asked, jumping back as a boisterous toddler ran past her, two more hot on her heels. They had made it back to the garden.

Cordelia smiled at her, giving her shoulder one more squeeze before she trailed after the children.

“That is something only you can answer.”

Cordelia paced her room, thoughts writhing like a snake that had worked its way into a knot. Unable to move forward or back, she wondered how long she had until death. Do nothing and she would starve — giving into the circumstances like a beast baring its belly to the knife. Tug too harshly, however, and she would sever her own spine.

“I do hope you have good reason for waking me in the middle of the night,” Myrtle sighed as she entered the room. She carefully closed the door, the only sign of her entrance the dulled click of the lock behind her.

The Supreme ceased her pacing, taking to wringing her hands instead as she came to a stop before the redhead.

“I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong.”

“You just put a petulant boy in power,” Myrtle scoffed, “What can be more wrong than that?”

“I did it for the best of the coven.”

Myrtle let out a sigh, unable to keep up her irritation. Tense shoulders and crossed arms relaxed and rested at her sides. “My dear, what good are you if you keep working yourself into a fit of hysterics?”

Cordelia either didn’t hear her or didn’t care to address the topic. Hurrying over to her desk, she pushed papers this way and that until she found what she was looking for.

“Were you able to look into the matter we discussed?”

It took all Myrtle’s power not to roll her eyes.

“Evocation rituals of that nature aren’t exactly common if they exist at all.”

“But they do exist?”

“None that I could find.”

“What if we modified a resurgence spell… combined it with dreams. That’s where her skill shows the most, after all. If we could get into that otherness—”

Cordelia had thrown the idea around with the woman multiple times before they visited Hawthorne. Seeing the aftermath of the Seven Wonders, particularly in the trial of Descensum, had made the Supreme all the more convinced of her path. If Cordelia shared any traits with Fiona, it was her stubbornness.

“I still don’t see how her power, any power, could be trapped inside her,” Myrtle insisted once more, “That family of hers didn’t have a lick of magic in her bones. Her mother has no magical talent whatsoever and don’t get me started on that father of hers.”

“Then why is she here at our school?”

Myrtle spared her a pointed look. Cordelia huffed and leaned on her desk, keeping her eyes locked with her mentor’s.

“Emily’s powers have to originate from somewhere,” she said, shaking her head and averting her gaze for but a moment, “Her grandmother died. Maybe she used the last of her power to protect Emily. Delphi had yet to be disbanded when she passed.”

“If that were the case, she wouldn’t be able to go to hell, dear. Maybe it’s as you said; her magic is tied to the other — dreams, visions, prophecy, the whole shebang.”

Cordelia shook her head, “That doesn’t feel right.”

Myrtle was now the one to pace. The carpet was sure to be filled with holes if the issue loomed over their heads any longer. If Cordelia could not let go of this vision, the coven would be doomed. How many more dead ends did Delia need to hit before she recognized the futility of—

“Why are you so adamant about this?” Myrtle found herself asking, more out of desperation than curiosity.

Cordelia gave her a pointed look and the woman scoffed. “Mallory—”

“Mallory didn’t go to hell.”

“And our dear Emily can’t make a butterfly out of petals. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. One false step and they all shatter.”

“Then help me eliminate this option,” Cordelia said, voice pleading, “Let's perform a ritual and get our answers before too much time has passed.”

“Alright,” Myrtle relented, “let's pull out the books… and the booze.”

Emily sat on one of the tables in the greenhouse like she was waiting at a doctor’s appointment, picking absentmindedly at the thin layer of paint atop the table. The inner circle of Robichaux stood around her watching Cordelia and Myrtle as they gathered material and passed it out.

Misty sat at Emily’s side, holding her hand and offering reassuring smiles whenever the brunette turned to look at her. Part of e was afraid they were going to kill her… or something worse. Death certainly wasn’t the worst thing the lot of them had experienced.

“We believe there is something blocking out our dear Emily’s powers,” Myrtle explained, placing jars of… something around the table.

“Or she just doesn’t have any,” Madison sighed, obviously wanting to be anywhere else as she studied her nails — she just got a manicure. The others stared at her in annoyance. “What? We’re all thinking it.”

“She saw Nan,” Cordelia spoke. She had been silent the entire time and didn’t even greet Emily when she was escorted into the greenhouse by Myrtle. If her silence was out of concentration or concern, no one could tell.

Queenie’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Her arms fell to her sides and all she could do was look between Emily and her Supreme. “She what?”

“I didn’t know who she was,” Emily said, glancing to Misty who held a similar expression to Queenie, “Not until I talked to Cordelia.”

“Is she alright?” Zoe asked. She stood opposite to Misty, carefully watching Cordelia and Myrtle as they prepared. “Did she say anything?”

“Nothing of note.”

“But she did say something,” Queenie said, a silent command in her voice.

“Only that I shouldn’t worry.”

Zoe’s brow furrowed, “worry about what?”

“… I don’t know.”

“If we are able to unlock your powers,” Myrtle said, ignoring the scathing look Cordelia sent her. The redhead still held her doubts. “Perhaps we can find out.”

Her words seemed to motivate the other girls. One by one they fell into place around the table, taking a string as Cordelia handed it to them. Misty and Madison stood at Emily’s left, Queenie and Zoe at her right. Myrtle stood in front of her, a large tomb of a book in her hands as she watched Cordelia work.

“Lay down, my dear,” she told Emily, who hesitantly did as she was told, “We will be delving deep into your subconscious and I’d rather you didn’t wake with a concussion.”

Cordelia came to a stop at Emily’s head. The brunette looked up through her lashes and watched as the woman lit a stick of incense, quickly blowing it out and placing it in a cup of sand. Emily really hoped they wouldn’t have a fire accident. If her hair were to be cut even shorter, she’d look like an egg wearing a toupee.

“Concentrate on the power you had in hell,” She whispered, so low that only Emily could hear her, “Visualize it and keep the sensation in the forefront of your mind.”

Emily felt if she were in some weird baptism, one you’d see on a TLC show about those weird Mormon cults. Shaking her head, she reminded herself to focus. She thought of hell, of that classroom — the fire, the words, the void. Emily felt her eyes become heavy before they closed. She saw Michael, blue eyes only showing a brief moment of alarm as fire raged around him.

Cordelia looked to Myrtle. The redhead began to chant. One by one, the other girls echoed her words. Emily was only slightly aware of their actions, their voices sounding miles away. Finally, Cordelia echoed the words. Her hands cupped over Emily’s face, covering her eyes and centering the spell between her brows, the third eye.

Once again, Emily fell into a slumber. Cordelia prayed that, when she awoke, her questions would be answered.

#michael langdon x reader #michael langdon x oc #michael langdon

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psychosistr · 4 years

Text

Meet Me Halfway- Chapter 1

Summary: Dr.Reginald Bushroot, a meek, not-overly-attractive botanist, considers his life fairly boring and lacking of anything noteworthy....well, except for a certain liquid-themed supervillain who seems to take a liking to him- THAT may be a LITTLE noteworthy..

Notes: So, ages ago I read @sandyferal ‘s story Halfway There on AO3 (go read it, it's SO good xD) and said in the comments that I liked their version of the two meeting with Bushroot mutated and Buddy unmutated, and that if no one else wrote the opposite, then I'd probably do it. Well, here we are xD

Ah, the scenic countryside of Saint Canard: Large open spaces. Fresh air. Trees and uncut green grass as far as the eye could see. It was probably one of the most natural areas around for miles and miles. The only thing that stood out as remotely man-made was the gleaming glass of a small building- and even THAT was full of more lovely, all-natural vegetation and greenery.

Walking up the path to the greenhouse on the hill was a short male duck who looked far too glum for such a lovely backdrop. He had white feathers, but those looked thin and unkempt- similar to the few wispy strands of hair that seemed to only refuse falling out just so they could give him the unfortunate appearance of age even further than his own. He had bright blue eyes, but the eyelids around them were dark with a few bags under his eyes that just made him look exhausted. Even his basic outfit of a yellow shirt, dark tie, blue pants, simple shoes, and a gray overcoat only seemed to make him look both older and more exhausted from how rumpled they looked.

After fishing the keys to the greenhouse out of his pocket, and a brief fumbling with the lock, the duck walked into the greenhouse with a weary sigh. “Hey everyone, sorry I’m late.” He mumbled while taking off his coat and hanging it on a tree branch. “You must be thirsty, huh? This heatwave’s been hard on all of us.” He headed straight for the gardening hose in the corner of the greenhouse while rolling up his sleeves, unsurprised by the lack of a response from the various flora around him.

What he was surprised by, however, was the fact that the hose had come uncoiled since he’d last wrapped it yesterday. Wondering if maybe he’d just forgotten to wind it up properly, the duck took a brief look around the humid building and was surprised to see that the soil around most of the plants looked damp- as if it had just been watered.

“Huh? How the heck did that happen?” He quietly asked nobody in particular. Setting the hose aside, he followed the trail of watered plants and a glistening trail of dew on the grass from one end of the small building to the other.

It certainly looked like someone had been watering his plants, but who could have done such a thing? And why? It’s not like that many people took an interest in botany in this town- most of them worked down at the university with him (and most of that select few were jerks)- and, even if it were one of them, he was the only one with a key to the greenhouse. Maybe it was Rhoda? The two of them had been getting along rather well lately, maybe she-

That thought quickly died and gave way to a million more when he pushed aside a large leaf from one of his bushes and spotted the helpful culprit kneeling down by his cluster of nigella damascena.

It certainly wasn’t Rhoda.

It wasn’t even a duck.

He wasn’t really sure WHAT it was.

Startled by the sight of the oddity in his greenhouse, the duck tried to step back the way he came in hopes of running away without being seen, but his plans were uprooted- by a literal root, no less. “Ah!” He let out a startled yelp when the heel of his shoe snagged the root of a nearby tree and he fell to the ground, landing squarely on his quickly bruising tail feathers. “Ouch! I’ll feel that in the morning..” He mumbled while rubbing his sore backside, momentarily forgetting about the intruder he’d just been avoiding.

“Well now,” A watery voice said as a blue, nearly see-through hand pulled back the very same leaf that the duck himself had been peeking through a moment ago. “Let’s see what’s behind curtain number one!”

With the leaf gone, the duck could now see the creature even more clearly: It was a being made entirely out of water. From its features, it was likely a canine of some kind before…whatever happened to turn it into some weird water monster. It was also taller than the duck (which, honestly, didn’t take much with how short he was), making the way it looked down on him with a taunting smirk and a raised brow even more intimidating.

“I-I was just, uh-!” The smaller man stared up at the unknown water-creature in fear, trying to slide further away from it but wincing when his bruised tail bone hit one of the thicker roots nearby. “Yeowch!”

“In a rush to get away? Experiencing symptoms of fear and anxiety?” The liquid canine sounded like a door-to-door salesman as he extended one of his limbs to pick the smaller duck up by the collar of his shirt. “If so, then you may be dealing with a SUPERVILLAIN!” He flashed that deadly smirk up at the helpless duck once he had him raised high up off the ground. “As part of today’s peeping-tom special, say your last words now and you will meet a swift and painless end- act now, this is a limited time offer!”

The duck was frightened. Obviously. How could he not be? He was dealing with a living body of water that seemed perfectly fine with ending him simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. While he really didn’t want to die, there was one thought that crossed his mind between boring flashes of his life and fits of existential panic-

“C-Can you make sure my plants are watered when I’m gone…?” He stuttered a bit at first, trying in vain to grasp onto the shifting liquid arm currently holding him up in an attempt to feel more stable.

“??” That actually made the aggressive mutant pause, blink twice in surprise, and look up at him with a more baffled expression than his previously sinister one. “Your plants?”

“Well, yeah..” The duck looked around at the variety of lovingly cultivated greenery across the building. “These guys require frequent watering- especially when it’s this hot out! I was worried some of them would start to wilt before I got to it today, but you helped them out a lot. You even got the ratios right for the more temperamental ones, so, thank you.”

The dog still looked confused by the duck’s words. “Wait, wait, wait.” He cocked a brow up at his hostage, though it was more curious than threatening like it was before. “You’re being threatened by a dangerous mutant- one that broke into your building, by the way- and you’re going to compliment and ask favors from him?”

“Um.........yes?” The duck answered hesitantly. “I mean, I’d rather you NOT kill me, but if I’m going to die I’d at least like to know that my plants will be okay and you seem to like them- OW!” He let out a startled yelp that turned into a pained groan when he suddenly fell to the ground. “Owww, did you have to drop me like that?” He whimpered while placing both hands on his sore back, feeling like something had been pulled the wrong way during the fall.

“Oh, not again..” He heard the mutant mutter quietly, his voice almost inaudible.

When the bruised and sore mallard looked back up at the mutant, he was surprised to see that he was missing an arm now- the arm that had been holding him up earlier, to be precise. The aquatic dog was also glaring ruefully down at a small puddle of water on the ground between himself and the duck. He kept glaring at it for a while, but it looked more like he was concentrating. Perhaps he was trying to get the water to do something?

It was then that the duck realized a few other parts of the mutant’s body didn’t look very stable at the moment and were dripping down into a growing puddle where his feet would be.

Despite the fact that mere seconds ago this mutant had been perfectly at peace with ending the duck’s life, he couldn’t help but ask the question on reflex.

“Are you alright?” He carefully got to his feet, using the tree he’d tripped over earlier for balance so as not to further agitate his back.

“Just experiencing some technical difficulties.” The increasingly drippy mass complained as he continued glaring at the puddle that was still growing around him.

“Is there anything I can do?” The duck asked after popping a stiff joint in his back and relieving some of his discomfort. “Do you, I don’t know, need more water or something?”

“Probably..” The mutant muttered absentmindedly. It wasn’t until the duck had walked away and returned after a few moments that he finally looked back at the other man since dropping him, and the sight of him holding a garden hose that was already swelling with the pressure of an unreleased stream made him let out a mildly amused but pitiful chuckle. “You know, nine out of ten doctors would advise against helping dangerous supervillains who just tried to kill you.”

“Then it’s a good thing for you that I’m the tenth doctor.” The duck joked with a nervous smile before twisting the nozzle on the hose to release a steady stream straight at the living puddle.

The extra dose of water seemed to do the trick and soon the watery villain was back to his previous form. After moving and flexing his arms and hands a few times to make sure they were stable again, he looked back to the duck with a tilt of his head. “You know, I could go back to attacking you now.”

“I-I know..” The shorter man turned off the hose when it looked like the taller one no longer needed his help and set it aside. “But…do you really want to?” He offered up that nervous smile again, hoping that would be enough to convince the canine to spare his life.

The dangerous dog stared him down for a good minute before letting out a light huff and shaking his head. “Not really. That was a limited time offer that’s already expired.”

The duck sighed in relief. “Oh, good.” There was an awkward, tense silence for a while between them. A distinctive “What now?” moment weighed heavily between them. What are you supposed to say/do after nearly killing/nearly being killed by a complete stranger and then being saved by/saving said stranger? “So…uh…what’s your name?” The duck tried to break the ice, cringing internally at how forced the politeness sounded.

“Names are still being run through a test audience.” The dog said before leaning back against one of the trees. “But ‘The Liquidator’ seems to be scoring well on the customer surveys.”

“The Liquidator? Wow, that does sound like a cool name for a supervillain.” The duck smiled a bit, still feeling reasonably nervous around the villainous mass of liquid. “My name’s Dr.Bushroot, but you can call me Reginald, if you want.”

The Liquidator gave a light huff of a laugh and smiled back slightly as well. “Dr.Bushroot? Quite a marketable name for a botanist- you should try making your own miracle grow, consumers would go crazy for ‘Dr.Bushroot’s Plant Medicine- just what the doctor ordered’!”

Bushroot laughed as well, his face lighting up with a less nervous smile. “I never thought of that. Then again, I don’t exactly have a good face for TV.”

“Oh, that’s easy enough to fix.” Liquidator reached over and poked at Bushroot’s head. “A little make-up, a decent toupee, and a catchy jingle can sell anything, trust me!” He chuckled before catching himself and glancing away. “Not that I ever needed to wear make-up or a toupee, of course- I’ve always been a top ten contender for ‘best looking men in business’, so I never needed to go to those kinds of lengths…” His eyes shifted back over to Bushroot and narrowed dangerously. “Making any claims otherwise will void the extended-warranty on your life, got it?”

“G-Got it..” Bushroot swallowed nervously before regaining a bit of his earlier expression. “Besides, even if you DID do that-” He quickly held up both hands and shook his head to show he wasn’t suggesting otherwise. “-does it look like I’ve got any room to judge? I’m not exactly a Mr.Corn-Fritters’ pageant finalist..”

“Hmm..maybe not a finalist..” The other man agreed with a slow nod while looking the short bird over slowly from head to toe. Whatever he saw, he seemed to like, however, because the smile he regained had something a bit more..enticing to it than before. “Perhaps a runner up, though.”

“Huh?” Bushroot blinked in surprise before waving the comment off with a short laugh, figuring it for a joke. “Ha-ha, good one.” A beep from his watch made him check his wrist and realize the time. “Oh! I need to finish watering everything so I can get started on the weeding.”

When he went to pick up the hose, however, a cool, wet hand stopped him. He looked up into the crystal-clear face above him and saw that same grin from before, now coupled with a wink. “Why deal with the hassle of clunky dollar-store garden hoses when you’ve got the amazingly mobile and purified-powers of the Liquidator at your disposal?”

“Really?” Bushroot blinked in surprise at the generous offer.

Liquidator’s smile softened slightly at the edges, but he tried to play it off with a casual shrug. “It’s the least I can do after my rude introduction. A good salesman should always show respect for the man of the house, after all!”

“Well, if you’re sure, that would be great. Thanks!” He gave his new acquaintance (possibly friend?) the brightest smile yet before running off to get his gardening gloves from the supply locker in the corner of the room.

“…......” With his back turned to his new intruder-turned-acquaintance, Bushroot missed the stunned look on the mutant’s face that slowly morphed into a fond smile. “No thanks are needed- I pride myself on quality customer service, after all.”

As the two began their individual assignments within the greenhouse, Bushroot decided to get to know his new friend (he was allowed to be hopeful, darn it). “Sooo…a supervillain, huh? What made you want to go into that line of work?” He tried to get the conversation drumming up again with basic small-talk while pulling some weeds that had sprung up around his rose bushes.

Liquidator glanced over his shoulder at the small scientist and gestured to his body with one hand, his other one currently transformed into a facsimile of a watering can as he went about watering the plants he had not gotten to before Bushroot’s arrival. “One look at this one-of-a-kind product should answer all your questions about my new career path.”

“O-Oh, right, sorry…” Bushroot’s face heated up in embarrassment- he supposed that should have been an easy answer to come to, he just hadn’t thought of it before opening his mouth. “I haven’t seen you on the news before, are you new in town?” That one felt a bit safer to talk about.

“New to town in general? No. New to town as the incredible aquatic supervillain known as ‘the Liquidator’? Yes.” Liquidator explained while sprinkling water over a cluster of vines. “I haven’t quite had my big break as a supervillain yet- I’m saving THAT for a special occasion.” He let out an irritated growl when his hand lost its previous watering-can shape and he glared at it for a moment. “And for when this body’s out of beta testing…” That part caught Bushroot’s attention, he wondered ho- “And if you’re about to ask how I became the tall drink of water you see now, I’m afraid that’s going to be voiding a few confidentiality agreements, so save that question for a rainy day.”

Shoot, he really wanted to hear that story…

Wait, he said it could wait for another day? Did that mean he would be seeing him again after today? Did that make them friends??

“Okay…” He tried not to let on how excited and hopeful he felt over that prospect- it had been so long since he’d actually had a friend! “How’d you get in here, anyway?”

“You’re choosing NOW to ask that?” Liquidator chuckled after finally getting his hand back to its previous shape so he could continue his work. “You know, most people would want THAT answer first.” He shook his head with an amused grin before pointing at the gardening hose that Bushroot himself had used to assist him earlier. “I wanted some fresh air, and this was the first exit I found that didn’t smell like bleach or a petting zoo. Like any good salesman, I knocked first, but nobody was home.”

“That’s because I got held up at work.” Bushroot explained with a frustrated frown and roughly pulled out a weed from a different spot in his garden. “The dean keeps calling me in for meetings, wanting to see if I’ve made any new breakthroughs.” His frustration turned to disappointment as he paused in his work. “At this point, I think he’s just calling me in to rub my failures in my face…”

“It’s always hard getting someone to invest in your ideas…” Bushroot’s back was to Liquidator again as he worked, so he missed the sympathetic frown on Liquidator’s face as he looked at the other man. “What sort of research are you working on?” He asked while bringing himself around casually to water the shrub next to the one that Bushroot was currently rescuing from the weeds at its base.

“Oh, it’s nothing special..” The duck said with a sigh that sounded defeated before he even began. “You wouldn’t really want to hear about it….”

“Oh, but I do!” He lowered his form with some difficulty so that his feetless legs were kneeling by Bushroot, putting him at eye-level with the botanist so he could see the grin on the dog’s face. “Hearing out every unusual or impossible theory and business plan was part of what made me a success in my previous line of work. So, please, inquiring minds are eager to know: What brilliant breakthrough is the soon-to-be-famous Dr. Reginald Bushroot working on?”

Bushroot really wanted to dismiss the question altogether. He’d had enough of his coworkers laughing at him, he didn’t need it from anyone else…

…………

But there was just something in the way that Liquidator looked at him that made it hard for him to deny him anything.

“Well..” Bushroot began after a minute, still a bit hesitant but pushing himself past the feelings of doubt and uncertainty he was so used to. “I’ve been conducting research on how to give people the ability to photosynthesize and live off of sunlight and water like plants.”

Liquidator’s eyes widened in surprise, looking genuinely shocked to hear such a thing. “That’s actually possible?”

The way he said it made a warm feeling bloom in Bushroot’s chest: It was a sincere question. The disbelief in his voice came from surprise that someone would be able to make such a thing reality, rather than the mocking disbelief that such a thing would ever be possible- the disbelief that he was used to hearing when he told people about his work. The only other person who had ever shown genuine interest in his theories was Rhoda, and she was a fellow scientist who could look at his findings and research from a logical perspective- not like this stranger who didn’t appear to have a background in botanical research (though he was good at judging how much water his plants needed, so he must have at least worked with them at some point).

“Yes, it is.” He was practically beaming as he turned to fully face his new friend and go more in-depth with his explanation. “We already get a few minerals from drinking water and absorb radiation from the sun to create vitamin D, but plants are able to get all of that plus many other benefits from things like the very air around us. All it should take is the right infusion of plant cells into a person’s body and they should be able to gain the extra nutrients from water and sunlight that plants get- not to mention the ability to breathe in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen would really help cut down on the world’s growing pollution problem. It’s been my life’s work, and I’m very close to a major breakthrough in my research!” He realized towards the end of his explanation that he’d gotten overly excited and had started leaning in closer to the water dog. Quickly becoming embarrassed, he backed off and rubbed at the back of his neck nervously while avoiding eye contact. “Sorry, that was a bit too much, wasn’t it?”

He was surprised by the feeling of a cool, wet hand on his shoulder. When he looked back up to meet the dark blue pools that made up the other’s eyes, he saw a genuine, understanding smile on the mutant’s face. “Not at all. Passion is the driving force behind many great breakthroughs and achievements in life. If you’re not passionate about what you do, how can you expect others to get invested in it?” The hand on Bushroot’s shoulder gave it a firm, reassuring squeeze. “Never give that up, Dr.Bushroot.”

The duck felt his heart skip a beat the same way it did whenever Rhoda stood up for him in front of his colleagues- the same way it did when she smiled at him and listened to him about his research. Maybe he just liked having someone believe in him. Maybe he was just touch-starved and feeling the weight of someone else’s hand on him, even if it was made of water and not quite as warm as one made of flesh and bone, was enough to make him feel a connection with someone.

Or maybe, just maybe, he really was forming a genuine connection with the watery supervillain who had broken into his greenhouse and threatened his life.

“C-Call me Reggie.” He managed to say after swallowing down a lump in his throat and fighting to keep the blush from his cheeks (his thin feathers wouldn’t have done much to hide the change in pigmentation).

“Reggie,” The Liquidator began with a grin that spread quickly across his blue face. “I think this is the beginning of a wonderful new relationship!”

Bushroot hadn’t agreed with anything (or smiled) more in his entire life.

Next Chapter->

End Notes: So, just a heads up, this is another one of my Halloween "trick or treat" stories, so it's a WIP that may be a while before I fully update ^^"

#darkwing duck #dwd #bushroot #liquidator #liquiroot #meet me halfway

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oh-obrien · 4 years

Text

Midnight (B.B.)

Pairing: Bellamy Blake (AU) X Original Female Character

Warnings: Mentions of underage drinking and smoking

Word Count: 5,121 (she’s a little short to start off)

Part: ONE

Author’s Note: Welcome to my first Bellamy mini series that I promised would be a college AU because i have zero (ZERO) self control!!! Buckle up for the fluff y’all! Dw some of your other The 100 favorites also make an appearance!

“Good morning, Penelope,” Penny jumped when she heard someone in the hallway, especially since that someone said her name. Other than the Resident Assistants the buildings were still supposed to be empty for another week and a half. Athletes hadn’t even moved in yet. “Oh can’t take a joke still, Penns?” Bellamy Blake approached her, his backpack slung over his right shoulder, the handle to a rolling suitcase in his left hand and a stupid smirk on his face. His stupid signature ‘Bellamy Blake’ smirk, she hated it.

Penny rolled her eyes and went back to hanging up the last few decorations on her first bulletin board of the year. She had picked a ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ theme for the first portion of the semester. The idea had come straight off Pinterest and she would not be ashamed to admit that if anyone questioned her inspiration, but she also knew that the freshmen would love the design. It tended to be a hit, especially since she had used it twice before. (‘Oh yeah I’m totally using WTTJ again, #justRAthings’, she had sent her best friend the night before while cutting out all the pieces she would need).

She had even made safari animal themed door decorations to match. “I also still somehow got stuck in the same building as you again this year,” she walked into her open door to put her tape and left handed scissors away. “Which means I am the only girl on staff in this building this year,” she shook her head. “Because this building is co-ed this year and has a larger guy ratio and I ran into the others yesterday,” she let out a small sigh of defeat.

Bellamy leaned on the frame of her door while he watched Penny gather her belongings, “oh c’mon Penny,” he smiled, “I’m not that bad.” Penny picked up her backpack, filled with most of the small essentials she would need for the week-long retreat their university had sponsored for freshmen resident assistants. “We’ve made a pretty good team the past two years, what’s one more?” Bellamy watched Penny tuck her keys into one pocket on her backpack before she grabbed her own suitcase out of the corner of her room, tucking a metal water bottle into the other pocket on her backpack. “Besides, we can make the common room bulletin board together again!”

“You just use me for my Cricut so you don’t have to walk all the way to the office to cut shit out,” Penny pointed an accusatory finger at him. She carefully tucked one of her lacrosse sticks into her bag after seeing Bellamy had brought his along, she assumed the others would too then.

Bellamy held his hands up in defense, “on occasion it is easier to use your Cricut I won’t lie!” He laughed before reaching back to make sure his lacrosse stick hadn’t fallen out of his backpack. “But I also use you for your study buddy purposes, once again I’m not that bad!” He helped her to press the last few leaves she needed to hang up on to the bulletin board. Bellamy had opted to go for a sports theme for his hallway, but Penny always had better hall themes, freshmen guys were easier to please. When it came to themes, Bellamy didn't have to think hard.

“You’re right Bell,” she let out a long sigh and saw the boy next to her smirk in satisfaction while he shoved his head back into his phone again. “It’s your residents you don’t know how to control that are the real problem.”

Bellamy tripped over his own feet after hearing the statement Penny had made, “my residents are the problem?” he jogged to catch up with her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Penny just shook her head while he fell back into step with her after regaining his footing. Always graceful on the lacrosse field, never off.

“Like it wasn’t one of your residents that fell down the stairs, absolutely plastered I’ll remind you, the first weekend of the semester last year and cracked their head open?” She shook her head while they reached the campus center. Pulling open the door, she held it for Bellamy before following him in. “Or your residents who got caught with pot last year?” Bellamy held the next door open this time, “and it all happens on the weekends I happen to be on duty. How convenient.”

The pair reached the room where freshmen RA’s needed to check in and Bellamy pulled a black ballpoint pen out of his pocket, signing himself in before handing Penny the pen. “Okay,” he clicked the pen closed when Penny handed it back, “but you and I both know I can’t make them stay in every weekend, and beats me where they get the weed!” he tucked the pen back into his pocket. “I actually wanted to start this year off on a good foot you know?” He asked Penny while they sat down at one of the tables in the room. “A nice get away into the mountains, with limited cell service, no gym, no video games and like two of my teammates,” his tone dripped with sarcasm.

“You got a job over the summer for after you graduate, a really good one, you already did start the year off right,” Penny huffed before setting her phone on the table in front of them “Congrats by the way,” she offered the sentiment.

Bellamy’s smile grew at the mention of his job with the Central Intelligence Agency that he would officially start once he graduated in May. “Oh yeah-” he ran his fingers through his hair, “that.”

“Oh yeah that?” Penny mocked. “Bellamy, that is an amazing opportunity! You should be proud of yourself for that,” she added at the end. Penny had landed quite the internship herself the past summer, interning for the New York City District Attorney’s office, but she didn’t like to talk about it much, not enjoying having all the attention on herself.

Luckily, working with Bellamy for the past two years, she knew he shared many of the same feelings. The mutual awkwardness had allowed the two to become comfortable talking about their accomplishments with each other. Much of the campus just knew that Bellamy would be one of the men’s lacrosse captains for the third year in a row and wrote him off as a jock, Penny had been able to get to know him a deeper level though. The two had become quite good friends their sophomore year when they were put on a RA staff together, and their friendship only continued to grow from there.

Penny also felt her small crush on the boy growing stronger over the two years they had already been on a staff together. She and Bellamy had not only worked on the same staff for two years but had also been going back and forth between being first and second in their graduating class, it would be a game of hundredths of a GPA point by the end of the year. Neither truly cared about where they ended up, but it had often come up in conversation between the two.

“Okay and getting asked to apply to Yale Law, Texas Law, Duke Law and UC Berkeley Law isn’t an accomplishment?” He smirked at Penny from across the table. “Y’know I paid attention in training last week when you were talking to Tiff right?”

“Jerk,” Penny laughed lightly while taking a sip of her water bottle. “But yes, I had an almost perfect LSAT score, I’m dying to get into Texas hopefully.” She looked up to Bellamy. “So-”

He cut her off with a long groan, “what?” He dragged the word out in the tone of a whine.

“Jez,” Penny held her hands up, “I was just going to ask if you met any nice girls while you were out in D.C!” Penny laughed lightly when she saw his cheeks heat up a little bit, another groan falling past his lips.

“I mean,” Bellamy shrugged, “the girl who happened to be on my workout team was nice, we talked for a while after we left,” he glared at Penny when he saw her smile grow. “If you let me finish,” he sighed, “it just wasn’t as compatible as we first thought and I’m going to die a college virgin!” He let his head fall into his hands and Penny couldn’t help the small laugh that fell past her lips.

She watched Bellamy lift his head up to watch her through the lenses of his glasses. “You say that like it’s a bad thing or something,” she crossed her arms over her chest. “You also say that like you haven’t had any girls basically drool over you?”

“It-”

“Isn’t,” she shook her head and gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment. “It isn’t a bad thing Bellamy. So what? You’re a Virgin. Me too, and I’m sure a ton of other people on campus are also! That and girls talk about you all the time at lacrosse games” She waited for the boy across from her to answer.

“Wait you are?” He asked, his nose scrunched up in confusion and a slight quirk to his right eyebrow.

Penny snorted through her nose, “uhh yeah!” She let out a long sigh. “You do realize that rumor freshman year was just a rumor right?”

Bellamy didn’t say anything, unaware the claims classmates had made about Penny had actually been a rumor. He remembered a few weeks before spring break their freshman year Penny had cooped herself up in her dorm, lacrosse practices and she only left to go to classes and grab food if she didn’t have anything she wanted in her room. She had mysteriously left campus for spring break early, even taking a few midterms early to do so, and eventually claims started circulating around that she had gotten hit with a particularly bad case of Mono, more commonly known as the kissing disease.

Upon hearing that rumors had started floating around that she had caught it from an upperclassman she had been seen with at a few frat parties, Bellamy decided the drama would be none of his business. Penny had returned from spring break, still run down, sickly and unusually quiet. She didn’t make an effort to address any of the claims, instead choosing to fly under the radar for the remainder of the year.

“Seriously Bellamy?” She shook her head and let out a long sigh. “My doctor thinks I just caught it from someone who had it sneezing or coughing around me. I hadn’t kissed anyone since my sophomore year of high school at that point. It really sucked to hear some of the things that were said in my absence,” she just sank further into her chair.

Bellamy pulled his beanie back on before speaking, “I’m sorry Penns,” he mumbled. “I hope you know I didn’t subscribe to any of that bullshit, I just didn’t really know you then.”

“It’s fine,” she mumbled while chewing on her lip. “Just sucks it ruined my reputation. I went home originally because the doctor here refused to test me for mono because I wasn’t sexually active or involved with anyone in any way. My doctor at home wanted to test me for Mono and a few different Thyroid things as soon as she could, that was why I left early. She knew that if those came back negative it would have probably been some type of blood cancer, we didn’t want to take any risks.”

“Then why didn’t you- why didn’t you clear it up when you got back?” Bellamy wondered out loud. He hadn’t realized the seriousness of the situation and Penny had never mentioned it before, Bellamy had just assumed she left early to be sure she had the easiest recovery possible.

Penny just gave him a small smile, “because,” she shrugged. “It was fun to see how far it traveled, what people had to say about me once they thought I was fucking around with a frat president as a freshman. Jake is actually one of my older brother’s best friends from home.” She referred to the boy who everyone thought she had been with.

“At least people let it go,” Bellamy told her with honesty. He had felt quite bad when the rumors were flying around, but at the time, other than their shared introduction to management class, he didn’t have any connections to her. Once he had been put on a staff with Penny his sophomore year, he learned she was often quite fun to be around and happened to be one of the most determined and driven individuals he knew, other than himself of course.

Their sophomore year, the pair would often spend late nights together in the common room, working on their homework together. Neither really knew much about the other’s major, but they had a similar music taste and an even more similar work ethic. It had been quite easy for them to get along. Bellamy also knew both their residents quietly ‘shipped’ the pair, often asking if Penny was his girlfriend because if she happened to be, it would be ‘really cute’. It had been during finals their spring semester, sophomore year that Bellamy realized maybe he did have some feelings for his co-worker.

The night before their last finals that year they had ordered too much take out from the Chinese place in town and hunkered down in Penny’s room to do last minute studying. Penny had been complaining about her first upper level accounting class while Bellamy tried to memorize all the different ethics codes he needed to know for his final. After taking their finals and finding out they had both received ‘A’s’, they became official ‘study buddies’.

Junior year saw the pair again in the same building as resident assistants, and it again gave them a new batch of freshmen who ‘shipped’ them. There had been multiple nights where residents locked themselves out of room while one, or both, of the pair happened to be on duty and when the freshmen knocked on the door an individual who didn’t live in that room happened to answer. After Bellamy had answered the door to Penny’s room once, revealing one of her residents looking to get back into their room, he had later gone to print something and found the girl talking to one of his residents. “They’re so together!” He recalled the girl telling his resident followed by a small “oh shit,” when she realized Bellamy had heard. He decided not to tell Penny about it, or confirm or deny the statement her resident had made. Instead, Bellamy carried on like he usually did, hoping his feelings for Penny weren’t obvious to her.

Now here the pair sat, senior year, in the same situation, neither able to share their feelings for the other yet. “My favorite seniors on staff!” Carrie, the director of resident life at the university, came up to greet Bellamy and Penny. “Your residents always give such great reviews! We just had to put you on the same staff again this year after neither of you wanted to take a higher position,” she gushed. “And Bellamy congratulations on the job!”

Penny watched Bellamy’s cheeks start to turn red, crossing his arms across his chest and trying to sink further into his chair, “thank you, Carrie,” he mumbled.

“Oh Bellamy you should be proud!” Carried told him with a smile on her face.

“I literally told him the exact same thing!” Penny sat up straighter and threw a playful glare at Bellamy. “The boy is a genius and refuses to acknowledge it for some reason!” Penny watched Bellamy roll his eyes before he turned to face Carrie.

“I’m excited for my last year, a little bit surreal but I’m still excited,” he picked up his phone when it buzzed on the table. Penny watched him pull his bottom lip between his lip before he started typing out an answer, his thumbs moving fast across the screen.

Penny looked up to Carrie who had shifted her attention away from Bellamy, “how’d your summer go then, Penns?” Carrie asked, opting to sit down in one of the extra chairs at the table. Bellamy still seemed very much tuned out to the conversation occurring and Penny sighed.

“Good! I loved my internship, I’m just a little bit stressed about after college,” she started picking at the polish on her nails. “I mean, I have the LSAT scores to get into law school no problem, I just wish I had it locked down already, my life just feels flimsy right now.” Penny had her life planned out since she was in middle school. She would go to an amazing undergraduate university, ace her LSAT s and then go off to law school after her senior year of college. She had also hoped to have a long-term relationship within the time period, but that clearly hadn’t worked out.

“Well,” Carrie started, “your life is anything but flimsy. You are one of the most motivated people I’ve ever had on my staff and I know you aren’t some one who would slack off on your future plans.” Bellamy looked up from his phone when he heard Penny mention she felt unprepared for after college. He knew he had gotten lucky with the guaranteed job, but the last person he expected to be stressed about after graduation plans would be Penny. “You have nothing to worry about, honey.” Carrie stood up and gave Penny a hug before addressing both of them again. “If you two want you can get first picks on the bus for seats !”

Bellamy saw Penny offer a small smile of thanks to Carrie before she stood up, tucking her phone into the back pocket of her jean shorts. “You ready?” She asked Bellamy who just nodded and stood up, sliding his backpack on to his shoulder and grabbing the handle to his suitcase. The pair rolled their suitcases down the empty hallways of the campus center, looking into the eerily empty conference rooms while they passed them. “It’s always so weird being here early,” Penny mumbled.

“Yeah it is quite strange,” Bellamy responded, “but I like it, especially in the mornings getting to just sit outside and relax.” Bellamy enjoyed taking time to himself most mornings, getting up early enough to make himself a cup of coffee and review any work he needed to before beginning his day. “There’s a couple squirrels I have just about eating out of my hand,” he laughed lightly.

“The infamous squirrels,” Penny smiled, “I see them on my runs in the mornings usually.” Similar to Bellamy, most days Penny would wake up early and try to get a workout in. In the early half of the fall semester and most of the spring semester she could get a run around campus in before classes, during the colder months she would be stuck in the gym in the mornings.

Pushing the button that would open the doors to the campus center, Bellamy hummed in acknowledgment of Penny’s comment. “Speaking of running,” he chucked, “aren’t you the senior captain this year?” Bellamy knew that Penny played on their university’s women’s lacrosse team and had gone to support her and his other friends on the team at most home games in the past, he had even gone to a few away games.

“Yeah,” she smiled to herself, “I’m actually really excited for it too! I kinda came in not the best on the team at it, then I tore my LCL freshman year, but I’ve definitely improved tenfold. And you’re the captain of the conference champion men’s lacrosse team?” She looked at Bellamy and laughed while they walked down the walkway that would lead them to the coach bus they would be taking into the mountains.

“First off,” Bellamy dramatically sighed, “stop that, and yeah I’m captain again,” he shrugged the position off. “I’m also the Recruitment Chair for Sig Chi,” he added. Bellamy had been one of the last people Penny ever expected to be in Greek Life, but her sophomore year she had bumped into him at Zeta’s formal and her jaw had nearly hit the ground.

Penny pointed at the letters on her long sleeve and laughed, “no way you’re a Sig Chi?” She asked the question in the same voice she had that night. “In all seriousness though, I despise recruitment,” she mumbled, “I’m VP of finance for Panhell this year though, for some reason I got talked into running for the position.”

“Hey, it’s worth it for Greek Week,” Bellamy reminded her when they reached the coach bus. The pair noticed the driver sitting in the driver's seat, a newspaper rested on the wheel and the door open. “Ready for the next week?” He smiled while tucking his suitcase under the bus.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Penny sighed while Bellamy offered to take her suitcase.

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

Almost as soon as they had gotten on the bus, Penny had put her headphones in and opted to catch up on sleep. She wrapped a throw blanket she had bright around herself and dozed off. She did not need to be awake for a three hour drive through the absolute middle of nowhere. She got to see it every time she drove to school or home from school, she could go without seeing it again.

All too soon she felt a gentle nudge against her shoulder and slowly opened her eyes, pulling out one of her headphones in the process. Bellamy sat next to her, a sleepy smile on his face and his hair messier than usual. “We better be close if you’re waking me up, Blake.” she let out a long yawn after stretching her legs.

“Like twenty minutes,” Bellamy shrugged while he ran a hand through his hair. “Figured you’d want a minute to actually wake up, though.” He looked rather comfortable himself, his hoodie pulled up higher than usual around his neck and a sleepy grin on his face. He seemed pretty cute even.

Penny carefully tucked her first headphone back into the case it belonged in before reaching under her blanket and pulling her phone off her lap, groaning as cold air got under the blanket. She noticed a number of notifications from the group chat she had with all of her girlfriends and unlocked her phone, turning the brightness down rather quickly afterwards. Scrolling to the top of the conversation she noticed a picture of her and Bellamy asleep in their seats; her head resting on his shoulder and his on top of her’s. It had been sent by Harper and she let out a sigh of defeat. She had forgotten Harper had also been placed into freshmen staff for the year, granted she worked in a different building, but all first year Resident Assistants had been put on the same bus.

‘So they’re just gonna keep doing this shit?’ Harper’s message read.

‘I doN’t LikE HiM!’ A message from Raven followed.

‘Ten bucks they fuck on the trip’ Lexa.

‘I’ll double it.’ Clarke.

‘Ew that’s my brother and suite-mate you’re talking about!’ Octavia had added.

Penny opted to scroll past the nonsensical messages before she saw a screenshot of another conversation sent. She opened it and noticed it had been sent in a group titled ‘Saturdays are for the BOIZ’, absolutely disgusting first off. It had been sent by Monty, Harper’s boyfriend and captioned ‘so they’re not dating?’ and she rolled her eyes.

‘They’ve only been eye fucking since my freshmen year.’ John Murphy had sent the message. Murphy had been one of Bellamy’s first residents and now he served as one of his frat brothers and closest friends.

‘Clarke said 20 they fuck this trip.’ Monty again.

‘Uhhh 40???’ Finn, Raven’s boyfriend.

‘Why are you placing bets?’ Nathan Miller, at least someone would be on her side.

‘Oh shut up Miller!’ Murphy once again. He had always been a shit stirrer, but he had proved to be fun to party with and a very loyal friend.

Penny closed the picture and checked she had service before typing out her response, making sure Bellamy had been paying no attention to her. ‘We’re not fucking!’ she closed the group chat, not wanting to deal with the girls at the moment, before looking to the front of the bus. Tiffany, the first year RA Coordinator had stood up and had a smile on her face.

“As you all know!” She started, “we’re here for a week for a leadership and team building skills retreat,” a number of groans filled the bus, Bellamy’s included. “You and I both know those activities will take up only a few hours of your days, the rest is yours and if alcohol is involved I don’t want to know!”

“What’s alcohol?” Penny recognized Jasper’s voice and rolled her eyes. She knew he smoked quite a bit of weed, often with Monty, but didn’t know he had gotten the first-year resident assistant job until she had bumped into him during move in. He worked in her building on the opposite side, but would definitely add much needed excitement to their staff. His personality most likely helped him get the job, he also worked with the Orientation Team, freshmen loved him.

Tiffany let out a long sigh before looking up at those on the bus again. “Any of you know who went on the Greek Life Leaders retreat last year are going to be familiar with this site,” Penny let out a quiet sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Those of you who did that trip also know that these cabins are pretty small…” Tiffany trailed off at the end.

Penny had been Vice President of Zeta last year and had gone on the GLL trip with her organization’s President. The cabins they stayed in had a small kitchen, a bathroom, a tiny living area and one bedroom with a king bed. Sharing a bed with one of her closest friends hadn’t been hard, but she didn’t know who she would room with this trip. Anyone on resident life staff she felt close enough to room with would be of the opposite gender or already rooming with someone else most likely.

“I know I’m going to regret this,” Tiffany said more to herself than anyone else, “but you can pick who you’re rooming with. It’s two to a cabin!” She had to practically yell the last part over the conversations that had already erupted on the bus.

Penny pinched the bridge of her nose before looking around the bus, but it seemed everyone else already had a partner to room with. She caught Harper and Lexa’s gazes from the row across from her and Lexa winked. ‘Get fucked!’ Harper sent in the group chat and Penny just shook her head, putting do not disturb on.

“So,” Bellamy trailed off. “I know we both went on that retreat last year and know the whole roomies situation here.” Penny laughed at his use of the word roomies. “If you’re fine with it, I’d be down to room with you.” He shrugged after speaking. He seemed a lot more jittery than usual, Bellamy tended to be one of the most cool and collected people Penny knew.

Penny just nodded, “I’m fine with it! Big bed anyway, hopefully I won’t have to kick you out,” she flashed Bellamy a smile. The two fell back into silence afterwards and Penny took the opportunity to look at her phone again. Scrolling past the nonsensical messages she noticed one form Raven that stood out. ‘Now is probably a good time to tell you that we have a group chat called ‘Pellamy’ where we place bets on when you’ll actually get together.’

‘Don’t tell Bellamy!’ Clarke’s message followed.

‘He knows but doesn’t know that you know he knows that you know!’ Only a message that hard to read could come from Lexa.

‘Absolutely Superb!’ Penny settled on before getting Lexa and Harper’s attention so she could flip them off.

“Watch the profanity!” Bellamy quickly covered her finger with his hand which sent all four of the friends into a fit of laughter. “There are children like Jasper on this bus!” He made sure to speak loud enough for the boy who sat two rows in front of them to hear what had been said.

Penny sat up straighter in her seat to see Jasper turn around and glare at Bellamy. “You only had to babysit me at one party, Blake!” He flipped Bellamy off in return. The four other friends started laughing before Tiffany told everyone to quiet down again. Starting at the top of the list alphabetically she began asking for who would be rooming with who for the duration of the trip,

“Bellamy my dear?” She gave Bellamy a sweet smile.

“Suck. Up.” Penny leaned over to whisper in his ear, resulting in Bellamy pinching her upper thigh in return. “Fuck!” She rubbed at the red spot he had left on her pale skin, he knew how easily she bruised.

Looking over to Penny quickly to confirm their earlier decision she offered him a nod, “I guess I’ll subject myself to Miss Penelope for the week,” he let out an over dramatic sigh afterwards. “I’m stuck on staff with her for a third year, what’s another week rooming with her.”

“Don’t call me Penelope!”

Tiffany just shook her head while she wrote Penny’s name next to Bellamy’s, moving on to the next person afterwards. Penny tucked her legs underneath herself again before pulling her blanket tighter around herself, trying to keep the old air out as long as she could. “So like is this you two saying you’re a couple or?” Raven dragged the last word out while she looked across the aisle to where Penny and Bellamy had both shoved their heads back into their phones.

“No, not this again!” Bellamy’s tired voice groaned out while Penny answered by letting her head thud into the glass window next to where she sat, a quiet ‘ow’ slipping out afterwards.

Bellamy snorted out half a laugh while Raven and Lexa high fived each other, laughing as Lexa announced she would be rooming with the other girl. “This is going to be a long as fuck week,” Penny sighed.

“Yes, yes it is Miss Penelope.”

“It’s Penny!” She smacked Bellamy’s upper arm, the sound that resulted being louder than intended.

#bellamy blake #bellamy blake imagine #bellamy blake fanfiction #the 100 #the 100 imagine #the 100 fanfiction #bellamy blake x oc #college au #the 100 au #the 100 college au #ANNA WRITES #btw the 100 owns me right now

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zachsgamejournal · 3 years

Text

COMPLETED: Resident Evil 7

This is the most I've enjoyed a Resident Evil since RE2 on PS1. May actually like it more than Code Veronica...

I kinda hated the freight ship section. By this point, I felt the game was done. But the designers were like: Nope, we're gonna have an environment as large as all previous sections combined, more enemies to face, start your gear at zero, and halfway through, make you replay areas via a flashback that's length to story ratio is 100:1.

The remote bombs were...a weird addition. I could place them on the floor, but not...you know...toss them. For like, when you're being assaulted by slimy monsters with shark teeth...And still, the game gives you a ton of them!

Turns out, I wasn't far from the end of the freight ship. So that was good. Then we end up at the salt mine. Turns out Lucas was just playing along...weird. So he got his arm cut off and everything on purpose? Like, he's a legit psycho?

I'm really confused about where the fetuses with curing abilities are coming from...ah well.

So we get some background info: Eveline was a fetus that was mutated to have super powers. She could infect folks, and cause hallucinations: presenting herself has a young girl. She, having never had a childhood, wants a family--so takes over a family and has them kidnap folks to add to their "family", but she's a psychotic child raised by other psychos, so everyone under her influence ends up violent and cruel.

And she vomits up monsters, or something...

Into the salt mine. I thought this was gonna be another section of exploring and puzzle solving, but it's actually quite linear. Seems they designed it to be the action section since they constantly send you up against molded, and drop healing items and ammo EVERYWHERE! I didn't need that because I had amassed so many healing items and weapons by playing frugally.

It's just like when I replayed Resident Evil 1--early on every zombie is life or death, and every bullet and herb is precious. But by the end, you become Terminator, can't die and tons of ammo.

There's a spiral climb at one point, and I just ran from everything. If you move quick enough, it's pretty clear of enemies. First molded was an easy side step. The second was a crawler and he trapped me on a catwalk. I was getting hit from behind, so had to kill that one. The third guy was just a walker, so I shot him once to get him to stumble, making the walk around easy.

And that was it. Salt Mine done. Which I was thankful, cause that damn tanker section!!

So we end up at the beginning, in the old house, reliving some Mia interactions via hallucinations. Not worried, cause I'm more well armed than an American Police force with more medicine than a...uh, pharmacy...I guess.

The phase one fight with Eveline was...unimpressive. But it was more about the story...I guess? I'm torn between being done with the game, and expecting a boss-fight on par with previous ones. But alas, we simply stab old-lady Eveline (nice twist) in the neck with a cure. She asks, "Why does everyone hate me" -- heart breaking, then talks about how it hurts. Almost as emotionally confusing as the end of Alien Resurrection.

But then...phase 2.

Instead of dying, Eveline turns into a giant tentacle monster. I guess it's inevitable that Resident Evil end on a ridiculous note. As grounded as much of the game is, they had to go big. But it's a pretty lame fight. You just shoot at mega-Eveline until a helicopter drops you special gun (Kind of like Brad dropping a rocket launcher at the end of Resident Evil 1 - wink, wink).

So she dies...for realz this time. And Chris Redfield appears in an Umbrella Helicopter. I'm glad he's not mega-Chris from Resident Evil 5, but he also doesn't look "his age". I don't know, seemed like unnecessary name dropping, but also no harm, no foul. Ethan hops in the chopper, finding Mia alive. Aw, so it is a love story!

But then the game gives this cheesy epilogue, blaming Eveline for being horrible--even calling her an "it". And then talks about how Mia just wants to put everything behind her. Everything being that Mia worked for a shady organization making horrible bio-weapons, and as part of her duties, helped hold a traumatized child captive and then attempted to kill her when the girl inevitably escaped??

Eveline was the real victim in this story. She did horrible things because she was child that wasn't properly loved and raised. No shit she wants to build a family. Her saying, "Why does everyone hate me", heartbreaking. I have kids. They're selfish, violent, impulsive bastards sometimes--but they're really sweet and just need people to love them.

Eveline wasn't given love. She was given orders, and restrictions. No surprise that she lashed out, and she did so in the ways she could: vomiting up molded zombies and possessing people.

So bosses...talk about unbalanced.

Boss 1: I had a single clip of ammo, maybe two healing items, and a pocket knife. All got used really quickly. I think you're not supposed to shoot him, just get the car keys. But it was confusing and intense, because I didn't know what to do. CHALLENGE: 3/5.

Boss 2: Jack again, but now it gets real. Moving around is awkward, and the second half involves a chainsaw duel. I used up at least 10 rounds of shotgun shells, all my healing items, and died at least 10 times trying to beat this boss. I almost switched to easy. CHALLENGE: 5/5.

Boss 3: Marguerite as a crazy bug lady. This was kind of the scariest battle, as she drops in out of nowhere and from behind. And if you don't constantly attack her, she sends bugs after you. This one drove me a bit nuts, but eventually I found the winning strategy. CHALLENGE: 4/5.

Boss 4: Super molded. I basically hid around the corner of the elevator and used all my shotgun shells on it. A few shots from the pistol and the thing was down. Not sure I even took damage. CHALLENGE: 1/5.

Boss 5: Mutant Jack. He was so big that he couldn't move around and hide like previous bosses. I maybe was hit once or twice, but it was nothing. The eyes were obvious weak points. CHALLENGE: 2/5.

Boss 6ish: Two Super-Moldeds. Kind of reminds of the big infected guys from The Last of Us. While they killed me the first time (very quickly), on my second attempt, I kept the elevator between us and used all my grenade launcher ammo against them (which I had been saving). They didn't touch me. CHALLENGE: 2/5.

Eveline Phase 1: Walk towards her, block when she shock waves. Timing was semi awkward. I died once. CHALLENGE: 1/5.

Eveline Phase 2: Shoot at a giant target that doesn't appear to do any actual damage. Could have been a cutscene. CHALLENGE: 1/5.

It's so weird that the hardest bosses were at the beginning. I guess this is where you have consider experience vs challenge. But for survival horror, challenge is part of the experience. You're supposed to be scared of bosses.

I think the final Eveline battle should have the player running through the swamp. Eveline's tentacles swimming after you, and in front of you, giving birth to molded with familiar faces (Like Mia) to freak you out. And that keeps happening until the player is out of ammo and healing supplies. Once you've used your last heal and bullet, Chris Redfield snipes the molded. You watch as the Eveline Mass rises to attack the helicopter. Chris takes aim with the Wesker gun, fires a shot at a tentacle arm--it calcifies and shatters! Eveline freaks out and smacks the chopper, sending the gun flying to the ground. You see it 10 yards away. You run to it, grab it, turn--Mia appears before you. "I'm one with her now. If you kill her, we'll never be together." If you hesitate too long, Mia kills you. If shoot, she shatters--Eveline attacks, final few shots: END.

Ah well. It was a good game and I'll probably play it again. I could see this being a semi-regular replay for me, right there with RE1 and RE2.

#Zach's Game Journal #COMPLETED #Resident Evil 7 #Stadia #Monsters need love too!#Video Games

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isocrime · 4 years

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okay so this may just be me assuming - but you generally write top!tony in ults and top!steve in 616 so i was wondering how you would see the flipside come out in both those verses i.e. top!steve in ults and top!tony in 616. do you think (based on your preferences/characterisation) that the former is more natural/preferable/interesting for you to write, or is it just whatever suits the idea you have? curious because you seem a lot more lax re the top/bottom discourse that stevetony is cursed w/

I’ll write either tony and steve topping/bottoming (meaning who’s in the driver’s seat, not who’s pitching/catching) either way depending on what suits the story, but I do definitely have preferences!

For ults, I do indeed tend to write top!tony/bottom!steve I like that dynamic a lot. Steve is so stiff and repressed, desperate for human intimacy and afraid to ask for it. I want to watch him release that and let his walls down, but in a sexy way. Also, Big Buff Sub is one of my kinks, and ults Steve is the biggest and buffest. Tony knows he doesn’t have to hold back, because Steve is superhuman — he can do things he’s fantasized about that would be too unsafe to do with a normal person. Meanwhile Steve could throw Tony off so so easily, but he allows it, even when it makes him squirm with humiliation, which is some intense, sexy submission. Plus he hates himself for wanting it; it means he’s not a real man. He’s not just gay, he’s gay AND he loves to be called a slut and take it up the ass. All the tension and denial!

For top!tony in ults it’s like — he’s such a hedonist and a maximalist (I love his stupid ornate bedroom and his four-poster bed), so I can really imagine him wanting to own Steve for himself and get to do whatever he wants. He lives his social life playing games and obfuscating the truth, wearing these different personas that are all exaggerated and campy and flirty, which makes me think he’d be really good at making the theatrical parts of kink feel real and hot instead of kind of awkward and made up. Tony commits to the bit and doesn’t care if he looks silly — he’s confident he can pull it off so he does. So you have Tony, who’s incredibly deft and motivated and greedy and powerful, and pair him with Steve — clumsy and earnest and so so so needy underneath all the ways he’s denying it — and it’s just delicious.

Then there’s 616, where I like to read things a little differently. Tony is so tightly wound in 616 I want him to let go and let himself have something nice that he doesn’t have to obsess over and make all the choices perfectly or else everything will go wrong forever. Tony needs to turn off his brain and let someone else be in charge. Additionally when Steve and tony are really fucked up and bad for each other (weirdly, I don’t have dysfunctional headcanons about ults steve/tony. i write them as a mess while they’re getting together but long-term I think they do pretty well) I think Tony wants to make up for all the things he feels guilty about, and having Steve fuck him and hurt him and tell him what to do makes him feel better.

Steve, meanwhile, is so earnest and confident and he loves to lead well, so I headcanon that he would find it really natural and satisfying to take charge in bed. I think also all the natural strength and body control makes Steve generally hot as a top. He can really properly overpower anyone and do exactly what he wants to them if he decides to. Hot hot hot. Less healthily, I think Steve yearns to get Tony under control and topping is a way for him to live that fantasy. When Tony submits to Steve, he stops pushing back and doing manipulative shit that drives Steve up the wall. Sometimes Steve just wants to grab Tony and shake him, and kinky sex lets him take some of that frustration out on Tony. At their most functional, Steve wants to care for Tony and help him be the best version of himself. At their most dysfunctional, Steve wants to punish Tony and force him to do what Steve thinks is the right thing to do.

So, how would I do them the opposite way around? (I am aware this is already super long, I have feelings on this subject apparnently!) For bottom!tony in ults, I think he’d love the game parts of it. There’s a reason kink is called play, and Tony’s all about pretending. Like 616 tony, he’s very tightly wound and could stand to be taken out of his head and given a space where he’s free from responsibility. There’s grief and lousy pain he wants to forget, and Steve is really hot and he wants it, he wants to indulge in something a little taboo that he can make into a joke afterwards, haha you plowed me good, being crude to cover up how much he liked it. (I’m realizing that I tend figure out the dynamic starting from the character who’s bottoming. Huh — start with what you know I guess!)

Ults Steve as a top is sort of volatile and inexperienced, which makes being helpless around him is sort of risky, and I bet Tony would eat that up. The possibility that it could be a disaster — that he could cause his partner to lose control and get more intense than expected — is titillating. I think ults Steve wants terribly strongly. And if Tony is the thing he wants, especially if the thing he wants to do to Tony is hurt him, which is a kinky and perverted and bad want to have, Steve would torture himself with guilt and denial and desperate, pent-up lust. Repressed yearning for DAYS. And when Steve snaps and fucks tony the way he wants to, it’s hot and perfect and Steve hates himself for loving it and the more he hates himself the more he’s fucking desperate for it, this thing that’s wrong, he’s not supposed to want to hurt anyone, he’s a good man but he looks at Tony and he wants to take him and leave him wrecked and gorgeous and bleeding.

I actually have an ults sub!tony one-shot on the to-write list, so this is useful brainstorming! For 616 I don’t have anything planned, but it’s fun to think about how top!tony/bottom!steve would work.

Healthy bottom!steve in 616 is full of love and adoration. He’s given his life to helping people, and I think he’d bring that into the bedroom, this intense desire to serve and give the person he’s in love with all of their favorite things. When everything’s not filled with angst, Steve is a super super sweet sub, eager and earnest and pretty good at communicating what he likes once he gets the hang of it. Also, serum-enhanced cock: Tony can order him to come over and over again, or he can edge him forever and torture him with overstimulation and all of that is hot. Dysfunctional bottom!steve is more like “you betrayed me, you used me, I hate you — do it again.”

Top!tony in 616 has taken his control issues and turned them outward, so instead of wanting to let go instead he loves to orchestrate sex just like he likes to orchestrate solutions to world problems. Plus he’s got the same generosity that Steve has, so he likes being able to give his partner what they want in bed and set things up perfectly so they can feel nice. He brings his natural suave composure to topping, but it’s cut with a sort of soft wonder that Steve’s trusting him with this because his self-esteem is garbage and he can’t possibly deserve someone as good as Steve submitting to him. Then when things are not so pleasant between them, tony uses sex to punish both Steve and himself, taking the thing he wants and beating himself up with it afterwards. He’s addicted to Steve and doesn’t care what’s good for them, he’s going to actively ruin it all.

Obviously some of these elements can be applied to both universes (Steve is always big and buff, yum). There’s a lot of juicy stuff to explore with either top!tony or top!steve, which is why I like both types of fic! The thing that really decides if I like a fic or not is how well the characterization is done and how well it explores a facet of Steve and Tony’s personalities.

I do get a bit bristly about a certain type bottom!tony fic, and about some bottom!pre-serum Steve fic (though the latter isn’t very common in comics universes), but that’s mostly because I find it really infuriating when a fic takes all the agency away from the bottom and replaces their personality with “eager-to-please horny bimbo who’s all weak and fragile.” I’m a contrarian, too, and since there’s more top!steve than top!tony (a quick ao3 tag search gives about a 2:1 ratio for top!steve:top!tony), I like writing the latter. Otherwise, I aspire to be cool, even though I have my favorite dynamics. I love me a wide variety of kinky smut -- the discourse is exhausting and i have bascially infinite salt about how dumb it is.

#this got....long #i just think it's interesting!#remember folks:#personality can affect what you like in bed #but what you like in bed is not a personality #Anonymous

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usagi-zakura · 5 years

Text

Pros and cons for Sword and Shield

Okay since I’m pretty much done with the main story now and have caught most of the Pokémon I think I can give some thoughts. SPOILERS AHOY.

Pros:

- The Pokémon. They are awesome. I honestly can’t think of one new Pokémon I outright dislike. There’s a few “meh”s in there sure, but overall they’re cute, cool and Cinderace.

- I also gotta give some extra props to the Galar forms. There were a lot I weren’t even expecting and several of them even have alternate evolution (like Meowth and Yamask) or just new evolution altogether (like Farfetch’d and Corsola).

- The storyline isn’t super-intrusive, demanding you to do this and that all the time before you can enter the next gym... typically if you’ve reached the gym you can just go challenge it right away. The storylines haven’t been great in general in older games and this one’s no different, so I prefer less focus.

- You can actually catch Pokémon before you get the Pokedex. Its not right away, but you do get pokeballs from your mom after your first little excursion (even though she doesn’t tell you she’s given them to you so that’s a little weird).

- The Wild Area...I barely know where to start with this... So much awesome!

- Once upon a time I had a wish for Pokémon that they’d release a game where you could actually see other players walking around in the overworld, kinda like an MMO. Never thought it’d happen though... but then it DID.

- You can change a pokémon’s “nature” and even teach them egg-moves...so if you have a shiny you really want to use but its nature is shit and competitive battlers keep telling you it’s gotta have this and that move or you’re doing it wrong, well first of all tell them to shut their faces and play the game however you want, but then you can just go right ahead and give them a nature-changing candy, give them those egg moves and do some Hyper Training while you’re at it. Haven’t tried this system yet since it requires BP that I don’t have, but its there.

- Raid battles. They’re pretty cool.

- Vitamins (like protein and carbos) can now be used more than 10 times on the same Pokémon. (Still costs a ton though...but so long as you buy the game before January you will get a pretty decent money-maker in Gigantamax Meowth.)

- The music. It just keeps getting better I swear. I can’t stop listening to the Gym Theme.

- I like how the Pokémon League works in this game. The gyms borrow some features from Sun and Moon by having you go through “Gym Tests”, that are basically various minigames like herding sheep or a weird pinball game. But at the end its still the same old Gym Leader Battle. The tournament is also treated more like an actual sports tournament in real life would work, all your battles (including the League itself) are done in front of an audience and you even get fans. There’s also no Elite Four anymore, instead there’s an actual tournament with your rivals and the Gym Leaders.

- The starter that isn’t picked by you or your rival still gets a time to shine.

- I’m not 100% sure on this but I feel like they’ve changed the gender ratio for Eevee and the Starters...cuz I got a female Scorbunny after only three tries and I caught a TON of female Eevees. (Bonus: You can also catch Eeveelutions in the wild area).

- Speaking of Eevee they simplified its evolution. Specifically Leafeon and Glaceon, they now evolve with a Leaf Stone and Shiny Stone respectively. Sylveon also appears to evolve via friendship now so remember if you want an Umbreon or Espeon, delete its fairy moves.

- Pokémon camps are adorable.

- The game isn’t bogged down with legendaries. In fact there’s only three.

Cons:

- We gotta talk about the elephant in the room...

No...not that one. I’m talking about the lack of a national dex. To me its not a deal-breaker, it still has 400 Pokémon in the Galar dex and there are apparently a few more that exist in the data (mostly previous starters and some legendaries) that can be transferred over from earlier generations, but... Fennekin isn’t available. That’s a shame. (Where did Leon get his Charizard from anyway...as far as I’ve seen you can’t catch Charmander in the wild...The player gets one as a gift from Leon if you were wondering.)

- Haven’t found an IV judge yet. Could have just missed them though. If anyone knows where they are let me know.

- There’s no easy way to EV-train your Pokémon at least to my knowledge.

- When you’re in the Pokémon League you’re automatically healed between each battle. It may sound like a nitpick but part of the challenge of the League was always that you had to face each enemy WITHOUT healing...so it kinda takes away from the challenge.

- You can only catch Pokémon up to a certain level. Again this wasn’t a big deal for me, as I usually don’t go looking for super-strong Pokémon anyway, but it felt a bit restrictive. So yes you could technically go challenge a level 30 Onix with your level 10 Sobble... but you’re not gonna be able to catch it no matter what you do.

- The Catch rate is too darn high. I don’t know what they did to it but it feels even harder to catch even the most common of Pokémon. (Despite the fact that I caught Zamazenta with the first Quick Ball.)

- While it was nice that it didn’t focus too much on a grand storyline this time, it also meant the plot kinda just comes right out of nowhere at the end of the game, and suddenly you gotta fight a final boss you never knew existed. That’s a little awkward.

- You gotta do WHAT to evolve Galarian Yamask??

- The animations in the cutscenes are a bit awkward at times... There’s a sequence where you watch Hop try to catch a Pokémon but he’s clearly not holding a Pokéball for example... you have animations where he’s throwing a ball Game Freak...

- No more walking with Pokémon...

- The Day and Night System is only active in the Wild Area. The rest of the game time changes based on where you are in the plot.

- There’s no GTS. What the fuck. I know it was pretty broken already in the last gen what with people asking for a shiny Marshadow for a Rattata before Marshadow was even officially announced, but it was a pretty good way to get game-exclusives. Now I actually have to go out of my way to TALK to people to get them, and I can’t even do that in game.

- SO yeah my next problem is that while you can SEE other trainers in the overworld there’s no way to communicate with them.. but that seems to be a problem with Nintendo in general. They are terrified of people communicating it seems...

Despite all that though I like the game and have been playing almost non-stop the past weekend XD Heck this was the first time I just went ahead and bought both games on the release date.. and I don’t regret that decision. I played Shield normally and now I’m doing a Nuzlocke on Sword. (Case you were wondering how I’m treating the “catch only the first pokémon-rule” when you can see them, I close my eyes and run in circles till I encounter something.) I also don’t care about the trees. Pokémon models are more important than trees.

#pokémon Swsh #Pokémon Spoilers

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hulahoopingholt · 5 years

Text

Rebecca Bunch’s Boyfriend is a Hot Piece of Ass

Inspired by a conversation with @msjessicaday about this incredible t-shirt. Also on AO3.

Maybe it was the way the moonlight was streaming in through the windows, or the distant music playing from a car parked outside. Maybe it was because she was still feeling flushed after they had literally raced up the stairs to the door, or the thrill of her extremely predictable victory, or the memory of the intoxicating kiss she claimed as her prize.

Whatever the reason was, but it had all built up to this moment, this one, brilliant moment of absolute clarity, when she couldn't hold back her feelings any longer.

Rebecca Bunch's boyfriend was a hot piece of ass.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Hmm?"

Greg raised an eyebrow at her. "I believe I just heard you say your boyfriend is a hot piece of ass. Which, I believe, raises two follow up questions."

Rebecca's heart began to flutter in her chest. They'd only been on four dates -- at least, this time around. Five, if you counted that ice cream they got after her first open mic night. They hadn't actually sat down to discuss what they were to each other. It didn't seem necessary. They were just Rebecca and Greg, Bunch and Serrano, back to their old witty banter but now with the heat dialed up to Sahara levels.

And this time it also felt...

Like she didn't have to think about what they were.

Which was all well and good, except for moments like this, where she accidentally blurts out something she only meant to say in her head, and it has the potential to turn this really wonderful evening into one that's awkward and uncomfortable and...

"First, I'm the boyfriend, yes?"

Rebecca exhaled, then smiled. She and Dr. Akopian had talked about this. She and Greg weren't the same people they were three years ago. They'd proven that time and time again. There was no need to assume any discussion of softer, more tender emotions toward each other would end in disaster.

She had feelings for Greg, and he had them for her. They were on the same path. Everything else was just figuring out the details.

"Well, it was either going to be you or that waiter who brought us the free chocolate cake tonight, but all things considered, I still felt you brought more to the table. Metaphorically speaking." She paused. "Literally, too, when it's lasagna night."

Greg nodded. He was clearly trying to keep his face solemn, but given how he was practically glowing, it wasn't particularly effective. "Well, you can see why I had questions. He was a hot piece of ass, and he came bearing your favorite dessert."

"I figured we can work on replicating the recipe," Rebecca said. "Who needs him?"

"Fair point, and I do like a challenge," Greg said.

He was joking, but from his tone of voice, Rebecca could tell he was already contemplating the sugar to flour ratio and what type of cocoa powder to use. She loved when he got like this, when he lit up thinking of all the different ingredients he could experiment with to bring to Serrano's. He had really found his passion in life, and he was so good at it. She felt lucky to be able to watch him at work and to witness those moments when inspiration struck. In some ways, it felt more intimate than sex.

"You had a second question?"

Greg shook his head slightly, and Rebecca could practically see him mentally filing away the details for the undoubtedly far superior chocolate cake somewhere off in his brain. "Right. Tell me more."

"About..."

Greg reached out for Rebecca's hands, swinging them from side to side. "How your boyfriend is a hot piece of ass."

"Technically not a question," Rebecca pointed out.

Greg sighed dramatically. "Can you please share more with me about how your boyfriend is a hot piece of ass?"

"Are you fishing for compliments, Mr. Serrano?"

"Yes," Greg said immediately. "I am. It's the first time I've ever been referred to as a hot piece of ass and I want all the details committed to memory for when I am old and gray with wrinkly balls that sag down to my ankles."

"First time that you know of," Rebecca said with a smile.

Greg raised his eyebrows. "Is that so?"

"Mmhmm." She bit her lip and then looked up to meet his gaze. "Paula always thought you were the sexiest thing since Richard Gere in Pretty Woman."

Greg laughed. "Fine, fine, don't tell me. Just see if I'm going to share my chocolate cake with you."

"And if I tell you, then do I get an extra slice?"

Greg kissed the tip of her nose. "I may even let you lick the spoon."

"Promise?" She didn't need the promise, of course. She'd happily tell Greg all the million and one things about him that made him so attractive to her, if they only had the time. It was just that she was so comfortable standing here like this, fingers intertwined, forehead to forehead, nose to nose, swaying ever so slightly. It was the same kind of feeling as when her alarm first went off in the morning, and her limbs were liquid and her movements languid as she was one with the blankets, soaking up their comfort and warmth as no thoughts entered her head more complex than "fuck, this feels good."

Point is, it was just really difficult to speak at the moment, and Greg deserved all kinds of amazing words, and she just needed one... more... minute.

"Rebecca?"

Rebecca blinked. “Right, sorry. Well, first, there’s obviously your face.”

“My face. Interesting.”

Rebecca nodded, then pulled back ever so slightly, both so she had a better view of said face and so she could hopefully focus a little better when she was no longer so intimately acquainted with how his breath smelled of espresso and chocolate. “Classic good looks but without looking like a generic polo shirt model. Handsome, yet approachable. Kind eyes. Fluffy eyebrows.” She smiled, and rubbed her thumb across the length of one of those delightful eyebrows, raising all the little hairs and then flattening them back down. “A very good face.”

“Promising,” Greg murmured. “Was hoping for something a bit more seductive, but…”

“And really great hair,” Rebecca continued. “And when that that one stray curl falls just so…”

“I thought we were aiming for more seductive.”

“It is seductive,” Rebecca said as she twirled her finger through said curl which, coincidentally enough, happened to fall just so at that exact moment. “It’s my favorite curl.”

“Your favorite curl.”

“My favorite curl,” Rebecca repeated. “Because it also reminds me of how lush and thick the rest of your hair is, and how much I love to grab it when you’re, shall we say, tickling my hedgehog.”

Greg’s cheeks flushed pink, and Rebecca briefly considered circling back to the very good face thing and how exquisite it looked when he was embarrassed, which was rare, or turned on, which was far more common, but decided to keep that little detail in her back pocket for when she needed it.

“And your arms,” Rebecca said. “Never really thought of myself as an arms girl, but have to say, your kickboxing classes have definitely turned me into one.”

“Well, I’m glad that $174 a month membership has paid off,” Greg said.

“Mmhmm,” Rebecca said. “And then I’d have to say… your style.”

“My style?”

“You’ve become quite the sharp dresser,” Rebecca said. She tugged at the front of his leather jacket. “This jacket, the sport coats...you’ve definitely stepped up your style game.”

“A decent suit makes me a hot piece of ass?”

“Of course it does. Especially when it’s tailored to properly highlight your hot ass.” With a wink, Rebecca gave his butt a firm squeeze, and then leaned in for a long, searing kiss.

“Wow,” Greg said when they finally parted. “If I had known all I needed to improve my love life was to buy a new wardrobe, I would have done it years ago.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” said Rebecca. “I loved your old flannel shirts too. They looked warm and cozy and comfortable. These just have a little extra zsuzh. ”

“I’d like to zsuzh your kangaroo,” Greg murmured, nuzzling Rebecca’s neck.

“I love it when you zsuzh me,” Rebecca said. She slid Greg’s jacket off his shoulders, then made quick work of undoing the buttons of his shirt while he started tugging at the sash of her dress.

Then, suddenly, it all stopped.

“Oh, my god.”

Greg paused from his efforts to pull the dress over her head and frowned. “What?”

“Your shirt.”

“My --” Greg looked down. “Oh, crap, I’m sorry, I ran out of time to do laundry and didn’t have any clean undershirts, I didn’t think --”

“No, you don’t understand,” Rebecca said. “This is my all-time favorite shirt.”

Greg raised his eyebrows. “It is? Also, you have a favorite shirt?”

“I do,” Rebecca said, “and it’s this one.”

This one, was, of course, a black t-shirt with a rather large blue metallic-ish shark riding a bicycle on the front. His teeth were bared and his eyes were a little dazed, as if he, too, was wondering exactly why he was riding a bicycle but had resigned himself to his fate as it was easier to just keep going than to ask such silly existential questions such as what need does a shark have for a bicycle and how exactly is he moving those pedals.

“I hardly ever wore this shirt,” Greg said. “I’m surprised you even saw it.”

“I did, only once, and it made an impact,” Rebecca said. “Because it was just such a weird shirt and I never saw you in anything like it. And I always wanted to ask you about it. Did you get it because the metallic sheen to it made it stand out, or because it was a reference to a band, or because it was feminist or anti-feminist…”

“I think I just got it because it made me smile,” Greg said slowly.

Rebecca was vaguely aware that her hands were flying in every which direction and she should probably be a little less excited about finding out the rather mundane answer to a question that’s been circling her mind for years, but she didn’t care. This was big. HUGE. “See, but that’s perfect!”

“I feel like I’m missing something to this story.”

“You are, so I’m going to tell you,” Rebecca said. “You see, when you moved to Atlanta, I mostly tried not to think of you, but when I did, most of the time I pictured you wearing one of those flannel shirts, because that is what you wore 80% of the time, which never really made sense to me because we’re in California, dude, flannel generally seems kind of overkill. But the other times I pictured you, you were wearing this t-shirt. And I think it was because I always wanted to ask you about it, but I never got the chance. So in my head, this t-shirt symbolized all the conversations we never got to have, all the moments we never shared, all the things I’d never know about you...and now I do.” She smiled. “It made you smile. It’s perfect.”

Greg smiled, and his eyes were so soft, and his hands were so gentle when he reached up to cup Rebecca’s cheek that she nearly melted right then and there. “You’re a truly exceptional woman, Rebecca Bunch. You know that, right?”

She reached up to cover his hand with her own. “Well, I do now.”

He kissed her, and it was sweet and gentle and perfect and Rebecca was so glad, so glad that this was where she was right at this moment.

“So, do you want it?”

“Want what?”

“The shirt,” Greg said. “I think you should have it.”

“Really?” Rebecca asked in a voice that was probably an immensely high-pitched squeal, judging by Greg’s barely perceptible wince. “I can have it?”

“Sure,” Greg said. “After all, isn’t that something boyfriends do? Give their girlfriends their clothing to remember them by?”

“Oh my god, I would love that, thank you” Rebecca said. “Can I name him? Can I name the shark?”

“Sure,” said Greg. “Maybe something like Rage, or Bluebeard, or --”

“Stewart,” Rebecca said. “His name is definitely Stewart.”

“Stewart’s perfect,” Greg said.

“So, can I try it on?” Rebecca asked, pulling off her dress.

“Oh, so we’re… we’re really doing this now? Okay, sure,” Greg said, and pulled off his shirt with one hand in a way that would have really turned Rebecca on if she weren’t so distracted by this amazing shark shirt that was now hers. “Here.”

The evening had taken a distinctly G-rated turn of events, which Rebecca did somewhat regret, as Greg and his rather capacious member were not to be missed, but there would still be time for them later. After she tried on this super cool t-shirt she had thought about for years, and now she’d get to hold onto because her boyfriend, Greg Serrano, gave it to her.

A huge grin on her face, she pulled it over her head, and then immediately ran into a problem.

Well, two problems.

“Goddamn boobs,” Rebecca muttered.

“Hey!” Greg said. “Those boobs are beautiful and magnificent and I will not have you insulting them like that.”

“Of course I’m not insulting them,” Rebecca said. She was sweating a bit, still trying to tug the shirt down over her chest, but could see it was a rapidly losing battle. “Ordinarily they look pretty fly in shirts. But I guess the old trope of sharing your boyfriend’s clothing doesn’t really work when you’ve got a pair of triple-D jugs.” She sighed and looked down at poor Stewart, who appeared mildly deformed, all stretched out on his sad little bicycle. “Ah well, it was a nice try.”

“Honestly, I think it works,” Greg said. “Aren’t crop tops in now?”

Laughing, Rebecca swatted his arm, and then, with a little more effort than she’d like to admit, pulled the top back off and tossed it aside. “A little less sass, a little more zsuzh.”

“Challenge accepted,” Greg said, and with a single kiss, banished all thoughts of sharks and t-shirts from her mind.

“I got you something.”

Rebecca looked up from her notebook where she’d been idly writing down song lyric ideas over a cappuccino at Serrano’s. It was one of her favorite places to go for inspiration. Between all the people watching all the customers and wondering what their stories were as they conversed over copious amounts of carbs, and the generally warm and fuzzy feeling she got whenever she saw Greg walk by, the atmosphere was just ripe for her creative juices.

Plus Greg would always slip her biscotti when he could tell she was getting restless. Perks of having a boyfriend who owned the best Italian restaurant in town. Not that she was biased. Even Chris agreed.

“You did? That’s so sweet.”

“Well, I didn’t really get it,” Greg said. He handed her a gift bag and sat in the chair next to her. “I made it. Well, I had Sophia make it. You know Sophia, really tall, works here on weekends?”

“Of course I know Sophia,” Rebecca said as she pulled the tissue paper out of the bag. “She always makes sure I get the bread without the butt.”

“Right, well, I asked her to make it. I just thought --”

“Oh, my god. Greg.”

Greg bit his lower lip. “Do you like it?”

It was the shark on a bicycle t-shirt. Except it was no longer a t-shirt. Now Stewart was proudly riding his bicycle on a somewhat oversized and ridiculously fluffy pillow.

“It’s perfect,” Rebecca said. “I love it.”

“I just thought old Stewart had done his time making me smile, so now it was time to pass him onto you,” Greg said, his lips curving upward. “And since he couldn't fulfill his duties as a t-shirt, then maybe he’d do better as a pillow that you could hug and… think of me? And… smile?"

Rebecca squeezed Greg’s hand. “You big old softie,” she said, and leaned in for a kiss. “Thank you. I will. Always.”

Greg smiled and, after one more quick kiss, stood up. “Well, I should get back to work. Happy writing.”

Rebecca watched him head back to the kitchen, tucking the pillow beneath her chin and squeezing it tight. How lucky was she to be here, in West Covina, writing music while sitting in her boyfriend’s restaurant, living her dream while being able to watch him live his?

It was pretty damn inspiring, is what it was.

With a renewed sense of productivity, she plopped the pillow in the chair across from her and turned to a fresh page in her notebook.

“Well, Stewart, time to get back to work,” she said.

Stewart looked back at her, still somewhat dazed, still riding his ridiculous bicycle.

Rebecca smiled, and pulled out her pen.

#Crazy Ex Girlfriend #Greg x Rebecca #Crazy Ex fics #gregserrrano #my fic #this started off as just a bit of silliness and an ode to the best t-shirt of all time #a lil warm up to the longer fic I'm planning #and turned into something else with..........feelings???? idk #anyway enjoy some lighthearted Grebecca flirting I love these two goobers so much

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dcarevu · 5 years

Text

Batman TAS: Eternal Youth

“Everyone’s got a gimmick…”

Episode: 29 Robin: No Writer: Beth Bornstein Director: Kevin Altieri Animator: Dong Yang Airdate: September 23, 1992 Grade: B

This episode we get to see the one-timer Beth Bornstein’s work as writer, tackling the red-headed eco-terrorist Poison Ivy. She once again comes from a place of revenge, wanting to rid the world of all who dare take the life of innocent flora. But this time, rather than simply poisoning them (Pretty Poison), she aims to turn them all into plants themselves from the inside out, taking a more constructive approach. She is making plant-life out of human lives! We see a little bit of the process out of context during the first scene in the episode as Poison chases an older lady through a forest to the point where she (the lady) collapses from exhaustion. The chase sequence is pretty well animated when it comes to the running, and throughout most of it, Poison doesn't run at all. She walks…menacingly! The older lady’s distress is evident, and when Poison catches up to her, spraying her with this green, gaseous substance, it’s hard not to feel bad. The lady freezes in place, and then we shift scenes. For some reason Poison Ivy is kept in the shadows, hiding her identity for the most part. But the legs of her costume are easy to make out, and we have seen her a couple times on screen already. Maybe the mystery is for people who didn’t see that episode? But it doesn’t take away at all, so no fault there.

Next we tune in on Bruce and Alfred. Bruce is on a business call, getting real stern with somebody for not informing him that some type of operation his company is involved with had plans to harm rainforests for the sake of it. This is to set up Batman’s involvement with Poison Ivy, or more directly, Alfred’s involvement. We get some great acting from Conroy here, and we hear that his angry Bruce Wayne voice and his Batman voice are not at all the same. He speaks with a completely different register. The range he has is awesome. Alfred goes through Bruce’s mail after the call, and he notices a video tape for some type of spa. Alfred plays it on the giant weight-room tv…wait, a giant weight room tv? It’s hard for me to not picture Bruce working out while episodes of The Gray Ghost play… Anyway, the tape is played, and it’s for this place called the Eternal Youth Spa. Dedicated to relaxation and feeling young again. It’s hilariously cheesy, much like many of the old promotional VHS tapes used to be. It was a time… In the middle of the tape, Alfred’s girlfriend Maggie stops by to harass him. At least, I think she’s his girlfriend? I really can’t tell. Maybe she's simply someone who is interested in him, but he can’t quite shake her. Which is always an awkward situation to be in, especially if you’re like me or Alfred and you don’t seem to have the ability to be mean. Maggie seems interested in the spa, and Bruce, much to Alfred’s dismay, invites them to both go in his place since he’s generally a pretty busy man without any time for fun. Alfred attempts to escape from the situation, but they end up going regardless, in the scariest-looking car-ride of all time.

Alfred’s general attitude in so far sets up some juxtaposition for when they arrive at the spa, and he starts having a genuinely good time. But the haunting music as they first approached the gates ends up being a bad omen, and it starts to get a little bit concerning. Alfred gets a little…too relaxed, and Bruce notices it as they talk on the phone. At the same time, Commissioner Gordon has been working on some disappearances, one of them being the lady that we saw running away earlier. Apparently there are no clues at all about her disappearance, so Batman, knowing that the police force could use some work in this town, investigates himself. He, of course, finds a tape for the spa in her home. I loved going from the bright, sunny spa to a dark, noir atmosphere like we did. Also, this is the brightest episode we have seen. The Clock King was pretty much day all the way through, but it was kinda cloudy. Not as much here. We see Alfred and Maggie enjoying themselves in a pool, sipping on some refreshing drinks and snacks made with Poison Ivy’s (disguised so she isn’t recognized) “eternal youth” enzyme called demetrite. But going back to Batman, that spa tape seems like a red flag that the Gotham police force really should have noticed. It’s a free spa. That’s already a little bit fishy. But if the woman hadn’t been home since going, it seems like it would be pretty simple to figure out where she was. Especially since it was not just her to was never seen again after visiting this death-spa.

Later on, Alfred returns to the manor feeling better than ever. But he is still acting weird, putting all kinds of plants down into the Batcave (much to our gothic hero’s dismay), and drinking water like the last time he had any was 3 days ago. But after he takes a giant sip, with demetrite coloring it a slight-green, he passes out. This leads Batman to doing a little bit of research on the compound, figuring out that it does some whacky things to human plasma. When he pours some of it into a test tube of plasma (a 50/50 ratio), it very quickly sprouts leaves, telling us that Alfred is screwed. Batman rushes upstairs, still in-costume and everything, and discovers that Alfred is gone. He and Maggie are back at the spa, both feeling compelled to go back. But they are greeted with a nasty surprise. Just like at the beginning of the episode, Poison Ivy is there to spray them with the green gas, freezing them in place.

Batman visits the spa to look around, and is eventually attacked by Ivy, Violet, and Lily (her goons for the episode). It is revealed that everyone who has gone missing has been turned into a tree, including Alfred and Maggie. Although still reversible at this point, it’s pretty scary to see Alfred turned to bark, and Batman can hardly say anything about it at all. Violet and Lily are then told to spray Batman with a liquid form of Ivy’s enzyme, much more concentrated than what Alfred was drinking. Apparently strong enough to give Batman a bark exoskeleton in seconds. I’m not so sure why Ivy didn’t do this to begin with. She could have cleared out a room of people at once, gas-chamber style (not to be ridiculously offensive). Maybe it was to be a little bit more inconspicuous? Because of some chemical that Batman sprayed his costume with, though, he is immune, so he escapes, and we get what is basically a hunter/hunted sequence. It’s a lot of fun, and everywhere Batman seems to go he gets Ivy’s arrows shot at him. Eventually, Batman manages to knock over a container of the liquid that he was being sprayed with, which immediately soaks into the ground and grows an enormous tree, which reminds me a lot of My Neighbor Totoro. I noticed that has the tree grew, it pressed Ivy to the spa’ ceiling, and I would think that this amount of force could kill her. Especially since it breaks through the ceiling. At the end, though, everyone, including Ivy, seems to be fine.

Though the plot-holes can be a little bit distracting, this episode is enjoyable enough. It was the 4th episode of the show I ever saw, so it was a treat to watch it once again, seeing how it holds up. Plant-themed episodes of any show which have a sinister flavor to them always creep me out quite a bit too. The Goosebumps episodes Stay Out of the Basement used to scare me as a kid, and they also featured plant-people and aggressive flora. Batman was able to make that type of tone work too, but I did prefer Pretty Poison. It had more effective drama, and seemed a little bit more grounded (despite the plant that tried to eat Batman). Seeing a lot of character development for Alfred may have been the best thing about this episode, although I sadly don’t think we see Maggie again.

Picture time!

Like I said, pretty good running animation! She slowly fades into the distance over the hill.

Seeing someone walk so slowly, chasing someone with deadly gas makes me shudder.

They did a great job at showing a woman worn down. The voice actress is uncredited, so sadly I can’t praise whoever portrayed her.

Nice shadow work here. I think this is one of Dong Yang’s better-looking episodes, but they usually look pretty good anyway!

The creepiness is upped by this unnatural appearance as she freezes in place. It’s like her arms are becoming branches already. Also, Alfred’s later exhaustion helps explain why she got so tired.

Wayne Manor is gorgeous sometimes.

Maggie’s design is kinda cute, she looks like a nice old lady for Alfred.

Not sure if we actually ever got any promotional tapes in the mail.

Violet and Lily. God their voices are so fake, reminds me of the ads that play where I work. Overly cheery. That last still is where she says, “And invigorating nature hikes.” before twirling around.

Alfred, if you like this woman, stop being a Bruce Wayne and show her some kindness. Alfred blushing is sweet.

Nice shot of them in the convertible.

Oh wow! Who could this be? I think it’s Two-Face.

Ivy’s disguise, Dr. Daphne Demeter. Maybe this is more along the lines of how she looked when she was a legitimate scientist?

Everyone else is soaking in the experience while Alfred sits there whacking at flies.

These demetrite cookie-things actually look bomb, though!

A really creative shot on Kevin’s part. We go from paradise to this night shot. It shows the separation of Batman’s world. I also liked Gordon’s quote, “We put that place under a microscope, and all we got was eye-strain.”

We see Batman, but through a reflection. It’s another nice flourish. I bet Akom would have made it look mediocre as hell.

The tape, lying out in the open. Really? No one noticed this??

“Everywhere I turn I see another sign of nature’s...

...beauty...”

Cool to see the Batcave looking a little different, even if I much prefer it without the greenery. Talk about raiding the plant-store, Alfred!

This screenshot is just funny. It looks like Batman is whistling a surprised whistle. But his actual reaction was more intense than that.

Great sunset, I like how the light bleeds onto the window-workings.

And this shimmer is really nice as well. So is the color of the sky. This whole scene is very pretty. But the undertones are very dark, and you know that Alfred and Maggie should not be going back to that spa.

Notice the shadows.

I wonder if that picture in this room is typically there? If not, it’s a great touch, seeming as how Alfred has been sprucing the place up (tree pun).

Poison Ivy looks very off in this episode. She’s usually quite petite-looking, resembling some type of forest nymph. Here she’s built like Wonder Woman.

Look at their pain. Very effective. And considering that at this point the bark is an exoskeleton, considerate pain is probable.

The music here upped the ante, and made it all the more triumphant-seeming for Batman.

Very strange-looking background work. When Batman leaves the shot it somehow gets even weirder-looking.

Poison Ivy riding the tree toward the camera was very well-done.

Char’s grade: B Next time: Perchance to Dream

Full episode list here!

#dcau #dc animated universe #batman tas #eternal youth #batman the animated series #poison ivy #alfred #btas

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shadowsnlace · 6 years

Note

Hahaha, I loved your answer to the fandom asks! May I have a part 2? The same thing, but with the lieutenants? Thanks, hun! Happy writing! Sincerely, Happy Anon

I can’t believe how popular that ask was! And it was so much fun to write! Thank you for send that and this one too, dear Happy Anon! *rubs hands together* Now, let’s see about the lieutenants! :)

Nanao - Annoyed. Very annoyed. Not only does she have to contend with Shunsui’s fangirls zipping around the division, now she’s got them hot on her heels too! The power of the glare is strong with Nanao, she can halt a fan in their tracks at ten paces. Most of the pictures on her website are “the glare”. It’s a whole thing, there are poems, songs, and art dedicated to it. However, Nanao does go on the website to interact with her fans – those that are book lovers like her. There is a section for Nanao’s book recommendations, and even a book club forum where her fans can read the same book she’s reading and once she’s done they all discuss it. She loves it.

Omaeda - His website has 11 followers. Ten of them are on his payroll, the other one is a complete mystery. Rumors fly that the one unpaid “fan” is really Sui Feng monitoring him; that it is a woman that has her sights set on his wealth and is gathering recon to lure him into marriage (this one started by Omaeda); and the biggest rumor, the one spawned by Sui Feng scoffing, “It’s probably his mother.” The content is all uploaded by Omaeda. There was the one time his mother posted embarrassing baby pictures in the comment section of one of his posts. They were immediately deleted. He buried himself in fried rice crackers to deal with the “trauma”.

Izuru - Is shocked to his toes. Upon first seeing his fansite, he not only smiled, but he was happy the rest of the day. He always blushes a bit when fans ask for him to pose with them for pictures. Surprise of surprises, Izuru always smiles in all the pictures. So many fangirls – those blue eyes, that blonde hair, that tender poet’s soul…women swoon over him. Once a week he posts a new poem and his fans are all over it. The amount of hearts that stream through the comments is staggering. Trolls are not allowed. Anyone that dares to troll one of Izuru’s poems is destroyed by the fans like it’s their favorite sport. Rose is trying to convince him to do a “Win a Date With Izuru” contest like he did on his fansite.

Isane - Like Izuru, she’s really shocked. She turns bright pink when she first sees the fansite and how much adoration there is for her. Retsu encourages her to interact with her fans, hoping it will bolster her confidence. Fan pictures are a mix – many show a startled, pink-cheeked Isane looking a bit unsettled, while others are able to make her comfortable enough to smile happily. Either way, she’s still quite the beauty. The new attention rattles her sometimes, especially if someone very attractive tells her how beautiful she is. So much so, she tripped on air and landed right in the arms of a very cute officer from the 5th division. This led to a date and a rather hot kiss goodnight. Isane definitely thinks this website might be a good thing after all.

Momo - Is pretty tickled that she has fans. She’s pretty easy-going so asking her for a picture or having some interaction with her isn’t a hard thing to accomplish. Like Nanao, she loves books and has linked to Nanao’s book club forum where her and her fans interact with Nanao and her fans. She has her own reading recommendation list on the site. As a very good artist, she often posts some of her artwork, much to the delight of her fans. She loves getting art from her fans too. She’ll pick a piece of fan art every week to showcase on her fansite with compliments from her. Is really into memes. She loves them especially if they’re cute. Rangiku always manages to post at least one or two a week aimed as Toshiro. Momo loves them.

Renji - Has mixed feelings about it all. While he’s flattered by the attention, he’s also a little awkward about it. He’s not accustomed to being in the public eye and looks to Byakuya for clues how to handle the fame. Along with his close friends, Ikkaku, Shuhei, and Izuru, Renji has a constant swarm of fangirls that follow him everywhere – to work, to meals, to futsal. And, I do mean everywhere – one fan snuck into Renji’s bathroom while he was soaking in the tub. She was trying to get a picture of his famous tattoos, to see if he really has them everywhere. Renji’s angry snarl scared her so bad she dropped her camera and ran like he’d set his bankai on her. Byakuya had some questions about why a young lady was seen running from his bathroom, screaming. And, before you ask, yes, there are some die-hard fans that have gotten tattoos just like their beloved Renji. He visits his fansite once or twice a week to check in. He’s an active guy, busy with work, friends, and his own interests, but he drops in if he’s bored just to see what’s going on.

Tetsuzaemon - Boasts that of course he’s got fans, how could he not, being such a manly man and all. On the inside is secretly thrilled, now he has confirmation that he’s all that and a bottle of sake. If you thought his ego was swelled before, it’s about to pop any minute now. He brags about all the followers he has. (He knows the exact number and always double checks before meeting up with friends anywhere) Ikkaku likes to razz him by photo bombing his fan pictures. It irks Tetsuzaemon to no end when he’s taking a picture with a cute girl and here comes Ikkaku’s gnarly feet or bald head. Drives him nuts. On the fansite he interacts with his fans as much as he can, which is a few times a week when he’s not busy with work. He’s very genuine and rather humble when talking with fans. Has been carrying on a very heated private online affair with a mystery lady who really gets his motor running during their conversations and with her sweet nature. He really hopes he’s not being catfished.

Shuhei - Turned about 5 different shades of pink when he first saw his fansite. The women – oh my god, the women that want him is on par with Kensei’s following. The fan pictures are so focused on his scar, his tattoo, his physique, and his style it’s mind-boggling. He can’t believe the things these women are saying they want to do to him. He has to be really careful where he reads comments or fan mail, hard ons at work are not only awkward, they’re distracting. He tries his best to be approachable and easy-going, but a lot of his lady followers are just as shy as he is so he gets a lot of pink-faced ladies stammering, stuttering, or talking so fast he can’t understand them. The minute that deep, rumbly timbre of his makes an appearance, it’s time to faint or melt on the spot for the fangirls. Is sometimes overwhelmed by it all, but manages to get along just fine. He’s a sweet guy and does his best not to hurt anyone’s feelings.

Rangiku - Are you kidding me? She has taken to this like a duck to water. She is in her element – attention galore. She loves it. And, she loves going to all the other lieutenants’ fansites to post memes about them. She’s got quite a sense of humor and an eye for details. Don’t let the laziness fool you, she’s far from it, she just doesn’t like paperwork and part of her likes getting Toshiro all fussy. She is rather dedicated to her fansite and making people feel welcome there. They all love her and post pictures, art, poetry, songs, and even fashion stuff that would look good on her with where to find it. She made a whole section dedicated to her fans called “Drinks with Rangiku” and it’s all pictures of fans having a drink with her. She nearly crashed the server from all the pictures that have been uploaded.

Yachiru - Is pretty nonchalant about her fansite. It is dedicated to her power of cute. Most pictures include some part of Kenpachi since she’s with him so much, Someone even managed to get a picture of her on her scooter in the Kuchiki mansion. The main benefit for her is that her fans keep her heavily supplied with candy. They leave offerings for her at Kenpachi’s door where she gathers them up everyday when they come home. Once in a while, though, she’ll go visit Ikkaku’s website to upload pictures of his bald head that she’s captured to look like a lamp, or the setting sun, or a smeared selfie of her biting his head. She posts them on her website too because she knows Ikkaku will delete them from his.

Ikkaku - He’s the tough guy, nothing fazes him, especially not some website. Yumichika is the one that reads everything to him. He scoffs that he’s not interested, but he still listens to every word and looks at every picture. He doesn’t mind the pictures, or the fan art. But, like Kenpachi, he really likes the videos of his fights. Those he will sit and watch for hours, looking for flaws in his technique, studying his opponents. He’ll hog the laptop until the battery dies and then has to deal with Yumichika being pissy because he didn’t get to use it. Likes to scare the group of fangirls that follow him around just to hear them squeal. He finds it hilarious. They’re all used to it now and often play it up for him. He gets Yumichika to do a daily sweep of any of Yachiru’s silly pictures. He’s not embarrassed (yeah, right), but he’s got his pride.

Nemu - Not much reaction. She sets to work gathering all kinds of statistical information from the fansite, like how many fans to picture ratios, how many memes, how many pictures are in the lab and out of the lab. You name it, she can quote you a statistic about it. She hides the information from Mayuri, knowing he will react much like he did for his own fansite. She’s very willing to pose for fan pictures. While she doesn’t smile, she doesn’t look interested and kind. She secretly talks online with her fans and has begun to grow close to a few. She’s tentatively open with her new friends and finding a bit of emotional freedom she doesn’t often get around Mayuri.

Akon - Mr. Laid-back-as-fuck checks in on his fansite during breaks at work and sometimes in the evening if he’s bored. Numerous pictures of him are all over the site. There are lots of discussions about his horns: where they came from, are they sensitive, how sexy they are. He gets lots of chuckles and lets them all stew in the mystery. Most of the fan pictures show him smoking because they always seem to catch right after he lights up. Has more than one rather ardent fan. He knows when they’re watching, stealing little mementos of things he’s discarded, one even went so far as to steal some lab notes he’d written and then threw away. She auctioned them off to other fans after keeping some for herself. Akon is, as always, very calm in the midst of it all. His fans are, for the most part, pretty laid-back too. He enjoys the fan art, and the ones that ask science questions.

Rukia - Loves her fansite. There are bunnies galore. Her fans know her love for bunnies and use an app to make bunny features on their faces: ears, whiskers, nose, and mouth. Rukia even posts pictures of herself all ‘bunnied up’. There is fan art that she loves because she knows how much her brother admires art. She tries her hand at it too. It’s still crap, but her fans love it and call it a great example of expressionism. As long as she’s not working, she’s happy to stop and take pictures with fans or chit-chat for a bit. Everyone is really nice which is a welcome change from the stuffy Kuchiki brood she’s exposed to all the time. (Byakuya has loosened up a lot, but the rest of them are still stodgy old farts.) One of her fans created an “Angry Bunnies” game a lot like “Angry Birds”. It features Rukia hurling bunnies to take down snakes and monkeys. She loves it. Renji thinks its silly but still plays it just to try to beat her high score.

#Bleach #bleach headcannons #Lieutenants #Lieutenants react to fansites about them #sfw

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snkpolls · 6 years

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SnK Chapter 103 Poll Results

The chapter 103 poll closed with 2,013 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Another month, another chapter that left people feeling excited! 98% of poll takers rated chapter 103 from good to excellent!

I just cant wait for the next chapter. I'm so HYPED

I like that Isayama for the first time since rts showcased a fast-paced action-packed chapter. Too many questions rn, but imo zeke is 100% w/ paradis, falco won’t die and the female titan will appear, regardless of its inheritor. Eren’s transformation was jizz-worthy

This chapter was both so thrilling and yet so frustrating. On one hand, so much is happening in just the right amount of panels and it seems Isayama has learned the art of pacing in this arc more successfully than others. I'm a sucker for tragedy, so the conflicted misery of what is going on is satisfying given the history of the series. On the other hand, I am still very frustrated in figuring out what exactly is going on, what is being implied, specifically anything involving Zeke

I don’t know what to say. I feel so empty. But the chapter is great!

This month it was a tie for most emotional moment between “Falco trying to encourage unconscious Reiner” and “Armin finally appearing, looking haunted”. We are happy to see that people who love both sides of the conflict were able to have a good emotional tug with this chapter!

Pretty much every panel that included Falco. This poor, traumatized child who ran into a literal war zone to get help.

Why are all my waifus getting killed.

With Reiner having no will to live, I guess he’s just going to stay in that crystal thing. Why do we have so many shifters in crystals now (Annie, Lady Tybur and now Reiner)?

I absolutely loved the scene between Falco and Reiner. That was one of the most emotional and sweet moments in SNK. Reiner was ready to sacrifice himself to save the child. I truly love how warm and protective he is towards children. I hope that both will survive. I want Reiner to find happiness and see how great person he really is. He made mistakes but regrets them. He learnt his lesson. Now is time to move on.

This one was a landslide win with Armin’s entrance taking the victory. It seems that months of waiting to see his return finally paid off! We’re sure many of you guys are hoping to see his Colossal form next month!

Eren transforming three times within a half an hour is incredible, but the most amazing part of the chapter was Armin's entrance as the colossal titan. The explosion looked catastrophic, can't wait to see it animated!

I literally screamed when I saw Armin, I’m so happy to see him with the Survey Corps, but his face worries me slightly. I’m also sad we didn’t get to see his titan form.

Not as epic as the last one but so glad to see Armin again. Sasha's sniping skills and Eren mindblowing everybody (Porco in particular) were the best parts.

While the majority of you guys are certain Zeke is only acting on his own agenda, there’s plenty of division on whether he could be siding with Eren alone or with Paradis as a whole. One thing that does seem certain to the majority is that he’s definitely not working in Marley’s favor.

Zeke probably thinks he and Eren are the same because they were both manipulated by Grisha or so he thinks. If he realizes that Eren probably doesn't hate their dad, Zeke's attitude towards his brother will possibly change.

Zeke's the one with most awareness that the cycle will repeat so long as shifters exist, his unique perspective is knowing what Grisha taught him as well as having the total trust of the Marley from a young age, and having physically gone and seen the island and witnessed their struggles with the titans, and met Eren who is the direct result of Grisha's continued plans. There is no one who should be more impartial and aware that this is a unending cycle, it seems he's finally coming to terms with having to do something about it after all his life simply being a pawn of people in what he assumed was a more influential position than him.

Every chapter I say "This is definitely the chapter we finally see what Zeke is up to" and every chapter it just gets more confusing...

I seriously doubt that Zeke is working with Paradis. One thing would be to act like an enemy but he literally killed a bunch of SC soldiers, I doubt the SC would be ok with that. Also, Levi looked PISSED AF! I doubt Zeke died and he's still suspicious but I'm betting on him having his own ulterior motives.

I don't think Zeke is working with the SC. It was hard to answer these questions when the options contradict my feelings and understanding of the chapter so much.

So. Good ol' Zeke. He's like David S. Pumpkins; he's his own thing. I'm still of the belief that he's working towards his own objective but now I'm more open to the idea that he may have something set up with SC via Eren as his point of contact (who, of course, is definitely working with/for SC). But it's clear that even if they are both aware of the chain of events unfolding before their eyes, both sides have something they want badly in the end and will probably "betray" each other without hesitation to get it at some point.

The survey corps has a plan but Zeke and Eren also have a separate plan they're not aware of. And on top of all of that Zeke has his own plan for his own personal agenda.

Zekerets

The general consensus is that there’s more in store for Zeke in this story, even if it means he managed to transfer his consciousness to his Eldian ass. ;) Most of you are positive we will be seeing more from Zeke in future chapters!

If Zeke is dead, I will watch the live action movie 10 times in a row

Levi cut Zeke out of the Beast Titan's neck while everyone was distracted by Armin's transformation. Then after Zeke made his getaway, Levi blew the shit out of the rest of the nape to destroy the evidence and make everyone think Zeke was dead.

Zeke escaped upwards using 3dmg right as levi was supposed to attack him, causing zeke to be assumed KIA

Well, looks like Zeke has been vaporised, playtime's over kids, let's head back home now!

I find it hard to believe that Zeke got taken down this easily again. I also find it odd that we don't see the clothing he's wearing inside his titan, but we do see what the others are wearing in their titans. Looking back, it seems that's the way it was before, too. But I think it would be a cool plot twist if he had 3DMG equipped this time, considering he did take Mike's 3DMG a while back.

While the majority believe that Levi is working along with Zeke, there is division on whether Levi has decided to let go of his promise to Erwin to kill Zeke. Over half of the voters believe that Levi still intends to kill Zeke when all is said and done, but a good 31% of you believe that he may have decided to let it go for the greater goal.

If the Zeke-Survey Corps alliance isn't real then Isayama must be the biggest troll ever. Also, I believe Levi has always shown that he'll do what's best for humanity/Eldia (even if it means doing unpleasant things) so I don't think the alliance is as far-fetched as other people believe.

Still waiting for that sweet Levi's Revenge™

Levi! I love how emotional Levi gets when it comes to keeping his promise to Erwin; nothing can get a rise out of him anymore or get him to max rage except Zeke. I hope we find out sooner rather than later what Zeke is up to, but there is no way that Levi is going to let him walk out of this alive, even if he is part of the current plan.

Regarding Levi wanting to Kill Zeke, while he'd prefer to kill him by his own hands we already know he'd be willing to feed him to someone so the Titan power isn't lost. I personally think Zeke agreed, since he has a a year left at best,

While there was a small shift in ratio, the majority of you guys still believe that Pieck is not totally trustful of Zeke. There have been plenty of analyses floating around believing that she may have seen Zeke leaving the Beast Titan after Levi’s attack.

The question about Pieck being mistrustful of Zeke isn't worded very well because if I answer yes it makes it seem like I'm part of the 70% and haven't changed my mind when I'm in fact part of the 30% and haven't changed my mind.

This question was mainly for fun, but Lady Tybur decidedly wins the award for Best “Bitch Please” Face™. Hopefully we get more fun looks from her next chapter!

Imma let you finish, but Lady Tybur has the best side eye in all of SnK

Ms. Tyber has the best death glare!

There’s some division on this question, but it’s a near-tie between Armin getting involved in the fight and the Paradis crew’s ticket out of Marley showing up.

They'll drop sour cream bombs

At this point John Cena might as well show up.

Annie will arrive (let me dream)

I think time is running for them to scape "safely", but not necessarily through a zeppelin

I think what Jean & Zeke mean by "It's almost time/times running out" is that Eren needs to make contact with Zeke before the Colossal Wall Titans arrive so Eren will be able to control them. If Eren doesn't touch Zeke before the Wall Titans arrive, everyone including the SC & Eldians will die.

I believe that the question about the lights up are relationed with Hanji, after all, Armin is too distance. In fact, I think that the thoughts about an escape through a zepplin are a little bit awkward. And I think that zeke escaped using the DMT, wich he took when he said goodbye to piecke and porko, before eren showed up.

Most of you still believe that Jean is clinging onto his humanity (and with good reason after he called Floch out in the previous chapter for being too zealous). The expectation is that he will avoid harming Falco or that someone else will step in and do the dirty work instead.

I noticed that jean is only attacking the shifters on shiganshina battle arc. which can tell a lot about his war ethics and strategics. he’s only fighting those who declared war on them first, almost as if trying to ignore those who got caught up into it.

Jean will kill Falco. I think becasue it's a callback for that girl from MP that Jean couldn't kill from Uprising

Last month nearly all of the scores were tied with both pessimism and optimism about Annie’s fate. This month, there seems to be more optimism, but most people are still hanging out in the area of uncertainty. We hope to get a clear answer soon!

Since Eren said that the crystal was, as expected, unbreakable AFTER pointing out it was like Annie's, I take that to mean he has tried chewing Annie's crystal open but failed like he did this time. I'm not sure why so many people seem to be taking this to mean that he was able to eat Annie when the scene actually reassures me that he hasn't

I had absolutely no hope for Annie being alive, but seeing Lady Tybur being conscious while inside the crystal changed my mind. Annie could still be alive. And if she is, she spent YEARS in the crystal while being aware of her surroundings??? I am shook

It has already been hinted several times that Annie would eventually return. I don't think Isayama would forget about her, and if it appears to be true, that she's returning next chapter, I hope to see her work with the Survey Corps, or a backstory/flashback, which explains the reason why she'll be working with the Survey Corps from now on.

Almost 35% of you are ready to just see Lady Tybur kick the bucket already, but a good 28% of you would at least like to see her have a chat with Eren first.

why do so many people want lady tybur to die?? i don’t understand?? she’s cool and has done nothing wrong to anyone like ever??? she’s even called a villain?? excuse me tell me one villainous thing she did?? she’s a decent human being but i guess how dare she beat eren’s ass up and defend her people... 🤦🏻‍♀️

Eren needs to swallow her whole (insert lemmy face)

Over 60% of you believe that the Survey Corps’ goal is to kill the enemy titan shifters.

I strongly disagree with having only 2 options in the "capture or to kill them?" question. The real answer, is, I believe, either one. If they can deprive Marley of a weapon and add it to their strength, is clearly the ideal. But, if the choice comes down to kill or they escape, they'll absolutely just kill them. Depriving your enemy of a weapon is always a better choice than letting them continue attacking you with it, in the hopes you could take it later.

I still maintain that the goal was to avoid any and all combat with the shifters; hence Pieck and Porcos trap. (Why bother setting the whole thing up? Why not just kill them?) My guess is that capturing them for their titan powers was the next step, although that's obviously failed. I feel like the end game here is to gather all the titan somehow and unite them for...??? Something??? World peace??? Shit, that sounds like a good idea. Unrealistic but good.

It’s a near-tie between believing that either Zeke orchestrated capturing Porco and Pieck or believe that he did it as a larger plan with the Survey Corps.

Maybe Zeke wanted to isolate Pieck and Porco in the trap, to save their lives?

Most of you seem to have given up on figuring out Trapdoor-kun’s identity. But a fair chunk of you think it could have been a current day Eldian restorationist! There’s still a good amount of you who believe it’s Connie as well.

Hiroyuki Sawano

Erwin it was erwin. You thought he was dead? You fool he's not! He's immortal, he's still here and with the strength of his eyebrows he will kick everyone's ass.

I really don't care at this point

One thing is certain, at least 65% of you guys believe that the Jaeger Brothers have the best Eldian asses! It seems nice booties run in the family!

I can forgive people supporting Marley, but WHO THE HELL VOTED ON ZEKE ASS?????

Everyone who chose zeke’s Titan as having the best ass is a furry goodbye

Levi is jealous of Zeke's Eldian ass.

porco got a nice ass uwu

That question.... I don't care about titan's butts -_-

I like Eldian asses

Predicting who Isayama kills off has always been difficult, but over half of you believe that Pieck is going to be toast in the next chapter, with Jean following in second, Porco a distant third.

Gabi you better not be aiming that rifle at my husbando Jean also can everyone of Paradis and Eldia have a party at the newly created bay, I want the warriors AND the SC to live please and thank you

Pieck and Porco will likely die next chapter 😪

I swear to god Flocke if you lay even one finger on little Falco or Gabi I will personally hunt you down, you'll be lucky if I find you first though. Because other wise the Armored titan will kill you dead. You will then, rest in pieces.

Protect Jean and Falco 2k18

pieck cant die, nor can any 104th members

At 57%, a majority are thirsty for answers on the Paradis Crew’s last 4 years.

I need Paradis flashbacks but first I'd like to be sure no one major dies, thanks.

I stg we'll have that fucking Paradis flashback right before Levi's death. Fucking Isayama.

I really don’t want a crap ton of flashbacks I’m Ngl I just kinda wanna get moving I know the q and a said stuff but like that’s my thought at the moment.

I really hope the next chapters a flashback to paradis i mean it would be neat for the 104th chapter to be a flashback ABOUT THE 104TH

As expected of the redditors, you’re still the overwhelming majority of the poll takers! ;)

ANY OTHER CHAPTER THOUGHTS YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?

So chomping down on Lady Tybur's crystal won't break it and apparently neither will the thunder spears. We still haven't seen Eren try to use his hardening ability to break it but honestly, I think his only option now is to use the coordinate. It could be revealed soon that only the person inside the crystal can break themselves out and by using the coordinate, Eren can order her to do so. After all, we've seen Eren control mindless titans, but would unlocking the full powers of the founding titan allow him to control shifters as well?

Bertholdt's death was such a surprise to Porco... When Reiner returned to Marley, he gave his full report about what had happened, so if he was aware of Bertholdt's death, then he would have reported it, thus leading to Porco knowing that Bertholdt was already dead. Does that mean that Reiner has no idea that Bertholdt is dead? Was he hoping that Bertholdt managed to escape and was still alive on Paradis?

"Friendship ended with mr Kruger, now Reiner is my best friend." - Falco

Personally I'm not a huge fan of action heavy chapters like this as they take a few read throughs to get a good picture of what's going on. Although I do think the intention at the minute is to make us feel a bit lost as to motivations and who is supporting who. So I'm going to roll with it and be surprised when the reveals happen.

I think Porco will get Marcel's confession memory soon.

Even if it's all a plan made by Zeke and Scouts, the fact that SC soldiers still died , unaware of the bigger plan, makes me really sad. It's like with the plan to capture Annie back in the Giant Trees forest and Stohess. Back then it was Erwin who organized the plan, now it's Hanji's turn?

I. WANT. ANNIE. TO. RETURN.

I want Bert to Mufasa the fuck out of Reiner

Zeke is lucky he had royal blood as a bargaining chip to convince Paradis to team up. Otherwise he stood no chance if they had to fight for real. I don't think Zeke is a master planner, maybe he has an end goal, but he isn't a genius who has planned every step to get there. He gets lucky and bailed out by others and his conveniently relevant Senju DNA too often to be a keikaku master.

GIB COLOSSAL NO-LONGER-COCONUT

In before Jean's thrust into mortal danger via Gabi and Armin shows up to save his ass at the last second YET AGAIN

everyone simmer down like people in this fandom need to steal some of erens drinks from his apparently extensive alcohol stash like gdi I’m losing it guys I have a family and stuff I have alife and y’all losinf it and making me go crazy too like w t f.

Honestly, I was over the moon when Levi took down Zeke, but it did seem a little too easy...I highly doubt Zeke would go down easily. Also, Armin's haunted expression broke my heart. You can see the pain in his eyes, and that makes me even more curious about what's happened on Paradis over the last few years.

In my first read i thought that Armin had a ponytail and i got excited. Some users corrected me and when i re-read the chapter i found it was just his hand. I feel betrayal

Eren has more stamina than the Energiser Battery Rabbit: he can just keep on going, and going, and going...

I spent the entire chapter going "Get back in the damn titan, Porco!" I died with the panzer squad. RIP me."

Low key I have had no idea what’s been happening since 101

#snk polls #snk poll #snk spoilers #poll results #thanks everyone who participated!#long post

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Ranking The Jeopardy! Guest Hosts So Far

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

When Jeopardy! GOAT contestant Brad Rutter spoke to Den of Geek earlier this year, he shared his opinion that there is only one perfect Jeopardy! host to replace the departed Alex Trebek.

“Alex,” Rutter said. “But we can’t do it, unfortunately. That’s one of the terrible things about it. I can’t even really imagine what it’s going to be like.”

Alex Trebek was about as irreplaceable as a TV personality can be. As the host and quiz master of Jeopardy! for 37 years, the Canadian entertainer was the perfect combination of studious, professional, and playful. Following Trebek’s death from pancreatic cancer in November 2020, Jeopardy!’s producers realized there was no point in replacing the TV giant with only one host.

For all of 2021, Jeopardy! has been going with a host-by-committee approach, giving several pop culture figures the opportunity to try their hand at shepherding the game show in two-week increments. This parade of guest hosts is in part a way to honor Trebek’s legacy. It’s also an open audition to provide fresh blood with an opportunity to claim the job of a television mainstay.

With that in mind, here are our rankings of how each guest host has performed thus far.

11. Dr. Mehmet Oz

Show Air Dates: March 22, 2021 – April 2, 2021

No.

10. Savannah Guthrie

Show Air Dates: June 14, 2021 – June 25, 2021

Savannah Guthrie is an amiable and professional TV presence in her day job as the co-anchor of NBC’s Today. In her time as a Jeopardy! host, however, she came off as essentially filler. As is the case with most of the entrants on this list (save for the quack above), Guthrie was perfectly fine as Jeopardy! host. But while she got the job done, she did so without any particular distinction.

Guthrie also interjected a bit too frequently after contestant’s answers. Though that’s an admirable attempt to interject some of her sunny personality into the proceedings, the role of Jeopardy! host often calls for less rather than more. As such her two-week run as host is likely to be the end of the line for her hosting quest.

9. Anderson Cooper

Show Air Dates: April 19, 2021 – April 30, 2021

Anderson Cooper is a good journalist and compelling TV presence. When it comes to Jeopardy!, however, he’s definitely not the right man for the job. Cooper is somewhat fortunate that human trainwreck Dr. Oz hosted first and gobbled up the lion’s share of bad Jeopardy! host press. Otherwise people may have noticed that Cooper did fairly poorly in his two-week stint.

Cooper seemingly didn’t prepare as intensely as Trebek or the other guest hosts as there would frequently be awkward pauses following contestants’ answers while the host checked if they were right. As a result, the number of Jeopardy! rounds not completed under Cooper’s tenure was unusually high. It’s a small issue, but an impactful one.

8. Katie Couric

Show Air Dates: March 8, 2021- March 19, 2021

Couric’s tenure as Jeopardy! host was the victim of bad timing. She had the tough act of following two guest hosts who were extremely steeped in the show’s history in culture in official Greatest of All Time Ken Jennings and executive producer Mike Richards.

The longtime media personality ultimately did a fair job as host, with her only major flaw being interjecting a bit too frequently during rounds. Unfortunately, she doesn’t stack up well to the pros that preceded her.

7. Aaron Rodgers

Show Air Dates: April 5, 2021 – April 16, 2021

While the presence of a NFL star may seem like a desperate ratings grab from Jeopardy!, Green Bay Packers quarterback and former Celebrity Jeopardy! champ Aaron Rodgers is apparently dead serious about wanting the full-time hosting job, telling The Ringer that he could easily fit the show’s shooting schedule into his NFL obligations.

Rodgers’ eagerness was evident over the first week and led to him coming across as a bit too excitable. He really settled into the role in his second week though and projected the correct balance of expertise and personability.

6. Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Show Air Dates: June 28, 2021 – July 9, 2021

Perhaps this is a simple observation, but it’s really something to see how natural and poised TV veterans are on television. As CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has plenty of experience in front of a camera. And that experience absolutely came through in his two-week stint as Jeopardy! host.

Gupta did little to distinguish himself from the favorites to take over hosting job later on this list, but there were absolutely no hiccups during his tenure – just two weeks of excellent Jeopardy! that also happened to feature the season’s most fearsome contestant yet in seven-time winner Courtney Shah.

5. Bill Whitaker

Show Air Dates: May 3, 2021 – May 14, 2021

In contrast to Aaron Rodgers, Bill Whitaker apparently has no interest in holding down the full-time Jeopardy! job, telling The Philadelphia Tribune that he enjoys his current gig as a CBS journalist. That’s a shame as Whitaker came off as quite a natural during his two-week stint.

Soft-spoken and consistent, Whitaker was such a steadying presence in his time as host to the point that the novelty of there even being a guest host began to wear off. Ultimately he might be a little too one-note for a full-time Jeopardy! host but his time on the dais was well spent.

4. Ken Jennings

Show Air Dates: January 4, 2021 – February 19, 2021

In the Jeopardy! canon Ken Jennings is the only figure that approaches the quiz show sainthood of Alex Trebek himself. Jennings is the most impressive and successful Jeopardy! contestant of all time, winning 74 consecutive games, amassing over $4 million in earnings, and taking home the title of Jeopardy! GOAT in 2020. When he was brought aboard as a consulting producer on Jeopardy! last year, many naturally assumed he was being groomed for the hosting role.

Sure enough, Jennings was announced as the first guest host of 2021 and got the year started on the right track with over a month of excellent hosting. Jennings has said that part of the key to Trebek’s success with Jeopardy! was his intuitive understanding that the star of the show wasn’t any host or contestant, but rather the show itself. Jennings put that understanding to good use, using his wealth of experience to make the game show feel both friendly and satisfyingly competitive.

Jennings would be a fine choice for Jeopardy! host. Perhaps his only real weakness, however, is…the tweeting, as it always seems to be. Jennings has tweeted jokes that toe the line between bad taste and offensive in the past, something that he apologized for last year. The issue with Jennings on Twitter though isn’t the risk of future offensive tweets but rather his continued use of Twitter at all along with the rest of us plebs.

Jeopardy! seemingly exists outside of time itself. Save for improved graphics and Trebek’s graying hair, the show has remained largely the same since it premiered. The Platonic ideal of a Jeopardy! host would seem like he or she was spawned from the set itself, returning backstage to sit on their trivia throne and contemplate the mysteries of life between tapings.

3. Mayim Bialik

Show Air Dates: May 31, 2021 – June 11, 2021

Mayim Bialik was a real pleasant surprise in her stint as host. In fact, she’s the best Jeopardy! guest host yet who was not previously affiliated with the show. Bialik leaned more toward the friendly end of the familiar/authoritative Jeopardy! hosting ratio, which is particularly impressive given her academic background as a literal neuroscientist. She kept up that energy throughout but was able to establish a nice balance in her second week.

As a longtime Big Bang Theory cast member, Bialik certainly doesn’t need the Jeopardy! hosting gig to pay the bills. But her experience in front of a live-studio audience and a clear passion for learning could prove useful in the position.

2. Buzzy Cohen

Show Air Dates: May 17, 2021 – May 28, 2021

On the flip side of Bill Whitaker, Buzzy Cohen may at first seem like too dynamic of a personality to work as a Jeopardy! guest host. His fun nickname, distinctive eyewear, and trendy haircut are at odds with such an ancient and venerated TV institution.

As host of Jeopardy!’s Tournament of Champions, however, Cohen was consistently great. Due to his time as a Jeopardy! champion himself, Cohen empathizes with contestants easily and keeps things going at a rapidly appropriate pace for the competitive tournament known as “The Nerd Super Bowl.”

Could Cohen still succeed in shepherding the game show when played by its more “normal” contestants? He certainly deserves some consideration to do so.

1. Mike Richards

Show Air Dates: February 22, 2021- March 5, 2021

Alex Trebek would occasionally be asked in interviews who he’d like to replace him. It was not a question he frequently answered because who would want to speculate about an event that would presumably only occur after their death. He often joked that Betty White should because she was a close friend. But in the few instances he did consider the question seriously, he offered up Los Angeles Kings play-by-play announcer Alex Faust, Turner Classic Movies host Ben Makiewicz, and CNN legal analyst Laura Coates. Ultimately, however, he told journalists at the Television Critics Association press tour that he “would leave it up to the people in charge.”

Well, what if one of those mythical people in charge was the right choice to host all along? Mike Richards is an executive producer for Jeopardy! and its Merv Griffin-created syndicated companion Wheel of Fortune. Richards has a long history of producing other game shows like Weakest Link, The Price is Right, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? He’s even hosted a couple of game shows of his own such as Beauty and the Geek and The Pyramid. After Ken Jennings served his month-long stint as host, Richards stepped in for two weeks, seemingly only to buy the show some time before it could set up more guest hosts.

Richard’s two-week tenure as guest host, however, was absolutely superb. Despite the stuffy connotation associated with the job “executive producer”, Richards was the most outwardly bubbly and joyful guest host yet. He still projected an air of authority and trivia mastery, likely due to his comfort and experience with the format. Richards was also an attentive interviewer, and well-researched – his shows were among the smoothest this season thus far.

Richards lacks important name recognition (in fact, his name is about as generic as they come) and would not win Jeopardy! any more viewers on star power alone. It also must be said that Jeopardy! could stand to diversify the syndicated TV game a bit with this hosting decision by choosing a woman or person of color.

Whether Richards is selected as the full time host remains to be seen. But as executive producer, he’ll be involved in the decision one way or another. And if his talent scouting is anywhere near as good as his hosting ability, then there is nothing to worry about.

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Still to come: George Stephanopoulos (Show Air Dates: July 12, 2021 – July 16, 2021), Robin Roberts (Show Air Dates: July 19, 2021 – July 23, 2021), LeVar Burton (Show Air Dates: July 26, 2021 – July 30, 2021), David Faber (Show Air Dates: August 2, 2021 – August 6, 2021), Joe Buck (Show Air Dates: August 9, 2021 – August 13, 2021)

The post Ranking The Jeopardy! Guest Hosts So Far appeared first on Den of Geek.

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