#word vomit as always

[screechingfromthevoid]

Dorian's "I want nothing more" during his confession gets to me because yeah it's him not pushing Orym into anything sexual that neither of them are quite ready for.

But also if you listen to the little bit of longing in his voice. It sounds like "I want nothing more in this life than to hold you. I've wanted to hold you for so long." It feels very akin to his "oh Orym my heart aches that I cannot be there to help you" where you can hear the yearning in his voice. You can hear how much he's wanted to have Orym in his arms. How much he wants Orym in his arms.

Idk I think that's neat

[shadebloopnik]

Unrequited/One-sided Radioapple but it isn't treated like an angsty end of the world thing.

Imagine they slowly get closer after all the banters, and eventually becoming close friends. Lucifer ends up catching feelings for him, and after a long while, decides to confess and ask Alastor if he felt the same.

Alastor admittedly does not feel the same.

He's getting uncomfortable, struggling to keep his composure because he's DONE this before. He KNOWS how this ends. He remembers Vox and all his insistent declarations of affection and desperate pleas for Alastor to reciprocate; the possessive entitlement. He remembers how all those sickly sweet words morphed into something venomous when he didn't give the lowlife what he wanted. He remembers the anger, the ridiculous notion that it was Alastor's fault why he was so mad, that Alastor led him on and that he obviously deserved something in payment for it all-

So yes, Alastor knows how this ends.

It doesn't mean he isn't disappointed though, because he actually LIKES Lucifer, far more than he ever did Vox. Perhaps not in the way the king might have wanted, but he did. He treasured their little talks, their drinking sessions, their shared love for their instruments, Lucifers singing, their little duets, the banter, the playful jabs, the sparring.

He'd even slowly grown accustomed to the other's touches, not feeling the same surge of disgust and discomfort whenever the shorter man would grab at his arm in excitement, forgetting his usual thoughtfulness of Alastor's touch aversion for the short moment of whatever distracted him. Alastor even enjoyed it at times, relaxing at the feel of soft feathers beneath his claws, or the sensation of gentle scratches against his ears.

Difficult as it was to admit, Alastor had grown to care for the angel, the same way he had for Rosie orv Mimzy.

But no matter how fond Alastor was of Lucifer, it didn't change the fact that he didn't feel the same way romantically, or even sexually. No way in the 7 rings of Hell was he going to lie to Lucifer about either, not going to even entertain the idea of pretending he reciprocated for Lucifer's sake. He respected his friend too much for that.

So a clear, direct rejection it is. It was a shame, but nothing could be done. He said his piece concisely, and waited, shoulders set, back straight, smile and eyes a careful blank canvas as he prepared for the inevitable.

Lucifer nodded, a normal soft smile still in place, "Thank you for your answer, it means a lot."

Which......what? Alastor expected an outburst, or at the very least sharp words.

What he did NOT expect was....acceptance? And not just that but, a happy one? Contentment?????

"You're....alright with that?", he had to ask, he had to. Lucifer was clearly just very good at masking his upset.

But the damn angel just smiled?? And it didn't even look fake, just as bright and soft as his normal smiles, albeit a little confused?? Lucifer smiled at him, his brows furrowing in a bit of confused disbelief, as though Alastor is being the weird one here.

"Uhh, yeah??? Why wouldn't I be??? Yeah I may have some feelings for you but its not like you're obligated to feel the same. Above anything else, we're friends first and foremost and i'm alright with that..."

Then he seemed to have reached his own little conclusion as his words trailed off, because suddenly Lucifer's eyes widened in realization of something, and his words picking up with a sense of panicked urgency.

Alastor would really like to know what Lucifer's supposed realization was about himself because he had absolutely no clue.

"I mean, we ARE still friends right?? I don't- I- I hope this doesn't like- change your opinion of me. You're not- oh gosh I'm not making you uncomfortable am I? I- I won't mention it! You can even forget this whole confession ever happened! We can just go on as before! I don't feel any different or would act any different! Honest! I mean, I don't regret confessing because you deserve to know and I'm not ashamed of my feelings, but I don't want you to be uncomfortable! It doesn't change the way i'll treat you! Or change any aspect of our relationship! I don't even think I like you more as a lover than as a friend! I really, really do love our friendship, it matters more to me than any thoughts of being in a romantic relationship with you! So please just forget it all-"

Alastor let the word vomit wash over him, every word leaving him more confused by the minute.

Because yes, there's the desperation he expected, but...it was more about, convincing Alastor to remain friends?? Reassuring Alastor that nothing has to change?? That their friendship is the most important thing here??

(If anyone asks, no Alastor's heart didn't swell. Only lesser beings would have had the urge to cry, and Alastor is anything but.)

Lucifer is unknowingly reassuring Alastor of every single one of his insecurities about the situation. Because Alastor DID want to remain friends, he cared too much about the man to let it go so easily. It was rare to find people who treasure friendships above romantic relationships.

"I don't tend to forget easily, nor will I forget this one in particular.", he spoke, finally finding his voice. At Lucifer's defeated, pained expression( is their friendship really that important to him?), he continued. "But....yes. I'd like that.. To remain...friends."

He didn't often say the word out loud, being comfortable enough with each other that it need not be reassured with the label. But with Lucifer brightening up like his namesake, relief and happiness palpable, Alastor felt no qualms at declaring their friendship out loud.

So life went on as usual. True to his word, Lucifer remained basically the same. The following weeks were a bit stilted for Alastor, as he put some rather painful distance between him and the angel; limiting their interactions, their usual touches.

Anytime now, Lucifer would break and show his true colors, Alastor would think, waiting for the boot to drop. Lucifer would end up angry, and dissatisfied, and that was that.

But it never happened. Lucifer never expressed discomfort when Alastor avoided him, seeming to be understanding of the others need for space. He was just as affectionate as before, though initially a bit held back, as though gauging Alastor's comfort.

Months would pass, and the king never faltered. Their friendship remained strong, if not growing ever closer than before. Alastor found himself even growing more comfortable with the man. Affectionate touches were becoming common, hugs and head pats and cuddles being a welcome thing, with the reassurance that the shorter king would never disrespect his boundaries.

Lucifer seemed genuinely happy about it, despite being clearly told that none of Alastor's actions hinted at anything romantic. In fact, he seemed ecstatic that Alastor was getting more affectionate towards him as a friend. The embarrassment the radio demon felt at having Lucifer basically tear up (no really, he was crying so hard, full on drama sobbing) with joy in front of him was intertwined with the sheer incredulous fondness he felt for the man at that moment.

They were sitting at a couch one night, more than a year passing since that confession. Lucifer was leaning back, resting against the cushions, while Alastor had his head on the smaller one's shoulder, nuzzling at the crook of his neck, legs tucked close to his body. Both had a book in hand, two nearly empty cups of tea on the table in front of them. Every so often, Lucifer would flex his fingers that rested on Alastor's head, running a digit against the other's ear, often prompting the demon to lean into the touch. White wings enveloped the two, blanketing them against the chill of the night.

As Alastor turned the page of his own book, relaxing into the touch of his dearest friend, he wondered how he ever got so lucky in hell.

[zuzu-draws]

So after the spoilers for Chap 257 dropped, I saw some tweets clarifying the meaning of the Kanji Sukuna used in the chapter when referring to his mother, and the overall reveals in the chapter got me thinking.

I’m making this post as a way of gathering my thoughts, personal speculations and where I think all of this connects to Sukuna’s character and the information Gege has given us over the years. Nothing I say is by any means new information, but like I said, I’m just collecting my thoughts here. By the way, just a warning, this post contains SPOILERS for the JJK Manga! If you don’t like that, please don’t read this!

Something I’ve noticed is that the theme of “Hunger” and symbolism of “Cooking/Food” is heavily referenced with Sukuna throughout the Manga. Gege in a previous Fanbook has disclosed Sukuna’s favorite Hobby to be “Eating”.

This theme is again very much ingrained within Sukuna’s cursed techniques and even his Domain Expansion, the “Malevolent Shrine”. With his two main techniques being “Dismantle” and “Cleave” are cutting-type attacks. He is also able to use a Flame-Arrow, and Fire is essential for making Food. The Shrine in his Domain Expansion literally has mouths on all sides, looking eager to chew down anything in-front of them!

This symbolism also heavily influences Sukuna’s own manner of speech, and the way he speaks to other characters in the series as well. With his post-fight chat with Jogo before his death, Sukuna mentions Jogo lacking the “Hunger” to take control of his desires, preventing him from reaching the heights of Gojo Satoru. Before the Start of their fight in Shinjuku, Sukuna called Gojo a “Nameless Fish on top of his cutting board”, and that he was going to start by “Peeling off the scales”(refering to Gojo’s infinity). There’s also further symbolism that supports this by analyzing the Kanji and meaning of Sukuna’s “Malevolent Shrine” but I’m not very educated on that so I won’t be opening that point here.

What all of this points to is that Eating and Food……is extremely important to Sukuna, to the point that it literally affects him in manners innumerable.

Eating is an instinct, a necessity for the survival of every single living being.

And In the face of extreme Hunger and starvation, even those with the strongest will could lose their Humanity and revert to the basic animalistic side of their existence. (The Heian Period also had a Famine, although I believe the timing to be a bit off, but do with this info as you see fit)

In JJK Chapter 257, it is revealed to us that Sukuna and his Twin were most likely starving in the womb of their starving mother.

On the brink of starvation, Sukuna had to consume his “other self”(his twin), so that he could survive.

Btw, this tweet and this thread gives additional characterisation to Sukuna:

Link to the original thread: Link.

More context (and reactions :P):

Link to original thread: Here

This reveals to us that indeed, Sukuna was born a twin. And as we all know, “Twins” are seen with extreme scrutiny in Jujutsu Society, they’re not well liked. This too in a period where Cursed Spirits and Jujutsu Sorcery was at its peak, it is not far-fetched to assume that his Mother may not have been treated very well by the people in her surroundings, especially as she bore twins.

When Kashimo asks if Sukuna was born the Strongest or if he made himself the Strongest, this is the response Sukuna gave to him:

When you think about it, how do you think the people around them would have reacted when the woman: who was supposed to birth two twins, gave birth to a single child instead? and that child had consumed his other twin in the womb itself?

No doubt people would’ve been horrified, disgusted and even revulsed. With the woman and her newborn child.

This would’ve led to their further ostracisation in the already very close-minded society. Unable to fend for herself and her newborn child, it must’ve been difficult for Sukuna’s mother to survive. I feel like somewhere along the line, Sukuna was left alone to fend for himself at an extremely young age. To protect himself from both Curses and Society alike.

This is why I believe Sukuna knows what true starvation, weakness and hunger feels like. Both in the emotional and literal sense. He was left without another person caring about him or his well-being, in a cut-throat period where it was “Fight or be killed”.

Powerful curses roamed all across Japan, nowhere was safe. Simply be strong, or you'll die. There's no room for weakness. And initially, a kid!Sukuna was weak, as anyone would be in the beginning when they're just starting out in this world. (and maybe, he didn't have much to eat, leading to long periods of starvation? :') )

I believe it is this debilitating hunger, and feeling of weakness that eventually led to Sukuna’s current Hedonistic mindset.

He’s essentially traumatised by it, and believes that it was his own weakness that led him to experience this sheer starvation. That he deserved to feel this way because he was weak then. Perhaps, the people around him were right, that as long as they have the power and strength to overcome anything, they’re free to do as they please; And there is nothing anyone else could do about it.

I feel like the irony here is that Sukuna himself, must’ve been a “weakling” before eventually rising the ranks to become History’s Strongest Sorcerer. This is also why he values Strength so much.

Ultimately, Sukuna has decided that there was nothing more important than being strong enough to fulfill your own desires. And “eating” is one of his most important desires. It’s his favourite thing to do, the one he derives the most pleasure out of. And like an animal, whose main focus is to consume, consume and consume. He too, simply consumes.

Most morals likely have no meaning to him. He doesn’t care who he hurts, what he does, as long as he’s able to get what he wants. And this isn’t limited to eating.

This is why people referring to Sukuna as a “Natural Disaster” is so befitting of him. Because Natural Disasters also don’t care about what or who they’re destroying, they just come and go, wreaking havoc appropriate for their nature and magnitude.

I believe Sukuna himself has said lines similar in nature, when talking to Kashimo:

Now I’m not sure how Sukuna perceives or even experiences this “Love”, because I think he has a rather very warped idea of it. I do think that this definition of love is similar to the one that Gojo also understands, but I don’t think he knows what “love” truly is. I’m not sure how I could comment on this, but I do think that Sukuna’s emotionally starved, whether he realises that or not.

Because, like Kashimo himself asked Sukuna “What is the point of dividing your soul into 20 different parts and then traversing across time if you’re satisfied with this?” we do not know the answer to that yet.

But many people have speculated that “Black Box” panels in JJK manga represent a curse (either self-inflicted or put by someone) on the speaker. Like, take a look over here where Sukuna reiterates the same dialogue, except it looks like he’s trying to reassure himself:

This once again shows that Sukuna has only ever strived for himself, in the same hedonistic fashion, to a very very extreme degree. It is possible that he's been lacking something, and he himself does not realise that he’s lacking it. Maybe it was this subconscious feeling, that led to Sukuna agreeing to Kenjaku’s plan of dividing his soul into 20 different parts, and to traverse across time as a Cursed Object.

Sukuna’s an incredibly complex character, and I’m excited to see where this goes. Gege has put extra care in the way he characterizes and depicts Sukuna, and again, I’m really sad that a lot of that characterization gets lost in translation. Still, I’m going to try my best to understand and get the most accurate feel of his character as I possibly can.

If you made it this far, Thank you for reading! And if you would like, please do leave a comment in the tags or replies because I would love to read what other people think of this and just Sukuna in general. I do not see a lot of people doing critical analysis of him, and a lot of his actions are seemingly swept under the rug. I don’t like that, so hopefully this contributes to people focusing more on Sukuna and his character. (/^v^)/ <3

[imaginespazzi]

Golden Hour is so so good! I love the way you’re taking the story, I’m obsessed with the way they just need each other like you write it so perfectly. And honestly it’s how they seem in real life, just so entwined.

I don’t want to ask but if you have the time and it won’t delay golden hour updates... Can you write a chaotic family Drabble of the girls teasing Azzi and Paige for essentially soft launching the last few weeks. You just write them so perfectly! Hope you’re planning to be a writer one day!

Thank you lovie <3

Do I have time? In theory no but I found about 40 minutes to cook this up (this is my way of justifying the lack of editing) and it's probably more sappy than chaotic but I hope you enjoy it anyways my love. Let me know if it lived up to what you wanted :)

Paige lets out a soft sigh as she turns the ignition off, parking her car in the team apartments parking lot. It's almost one in the morning and the tired is practically vibrating from her body but she'd been determined to get them back to school tonight in time for classes tomorrow morning. She can't help the soft smile that flitters across her face as she looks over at the passenger seat. Azzi's head is leaned against the window, mouth slightly open as she hugs Paige's sweater closer to her body like a blanket. The younger girl had managed to keep her eyes awake for about an hour, tiredly responding to her girlfriend's chatter with one-word inputs until Paige had looked over after asking a question and found Azzi completely knockd out

She had heavily debated waking her up but ultimately decided against it, knowing that it was well past the shooting guard's bedtime and as cute as she found Azzi's cranky grumbling when she was woken up, she thinks the girl probably deserved her sleep after the weekend they'd had.

The weekend.

Truthfully Paige is a little sad for the weekend to come to an end. She's going to miss the privacy of their hotel suite and she's really going to miss seeing her girlfriend all dressed up every day (even if she's not going to miss the way other people had, had the audacity to ogle at what's hers). God it had been perfect; everything Paige had wanted to be. The experience itself had been wonderful but the best part of it was that she'd gotten to live it out with her girlfriend, her person, her Azzi. Whether it was sitting next to her at the fashion shows or sitting across from her at the Liberty game, they'd been together and that's all that had mattered.

Paige knows that there's people who will look at their weekend and still use the just friends moniker; knows that until she and Azzi publicly label themselves, there'll always be people who'll be willfully ignorant of what they are. But still, this weekend -this summer really- had felt different. And maybe it's because they're a little different now but something about it had felt cathartically freeing. It makes her hopeful for what's come in the future, when they can shed this barrier of being teammates and just be who they really are to each other. She can't wait.

"Baby," Paige whispers, slightly shaking Azzi, "we're here."

The other girl let's out a groan, slinking further into herself without opening her eyes, "shhh Paige, I'm tryna sleep."

Laughing to herself, Paige lets herself out of the car before walking around to open the door to the passenger side, leaning down towards Azzi, "c'mon big head, you gotta get up so we can go to bed."

"I'm already in bed," Azzi says petulantly, eyes still closed.

"Azzi..."

"Paige.'

The blonde lets out a fond sigh, "you leave me no other choice Fudd."

"Wha-" Azzi squeals when Paige lifts her out of the car, using her waist to push the door in behind them, "oh my god Paige let me down. You're gonna drop me."

Adjusting the weight in her arms slightly, Paige smirks as she starts walking towards the apartment door, "I am way too strong to drop you."

"Oh my god the edits have gone to you head," Azzi groans dramatically, tightening her arms around the blonde's neck, "you're going to drop me and I'm going to die. I'm too young to die Paige."

"You have no faith in me," Paige guffaws, even if she's slightly struggling to get up the three steps that lead up to the door.

"Paige let me down," Azzi whines again.

"You sure about that princess?" Paige asks, a slightly devious plan forming in her mind as she finally makes into the soft fluffy mat right outside the door.

"Yes."

"Okay," Paige says with a shrug as she lets Azzi go, the younger girl falling on the rug with a slight thud.

"OW WHAT THE FUCK?"

"You asked me to let you go."

"Not like that," Azzi growls, rubbing her hips slightly as she gets up and shoves at Paige, "enjoy sleeping by yourself."

Paige's eyes widen as she watches Azzi open the apartment door and saunter towards the elevator.

"Oh hey wait, wait, wait, I'm sorry," Paige has to run to catch up to the younger girl, engulfing her from behind as she presses slobbery open mouthed kisses over every inch of her that she can touch, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please don't make me sleep alone."

"Ew stop," Azzi crinkles her nose, half-heartedly pushing Paige away.

"I'm sorry. Pleeeeeease," Paige begs as the two of them wait for the elevator, "besides I'm sure you can't fall asleep without me either."

"Oh you're sure are you?" Azzi teases, yawning slightly as the doors ding and open and the two of them step inside.

"I know you can't," Paige grins, nuzzling her face in the younger girl's neck as she presses the button for Paige's floor, making no attempt to press the one for hers as well, "see?"

"Shut up," Azzi blushes slightly, "it's only because I don't wanna deal with Ice in the morning."

"Sure it is," Paige sing-songs before her face morphs into something more serious and she presses her forehead against her girlfriends, "I had a really good time this weekend."

Azzi's eyes soften, "it was pretty great huh?"

"The greatest," Paige confirms, brushing their lips together, "I love you."

"I love you too."

***

Much to Azzi's chagrin -and to Paige's slight amusement though she won't dare say it- she does have to deal with Ice the next morning. And worse than that, she has to deal with KK.

"GOOD MOOOOOORNING LOVEBIRDS," a loud voice echoes way to early in the morning.

Azzi cranks one eye open about cuss somebody out when KK jumps onto their bed, tiny body creating such an impact that it has both her and Paige practically jolting up.

"Morning sunshines," KK grins happily as Ice snickers from where she's leaning against the wall, "y'all done with your world tour?"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Paige asks groggily.

"What's wrong with us? US?" KK's voice is as loud as always, "y'all abandon your kids-"

"Again," Azzi says exasperatedly, "y'all aren't actually our ki-"

"EXCUSE ME?" KK recoils before turning dramatically to Ice, "did you hear that Icey? She said we're not her kids."

"That's so mean of you Azzi," Ice pouts, "you practically abandons us for a decade-"

"It was one week-"

"A DECADE! And now-" Ice fake whimpers, "and now you're saying we're not even your kids? What kind of parents even are you?"

"The kind who aren't parents?" Paige says coyly only tfor KK to throw a pillow at her face, "seriously?"

"I cannot believe this," the Wisconsinite shakes her head, "first you abandon us," she glares at the two of them in a warning to not interrupt her, "and now, when we come in here to finally spend some time with y'all, do you welcome your children with open arms? OH NO. No you don't. Instead you make us feel like you don't even love us. Y'all are SICK."

"So SICK," Ice choruses and Azzi narrows her eyes at them.

"Y'all came in here to spend time us?" she asks slowly, "really?"

"Are you accusing us of having other intentions?"

"Well-"

"Oh my god," KK jumps of the bed, fixing them with an offended stare, "can't two children just want to see their parents?"

"Not when it's the two of you."

"I CANNOT BELIEVE-"

"KK," Jana's voice interrupts from outside the door, "is it time for us to come in yet?"

Paige looks between the door and KK and Ice's caught-out face as Azzi buries her head into her hands, "what are y'all up to?"

"Fucking El-Alfy ruining the plan," KK grumbles under her breath as she steps outside and the noise of bickering echoes through Paige's door.

"When we have actual children, we're never letting these idiots babysit," Azzi says softly as she leans her head back against Paige's shoulder.

Something beautiful blooms in Paige's chest as she kisses a smile into Azzi's shoulder. It's the way Azzi says it, the way she talks about them having their own children, like it's an inevitability, like forever means each other.

"Whatever you say baby," she whispers.

"Can you guys stop being gross for one second," Ice chides from the corner, "a whole fucking weekend together and still being this sappy has got to be a crime or something."

"A crime of passion," Paige says airily, relishing the way it elicits a giggle from Azzi.

"What the fuck?" there's a look of disgust on Ice's face as she studies the two of them, "that wasn't even that funny Azzi."

"I thought it was," Azzi shrugs, smiling as she turns her head to press her lips to Paige's cheek.

"Oh my god y'all get the fuck in here," Ice calls out, "they're being sickeningly cute in here again and I feel like I'm suffocating."

Unable to help their curiosity at what shenanigans their teammates come children are up to, Paige and Azzi can't help but look towards the door. Their mouths fall open as KK and Jana wheel in one of the whiteboards from the lobby, Sarah diligently following in from behind them. On the whiteboard is a series of cutout photos of the two of them taken from the weekend. A large hand-drawn paper sign hangs right above the photos: THE PAZZI SOFT LAUNCH tm.

"Ta-da," KK and Jana flail their hands as they present the board to the two gaping girls on the bed, bowing dramatically, "we made you guys this. Isn't it amazing?"

"It was my idea," Sarah juts out her chest proudly.

"It was not. I was the one who said wouldn't it be cool if we could show them how disgustingly stupid in love they looked all weekend," Jana glares at the freshman.

"Right but it was my idea to make the poster board," Sarah defends.

"Girl boo. I'm the one who came up with the title so it was really my idea," KK chirps in.

"All three of you needa take several steps back," Ice warns, "because who was the one who actually made this whole thing?"

"Me," all 6 of them turn to the doorway to see Caroline standing there with an exasperated look on her face, "I did all the cutting and glue-"

"You were in on this?" Azzi asks, "what happened to being the sensible one?"

"I am sensible," Caroline defends herself sheepishly, "but you know I love a good arts and crafts project and you didn't see them Az. They were failing miserably-"

"WE WERE NOT!"

"YOU WERE GLUING THE PICTURES UPSIDE DOWN-"

"ONLY SARAH WAS DOING THAT."

"DON'T THROW ME UNDER THE BUS LIKE THAT."

"ALL OF Y'ALL SHUT UP," Paige bellows and Azzi immediately flinches away from her.

"Ow Paige," she whines, rubbing deftly at her hear, "that hurt my ears."

"Sorry baby," Paige coos, pulling the younger girl back in to her arms and apologetically kissing her cheek as suddenly forgets why she'd needed to yell in the first place.

"SEE," Ice cuts, "this is why we needed to make the board. Y'all are so atrociously down bad and if we have to see how sickening it is, so do you."

"I think it's kinda sweet these dumbasses have finally figured it out," Caroline says with a smile.

"Nobody asked for your opinion-" KK grumbles as Paige sulks.

"We are not dumbasses," she says indignantly,unable to help herself from smiling when Azzi kisses the pout off of her face.

"Oh my god," Sarah gags as she looks at the rest of their teammates, "do they ever stop being disgusting?"

She's met with a chorus of "no"s from the rest of the girls in the room who've had to put up with Paige and Azzi for longer than she has.

"Y'all have a lot of nerve coming into our room and then calling us out for what we do in it," Azzi scolds.

"This is NOT your room," Jana corrects.

Paige glares at her as she tightens her grip around Azzi, "don't listen to them baby. My room is your room."

"Fucking hell. Y'all are hopeless," the Egyptian groans, "I give up. Congratulations on the soft launch or whatever. We're all very happy for you."

Azzi splutters, a series of indiscernible noises waterfalling from her lips, "we did NOT soft launch."

"Really?" Ice cocks her forehead, "so this," she gestures to the whiteboard filled with incriminating pictures, "this just looks like a completely normal best-friends kinda weekend to you?"

"Yes," Azzi replies stubbornly.

"Seriously?" Jana points to a series of pictures taken of the two of them practically pressed into each other at two of the fashions shows; there's a noticeable difference in how much space there is between them and the people on their other sides in comparison to the lack of air between the two of them, "y'all sit this close to all of y'alls friends like this?"

"Of course-"

"Hey," Paige wails, "who else do you sit that close to?"

"Not the time," Azzi hisses to her girlfriend, "I'm trying to prove something."

"Prove what? That y'all look at everybody like this?" KK smirks as she points to a set of images of them basically cheesing at each other like lovesick fools.

"That doesn't count as a soft launch-"

"Baby it does look a little bit like one-"

"Shut up Paige," Azzi scowls, digging her elbow into her girlfriend's stomach, "it doesn't count because it's not like we meant to do it-"

"So what you're saying is you accidentally soft launched then?" Sarah raises an eyebrow.

"That's not- I mean-" Azzi struggles to form a coherent sentences as Paige laughs into her shoulder, "your a freshman. Shouldn't you be nicer to your upperclassmen or something?"

"AHA!" KK cheers as she high-fives Sarah "deflecting because you can't deny it. Good job freshie!"

"I AM NOT-"

"Baby," Paige says softly, barely concealing her smile captures Azzi's chin between her fingers to turn her face towards her, "let it go. They're right."

"They're not-" Azzi huffs.

"Yes they are-"

"Well they don't need to know," Azzi says petulantly as she glowers at the other occupants of the room.

Jana regards her with an amused expression, "you know we can hear you right?"

Paige sighs, annoyed at having to look away from her girlfriend as she rounds on the rest of her teammates, "alright y'all made your point. Now will you get the fuck out?"

"That is no way to talk to you children," KK says as she crosses her arms across her chest.

"Ooooh," Sarah grins, "wait does this mean I'm one of your children too?"

"For the nth time-" Azzi begins but Paige covers her mouth with her hands, not wanting to start another bickering session that would inevitable prolong her not getting alone time in bed with her girlfriend.

"We'll think about it," she tells the freshman, a little touched when it seems to make Sarah gleam with happiness, "now please," she gestures to the door.

"Kicking us out so y'all can be all mush-gushy in peach eugh," Ice scrunches her face with disgust, "at least tell us y'all got us gifts or something."

"Even if we did you're definitely not getting them now," Azzi snarls at them.

"So what you're telling me is that there's definitely gifts," Jana says excitedly, "ugh I knew y'all would come through."

"Here," Paige points to both of their suitcases parked against the wall, "how about y'all take those and go to the living room and take whatever y'all want-"

"Wait no-"

"Will you be quiet for one second," Paige pinches Azzi's arms before smiling at the younger girls in the room, "all yours guys!"

KK narrows her eyes at the blonde, "this feels like a bribe-"

"Who cares Kamorea. She's giving us expensive free shit, don't argue," Jana chides as she starts to pull KK out of the room, Sarah following excitedly behind them.

"That's kinda low of you," Ice says with a disappointed look towards both of them, "but hey," she shrugs as she begins to follows the others, "if it belongs to my parents, technically it belongs to me."

"Well played Bueckers," Caroline, the last person remaining, smile as she moves to wheel the whiteboard out with her.

"WAIT," both Paige and Azzi yell in sync before shyly looking at each other.

"You can um-" Paige licks her lips, "you can leave that. It's kinda cute."

"I lied," Caroline shakes her head but does as she's told, "you guys aren't sweet because this," she points between the two of them and the whiteboard as she begins to move backwards, "this is just sickening behavior."

"Y'all are just jealous of our love," Paige calls out, ignoring the chorus of protests that she gets in return, happy to finally have the room back to just her and Azzi.

"So," the younger girl says carefully, as she turns herself around to straddle Paige's hips.

"So," Paige whispers back, hands resting on Azzi's waist as the other girl brushes a strand of blond hair out of her face.

"I think we might have accidentally soft-launched a little bit," Azzi says shyly, nibbling at her bottom lip.

"Accidentally," Paige grins as she nuzzles their noses together.

And as the sunlight peeks in through the window and the cacophony of their teammates excitedly unpacking their presents drifts in from the living room, Paige holds Azzi closer to her chest, and she lets herself think of what it'll be like when they hard launch. On purpose, this time.

[salty-an-disco]

don't know if I'll get to draw anything for pride, but here's something I need to put out there:

Slay the Princess is probably the most aromantic love story I ever seen

from the way it's told, to how the characters go about it, there's just smth inherently aromantic about the love story between Shifty and Quiet. Smth about how attraction is rarely brought up, how even the most straightforward romantic routes go about it in an unconventional way, the way the characters themselves describe their care and love for each other– it's just so. so very queer in many ways. And as an aromantic person who almost never feels any form of attraction and relates to loveless aros, there's just smth really comforting about a love story that goes about it in the most unconventional ways possible.

[mothspore]

thinking about the way kaveh mourns the loss of a relationship with someone he sees every day

he has haitham in his life. he sees him every day. he LIVES with him for fucks sake, and yet his opinions of haitham are all thinly veiled guilt and mourning. he constantly talks about how close they were during school, how different their relationship was during school, etc, and then when that starts coming off a bit too sad, he starts going on about how much haitham has changed, and how he would never give him the satisfaction of thanks now

but that’s not true. it’s obvious that it’s not. he won’t thank haitham because he feels ashamed of the help he has received, he feels he is undeserving, especially after their fallout, after he said those words that were strong and hurtful enough to tear them apart completely. it’s not that he doesn’t want to thank haitham. he is afraid to.

he’s also trying to protect himself. he tries to keep haitham at an arm’s length, arguing instead of acknowledging conflicts as what they are, in order to protect himself from what he sees as an inevitable outcome of haitham kicking him out, removing him from his life. kaveh wouldn’t blame him, it was only fair. after all, that’s all he had ever known, as well.

kaveh is so used to loss. this situation with haitham is such dangerous uncharted territory for him, and that scares him. kaveh is used to losing and losing without any possibility for gain. his father passed, he will never come back. it’s not possible. his mother left for fontaine, and he stopped writing to her out of his own perceived responsibility for his father’s passing. she never reached out to him, either. he knows faranak will never return to sumeru.

what he said to haitham, he never expected for him to come back into his life. the arguments on the message boards and in annotations and such were just petty insults to him, haitham’s way of taking things out on him. he never expected haitham to offer his home up to help kaveh. the whole thing is so different that it scares him. he knows what to expect from loss, and he knows when to expect loss. but he has no idea how to cope with this. he spends all his time mourning the friendship they once had, skirting around acknowledging the help that haitham has extended to him, and waiting for the other shoe to drop, because he cannot comprehend that this could end in anything other than another loss, another hurt to add to his baggage. and he does not want to truly lose haitham again.

the only way he can ensure this for himself is to not allow the possibility of closeness again. he has flown too close to that before, felt that warmth, and been burned. he has watched those wax wings melt once before. he will not allow himself to fall again. he will not invite the sun in again, because he knows he won’t be able to resist the urge to fly too close once more, even knowing the perceived threat.

acknowledging the help haitham has provided would directly acknowledge that they are no longer enemies. it would invite some of that warmth, something that kaveh does not believe he deserves, and something he cannot afford. he does not want to lose again, so he pretends there is no chance to fix things, despite haitham’s clear attempts to prove otherwise.

[pleasedontcareaboutme]

[mqriuss]

your dog loves you

content: haitani family, reader is their sister, fluff, literal fluff (like in poodles), they have a mom

"aw, how cute," your mom coos at a photo of a two month old baby poodle on his screen. before pushing rindou's phone out of her face and going back to slicing mangoes—bright, orange, and sweet, just the way that her kids like it.

"we should get it," rindou says, jumping slightly when mom shoots him a glare.

"absolutely not."

"you said it was cute," rindou argues and she scoffs, dropping pieces of mangoes on a red plate.

she gets up from her chair to wash her hands, "yes, i said it was cute—not that we should get it." mom rephrases her statement, grabbing a fork and stabbing it into a mango.

"even y/n and ran think we should get it," rindou tries to reason with her. "it's 3 v 1," he adds, shrugging.

"and the one person in question is your mother." she hands the plate to rindou who nearly drops it with his phone still in one hand. "now go eat the mangoes. save some for your siblings."

rindou watches her leave, muttering something under her breath about when they're gonna come home from work. mom's never been too fond of them coming home late from work, even though they're always back before dinner.

"mom said no," rindou informed with a mouth full of two sliced mango pieces, typing something on his pc.

"dammit!" you cursed, your voice slightly static coming out of his phone. you had tasked rindou with showing mom a picture of a cute puppy and asking if you could get it, but a part of you knew it wouldn't go well. it never does.

"i mean, were you expecting her to go 'yes omg we need this wittle cutie patootie'?" ran snickers, his eyes fixated on the road occasionally glancing at you in the passenger's seat.

you groaned, leaning back against the car seat. you really thought she'd at least consider if rindou was the one who asked. "but i want her! i want a fluffy cute dog to cuddle and play with," you whined, pouting as you stared at the puppy on your screen.

"hm, you know," rindou paused to swallow his food, his voice ringing through the speaker of your phone. "you know those videos of people showing their parents be affectionate with the pets they didn't want? what are the odds mom ends up like them?" he questioned, making you light up but ran wasn't convinced.

"like, zero?" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"but what if?!" you exclaimed, resisting the urge to nudge him since he's driving. there was a moment of silence and rindou is about to hang up, until you started talking again. "do you just wanna get her?"

"what?" rindou and ran said nearly in unison if it weren't for the call lag.

"did you actually..."

"yes. yes, i did."

rindou sighs while ran smirks and shakes his head in amusement. you and ran were home for a few seconds, telling rindou to get dressed and go out with the two of you. you had contacted the person, saying that you'd arrive in a few hours to pick up the puppy—the same puppy your mom clearly didn't allow you to get.

"and i just had to come along?" rindou raises an eyebrow and you give him a puzzled look.

"what? as if you were gonna stay home and work on that assignment you've been procrastinating for two weeks?" you call him out, leaving him speechless and almost offended. "that's what i thought."

"wonder how balancing work and class is going for you," rindou mutters, rolling his eyes and you stick your tongue out.

the button on your table beeps, prompting ran to get up and take your food from the counter. he comes back shortly, weaving through a line of hungry people. the smell of fried chicken and steam coming out of the sticky white rice makes you and rindou's mouth water.

"you told mom we were just going out to eat, right?" ran confirms, receiving a nod from rindou who practically buried his face in the food.

"yeah– hoh..." he lets out a heavy breath with his mouth full, feeling his tongue burning from the freshly cooked chicken and rice.

ran grimaces while blowing on his food—something rindou couldn't do before digging in. "slow down, bro—it's all yours."

"i'm starving."

"starving or can't wait to meet the new family member?" you chuckle before taking a bite of your chicken and mirroring rindou's previous actions. "hoh... 's hot!" ran shakes his head at his two younger siblings, a chuckle escaping his lips.

it was 11pm when the three of you arrived home, each one of you with a missed call notification from mom. you had underestimated just how much traffic there would be on a friday night and ended up arriving home later than usual.

"is she asleep?" you whisper, glancing around as you hold onto your furry friend.

"i bet she is–" ran says but is cut off by the sound of the downstairs bedroom door creaking open. the three of you stopped in your tracks as mom turns on the light in her half-asleep state.

"haha... surprise!" you laugh sheepishly, holding up the puppy that she can very clearly see.

you and your brothers had debated in the car over what her reaction would be, and it didn't turn out the way you expected. it wasn't a beating, it wasn't a five hour lecture, nor was it tears of joy (you're not sure why that would've been a possibility. this one was the most impossible of them all, but it would've been the funniest).

mom drags out a sigh, waddling towards the bathroom. "i won't clean her poop." she says with a deadpan before disappearing into the bathroom.

the three of you share a quick look before you and rindou cheered in unison, startling the puppy.

"yay! she didn't get mad!" you jumped up and down, not realizing ran had snatched the puppy from your arms.

"let's go to sleep, baby. don't mind those little noisy pricks."

it took one month. one month for your mom to get used to touching and petting maru. it took one month to get her even a little excited whenever maru did a new trick you taught her.

"maru, sit!" your mom would say with a treat in hand, watching maru squirm around impatiently and jump for the treat. "no, you did it earlier. do it again, come on!" you and rindou sat at the dinner table, watching mom test maru's skills. even rindou couldn't help the grin that would appear on his face whenever they played together.

four months in and ran would occasionally find mom sitting on the floor with maru on her lap as she brushes her curly fur with the expensive brush he bought online because the cheap ones they bought previously always broke and could never get through the amount of matting that had started to form on her fur.

after all, mom could never let it go that bad again. the last time they took maru for grooming, the groomer said she needed to have almost all her fur shaved off because they weren't regularly brushing her. mom and ran were the most devastated after picking her up, she was so skinny under all that fluffy fur. so you and rindou took turns brushing her with the new, and better brush everyday since ran was usually too busy to do that. it was never part of the agreement that mom would do it too, but she can't help herself sometimes. besides, maru seems to like snuggling in her lap and she's less squirmy when mom handles her.

whenever mom cuts slices of mangoes for you to share, she now cuts more slices into even tinier pieces and serves them in a smaller plastic dish. you can already guess which kid of hers got that one.

"aw, look at you. you love maru, don't you ma?" you giggle, taking a picture of mom and maru lying together on the couch like they've always been doing these days. a year passes and maru was only growing more affectionate with mom.

mom's phone rings when she gets a notification of the picture being sent to the family group chat, her sons replying with "aw's" and cute sticker reactions.

mom shakes her head, rolling her eyes. "no, i do not." she claims, her gaze never leaving her phone but her hand never stops scratching maru's neck.

"sure," you snicker, shaking your head as you leave them quietly so maru isn't disturbed.

mom claims that she doesn't love maru, and that she's a burden or a stinky burden, but she panicked when maru came back from grooming with an ear infection because the groomer got water in her ear one time.

or that one time when the four of you were sat at the dinner table and ran drops a single raisin on the floor while he's eating bread. he'll just pick it up later, he thought to himself. mom panicked when suddenly the raisin is gone and ran hasn't gotten up to throw it away.

rindou looked down to see maru under the table with an innocent expression. "i think maru ate it." he said, making everyone rise from their seats to check on maru before rushing her to the vet.

she panicked because she's made a list of all the human foods dogs can and cannot eat and has it all memorized.

mom claims that she doesn't love maru, but she's giving her medicine everyday until she gets better, sitting on the couch with her on her lap while she watches tv, taking videos of her when she's doing a cute trick rindou taught her to do, smiling from ear to ear when you or ran come home from work and greeted with the sound of her barking as she runs up to you.

the house isn't as clean as it used to be. scrunchies, squeaky toys, and fur are scattered in random places. once in a blue moon, maru might pee on someone's bed (but never on mom's). her paws get muddy and needs to be cleaned after a walk in the park, it can get tiring sometimes, but the house is visibly and audibly livelier. you and your brothers are off your phones more, laughing when maru does something funny like occasionally letting out a fart, you and rindou team up together to give her baths at home because mom doesn't trust the groomers anymore, and ran has a fluffy cuddle buddy every morning when maru sneaks in to his room.

mom may not realize it, but the three of you do.

"you think maru's favourite person is mom?" ran contemplates. you and rindou shoot him a look.

"we'll see about that." rindou says, grinning.

the next thing you know, the four of you were lined up next to each other, calling out to maru desperately to see who she'd approach first. ran couldn't help but laugh when he sees maru walking weirdly, confused over who's arms to run to.

in the end, she picks mom because she has her favourite snack hidden in her pocket. you and rindou share the same look of defeat, but all of you know that maru loves everyone equally. just don't forget the snacks.

[bluespiritshonour]

Thinking about how popular Mai would've been if she were a boy. Like, can you imagine?people would've swooned over her like they swoon over, idk, Jet—it just occured to me that I like her because she's so unconventional for a female character.

Girls like Mai exist in real world—but women are rarely allowed to be complex and three dimensional and grey in fiction.

I would argue that Mai is a grey character; she did start out as Azula's lackey. And well, that's a fictional girl; I found her apathy stan-worthy.

I love that she constantly has a bitch face. She cracks dry/dark jokes. Wears black. Is mysterious and stoic. Does everything she can to disregard authority/even though she's not confrontational about it. (There's one difference. Bad boys are usually very confrontational).

All these characteristics exist in popular male characters. (Except for one thing that I've noticed: most of these “bad boy” characters are volatile and yet, are described as broody/stoic, like, dude. That ain't stoic, that's so emotional.)

So yeah. Coming back to Mai. Imagine if she were a boy.

A boy who's apathetic and has no passion for anything. A boy who's constantly bored/a thrill-seeker/has nothing he cares about. A boy who has a shutter for a face and rarely expresses himself, is amazing with knives and hand-to-hand combat and is gloomy.

There's nothing he cares about because caring gets people hurt and everyone wants something and is two-faced so it's safe to be a mask of indifference. Until—hold on—until he meets a passionate, hot-headed girl who's ✨ different ✨and if not anything, wears her heart on her sleeve/is an open book...

Yes, I'm talking about Zuko.

...and oh, oh, would you look at that? Now he has something to fight for!

I mean, for Mai, Zuko (after Ty Lee) is the only other person in front of whom she can be herself.

Reminds me of “he's only nice to her” trope. Sorry.

“You're so beautiful when you hate the world.”

“I don't hate you.”

Just imagine Mai as a boy. People would eat it up. They don't like her 'cause she's a girl.

[cementcornfield]

Is Ja'Marr Chase open right now?

He's always open.

[flintnsocks]

thinking about how kai anderson is canonically queer. he likes men. unlabelled my ass you like dick (actually unlabelled people ilysm but this dude has chronic internalised homophobia okay (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞)

diversity win! the crazy bitch terrorising your local community will fuck a guy to make him join his cult!

i hate him but i also want to pick his brain apart. thanks

[tom-wants-his-gams]

the way that their first kill had to be passive! the way that they could barely look her in the eye when it came time to slit her throat, but stood back when he “just happened to go under”…

they will do anything to justify the hunt and make it as though the wilderness “chooses,” when their unwillingness to face their victim and take any sort of responsibility makes it all the more evil.

they aren’t reduced to their most primal state out there, they are reduced to the ugliest thing that a person can be. a carnivorous animal doesn’t hesitate or discriminate - it goes for what it can find, and it goes for the jugular. they chose carefully, and they waited.

natalie has seen shit that none of them could possibly imagine. on top of that, she spent hours in the cold every day looking far and wide for this young boy when none of the other girls would. she is the rational one when they start to go off the rails. she is the one having to go out and kill for them, and they are thankless. they owe any ounce of good fortune to the wilderness.

they may be choosing the cards at random but in that moment, she is willing to sacrifice for them after what she’s had to go through. travis is the only one who stands up for her. javi is the only one willing bring her to safety. so she accepts these acts of kindness that she is so rarely met with and runs, only to lose the young boy she spent months searching for to the people who blindly chased her down for slaughter until they realized who they were hunting down.

they let go of the moose that could’ve fed them all, denied the notion of lottie’s plea altogether, and preyed on an easy target - travis’s only remaining family out there, no less. they put themselves and particularly natalie through the very worst, time and time again.

bruh is this the cost of human survival???

what will their “devoted queen” make of this???

[thegreatyin]

the scoundrel encountering Actual Curators is like,, the same existential horror mutually experienced when a wolf and poodle cross paths. the scoundrel after her transformation is a giant monstrous celestial beast who's basically lived her entire batty life in a cave and she's never really learned how to hunt or fight or observe Proper Social Norms™. she has been taught these things but she's never experienced them. not in the way curators are supposed to. to normal spacebats she's an inherent and obvious outsider and all of her mannerisms scream Wrong even if the bat in question probably wouldn't know exactly how or why. her fur is too soft and her claws and teeth are too dull and even when she's trying her absolute best to be the perfect embodiment of "creature somewhat high on the great chain of being" smugness she can never discard those pieces of human instinct. human mind. human memory. they're pieces, yes, but they exist nonetheless. what i'm saying is even without being intrinsically bound to the bazaar and the masters the scoundrel is primed for semi-exile, at least in a social sense, the minute she hypothetically tries to join actual spacebat society. she's simply far too curator to be human and far too human to be curator. she simply Is. and there's nothing he can do to fix that, no matter how DESPERATELY he wishes otherwise

[tragedy-for-sale]

Brother I Love

@zaana made a post in which Hunter is the lovey-dovey type of drunk and naturally I really had to write about it.

◈ ━━━━━━ ◆ ━━━━━━ ◈

Tech had his back turned to his older brother. He listened to Hunter's seemingly silent winces, his shaky, ragged breaths. Tech closed his eyes, he'd already stitched Hunter up, already applied bacta patches, already did everything he could to help his brother's pain, he couldn't do anything else. Tech glanced to look at Hunter, his eyes were closed, hand gingerly tracing his wound. "I'll be back." Tech promptly said, walking to where Wrecker and Echo were waiting.

"Well?" Echo had been with him when it happened, and he had failed to keep Hunter safe. "How's he fairing, Tech?"

"He's in pain." Tech walked over to the fridge, opening it up and staring into the cold void, "He's in pain because he has broken ribs and three stab wounds, and we're not in a position to get him to a bacta tank." Tech shook his head, grabbing the cold blaster and putting it into his holster. Tech thought about suffocating Hunter just a little bit so he'd pass out and rest, but of course his stubborn ass remained conscious the entire time.

"What can we do?" Wrecker asked, standing up and walking to the fridge, was Tech really hungry right now? Wrecker usually waited at least an hour after a sour mission to eat. Wrecker looked at the door, "We need to go get more supplies, there's a village not too far."

"I agree. Tech?" Echo asked, they could leave now, Crosshair would be out of the shower soon and would watch Hunter until then.

Tech didn't say anything, he narrowed his eyes at the two bottles. "Yes, yes," Tech waved his hand as he reached for a bottle, opening it and smelling it. He wouldn't need anything too strong; Hunter was already such a lightweight. "Echo, power down the Marauder." Tech ordered as he grabbed a bottle of whiskey and set it on the counter.

Echo gave Tech a look, especially after seeing the bottle in his brother's hand. Day drinking wasn't usually Tech's thing, but Echo could really use one too. "We taking shots before heading out?" Wrecker laughed as he pulled down glasses.

"No." Tech said, shoving all but one glass back. He felt the Marauder go quiet and he sighed. Tech opened the bottle and poured a glass. This was the only thing he could think of to hold his older brother over until they got back. Now, Hunter would be the most annoying person ever but it was the best choice. For some reason. He walked back over to Hunter, he'd laid back, his breathing was short and shallow. "Drink this." Tech held out the glass.

Hunter opened his eyes, he barely had enough time to process what was in the glass before Tech had forced him to down it. "Whiskey?" Hunter coughed, whincing and pressing his hand against his wound.

"Yes." Tech poured another and held it out.

"Uh, Tech, can't say alcohol is going to help him any." Echo raised an eyebrow watching as Tech poured him a third glass. "Like, at all Tech." Echo's voice strained. Wrecker looked around the Marauder, that's why Tech had Echo power down the Marauder

Tech helped Hunter lay back down. He grabbed his helmet, putting it on before looking back to Echo, "Hunter is still in pain, alcohol will at least dull some of that pain until we return with proper equipment." It was clear Tech wasn't going to take Echo's objections.

"With only three shots?" Echo had seen Fives down at least eight before a blaster shot wasn't so bad.

"Ha, yeah, his lightweight ass can't handle more than that." Wrecker laughed as the main door opened and he walked down the ramp. Though he'd joked, Wrecker felt a great deal of worry. If they had to leave before Hunter had sobered up, the electromagnetic frequencies of the Marauder would be enough to completely overwhelm Hunter. Wrecker didn't want Hunter to be in more pain. He looked back to Tech, he was worrying about the same exact thing.

Crosshair stepped out of the refresher to a silent ship, he noticed someone had cut the lights and he spent the entire time coming up with the perfect comeback, but no one was here. "Figures." He rolled his eyes.

"Cross-" A giddy voice whispered. Crosshair looked around, "Cross, psst-" Crosshair turned and walked over to Hunter, who was laying on the big mattress. Tech must've finished patching him up and they all left?

"Hey, Hunter," Crosshair mumbled as he scanned the area, an empty shot glass, "Where'd everyone go?" He asked. Hunter's eyes were closed, Crosshair reached out, poking his brother's face, his cheeks were hot and flushed.

"-Cross can I tell you something?" Hunter whispered, opening his eyes. Crosshair let out a sigh as he checked the dressing on Hunter's wounds. "Cross-"

"Yes, Hunter?" Crosshair rolled his eyes as he continued to do a quick check-up on his vitals.

"I love you," Hunter reached out, poking Crosshair's shoulder, "Love ya, Cross," He whispered, narrowing his eyes. Crosshair stifled a chuckle, "Like a lot too, I don't think I've told you this, but I love you more than I love my hair and my knives, and I really love my hair and my knives-"

"That..." Crosshair's voice trailed, looking over to his oldest brother, he still had that stupid content smile on his face. Seems like he got Tech's special treatment plan. "You should lie down." He gently pushed Hunter back. He went willingly of course; Crosshair pulled the blanket up nice and high the way Hunter liked it.

"Okay but first you have to promise me something."

"Okay..."

"Promise me you won't let Tech cut my hair with my knives," Hunter sat back up, eyes wide and waving his accusing finger, "I can see it in his eyes, he's just jealous cause my hair is really, really nice and his isn't-" He hung his head, his eyes became really heavy all of a sudden. Crosshair stared at him, making a face, did Hunter just fall asleep? Crosshair poked his brother's face again and jumped back when Hunter shot up.

"Pinky promise me, Crosshair."

"That's your middle finger, Hunter."

"Middle finger promise me, Cross"

This time Crosshair let out a laugh, no one was here except the two of them and he knew for a fact Hunter's ass was not going to remember any of this, "I middle finger promise, Hunter, now please lay down." Hunter nodded and leaned back, closing his eyes. Crosshair stood there for a moment, a lingering smile still on his face.

"I'd be bald and knifeless for you," was the last thing Hunter mumbled before falling asleep.

Crosshair rolled his eyes, pulling the blanket a little higher, "Love you too," He mumbled before leaving his brother to sleep. Crosshair was against the wall next to the big mattress playing on Tech's datapad when the door of the Marauder opened. Crosshair looked to Hunter, who had also woken up, Crosshair nodded to Hunter before he stood up. "Have fun," Crosshair patted Echo on the shoulder.

Hunter sat up and looked over, "Hi guys!" He waved, "You all look so grown up, I'm so proud of all of you." He held his arms out, gesturing them to come to him. Crosshair shoved his brothers toward Hunter. Wrecker laughed as he got on the mattress and let Hunter hug the three of them. "You guys went and got me medicine too?" Hunter felt weepy, "You guys didn't have to do that for me-"

Echo looked to Cross, understanding what he meant. "Hunter you're bleeding-"

"And you care that I'm bleeding," Hunter cried as he pulled them closer, "You guys are the best brothers ever-"

◈ ━━━━━━ ◆ ━━━━━━ ◈

[turtleblogatlast]

Thinking about the Don Suave scene and what it means in terms of LGBTQ+ representation because my brain does nothing if not torment me with random topics to ramble about on the regular.

Anyway, I just wanted to ramble about why I like the scene but to get it out of the way - the scene can very easily be interpreted in so many different ways, and all of them are valid. I personally see it as Leo having at least some attraction to a man. And the following is an explanation of my own interpretation and thoughts on it and what it means especially for Leo’s portrayal in the grand scheme of things.

Long-winded interpretation under the cut!

Now, to start with, it’s important to me that in the scene Leo looks at Don Suave in the very beginning and then for the entirety of the rest of the time the man is on screen, Leo’s eyes are closed. Yet, in the end, he is still visibly enamored with Don Suave, happily cuddling up to him as he’s being carried away.

You can very easily interpret this as Leo being spellbound and that’s honestly super valid and I believe he likely was at least somewhat in the beginning, but considering how fast he looked away and how he never looked again, I personally think it makes more sense to read it as Leo just finding the man attractive, at least somewhat. (For the record, I personally headcanon Rise Leo as bisexual with a heavy preference for men, but I want to be blunt when I say that any interpretation is valid. Literally any. Ace, pan, gay, bi, none of the above or a mixture of something new literally all of it is more than okay and fair. Hell you could even interpret this entire scene as more romantic attraction than physical and it would still work. Anything goes!! Don’t bother people, guys, really.)

The main reason I take this scene to be at the very least LGBTQ+ adjacent isn’t just because of how it’s portrayed, but because of who Leonardo is. Not in terms of Rise of the TMNT, but in terms of the entire Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles™️ franchise.

Leo’s a character who, while changing with each iteration, has still at his core been around for decades upon decades as “the blue one”. One fourth of the team. He’s the one most are going to look at as the Leader, and oftentimes he is the one closest to having the title of Main Character. Not to say the others aren’t just as important, but Leo’s presence in the A plots of basically all TMNT media is often something very main character-esque.

And that’s very, very important to note. Here we have a Main Character of a prolific and decades long-running franchise distributed by a children’s television network. You can play around with his and his brothers’ characters all you like, but there is always going to be challenges to dodge around, especially since this was still in 2018-2019.

For example, you can play around with their designs so long as they’re color coded turtles, but their sexualities? Now that’s tricky.

“But what about Hypno and Warren?” Not main characters and also they’re Rise originals. They have a lot more room to play around with than a character like Leo does. But even talking about main characters in the franchise, you could arguably have an easier time playing around with Donnie or Mikey’s sexualities than Leo or even Raph, as (unfortunately) the former two tend to get more B plots, so they’d likely have had a little more leeway (still not a lot though.)

So, where does this leave us?

It leaves us in a place where outright stating and/or showing undeniable proof of Leo’s attraction to men is very, very difficult. So, workarounds!

Workarounds like the entire Don Suave situation.

To be honest, as left up to interpretation and lowkey and deniable as it is, this whole scene means a lot to me because of who Leo is as a character. It’s just nice when we get so see even the bare bones of representation with characters that have been such a large part of pop culture for decades, y’know? Even if more would be so much nicer, this is better than I thought we’d ever get for these boys.

And, again, literally nothing I’ve said is the only way to interpret it, I’m more than happy when people interpret media on their own honestly, it’s just something I’ve been thinking of lately and I was wondering if others felt the same way.

Whatever you think when you interpret this scene or Rise Leo as a whole, I just thought this would be interesting to think about, even if it was ramble-y, haha.

[bookshop]

pardon me i'm just overwhelmed by wang yibo (as usual)

It's just, this kid, THIS KID, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND LET ME EXPLAIN

— he has to battle his way up through the ranks of YG to get to debut, in another country, away from his parents, while barely a teenager, all while learning a second language, and he not only does it, but according to legend he and Lisa are the only two foreign idols in YG history to graduate the program with all As

— and then his debut gets canceled and he has to go back to China and Yuehua and restart his entire career without much support at all from his agency, and he just does it, he starts the grind all over and just fucking does it

— he isn't even Yuehua's first choice for Day Day Up's new host competition, and they submit him only because he speaks Korean and that's good for the show, but then Wang Han sees him backstage one day and sees how hard he's working on his dance routine and immediately knows that Yibo is their next host, and not only is he an incredible addition to the show, but he stays on DDU longer than he reasonably should given how massively famous he gets, and he's so beloved that when he returns for Hunan's 2022 NYE concert, the network rolls out the red carpet and treats him like he's their hometown son and Wang Han is like, "Our Yibo has come home" (And Luoyang is the girlfriend in the distracted boyfriend meme lol but ykwim)

— he has to submit his comp shots twice just to even get an audition before anyone takes him seriously for The Untamed!! Except then the moment they see him, they immediately know he's their Lan Zhan

— he's the "pretty idol" throwaway captain for SDC3 and you can tell this when you watch the editing for the first episode because the comments for Yibo are all about how hot he is, and he comes in last place after the first captain's dance, and it's clear nobody really takes him seriously, but then the second he opens his street auditions, the tone of the entire show changes and from then on, for the next two seasons, he is completely unstoppable, his talent and intelligence and strategic thinking and competitive drive are so raw and exciting to watch that he basically takes over the entire show, the ratings more than double from s2 to s3, his fandom grows even more massive, and the dancers all fucking LOVE HIM. like dude he wins street dance of china so hard that within three seasons he's basically co-producing it and he's literally given a writing credit.

— The director of Being a Hero doesn't think he's old or mature enough to play Chen Yu and then Yibo sits down and talks to him about why he wants the role and the director realizes that Yibo basically is Chen Yu, he's the focused hard-working persevering single-minded actor of his dreams, and Yibo winds up giving a performance so moving it makes the director cry and declare, "That? That's acting."

— he jumps from no ranking at all to 9th place to #2!!!!!! within TWO YEARS on the Forbes China 100 Most Powerful people list between 2019 and 2021

— Duhua famously didn't take him seriously or treat him well for most of their long contractual relationship, oh shit, because now according to YH's latest investor report for Q3-4 2022, he singlehandedly brings in 90% of the profit for her entire company, a shareholder, the "top talent," and the one who has to pay whenever Uniq gets together because he's "the boss"

— Yibo goes from being the SDC underdog to being so respected that when Da Peng is looking for a dancer to star in his street dance movie, he asks all the best street dancers what actor is capable of doing the moves, and they all unanimously tell him: Wang Yibo. Da Peng winds up telling the press on Weibo Film night 2022 that he wrote the whole movie for Yibo, and that "if there's no Yibo, there's no movie"

— Cheng Er, director of Wuming, claims he has no idea who Yibo is, and just decided to cast him in a supporting role in his film because he looks the part of a Republic-era spy. And then he sees Yibo act, and he sees Yibo immerse himself in the part, and he sees how hard Yibo is willing to work and how committed he is, and he rewrites his entire movie until Wang Yibo is the main fucking character; Wang Yibo, in his first major film debut, acts his way into the lead and earns rave reviews from across the globe, including the goddamn new york times

Every time you think people will have finally figured out that you do not underestimate Wang Yibo, you learn of some new example where Yibo, once again, has had to prove himself in an industry that perpetually writes him off and doesn't take him seriously at first — only for the people around him to be absolutely blown away by his talent and dedication and mesmerizing star power.

And this happens over and over and over again. And he just does the work, always, every time, without complaint, and every time the result is something surprising and unexpected and fantastic and such a mark of his incredible passion and talent

— and every time I think my heart can't possibly grow any more sizes over Yibo, he proves me wrong