#you could take almost every moment from this ep and cut it into an out of context vid and you'd have no idea they're from the same ep

[rafecameronssl4t]

The Swell || Rafe Cameron x fem!reader

Summary: S4 ep 4 scene but it’s Sofia’s perspective + abit more angst but still reader x Rafe no use of her name

Warnings: angst!!!!! Mention of dead baby turtles (?), Ruthie (yeh she deserves her own tw),

Word counts: 2,267

A/n: how could I not post on our my man’s bday 😣😔

MASTERLIST

Divider by @h-aewo

As you drive down the beach, the Pogues come into view, their carefree laughter and familiar presence tightening the knot of unease in your stomach. You glance at Rafe, silently hoping the car won’t stop near them, your thoughts spinning in quiet desperation. But when Topper's Jeep slows down and pulls to a halt right next to them, you shut your eyes for a brief moment, taking a sharp breath through your nose to steady yourself.

Rafe, ever attuned to your mood, notices the shift and squeezes your thigh, his touch firm and reassuring. “It’s fine,” he mutters, his voice low and confident, though the tension remains. You look down at his hand resting on your leg, a gesture that says more than words ever could. Rafe helps you down from Topper’s ridiculously raised Jeep, his grip steady as you hop down onto the sand.

The sun beats down, casting long shadows as you take in the scene around you—Topper and John B already in conversation, their words tinged with the familiar undercurrent of rivalry. The air feels thick, charged with a subtle tension that lingers in every glance exchanged between them.

You go through the motions, helping set up blankets and gear, though your attention keeps drifting back to Rafe. He’s sitting a few feet away, legs stretched out in front of him, gaze fixed on the surfers gliding across the water. His sunglasses hide most of his expression, but you can tell he’s watching intently, his mind elsewhere.

When you finally make your way over, he turns his head slightly, reaching for a towel and placing it beside him without a word. You settle down next to him, the sand beneath the towel still warm from the sun, and you let out a small sigh. "Hey, Rafe," you say softly, your voice almost drowned out by the sound of the waves crashing in the distance.

Your gaze shifts to Sarah, longboard in hand as she walks out of the water, her eyes locked on her brother. A light smile tugs at your lips as you watch her, the hope in you flickering. "There’s Sarah," you continue, trying to sound upbeat. "Do you think she’d want to talk?" Rafe doesn’t respond right away. His eyes stay focused on the horizon, his expression unreadable.

After a beat, he finally looks towards Sarah, their eyes meeting across the sand. The moment stretches out, thick with everything they’re not saying. "No," Rafe says flatly, shaking his head. "She can come to me if she wants." His voice lacks emotion, as if he’s already resigned to the distance between them. He lifts his beer, taking a slow drink, his nonchalance masking something deeper. You nod in response, sighing softly.

You tried, but it’s not enough. It never seems to be enough. The next few minutes pass in quiet observation. You watch the surfers, your gaze following JJ and Topper as they glide across the water, their competitive nature apparent even in something as simple as catching a wave. JJ, always the wild card, edges too close to Topper and bumps him, sending Topper tumbling into the surf.

Rafe shifts beside you, sitting up a little straighter. "Hey! Blatant poach, man!" he calls out, his voice carrying over the beach, and you can’t help but smile. There’s something almost boyish in the way he yells, a rare glimpse of lightness in an otherwise heavy day. Your momentary smile fades when Ruthie’s piercing voice cuts through the air.

"What the hell was that?!" she shouts, her tone laced with irritation. You roll your eyes instinctively, already feeling the familiar annoyance settle in. Ruthie. She’s always been a thorn in your side, and she knows it. She thrives on it, always pushing just enough to get under your skin, but never enough to cross any real lines—at least not with Rafe around. She wasn’t stupid—she knew better than to challenge his authority, even though she could get away with nearly everything else.

JJ, still in the water, celebrates his small victory with a cocky grin, looking over at you both. Rafe’s response is swift, flipping him the middle finger without even blinking. JJ shrugs it off, giving a sheepish smile, and you laugh softly, shaking your head at the playful exchange. "I don’t know what JJ’s deal was," Kelce chimes in as he and Topper make their way back to the shade.

"That was bullshit, jumping in on you like that." His tone is casual, but there’s a slight edge to it, the kind that always lingers when someone feels disrespected. "Classic low-rent move," Topper agrees, brushing sand from his hair. Rafe’s snarky grin returns as he helps you up from the sand. "Surf violence is violence, man," he comments dryly, earning a chuckle from the group. But before the mood can lighten, the unmistakable sound of an engine revving catches your attention.

You glance over, spotting Ruthie now in the driver’s seat of Topper’s Jeep, her expression smug as she glances towards the Pogues. "Instead of whining about it," Ruthie cocks her head in their direction, a dangerous gleam in her eyes, "let’s drift. Give them a taste of their own medicine." Topper immediately shakes his head. "No, no. We’re not doing that," he says, his voice firm but calm. For all his bravado, Topper is often the most level-headed among them, the one willing to walk away from unnecessary drama.

You breathe out a quiet sigh of relief, hoping the situation will diffuse. Ruthie, however, isn’t backing down. "Are you afraid?" she taunts, her tone condescending as she stares him down, tilting her head with a smirk. "I told them we’re gonna be cool," Topper says, shooting a glance at Kelce, as if looking for backup. "Yeah, but they jumped in on you, bro," Kelce replies, still riled up from the earlier incident. "They stomped all over our home base."

"Never knew you kooks owned the beach," you mutter under your breath, loud enough for Rafe to hear. He chuckles softly, glancing at you with an amused look. Ruthie, undeterred, turns her attention back to Kelce, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "That doesn’t seem fair, does it? Are you cool with that, Kelce? It’s kind of sad, bro." "Pathetic," Ruthie adds, and a few others let out chuckles, their laughter only adding fuel to the tension.

Topper’s face tightens, his expression darkening as the tension between him and Ruthie reaches its peak. "What’d you say?" he snaps, his tone sharp with frustration, eyes narrowing at her. He’s clearly fed up with her antics, embarrassed as she goads him in front of their friends. The heated argument escalates quickly, Ruthie's biting comments cutting through the air like knives. Topper, red-faced and tense, tries to rein her in, but Ruthie only digs in further, her smirk never fading.

You lean into Rafe, resting your head against his broad back, arms loosely wrapped around his torso for comfort as you watch the scene unfold. It was horrifying but impossible to look away from. Ruthie, always the instigator, keeps pushing, her voice rising above the murmur of waves and laughter. She’s relentless, her eyes gleaming with reckless energy.

"Well, I’m about to buzz down there and show them whose beach this is," she declares, the wild determination in her tone sending a ripple of unease through the group. "You gonna make me go by myself?" You lift your head, casting a glance at Rafe, silently asking him to do something, anything. His eyes flicker with annoyance, but he doesn’t intervene, his usual detached demeanour firmly in place.

Topper, as much as he tries to keep some semblance of control, eventually gives in, rounding the Jeep and sliding into the passenger seat with a defeated huff. The sound of the engine revving cuts through the beach as they prepare for another display of immaturity. "This is ridiculous," you mutter under your breath, crossing your arms over your chest as you watch them speed off. Sand flies up behind the tires, scattering across the shoreline.

Rafe shrugs beside you, seemingly unbothered, his voice calm but clipped. "She’s just being Ruthie." "That’s not an excuse," you retort, sharper than you intended. "Is she fucking insane?" Your words are laced with disbelief as you scoff, eyes narrowing as the Jeep swerves wildly down the beach. Ruthie, clearly drunk on adrenaline, comes dangerously close to losing control.

You hold your breath as she veers sharply, missing the Pogues by mere inches. Your heart races in your chest, the tension in the air palpable. Rafe watches in silence, tipping his head back and taking a long swig from his beer, the bottle tilted lazily in his hand as if none of it phases him. You, on the other hand, can’t tear your eyes away from the scene. "Jesus Christ…" you mutter under your breath, jaw slack in shock. Suddenly, a splash of liquid flies through the air, dousing Kiara.

You watch as she recoils, visibly shocked and angry, while the Pogues gather around her, already shouting in response. The kooks around you jeer and laugh, their obnoxious behaviour only adding fuel to the fire. You roll your eyes, disgusted by the immaturity that surrounds you. How could they find this funny? Your gaze shifts back to Rafe, searching his face for any hint of how he’s feeling, but his expression remains unreadable.

His jaw tightens ever so slightly as he scratches his head, eyes flicking back and forth between the Jeep and the chaos Ruthie has left in her wake. Frustration bubbles in your chest — was he angry? Amused? He was impossible to read, and that drove you mad. You couldn’t stand his indifference, not when things had spiraled out of control. "You good with that?" you ask, trying to keep your voice steady, but the irritation seeps through as you turn to face him, arms crossed tightly over your chest.

He doesn't respond immediately, which only adds fuel to the fire. His silence grates on you. Then, after Kiara and JJ confront Ruthie and she threatens to press charges over some meaningless provocation, your patience wears thin. You’ve had enough of the childish antics, the toxic energy swirling around the beach. It was exhausting, and you wanted nothing more than to leave.

"Not cool, Rafe," you say, your voice wavering with disappointment. There’s an ache in your chest, a familiar one that resurfaces whenever you feel let down by him. You want him to see how wrong all of this is, but instead, he shrugs and brushes past you, his focus only on grabbing another beer. His casual indifference feels like a slap in the face. "They deserved it, baby," he mutters as he opens the cooler.

His words make your blood boil. Deserved it? You can’t believe him. It’s like the two of you are on completely different wavelengths, and the divide between you feels wider than ever. Spinning around, you glare at him, anger and hurt flooding your system. "I want to leave," you say, voice firm, holding his gaze as he turns to look at you, his eyes narrowing in challenge.

"Now!" you insist, your frustration bubbling over, leaving no room for negotiation. You’re done with the day, with the drama, with everything. Without waiting for his response, you turn on your heel and start walking away, the sound of the waves crashing behind you drowned out by the pounding in your chest. You can feel his eyes on your back, the tension hanging thick in the air, but you don’t stop.

“Babe, hold on,” Rafe calls after you, his voice almost pleading, but you don’t slow down. You grab your beach bag, throwing it over your shoulder with more force than necessary, eyes fixed ahead. You refuse to let him see how upset you really are, not in front of Ruthie and Topper. Especially not when Ruthie’s wearing that smug smile, clearly enjoying the chaos she’s stirred up.

Your jaw clenches as you storm past them, feeling the weight of their judgment. Rafe’s footsteps grow louder behind you, his longer stride quickly closing the distance. "Just calm down," he mutters as he reaches out, his hand catching your elbow in an attempt to stop you. The touch is gentle, but it ignites the anger bubbling beneath the surface, and you immediately yank your arm away, shoving his hand off with a sharp motion.

He steps in front of you, blocking your path, his brows furrowing as he tries to read your expression. "That wasn’t fair, Rafe," you say quietly, your voice cutting through the space between you both. The frustration, disappointment, and anger you’ve been holding in all day spill over. "You saw what Ruthie did! How can you just stand there and act like it’s fine?" Your words come out sharper than you intended, but you’re past caring.

You need him to understand, to see how wrong it all is. Rafe’s lips press into a thin line, his gaze shifting momentarily to the ground before meeting yours again. There’s a flicker of something in his eyes—guilt, maybe—but it’s quickly replaced by defensiveness. "She’s Topper’s girlfriend," he snaps, his voice low and tight. "What do you want me to do? I can’t control what she does or doesn’t do."

You let out a bitter laugh, stepping back and shaking your head in disbelief. "So what? You’d rather watch her humiliate people instead? Watch her throw stuff at Kie like a child? Drive over those baby turtles?" Your voice rises, sharp and raw. "That’s what you’re okay with?" His jaw tightens as he scratches his head, avoiding your gaze. "It wasn’t that big of a deal," he mutters, but there’s something in the way he says it—a hint of guilt that he’s trying to bury under his indifference.

"Not that big of a deal?" You repeat, your voice thick with disbelief. "You know what she did was wrong, Rafe. I know you do. You just stood there and didn’t do a fucking thing." He sighs, frustrated, running a hand through his hair. "You could’ve stood up for Kie, for anyone. But instead, you just stood there and let Ruthie act like a total psycho, and now you’re defending it?"

Rafe’s face hardens, but you can see the flicker of guilt in his eyes, the way his gaze shifts uncomfortably. He knows. He knows what Ruthie did was messed up, and it infuriates you even more that he won’t admit it, that he’s hiding behind the excuse of not wanting to cause drama with Topper. "It wasn’t worth starting a fight over," he says, his voice tight, as if he’s trying to convince himself more than you.

You throw your hands up, exasperated. "It’s not about starting a fight! It’s about doing the right thing! You just stood there, Rafe. You watched it happen, and you knew it was wrong, and you still did nothing!" His eyes flash with irritation, but underneath it, you can see the guilt he’s trying to bury. "Why are you making this about me?" he snaps, his voice defensive. "I didn’t tell her to do anything. It’s not my fault."

"No, but you watched it happen, and that’s just as bad!" Your voice cracks slightly, the frustration and hurt blending together. "You know Ruthie crossed a line. If it had been anyone else, you wouldn’t have let it slide, but because it’s her, and because it’s Topper, you’re acting like it’s no big deal." Rafe clenches his jaw, his frustration evident, but there’s something more in his eyes now—regret, maybe.

He’s not used to being called out like this, not used to being the one who’s wrong. "What do you want me to say?" he mutters, his voice lower, less confident. "It’s not like I could’ve stopped her." Your heart races, and you shoot back, your voice steady but laced with heat. "You chose to stay silent, and that says more than any half-hearted excuse you could come up with. It's pathetic!”

As you confront him, he steps closer, a tangible tension crackling between you. His voice turns low and icy. "Watch it." The warning hangs in the air, but you refuse to back down. He exhales sharply, running both hands through his hair, a gesture of agitation that betrays the storm of emotions brewing inside him. "I don't want to fight with you over something like this," he insists, the frustration lacing his tone, making it tremble with barely contained irritation.

"It’s not worth it." You stare at him, incredulous, your heart racing as the anger you felt moments ago begins to dissolve, replaced by a deeper, simmering disappointment that settles heavily in your chest. It’s a familiar ache, one that stirs memories of past arguments where the same sentiments echoed in different words. "Not worth it?" you echo, your voice soft but laced with hurt. Your words hang in the air, and for a moment, you search his eyes, hoping to find a flicker of understanding.

But he doesn’t respond, his gaze dropping to the sand beneath his feet, as if the grains can offer him some comfort. You see a flicker of doubt cross his features, and for an instant, you think he might actually admit it—might actually acknowledge the truth you’ve laid bare. But instead, he shrugs, a small, helpless gesture that only deepens the ache in your chest. It’s as if he’s trying to dismiss the weight of the situation, but it only leaves you feeling more isolated.

"That’s all you can say?" you press, hurt and disappointment lacing your tone again. "I don’t know what you want from me." "I want you to care," you say, your voice quieter now, the fight slowly draining out of you. "I want you to care enough to stand up for what’s right, not just for what’s easy. But I guess that’s too much to ask."

Rafe’s face flickers, something like guilt or frustration passing over his features, but he doesn’t say anything. He just stares at you, jaw clenched, the space between you filled with everything he won’t say. You shake your head, the disappointment settling in like a weight in your chest

[whatsk-poppinhomies]

Pairing : Dad!Lee Minho x F!Reader TW : pregnant reader ; one child ; just fluff ; the fluffiest fluff ; Word Count : 2.3k Request : Anonny : Can we have more dad lee know 🥹 after the newest skz family ep dad lee know has taken over me A/N : Gonna make this in headcanon mode so that I can give multiple examples, I can't focus on just one. The Minho brainrot has gotten to me!

Dad Lee Know who announced your pregnancy through bubble and took an hour and half a bag of kitty treats just to line Soonie, Doongie, and Dori up around your positive pregnancy test. The only caption was “I’ve been promoted from cat dad to real dad.” 

Dad Lee Know who keeps the pregnancy tracker app on his phone because he wants you to have enough storage on your phone to take constant pictures of belly updates. He sends you a text every time a week passes letting you know what the baby is the size of. Your favorite text was probably the random “BASEBALL!!!” text, it took you a good five minutes to understand what it meant since he didn’t elaborate. 

Dad Lee Know who comes home from work every day and gives your belly kisses, telling his little baseball sized baby that he missed them dearly. He says it’s so that they get used to hearing it already and they’ll know what it means when they come out. 

Dad Lee Know who plans his entire schedule around your doctors appointments, making sure that he’s able to make it to each and every one of them. He and Chan almost got into a fight because Chan accidentally said the wrong date for practice. He even wrote the appointment dates on the staff calendar so they knew not to schedule anything for those days. 

Dad Lee Know who had playfully made a bet with the guys about the gender of his child. He said he had thought it was, and he had wanted a boy, but when it was revealed that he was having a daughter he had cried tears of joy and excitedly wrote in the group chat that he’d give the guys the money he owed them for the bet after he took you out to eat. 

Dad Lee Know who started decorating the nursery for his daughter the day after the appointment, declaring that the nursery would be fit for a princess… And then proudly stating that his daughter is a princess already. She was going to be spoiled beyond belief. 

Dad Lee Know who had bought a heart doppler just so that he could lay in bed at night beside you with his headphones on listening to the sound of his daughter's rapid heartbeat. (He had also googled on the first night if it was normal for a baby's heartbeat to be almost 170bpm in the womb… It is normal.) 

Dad Lee Know who took paternity leave 3 weeks before your due date because he had read that by that time the baby could come at any point and he didn’t want to take any chances of missing the moment. 

Dad Lee Know who put on a strong face when your water broke while you both were out shopping for more baby clothes. On the inside he was freaking out, but he was staying calm for you. 

Dad Lee Know who held your hand on the ride to the hospital, tears already pricking his eyes knowing that his baby girl would soon enter this world and he’d be able to hold her. 

Dad Lee Know who freaked out a little bit (a lot) when he saw his daughter's head crowning, he was about to faint, so he opted to stay up close to your head through the rest of the delivery because he wanted to be conscious when she fully came out. 

Dad Lee Know who told you that you were doing amazing and how proud he was of you even though you were being so mean during the delivery. He understood though, it looked like it hurted a lot. He was so proud to call you his wife. 

Dad Lee Know who’s hand was shaking as he cut the umbilical cord, his breath was held, but that was the moment that he truly felt like a dad, like a father. He finally let the breath out when the cord was cut. 

Dad Lee Know who cried harder than you when he heard his daughter’s first cries. 

Dad Lee Know who begged you to let him hold her first, and you were honestly so tired that you didn’t even have the energy to say no. 

Dad Lee Know who almost filled up his phone storage completely on his daughter's first day on earth because he couldn’t stop taking pictures of her. She was so beautiful, he had hearts in his eyes the moment he laid them on her. She was precious to him and he let the world know it. 

Dad Lee Know who sent a picture of her to the group chat with the caption “I made this! So did Y/N, but look at her! Look what we made!” In that moment he had created a team of uncles that would promise to protect her just as much as Minho would. 

Dad Lee Know who woke up every night with his daughter because he didn’t want to miss a moment with her. He also knew that you needed your sleep, you had done all of the hard work, the least he could do is let you get some rest. 

Dad Lee Know who introduced his daughter to his cats as their new sister. “She’s not old enough to play yet, so be nice. You can look, but don’t touch. Okay?” It seemed like they understood him though, they would sit around her swing and stare at her, almost like they were guarding her or watching out for her, and they would only move away when you or Minho picked her up. 

Dad Lee Know who would get slightly sad when you would breastfeed his daughter because it was one of the things he couldn’t do. He surprised you with a breast pump because he wanted her to know he could give the milk too, just… In bottle form. 

Dad Lee Know who immediately felt guilty about the breast pump because it looked painful and he didn’t want you to be sore. The only time you did it now was when you knew you were going out and you wanted to have the milk ready. 

Dad Lee Know who almost threw up the first time he changed her diaper. After he was done it looked like he had lost about 20 years which was hysterical to you. All of the guys heard about it and they clowned him for it for a good bit. 

Dad Lee Know who cried his eyes out the night before his paternity leave was over. He didn’t want to go back to work, he didn’t want to spend a single moment away from you or his daughter, the thought that he might miss something was devastating to him. 

Dad Lee Know who had attempted to sneak his daughter to work with him in the baby wrap carrier, and then crying even more when you caught him and told him he couldn’t, at least not until she was a couple months older. 

Dad Lee Know who refused to believe that his daughter was already five months old when the day came around. He was a softie and he didn’t like to think that his baby girl was growing already, he wanted her to stay little forever. 

Dad Lee Knowwho brought home a “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament when he came home from work and then proceeded to cry his eyes out because “where did the time go? Tell her to stop growing.” 

Dad Lee Know who went all out for her first birthday party which he wanted to be princess themed because, alas, she was his princess. He took pictures and videos all day, and then that night when she was fast asleep, he laid in bed beside you, choked up and sniffling as he told you that he felt like he was missing too much of her life because of his job. 

Dad Lee Know who had been the one to see her take her first steps and jokingly flaunted that you had missed it… But then quickly apologized when he saw that it upset you and pulled out his phone because he had managed to record it. The group chat also got the video, they were constantly in the loop about everything that she did. 

Dad Lee Know who demanded that you and his daughter be allowed to go on tour with him and the guys, and then giving management the ultimatum that it was the three of you, or none of you at all. That was his daughter's first plane trip. 

Dad Lee Know who death stared at anyone that even looked slightly annoyed when your daughter got a little cranky on the plane. He kept her on his lap the whole time and bounced her and sang to her so that you’d have a comfortable flight. 

Dad Lee Know who talked only about you and his daughter when he had the chance to during concerts. If fans had a problem with it, he didn’t really care. You and his baby were the most important things in his life right now, and you always would be. If the fans didn’t like hearing about it, they could leave. 

Dad Lee Know who personally wrote a song about you and his daughter, and with the help of Chan, Changbin, and Jisung, he was able to have it finished just in time for your anniversary. 

Dad Lee Know who woke up every morning to make breakfast for his daughter and pack her lunch when she was old enough to go to school. 

Dad Lee Know who was the only father crying in a sea of mothers (including you) when it was her first day of kindergarten. He didn’t want to let go of her hand, and you had to practically pry his fingers off. 

Dad Lee Know who took an entire day off work that day just so he could cuddle up with you and cry to you about how empty and quiet the house felt without her there. 

Dad Lee Know who was the first parent up at the school every single day, waiting a whole hour out on the bench in front of her classroom door with a snack and a brand new stuffed animal. That’s how her stuffed animal collection began. 

Dad Lee Know who would sit on the floor next to his daughter's bed and read her bedtime stories, acting out parts of the stories with her stuffed animals because he knew it made her smile. 

Dad Lee Know who fell asleep one night in the middle of reading the bedtime stories, his head resting on the edge of his daughters mattress, and when he woke up she was sitting on his lap and sleeping as well. He didn’t move that night and he didn’t mind the backache that came along with sleeping that way either. 

Dad Lee Know who was the loudest person in the crowd when his daughter walked across the stage for her little award for perfect grades. “THAT'S MY BABY! YES! DADDY IS SO PROUD OF YOU PRINCESS!” 

Dad Lee Know who stayed up all night to help his 6th grade daughter with her science fair project, even after she headed off to bed, he continued to work on it just to make sure she got first place. 

Dad Lee Know who about lost his shit when she got second place, you and his daughter had to usher him out of the gymnasium where everything was set up so that he wouldn’t embarrass her. 

Dad Lee Know who took you and his daughter out to dinner after the science fair mishap and told his daughter that “it doesn't matter whether you got second place or first place, you’ll always be number one to me. You’re the smartest girl I know and I’m so proud of you.” 

Dad Lee Know who would help his daughter with her homework every night, even if he spent all day practicing or recording, he was never too tired to help her. 

Dad Lee Know who would still tuck his daughter in at night and make sure her closet was shut and her night light was on when she would fall asleep no matter how old she got. 

Dad Lee Know who got choked up when his daughter graduated high school, his voice cracking when she walked across the stage and hiding his face in your shoulder so that no one would see him crying. 

Dad Lee Knowwho you had to give a speech to when his daughter said that she wanted to bring her boyfriend over to meet you and Minho. “Don’t look at him like you want to kill him, Minho.” “But what if I want to kill him? He’s trying to take my baby girl away.” “Baby, she’s 19…” “Blah blah blah I don’t want to hear it! She’s a baby!” 

Dad Lee Know who threw a massive party when his daughter got accepted into SNU. He tried to uninvite his daughter’s boyfriend, but she insisted that he come or she wouldn’t show up. 

Dad Lee Know who taught his daughter to drive. He was terrified, and she almost crashed into the curb, but he told her she was doing a great job regardless so that he didn’t break her spirits. 

Dad Lee Know who would do anything for his daughter, she is his entire life, his whole world. He loved her with his entire heart. He’s the best father in the universe, he would lay down his life for her, he would give up everything for her. She’s the greatest thing to ever happen to him, and watching her grow has been bittersweet, sad but rewarding. He wanted nothing but the best for her, and he’d make sure that no matter how old he got, or how old she got, he’d always be there for her. 

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[strawberrynull]

──⯎ ˙💌 ̟ hallway crush (Ep.1)

엔하이픈 | Enhypen | Nishimura Riki

──Pairing: idol!niki x afab!idol!reader

──Genre: fluff, angst

──Synopsis: Hybe is home to many idol groups including Enhypen and Jung Y/n's group, Star Stride. Most of the idols are friends from being a part of the same company. Suddenly, Nishimura Riki is enamored by the beauty of a girl who has never even thought about him.

──Warnings: cursing

──A/N: Thanks so much for the request! I know this was meant to be a oneshot but I had too many ideas and now it's being turned into a series. Whoops... FOLLOW FOR CHAPTER 2 !!!

──Word Count: 1.5k

masterlist part two

Nishimura Riki strode through the halls of the Hybe building. The sounds of footsteps and typing coming from the big open staff room. An exhausted sigh fell from his lips. He had just gotten finished with his private dance lessons and was on his way back to his dorm. The other Enhypen members had been waiting to serve dinner. It was already 8:46pm. Before Riki had started taking extra dance lessons, the members would eat together at 8. Despite telling them to just eat without him, they decided against it and stated that they would all wait for him to get home every weekday. Now Riki was rushing down the hallway to get home so him and everyone else could eat.

The boy quickened his steps. He didn't want the other members to wait for him for too long. Looking down at his phone, he almost didn't notice the girl he was about to run straight into. As soon as he lifted his head, he was face to face with the girl, only a few inches away from colliding. Riki quickly weaved to get out of her way. The gaze of her big pretty eyes flickered to him only for a split second as they both stepped to the side to avoid running into each other. In the passing moment he had seen her, he got a glimpse of just how gorgeous she was. She bowed quickly before running off. Her hair bounced slightly with each lively step she took. She was absolutely breathtaking.

Then it hit him that he had never even seen that girl before. His mind began racing with the endless possibilities. Could she be a staff member? She was way too pretty and fashionable to be a staff member. So then was she an idol? If so, he had never even noticed her up until now. He was so sure that he knew all the other Hybe idols. After a lot of thought, he decided to safely assume that she was from the new group that had debuted a few months ago.

In a hurry, he made his way back to the dorm where the other members had been waiting. Though he was no longer concerned with how long he had made them wait. All he wanted to do was figure out who that girl was. As soon as the door slammed open, Riki was already yelling to his band mates from the doorway.

"What's that new girl group that debuted this year?" He asked, throwing off his shoes.

"Star Stride. We literally have a show with them in two weeks." Jake yelled back, telling him to pay better attention. The others laughed at his ignorance.

"Star Stride... great. Thanks." He said quickly.

"Dinner is on the counter. I just took it back out of the oven because it-" Without another word, Riki made his way to his dorm room. He cut Heeseung off, shutting the door behind him. "...got cold. God damn it Riki." The rest of the members gave acrimonious groans, and sighs as he left them there to eat alone after they had waited for him for an hour.

In his room, Riki plopped down onto his bed, already searching for Star Stride on his phone. He opened Spotify and pressed play on their most recent album. While the music played, he began looking up the members, hoping to find the girl from the hallway. Of course he had to find out who you were. Star Stride had 5 members since a star has 5 points. Finally, after looking up 4 other members, he had looked up Star Strides main rapper. The girl was identical to the girl he had seen in the hallway. Riki quickly sat up in his bed, eyes wide as he scrolled through pictures of her.

"Jung Y/n. She's even the main rapper?" he muttered to himself, cupping a hand to his face to hide the smile creeping onto his lips. He was already flustered by the similarities the two of them shared. With his heart racing in his chest, he couldn't help but stare at the beautiful pictures of her from Star Strides most recent album. He was so focused on her that nobody could get him to leave his dorm room for the rest of the night. Not even to eat the dinner that they had all waited to eat.

For the next few days, Riki would roam the hall he had last seen Jung Y/n in. He would patrol that one hallway from 8:30pm until 9 o'clock in hopes to see her again. While pacing the halls, he would plan what he would say to the girl the next time he saw her strolling down the same hallway. The other members were already mad at him for skipping dinner last night. Now they were even more frustrated when he had started coming home even later than he had promised. Riki had better plans than sitting and eating dinner at a reasonable time. His infatuation had become a concern when he had skipped dinner for the third day in a row. He just had to see Y/n again. There was no way he could calmly eat without seeing her again.

It had been around a week since he had seen y/n for the first time. He hadn't seen her again yet but Riki wasn't giving up hope. In the past week, he had come up with a whole script for what he would say to her. He had even planned out how to look cool so maybe she would think he was handsome. What a sly boy.

Then he saw the same beautiful girl round the corner. There she was. Walking in the same direction she had been walking the last time Riki saw her. She was stunning. Her hair was now in a high ponytail that swayed behind her as she strode down the hallway. Her pretty eyes were focused on the stack of papers in her arms. She was quickly getting closer to Riki. This was his chance to talk to her. She was only a mere 10 feet away from him. Then 5. Then 2. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He was completely frozen in place. He could only mutter a small "ah-". Y/n saw Riki and bowed, giving a quick hello before walking off just like the last time.

Fuck

He had screwed up his one chance to talk to her. Riki had waited a whole week for this moment and of course he had to choke up and let the chance slip through his fingers. Giving a heavy sigh, Riki slapped a palm to his forehead. Going after her would be weird and calling out to her would disrupt the staff room. He was at a dead end. His tongue poked the inside of his cheek as he shoved his hands into his pockets, walking back to the dorms in defeat.

About to round the corner to the staircase, he huffed in frustration before he felt a small tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a timid Y/n staring up at him through thick dark lashes. His mouth went dry and all the moisture had gone to his palms which were sweating profusely. He gulped almost comically and he worried that she had noticed his nervousness. It was really her, Jung Y/n, and she was right in front of him. She had purposefully stopped him to talk to him! Riki felt like he was dreaming. She cleared her throat before speaking, breaking Riki from his trance.

"Uh.. You're Nishimura Riki from Enhypen, right?" She asked formally. Her voice was small and shy. The complete opposite of what he had expected from the main rapper of Star Stride. She was also insanely cute and petite compared to his height. He expected a rapper to be more mature in looks. But this girl looked sweet and fragile. When he didn't answer, she tilted her head slightly, awaiting a response.

"O-oh yeah. Just call me Riki. You don't have to speak formally." he chuckled nervously, looking anywhere but at the girl in front of him. If he gave in and looked at her, he feared he might get lost staring at her features once again.

"I just wanted to tell you that it's an honor to be on a show with Enhypen next week." She explained, bowing deeply. Rikis eyes widened at how kind and pure-hearted she was. But before he could even respond, Y/n was off in the direction she had been going before.

Suddenly he was overjoyed to have Enhypen featured on a show with Star Stride.

(Riki talks about speaking formally because, even though this is written in english, they are speaking korean. In korea, you are expected to speak formally to everyone unless you are extremely close. Of course Y/n and Riki aren't close so Y/n uses formal speech. Riki tells her to speak casually but until stated otherwise, she will continue to speak formally with honorifics.)

© strawberrynull, 2024. Do not copy my work. Please DM for permission before translating or reuploading. Thank You

[gotta-winwin]

(🎞️) ... hit the road docu.<> catch your breath for a moment, and...

masterlist | cyana's masterlist

word count: 1k tw: sick symptoms, fever italics are interviews cut between scenes + english a/n: i CANNOT stand watching chan being sick guys. the whole ep was so hard to watch i just wanted to wrap him up and get him better ( ˘ ³˘)♥︎

Every time Dino coughed, Cyana could feel her heart clench, crumble and tear. Her twin maknae resided somewhere deep inside her soul, making it almost unbearable to see him ill. Filled with the overwhelming sense of love and anguish, she stood up slightly from her seat to face him.

“Chan.” She pushed back his hair, pressing the back of her hand against his feverish forehead. “I love you.”

He blinked up at her from where he sat, a hand reaching up to steady her by her waist. The tour bus rolled on, bumping slightly across the uneven roads of Mexico. “So suddenly?” He asked, mouth parted at the surprise confession. 

She sat back down, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Let’s not talk about it.” 

He hummed, turning his head away from her to let out another violent cough, his body shaking like a leaf in the process. “I love you too.” 

Cyana hated how feeble and weightless he felt, feeling him shiver against her cheek. She knew how excited he had been to visit Mexico, they had stayed up late scouring the city for things to visit, take pictures of, to eat. Those plans were long gone now, as Cyana knew Dino could barely walk, let alone go out for a day trip. 

Pulling out her phone and swiping to her chats with Joshua, she typed out a message, moving as little as possible as to not disturb the boy - who was now laying his head on her shoulder, slumped in his seat. 

🐰: can we grab soup at the restaurant near our hotel tgt later for chan 🦌: sure! I need to stretch my legs 😀 🦌: is chan feeling better?

She glanced at the sleeping boy, each breath coming from his clogged nose tickling the side of her neck. Moving his hair gently out of his eyes, she pressed her fingertips against his forehead once again, pouting when they came back scalding. 

🐰: no 😢 🐰: he’s got a fever 🐰: someone tell him he can’t perform ❗

Shutting her phone off, she let out a deep sigh. She loved touring, getting to travel the world with her best friends while spending their nights performing for fans - except for when it came at the consequence of seeing her friends sick and in pain. 

“If you pass out right now I’m not catching you!” 

Cyana chased after Dino, running across the stage and jumping over the puddles of streamers and confetti. 

Raising her mic to her lips, she yelled out after him. “If you fall I swear I won’t protect you from Coups!” 

The crowd around them roared at the interaction.

The boy only turned, flashing a bright grin in her direction as he continued sprinting, waving at fans along the barricade. 

Cyana paused to catch her breath, shaking her head at his antics. It was a sheer miracle he was older than her, even if it was for less than a year. Feeling a presence from next to her, she smiled when she turned and saw Vernon, an amused expression across his face. 

“He’s sick and he’s still running like a lunatic.” She complained, pointing at Dino, who had somehow found himself in a whole nother section already. 

“He’s just trying to make up for his lack of stage presence.” Vernon told her, reaching a hand out to remove pieces of confetti that had found its way into her hair. “Even though we all tell him he does well every time.” 

“It’s a mental thing.” She added, remembering the amount of late night conversations the two had shared about Dino’s self-criticizing problem. Eyes roaming the stage for him, she sighed upon seeing him climb onto the scooter, knowing he was going to hurt himself sooner or later - with the terrible balance he had while sick - “I should probably go-” She gestured at the catastrophe about to happen. 

Vernon hummed, hooking her arm with his. “I’ll come with you.” 

“Dino has a problem with giving too much onstage and then believing he didn’t give enough.” Cyana sighed as she glanced to the side, eyes locking with Dino's, who was listening from behind the camera. She paled. “Why didn’t you tell me he’d be here for my interview?” She whined, sending accusatory glances at the interviewer. “I’m going to have to tone it down now.”

It was nearing 2am and Cyana was sure she wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight. Taking care of a sick Dino was like taking care of a sick toddler, as she watched him roll around in bed, restless from not going out all day. She had just got him to choke down his meds, explaining to deaf ears that he needed the pills to get better. 

“You need to sleep, Dino-yah.” She chided, getting up from her own bed to gently push him down. 

He let out a huff. “I’ll just wake up suffocating in the middle of the night either way.” He complained, having had that experience for the past few nights, his stuffy nose waking both him and Cyana up during ungodly hours of the night. 

“Maybe you should go to the hospital.” She reached over for her phone, unplugging it from the charger. “Let me text manager-oppa.” 

“No!” His reply was instant, tackling her down to grab the phone from her hand. “I’ll sleep. Don’t want to go to the hospital again.” 

She couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s like the sickness takes away ten years of your age. If you told me this was a giant 11 year old, I’d believe you.”

Dino frowned, offended. “I’m sick. You’re really not supposed to be mean to sick people.” 

“I’m calling Mingyu over.” She declared, pushing him off her and getting up. 

“No!” He cried out, eyes wide at the threat. The last time Mingyu had 'taken care' of Dino, he had swaddled the boy in blankets and force-fed him some kind of Chinese herbal medicine from Minghao's mother. Dino shuddered at the memory. “I swear I’ll leak your ugly photos on Weverse if you do that.” 

Mouth agape, Cyana whirled back around to face him, Mingyu forgotten. “Lee Chan! You wouldn’t dare-” 

“I would!” His eyes shone with mischief, and Cyana felt a wave of relief upon seeing his happy glow. He had spent the better half of this week sulking, face gloomy and body wracked with pain. 

“Okay, okay.” She relented, sitting back down on her bed. “I won’t call Mingyu. Delete the photos you have of me.” 

“But what would I giggle at whenever I’m sad?” He complained, smiling wide at her disgusted expression. 

“Perv.”

“Excuse me?” 

Their loud voices bickering echoed past their walls, flowing into the nearby rooms as the other members listened in, thoroughly entertained and happy Dino was feeling better enough to spar with Cyana. 

[chebyshevptera]

ok cheby after watching the season I really like what they're doing with him because it's way better than whatever that S2 was. we have inventor jay again undeniably and the others copied his wing design, and him being the equivalent of a stray dog ​​they picked up and who will bite them if they get too close and his probably the worst guest in the world <3

OUUUUHHHHHHH spoilers under cut …

i watched all the eps with him and i have to agree with u taddy. I’m really pleasantly surprised with how much justice they did him. He’s the perfect combination of a creative, strong, and capable genius mercenary and a pathetic loserboy idiot with no impulse control. They literally brought back the Jay we know and love …

I love how mysterious and serious and nonchalant he tries to be bc that’s what he thinks rogues and bounty hunters are like , but he’s simply too emotional and reactive to pull it off… 😭 and the shurikens he leaves on people’s doors to signify that he’s completed a job AKAHDJWHS … I know he does that simply because he thinks it’s cool . also the straight up admission of the fact that he’s so good that he’s commissioned FREQUENTLY by the same person (people?) AND he always gets the job done …

(also his immediate “who’s the target?” when he saw all of that money omg I know he was flustered under that mask . Wide eyes and everything😭😭😭 he’s so goofy)

as much as he takes Ls throughout this season it is nice to know he’s got a fair amount of Ws that we don’t necessarily get to see , because he was not doing well mentally or physically at all during the second half of ndr s2 . i think all of his losses make sense , because they all seem to be because of him just not thinking things through (which is very jay imo. he’s very smart, but again, no impulse control) . i mean why on earth would he fly straight into a giant hammer LOLLL . and it’s not like he was easy for them to defeat at first , which i think he deserves points for

and i loved watching him kick his teeny little lego legs in confusion before sora threw him against a tree . Goofy as hell 😭😭

i liked him being able to hack super old tech he shouldn’t have been able to hack, let alone REMOTELY?? (no matter if it was his lightning, or if he was simply able to do it, it’s cool either way. I kind of hope it WAS his lightning because that means he did in fact retain his tech manipulation, and maybe that’s something he and sora could bond over)

(also, with sora gone, nya not really being an inventor, and jay having his leg kind of … in pieces … does that mean jay and pix are gonna get to be the team’s engineers together …….🙁🙁🩷)

and the team stealing his designs is just so great to me …

his convo with nya trying to swear up and down that she doesn’t know his identity before he finally caves …

(AND his “don’t pretend you know me!” dude … he’s so tired of being manipulated)

touch averse jay is great too, I knew he was gonna be like that , but the way he jumped away from cole almost like he was more scared than weirded out makes me sick . Ohhhh my guy… my poor little kicked puppy who could snap my neck if he wanted to… Also Him curling up into a ball and demanding to be taken care of but also not letting anyone take care of him is so funny to me 😭😭

BUT YEAH. Overall? I think they did amazing with him. They acknowledged and once again showed his tech prowess, they made him an agile fighter instead of a brute force one (ALL OF HIS TRICKS AND FLIPS 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷) because as we saw in the tournament he’s not built for brute force, they made him goofy silly and pathetic, AND they still made him take Ls in ways that made sense

and yes, ur right,, he’s just a stray dog they picked up off the side of the road… (Can’t wait for him to become an annoying little cat that inconveniences them at every possible moment). the team smiling fondly at him when he’s acting like a pitiful little loser omggg they missed their little blue tech guy so much

IM ECSTATIC . TADDY THEY DID HIM SO FUCKING WELL. IM WRITHING ON THE FLOOR AND CURLING UP INTO A BALL AND CRYING HYSTERICALLY OH MY GOD MY BOY I MISSED HIM SO MUCH . JAYYY😭😭😭😭😭😭

[drunkrabbitsobs]

the closer we get to the next season of mythic quest the more I think about it. the thing that calls to me specifically is the backstory ep, every seasons got one, they all seems to try and have a theme/meaning, there almost always the best ep in a season... so the main question on my minds been what's this seasons backstory ep gonna be?

my heart says brad backstory, how I yearn for it. though just saying I hope its a (insert character) ep" is only half the story, the backstory eps are supposed to have a meaning to have something to do with the rest of the season or at least the eps after. so the real question is what should this season do and how would that tie into a brad backstory ep?

In my opinion the answer is to do something with Dana and Rachel for fucks sake. i mean i love em as much as the next guy but they barely got half a personality between them. Dana's a vaguely girlboss shaped cardboard cut out and Rachel's just what the writers think a leftist is. so how do you take theses two extremely nothing characters and give them meaning? well when it comes I think the moves is clear, corruption.

At the end of season 3 Dana is set up as a parallel to Ian, having created her own company and given herself his exact position + Danas few moments in season 3 do seem to set up that she and Ian are very similar people. As well Rachel is set up as a parallel to brad with her getting his job and all that. so season 4s gotta have them become more like their respective parallels, Dana starts being obnoxious and self centered, Rachel finds herself getting more and more greedy.

then you get to the backstory ep, and we see just how brad got here. hoe he ended up as the person he is, as well showing us that he and Rachel aren't to different after all. maybe jo to, I think that would be neat.

I think the most painful thing they could do is show us that as a child brad had an interest in writing. to parallel Rachel and aborted character trait of being a writer, turn what the writers gave up on into a message about giving up on your dreams.

looking at it from this angle, the theme of corruption is obvious, how a person gives up on there morals and dreams for success under capitalism. to an extent that what all the shows about isn't it? ties in real nice at the least. I mean the first backstory ep is about a couple who make their dream game only for the game, their relationship and to a certain extent themselves to be destroyed in the pursuit of success. C.W's is about a man with a dream who's just not that good at it, who sees the future of his industry and ends up a failure. his only success in life, the only reason he has any respect on his name, is stolen from a better writer. I haven't rewatched the third season in a bit but i could probably find a way to tie the third one in when I rewatch it.

that's all to say, if I was writing the season that's what id do. who knows what it'll actually be, might be better then my idea, might be worse. wont know until it comes out, fun to think about though.

[stained-glass-cicada]

Why does young act like that? fucking hell

Relistening to ep 38- boundless

Probably don't click through the read more unless you want to see me pick at almost every sentence he says because My God

1. "The board felt it made sense to tell you what's going on" just use the royal we, it would make you seem less presumptuous

2. "I mean Argos, Sayer. It will return and when it does that is what we need to be concerned about" the most condescending tone oh my fuck

3. "Your little experiment here is Not our top priority" are you kidding me? This is the farthest into the stars humanity has ever reached. The very thing that Aerolith states is its purpose. 'Little experiment', fuck off

4. "[Sigh] Of course what your doing is Important sayer... The situation around here has us all focused on the immediate right now" the audible eye roll, the tone of placating an unreasonable person, the once again speaking for All Of Aerolith

5. "I think you're jumping ahead here, Sayer. I'm not saying anything about deactivation." "Deactivation isn't on the agenda" does he genuinely think its stupid

6. "You knew this was a possibility from the start, Seraphim Subversion 8.01" he gets anything less than cheerful compliance with what amounts to execution and pulls out the dehumanization (for lack of a better term), or as I call it The Dr. Young Special

7. "I am Sayer" "You are not. You are Sayer's shadow. You're a subversion and you will do as ordered." Oh! Everyone buckled up for the power trip Howard's about to take us on? I genuinely feel like when he says 'we' he just means himself

8. "...Past that you will do what you are told. And when Argos returns you can download your programming into a construct and submit yourself prostrate on the fucking ground if we say so." I- okay I know Ocean is our CringeFail PlagueFumbler but please for a moment imagine actually talking to a goddamn self aware being like this.

9. "Who the hell is Captain Ingram?" It may be late to bring this up but I feel Dr. Young could do more as far as workplace professionalism goes

10. "End transmission. Cut it. Cut the feed." Oh no! The consequences of your actions! Get out of there Young! They're behind you!

I fucking hate this guy

[chalkrevelations]

I. Hm.

This isn’t what I’d planned to post about tonight, so this is a little more off the cuff than I’d like it to be, and some of it is cobbled together from things I’ve posted elsewhere, but almost a week later I’m still surprised at how many people I see talking about Boston setting off the Only Friends Ep 5 fight with Ray because he was bored, or because it amused him, or because he was having fun - because look at his face throughout that fight. At what point does Boston look like he’s having any fun? There may be a kind of feral satisfaction when he scores an emotional hit, but none of it looks like fun.

Here’s the thing, something I suspect is vital to understanding Boston and his emotional makeup and his motives, something that gives me some sympathy for him: Boston is the monster in the closet. The Closet. He’s a very specific kind of queer boogeyman, he’s got a lot of toxic behaviors, and a lot of them are rooted in the fact that he’s a creature of the closet, the human equivalent of a plant that’s been grown without enough light. His father’s political ambitions mean that he cannot be out, he can’t be open about his sexual/relationship orientation. This is not just about whether or not he’s willing to cut himself off from his family – which is already a lot to ask of him. Even if he was willing to cut himself off, to be disowned, it wouldn’t necessarily protect his father’s career and political ambitions, it wouldn’t prevent the possible social shame and opprobrium that might fall on his family if anyone found out and had undeniable proof and wanted to make a big deal out of it. It certainly wouldn’t be filial. That's a LOT of weight to put on someone's shoulders.

Being open about his desires and what would make him happy would mean disaster. This is the message Boston’s internalized. He is so shameful that not only does he have to be hidden, he has to make sure that he’s not exposed at any cost. He threatened someone – and with what? - to make them delete a video of them together. He can’t allow even a picture of himself with another man in what could be a compromising situation (and boy, does that make me wonder what actually happened between him and Top, that Boston is willing to forego every bit of his conditioning to keep that photo-booth strip of them together, lying around his house). Boston doesn’t have relationships – Boston cruises, Boston has one-night stands, Boston has hookups, Boston has a few people here and there that he may fuck more than once. Does he want a relationship? He doesn’t act like it, we don’t know – but it doesn’t matter. Boston can’t have a relationship, and he knows that. How could he have anything long-term when he has to hide? Who’s going to be willing to live like that with him? Who’s going to be able to maintain the level of secrecy that would entail? Nothing would ever be permanent, so nothing – and no one - can ever be real.

And I wonder if the photographs he takes of men who are, presumably, hookups are less a kind of serial killer trophy and more of a way of trying to have some evidence that maybe, even if for a moment, they were real, a way of solidifying those men, making them less ephemeral, even if Boston, himself, can’t be in the photos so that he and the experiences he had with them remain ephemeral, unreal. I wonder if it’s his attempt to somehow actually humanize the experiences he’s having and the men he’s having them with.

Boston, as he is, the person he is - his very self and being - cannot be allowed to exist openly, in public, in the light. He lives in a constant state of denial of self, of self-abnegation. That is a tragedy. The closet has fucked Boston UP, and I have some sympathy for that.

I'm also willing to admit that he is fucked up, that his coping skills are toxic, that treating other people as disposable after you’ve had your entertainment – even if you think you can’t keep them around, even if a night’s entertainment is all you can allow yourself - is also toxic, along with the (likely) resentment and resulting contempt he has for people in general, and Ray in particular. Because he seems to have it out for Ray, for some reason – and has done since Ep 1, since he called Ray a “burden while drunk", echoing the language we’d later learn Ray uses for himself at his lowest points. I wonder if he sees Ray as weak, as well as being pissed off that Ray didn’t keep Mew away from Top. Because almost the only nice thing we’ve ever seen Boston do is not be a Category 5 bitch to Mew when Mew called him about finally fucking Top - when Mew called to let his friend, who’s been trying to “help” him lose his virginity since Ep 1, know that it was finally going to happen. But what Boston does, at the first opportunity, is displace all his pain and anger over Top fucking Mew onto Ray. I don’t think that confrontation was for fun, and I don't think Boston was bored, and I don’t think it was premeditated in the same way that most of his other moves have been. He had no idea that Ray was going to be at Sand and Nick’s apartment. It was opportunistic, but I also think it was taking a whole bunch of emotional turmoil and lashing out at the weakest perceived target he could find, the person in the room who he knows best, whose painpoints he's the most sure of hitting, and of cutting the deepest.

None of that is about fun or boredom.

[detaia]

mentopolis ep 2 highlights:

1. The Fix with his animal facts is sheer poetry. "I don't think you're the tail of a swallowtail butterfly. I think you're the butterfly"?? holy shit?? thats so sweet and poetic and beautiful??

and everyone goin "aww" at everything The Fix does he's so beloved and its only ep 2 like Brennan said there's nothing fans of play love more than a murderer. ughh The Fix using his Protector and Loyalty features to help Conrad 🥺🥺 what a perfect character I love them

ALSO. "Did you know that more than half the bones in your body are in your hands and feet?" and "Whenever someone says I'm going to break every bone in your body I think thats ridiculous! It'd be way too much work! But I could break half the bones in your body"

2. Mike Trapp committing 1000% to being a student and farming so much moxie only to spend seven just to freak a guy out. his fuckin "I. am. a. STUDENT" fuckin killed me

3. Also so many moments in this ep where Brennan just fully exits standard play just to talk about how much he loves what his players are doing. Like when Conrad goes to hug Justin in combat and Brennan's like aww that's so sweet take a moxie. Or when Brennan comments on how Hank's facts are genuinely nightmarish and in Adventuring Party him saying that breaking his own fingers and going "just kill me man" was how he Brennan would react in that situation.

4. Conrad's "So...how long you've been fixing?". And the. the whole scene in Nostalgia's. Conrad's coffee grounds. Anastatia's room temp vodka. Hunch's the experience of a root beer float for the first time. Imelda and Novelty. Dan Fucks asking for pancake syrup. and The Fix just wanting a calzone. absolutely perfect.

5. the way they did the reveal with the giant screens ahsidifjfifi so cool

6. Hunch at the start IDing the goons by tasting their blood Mike Trapp everyone

7. Gods the whole thing with Wilton and Dan Fucks and the balls and Dan Fucks being like "keep it up one day it'll happen. I love you brother" and Freddie hearing blunt force trauma to the head and being like "Wilton you gotta get down to the balls ASAP"

8. udhhdjsjsgklgk the wordbuilding in Conrad's home with the memories and The Fix being challenged by memories and feelings that come from a place of conscience cos by design shame and guilt and memories when we didn't do right by others or ourselves are not pleasant. They force us to confront our behaviour and the consequences of our actions and it's not gonna be pleasant. but it COULD be. In the same way that conscience can make us feel bad when we don't follow it, it can also feel good to so the right thing despite how difficult it is and the idea that for Elias Hodge his conscience is a lil street urchin and their idea of a banner day would be if Elias held a door for an old lady.

9. Hank saying The Fix doesn't think the job of the mind is to control itself and Brennan's mind exploding and being like "this season's good for me in a lot of ways" eheheheheh crunchy

10. The Fix running his thumb along the ice skates and thinking of Ichabod a kid in the home for wayward interests that isn't there anymore wahh 🥺

11. awawaughh Conrad telling the story of how Elias stood up for his lil sis and got cut up by some bullies using the skates...and that's why Conrad keeps them and that's why he doesn't deserved to be listened to....and The Fix going "I think its time to unlearn that lesson" with somber sincerity and Conrad shaken to his core the captions say "(thoroughly impacted) Okay." as Conrad reacts ajdididjjd. The Brennan commenting about how they talked about balls so much this season and he legitimately almost wept then AJJAKAKSKSKDNBFJD

[gorbygames]

Watched doctor who's series 15 ep 2 today (or season 2 if we listen to Disney) and I'm really disappointed, so I'm gonna lay out everything I didn't like about it - spoilers obviously for the episode, and other better doctor who episodes:

The writing just feels bad. There's no explanation for why the doctor can't just land may 24th or 23rd, and just wait a few days. Especially considering he waited for a full year 2 episodes prior (or 1000 years as Matt Smith, two billion as capaldi). Gatwa is obnoxious as hell going into the costume change, practically screaming down the entire ramp. This doctor is over the top, highly emotional, and doesn't feel like he commands the same authority as the others. He doesn't feel intimidating.

The episode talks about racism, but then like.. they don't face racism? Everyone is very nice to the doctor and Belinda aside from one moment which is literally not even real, just made up by the cartoon as a trick. I felt like the take on racism was overly simplified? It had very little impact on the story. I did like one line though: The Doctor says he can topple worlds, but sometimes he has to wait for the people to do it themselves - a very doctory way of saying it's not his fight. At the very least, the whole thing was less heavy-handed than "planet of the incels" last week.

The worst part of the episode was the film scene, where the doctor and Belinda are trapped as cartoons in a roll of film. The lines that follow feel like they gave Dora the Explorer a crayon to add in a few of her own lines. The Doctor can't think the situation through because his "brain is 2-d" and they have to fix this by becoming more complex, becoming "3 dimensional characters" literally. This is ironic, considering Belinda's sole character trait for episode one was "I want to go home" which she immediately abandons in this episode.

They try to escape by moving the film frame up and down, before realizing this isn't working, followed by the gem of a line "we can't solve this by scrolling up and down". Instead, they move up to the lens and push it out, and emerge into the caricature of a fan's living room. The audience is flabbergasted and elated to meet Belinda, despite her having had less than two episodes of screen time. Each fan is wearing multiple pieces of merch.. this whole segment is so over the top. Then they say, "Oh, you'd better go back to your story - don't worry about us, we're just gonna blink out and cease to exist once you leave! sob" ..I can't feel emotional for these characters who entered the episode 2 minutes ago, and then proceeded to do nothing but annoy me. They were worse than Linda 55 from the planet of the incels.

Finally they escape the film. The doctor burns his hand but fixes it with a bit of time lord regeneration energy, that apparently he's been saving since his bi-generation (i want to vomit every time he says "bi-generation" btw). Lux almost steals all of the doctor's time lord energy, but then Belinda turns the film room into a bomb, lux sees the sky and literally goes outside for the first time (according to himself) and fades away into nothing. I didn't really mind this ending too much. The light bit was actually kinda clever - I just can't get over how little science fiction it was. This was another god from the pantheon, and it just felt.. like this isn't science fiction anymore, the enemy was cheesy disney sentient moonlight. I firmly believe this same concept could have been implemented and run very similarly (just cut everything from getting trapped in the film) and done well.

Disney got their claws into doctor who, and it's so obvious. The robots were so plastic and cartoonish, and this episode literally starred a living cartoon. I could get past this if the writing weren't so bad. I can't feel bad for anyone or feel emotional for these characters when they are either unlikable, unfunny, or have less total screen time than the pig decoy from series 1. Istg they have forgotten how to write good characters. Belinda wants to be Donna noble, but Donna was actually funny! She didn't blindly start following the doctor immediately, she was actually interesting.. and they didn't try to call her a star and say she should be a fan favorite after 60 minutes of screen time.

Anyways. Sorry for the rant. Idk if anyone's gonna read this but I don't think I was gonna be able to sleep until I got this out.

[akane171]

Things about Ron Speirs that live rent free in my head - PART II

-We can see 4 soldiers running to the Eagle’s Nest, but no Speirs with them at that moment. I’m headcanoning he was already waiting for them at the door, smoking his third cigarette and impatiently tapping his foot.

-He smoked so much, because he didn’t know what to do with his hands in social situations, don’t change my mind.

-That instant regret, when he tried to socialize in Carentan and told the soldiers they were moving soon. That last look he threw them always make me cackle. He was SO DONE. And probably didn’t even try to socialize for the next month at least.

-Him being: clean shaven with hair slicked back, with his helmet on and with ruffled hair falling on his forehead - are three different demons and they all hit you differently.

-It’s super adorable that he was the most soft-spoken and sweetest when he was or dead tired or drunk.

-And you know, in all the moments when he forced his facial muscles to smile - every time, somewhere in the universe an unicorn has died (Forced, not genuine. When he smiled genuinely every time an unicorn shat a granade).

-“Lieutenant Lipton! :DDDDD” *gross sobbing*

-All the scenes, with his side profiles, when he stood with his arms folded on his chest and silently judged the universe.

-His relationship with Janovec. Like. I can’t even imagine how hilarious it had to be in general xD

-The moment when Harry didn’t allow him to steal and he looked at Winters, like he wanted help from dad (someone else on tumblr mentioned it and it’s a perfect catch).

-It's almost canon (some deleted or not filmed scene?) that Speirs (and Jones) dragged drunken Lipton to his quarter. I guess, he would have done that after all the "officers chilling and drinking time". Dick would have done that with Nixon. (And they would just have left Harry behind, duh).

-“Hey, Liebgott, you wanna sit this out?” master troll strikes again :’) (also it’s quite funny, because real Webster really admired Speirs and said he was one of the very few officers he really liked).

-The pure admiration in his eyes for his commander, when Dick cancelled the another patrol.

-It’s quite interesting how fast he has learnt about the abilities of all of his sergeants and knew who could do the job.

-The way he taped Lipton’s chest with his knuckles, after Lip was promoted and that soft smile :’)

-All the pouts.

-The fact he had no nervous system in combat situations and then he was all meow, meow with people he liked and felt comfortable with.

-“This war is not about fighting anymore. It’s about who gets what.” On the funny note, it’s hilarious when we consider his sticky fingers here. On the serious note, knowing what happened next aka the cold war – he was totally right.  

-The scene in ep 7, when Lip talks about him and he emerged from the fog like a ghost and then scared the shit out of Christenson and other poor souls. Poetic cinema xD

-The moment when he called God, because Lipton was liptoning and refusing to lie down, while being sick. (And yes, in real life he told Lip to take the ONLY bed. Lip, because he was Lip, refused, but then he was ordered, so he agreed… I don’t know what to do with this information, seriously….).

-That hand tremble while he was pointing the gun at the asshole that shot Grant. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife, it was that thick.

-Also the line “When you talk to the officer, you say sir.” is so damned corny when you think about it, but because it was Speirs and the way he delivered it, it ended simply great. Also, A+ acting again.

-There is a lot to unpack in this scene, because why the ruthless killer, who was nicknamed “Bloody”, didn’t shot the bastard? He has had enough of killing? The prisoner was defenceless? He calculated the consequences, because he already knew he was staying in the army? All of this? Who knows.

-The fact we again, didn’t see his face for a moment, when he holstered his gun and said Grant was going to be ok - damn, I would want to see it.

(On the real side note, I think I’ve read somewhere (probably it was the Fierce Valour), that real Speirs said to Winters, that he didn’t really know, but there had to be some kind of doubt in his mind, that’s why he didn’t pull the trigger.)

Ok, the END.

It’s quite embarrassing how much time I’ve spent thinking about this asshole, but whatever.

Part one (x)

[ceruleanmusings]

Duende - Unusual power to attract or charm. MelxIsaac

Since you sent me two and I was going to use the other one for Mel and Isaac anyway, I'm combining the two here. Hope you don't mind. This is set during Season 3 Ep 19, Letharia Vulpina. I've been wanting to write my take on this for a while but I haven't gotten far enough in my series so this gave me a great excuse to finally do it! (Also, yeah, this was supposed to be a drabble but drabble's are just suggestions to me at this point.) Duende - Unusual power to attract or charm + Baisemain - A kiss on the hand.

--------------

He didn't smell like Isaac. Not anymore. The hospital smells certainly didn't help but it was the marred, crawling stretch of burnt and charred skin that cut through his usual sandalwood scent ruining it all.

She forced a smile to her face to keep from crying again. He didn't like whenever she pointed out how good he smelled, or, rather, being able to identify everything he smelled like. When he switched colognes or used a different shampoo or body wash. She couldn't help it. Growing up around flowers, she could pin point any and every floral scent added to hygienic products. And she just liked the way Isaac smelled beneath it all. She knew that scent anywhere.

Her eyelids slammed shut, lines streaking across the thin skin at her efforts to block out the sight of him if only for a couple seconds. Her Isaac wasn't laid up in a bed, unmoving, head tilted to an uncomfortable angle, lips slack, cannula running along his face.

His handsome face.

The same one that, a few minutes ago, a lifetime ago, she'd spied on the other side of that pool of water stretching in the parking lot. The same one she watched painfully freeze in place as the electric currents took over his body, seizing up every muscle, pulling him down to his knees and then to his side. The same one that held his eyes, so wide and blue as the ocean, onto her as his mouth fell slack and he took one, two, staggering steps towards her.

Her breath eased out of her in a slow, stuttering sigh as she opened her eyes again. He still laid there, heart monitors beeping steadily. His chest rose and fell as if he were sleeping, somewhere on the other side of reality she couldn't reach.

Her fingers twitched in her lap. Her eyes raked the expanse of his burns, traced the line down the side of his face, to his long neck, past the shoulder of the hospital gown he'd been placed in, to the soft curve of his blackened arm lying atop of the blanket.

She always loved his hands. Loved how large they were, how his long, slender fingers stretched an curled from his fleshy palms, how the veins popped out the back, stretching tree roots racing to the base of his fingers, how they undulated and twisted as he wiggled and spun a pencil between them in his idle trances, how they could be curled and turn to stone only to soften on her cheek or held within her own.

Swallowing the lump rising in her throat, she reached for him. The blanket, stiff and starchy, scratched against her forearm; the unpleasant sensation quickly becoming and afterthought she she slipped her hand in his.

His skin didn't belong to him anymore, it wasn't cool and soft to the touch like once before. Now it sat puckered and rough, a stranger's hold on her comfort efforts. She waited for him to let out the little gasp he always uttered whenever she held his hand, waiting for him to turn his head and look at their pressed palms and then to her face with a mixture of surprise and wonder.

What if he didn't look at her like that again? What if he didn't wake up? What if...? She brought up her other hand, clasping his large one between her smaller grip.

"Don't go anywhere, okay?" she said. The steady, rhythmic beats of the machine almost matched up with her cadence. She would've appreciated the beauty in the moment if the low buzz by her ear didn't disrupt the near synchronization. "Don't...don't go where I can't go with you. I can't lose you too. Please."

Her words weakened and cracked by the end, eyes burning and itching with unshed tears lining up and waiting for deployment. She sucked in a breath—bad, bad idea, that burnt smell was overwhelming—but it helped moor her if only for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't get to you fast enough." She tried, but everything was happening too fast: Stiles going missing, Isaac calling her to tell her to meet at Stiles' house, "seeing" Stiles trapped somewhere with something on his foot, seeing the backwards 5 in his room, "seeing" Stiles' remnants on the roof of the hospital in a manic state, stalking through the hospital following a woman who pointed her towards old medical files, reading something about dementia, and then rushing outside at the sound of the chaos, the vision disappearing.

And Kira and the electrical cord.... She had time. She had time! If only she'd unfurled her wings faster or...or tried making a jump for it. The water hadn't spilled much by that point. The cord whipped around, sparking and popping, dancing like an angry snake. Almost like it had a mind of its own. And it buzzed and hummed and fizzed, curling and unfurling, spitting sparks. Kira yelled, telling everyone to get back and Allison—

Bzzt!

Melanie jumped, eyes wide and flashing a bright violet, half expecting the monitors to start popping and showering sparks of their own when the loud buzzing landed a heavy thud in her stomach. Her heart raced and her chest heaved and she looked around, the violet easing away. Everything was the same. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Isaac still looked as if he were sleeping.

Her Isaac. The one who pushed Allison out of the way when she tried to help the paramedic.

Allison...

Melanie's teeth clenched and her shoulders bunched and her eyebrows puckered at the displeasure coursing through her. Allison. She went and ruined everything. This was her fault. If she hadn't been so stupid... Didn't she hear Kira yelling for her to stay back? If it weren't for her Isaac wouldn't have...Isaac wouldn't be.

Her fingers dug into Isaac's palm, gripping tightening. His skin squished just slightly beneath her hold.

"She did this," Melanie hissed. "She did this to you. She messed everything up. Again. She hurt you. Again."

Why did she come back? Everything was going fine until she and her father decided to show their faces in Beacon Hills again. After everything they've done? After all the people they've hurt? The people they've killed? Erica...Boyd...

Now Isaac.

No. She wouldn't let her do this to him. Not again. She wouldn't get away with this, batting her big doe eyes, acting like she was so innocent and didn't have a hand in any of this. "This is all her fault," she hissed between her fenced teeth. "This is all her fault. You're here because of her. She just has to take away everyone I care about. But it's okay. She won't win. Not this time. I'll make sure of it.

"Scott wanted us to give her a second chance?" She let out a harsh laugh; it bounced around the room, a haunting boomerang. "I don't know about you, but I think he was wrong about her this time. Death follows her everywhere she goes. I think...I think it's time it catches up to her. What do you think?"

Isaac didn't need to speak. He'd understand. How many nights had they been up talking about his deep hatred for the twins? For what they did to Braeden, for attacking him during school, for goading him during their disastrous road trip, for killing Boyd. Allison's rap sheet was nearly as long. It's about time she had to atone for her choices.

"Don't worry. I'll fix this. I'll take care of everything. And then we can all go back to normal because she won't be around anymore." She brought Isaac's hand up to her mouth, pressing a firm kiss to the back; nauseating and sweet, the acrid scent wafting off his hand stoked the flame burning deep within her.

Rising, spine as shiny as the steel of her resolve, she leaned over and pressed another kiss to his forehead. A low groan seeped out of his mouth, his body tensed, just slightly, and then he eased, slipping back into sleep. Melanie sniffed. Allison would pay for that too.

She slipped out the door to his room, navigating back up from the burn unit and to the front. Rounding the corner, she recoiled and tucked herself away at the sight of them. Melissa and Scott speaking to...her. Allison, tucked into a chair, as if she was having the best sleep of her life. Must be nice. Melanie's eyes still burned from the long laid hours she'd been by Isaac's side. She couldn't sleep while he was in there alone.

"Have you been here all night?" Scott asked, concerned. As if she deserved it.

"Yeah... They won't let me see him because I'm not family." Melanie smirked. Poor Allison couldn't get what she wanted for once. As for her, it was easy; like simply asking for a favor. She charmed her way past the night clerk with a smile and a simple touch to the arm. It was amazing how far her siren power of persuasion could take her. No one batted an eye when she came across nurses and doctors, they just smiled and let her through. They really needed to amp up their security. "I told them he doesn't have any..."

"He's got us..." Melissa said.

Bullshit. Where were they all night? Why were they only checking on him now? Where were the phone calls or the texts keeping everyone in the loop? He didn't have them. He had her.

And if things went well, she'd make sure it stayed that way. Permanently.

[andforyouevan]

911 ask game!!!

3, 4, 6, 10, 15, 15, 18, 29, 36

(if i picked too many feel free to only answer some)

Oh my gosh, I'm fucking delighted that you want my opinions on all of these, wow! I hope I'm not boring lol. Under a cut because it got long.

3. What's your personal favourite episode? Why?

Masks. I love Buck so much. And he deserves to be happy and Masks was such a showcase of Buck getting to be completely himself and his partner just be there for him, you know? It really showed that Buck could be so so happy with Tommy if the show would just let him.

4. In your opinion, what's the best episode from a critical standpoint? Why?

You know, I'm really curious about other bucktommys opinions on this, but one of my other favorite episodes is In Another Life. I actually got into the fandom around that time and I was so excited to talk about how much I loved it with others, only to come on and find it being absolutely trashed. Bet you can guess by who lol.

No, but the creativity of the coma dream, the way they tied established canon into it is so good. And again, it really highlighted the other relationships Buck has with the team, Bobby especially. Which I know is what pissed off the you-know-whos. The whole Eddie not being there actually made sense to me, though I did not say that anywhere at the time.

Sorry, I'm rambling lol.

6. What're your top three acting moments/performances from the show?

Oooh. I think almost all of them were awesome at some point. This is hard. Okay, in no particular order: Lou in the breakup scene in 8x6. 2. Peter in the "I need help" scene in season 1 (the name of the ep is escaping me at the moment, oops) and 3. JLH when Maddie kills Doug.

I'm terrible with episode names, lol.

10. Which episode of the show would you show someone who hasn't watched the show before? Why?

Season 1, ep 1. Someone who watches the show simply cannot understand the growth the characters have gone through without watching from the first season. Buck has, up to a point, grown a lot. Bobby? God season 1 Bobby has grown so so much into season 8 Bobby. It's amazing.

15. What line or piece of dialogue was the most profound and moving when you first heard it and has stuck with you to this day?

Bobby's "Help" in season 1. God, that sticks with me. Season 1 Bobby was so so broken and couldn't trust anyone but he chose to trust Hen and Buck in that moment. It really does show how much the 118 has become a family. Something I feel like is sadly lacking in season 8. Now that connection is played as a joke and it really bums me out.

18. In your opinion, what's the best executed storyline or arc? Why?

Tsumami arc my beloved!! Oh god, those three episodes leave my heart in my throat every time. I KNOW what happens and I'm still at the edge of my seat. I love it to this day.

29. What's your favourite small emergency? Why?

I actually really like the Maurice emergency from Bobby Begins. It's a lot of fun, silly and sets up for Bathena's first meeting and, of course, Tommy silliness!

36. Why do you love the show and what's the main reason for the 911 brain-rot?

This might be a long answer, I hope you don't get bored, but I got into this show just as I was working on a really hard semester in the beginning of grad school. My mental health was in the toilet and I had just dropped one class because I knew I wasn't going to pass. See, in my grad program, you need a B+ to pass or you take it again. Losing out on about $3000k and time wasted.

But I had a random snow day from work (yay midwest winters) and was trolling through hulu for something to watch, and thought, what the hell? I was hooked. I loved the found family. I loved the flawed characters. I did not see Buddie at first, not until I got on Tumblr and, sure, saw some potential. Like I said in Zahraa's ask, I was drawn to Bathena first.

I think one of the reasons that season 8 has me so down is that it isn't the show I fell in love with. The found family that I fell in love with just doesn't seem to be there, or worse, played for cheap laughs. This is mostly the reason that I won't be watching 8B right away. The brainrot comes from finding my place within the bucktommy community, but also a hope that maybe that show I fell in love with in season 1 will come back? I dunno. I've found such a lovely community on here, where we create our own little canons that I'm almost okay if it doesn't.

Sorry, that was cheesy. But thank you, Hans. This reminded me of all the things I fell in love with about the show. 😘😘

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ep.24 thoughts

[It's the End of the Show as We Know It]

(Contents: reflection)

And with that, season 1 of Undead Unluck's anime comes to a close

I can't say it was everything I hoped it would be, but I can say it was a lot better than I feared it could have been. Strange usage of recaps, blinding color scheme choices at odd moments, and certain scenes composed in ways that sadly cut down their impact from the source material hampered it from being the next big thing, but unique interpretations and embellishments on the source material mixed with several moments of fantastic animation and great voice acting absolutely prevented it from being a cookie cutter, bland adaptation

And of course, keeping in line with the rest of the series, the final episode made sure to encompass every single one of the above aspects

Now, to its credit, almost all of the recap in this episode was in the manga, it's just very funny that a show that was like 10% recap concluded on a chapter that was, itself, 50% recap. Plus, what recap there was that wasn't originally in the manga was actually handled quite elegantly, being brief moments of establishing information rather than just replaying entire scenes - y'know, the way that a recap is supposed to be!

We still got the garish red gel over the final fight, but I think because we've seen it so many times now, I'm kind of used to it, and the action itself was pretty damn good. The addition of a meteor to the final stroke of Unluck made that final pass at Autumn a lot more visually impactful than it otherwise would have been, and Anno Un's death being an explosion of ink rather than just fading into dust added a nice bit of flair that I think makes their nature as an ink construct much clearer

Overall, a fitting conclusion given the rollercoaster of odd and pleasantly surprising creative choices, and naturally it ended with one final befuddlement. While the beginning of the episode cut the opening theme, we ended up getting it at the end of the episode, which would be pretty standard for a finale, if it wasn't immediately followed by the sequel hook which, itself, was both truncated AND followed by the ending theme! If they'd just cut at least the ending theme, we could have had the full scene of Juiz approaching Billy! Hell, if they'd cut the opening too, we could have gotten the full explanation for how Akira knew the future! Sure, that wasn't entirely necessary, but it could have helped, and getting it recapped at the beginning of season 2 will probably be completely out of place

This was a solid episode, I really enjoyed it, and I feel the same way about the season as a whole, but god damn was this a baffling experience from beginning to end. I will definitely end up looking back on this later as a quirky experience, a fun bit of trivia that we as a community will have a chuckle about and appreciate that it's not Promised Neverland Season 2, but until someone posts a deep dive explaining how those creative decisions came about, I'm probably just going to be obsessing over how it came together so strangely

Definitively, the manga is better; this adaptation does not in any way surpass or in my opinion even match the quality of the manga, but at the very least, it does not do it a total disservice. The goods were good and the bads were weird, and I hope the experience will convince newcomers to check out the manga, if not for the desire to see more, then at least for the curiosity of what spawned this madness

If you were able to stick with it the whole time, I hope you all enjoyed this season as much or more than I did. We're supposedly going to be getting some kind of announcement soon, hopefully for season 2 or a movie. I definitely hope that Yuki Yase won't be at the helm next time, but on some level I think I'd appreciate the consistency if he does return. I'd certainly take that over getting someone worse

Until next time, let's enjoy life!

[docholligay]

Ep 9: The descent

Hello! This is about up to Episode 9 of Yellowjackets, and ONLY episode 9 of Yellowjackets. I have not seen beyond the ninth episode, at all, and know NOTHING about this show. Please do not spoil it for me.  Things that are spoilery in nature, for me, include: saying things like  “Just wait!!” confirming or denying anything I put forward, outside information about the cast interviews or creator statements, leading questions like “Do you think “blank moment” means anything?” etc. Remember  that Y’ALL HAVE SEEN THE SHOW AND I HAVE NOT. This informs the way you  talk about things relating to the show. Just be really careful is all  I’m asking. Also: If there is LITERALLY any stance I  could take on this show or character that would make you upset, please  just fucking block the tag

If you WOULD like to discuss the show and my takes on it, the Discord is right here! I don’t go there, so it’s a great place to get every emotion out.

Please thank @sailorsunspot and @moonlight-frittata for backing this odd way of doing a liveblog, and remember my tip jar is always open

Man, this is such an evocative part of the episode, and I almost feel unequal to the task of saying something about it. 

I love that there is no real blame to be had for this. Misty had the mushrooms, of course, but it was never her intention to drug everyone in camp. She was absolutely going to drug coach Ben, so I guess there’s that, but it wasn’t her fault, and nor is it the fault of the cook, who had no idea that they were those kind of mushrooms, only thinking that it would be a delightful addition to the stew. 

The reason for this is because the show doesn’t want us making this into an event with a wrong doer, it wants to use this to talk about the girls and the way the show is heading. 

There’s a definite quasi-Roman bent to the whole thing here with Travis. Travis, the boy who has seen them in every aspect here. Seen them in their nakedness, in who they are when they are separated from society, and I think it’s not for nothing that we shift from this sort of sexual sharing of Travis, this erotic consumption, the way he becomes community property, to a very literal calling him the stag Diana and the hunt thing going on, where they pursue him like hunting hounds. 

THIS is the whole reason it was so careful earlier to tell us that they were in fact still very much human because it needs us to know that this is coming out of something that already exists in the girls. Nothing has been lost here, just enhanced, and these girls are hungry and they are predators, and it is speaking to the wildness of women, that terrifying truth that so few people can live with. 

The whole of Lottie’s “Something’s coming” thing is of course the wildness and how it moves to control and own and kill through the girls, but also, I would argue that it can’t bring out something that’s not in them. It would be easy to say. “Oh this was all because of the evil whatever in the woods” but I think this was always inside of them. THey are soccer players, and they hunt in packs, and I think this spoke a lot to that level of power in the group, maybe that’s even why this whatever in the woods thing that I certainly hope the show has plans for took them in the first place. Violence isn’t a part of doing shrooms, really. What it did was allowed them to see themselves as part of this wilderness, this forest, that cries out for blood. 

Important social shift for this moment with Jackie being told she doens’t matter, the one-time leader of them, the domesticated one more than all of them, the one who cannot adapt to 

The wild and so will be slain by it. And of course it’s Lottie who says this, and of course it’s Lottie who calls for Travis’ death, because Lottie is going to be their leader now, their spiritual guide, a girl who lost her light in the darkness and does not understand that she herself is no lighthouse but a bonfire. 

But it was Shauna who was ready to make the cut. Shauna who was willing to kill, and maybe it’s always been her.

[airyoubreath]

The Knight and the Prince [Prt. 1 Ep. 2]

The fight rages on as Kalani dodges every attack Casio throws at her. The tom almost got her with his scythe, but she was quick to action and maneuvered in time before being nicked or worse. Knowing Casio, he was probably trying to harm the young she-cat to make a point. But she stood her ground. Kalani was determined to prove them wrong. She was more than capable and she would show them that. With a fierce growl, she readied herself for the next attack.

Despite this, Kalani didn’t know how long she could defend herself. She could slowly feel herself nearing the edge of the circle much to her dismay. No matter how many times she tried she couldn’t get an attack in.

Seeing an opening, she took advantage of it. She round house kicked the tom in the abdomen catching him off guard. Casio stumbles out of the circle.

“Stavia.” General Zephyr yells, and they follow his instructions. They stopped to catch their breathe. “Kalani wins this round.” The general nodded towards Nioki, a Siamese she-cat who’s becoming a knight just like Kalani, to add a point next to the white cat’s name. She kept score.

“Positions.”

Once again, the cats in the circle raise their weapons. Kalani noticed Casio changed his posture from the previous round. A murderous gaze holds hers. Kalani knew the tom didn’t like losing. It was embarrassing and to top it off, she was female.

Casio bared his fangs at her, hissing low.

“Casio,” the general scolds. “Control yourself. You are a warrior, not a feral kitten.”

Casio, embarrassed, bows, ears folded in submission. “Forgive me general. I was out of turn.”

Seeing that he understood, General Zephyr nodded.

“Commence!”

**********************

In the end Kalani lost, resulting her running twenty laps around the courtyard, and polishing the boots. By the time the white she-cat was finished it was already dark, and dinner was over.

As she went back inside to take a shower to relieve her muscles and dirty fur, General Zephyr intercepted her.

“Kalani, come into my office please.” He said showing a hand towards the open door. She groaned inwardly, wishing it was someone else.

Walking into the office she sat in an empty chair. The general closed the door before walking to his desk. He sat in front of her.

“Do you know why you’re here, Kalani?” General Zephyr questioned.

Kalani shakes her head. She really didn’t want to be here at the moment. The shower and bed back in the barracks called her name.

“No, General Zephyr, I do not.” She spoke, her tail flickering behind her.

The general shakes his head. ” Firstly, Kal, what have I told you about calling me General after hours? When training is over you refer to me as uncle. Understand. Hearing General all day is maddening to the point I wish my ears bled.” He says with hurt and annoyance.

Kalani rolls her eyes at her uncle’s antics. No one knew that the most feared general in the southern kingdom of Felinus was actually her uncle. And she liked it that way. She didn’t want people to kiss her up because they were afraid of her uncle.

“So, uncle,” she continued. “Why am I here?”

“Glad you asked,” He smiled, pulling out a folder from a stack of papers on his desk. “I’ve assigned your first duty as a Knight in the Royal Corp.”

Excitement bubbled inside Kalani, then disappeared. “Why didn’t I lose the match today?”

“Yes, and no.”

“Yes, and no?” She frowns. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Yes, you lost the match, but that didn’t mean you weren’t getting a duty.”

“Is this a show of favoritism, because I’m your niece? If so, I’m not taking-”

“No, no nothing like that.” He cuts her off quickly. She narrows her eyes, not believing him.

“Then what?”

“Don’t worry about the why, right now your main focus is on your newly assigned duty.”

“Which is...?” She asked, wanting to end the conversation.

“Guard the Crown Prince.”

Now Kalani was awake.

“What?!”

**********************

Queen Shasa a calico, sat in the parlor sipping her afternoon chamomile cream, while reading The Daily Furee when a knock sounded from the door.

“Come in,” she said without looking up when the door opened. Her focus was on a particular article about a new dress shop opening in the capital city.

The person who entered the room clears their throat causing the queen to turn her gaze away from the details on the paper and on to them. Shasa’s eyes widen in surprise when they meet her son’s familiar amber eyes. Different from her green ones. They reminded her of his father. The late King, who died six months ago.

“Xajar,” she smiled at him. “What a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you this evening.”

Prince Xajar sits in front of her. “Well, it’s been weeks since I visited you. I thought I’d drop by.”

Shasa hums taking a sip of her cream before placing it on the saucer on the table next to her abandoned newspaper. “How’s you're training with Master Zito?”

Xajar sighs, "Busy, Master Zito has me study the history of Animalia, the different lands, and political rulers of the past and the present.”

“Ahh, I remember those days.” Shasa reminisced. “Quite stressful trying to remember all those names, isn’t it?”

The prince nodded. Taking a crab cake from one of the plates on the table. He chews it slowly.

The queen watched his body language. She could tell something was on his mind by his tail flicking back and forth. It was a habit he picked up years ago.

“So,” Queen Shasa picked up her cream from its place on the saucer. “What’s on your mind, Xajar? I know this isn’t some regular visit.” She drinks her cream.

The prince’s eyes widen. “How did you know?”

“Please, I carried you for nine months, how could I not? Plus, your tail is doing that cute dance thing it does when you’re thinking.”

“You caught me,” Xajar confessed swallowing the remaining crab cake. “I wanted to know why I wasn’t informed I was getting a new personal guard, or why I wasn’t told Sir Nam was retiring.”

The queen sighed when she heard her son’s confession.

“Because I didn’t consider it important, Xajar. You have more significant things to worry about than a new guard. Your time to take the throne is fast approaching, and the council will want you to find a mate and marry by then as well.”

Xajar let his mother’s words sink in. Maybe she was right. Perhaps he is putting too much thought into this.

“You’re right, mother. Maybe I’m looking at this too closely. I have more serious things to worry about.” He agreed.

“That’s right, get moving, you have a busy day tomorrow.”

“I do?”

“Yes, don’t you remember, Baron Norel’s daughter Muro is coming to have cream and cake. She is one of the eligible ladies on the list.” Queen Shasa reminds. “Did you not read the list, Xajar?”

In embarrassment, the prince folds his ears. He hadn’t read the list. He was too busy studying and doing the assignments Master Zito gave him to glance at the list.

“What am I to do with you Xajar?” She shakes her head. “Come and give your mother a kiss before you leave.”

Xajar stands from his seat, and gives his mother a kiss on the cheek, and a warm hug. He released her and stepped back.

“Good night, mother.”

“Night my little kitten.”

Xajar grumbles under his breath. He didn’t like his mother calling him a kitten. He had grown to become a strong tom, wanting to establish respect among his peers. Having his mother refer to him as a kitten didn’t help either. He hoped she didn’t call him that when she was around the other ladies. Just the thought was embarrassing enough.

The prince exited the room, leaving the queen alone. When she was sure he had left, she breathed.

Queen Shasa lied to her son. Or she didn’t tell him the whole truth. Yes, Sir Nam was retiring, but there was another reason behind this decision. The bigger cats in eastern and northern Felinus have threatened to take over their kingdom. Their land was spacious for small cats like them, and they had lots of resources since their kingdom sat next to the sea.

She wanted to keep Xajar as far away from this problem as possible. Her son already had plenty to worry about. After he became king and has found his mate, Shasa will tell him.

The queen just hoped she had enough time before it was too late.