#I have no idea what happened but somehow I made him very pretty so wOoOoo

[derpu-doodles]

woe, Young Xehanort be upon ye

#I have no idea what happened but somehow I made him very pretty so wOoOoo #his jawline fuckin kILLED ME MAN I SPENT LIKE 98% OF MY TIME ON THIS DRAWING ON THAT ALO N E #anYWAY en jo y wHeeEeE #Kingdom Hearts #KH Young Xehanort #Young Xehanort

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 296: Ngl, This One Pissed Me Off

Previously on BnHA: Deku was all, “p.s. I actually activated yet another quirk several chapters ago when Kacchan got stabbed.” Compress was all, “[gets captured and passes out].” Spinner was all “[rifles through Tomura’s pockets and slaps a random Charbroiled Hand onto his friend’s unconscious face].” Tomura was all, “SOMEHOW THAT ACTUALLY WORKED” and woke up again, except it wasn’t really him, it was everyone’s favorite Final Villain, AFO. AFO was all, “time to escape finally” and summoned a bunch of Noumu and Absconded with Spinner and the DabiMarble in tow. Skeptic was all, “Horikoshi forgot I existed, but I’m actually Absconding in marble-form as well.” Deku was all, “ATTENTION WORLD, I WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE THAT I OFFICIALLY WANT TO SAVE SHIGARAKI TOMURA.” And then the arc just sort of ended lol.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all, “but when you think about it, do we really need literally any female teachers at U.A. at all?” and for whatever reason doesn’t stop to wait for an answer. Midnight, who absolutely did not need to die, Dies, and I’m pissed about it. Ochako wanders the ruins of Jakku for what feels like hours, rescuing small children while her adult hero compatriots fall to pieces around her, because apparently the U.A. kids really are the only people who have their shit together. The citizens of Japan are all “damn that’s wild, wonder how fucked we are now,” but are actually super casual and chill about it which is oddly realistic. The chapter ends with AFO in Tartarus being all “lol time for the prison break arc,” without giving us so much as a chance to catch our breath, like holy shit. Are we on the clock or something now, goddamn.

lmao it’s like 7pm on a Sunday night and this is out already. this is like the worst possible timing lol. there goes my nice, relaxed evening. unless of course this turns out to be a nice, restful, soothing chapter, as chapters coming on the heels of traumatic, earth-shattering battles so often are. yeah, break out the Pina Colada song and the little drink umbrellas, I got a good feeling about this one

(ETA: I mean, I was obviously being sarcastic here but damn, Horikoshi.)

-- fff why did I laugh

it’s the crumbling city ruins in the background that really does it, I think. JUST LOOK AT THIS MESS THAT YOU HAVE MADE, EVERYONE. FOR SHAME

also, the title is dramatic af and I am so fucking excited you guys, like holy shit. BnHA’s In-Between arcs have always been my favorite part of the series, because it’s when all the character development and angst and/or catharsis happens. just, those little breathing spaces in between the action when everyone gathers to recuperate and compartmentalize their fresh new traumas lmao. bring on that angst!! but also, let’s please have some Comfort to offset all of this Hurt too, please and thanks

blah blah blah so the survivors were evacuated, good good, can you actually show us though?

AHHHHHHH

PIXIE BOB SURVIVED!!!! WASH IS STILL ALIVE LMAO HOW. THIRTEEN’S FACE, OMG SHOULD I LOOK AWAY. IS IT LIKE MANDALORIAN RULES. IDK HOW IT WORKS

HOW THE FUCK ARE THEY ALIVE. LOLS ANYWAY I’M HERE FOR IT. FEEL FREE NOT TO KILL ANYONE ELSE HERE HORIKOSHI, I THINK WE’RE GOOD

(ETA: it’s like talking to a brick wall.)

oh my god do we really need exposition about how the heroes tried to stop TomurAFO from escaping and OF COURSE failed completely because they suck lmao. oh my god I am shocked, that is such shocking news

wow they only managed to defeat three of the Noumus. holy shit. again, all of the Not-Kid Heroes are only slightly more useful than cardboard cutouts of heroes at this point, MORE AT ELEVEN

so Tomura may have lost the PLF, but he still more or less has an army then, huh. I really don’t know how anyone could expect a timeskip with that threat looming over everyone’s heads

oh nvm lol there are only seven Noumus left. wait so you’re telling me there were only ten Nearly High Ends in that last chapter?? felt more like fifty but whatever lol I’ll take your word for it

COMPRESS YAY YOU’RE ALIVE TOO

MAYBE THEY CAN EVEN REATTACH HIS ASS. I’M SERIOUS LOL, BECAUSE HE STILL HAS IT, DOESN’T HE? OR IF NOT, THEY CAN REBUILD HIM WITH A PROSTHETIC ASS. he’ll be more powerful than ever

WHAAAAAAT YEAH BOIIIII

WOOO, EDGESHOT, WOOOOO. THAT’S HIS WAY OF THE NINJA

YEAHHHHH SUCK IT, PLF

(ETA: for the record I don’t think Cementoss is dead here, just badly wounded. if he had died he would have been included in the forthcoming In Memoriam page along with the others.)

GET BENT LOL. TRUMPET I FOR REAL FORGOT YOU EVEN EXISTED. I NEVER WANT TO SEE ANY OF YOU LOSERS AGAIN PLEASE. ONLY INTERESTING CHARACTERS MAY PROCEED PAST THIS POINT

dsflksaldkh;l

that’s... holy shit. that’s a bigass mansion, that’s what that is. also so does this mean there are still eighty thousand PLF members still at large, because that’s a plot line I very much do not care about in any way whatsoever lol. can’t we just retcon to say that Re-Destro was exaggerating? I mean hell, a CEO criminal pulling some Enron-type bullshit is pretty believable, isn’t it? those poor bamboozled shareholders

“makeste, here’s an idea, what if you scrolled down to read the rest of the page” lol gtfo of here with your logic and your sense

well those 132 people have made it onto my enemies list, but at least it sounds like they more or less took care of the rest. good riddance

and Toga escaped, as we knew already, and is now on the lam. hopefully she reunites with the League again at some point. although her doing her own thing could also be very interesting. idk what I want lol

anyway so there’s another big panel showing how fucked up the city is, just in case it hadn’t already been hammered into our skulls yet. there’s a car dangling off a roof somehow. how does that even happen. did Machia pick it up and put it there or

NOOO OMG RANDOM SMALL CHILDREN IN PERIL WHAT IS THIS

OCHAKO PLEASE SAVE THEM OMG

“if it falls on me, I want you to have my Endeavor pouch” OH MY STARS. HIS MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSION. NO MY CHILD YOU CAN’T GIVE UP HOPE YET

LMAO

“FOR THE LAST TIME NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR DUSTY-ASS POUCH, KYLE” fffff these children are dying and I am cracking up so hard my eyes are tearing up what is wrong with me

YAY THEY SAVED THEM

but listen. not that I don’t love seeing the girls kick ass, because you know I do. but I also really, REALLY need to know what’s going down with the Musketeers, and I’m not looking forward to waiting three whole weeks for that so please Horikoshi. please hurry this along so we can get to them

goddamn it Tsuyu is saying she’ll take the boy to the shelter to get first aid, and I was all “okay great because that’s probably where Kacchan and the others are too”, but now someone else is shouting for help and Ochako’s all “I’ll go” and it’s like OKAY BUT PLEASE? this chapter is already more than half over omfg. ‘bout to start wringing some hands here

oh my god

is this Toga again??? WHAT THE HELL, THIS CREEPYASS HALF-DEAD DUDE BETTER BE LEADING UP TO SOMETHING INTERESTING, I AM REALLY GETTING IMPATIENT

OR, I GUESS, WE COULD DO THIS INSTEAD

“SO AS IT TURNS OUT, NOT EVERY CHARACTER WHO NEEDS HELP SAVING THEIR SPOUSE FROM FALLEN RUBBLE IS ACTUALLY TOGA IN DISGUISE” HUH, OKAY. DULY NOTED. FILED AWAY FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

but fucking... okay, look. I love Ochako, I do. but I like her a whole lot more when she’s interacting with other characters I actually care about, as opposed to running around in the rubble rescuing random people while the fate of my other children is still up in the air. like okay, I get it, shit’s bad, now if you don’t mind we really don’t have to spend all day here though

...anyways but nope, we’re still staying with her. she’s bouncing around rescuing all of these other people. omg. I literally have no patience here at all and it’s terrible, I know, but oh my god

omg finally something interesting is happening!!

look at that, an adult hero standing around being useless while the kids are busy getting shit done. why is this becoming a recurring theme

MY DUDE, THIS IS SERIOUSLY NOT THE TIME THOUGH

I GET THAT IT’S OVERWHELMING AND THAT YOU’RE TRAUMATIZED AND SHIT, BUT GUESS WHAT, SO IS EVERYONE ELSE. THAT’S WHAT YOU SIGNED UP FOR. JUST LOOK AT OCHAKO! SHE’S SO EXHAUSTED HER HAIR HAS EVEN LOST ITS FLOOF, AND YET SHE’S STILL OUT HERE DOING HER BEST. ONE SAVE AT A TIME MY MAN. GET IT DONE. LITERALLY A SMALL CHILD IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT CALLING FOR THEIR MOMMY AND YOU’RE JUST STANDING THERE ALL “WAHH IT’S TOO MUCH” LIKE COULD YOU PLEASE POSTPONE YOUR CRISIS UNTIL AFTER YOU SAVE THEM PLEASE

OH MY GOD

MAYBE YOU SHOULD!! oh my god I really cannot, like wow. oh no I actually have to save people and do my job, god forbid. jesus christ, at least the other heroes tried. but Moping Hero: Bellyache here is just throwing in the towel and fuck everyone who still needs his help I guess. you are like the anti-Deku my dude

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD NO OH FUCK

THAT’S MIDNIGHT’S HAND OH FU -- SHE BETTER NOT -- HORIKOSHI I SWEAR TO GOD --

I’M GONNA LOSE IT I REALLY AM!!!!

HOLY SHIT HOW INTENSE OF A RAGE DO I NEED TO BRACE MYSELF TO BE FEELING HERE. THIS CHAPTER WAS ALREADY TRENDING TOWARDS DISAPPOINTMENT, DO WE REALLY NEED TO GO AND COMPOUND THAT

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON

you’re telling me Tomura wasn’t brought back by that electric shock, but by his “fuck you” attitude? why are you explaining this to us now, again??

......

HEY, SO UM, FUCK ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS, THOUGH. (: OH MAN. OHHHHHH MAN. I HAVE... I HAVE GOT A LOT OF WORDS FOR THIS AND HERE ARE SOME OF THEM

FUCK

THINGS THAT SHOULD BE IN THE DICTIONARY NEXT TO “SOME BULLSHIT”: THIS

FUCK

GET FUCKED HORIKOSHI

AND ALSO PLEASE FUCK RIGHT OFF!!

AND SERIOUSLY THOUGH FUCK YOU

NO BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THOUGH!! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED OFF ANYONE. LITERALLY ANY CHARACTER. YOU HAD TWELVE FEMALE PROS. TWELVE. YOU COULD HAVE MADE MORE OF THEM. PROBABLY, IF THERE ACTUALLY WERE SUPERHEROES IN REAL LIFE, THERE WOULD BE MORE THAN TWELVE OF THEM IN AN ENTIRE NATION. BUT NO, YOU WERE ALL “TWELVE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.” AND THEN WHEN IT CAME TIME TO KILL PEOPLE OFF, YOU WERE ALL “WELL ALL RIGHT THEN, LET’S SEE, I PICK... THESE 18 RANDOM SIDE CHARACTERS WITH LITTLE TO NO DIALOGUE, PLUS THE ONE SINGLE FEMALE U.A. STAFF MEMBER WE ACTUALLY HAD. YEAH THAT OUGHTA DO IT”

AND BY THE WAY, HORIKOSHI, I PICKED SOMETHING UP FOR YOU ON MY WAY HOME, HERE IT IS, ┌П┐(・＿・) do you like it it was on sale. I saw it and was like, “Horikoshi would really like that.” so there you go. sorry it wasn’t gift-wrapped

p.s. I hope y’all can tell that that’s supposed to be a middle finger and not... something else lmao. er. anyway

(ETA: so I got a few asks from people who were really put off by this part of the reaction post, and so I’m just adding an extra note here to make it clear that I do not actually wish harm on Horikoshi in any way or even particularly dislike him. I wasn’t happy about Midnight’s death and I wanted to convey that, and so I went with my usual LOUD CAPSLOCK REACTION tone, but looking back on it I can see that it’s kind of a lot, lol. 

so just to be clear, the “fuck you” stuff is almost entirely tongue-in-cheek. that’s on me, I forget sometimes that there are people who share these sentiments unironically and so I didn’t think to make sure my intended meaning here was clear. anyways, killing Midnight was still a really problematic decision for numerous reasons but it is what it is. Horikoshi is not perfect, the story isn’t perfect, and I’m not gonna pretend like it is, but again just to be clear, I don’t harbor any actual ill will toward Horikoshi here.)

shit. and wow this man really went and killed off fucking Mystic too on top of that. have you ever seen a character fail so spectacularly at living up to their hype. r.i.p. Mystic you were like the Star Wars sequel of characters

(ETA: I have no fucking idea why I keep thinking Majestic’s name is Mystic lol. rest in peace you old scarecrowy bastard.)

and poor Momo, though. fuck. lost two mentors in a single day. and do not even get me started on Aizawa holy shit

so now we’re cutting to some random townspeople who are gossiping about the Todoroki drama. this is actually interesting in spite of my newfound determination to hate this chapter lol

ngl I am kind of heartened to see that not everyone fell for Dabi’s bs hook line and sinker though. Jeanist returning from the dead literally two seconds after Dabi was all “I SWEAR ON MY HONOR AS A VILLAIN THAT HAWKS MURDERED HIM” probably helped with that a bit! but there will doubtless be many other people who do believe him, or are at least still inclined to side-eye the heroes in general either way given how much they sucked in this arc. very, very interesting

so it seems though that even more than the whole Endeavor reveal, at the end of the day it’s going to be the heroes failing to live up to their end of the “put your faith in us and let us use our quirks and in return we’ll protect everyone and keep them safe” implied social contract that’s going to have the biggest impact on people’s opinions moving forward. basically this was always going to be a disaster no matter what

OH MY GOD FINALLY AHHHHH

Horikoshi really tapped into some of the real-life political energy of the past few years huh. Fuck Him Still for killing off Midnight, but I will admit that so far this is hella intriguing and I am really, really curious to see where things go from here

OH MY GOD THE LITTLE KIDS FROM THE BABYSITTING ARC

“FIVE PEEPEE MAN WOULDN’T LIE TO US” YES CHILDREN YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. at least the little ones still have faith

UM

 ( •̀ へ •́  )

that’s great. that’s really keen. all we need right now, amirite

GOOD FOR YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT

let’s just wait for him to explain what he feels. you know he likes to drag it out

is that Dabi crouched down there next to Spinner? looks like they got him out of the marble after all. but why has his hair changed colors again lol what

anyways. your turn to what??

:’) excuse me what

hahahaha are you fucking kidding me. and that’s where we’re going to end the chapter then. lol okay

so let’s recap. Midnight died. we spent ten hours watching Ochako dig people out of rubble for no apparent reason and were then introduced to my new least favorite character, and because Ochako is so nice she didn’t even punch him in the face even though she really should have. we did not get any Kacchan or Shouto. we got one panel of Deku, who is Finally Asleep. and the chapter ended with AFO ordering his Noumus to go set free, AND I QUOTE, HIS “MAIN BODY.” and now I gotta wait an entire week for Caleb’s translation to confirm that last part. omg

but it sounds like a prison break is imminent, which is very, very interesting. ...and actually, is it weird that I’m actually rooting for it to be a success? I have no idea what this guy is planning, but I do know that as long as the main part of his soul is still residing in Tomura’s body, Tomura’s chance of surviving the series is close to zero. and villain though he may be, I’m still rooting for his redemption (nice to have Deku on my side now too), and so yeah. so like if AFO feels like using some latent Exorcism Quirk or something that he’s been saving for just such an occasion, be my guest lol

meanwhile this doesn’t bode well for All Might though. or anyone else aside from Tomura, really. shiiiit

anyway. [slaps roof of chapter] this baby can fit so much bullshit in it

#bnha 296 #midnight (bnha) #uraraka ochako #all for one #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #sorry this took so long to post lol #I really need to learn to add an extra 2-3 hours to any time-sensitive estimates I make #anyways

[thisnoodlewritesao3]

Okay, this is nothing, really I just wanted to get all of this out of my head. But I feel like people can also relate to it in some way, and I just want everyone to know that you aren’t alone. Things suck. Life sucks. But you will never be alone. If anybody wants to talk because of anything, then my inbox is always open. I mean that. So, if you want, you can just ignore this rant about what my past few weeks has been like.

This is very much so real, so trigger warnings will apply (e.g. depression, suicidal thoughts/attempt, anxiety, intrusive thoughts, self harm). Probably more, if there are more, then tell me please.

We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled bullshit soon enough so wooooo

-----

I don’t think I asked for a lot. Was it too much to ask to be loved? To not have to ask for every single hug? To ask for you to spend time with me? For you to tell me I’m beautiful even if the word sounds so foreign to me?

Maybe it was too much, or maybe I just wasn’t enough.

I still see you in everything I do, around the world. I changed my room around so your memory can’t taunt me, but it didn’t really work - only a little, but now it’s so shameful because I don’t have the energy to clean the mess I made.

At first I was scared, we ended it the day before Valentines (there was irony, a few days earlier I told a friend I’d never spent Valentines alone. Sweet irony). I couldn’t keep doing it anymore. I warned you about it before, that I couldn’t keep doing it. You didn’t listen. I think you knew I would keep coming back to you. I hate how right you are.

My mom picked me up an hour after it was over, after I’d finished packing up my life in your room. I didn’t break down until I sat in the car. I threw off the rings you bought me, almost ripped off the necklace you’d gotten to me (I lost one of the rings, I feel guilty and happy at the same time). I cried so hard the entire drive, trying to complain but I told her that it was my fault too, that I’d made mistakes. She took me to the shop and bought me ice cream. I kept crying even there. I felt such a deep shame. Pretty pathetic.

I got home - my dad was there, it was Saturday afterall - I talked to him for the first time in three weeks and the only thing I can do is break down.

I spent some time watching stuff with mom, but even that didn’t last, she wanted to spend time with her boyfriend (fuck, that somehow hurt more than anything, I just wanted her to act like a mom for a minute). I told her it was okay, smiled through the tears. (And yet you say I act like I’m happy, you really don’t know anything, do you?).

I told her I was going to have a bath, but the moment I stepped in my room and saw my hamster (our hamster) I broke down crying again. Why? He’s only the creature we’d bought together, worried about together, even though he probably doesn’t even remember you.

God, I felt ridiculous.

Who cries over a hamster?

Me, apparently.

I listened to sad songs and cried in the bath (having a shower was too much effort). I’ve never cried in the bath before.

My blanket smelt like you; I don’t know whether it was comforting or sickening. I guess we’ll never know because it doesn’t smell like you anymore.

Our friend called me the next day, said he was worried about you (what about me). I wanted to be mad, but I couldn’t. I just agreed to call you because I was worried about you (I’m always worried about you). You’d punched the wall because you found one of my shirts, messed your hand up pretty bad. We laughed for a bit. I contemplated going back to you again. I chose not to.

We agreed to not talk for two weeks (it didn’t last, I kept messaging you and then blaming you for it; i still don't know why) Maybe it was because your voice was still comforting, seeing your eyes light up when you saw me still felt nice. It could have been a lot of things. I don’t know which one it was. I don’t even know if it was any of those things.

By the end of two weeks, I don’t remember what happened, but you called me. I was having a hard time and ranted on my private story. I just wanted to be left alone. You couldn’t leave me alone. I finally got you to agree to leave me alone and you said “I love you.” I hoped maybe I misheard you. I hoped I misheard you because it made me sick to hear it. I didn’t mishear you. I hung up and had another break down. I hid under my desk and cried for a long time. Longer than before (though I didn’t hurt myself, so there are small victories).

I told you I don’t want to talk anymore, not now, not ever. You agreed with me, it was half-hearted, but for the first time in two years, you agreed with no hesitation. That was the most relieving part.

Until it wasn’t, because nice things can’t last.

Our friend messaged me, he was worried about you (it’s always about you), he asked if I would be willing to call to see if we could work on us. The idea made me feel sick, but I agreed because it was easier than fighting it (and I still don’t like the idea of hurting you; hurting you hurts me).

We didn’t even get to speak before you had a breakdown. It broke my heart. I never wanted this to happen, but it had to happen.

Your mom came into the room.

I was able to hold it together until then. I could not cry until then. And then she spoke.

I don’t know what I was expecting, it definitely wasn’t for her to call you the perfect boyfriend (which you weren’t), for her to say that you were too good for me; I have never felt more destroyed. Even if I wanted to be with you, there was no way I’m going back now.

Because who would say that? It isn’t her relationship? And besides, my mom hasn’t said one bad thing about you (at least she hadn’t at the time). I muted my mic and had another break down.

My head hurt, I couldn’t breath, I’m pretty sure I dented my wardrobe but I’m too ashamed to check. My hands were raw from pain. I was shaking. You still hadn’t muted your mic. For half an hour I listened to your mom rant about me. For half an hour I had him messaging me, saying how badly you needed me, saying how bad you were dealing with things, that you were broken.

I don’t know why I didn't leave, maybe I thought I deserved it; I don’t know.

For a week, we’d been messaging again; I tried to be happy (to pretend to be happy) because you always believed that little act. I told you about my new friends (some of the only people who can actually make me happy right now, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank them enough for that), I told you how I was writing a new fanfiction. I tried to smile, but I could never meet you in the eyes. Maybe you knew.

You would send me things on instagram that reminded you of me (that made me feel sick), I’d like it and go back to what I was doing, but that ‘like’ was enough and you’d try to rope me into a conversation.

You messaged me yesterday morning, you said you wanted to call and talk about us, I don’t think anyone has ever gotten me so anxious so quickly. I agreed, because I just want you to be happy.

You kept avoiding what you wanted to say, I don’t even remember; you just kept saying you had planned this out, and that it would be better face to face. I don’t know what happened, but we started fighting. I told you I only asked for three things (to be hugged, to have you spend time with me, and to compliment me). You told me you did those things (but you didn’t). I asked why you would never watch films with me (you said that you did do them, I told you once every three months doesn’t count as watching films with me).

I told you that I have been trying so hard, that when I get too vulnerable and scared I run away, but for you, I didn’t run away. Because I really wanted us to work. I tried my hardest. I dealt with the intrusive thoughts until I shattered. I only tried to do it once. It didn’t work. Sometimes I still wish it had worked.

You yelled at me (which was strange considering you’d never yelled before), told me that you used to always spend money on the bus to come and see me. I yelled (which wasn’t strange, because I always yell) and said I didn’t know you wanted an award for doing the bare necessities. You said “I don’t know why you’re being such a dick.” And hung up on me.

I don’t know why I said it. I’m not sad that I said it. I just want to know what happened.

I finally blocked you on almost everything; I was shaking the entire time because I didn’t want to do it, but I need to do it. I needed to do it. I left my room, went to my mom, hugged her and cried so hard.

Do I really seem like I’m happy all the time? I’m not. If you could live in my head for an hour, you’d see. But you can’t, and you don’t, so you’ll never see.

I asked our friend to get any extra stuff left at yours (because you said you wanted to keep it for happy memories, as if there are any anymore). My dad just got it from him (because if he got it from you, then who knows what would have happened). I finally blocked your number. Now I guess I’m writing this, I don’t know why. I guess we’ll never know why.

Don’t get me wrong, I made mistakes, I just tried my hardest to own up to them. I don’t know when we fell off the same page, but I do know it’s been for so long. I wish it didn’t have to come to this, that I could still call you mine, that I could be by your side. I miss you. I do. I really do. But just missing someone isn’t reason enough to be together anymore. Not when the damage is worse than the heal.

I asked you to not break my heart.

Maybe I broke my own instead.

#TW Depression #TW self harm #TW suicide attempt #TW anxiety #TW my life is a mess #Okay #yeah #just ignore this hehe

[lauriejuspeczyk]

embarrassing q&a about izzy and john,,, @honeybite and @kiryukazumas ayyyy

1. How did they first meet? Izzy gets transferred to Hope County and on her literal first day on the job she gets sucked up into the whole fiasco with the peggies and she ends up stranded in Hope County (with Reina and Aria wooooo). She and John first find out about each other when she helps Nick Rye steal back his plane!!! Nick tells her about what’s goin down and she feels sorry for him, and then he describes John to her and she’s like “wow he sounds like a douchebag. let’s break into his shit.” because Izzy loves being a shit disturber. It turns into a whole big rivalry after that. 2. What did they think of each other at first? What was their first impression of the other? They do a lot of just like, hearing about each other from other people, or arguing over the radio before they actually physically meet. (They physically meet for the first time when Izzy gets kidnapped to be baptized). John’s first impression is she’s just another out of control sinner who needs to be shown the error of her ways blah blah blah pbbtbtbtbpbt. Izzy thinks John is pretentious and very high strung, which supremely clashes with her own personality, but she really likes fucking with him and gets a lot of satisfaction from making him mad lol 3. Were they immediately interested / attracted, or did that come later? Oh they hate each other at first!! They finally actually like MEET meet at the baptism. John knew who Izzy was right away but she didn’t really piece together who he was until she heard his voice. John was physically attracted to Izzy when he saw her and he like,,, wasn’t expecting that, because all she’d done up till then was piss him off lol. It causes a lot of inner turmoil for him because it’s the whole,,, “I shouldn’t feel like that because you’re a filthy sinner so I’m gonna repress the fuck out of this. im sure nothing bad will come of that. bottling ur feelings is good and works”. He tries drowning her right away at the baptism and Joseph has to come and be like “chill.” Izzy doesn’t really think anything of John after she first meets him, it takes a lot longer for her to be interested in him like that than vice versa, but getting almost drowned is really a big wake up call for her in that the guy she’s fucking with probably has a lot more personal issues than she realized lol 4. Why did they fall for each other? lMFAO UHHHFHFHH its so complicated, fuck. John’s feelings are at the start just a big crush at first. He just thinks she’s very pretty and she pisses him off constantly but he subconsciously likes the attention she gives him. John wouldn’t realize he’s in love with Izzy until a while after their rivalry starts weirdly turning into a strange friendship. I’m writing a stupid fic that may or may not actually ever be finished so I’ll just recap events here: There’s a moment when John is really angry (For reasons...u’ll see... or will u... who knows...) and Izzy calms him down by like,,, grabbing him and making him lie down with his head in her lap and she just kinda like shushes him, and he just lies there looking up at her and he’s like,,, never really been touched like that his whole life. Like never when he was growing up and then certainly never now, especially in response to his anger, so he just kind of I think,,, realizes it in that moment. but also he has a LOT of conflicting feelings about it because he also realizes he can NEVER change Izzy in a way that lets them be together (ie make her join edens gate, nevuuuurrr gonna happen). For John it’s a combination of she’s brave and kind and patient and all her fucking around aside, she’s genuinely a good person, and she relates to his pain and they have funny conversations and she makes him feel good and loved, just like NORMAL ASS REASONS TO FALL IN LOVE? but again, he can’t acknowledge that he genuinely loves her, because she’s a sinner and working against Eden’s Gate, so instead he processes it as this weird crazy religious thing where he thinks she’s a bigger deal than she actually is, like she’s somehow really important and God sent her just for him or something lmao... basically realizing he was in love with her really fucked him up a lot more. For Izzy it’s EVEN MORE COMPLICATTTEDDDD... She probably has feelings for John by the same time he does for her, but she represses it a lot harder and better than he does. For her it’s this thing of she also has genuine reasons to love him but she struggles a lot with how broken as a person he is. She thinks she sees a genuinely good side to him that she’s in love with but she can’t figure out how to make the like,,, crazy part of him,,, stop lmao, and she also struggles with the idea that it’s not her responsibility to BASICALLY FIX HIM so she just represses instead. She also struggles a lot with how he’d probably want her to join Eden’s Gate and how she knows she can probably never convince him to leave so she doesn’t even try to have that conversation. She handles all the repressing like A TON BETTER than John does lmfao she’s much more emotionally stable and just like way more level headed than him, but it’s still a big thing that she’s really just not sure what to do about, so she does......Nothing! 5. Who flirted more before they started their relationship and how? Izzy! flirts! all! the time! She mainly does it as a joke because she loves how fuckin mad John gets when she does lmao!!! 6. Who made the first move/confessed first? no confessioooonnnn I don’t think... probably not ever, or at least not until it’s way too late lmao. See #4, they both are basically pre-convinced that it would never work so they never do anything about it. If anyone was to confess it would be John but he’d have to be under a lot of pressure to do so ie: one of them is about to die or something 7. When did they have their first kiss and under what circumstances? GOD I DON’T EVEN KNOW HONESTLY I HAVEN’T THOUGHT THIS FAR AHEAD JKJKFKJAFJK. I can honestly imagine Izzy doing something stupid as fuck like asking John to kiss her because she thinks it’ll just make him freak out or get mad, and John actually doing it and then Izzy being like UHHHHHHHHHHH I HAVE TO GO.  8.  Which one is more easily made jealous? John 100% but he pretends he doesn’t get jealous :-) but he is toxic as fuck and getting jealous puts him in a MOOD 9. What do they fight about? Who’s the first to apologize? THEY FIGHT LITERALLY ALL THE TIME IT’S ALL THEY KNOW BAYBEE!!!!! JOHN JUST GETS MAD AT HER AND THEN IZZY LAUGHS ABOUT IT THATS THEM THAT’S THE WHOLE DYNAMIC!!!! 10. Did they have a first date? Where did they go? lmfAO I mean they have a lot of little hang outs together at John’s cabin that despite their intentions can sometimes get TENSE... but   again...you’d have to beat them with a stick to get either of them to acknowledge the romantic undertones to anything that happens between them 11. What do their friends and family think? Do they approve of the relationship? NOBODY KNOWWWWS LMAO. Izzy goes out of her waaay to lie about it; she tells Jerome for example that she’s just spying. Some people think its like glaringly obvious though (ie Adelaide being like “hey so John Seed is like...crazy in love with you huh” and Izzy being like “WHAT?????? NO???????”) The only people who know she’s friends with John are Reina and Aria, but even them she lies to about how deep it got. She’s esp cautious with Reina because Reina hates John and honestly she thinks that’s hilarious. In general depending on the person she actually feels kind of ashamed because it feels like she’s betraying hope county on some level? so she just kind of is constantly juggling various lies depending on the person lol 12. Do they like to cuddle/hold hands? Do they prefer to do it privately rather than in public? honestly I can imagine them ending up holding hands or something and just like NOT looking at each other at all when they do, and then stopping and never acknowledging that it happened ever again lmao 13. How long do they wait before sleeping together for the first time (If they do)? Under what circumstances does it happen? ajsfkjsajkfjkakjfjskkjakasfasjf I DON’T KNOW!! I haven’t thought this far but it would probably happen at his cabin when they are alone and they’d probably just like somehow end up just making out somehow lol and Izzy would constantly break it off for a second to be like “we should stop” and then keep going lmfaofjsafkksaj it would be just like way 2 messy and way too much touching and kissing cuz they’re both way too much bottled up, and it would most definitely only happen ONCE and then John would be even more obsessed with her afterwards and Izzy would be like “wow I fucked up lol” 14. Who tops? physically John; emotionally Izzy, does this make sense, who knos......... 15. Do they get married? Who proposes & how? that’s a no from me dog 16. Do they have children? How many? What are their names? again no, but I feel like if you brought up the stupid ass cliche idea of getting married and having some kids and having a little suburban house John would start frothing at the mouth and then izzy would wake up in a cold sweat somewhere

#oc izzy #izzy and john

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 2X17 - Welcome to Storybrooke

Hey everyone! Say, if Regina cast the curse and made Storybrooke, would that make her a...StoryCROOK?!

XD

Shut up! You know it was funny!

Anyways, onto the review!

Press Release Emma, David and Mr. Gold must protect Mary Margaret against Regina, who is out for revenge and has made it her mission to kill Mary; and Henry, fed up with all of the feuding, devises a plan to put an end to magic. Meanwhile, Regina discovers that a father and son have somehow found their way into her allegedly undetectable town as she and the fairytale characters deal with the effects of the newly cast curse 28 years prior. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past The past has an interesting style to it. It’s not as overt as The Land of Black and White or The Underworld, but there’s a filter that for me is reminiscent of “The Wizard of Oz” movie’s first ten minutes. We don’t see this with other Storybrooke flashbacks, but it feels so nostalgic and nice and pairs well with the idea of going back in time specifically in Storybrooke’s history. Given how the present segment is also in Storybrooke, it makes for a nice symbol of distinction.

The story is really delivered cleverly here. It doesn’t feel heavy on exposition for something that really could’ve easily done so by sheer fact of the details that needed to be established, the reintroductions that needed to take place for Regina’s sake, and the visualization of the monotony of everyone’s day-to-day cursed lives. It’s handled reasonably quickly, especially because of the latter factor, but doesn’t let the novelty take over for the real story, but serves to instead enhance it.

That having been said...I don’t really know if I like the story. The narrative is trying to do two things: Make Kurt and Owen’s situation sympathetic while also doing the same (to a granted lesser extent) for Regina’s situation. The first half genuinely works. Kurt is a genuinely nice guy and Owen is just the best. He cracks me the fuck up and is probably one of the most unique kid characters I’ve seen in some time. He’s flawed, but likably so!

Regina’s situation is...a bit more difficult.

This is Regina during the first days of the curse, and as expected, she’s all too happy to enjoy her victory. Because of that, it’s hard to sympathize with her boredom and desire for her subjects to want to like her. That would be all well and good, but this isn’t played for comedy where it would work like in “Megamind.” As a result, while I like Regina’s bond with Kurt and Owen, it’s barely explore and is so little (She helps get their car fixed before the bond is formed so they’ll leave and when the bond is formed, she hosts dinner) that the steps that she takes in the latter half of the flashback don’t come across like the second chance that she missed out on.

For this to work, Regina couldn’t have withheld Kurt from Owen. It’s so horribly cruel, especially when we know from hindsight that she kills him. Her reign is in no danger by letting them go and Owen wasn’t able to come back as a boy because of the curse’s magic, so instead of sad, because Kurt’s detainment is explicitly Regina’s choice, Regina comes off horrible here, but the narrative is trying to frame it as something closer to what Zelena did in the “Chosen” flashback. Present Henry’s story in this segment is awful. It’s an instance of miscommunication in drama that doesn’t even have the added reason for why the parties can’t communicate. Henry’s very clearly misinformed about the reasons for the conflicts in his life, instead projecting the blame onto magic, and despite the adults having the ability to decry his points by simply talking about the roots of these issues, they more or less refuse to for some reason, causing Henry to spend the episode instead spouting out platitudes to the legitimate tactical decisions his family is making while being framed at least partially in the right for saying them. My least favorite of these is: “You used to be heroes. What happened to you?” Henry’s major conflict and current source of antagonism with Emma concerns honesty, and it frustrates me how when finally given some honesty at the beginning of the episode, deflects and is never corrected.

I found Regina a little up and down in this episode. I really liked her development until Mary Margaret visited her at her house. I felt that the development was earned and it came from a real place, well founded on her love for Henry and her distance from Cora after her death. From there though with the house call, the momentum that was building poofed away. I can somewhat argue it because Regina has been gunning for Mary Margaret form literal decades and it was just a matter of temptation, but she even brought up Henry, the very person who she held back for, so I can’t really buy that! And it makes Henry’s schpeel at the well even more meaningless because the one thing he accomplished there was basically taken back through that action!

That having been said, there were things I straight up liked about the segment. Mary Margaret’s growing guilt in the background allowed for a subtle bit of tension, it was great to see David and Rumple working together again (especially with David’s “family” power move), Emma’s developments with both Neal and Henry felt like genuinely good developments to their dynamics, and as I’ll get to later, Rumple’s interactions with Regina were fantastic! Insights - Stream of Consciousness -I’m pretty sure if you’re in an electrical storm, you should sooner go into a car than a tent! -”You’ll be alright, kid.” Not if you don’t close the tent! -Okay, the reveal of Graham was shot really well! I didn’t notice that the first time around, but the way he’s introduced is such a great buildup with an equally great payoff (And that’s coming from me!)! -It’s so interesting how Regina’s bedroom is predominantly white. To me, that comes off as two things. First, Regina gets a clean slate in Stoybrooke, and that’s something that Storybrooke gets its acclaim for in later seasons. Second, it’s Regina’s constant reminder of the nemesis the curse punishes, Snow White. -Regina, I love how you took to fashion so quickly (And you rock the pj’s), but where is some inkling of a freakout at modern technology? Like, the carpentry alone would be a shock! -”Good morning, cric-- Dr. Hopper.” I will say, I like how she knows the identities of everyone almost instantly. -I don’t feel bad for Cora at all, but damn, is Regina’s grief and even Rumple’s respect really powerful. It makes for a great moment of bonding between them. Like, it gets pretty dark as they talk about Cora’s death, revenge on Snow, and the emptiness inside of Regina that Rumple knows revenge can only starve off so much of. Rumple’s talking to is just awesome. You can tell he respects Regina and is only talking to her as a means of helping her (especially in the wake of Cora’s death -- yes, the pun is intended). -I want the Charmings to cook me breakfast! Yum! -”But she’s Snow White. She wouldn’t hurt anybody.” She hit her husband on the head with a rock and turned a band of trolls into bugs! “She wouldn’t hurt anyone,” my fanny! XD -Way to go David and Rumple: Rumple for warning them and David for making sure he does more! Good job! -Who claims a seat? What are we in, grade school? -”Home of the boss.” Does anyone call Jersey this?! -Poor cursed Mr. Gold. He’s working in his shop and everything all hunky dory, and suddenly, the mayor shows up and starts ranting. -I actually really like how even cursed, Gold is designed to be something of a friend (or at least, someone to talk frankly to) that she can get advice from. It’s pretty meaningful that even though she altered all of her dynamics in Storybrooke, while also altered, hers and Rumple’s remained more or less the same. -Also, with the series finale in hindsight, Regina’s talk about her subjects having to do what she says and not wanting to is just so well put together! -How did Regina get a locket of Cora?! -SHEEP BROS ON THE CASE! -Snow, I get that you’re depressed, but you are being hunted! Get the fork out of bed! -”Not to mention, your grandson’s [life].” “Well, wars have costs.” Fuckin’ hell, Rumple. Emma, your sarcastic “nice” was very much warranted! -”Regina’s even more dangerous [than Cora] because she does [have a heart].” Rumple knows Regina so freakin’ well! -”I know I’m not the greatest cook.” Good on you for improving, though! -Regina’s really funny in the dinner scene! -”They’re almost done.” You just put them in! -Kurt’s attractive. I’m just gonna say it. -”One large sundae. Extra everything.” I acknowledge that that’s bribery, but that’s how you do bribery right! -”You think I don’t know a bribe when I see one?” Henry, eat the sundae! -”Someone should find a way to get rid of magic here.” Give it a few seasons, Henry! Also, I know that there’s no way they set it up this far, but I like that this is brought back later! And Neal’s the perfect character to have this conversation with him! -”My family wouldn’t want to kill her.” No, but chances are they’d still imprison her. -Oh my God! They got Billy! I love this show!!!!! -This Greg and Henry encounter is just the best thing ever! -WHY DO I FEEL SO INTENSELY ABOUT A CAR CHASE WHERE I KNOW THE RESULT? ...I DON’T CARE! IT’S SO COOL! WOOOOO-HOOO! -Regina! Don’t let the kid run out of town on his own! At least let his dad go! -”But it’’l [Henry’s fake love] will be something.” ...Fucking hell, Regina. -How often did Regina come by the town line to wait for Owen? -I’m well aware that this is the furthest thing from true, but as I DO think Snow was in the right to kill Cora, I HC that Snow’s dark spot came from what she and David did to Maleficent. -”And once you blacken your heart, it only grows darker.” ...Suuuuuuuure, Regina. -Regina’s final speech to MM is really well delivered, but it doesn’t come up again (Snow’s darkness destroying their family), so it’s kind of pointless. -Awww! “Growen’s” “I’ll find you” to his [dead] dad is so freakin’ sad! Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? Snow killing Cora - I like how Snow handles Cora’s death at the moment. It builds off the unpreparedness that Snow exhibited during the last episode. Emma’s lie to Henry - It was good to see how Emma continued to make an effort to do right by Henry after lying to him. Regina’s Redemption - While undoubtedly shaken by Cora’s death, Regina shows that she can still come back from the brink of evil beyond evil. Seeing her destroy that forced love scroll was such a powerful moment! As I said before, it definitely is brought down a lot by the Snow/Regina scene at the end of the episode, but it still counts for something! Favorite Dynamic Rumple and Regina - Throughout both segments, these two were just great together! In the past, I think just the fact that Regina, even after knowing that Mr. Gold is also cursed, still talks to him in this fairly honest and frank way, more or less retaining what they had in the Enchanted Forest is just great and is a testament to the slightly warmer aspects of their dynamic. And that is even furthered by their interactions in the present! The scene where they’re laying Cora to rest is just such a good show of what these two mean to each other. There’s antagonism on Regina’s part, of course, but also a certain softness on Rumple’s part. All throughout the scene (And later as he guards Mary Margaret), he’s trying to convince Regina to abandon her revenge for her own sake. In this moment, we catch a glimpse of the dynamic they could’ve predominantly had and only occasionally did. Writer Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg are writing here, and thankfully, they did a better job here than in their previous endeavor. I still felt like there was a bit of shakiness as to the foundation of their story, but they were a bit more solid here. These guys are good at individual moments when they put more effort into their dialogue than simple platitudes. As I stated before, Rumple and Regina’s scene by Cora’s grave was well written, but also Regina, Kurt, and Owen in both of the diner scene was great as well as Emma, Neal and Henry in the diner (Apparently, these guys just need to write diner scenes) and Rumple and Snow in the bedroom. I feel so much more effort there, Darker Aspects - TW: Mention of rape I get that at this point, the writers were trying to convince us that the Graham/Regina relationship was more consensual than it actually was, but no. It does not work ESPECIALLY when she pulls out his heart in the office. Fucking hell. I’m glad that they stopped after this with trying to prove this particular point, although they did poorly with other points. It’s especially not helped with that love curse that Rumple and Emma discussed. While it was used to discuss Henry, having it in the same episode just makes me associate it with Graham! Rating 7/10. This episode is a bit up and down, but it was genuinely a fun watch with a lot of great character interactions. Seeing the beginning of the curse and what life under it was was a real treat and the novelty of the experience was fun, but not overpowering to the detriment of the rest of the episode. While I took some issues with the stories in both the past and present segments, I truly liked them more than I didn’t. Flip My Ship - Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Golden Heart - “We may have had our differences, but Cora will always have a place in my heart.” And the rose! What can I say? I love them! Swanfire - The teamup here is just really great! Emma strategized Neal pretty decently and her trust in him to take Henry to New York really shows how in their few days together, mending has been taking place between them. ()()()()()()()()() Thank you for reading and to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales!

I’m sorry this review took longer than they usually do. I guess my laziness (And relative business) caused me to be...selfish.

Maybe the next episode can help me with that. ;) See you next time. Season 2 Tally (149/220) Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (39/60) Jane Espenson (35/50) Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (31/50) David Goodman (24/30)* Robert Hull (16/30) Christine Boylan (17/30) Kalinda Vazquez (20/30) Daniel Thomsen (18/20)* * Indicates that their work for the season is complete

Operation Rewatch Archives

#ouat #once upon a time #watching fairytales #ouat 2x17 #ouat rewatch #jenna watches ouat #tw: mentions of rape

[tamarinfrog]

Unwanted House Guest Special - Playing Your Tiles Right

insightsfromagameplayer submitted:

Belladonna Saltbush sat looking bored out of her non-existent skull.  She had been here for 3 hours on a weekend and was absolutely restless.  As she sat, her leg twitched incessantly as if primed to bolt at a moment’s notice.  “Remind me again,” she said monotonously, “Why are we doing this again?”

Arnick Stilton was studying the board in front of him and rubbing his chin in contemplation. Without turning to face Belladonna, he answered, “You asked me to think of a team building exercise we could all do, and quite frankly, sir, I wish you would have said something earlier if you had something else in mind.”

Cyanthia Laguiole had rested her chin in the cradle of her intertwined fingers and had a small, barely noticeable smirk on her face.  “Oui, eet was yur suggestion aftair all,” she said with a palpable French accent, “And quite frankly, I’m rathair enjoying zis.”

Tetrox Gorgonzola stopped staring at the ceiling in mind-numbing boredom long enough to frown at Cyanthia.  “Well GOOD for you, sugar,” she said sarcastically, “Ain’t nuttin’ I like more than wasting my time sittin’ ‘round a dang old board game.”

Arnick looked up and glared at Tetrox who was sitting across the table from him.  “It is Not a ‘dang old board game’, Tetrox, this is Scrabble!” he chided, “It’s a several thousand years old game once played by humans to enhance their communication skills and vocabulary. Many of the most brilliant minds of ancient human civilization used to play this,” he said before going in for the stinger, “And it wouldn’t kill you to spend some time expanding your horizons a little.”

“Oh yeah?” Tetrox quipped, “Well if them humans was so smart, then how come they ain’t around no more?”

“Got that right!” Bella said with a smile before giving the Octoling to her left a high five.

The look on Arnick’s face made it quite clear that he didn’t appreciate his team building efforts being undermined by his own team captain  She had asked him to think of something that was simple, could be played by 4-players, and would increase their critical thinking skills which are essential when in the midst of a Turf War.  It didn’t take him long to think of something, but with the mess Tetrox had made by going through his things so many times, it took Arnick quite a bit of effort to locate all the pieces to his copy of the classic game.  A little appreciation for the effort he’d put in to make this game day happen was something Arnick desperately wanted, but knew he wouldn’t get.  

At least, not from Tetrox and Belladonna.

Cyanthia on the other hand, was a different story.  Behind her ice cold, stoic face was a brilliant mind that was as sharp as a tack. As satisfying as it would have been to make a clean sweep with each Scrabble game against the girls, Cyanthia was proving to be a more than worthy opponent.  She had won the last game with the word “Couture”, and she also tended to slip in smaller words like “Chic”, “Depot”, and “Genre” that made word placement much more difficult.  It wasn’t just that she had a broad lexicon of words memorized, but she was choosing where she placed her words carefully to ensure that she got the best bonuses such as triple word score and block off attempts for other players to get them.

In the back of Arnick’s mind, he thought it was nice to see Cyanthia enjoying herself.  She always was the most cultured of the three girls on the team and this game was right up her alley.  Tetrox and Belladonna on the other hand were the ones who would benefit the most from some critical thinking exercises.  Or at least they would if they bothered to put some effort into their word choices.

Tetrox had tried to get away with “DeezNuts” for using all of her letters for a 50-point bonus, but Arnick wasn’t having it.  So instead, Tetrox settled for “Nut”, which barely scored her any points, and the only reason Belladonna scored higher on her turn immediately after was because she changed it to “Nuts”.  Now it was Arnick’s turn again and he wanted to show off somehow.

Arnick had pulled the ‘X’ tile out of the tile bag and just needed to find a good word to use it with.  He wanted to score enough points that would impress even the disinterested Tetrox and Belladonna.  Looking over his tiles, Arnick tried his best to think of as many words as he could that would get him a high enough score to not only win, but to demolish everyone else so utterly that there would be no way they could come back from behind. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to work, so given the pattern the girls had laid out already, he decided to take a stab and went with…

“Peanuts!” Arnick said as he added a ‘P’, an ‘E’, and an ‘A’ to the “Nuts” that were already on the board.

“Peanuts!?” Tetrox said somewhat bemused.

“Peanuts,” Arnick said back with a smug grin.  Sure it may not have been the cleverest of moves, but it still gave him more points than Tetrox or Belladonna had earned in their respective turns.  The only problem now was that it was Cyanthia’s turn and already she had gone back to her cold, calculating, featureless expression that she usually wore on her face as she began to think carefully.

“Oye,” Belladonna called out, “Can you actually do that?”

“Do what?” Arnick asked.

“Use the same letters more than twice?”

Arnick mentally rolled his eyes, “Yes, sir.  As stated in the rulebook, there is no limit to how many times a combination of letters on the board can be used so long as it creates a new word and does not inadvertently create something that is not a wooooooooooo…” he trailed off.

Belladonna and Tetrox looked at each other for a moment before turning back to Arnick. “Something that’s not a wot now?” Belladonna asked.

Arnick apparently didn’t hear her as his lips were still pursed in the middle of saying the word, “word”, and his eyes were wide open as he looked at his arrangement of tiles.

“Uhh… you okay there, Nicky?” Tetrox inquired.

Arnick is usually someone with a quick comeback and witty response, but he was far too detached from the conversation around him.  He was too busy staring at what he could only describe as the perfect word, staring him right in the face: “Dioxide”.  The letters just so happened to be arranged in just the right way on the tile rack to literally spell it out for Arnick.  “This is it!” he thought, “It’s PERFECT!”

“OYE!”

“Hmm?” Arnick raised his head innocently enough as though he hadn’t a care in the world.  His eyes were beaming and he had a smile stretching from cheek to cheek.  

Belladonna was looking rather annoyed.  “Don’t go off daydreaming now, you boofhead!” she said as a matter of fact, “Keep your head in the game.”

Arnick nodded in full agreement, “Oh!  Yes! Quite right!”

“Parfait,” Cyanthia said as she placed her tiles on the board.  Starting from the ‘P’ in “Peanuts”, she played downwards and racked up a double word score, triple letter score on the ‘F’, and was pretty pleased with herself.  She wrote down her score on her scorecard and motioned that it was now Tetrox’s turn.

Tetrox, however, was far more interested in Arnick than she was on the board.  Or to be more specific, she was interested in the look on Arnick’s face.  It was a look she had seen before, and knew exactly what it meant.  “So… got anything good over there, Nicky?” she said with a big, toothy grin.

Arnick practically batted his eyelashes in mock innocence.  “Me? Noooo… No…” he fibbed, “Just… wishful thinking, really.”

Tetrox wasn’t buying it for a second.  “Uh-huh… that why you look like the Judd that ate the canary?” she teased.

Belladonna chuckled, “Got that right.  If this were poker, I’d be folding right now.  Come to think of it,” she asked, “Can you fold in Scrabble?”

“I’m afraid not, sir,” Arnick said with a million G smile, “Oh, but don’t worry!  I’m sure there’ll be plenty of opportunities to throw a spanner in the works.  Just need to plan your moves, and words, carefully!”  Arnick’s enthusiasm was shining off of him like polished chrome as he was quite confident that nothing Tetrox or Belladonna could do with their limited vocabulary to block off his “Dioxide”.

“Oui, zat eez true,” Cyanthia agreed.

Tetrox was too amused by Arnick’s blatant smugness, and had the perfect come back.  “Well shucks, Nicky, I ain’t seen you that pleased with yourself since that time right before we done got hitched.”

THAT got Belladonna and Cyanthia’s attention as they slowly turned their heads to Tetrox.  Arnick was still smiling but could feel the color draining from his tentacles once again.  He wasn’t sure, but he had a bad feeling he knew what Tetrox was talking about.

“You wot, mate?” Belladonna asked with genuine surprise.

Cyanthia was also perplexed, “What do you mean by, ‘itched, exactly?”

“NOTHING!” Arnick blurted out in a panic, “Nothing at all!  Just some-some… silliness!  That’s all!”

“Ain’t nuttin’ silly ‘bout tyin’ the knot, sugar,” Tetrox said with a playful grin, “You went all out makin’ a girl feel all welcome what with that bottle of rum, candlelight on the beach, an’ everythin’.”  Arnick was sweating bullets as Tetrox knew full well she had him wrapped around her finger.  “Made me feel all relaxed that I never even noticed when you slipped that little something in my drink.”

“YOU! DID! WOT!!!???” Belladonna shouted as she stood up out of her seat, ready to grab Arnick by the collar of his shirt and punch him all the way to next week.

“IN A GAME!  IT WAS ALL IN A GAME!  I DIDN’T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING!  I SWEAR!” Arnick practically shrieked in a panic.  Very rarely was Belladonna ever truly pissed off, but having been on the receiving end of one of her beat downs at least once before, Arnick knew that making Belladonna mad was never a good idea.

Tetrox began to laugh and Cyanthia sighed as she turned to Tetrox.  “Vairy funny, Tetrox,” she deadpanned, “Now what really ‘appened?”

“Ha Ha!  Okay.  So… So Nicky’s got this game of his that’s like all military role playin’ an’ stuff. He was this big shot Admiral of his own fancy navy ship and I was the mean pirate queen he was chasin’, okay?” Tetrox explained, “So this one game we get down to when we’re about one ship each an’ Nicky here’s tryin’ to be all diplomatic tryin’ to get me to surrender.  He tries slippin’ a mickey in my drink to knock me out an’ capture me, but… hee hee hee…” Tetrox giggles to herself, “But… But Nicky rolls a one and ends up marryin’ me instead!  HA!”

Belladonna finally sat back down as Arnick breathed a heavy sigh of relief.  She was looking fairly amused.  “Now how the bloody shell did that happen!?”

Tetrox shakes her head as she smiles, remembering that Wednesday night fondly.  “It’s a long story, sugar,” Tetrox says, “I’ll have to tell it to y’all some time.”

“Sounds like a real corker!” Belladonna said as Arnick began to relax a little now that he was no longer moments away from having his windpipe crushed.  From the look on his face, he was more than ready to move on to something else but Belladonna wasn’t about to let it go just yet.  “So how come I never heard about this before?” she asked while turning to Arnick.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” Arnick said defiantly, “And Tetrox, if you’re not going to play, then say something already so we can move on with this game!”

“Easy there, sugar,” Tetrox said with a smile as she picked up some letters off of her tile rack, “I ain’t skipping my turn.  Get a load of this!”  Building off of the ‘T’ in “Peanuts”, Tetrox spells out “Knot” on the board, using up three tiles.  “May not be worth much, but given how this here conversation’s going…” she pauses while giving Arnick a coy wink, “…it’s all I could think of.”

Belladonna burst out laughing, “HA HA HA!  TOO RIGHT! Guess Arnick here’s not such a dipstick after all!  HA HA!” she says right before giving Arnick a friendly punch in the arm that knocks Arnick right out of his chair and onto the floor. Tetrox laughs too as she watches Arnick fumble his way back into his seat.

Arnick has his usual scowl on his face again as he retakes his seat.  “Go ahead… Laugh it up, you she-devils,” he thinks to himself, “But we’ll see who has the last laugh!”

After her laughter finally died down, Belladonna grabs a few tiles and places them on the board to spell out “Cake” using the ‘K’ in Tetrox’s “Knot”.  “Piece of cake,” Belladonna says with a smirk as she turns to Arnick, “Now let’s see this bonzer word you got up your sleeve!”

Arnick glances at the board and thinks carefully.  As much as he would have loved to get the 50-point bonus for using all 7 of his tiles, he could still score a pretty impressive score using 6.  The ‘I’ in Parfait could be used and it would also allow him to get a Triple Letter Score on the ‘X’ to make it worth 24 points. Looking at the girls seated around the table, Arnick smirks and is ready to show them all what he can do.

“Dioxide!” he proclaimed triumphantly as he laid his tiles on the table.  Tetrox “oohs” at the fancy word as Arnick began to tally up the score. “That’s 16 points plus the Triple Letter bonus on the ‘X’ to add an additional 16, bringing it to 32 points total!” Arnick put his hands on his hips in a show of victory and looked confidently at the three girls around him. “Try and beat that!”

If past experiences had taught Arnick anything, it was that he should never,EVER, under any circumstances, tempt fate.  Fate has bit him in the butt more than a few times and unfortunately for Arnick, he didn’t remember that until about 2 seconds after the words had left his mouth. It was now Cyanthia’s turn, and by the time Arnick turned to look at her, she already had a tile in her hand and placing it on the board.

“Dioxides,” she said coolly as the ‘S’ she placed on the board landed right on top of another Triple Letter bonus.  “Zo, Dioxide by itself was Thirtay-Two, plus ze ‘S’ wairth one point, with anothair Triple Lettair Bonus to add an additional two points to mak Thirtay-Five points total.”

Arnick’s pupils shrank as he realized that he had been bested once again by his teammates.  With the addition of a single letter, Cyanthia was able to take Arnick’s success and make it her own.  His eye began to involuntarily twitch and for a moment, it looked like he was going to go into one of his signature long-winded, angry rants.  But suddenly, his face droops and with a heavy sigh, Arnick stood up and began to walk away from the table.

“HEY!  Where yah goin’?” Tetrox called out.

“Out,” was all Arnick said as he grabbed his jacket from the closet then proceeded to head to the door that led out to the patio balcony.  The three girls watched as Arnick opened the door and stepped out into the breeze.  The cold air seeped into the room for a moment; just long enough for all three girls to feel a slight chill.  After closing the door behind him, Arnick slumped over onto the railing and looked out towards nothing in particular.  He reached into his jacket pocket and felt the small packet of cigarettes and lighter that were in it.  Arnick pulled them out, grabbed one of the cigarettes, placed it in his mouth, then gave it a light.

He inhaled and took a deep drag on the cigarette as he saw the sun just about ready to start setting in the late afternoon sky.  The days had already begun to grow shorter and the temperatures were dropping rapidly. As he looked out into the city, he began to think to himself.  “Well, Arnick,” he thought, “congratulations on embarrassing yourself in front of your team. Again.”  He took another puff of his cigarette before continuing his train of thought, “Why even bother trying to do something new and interesting with them if all it does is make you look like a complete idiot?”

He took the cigarette out of his mouth and lightly tapped it against the railing to knock off some ash. Even though three pairs of eyes were looking at him through the window, Arnick didn’t seem to care much about whether anyone saw him or not at this point.  “It never fails,” he thought to himself, “Whenever I try and introduce something that is of even the slightest interest to me or might prove valuable to the team, one or more of them is going to be uninterested or good at it enough to mop the floor with me.  Or both.”

He stuck the cigarette back in his mouth and gazed out over the railing, not noticing the sound of the door opening and closing behind him.  He chuckled to himself as he thought, “One could argue that those three have completely emasculated me, but that would assume that I had any masculinity capable of evisceration in me to begin with.”  He chuckled to himself again, even letting out a small audible laugh, “Of course, if machismo like that results in nitwits like Jonquil, then who needs it!  Good riddance if you ask me!” he said to himself before taking another puff of his cigarette.

“Penny for your thoughts, sugar?”

Arnick turned around and saw Tetrox standing right behind him.  She was wearing her usual Octo T-shirt and sporty bobble cap, not bothering to put on a jacket for the cold.  He took the cigarette out of his mouth and scowled his usual scowl before saying, “And what, pray tell, do you want?  Come to rub my imminent defeat in my face?”  

Tetrox shook her head, “Nah, I just thought I’d keep yah company out here.  Ain’t nuttin’ wrong with that now is there?”

Arnick exhaled a puff of smoke into the air and sighed, “No, I suppose there isn’t.”

Tetrox leaned over the railing while standing next to Arnick.  Inside the apartment, Belladonna and Cyanthia were watching the two roommates talk, but couldn’t make out what they were saying from behind the window glass.  “I told her to tell that whacker to take that cancer-stick out of his mouth before I get to spewin’!”

“I didn’t think she was goeng to tell ‘im to stop, anyway,” Cyanthia added in, “Tetrox nevair ‘as been good at leestening to ordairs.”

Belladonna huffed, “I reckon, but I’ve told that drongo a million times to quit with the ciggies before he makes himself sick!” she said as she began to make her way to the door.  “And I’m going to be mad as a cut snake if he up and carks it because of that bull dust!”

“For someone zat just punched ‘im out of ‘is seat a few minutes ago, I’m surprised you care zo much about ‘im,” Cyanthia said with her usual cold and monotone voice that could somehow be both blunt and sharp at the same time.

“I care about the team, Cyanthia!” Belladonna said somewhat offended, “Team Toxink is the Ant’s Pants and our ink is worth bottling, even if Arnick is constantly whinging all the time about this or that!”

Cyanthia looked at Belladonna for a moment or two as she took in both the words that she was saying along with her Amazonian physique.  Even when angry, Belladonna always seemed to have a statuesque posture that Cyanthia couldn’t help but admire.  This, unfortunately, could sometimes be a distraction for her as she responded to Belladonna with, “I’m sorry.  I didn’t catch zat.”  Belladonna looked somewhat dumbfounded that Cyanthia wasn’t able to keep up with her, but Cyanthia simply shrugged and said, “You ‘ave a bad ‘abit of using all zat slang een times like zese.”  Deep down, Belladonna begrudgingly agreed with Cyanthia.

Outside, Arnick and Tetrox were looking out over the skyline as Arnick’s cigarette was now half way finished.  The two had been standing in silence for a couple minutes as Tetrox tried to think of something to say to break the ice.  “So… Dioxide, huh?  Never would’a thought of that one, sugar,” Tetrox complimented.  “Y’all pretty good at this, huh?”

Arnick scoffed, “Hardly! If I was, I wouldn’t have let my own word be used against me.  I should have held out for an ‘S’ so I could have made it plural before anyone else.” Arnick sighed as he stared off into the distance, “Now Cyanthia is going to win another game just like she always does.”

“Now don’t go beatin’ yourself up too much, sugar.  If’n I recall, you won a few games yourself there, right?” Tetrox said while trying to steer the conversation to a more positive tone.

“Yes,” Arnick half-heartedly agreed, “But right now she’s winning at a rate of about two thirds of all of the games we’ve played and I’ve only won about a quarter.”  Arnick took another drag of his cigarette and held the smoke in his mouth for a moment before finally exhaling in a successful attempt to blow a smoke ring.  A nasty though then passed through his head.  Arnick pinched the bridge of his nose and winced which Tetrox noticed immediately.

“You all right there, sugar?” she asked innocently.

Arnick turned to her and gave her an, “Are you serious?” look on his face.  “Do I LOOK like I’m all right, Tetrox!?  I’m out here standing on a balcony by myself smoking a cigarette and questioning why I’m even still on this team.  It seems like anything and everything I try to do never runs according to plan, making me wonder why BellaDonna keeps a prat like me on board,” he complained, “Does that sound like all right to you?”

“No, but c’mon Nicky,” Tetrox said with a smile, “Y’all know this team just wouldn’t be the same without yah!”

“Oh yeah?” Arnick chided as he gave Tetrox’s words some minor thought.  He came back with, “I suppose you’re right!  Without me to kick around like some abused butt sea monkey, Bella will have to recruit some other poor sap to fill the void.”

Tetrox looked closely at Arnick’s face and blinked.  The far-away, despondent look in his eyes gave her a cold chill, cooler than the air and wind around them, that ran straight up her back. “Y’all really feel like that?”

“Why shouldn’t I!?” Arnick shot back, “All I seem to be good for is comic relief!”

“Now that just ain’t true, sugar,” Tetrox protested.

“Oh please,” Arnick groaned, “Spare me your pity, Tetrox.  With Belladonna’s strength, Cyanthia’s brains, and your…” Arnick hesitated, “…cunning and energy, then what exactly do I contribute to the team that one of you lot doesn’t already?”

Tetrox frowned and pouted. She then snatched the cigarette out from between Arnick’s fingers, ground it into the metal railing, and then flicked the cigarette butt onto the pavement of the apartment parking lot below. Arnick looked quite dismayed and annoyed, but Tetrox wasn’t going to have it.

“Arnick Samuel Stilton,” Tetrox said with authority, “Shame on you for not givin’ yourself enough credit for all the good you’ve done for everyone!”

“GOOD!?” Arnick said incredulously, “Are you mad!? Hardly anything I do these days could ever remotely be considered ‘good’ by any definition!”

Tetrox was starting to get annoyed at Arnick’s defeatist attitude.  She remembered the look in his eyes when he was sure that he was going to win, and found herself missing it greatly now that it was no longer there.  “Alright, sugar… if that’s the way you wanna play it, then fine!”

“Does this mean you’ll leave me alone?” Arnick asked with mock hope in his voice.

“Shell No!”

“I thought not,” Arnick sighed.

“Now look, Nicky, earlier y’all was talkin’ ‘bout how Cyanthia was winning like two outta three games and how you should have waited before you showed your hand, right?” Arnick nodded in response. “Okay,” Tetrox continued, “Now Me, Belladonna, an’ Cyanthia… ain’t none of us able to look back at what we did and think about it the way you think about it!  If it was just little ol’ me, I’d be doing the same dumb things over and over and over again until the sea cows come home!  But not only can yah see when you goof up, you can see when any one of us goof up too-“

“That’s not saying much,” Arnick interrupted.

“Hush, sugar,” Tetrox interrupted back before picking up where she left off, “You can see when any one of us goof up and then tell us what to do or what not to do so we don’t goof up a second time!  Now that ain’t something just anybody can do, either. Cyanthia may be smart an’ all, but she ain’t half as good at explaining things like you can.  Bella may be as strong as a runaway freight train, but how’s she gonna put her strength to good use without somebody at the switch to make sure she’s on the right line!?”

Arnick half-nodded, half shook his head, showing he was still not entirely convinced.

“And as for me… Honey…” Tetrox paused as she thought her next few words carefully, “I wouldn’t even be here today if it weren’t for you.”

Arnick looked at her and scoffed, “Seriously!?  ‘I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you’!?  HA!” Arnick looked away back to the horizon before saying, “And you call ME melodramatic.”

Tetrox pouted, “It’s true, Nicky!  If’n it weren’t for you; I’d probably be roaming around Octo Valley somewhere doing who knows what!”  

A memory flashed through Tetrox’s head for a split second.  She remembered her friend Ingrid and how she was sent on a mission to infiltrate Inkling society several months ago; possibly even a year by now.  Ingrid was successful in hiding her identity thanks to her unique skill, but, in a way, she was too successful.  She became enamored with Inkling society and didn’t want to return to her role as an Elite Octoling.  She wanted to stay in Inkopolis forever and enjoy the good things that Inklings had.

But when she revealed herself to the person she thought she could trust the most…

“For all I know…” Tetrox began to say aloud, “…I could have wound up like Ingrid.”

Arnick knew exactly who Tetrox was talking about.  Arnick motioned to take another puff of his cigarette before remembering that Tetrox had thrown it off the balcony and that he actually didn’t have anything in his hand. He sighed and leaned against the railing, “I highly doubt that,” he said quietly, almost under his breath.

“Well think about it, sugar,” Tetrox said as she began to walk to Arnick’s other side, “When I got here, I had no friends, no place to stay, no nothing!  Then you come along and offer me a place to stay-“

“Against my will!” Arnick interjected.

“-Took good care of me-“

“If that’s what you call eating me out of house and home,” Arnick butted in again.

“-and most importantly, you accepted me for who I was from the get go!”

“ACCEPTED!?” Arnick blurted out incredulously, “In case you’ve forgotten, I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of you participating in Turf Wars period let alone joining my team!  Not to mention that it is one thing to live through having you as a house GUEST, but to have you as a flat mate is something else altogether.”

“Yeah, but I grew on yah, didn’t I?” Tetrox asked with a smile, “We got to know quite a bit about each other in that one week, y’know?”

Arnick raised an eyebrow in Tetrox’s direction and snarked, “Like how you tended to drink directly from the juice carton instead of using a glass and then put said carton right back in the fridge?  Or how you would leave your undergarments and unmentionables lying around your room instead of putting them in the hamper where they belong?  Oh and let’s not forget about how you got your jollies teasing me any chance you got!”  In the back of Arnick’s mind, he reminded himself that Tetrox still teases him.  “Oh yes,” he continued, “I’d say I got to know you quite well during that week, and what pray tell did you learn about me?”

Without missing a beat, Tetrox responded in rapid fire, “I know you’re grumpy, stingy, high-strung, uptight, cute, loud, mean, honest, grouchy, pessimistic, and…” Tetrox hesitated as she thought, “Am I leaving anything out, sugar?”

“You can add ‘depressed’ to that list,” Arnick deadpanned before what Tetrox had said finally registered in his head, “Wait… did you say I was honest?”

Tetrox beamed, “Sure did! If there’s one thing about you, you ain’t afraid to speak your mind.  If something’s bothering you, you sure as heck let people ‘round yah know.”

Arnick wasn’t convinced, “And how does that make me ‘honest’, Tetrox?  With the way you put it, it makes me sound like some sort of whiny kid!”

“Easy there, sugar, I was getting’ to that!” Tetrox said with a smile, “Point I’m trying to make is that you ain’t got nothing to hide from anyone.  Y’all are true to yourself and everyone around you, even if it means talking nasty and calling folks out for their bull.  Don’t know about you, but that takes a whole lot of guts and gumption.  Ye’re a whole lot braver than other people I know.”

Arnick was blushing a little at the compliment, “I don’t know if I’d call it ‘brave’-“ he said before Tetrox cut him off.

“It sure as heck is brave if the person ye’re talking to is BellaDonna!  Girl so strong she could hit you into next Tuesday if she wanted to, and you an’ I both know she can carry one shell of a grudge if’n you get on her bad side,”

Arnick huffed, “I do NOT speak ill of our team captain!”

“Aw c’mon now, honey,” Tetrox shrugged, “Ain’t you the one that convinced her to get us all together for this game night tonight?”  she asked before Arnick turned his head slightly to look away, “Convincing that girl to do something like this has got to take a lot of… whaddya call it… car asthma?”

Arnick rolled his eyes, “KA-RIZZ-MAH, Tetrox!  Charisma!” he corrected.

“Yeah that!” Tetrox said, “And that other thing you just did there too!”

Arnick looked puzzled as he turned towards Tetrox, “Other thing?  What other thing?”

“You telling me that I was wrong, sugar!” Tetrox said with almost pure glee.

Arnick shook his head, “I didn’t say you were Wrong, Tetrox.  I merely gave you the correct pronunciation.  That’s all.”

Tetrox looked into the distance with a slight sigh, “I dunno.  Maybe ye’re right that it ain’t no big deal or anything, but… to me at least…” Tetrox began to think about her childhood and reminisced.  “Look, y’all remember I was raised in an orphanage, right?”

“Yes,” Arnick replied.

“Well back then, there used to be this one caretaker at the orphanage who was as nasty as Fugu and dumb as a sponge!” recalled Tetrox, “She could say one thing and then 30 seconds later say the exact opposite and believe both at the same time.  Any kid, or heck even a co-worker, that tried to correct them on just about anything got a lesson in hard knocks, if’n you know what I’m saying.  Far as she knew, everything she said was right an’ everyone else was wrong.”

“Good Cod!  How could they even hire such a person!?” Arnick asked.

“Far as I know, she was the daughter of some big wig that owned the orphanage or something, so ain’t nobody wanted to say anything to them.  Even if they weren’t afraid of the beat down they’d get, they were afraid of what her dear ol’ daddy could do which would have been worse.  If you was a kid, you was scared to death ‘bout getting kicked out.  If you was one of the other workers there, then you was scared about losing your job,” Tetrox explained.

“YEEEUUGGHH!” Arnick gagged in a show of disgust, “Sounds absolutely dreadful!  I can’t imagine what growing up with such a brute for a caretaker must have been like.”

“Tweren’t fun, I tell you what,” Tetrox agreed.

Arnick nodded with her before stopping, blinking once, and then turning to Tetrox, “Pardon me, but wasn’t the whole point of this conversation to go over how I’m the reason you’re still here?  I do believe we’ve gotten a bit off track.”

Tetrox nodded back, “Yeah… ye’re right.  Guess what I’m tryin’ to say is that I’m here ‘cause I wanna be with you!”

“Ah!” Arnick said as a matter of fact before a rush of color ran up his face, “W-w-w-wait…”

“I mean I know I don’t really show much appreciation ‘round here, but I’ve learned a lot from you since I began living here.  Makes me wish you was my caretaker instead of that sea monster we had way back when,” Tetrox said.

“OH! You want to be with me because… I’m a tutor… of sorts… right…” Arnick trailed off.

Tetrox whipped around and smiled at him, “Nah, sugar.  I wanna be with you ‘cause I like you!  ‘Round you I don’t have to pretend to be something I ain’t, or be all scared that there could be some other side o’ you that’s all fire ‘n brimstone.  Not to mention ye’re all kinds of cute too! Did I say you were cute?” Tetrox asked as she thought to herself, “I’m pretty sure I said you were cute.”

Arnick felt his face grow warm and began to wish he could zip up his Hero Jacket replica even further to hide the glow on his cheeks, “If you did, I-I-I hadn’t noticed!” he stammered.

“Well you are,” Tetrox said softly as she wrapped her arms around Arnick from behind, “An’ it is a cryin’ shame you can’t see that yourself, sugar.”

Tetrox hugged Arnick closer to her as he began to feel the warmth of her body on his back.  He froze up and didn’t move an inch as Tetrox brought her hands slowly upwards from Arnick’s waist.

“SACRE BLEU!” Cyanthia loudly gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands.  

She and BellaDonna had been watching everything unfold through the window.  BellaDonna was pleased when Tetrox tossed Arnick’s cigarette away, but when she stayed out there and started talking with Arnick, Bella was curious as to what the two were talking about.  She would have cracked the door to the balcony open a bit and tried to listen in if it weren’t for Cyanthia commenting that it would be rude to do so.

A few minutes later, their faces were flush with color as Tetrox embraced Arnick out on the balcony.

“OH, ACE!” BellaDonna cheered, “And here I thought they were having a blue!  C’mon Tetrox, crack onto him!  Show ‘em what yah got!”

Cyanthia turned to BellaDonna with a slightly flustered look on her face, “Puh-Puh-Puh-Perhaps we should be going now!”

“Hang on! Hang on!” BellaDonna complained, “Gotta make sure dipstick here doesn’t knock back Tetrox’s advances!”

BellaDonna peered out the window just in time to see Tetrox spin Arnick around to face her before reaching her arms around his neck and bringing him in for a rather intense kiss. “HA!  TETROX YOU LITTLE RIPPER! NOW THAT’S A FAIR DINKUM PASH RIGHT THERE!” she cheered.

Cyanthia stood wide eyed as she watched her two teammates lock lips.  It wasn’t until BellaDonna turned and walked away from the window that Cyanthia snapped out of her stare.  “Where are you going!?”

BellaDonna turns to Cyanthia with a mischievious smile, “Don’t want to be a stickybeak hanging around here, right?”  Cyanthia had no idea what BellaDonna was talking about, but nodded in agreement anyway.  “Right! So let’s make ourselves scarce ‘case those two come in to have a woomy!”

Cyanthia blinked, “Have a… what?” she asked innocently.

BellaDonna smiled like a predator spotting their prey, “Heh!  I’ll tell you aaaallll about it on the way back!” BellaDonna said as she ushered Cyanthia out the apartment door.  BellaDonna locked the door behind her and made a mental note to stop by again tomorrow with a present.  She was thinking a cake might be appropriate.

The End.

Tammy’s comments: AAWH! This was just cute and the sweetest and ah! Good feels! Hehehe! I enjoyed this a lot! AND HAHAH! oh I remember the cake comic. Haha, good one.

#gifts #fan fiction #splatoon #my squid kids #submission

[northwest-cryptid]

Let me tell you a story summary of our Dark Heresy campaign so far, the story of Gene a stupid anime character, Durm the walking callous, Flynn the guy who likes grenades a little too much and dislikes Psyker’s just a tad too much, and Hyrum the master hacker who can pretty much use force lightning at this point.

So basically you’ve got two fuckers who somehow survived an assassination attempt gone wrong (Gene and Flynn), one fucker who was so much of a force to be reckoned with that the inquisition basically straight up recruited him (Durm), and a fucker who was the lone survivor on a ship (Hyrum). If I recall correctly at least, it’s been a long time since we’ve actually discussed the backstories in depth. Regardless these four fuckos met up with a guy named Aristarchus well more like this guy is the Inquisitor’s right hand man and was sent to mentor and guide these 4 acolytes on their first proper mission. Little did he expect the shit-show that was this fucking team. I’ll be skipping around the plot a lot but just to explain the basics, these 4 assholes land on this planet where there will soon be a cathedral christening, their job is to protect the place and make sure nothing bad happens to the abbot, the cathedral, or basically any of the surrounding town. So they wander about following the guide of Aristarchus in attempts to get to this town in question, though at one point Flynn decides to question some of the locals while the rest get cut off in an alley-way by some of the natives of this planet. They don’t seem too friendly either. Durm and Hyrum do the most of the job grabbing these ashlings, shooting them, pretty much a proper fight. Meanwhile Gene is attempting... and failing, to climb a wall. Though he eventually gets his act together and shoots one of the ashling trying to run (or rather limp, because Durm broke his other leg) away, in the leg. Along with Durm breaking the ashlings other leg, this guy isn’t going anywhere. However this would all be too perfect, too clean, if nothing bad happened yeah? Flynn finally arrives at the scene and quickly puts on a disguise. His plan is to shoot at, and miss Durm in an attempt to get in good with the ashlings, he figures information is worth letting them live. However he ends up instead, shooting Durm... because that’s a good idea, let’s shoot the guy with the giant hammer good job Flynn you’ve really done us a solid here... Gene, being the only one who actually knows about Flynn’s disguise from their early days working together, quickly rushes to stop the now charging Durm from demolishing their fellow acolyte, after the encounter the group sets off in search once more of the town they were told to protect. Eventually they find their way to a small settlement and stop in to buy supplies before taking the truck to the cathedral. It’s a long drive and they best stock up in advance... which would be fine if not for the fact both Durm and Gene somehow fell under some Jedi mind-tricks and had a compulsive need to buy a coin and a pen, worthless junk but they really wanted it. Thankfully the nature of these... fine gentlemen... resulted in them merely taking the items by force, and when the shop keep was found a heretic it was all the easier for Durm to justify literally smashing him in half with a hammer. So long shop keep, thanks for the worthless junk. At this point Aristarchus is putting up with a lot of shenanigans, mostly... if not exclusively from Gene and Flynn. So much so that he suspects them of heresy. Hyrum being the master of technology that he is, is more than able to fix up their truck, so thankfully Aristarchus will have to spend at least one less day in a small truck with these idiots. 

Then there was a road trip intermission WOOOOO~ ROAD TRIP~!

Well what happened during this drive you ask?

A spooky scary Zombie showed up scaring Durm and Gene so bad that they shit one another’s pants, shit teleportation is truly a feat only accomplished through sheer terror!

Durm slammed on the brakes to throw (nearly) everyone out of the truck in an attempt to get back at Flynn for shooting him, Durm never forgets, Durm never forgives... except for when he evens the score then it’s okay.

Flynn tried to lie to Aristarchus and succeeded, Gene very nearly called him out on it... only because the lie basically put Gene in a bad spot, that’s when Durm slammed on the brakes.

THEN THEY ARRIVED AT TOWN AND EVERYONE WENT OUT DRINKING! Well except for Hyrum who did the responsible thing and went to bed. EVERYONE ELSE WENT OUT DRINKING THOUGH~! WOOO DRINKING!

So what happened during this night of drinking you ask?

Gene spent way too much money buying Brother Lemark enough drinks that he’d be willing to talk about shit.

Durm tried to get a discount on drinks... and failed.

Durm tried to get a discount on drinks again... in the exact same way... with the exact same results.

Flynn questioned some people.

Durm got bored and started a bar fight!

Flynn started to bet on it!

This all woke up Gene who instantly ran down stairs to get in on the betting!

Hyrum... slept real good.

They made lots of money off the betting.

So now these guys know about these lights in the hills, they’re aware this cathedral was built on unholy ground, they know something is up and they intend to get to the bottom of it. They split up and begin to buy supplies, gather information, and prep however they can to go stake out whatever is causing the lights in the fields, they want to know why people are going missing. All of this information could help them protect the cathedral from whatever odd demons wish to destroy it! However the result of their actions while searching for information gains them some unwanted attention...

While they meet up once more at the inn/bar some BLOODY HERETICS show up to stab Hyrum in the back! *dramatic gasp* Hyrum turns his body to face the coward who’d slash his back, and shoots fucking lightning from his hands at point blank. The heretic doesn’t much care for this as his buddies enter from the front door he turns to run after Flynn who had fled to the top of the stairs, however as he turns Gene attempts to stop him by stabbing him in the leg, it’s just not enough to pull his attention away from Flynn however. Meanwhile Durm turns to those standing in the door and lets them in on the fight with a welcoming Molotov to the face. One of the men puts themselves out and rushes up to Durm as Durm pulls out his shotgun and shatters their arm off with enough force to kill them. Hyrum assists from under the table taking shots at the men whenever he can. The other man finally having put himself out and regaining what composure he had he takes a shot at Durm, blasting him in the neck... Durm casually shrugs it off. Mind you this shot would have downed just about anyone else on the team. Flashing back to Flynn he shouts for Aristarchus claiming there’s heretics afoot! (I’m also pretty damn sure that Flynn shot him because that heretic wasn’t in such great shape, he was at I believe -6 critical state at the time) Though that lazy bastard takes his sweet time getting out there, and when he does show up he whiffs a las pistol shot against the backstabbing coward. Have no fear however, Gene’s got you covered, he rolls for anime bullshit and using the nearby bar stool he leaps into the air getting himself enough height to throw his knife over the railing of the stairway. The knife finds its way to the heretic and cuts his stomach open, I’ll spare you the more detailed explanation of the outcome but that heretic had to use his hand that was now fused together from being shot and burnt to hold his insides well... inside. Aristarchus witnessing this from the stairway remarks “Sugoi...” and we all learned he was a weeb. However the fight was over and the group had some downtime on their hands. With everyone distracted by the chaos that had just ensued, Flynn ran to Aristarchus’ room (all sneaky like) and stole his data-slate. Here he read emails between Aristarchus and his higher ups stating his belief of Gene and Flynn being heretics. He also found some weird orc porn that Hyrum accidentally came across and bookmarked for Gene and Gene accidentally emailed to Aristarchus... but uh, that’s not important! MOVING ON! The group’s objective now was to find out what was up in those hills, they needed to identify the lights and find out why these people were going missing... 

So the group set up an elaborate trap system, and make a dummy camp before sitting in the truck and waiting... and waiting... and then, what seemed like a whole week later because Gene had to go home early one night a shambling undead creature wandered towards them, a large cat like beast with no eyes and obvious malformation leaped up and clawed at Flynn VERY NEARLY KILLING HIM. As he crawled under the truck Gene passed him a vial of stim in hopes that he’d have a last resort if he needed it, meanwhile Durm broke his shotgun fighting back the beast as Hyrum assisted with shooting lightning from his hands. Gene darts out from the truck and grabs a small log from the fire using it as a torch in attempts to get the attention away from the others. Upon seeing the beast however he faints. Gene is a god damn coward, and is very nearly insane! Believe it or not the same happens to Durm, really these two aren’t cut out for this job they’re both really scared of the walking undead. Thankfully Hyrum is able to fell the beast and drag Gene back to the truck, with everyone loaded on Flynn drives them back to their camp where they run into Brother Lemark once more. This time he joins them on their outing and they run into even more shambling undead! These are simple humanoid undead and are easy dispatched by the group. Though they’re still not quite sure what’s going on they plan to get to the bottom of it. Returning to town Gene and Hyrum tell Durm about a room in the Cathedral with a locked door, as Flynn decides to get some rest for the night.

GET READY FOR SOME ANIME SHIT BECAUSE WHOA BOY HERE WE GO!

Flynn instead of going to bed decides to get a few drinks, and does so just fine, in fact if I recall correctly he downs five drinks without any problem. He thanks the bar keep saying “you know... there’s something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while now, and I think tonight’s the night.” (or something along those lines) MEANWHILE! Our three other ...heroes? Ha not remotely, they’re just assholes, but they’re our assholes, anyways they find themselves breaking into the door at the Cathedral, inside they find all sorts of odd texts and writing. However the Abbot himself catches them in the act. He is furious and explains that he has already called for Aristarchus... however Aristarchus didn’t answer... back to the inn for a moment, Flynn gets up and begins to walk down the hall to his room. However instead of turning in for the night he pulls a grenade from his pouch, (I genuinely wish I could remember the exact speech! It was so fucking good) with an anime speech about how he very nearly died, and he doesn’t want to die with regrets he went on to explain how Aristarchus, the psyker of our group, was the most heretical thing in his mind, Flynn throws a grenade into Aristarchus’ room without any hesitation. Back in the Cathedral the Abbot turns and begins to take his leave, Hyrum leaves it up to the other two to handle the Abbot and proceeds to copy the documents they’ve been coming across in the room, Durm and Gene know they can’t just let the Abbot get away, Gene takes aim outside the door with his rifle, Durm however books it down the hall past the Abbot and readies the last shot of his shotgun. With a sudden blast Durm turns the Abbot to dust. In the distance a grenade can be heard exploding, as Flynn is doing his best to put distance between himself and Aristarchus’ room. Both Flynn and Aristarchus are now hanging on by 1 HP, and Flynn hears Aristarchus shouting as he raises from his bed and charges out taking a shot at Flynn and missing. Flynn has now come face to face with a Psyker, not only the thing he hates most, but the thing I’d argue he fears most. Flynn isn’t about to give him any time to cast some Psyker mind-bullshit though, he readies another grenade and throws it without hesitation, the inn/bar is falling apart around them as the second grenade detonates and Flynn follows up with a Molotov for good measure. The now burning corpse of Aristarchus rests at the bar below his room as Flynn tosses another grenade behind the bar counter to kill any witnesses before passing out in the street. Durm worried about how he’s going to cover up killing the Abbot, the very man we were sent to protect rushes out of the Cathedral to find Flynn, Flynn’s the type of guy who can get you out of a mess like this after-all. Meanwhile Hyrum has finished copying down notes and taking pictures of the odd texts as the Cathedral begins to collapse around them. Gene and Hyrum make a break for the door as they hear a voice echoing through the halls, a voice they’ve never heard shouting “YOU’VE RUINED EVERYTHING!” This pushes Gene to begin going insane. What’s this? Gene Steeler has leveled up +1 Insanity he now has a fear of Death, and some serious PTSD. Oh yeah, also his name is Gene Steeler... so that’s a thing. Moving on! They escape the Cathedral, now a mountain of debris and rubble the town is in a state of panic, Durm and Flynn now stand in the street in front of a burning inn/bar as Gene and Hyrum find themselves in front of the ruins of the very Cathedral they were suppose to protect... The four make their way to the truck as Brother Lemark finds them and insists on joining them on their journey, he knows things are getting bad and he doesn’t want to be left out of the escape plans. The five speed out of town faster than Takumi on the Akina Downhill and that’s where the story has left off.

Keep in mind this hardly covers everything, Hyrum is a very active character but isn’t mentioned as much because he’s not likely to get into bullshit shenanigans as the rest of the game, the gang has bonded over many many minor story points and there was a lot of a focus on Aristarchus, his tarot cards, the crow father, the native ashlings, and even the bar keeper who we all basically befriended. Though this is merely a summary of the events because if you don’t at least know this much of the backstory it’s hard to really explain the impact of everything that went down in the last part. Mind you that none of the players behind these characters had any idea any of this was going to happen. Hyrum and Durm’s players knew about Flynn’s eventual want to kill Aristarchus but they weren’t aware of how or when, our run in with the Abbot and our methods of “handling it” were completely unrelated and not planned out. So basically we all became heretical in the last 15 minutes of our last session for just doing what we thought was the right thing to do. Fun fact: During the entire segment after the first grenade was thrown into Aristarchus’ room we switched our background music to the Cowboy Bebop OST, because Tank! is literally too fitting as a theme for stupid shenanigans and chases. I can’t even emphasize the fact enough, that Flynn had a 1 v 1 sudden deathmatch with the one person he possibly feared most out of everyone. It was 100% a cliche anime moment and I loved every second of it.