#and i just binged half of season 4 in one sitting

[cottoncandysprite]

I don't think it's a good sign for my mental health this semester that if I go like 5 seconds without watching/talking about my vampire media I get so depressed my head hurts

#so yeah schools not off to a great start #and i just binged half of season 4 in one sitting #wwdits #iwtv #ramblies

[springdandelixn]

For the smut prompts can I get 4 and 35 with Loki please?

The Bet

Summary: You're determined to win again your on-going bet with Loki. But what happens when it's his turn to claim victory?

From the following prompts: #4 - Let's see how many times I can make you cum tonight. #35 - I’m gonna handcuff you to the bed so you can’t push my head away after I make you cum.

Characters: Loki x F!Reader

Warnings: 18+, bondage, oral (f receiving), Loki is cunning.

Thank you for the request! Kinda sloppy, so I apologize but I hope you enjoy! 💚

“He’s not going to die.” You say with much conviction as you take the popcorn out of the microwave. “He’s like the strongest and smartest character in the show. How is he going to die when he’s practically 10 steps ahead of all of them?”

“I just know it, Darling.” Loki grins at you from the couch, remote in hand as he searches for the show you both have been binging for the past month and a half. “That’s what the show does. It’s very predictable.” He explains like he’s an expert on the show, though you don’t question his passion for it either. “They set up the strongest players for everyone to love only to kill them after.”

“They won’t kill my boy.” You grumble as you sit beside him on the couch. A bowl of popcorn in one hand and two bottles of beer in the other. You hand him a bottle and bowl. “He’s different. He’s strong.” It’s like you’re convincing yourself more than him. You push on. “He’ll live.”

“We’ll see.” He smirks as he turns to face you. He leans forward, his face only inches away from your cheek. “And when he does, when I win this bet, I’m going to handcuff you to the bed so you can’t push my head away after you come.” His voice is low and full of determination. The surety of his promise makes your knees weak, your spine tingle, and your core tighten almost in an instant. “And I’ll make you come again and again and again.” He places a light kiss on the side of your mouth before pulling away, the smirk on his lips seeming permanent as he plays the final episode on the television.

It has been an ongoing bet you both have. Watching the series and predicting who will die in the season finale. The winner gets to choose their prize and so far, you’ve won a spa day, a new pair of sneakers and to your surprise, one you didn’t actually expect him to get, a Millennium Falcon Lego set. 

“I’ll never understand your fascination for this...this thing.” He said as he held the Lego pieces in his hands.

“If you watch Star Wars with me, then you’ll understand.” You grinned at him and began reading the instructions in the booklet. 

So far, it’s either you’ve been winning the bets or no one wins at all. Loki has never gotten his chance to ask anything. And now, with how he’s certain of his prediction, it makes you want to win even harder. To prove him wrong and win once again. And you have to, there’s a new pair of shoes you really want to get and you have no qualms about him spending his money to get it. 

-

“Noooooo!” You shout in shock as the blade of the dagger meets the neck of your favorite character, watching his body writhe on the cobblestone floor as the life seeps out of him. “That can’t be! No!” You sit still on the couch, mouth still agape from what you’ve witnessed. You feel the tears brimming in your eyes and fight back hard for them not to fall. 

You whimper slightly when you feel Loki’s arm encircle you, leaning against him as he holds you to his chest. His hand lightly rubs your shoulder in comfort and latch unto it desperately. 

A light hum leaves you when you feel his lips press lightly against your hair. “You know what that means, Darling.” He mumbles and you turn your head to face him, eyes wide when you see the mischievous grin on his lips, green eyes glowing with desire and want, and most of all victory. “I win.”

-

You don’t know why Loki owns a pair of handcuffs. You don’t even know why they aren’t the fuzzy kind that’s usually sold in the pleasure shops downtown. They’re real. The metal restraints rubbing against your skin as you tug on them lightly, not too tight to hurt you yet not loose to let you escape. 

The room is dark except for the dim lamp that shines at the bedside table on your left and the window with the curtains thrown back, allowing the silver of the moon to shine into your room. You’re naked on the bed, not even a blanket to shield you from the cold. Nipples going stiff and pussy dampening with anticipation. Completely bare for Loki to see and helpless against the plans he has for you. 

“I must say, you look delectable like this, Darling.” You turn your head to the side and face him, seeing him leaning against the threshold of the door, naked from the waist up. The contours of his abdomen and the muscle cuts on his arm glistening against the faint light of the room. “It makes all those times losing so much worth it.” He smirks and watches him slowly walk toward the bed. 

“You don’t have to goad me.” You try to feign annoyance but it’s useless with how much he makes you squirm and he hasn’t even touched you yet. Only walking and talking and god you hate how much power he has on you. That you don’t doubt he knows of with how much he smiles that naughty smile of his. One you want to purge with your own mouth. 

He stands at the side of the bed. His eyes staring down at you, boring into your own before he trails them down to your body, watching his pupils dilate with desire, with want, with lust for you. He reaches over and rolls his forefinger against your nipple, making you fidget on the bed and release a soft moan from his ministrations. 

“God, you’re so beautiful, Darling.” He breathes before pulling his hand away, making you arch your back from the loss of contact, your mind turning into a puddle and wanting nothing more than to feel his hands on your heated body. “So helpless and mine to do as I please.” He continues and you gasp when he kneels in front of you, grabbing your thighs to wrap them around his clothed waist and pressing you flush against the growing erection within his trousers. 

A soft moan leaves your lips when he leans down to trail kisses on your collarbone, his hand holding him up on the side of your head while the other grabs your waist, kneading your side with his deft fingers before running them up to cup your tit and giving it a gentle squeeze. 

“Loki—” You moan out his name, your hips bucking instinctively as you try to rub it against his crotch, your pussy crying to be touched, to be kissed, to be fucked. “Please,”

“Patience, my love.” He whispers against your skin. “I have waited so long for this.”

He presses his lips on the tops of your breast, a kiss on each before he runs his tongue against your skin. Your breath then hitches and you pull on your restraints quite harshly as he wraps his lips around your nipple, rolling the tip of his tongue around it while his hand caresses the underside of your breast. 

You’re panting and arching your back, wanting more of his mouth on you as he begins to suck on the stiff nub. Mewls and moans bounce through the walls when his teeth graze against your skin, the cuffs jingling against the metal bedframe each time you pull on them, the metal biting on your skin deliciously and you wouldn’t be surprised to find marking on your wrist after. 

“Please, Loki—” You beg. And you hate begging. But you’re left with no choice. Your body sings with each lick and flick of his tongue on the stiff peaks of your tits, throwing your head back when he gives the same treatment to the other. And how it drives you crazy, your body shivering and tightening deliciously in desire when his hand runs down to the apex of your thighs, his thumb barely skimming against your clit that makes you whimper out loud.

You whine when his lips leave your skin, running his tongue down your sternum and to your abdomen, swirling it around your naval before he pushes himself away and grins up at you after pressing a kiss just above your clit. 

He traces a finger along your folds, teasing you as he pushes the tip of his digit just past your entrance, lightly rubbing the walls, making you pant heavily, his teasing slowly pushing you to the edge that makes you lift your leg up to his shoulder, wanting to lock him between your thighs.

But he’s fast and places both of his hands on your inner thighs, pushing your legs apart wide and exposing your cunt to the cool air of the bedroom. You whimper his name when he leans down and gives your lips a long and slow lick, stopping the tip just at your clit and rolling the tip of his tongue against it. 

You’re desperate. You’re needy. Your legs are shaking in anticipation for him to take you, to claim you again and again. To imprint on your skin that you are his and no one else’s. He sucks on your clit lightly and you moan incoherently, wanting to call his name but the words come out garbled from his frustrating ministrations. 

“Nooo—” You whisper when he pulls away, looking down at him as you try to follow his lips with your pelvis. But his hands keep you pinned on the bed and you shiver when you see the way he’s looking at you. Like a predator ready to devour his prey. 

“Now, let’s see how many times I can make you come tonight, Darling.” He says with a smirk and you turn into a moaning mess when his lips latch onto your clit, tongue swirling around it as he sucks on it hard, pushing your head back against the pillow as you succumb to his power.

Taglist: @mochie85 @stolenlucifer @michelleleewise @rmoonstoner @muddyorbs @javagirl328 @lucylaufeyson3 @huntress-artemiss @ariacraigggg @silverfire475 @lonadane @123forgottherest @catalina712

I don’t know if you guys wanna keep being tagged in the other Loki fics but if you wish to be removed, send me a DM. If any wants to be added, send me a DM too. I just don’t want to bombard you guys with so much notifs.

#loki #loki x reader #loki x female reader #loki smut #anon ask #anon request #send me requests #but cannot promise to be fast #loki fanfction #loki fanfic #coconut bun stories

[lord-aldhelm]

Welcome to my blog.

I decided to create this thing to keep all my insanity contained in one location. This currently encompasses a laser-focused obsession and hyperfixation on the above ↑↑↑

About this Blog:

So, I originally started this blog so I could reblog all the Aldhelm posts I had been bookmarking over the past year and a half, keeping them all in one place since I did not want to post them on my main art blog. I also wanted to use it to post my fic, since I finally decided to take the risk and publish it for better or for worse, and also share all the screencaps I had been taking for drawing references (and just for my own pleasure let's be honest here).

I am rather late to this fandom, having binge watched this show in the middle of last year (2022) just as season 5 was released. It was sitting in my watchlist on Netflix for a few years, but I neglected it, thinking it was just another Vikings ripoff. Boy was I wrong. This show has really gotten to me in a way that no other TV show or movie has. I have never been so obsessed with a TV show or movie in my entire life.

But what compelled me to make an Aldhelm blog? Well, for starters, it had become apparent to me that, although many in this fandom like his character, very few consider him to be their favorite character, and far fewer still are obsessed about him in the same way that many are about Sihtric or Finan, for example. I still can't wrap my head around that, but maybe I am the weirdo, so oh well. I will create another post about why I love him so much at a later date if anyone cares to read it.

There are tons of blogs for the show in general and for other characters, and most of Uhtred's "pretty boys" get lots of love on here, but not so much for Aldhelm. I don't know if anyone else will really care about anything on this blog, but it is honestly not why I made it. This is more for my own sake than anyone else's, and if anyone else gets anything out of this that is great too.

My Tags List can be found in my archive or on the sidebar of my main blog or below.

My Own Fanfic/Writings (LadyAldhelm on AO3):

Springtime in Saltwic (AO3)

Get To Know Them Alphabet (Tumblr)

My Collection of Essays

Aldhelm Character Analysis

My Own screencaps:

Season 2 (2.03, 2.05, 2.06, 2.07, 2.08)

Season 3 (3.01, 3.02, 3.03, 3.04, 3.05, 3.07, 3.08. 3.09, 3.10)

Season 4 (4.01, 4.03, 4.04, 4.05, 4.06, 4.07, 4.08, 4.10)

Season 5 (5.01, 5.02, 5.03, 5.04, 5.05, 5.06, 5.07, 5.08, 5.09, 5.10)

My Own Gifs

Lord-Aldhelm Edits (which includes caps and memes)

Other Tags:

Aldhelm Fanart (including my own)

TLK Gifs (others mostly)

TLK Memes

Official Promo Photos

Behind the Scenes Photos

Con Photos

Side Blog: James Northcote Fan Blog

#aldhelm #the last kingdom #about me

[babblydrabbly]

all-nighter || eddie munson x reader || oneshot

a/n: requested by @a-reader-and-a-writer. My first Eddie fic! As much as a adore confident Eddie, I'm a puddle for a that little sliver of self-doubt that takes over too. no season 4 spoilers!

eddie munson x gn!reader - fluff - 1.2k words - warnings: first kiss. briefest mention of drug use.

"Person A and B staying up way too late watching a movie/binge watching a show but having no regrets" 

[ I do not give permission to repost my work anywhere. ]

You don't care about small town reputations. Not when you've been smitten with Eddie Munson since you met him outside an away-game sophomore year. But he'll figure it out.

Eddie stirs when morning light finally breaches the thin blinds of his living room. He swipes at his eyes and begins to sit up, when a solid weight stops him. 

It’s a familiar situation. Eddie Munson has spent plenty of all-nighters in front of his small television instead of getting some proper rest; has almost made a whole high school career out of it, in fact. His limbs are a little sore from his position on the threadbare couch. And the rough material of his baggy jeans scratches as he shifts carefully- incrementally.

You murmur in your sleep. Half on the other side of the sunken couch and half atop Eddie, your arms wrap around his middle as you unconsciously press your face against his t-shirt covered stomach.

Eddie blinks, confused at this slight deviation, then he remembers the night before. 

It had been one monster movie. Then two. Then you both got a little hungry and went out to grab a slice of pizza. 

Eddie half expected you to call it quits when you tossed your greasy napkins and sticky trays in the trash. Instead, he watched you walk backwards toward his van with a smile, curling a mischievous finger to beckon him.

He hustled after you without any fuss. Just a wide, toothy grin. You weren’t sick of him just yet.

Eddie’s lips quirk again at the memory. 

You had made yourself look right at home on the cushion beside him as he turned the tv back on, this time flipping through the static until he landed on a rerun of Growing Pains. You slipped off your sandals and tucked your feet under yourself coyly. 

The mood had shifted then. This wasn’t a rowdy, fantasy-driven game night. Nothing like the band stopping by to turn up the rock and fill his living room with the dense curl of smoke and conversation.

The din Eddie chose to drown out any reminders of his less-than life was replaced by a new, unspoken conversation. An exchange of soft quips and fleeting glances that made him suddenly feel noticed. Eddie glanced over, drawing your attention away from the blue light of the television.

Full of good food and more comfortable with your second time stepping inside Eddie’s home, you scooched closer, sending the teen’s heart rate skyrocketing. 

It was one thing to get along with you out there- at the mall, at each other’s schools. Always in passing. Always in front of friends and decidedly not-friends. But with just the two of you, the abnormally over-confident Eddie Munson’s eyes flickered over to you, his expression a touch sheepish then. 

You make a sound in your sleep again, waking yourself up. The arms around Eddie’s waist flex as you nuzzle at the soft cotton of his shirt. 

He’s got the perfect combination going on in the middle- a little soft and a little firm. You burrow your nose against him as you exhale deeply.

“What time is it?” You drawl. And Eddie half-wishes he got to see you looking so peaceful just a moment longer. He reaches up to brush your hair back behind your ear. He shrugs.

“Don’t know.” He chuckles. 

“Jeeze.” You pull away to sit up stiffly- still tucked partially against Eddie’s lap. “My neck is killing me.”

“I’m the one that can’t feel my legs.” He teases. You blink and realize how on top of him you really are. Heat rises to your cheeks. 

Before you can scoot off, Eddie’s arms wrap around you swiftly, that wide grin returning to his face. Tsking and squirming, you shift until he has you tightly in his arms. He’s surprisingly strong. Perhaps from never putting down that electric guitar of his. Eddie’s callous fingers press into your soft skin, and a different kind of heat pools inside you. 

“Uh uh.” He chides, emboldened now. “Not yet.” 

His lips press against your neck as he speaks. You let out a soft noise of surprise as he pulls you back down to properly lie on his chest. Face inches apart, your eyes flit up to his mouth as he stares back at you, waiting. 

“I have to buy the groceries every Saturday morning.” You try. Your weak excuse makes the two of you laugh. “I should at least call my mom.”

“Let that dumb brother of yours run the errands for once.” Eddie counters. You’ve complained enough to Eddie about how much is expected of you at home. You roll your eyes. Reaching up, you drag some strands of his curly bangs down to obscure his view. “What?? You said it yourself. How much basketball practice does this guy need if he’s sooo good.”

You snort as you watch Eddie comically try to blow the fringe from his eyes without letting you go with his hands.

“Come with me.” You offer.

Eddie stills. The thought of you willingly pushing a shopping cart around in the middle of a supermarket with him in tow just doesn’t seem to click. Not even if you lived a whole town over from good ole Hawkins. Not when he was Eddie The Freak Munson any way you sliced it. Averting his eyes, he brushes it off. “How about I pick you up again tonight?”

You take Eddie’s chin between your fingers and look into his brown eyes. You catch a flash of something guarded there for a moment. It’s all you need to lean in and plant a soft, reassuring kiss to his lips. Eddie squeezes you firmer in response, eyes half-lidded. 

You mean it to be something brief. Something soft. But a thrill soon runs through you as Eddie tilts his head to the side and recaptures your lips with a quiet moan. Your knees bracketing Eddie’s thighs press together with a spark of want.

It takes everything to pull away- to catch your breath and open your eyes again. Eddie’s own pupils stare back at you, much wider now than they were a moment ago. 

“Come with me.” You say again. You give your eyelashes an over-exaggerated bat. That seems to coax the Eddie you know back out again with another chuckle. “Let’s go!”

Before you can drag him to his feet, however, he surprises you again by taking your face in both hands and pulling you in for another deep, languid kiss. This time with a swipe of his tongue teasing your mouth, licking slowly once, twice. You keen before you can help yourself. 

Pulling away hurriedly, you pat your hair back into place while he expectantly drags his nails lightly across your thigh. You ignore the way it sends jolts of electricity up your spine with every inch.

His wide smile matches yours. He was never going to say no, he realizes. Not when you’re asking him to stick around. To keep seeing him. 

He knows the time will come when you’re ready to toss him. But for now, the idea of one minute, one more meal, one more day with you is so bizarre, he can’t help but follow as you tug at his arm.

With one last moment of hesitation, Eddie’s chest heaves with a sigh. A mixed sound of relief and feigned exasperation.

 You smack his chest playfully. 

“Okay! Alright!” He laughs. “.....Five more minutes.”

“Eddie!”

#Eddie munson #Eddie munson x reader #Eddie munson x you #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things #mywords* #requests #reader

[1im-perfect1]

We don’t consume media, media consumes us “The lost art of the sitcom”:

The way What we do in the shadows is perceived especially with this latest season has made me consider the way we watch media in the past few years. Wwdits is a sitcom and its structure reminds me a lot of the ones I watched when I was younger: The Big bang theory, Mom, Modern family, How I met your mother, Friends and so on, there was a dedicated timeslot for them after lunch until around 4 pm my mom watched them while going about her day laughing while not paying that much attention and I remember when I needed a book or I wanted something to eat I would go in the living room to greet her and I would have a look at the tv and before I knew I had been glued to it for the last hour, it didn’t matter which episode it was or how much I knew about characters or the plot (or the quality of the jokes) it was entertaining it was fun, I didn’t really care about what was happening or how it impacted the overall lore of the show and that’s what Shadows does, you can show a new viewer any episode and you won’t need to explain an hour of lore for them to even begin to get what’s going on; yes for a fan of the show Guillermo yelling back at Nandor in 4x6 displays a tremendous character/relationship growth (in season 1 he couldn’t even talk) but for a casual viewer it’s 2 men yelling about dodo birds...IT’S JUST FUNNY, fans and more devoted viewers get rewarded for sticking with the show with callbacks and a masterful character writing that doesn’t remove the characters’ edges or complexities but it doesn’t gatekeep new people from just sitting back and laughing along at the absurdity of, for example, a vampire who is pretty much a burnt torso trying out clothes for a wedding.

Viewers now have expectations of what media is and should be, with the popularity of binge watching and entire seasons being dropped on streaming sites in one day shows like What we do in the shadows have lost their format, shows are supposed to have season long arcs that impact every character’s decision, you’re supposed to have an essay long on every character’s motivation and goals and if you try to watch an episode of a new season you’ll be completely lost, as a watcher you’re required to engage with it to keep up with what everyone you know is talking about and if the show isn’t astronomically popular it gets cancelled because not enough people have watched in the first 2 weeks it was out, Shadows doesn’t reward you for binging it I would say quite the opposite, it often reintroduces concepts: Nandor explaining that he’s getting married...yes we know it’s your plotline, Nadja having a nightclub...yes you were talking about it an episode ago, all the characters calling Colin “the small creature that crawled its way out of the dead body of Colin Robinson” is a funny gag but also a clever way to explain what the fuck is that abomination, every character having a title card for who they are multiple time in an episode is to remind us who they are (Guillermo in particular because of how much his role in the house changes).

Like with Our flag means death and people commenting on how the first 3 episodes don’t have that much plot (a situational half hour comedy) and how people (me too) kept their buttcheecks clenched to see if Ed and Stede were gonna be canon...in the second half...of the FIRST season and how people had to FIGHT for season 2. 

We don’t have time anymore, we want now and a lot and fast, we don’t want to sit around for a couple hours for mindless fun because we can’t afford it instead of watching a sitcom we could have used that time to: clean the house, take care of our skincare, work or study, produce something just doing something, instead of doing nothing (the worst thing that can happen).

And it’s reflected by our media and the shows themselves: the characters need to be involved into something they can’t just laze about that’s just wasting time, shows are a lot shorter in number of episodes (filler isn’t allowed anymore) and seasons (a show getting to season 6 is almost unthinkable whereas 7 seasons was a regular occurrence in the 2000′s and 2010′s) and how we consume it, we have to work for it if we want more, it’s not just watching it’s working for that product if we don’t work enough it’s gonna be cancelled beacuse we failed it and we didn’t work hard enough to produce more product that we already PAY for.

#sitcom is dead #slowburn now lasts a season...at best #media criticism #media critical #What We Do in the Shadows #consumerism #wwdits #wwdits spoilers #OFMD spoilers #this is really personal so

[panicinthefittingroomagain]

30 tips and tricks for thin body So here are some of my favorite tips that I find really helpful (and true) for being thin… #1 Drink a cup of water right after you wake up, it gets your stomach working #2 Don’t drink diet coke, it still has sugars in it #3 Take contrast showers (hot water, cold water, hot water…) it gets your blood flowing and fat burning #4 Spinach has a very little amount of calories #5 If you don’t like sports or exercise take up walking. IT BURNS CALIRIES AND DOES SO MUCH GOOD #6 For fat burning the best exercise is intensive fitness (or any kind of cardio) or power yoga. #7 Don’t eat 4 hours before sleep #8 Always eat breakfast. If not, your body turns on suvivior mode and saves calories #9 Get a good night sleep #10 Drink green tea #11 Eat nuts and avacados but remember, they have fat. Healthy fat but still fat. #12 Avoid salt #13 Avoid sweetened yoghurt, they might say that it’s healthy or something but buying non-fat or sugar yoghurt and adding jam or berries is so much better #14 This is a hard one… Don’t weight yourself every day, you’ll go crazy. Weight doesn’t change that fast #15 Don’t stress if you’re not losing weight, sometimes you build muscle mass and burn weight but fat and muscle looks completly diffrent #16 Taking a fast day once in a while is not bad but once you don’t eat for 6 hours your metabolism slows down and you loose less calories #17 Eat as little processed foods as possible (pasta, rice, meat, sauces…) #18 Don’t eat sugary foods also don’t drink sugary drinks. Even juices, they have lots of sugar. Drink water, tea or fresh squeezed juices. #19 Pineapple burns calories #20 Half a grapefruit beforebreakfast helps you burn fat #21 When picking out food seasoning choose something without salt #22 Buy jeans that are a little bit too tight, it’ll keep you motivated #23 Sit with your back straight and abs flexed. That way you’ll strengthen your abs #24 Don’t just do 300 crunches and hope for a flat belly. No muscle needs that many repetitions, take up different ab workouts. #25 Don’t eat when you’re not hungry #26 Drink a big glass of water before every meal #27 Eat as slow as possible. Chew everything till it’s almost liquid, then swallow. #28 Stop eating before you’re full. #29 Don’t drink while eating or right after the meal. When you eat, you’re lighting a fire in your sromach, as you’re drinking you’re flushing it. #30 Keep yourself busy. Go wor a walk or a bike ride. Go shopping. Meet a friend. If you’ll sit at home watching tv shows, you will be more likely to stary binging BONUS TIP!! #31 Do things that make you happy.

[dryades-angeli]

Pure Boredom

1. What’s your sexual orientation? Asexuell, - Heterosexual with tendency to being Bisexual.

2. What are you obsessed with right now? Santa Claus von Divine Gate, but Anime in generall.

3. Ever done any drugs? Nope. And I never would.

4. What piercings do you want? My five Earpiercings are enouh for me.

5. How many people have you kissed? Two. The Wheiro in my School and my first boyfriend.

6. Describe your dream home. A greek Villa with Pool near the beach.

7. Who are you jealous of? Of Artist´s who can better draw then me. But I don´t blame them, but take it as movitation to get better with my drawing skills.

8. What’s your favorite show to binge? I don't drink. So I have no idea. xD

9. Do you watch porn? I watched three Softporns out of interest.

10. Do you have a secret sideblog? Yes, I do.

11. If you could teleport anywhere in the world right now, where would you go? Straight to Japan and Egypt. May Greece, too.

12. What’s one of your fantasies? Becoming a famous Mangaka or Author, so I can support my family..

13. Do you have/would you get your nipples pierced? Eow. NOO!

14. How would you spend a million dollars? Giving the half to my parents, a little bit to my brother and the rest... I am wishless.

15. Are you in a relationship? Nope.

16. Do you follow porn blogs? A few NFSW pages dedicated to Anime&Manga couples. But other than that, I'm not a big porn fan.

17. Are you angry with anyone right now? Yes. With my mother. I have no idea how you can make so much fuss and one too many hung towels.

18. What tattoos do you want? More butterflys please. Or Angelwings on my shoulder blades.

19. If you could change your name, would you? What would you change it to? Nope. I am satisfied with my name.

20. What is something you’re obsessed with? My PC/Computer maybe.

21. Describe your best friend. I have none. But just very good friends.

22. Tag someone you think is hot. @mikotofubar xDDDD

23. Who are five of your favorite bands/musical artists? Evanescenes Sarah Connor Todrick Hall Citizen Soldier RIELL

24. What are three places you want to travel? - Japan - Egypt - Greece

25. Describe your perfect Friday night. Sitting in front of my PC, drawing and listing good Music.

26. What’s your favorite season? Summer. The hotter the better.

27. What’s your pet peeve? ...idk. Stones in the shoe

28. Who is the funniest person you know? Miss thousend names. One of my good friends and already engaged with her girlfriend.

29. What’s the most overrated movie? The Star Wars films. I´ve never seen a bigger shit than that. My father loved it, but telled me, Neflix´"Wedneyday" is something for kids.

30. Tag someone you want to talk to but have been too shy to message. My old school crush.

31. Do you like paper books or ebooks better? My dear mother gave me once a ebook. But it wasn´t mine. I already have enough devices that I have to think about charging. I don't need another book like that. I also love the feel of paper on my fingers.

32. If you could live in a fictional world, what world would you pick? The world of Divine Gate. I would marry Santa

33. If money was no object, what would your wardrobe be like? I think like now. Just stuffed.

34. What’s your coffee order? I really hate coffee. It was to bitter for me. I prefer cocoa.

35. Do you have a crush on anyone? Not now, if an Animecharacters doesn´t counts.

36. Do you still have feelings for any of your exes? One ex. And NO.

37. Have any tattoos? Yes. The devilish butterfly from the Gena Showalter books on my collarbone.

38. Do you drink? Just a little on special occasions. But I can't stand too much alcohol either.

39. Are you a virgin? It's really nobody's business.

40. Do you have a crush on any of your mutuals? No...

41. How many followers do you have? 123 on my main Tumblrblog.

42. Describe the hottest person you know. I like the actor of Gideon de Viliers, Jannis Niewöhner. Brown chinlenght hair, blue exes, tick eyebrows, broad lips and shoulders, ghigh cheekbones...

43. What’s your guilty pleasure? Reading erotic books and Mangas.

44. Do you read erotica? Yes. But I like it when a really nice love story is told around it and there is no mindless banging around.

45. What’s the worst date you’ve ever been on? I had never date someone.

46. How many people do you follow? 123 people, as I said. Why is that so important?

47. If you could marry any celebrity, who would you pick? No one.

48. Describe your ideal partner. Kind, playful, humorous, loves childs, protective instinct, honest. I like men who are a little bigger, broad-shouldered and maybe (not a must) have slightly longer hair.

49. Who do you text the most? Idk. I would say, my pack.

50. What’s your favorite kind of weather? Sunny days, warm weather.

[mamahersh]

TMA Retrospective

At last, it is time for me to sit down and pen my opinions about TMA. Now, I’ll start by going over the timeline of my listening as you’ll see why it might have colored my opinions the way they did later; then I’ll try to segue into opinions about last 10 eps of S4 and all of S5 and how that compares to my opinions about the rest of the series, particularly MAG 001 through MAG 111; and if I don’t get too deep into the weeds or get wrapped up in the series summary I’ll try to touch on my feelings on the evolution of Jon and Martin’s relationship.

Warning, this will probably end up being my longest post about the whole thing, so here’s a read more to make sure I’m not cluttering your dash with a post the size of that one “color of the sky” post lmao.

To start out, I’m gonna briefly go over the order of events to give some context, as it really altered my opinions of S5 versus if I had gone in blind I think.

A few months back I heard about TMA through the Hermitcraft people and binged the first 111 episodes in less than a week. I had been hearing some spoilers at this point, and I was also beginning to look into fanfiction for the series which led to me accidentally spoiling 160 for myself. At that point I wasn’t sure I liked where the series was going and started reading time travel fix it fics and basically spoiled myself to the rest of the series. then over the next couple of months I sporadically listened to 112-150 and “reminded” myself why I enjoyed the series so much. The hangups I had weren’t panning out in the way I had dreaded, but S4 was honestly pretty heavy listening and it was a struggle. However about 2 weeks ago or so (around the 13th I believe) Rusty Quill started dropping hints about their announcement for the 30th (later today and I am still intrigued). I decided that since I was watching Soul Eater on a schedule, why don’t I see if I can’t set up the remaining episodes of TMA on one too? And thus my 3 eps a day was set in stone and I steadily listened to 150-200 over the course of the last week and a half to two weeks in preparation for the TMA 2 announcement.

So as you might imagine, “giving up” on the series a little over half way through because you spoiled yourself so well you knew all the major story beats of the first 4 seasons would definitely cause some interesting effects when listening to the rest of the series “for the first time”.

To dig into the meat and potatoes of my thoughts, I think I’ll start with subversion of my expectations. After all, I thought I knew what would happen ahead of time but honestly I really only knew the major story beats and over arching themes from S1-4. S5 was mostly still a mystery beyond: Jon and Martin walking through an apocalypse to get to London and eventually ends with Martin stabbing Jon in a bid to release the Fears to the multiverse. So yes, I knew kinda what to expect, and I knew S5 would be bleak after what a friend told me about what he had listened to through around ep 190; but I wasn’t quite prepared for how... blunt? the messaging was? The different domain metaphors were generally very transparent and admittedly it did bother me at times, but for the most part it was rather tolerable. Also, some of those big reveals in S5 about the Web and Jon’s part in it’s plan were still very impactful despite knowing about those concepts ahead of time. I’m still reeling with the implications from eps 196-200 for the earlier parts of the series, and it doesn’t help I’m participating in the a-mag-a-day relisten of TMA.

Something I’m realizing as I was listening to the end of the series and the beginning of the series at the same time, is just how different the podcast became? Personally, I loved S1. I loved the self contained nature of the statements, the personality of S1 Jon, the implied background office drama that was never spooky enough to get on the tapes. Not that I didn’t also love that the Statements were a puzzle, clues to help you guess that there was a wider world out there, that these things that went bump in the night still had it out for the Archivist. Nor did I dislike the broadening in scope that came with the end of season 1 and lead in to season 2. I noticed the voice actor change for Sasha right away, but I thought it was something meta: like they needed to get a different voice actor for S2 because the one for S1 could only be there for one season. Or even that I was misremembering. However when the reveal came that it was the not-them, my mind was blown.

I will say, that perhaps I preferred S1-3 to S4+5 in that S1-3 were far less bleak. Which is a silly thing to find preference in, seeing as it is a horror podcast and that’s how horror works. I dunno, I just enjoyed the S1 archival crew, what little we saw of them, more than the later iterations of the group. Although Jon and Daisy did have a nice dynamic in S4, I will admit. But I think too (and again with the ridiculous preferences of mine), the stakes seemed more realistic in S1-3? Don’t get me wrong, Jonny did a fantastic job of working up to “hellish nightmare apocalypse whose only solutions are either extinction of humanity or spreading said apocalypse across the unknowable multiverse” from “guy at a ‘normal’ archival job reads spooky campfire stories for his paycheck”. But when Jon was still human (and admittedly still fairly ignorant) the stakes seemed within the realm of something like Lovecraft: unknowable horror terrors from beyond operate through their agents of chaos on earth and we need to keep them from being awakened by their acolytes through their heinous rituals. You still had (to some extent) “good guys” and “bad guys”. Jon was slowly turning into something, but he hadn’t Become yet, and no one else in the Archives other than Melanie were on a similar trajectory.

Some (or a lot, it’s rather hard to tell actually) of my qualms with S4-5, I think, would be from how the show tries to evolve Jon and Martin’s relationship. By having a 6 month gap, there’s a lot of things that happen off screen, and a lot of character regression/development that went with it. So, Jon and Martin’s relationship in S1-3 is on a relatively stead uphill trend. Sure, S2 Jon is paranoid and distances himself from literally everyone, but hilariously enough once he gets past it after finding out about Martin’s CV he allows himself to trust Martin again. And outside of that (admittedly) rather large set back he goes from being a pompous dick to actually making an earnest effort to be Martin’s friend; even going on lunch dates in the lead up to the Unknowing. Martin, of course, struggles with a crush for much of S2-3 and possibly as early as S1 as he’s constantly trying to prove himself to Jon which leads to his getting trapped by worms in his apartment for almost 2 weeks. They both are heading towards the first soft somethings off screen for a short bit there near the end of S3.

But then S4 happens and Jon’s in a coma for 6 months. And then Martin’s mother dies, Martin himself falls into a deep depression, and Peter brings him into the Lonely. S4 is definitely good for Martin’s character development in the long run, seeing as it eventually broke him out of his shell, and it did allow Martin the isolation to get some much needed “self reflection” time to develop him more as a character in his own right, seeing as his character normally tries to stay in the background as much as possible.

However, part of what was sacrificed for this was all relationship progress between Jon and Martin up until this point. Martin leaves Jon after Jon “left” and stays gone after Jon “comes back”. They never see each other and the few times they do Martin is explicitly antagonistic, pulling a bit of a role reversal card to their relationship in S1. They are back to square one for almost the entire season till Jon pulls Martin out of the Lonely and it’s implied that Jon and Martin basically rekindle their entire relationship after mutually pining for over a year in the course of about 3 weeks. Then the apocalypse happens, there is no hope, and even a healthy relationship would be strained to the max. But, and here’s the bit that keeps putting me off kilter, they aren’t in a healthy relationship.

Between Jon’s being borderline omniscient and omnipotent (and thus the obvious power gap there), and Martin struggling to trust Jon on top of Jon being incapable of communication until about episode 190; we have a recipe for disaster. All of the personal faults that are still lingering from before the apocalypse and would normally be relatively simple relationship hurdles are exacerbated and used as weapons during it. They didn’t have time to get to the point in their relationship where it could be remotely healthy and while I disagree with Martin that they never would have worked out if given a chance under different circumstances, I do agree that what they have at that moment in time was born from trauma and just connecting with anyone who would think they were human and worth loving.

But to drag it back to a point, this is where the: I took a hug break from the podcast and read a bunch of fanfiction came in. As I’m sure you’re aware, those of you who read TMA fanfiction, particularly JMart on AO3, would probably agree that Jon and Martin a generally depicted as being a relatively healthy couple, particularly in the apocalypse. Even the clips from S5 of them having their silly moments are picked usually because it’s the one silly moment in that episode or couple episodes. Being as I hadn’t listened to that part of the show previously, I was still on: Martin pining and Jon finally warming up phase of their relationship, and generally assumed that eventually the pining on both sides would eventually give way to them actually dating (even if only mentioned in passing off tape). Of course, silly me, even after I knew that wasn’t quite the case, I was unprepared for how exactly their relationship unfolded during the course of S5. I think where the rub lied with me was that I was introduced to the OOC version of their relationship before the in character version, and it frankly caught me wrong footed enough that it was a perpetual bother.

That, and spinning back around to why I enjoyed S1-3 better than S4-5 was because there wasn’t really a sub-genre to the horror? Or if there was it was Mystery: Who’s the worm woman trying to get into the archives? Who killed Gertrude Robinson? Why is Sasha acting weird? What’s the Unknowning? What are the Fears? Are there other Rituals? What is Jon turning into? ect. Versus, S4-5 which suddenly transitioned to “supernatural office drama, pining edition” and “JMart couple counseling, Apocalypse edition”. We went from Horror/Mystery to Horror/Romance in the course of one coma and while don’t get me wrong I do appreciate Romance as a genre, even in Horror (see current Dracula Daily obsession), there is a way to pull off sudden sub-genre change but I don’t think I liked how it was done in TMA. Alas I’m not good enough at literary criticism to say how it might have been done better, and perhaps it couldn’t have and it just wasn’t quite my cup of tea, but I just found I enjoyed the intrigue of S1-3 better than the bleak existential musing of S4-5.

I kinda want to talk about the Web and how it was used throughout the series, but I feel like that would be better in a different post when I either have more thoughts about it or more to say that wasn’t already somewhat covered in my ep 200 post from yesterday.

And with that, I think I’ve covered most everything I wanted to cover. You’ll still see me posting with some frequency about the “A MAG A Day” posts and I’ll cover different themes and minutiae there that would have been out of place or I didn’t think to cover here. If you have any thoughts on this feel free to leave a message in the replies and reblogs as I’d be curious what y’all agree or disagree with in here.

#tma #the magnus archives liveblog #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #tma retrospective #jonmartin #jon sims #martin #s1 archives crew #this turned out a bit shorter than expected #but still the longest commentary out of all of them for sure

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, June 7

Buffy: New semester, new classes. (She and Tara begin to walk out into the hallway) Whole new vistas of knowledge to be confused and intimidated by. Tara: I think this one's gonna be kind of fun. Greek Art's gonna touch on so many things -- mythology, history, philosophy... Buffy: The professor spit too much when he talked. It was like being at Sea World. "The first five rows will get wet." Tara: That was just, you know, um, enthusiasm. Buffy: It seemed very much like saliva. Tara: We'll sit farther back next time.

~~Buffy Season 5 Episode #89: "Triangle"~~

The Sunnydale Herald is looking for at least one new editor! Contributing to the Herald is a great way to get your Buffy on! Find out more here. [Drabbles & Short Fiction]

a gift (Buffy/SPike, T) by

your best kept secret and your biggest mistake (Buffy/Spike, E) by bonesdyke

[Podfic] Enough by ChokolatteJedi (Ensemble, T) by Ravin_Pods (Ravin)

not quite covered up (Jenny/Giles, T) by The_Eclectic_Bookworm

Repentance (Giles/Reader, T) by locke-writes

[Chaptered Fiction]

The Time We Had, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Dusty

Possessed, Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Brooke724

Willing Slave, Chapter 9 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Sigyn

Mortal Allies Series, Episode 5.1: Lesson Plans, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Passion4Spike, MissLuci

First Alternate, Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Soulburnt

The Slayer and the Vampire, Chapter 27 (Buffy/Spike, T) by violettathepiratequeen

House Keeping, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Cosmic Tuesdays

Bleeding Poetry, Chapter 43 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Dusty

Holy moley (me oh my), Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, E) by violet_valentine

William the Bloody (Awful): Selected Poems, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, M) by SzmattyCat

[Images, Audio & Video]

Icons: Spike/JM icons () by debris4spike

Artwork:BtVS vinyls () by Lumpy-Pilot-9332

Artwork:BTVS “Every Outfit” “the Prom” part 2 Xx () by whatshisfaceblogs

Artwork:Spike doodle () by peroxidepoems

Artwork:Drusilla () by peroxidepoems

Artwork:BTVS “Every Outfit” *BONUS* () by whatshisfaceblogs

Artwork:Faith & Buffy | Give Us A Kiss () by holarke1

Video: Buffy Summers | Hard Times () by GossipVal1

[Reviews & Recaps]

Buffy rewatch 2k22 1.5 Never Kill a Boy on the First Date by handsofabitterman

“Carnival of Souls” by oveliagirlhaditright

“Angel Chronicles” by oveliagirlhaditright

BUFFY REWATCH - S06E20 - Villains by girl4music

[Community Announcements]

Relaunch, Coming Soon! by westofthestorm

[Fandom Discussions]

how did they just walk into that abandoned house by momsopposed2theoccult

Willow and Control by girl4music and dontwarnthetadpoles

Buffy had to have feelings for Spike in Intervention by simplyaiden

Rare pairs from when the show aired by dontwarnthetadpoles

Buffy/spike tired. Played out. by diagnosedtranssexy

the way prophecy girl is an episode about love first and foremost!!!! by summrsbuffy

the biggest reason spike is Like That in s5 by july-19th-club

he said i like the kind of girl that will snap me in half by july-19th-club

I’m getting sort of sick of the fandom’s belief that Spike never made any decisions for Buffy by oveliagirlhaditright

since it’s canon Spike has seen Nightmare Before Christmas by disco-tea

I love early BtVS computer nerd Willow by pass-the-dynamite

It’s hard to think that somebody that looks as pretty as [Willow] gets bullied for being a nerd. by girl4music

I’m guessing Alyson Hannigan must have found the black eyes contacts uncomfortable to wear by girl4music

Hello, Is there a link between the new Boom! Studios series The Vampire Slayer and the reboot that ended a few months ago ? by buffythecomicslayer

LGBTQ+ Representation in Media by Multiple Authors

The Trio, if they aspired to be superheroes by thrasherpix

Buffy/Angel by Bronwyn_agatha

Let’s rant about Xander Harris. by Madido24

Is this beer that Spike drinks real? by BoiledEggzz

Binge vs week to week by RipPrior8690

Willow's BOS? by itchtokDaddy

What's your favorite alternate Buffy-verse? by SecretlyASummers

Just finished Buffy for the first time - My Thoughts. by deepfriednergigante

season 5 by Dangerous-Patience24

Robin Wood's Mum by fifaworldwar

A past his own by Mika95

How did Anya make money? by WhoIsJayne

Since the Roma had the ability to ensoul vampires, staking vampires is morally murder by majeric

Willow training in Westbury, England: wish they expanded on this. by gavinci_unchained

The Willow/Xander affair in S3 is horrible writing and I wish they'd never done it. by Vannysh

Agree or disagree - At some point during its run the show jumped the shark by InfiniteMehdiLove

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

#btvs #angel the series #fan fiction #fan art #meta #buffy the vampire slayer

[televinita]

La Brea thoughts, 2x01-05

Twenty months after I binged season 1 -- so long ago that I had to watch the entire "previously on" recap just to remember half of what happened, because my general impression of this show is that visually it's great and the ideas are cool, but its cast is lackluster and its dialogue often cringe, so it doesn't stay with me -- after five episodes in a week I have had basically four pressing thoughts:

(you get zero context for this because I don't think I have written about this show before even to myself, let alone Tumblr. oops.)

1. I keep forgetting the 1988 story exists so every time we switch over, I feel like I've been smacked in the face by how beautiful and vibrant Riley is (with really great hair). Veronica St. Clair is one of the few true standouts in this cast.

2. Speaking of, Scowling Head of the Mine/Guard Dude is the first character EVER to make me sit straight up and go "hell-o" on sight. Extremely excellent Dark and Brooding face, and also great hair.

3. With the simple addition of slightly growing out his already good hair, I have gone from being meh about Gavin (which always frustrated me because objectively? good looking man. i just felt no screen presence), to being full steam ahead OTP: MARRIED PARENTS; I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL; EVE FORGIVE HIM AND STOP BREAKING IZZY'S HEART ABOUT HER BROKEN HOME OR SO HELP ME... Just full swoon up in this joint now. Man loves his wife, has gone to extreme lengths to reunite, is willing to forgive a whole lot without judgment if she'll do the same; end of story!

3.5. This is a carry-over from me hating Levi's face since it first appeared as THE WORST DUDE in Off the Map. In 2011. This man still has not earned out his badwill from that character, even as the most upstanding military hero character one could imagine. No hope for him!

4. BUT. Here is the thing -- I actually think this is the most interesting love triangle/adultery story I have ever seen on television, because I get it. I understand how it is actually a difficult choice for Eve, because for all my shipping I don't actually know who is the better choice for her right now. I understand how and why the cheating happened and I don't even judge it, which I have literally never felt in the history of ever, ESPECIALLY when a cheater has kids. I understand how you could love both of these men at the same time, and why both of them have valid claims to her heart.

All of this is beautifully complicated by Gavin and Levi being close friends, and my FAVORITE part of it all is Izzy standing in for me and being my sounding board and saying everything I would say and feel in this situation regardless of my age.

I am going to need it to resolve with Levi dying, because this is fully a "I am not sorry you lost them but I'm sorry you're hurt" type of comfort situation in the making, but I think I could actually handle up to an entire season of UST and/or Eve officially choosing wrong for a while, if i could retain some hope.

I will abso-LUTELY riot in an Eve/Levi endgame situation, though. You know how I am about marriage.

Update, BONUS/LEFTOVER THOUGHTS:

Lucas's interactions with Veronica lately: *Dean Pelton voice* what is this? what is this creepy business?

(no seriously why does this feel like UST even though she definitely looks like a teenage child and he is definitely a grown-ass adult. i have never been so viscerally reviled by age difference in my life)

Para has been one of my favorites almost since her introduction and that love has only gotten stronger

Still want the pothead dope to bite it

Less Sam is always better too

MOAR CGI CREATURES. I loved the rhinos, in particular, so g.d. much.

One more thought about the Harrises: despite Gavin and Izzy having spent a whole season sequestered together already, this is really the first time I have gone feral about the father/daughter bond -- I assume this is related to the former becoming Gavin With The Good Hair -- so when the love triangle breaks my heart too much, at least I have this. Honestly, it's really nice seeing her back with her mom too, and any scenes that involve the parents working together to protect/comfort her? Special favorites.

(the son they're all risking life and limb to reunite with? still relegated to Season 1 Gavin status; change my mind)

#la brea (nbc) #this mostly turned into me waxing about the love triangle situation and the Harris family oops #episode reactions

[malevolententity]

join me on my latest adventures in crocheting! watching a new ttrpg! and passively absorbing a language! blacklist "a ordem crochet" if you dont wanna see these updates

SO TO CATCH YALL UP SINCE I DIDNT DO IT FROM THE START

i have started watching ordem paranormal (portuguese horror ttrpg actual play) after staring at it for about 2 months going 'i should watch you' but not being able to. i have figured out how to get myself to sit and read subtitles for hours at a time and ive decided that my trade off to actually pace myself with the story instead of bingeing it is crochet during it! because i tend to loose track of time while watching interesting things and while crocheting; i figured a good way to keep track and to pace myself is to tie the activities together! and i figured after finishing season 1 that maybe i should document it as i go so i know how long certain projects took and! keep a collection of my reactions to AOP. so with that preamble done time to catch yall up on the projects ive made so far and where abouts in the story i finished them! obviously. this means there are spoilers but i dont think anyone here really cares about AOP spoilers.

SEASON 1

so first off! surprise surprise i made another beanie and its a pattern ive done before! this piece took me the first 2 episodes of season 1 to complete so about 9 hours went into this hat!

at this point i was really loving the entire cast. the world is fascinating to me as ive played in a campaign with a similar concept so the hook was very very easy for me to get invested in the stakes and all the characters. at this point liz was my favorite, gotta love a queen in stem<3

SECOND PROJECT

i decided at this point to start doing new patterns because i may or may not have a bit of a hoard on ravelry of patterns i like but dont have yarn picked out for yet. AND i have a lot of yarn with no projects planned for yet. which is also a big factor in why i tied these activities together! because if i want to watch more AOP i have to make decisions and actually use my yarn instead of hoarding it waiting for the perfect project that doesnt exist.

so i made slippers! ive never made slippers and had to frog one of them about 4 times to figure out what was off with the pattern and ended up figuring it out and even with all those frogs the total time for both slippers was about 2 hours or the first half of the final episode of season 1!

the stress was starting to creep in about the finale! the whole gang were gearing up for the final confrontation and the first Proper Proper combat of the series! i was worried about my little guys because i knew going in that the series was not going to be a forgiving one. at this point daniel was shifting to being my favorite little guy. its hard to pick favorites because i genuine love all the characters from season 1 equally but he was my interesting little guy. i love a weird author type character who goes from writing about the paranormal as pure fiction to learning Hey Its Real.... Do Something About It. hes soooooooooooooo, to me, yknow?

SEASON 2

i then started my third project! i was halfway through the project when season 1 ended and i was not having a good time. my sweet sweet boys daniel and alex were dead. and i got glassy eyed when daniel died because he was becoming my blorbo. and then he was ripped away quite literally. m still not over him dying but man m happy luba came up with a great second concept because i am. in love with joui. i can Feel him taking over my brain and blorbo thoughts and ive only had him for 2 hours. i am so sorry for who i am going to become when i allow myself to tag crawl properly and just go Ham with the reblogs assuming theres an active fandom on here. BUT ANYWAYS THIRD PROJECT

i made this tarot pouch! i think m gonna be using it to hold one of my character journal projects that uses this specific tarot deck! i got to try new things like colorwork! m very comfortable switch colors to start new rounds but doing colorwork Inside a piece for 2 stitches and then dropping has always been intimidating but i figured id give it a try because the worst that could happen is it looks weird! i also! tried doubling up yarn! i needed bulky weight and the only bulky weight i have is the accent color so i was very brave and took two identical skeins of worsted and just doubled the yarn so itd be bulky and Prayed that the colors would blend well because even though same dye lot their starting ends were at different points in the pattern and honestly i think the color and the marbling came out beautifully.

this is a pattern m really tempted to do again and modify with changing the emblem from a moon to another simple shape or even downsizing the yarn to just be worsted so i can have smaller of these roll ups because i really like it and am tempted to try and make one thats like a switch pouch in the future! OH AND STORY POINT WHERE I FINISHED THIS was 2 hours into the first episode of season 1 when the new gang was breaking into uh rafaels house? the initial dead guys house. i love the season 2 crew so much. liz and thaigo coming back warmed my heart, joui is taking over my brain, and i am Loving the dynamic between cesar and cris. i wanna know what went through calango and luis' heads when they were making characters and went "we should be a complicated father son duo" m obsessed with all the new dynamics emerging from the larger group AND all the characters being here from the get go.

and! ive started project 4 already! but that will get a post when ive finished it! i think its gonna turn out cool but time shall tell!

and then i say Passively Learning a language because. i am actively learning spanish BUT because ive been listening to so much portuguese i am slowly absorbing what some words and phrases mean which is fun! every day i am tempted to switch my duolingo course to portuguese because its the language i interact with way more. but i am not yet because maybe with enough spanish i can bullshit my way thru understanding BR-PT, since i dont have an interest in speaking just understanding (this is def not fueled by the vowel sounds being intimidating to me, not at all)

#a ordem crochet #fiber art

[thekaijudude]

Ultraman Anime Season 2 Review

Ye imagine only getting to watching Season 2 more than a year late lol

(Long post ahead cause do I have ALOT to say)

Was doing the review while binge-watching the whole season in one sitting

So Season 2 essentially cover Chapters 51-70 of the manga and overall? Its extremely compacted and specifically altered for it to be a mostly standalone series and boy do I have ALOT to talk about, especially with the amount of plotholes I found. Ill start with some general thoughts about the season first:

General Thoughts

It was evident that they wanted season 2 to be more of a standalone as the entire New York Arc in the manga was a leadup to the following arc which is why the Alien Pedan was planning more of an outright invasion instead of creating a public spectacle like in the manga (they only briefly hinted at their true intention literally near the end of the last ep). The alien pedan’s plan was more fleshed out in the manga than the anime, tho i imagine itll have to do with how they plan to build up to Season 3 and have Season 2 be essentially its own thing

And I especially found it really weird that they never even addressed the fact that Bemular used the Specium Ray at the end of Season 1 (tho iirc, i even pointed out that him basically exposing his true identity was way too early since it was a pivotal moment to lead into the next arc), again for Season 2, theres no link between him and Ultraman

Good Points (with caveats)

Next, things that I loved about the season:

One consistent plus for me is that I really like that the Ultras are interacting with each other more often rather than just focusing on Shinjiro (like Jack and Kotaro are always doing their own thing) with the manga

Especially the shared moments between Jack, Taro and Seven

But all at the expense of removing Shinjiro from literally more than half of the entire season (dude was captured since ep 1 and only came back into action near the end of ep 4 sheesh)

Next are the fight scenes and GOSH most of them are simply AMAZING. Specifically the 3v1 against Mochigon and every scene with the Alien Pedan leader (I totally forgot that AT's VA is voicing him so it took me by surprise LOL)

Tho they also changed the powers of some of the villians, making them underpowered such as the Alien Llubihc, which literally had an OP ability to control Gravity in the manga, which managed to easily disable Ace and Bemular and was only literally defeated by a plot device that is Adad which was randomly immune to extreme gravity. In the anime, it was basically reduced to throwing projectiles which faced off against a one-armed Hokuto wut

In addition, the Alien Bell was also nerfed from being a quad wielder to essentially a dual wielder. But i definitely preferred the anime’s fight over the anticlimatic one in the manga

Tho i definitely preferred the anime’s fight against King Joe, rather than Seven just soloing it in the manga, but then again we had to forgo that whole Rei subplot which had the buildup for the Leo Brothers. Tho then again, it seems that we won't have the Leo Brothers in Season 3 so it's understandable why they decided to remove and replace this entire subplot in its entirety

(Plus, the Emerium Ray was ridiculously overpowered for no reason in the manga, but essentially Seven’s solo performance against King Joe was meant to show his rage of losing his brother once again)

Bad points:

I felt that villians shouldve showed up to fight the ultras all at once in the final battle instead of putting Jack, Ace and Seven out of commission for the entire fight, seems kinda lazy

As well as many scenes that were obviously forcing development in one area for the sake of another (the above and Shiniiro literally being MIA for literally 4 out of 6 episodes tf)

Izumi's death felt really uncalled for as the transmission device was conveniently "not working properly". It just felt so superficial as a reason to force Kotaro to go berserk. Dave's death as a result of obstructing the plans of the Star of Darkness as well as the callback to what he told Kotaro that "There'll be a price to pay for making decisions" was a far better and meaningful plot progression as well as for Kotaro's character development

There's far more but it's more appropriate to lump them together with the next section

Plotholes (and there's ALOT of them):

I think with the team trying to compress and alter Season 2 so much that it was actually quite messy. For example, they sorta had a few plotholes such as:

1. Kotaro’s genes wasnt explained

2. Why did the Star of Darkness and/or Alien Wadoran needed Ultras? Isnt Shinjiro the only dude with the actual Ultraman Factor?

3. They also skipped the whole Adad breaking out the Star of Darkness in the first place, which in the manga, he did so in other to lure out Jack, which kidnapped Yapool. This would've served to explain where the hell did the entire Star of Darkness even come from in the first place

4. And they didn't show up what happened to Maya. In episode 5, they showed her smiling as Seiji placed her down so I thought she was gonna prank him or sth as seen here:

But later it turns out that she's actually dead here cause:

It makes me think that they planned to show Maya pranking Seiji but simply forgot and we are supposed to treat Maya as being actually dead now?

This is a very big L here cause I liked her character since she showed great conviction to believe in Ultraman after accepting that perhaps her previous worldview regarding their method of survival was wrong

5. They actually also forgot to account for the 2 Alien Wadorans that should be survived the explosion when Taro cancelled out the self-destruction device

6. They never showed what happened to Narse, dude just didn't show up after Maya for some reason, wasn't at meeting area of King Joe. (I presume Maya was with Seiji when he wanted to send Shinjiro back to earth even though we didn't saw her)

7. Ik Shinjiro has the Ultraman Factor, but bruh, it dosent mean he can survive the hear generated by re-entry. Suddenly Shinjiro was amped so ridiculously such that even without transforming, his human body can somehow withstand it? I think we're missing some MAJOR explanation here

8. Isnt the leader an alien Pedan tho? Dude suddenly pulled out a Zetton Shutter outta nowhere during the climax

9. If yall noticed, Maya actually grieved for 3 of the Alien Wadorans when the Alien Pedan set off the self-destruction (which is all of her bodyguards), even assuming that they all died even tho they shouldve survived. Wasn't there only 2 that were sent to lure the Ultras to the premise? Yeah, just like Narse, the third Alien Wadoran went completely missing wtf???

10. None of the characters even talked about the MAJOR revelations about Season 1, specifically about Bemular being able to use the Specium Beam and Shinjiro's limit breaking issue

11. And AGAIN, none of them pointed out the fact that Bemular can somehow use the Specium Beam again? I was literally waiting the whole time for someone to point out that Bemular was basically Ultraman and the heartfelt moment that should've taken place between Hayata and Bemular after this connection was made bruh

Personally the one that really irked me is how they seemingly mishandled the situation with the Alien Wadorans. Assuming all the obvious plotholes regarding them were appropriately followed up on (all the bodyguards survived and Maya as well), they should have a happy ending. And given how obvious they plotholes were, it was very evident that the production team totally forgot about them and just decided to kill all of them off, which is really off putting since this group were Anime-exclusive characters. Their deaths were very uncalled for, and especially since it was extremely obvious that all of them was supposed to survive.

(Especially Maya since she made that face, I was literally waiting for the prank to happen even after Seiji contacted Shinjiro and implied that she didn't make it, I was so confused that the reveal never even happened)

Conclusion:

Its evident that they were purposefully making Taro the highlight of this season by putting Shinjiro essentially out of commission for 2/3rds of the entire season

And while I understand that the production team decided to go with a different direction with the anime, it think that overall it was really sloppily handled due to the sheer number of inconsistencies and plotholes. Especially none of the major issues in Season 1 were explained either. This series skipped way too many things and I highly suspect its production was rushed which prevented the series to reach its full potential. Even just fixing the issues with the Alien Wadorans would've improved it massively. Cause tbh their bad ending really left a lingering bad taste in my mouth even though I was very awestruck by the quality of the action sequences. Especially hated what they did to Maya's character.

Overall, while the plot was more comprehensive in the manga, but in terms of pure action, the anime definitely did it waaaay better, but the sheer amount of plotholes really held the season back by ALOT.

Yeah suddenly I'm not really looking forward to Season 3 very much since Season 2 is arguably worse than Season 1

I'll leave the thoughts on this entire anime series for the review for Season 3 which I'll probably be watching the episodes as it releases each week this time rather than watching it in 2024 lmao

Guess in the meantime, I'm probably gonna go catch up with the manga and maybe finally start the Marvel comic series

#ultraman #ultraman anime

[nickgerlich]

Split Opinion

The streaming era ushered in a completely new word to the English lexicon. Sure, we could have done it with DVDs, but the thought just never gained traction until it became possible to sit on our sofas and never have to get up, as long as the food and beverage didn’t run out, we didn’t have to make a mad dash to the water closet, or the batteries in the remote didn’t die.

Say hello to binge viewing. It was the new black, and it became so quickly entrenched in modern culture that when new shows were released on Netflix and others, viewing parties occurred. They became social events, not just something we did at home alone.

But little did Netflix know, it was sowing the seeds of its own undoing by allowing people to focus all their viewing efforts over a very short period of time, like a weekend. And then interest in the series would wane for another year. That’s bad from a marketing perspective.

Worse yet, as competition heated up among streaming providers and inflation reared its ugly head, viewers figured out they could cherry pick their viewing pleasures by simply subscribing to a service for a month, watching everything they wanted, and then canceling their subscription. It became the chain smoking of watching TV.

The answer, as several providers have determined of late, is to either split seasons in half, or go with week-to-week episode releases, just like old-school television.

For example, Stranger Things 4 was split in half, as was Ozark 4, the series’ final one. AMC’s Better Call Saul Season 6, available on cable and AMC+, was both split in halves and episodic (meaning weekly). Last winter, 1883, the prequel to the amazingly popular Yellowstone series, was weekly, and Yellowstone Season 5, which debuts in a few weeks, will also be weekly. There are more.

Top be perfectly honest, I hate having my chain yanked like this, and have resorted to my own tactics in some cases. Although I did watch 1883 and Better Call Saul episodes each week because they were that good, with other series I merely let the episodes stack up, and then binged them on my own terms. Take that, you miscreants.

Perhaps the middle ground now is simply a split season, with which you can still binge the smaller number of episodes. That’s how we did Ozark 4 and Stranger Things 4. And yes, the strategy allowed for more hype, especially Stranger Things, which had a massive merchandising effort tied to it. Walmart is still stuck with an in-aisle display of Stranger Things cookie and brownie mixes, because now that most of the serious ST fans have watched everything, we’re off to other things until Season 5 comes along.

So yeah, I get it. I’m a Marketing prof. Hype is critical, and once the sizzle fades, it is practically impossible to keep things going until the next big installment. And now that Netflix has announced its intentions to crack down on password sharing and allow—I mean require—user profile migration to new accounts, I sense a battle is about to take place that will cause users to find other means.

Churn has always been a problem for anything that requires an ongoing commitment. This runs the gamut from magazine subs to the student body at universities, and in between are people cutting the cable or hand-picking streaming services for short-term durations. Customers come, customers go, and everyone is constantly in recruitment mode. It’s a never-ending battle.

Thankfully, the split seasons and episodic releases are limited mostly to top-shelf releases, meaning only the most popular. Streamers want—and need—to hang on to their customers as long as they can, like home gardeners will do everything they can to protect their fragile vegetables as Jack Frost invades from the north.

I’m just glad that Netflix allowed The Watcher to go all-in, seven episodes and done. It was fun bingeing this one. But then again, The Watcher was never destined for multiple seasons, and there was no way to gauge the success of it without first dumping the entire series online.

We can thank digital content for putting all this power in the hands of the viewer, and now the streamers want some of it back. If they’re not careful, they could madden enough people to cause problems. But the lesson from all of this rings very true: Be careful how much autonomy you cede to your customers. You can’t let the inmates run the asylum. As much as I love my students, they’re not in charge of the class.

And Netflix, et al., have told is in no equivocal terms that we aren’t their masters either.

Dr “I’d Still Rather Binge“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

#marketing #streaming #Netflix #bingeing

[organicfennel]

Here's what I ate June 10, 2022:

I ate a lot of food today!! Or so it feels. I got a call from my landlord this morning saying they were going to be doing inspections soon so I frantically spent the whole day DEEP cleaning my apartment (anxiety sucks lol.) I started at 9:00am, and just now finished at 6:20pm. For my exercise, I logged "light housework" for only 3 hours to account for times I stopped to eat or sit for a moment, even though it took me 9 hours to do it. To be honest, I don't believe I burned that many calories, but I was more hungry today and my body is tired and aches a bit, so I at least did work a bit hard.

Breakfast. Same as yesterday but now with vanilla unsweetened almond milk! Normally I put 2 tablespoons of milk in my coffee and I did the same with the almond milk. It came out to 4cals. I think with this I'll start adding 4 tablespoons to flavor my coffee a bit more and it's only 8cals, which is 3 calories less than using just 2 tablespoons of cow milk.

Lunch. I ate a cookies and cream protein shake, and half a bell pepper with everything bagel seasoning on it. I prefer cucumber, the seasoning sticks better. I drank a cherry-lime la croix between breakfast and lunch, so I logged it with my lunch. I also needed a bit of energy so I drank a grapefruit Perrier + Yerba Mate. It was okay, I didnt love the taste but it was refreshing.

Dinner. The same as yesterday, I really am digging this meal. I know it must seem nasty to some but I like it! So I'm gonna keep eating it. I ate the V8 and cheese toast around 4:30pm and I just drank another protein shake now at 6:20pm because I was much more hungry today than I was yesterday. I don't want to be tempted to snack or binge later.

Snacks. I ate 4 popsicles today because I was so HOT cleaning the house. It is heating up real quick where I live and they helped cool me down a lot. I have some sugar free like jello that I'm going to make as well. It's a great treat because it's 20cals for the whole prepared box of jello. My boyfriend snacked on some chips and I had to steal some. Whenever he has food, I want to eat itttt. It's my love language. Share ur food to show me u love me. We also split a fiber one bar 💘

#ana food diary #ana diary #anamia #dieting #minors do not interact #weight loss #skinny #thin #unhealthy diet #tw unhealthy eating habits #no minors allowed #no minors

[the-wild-wolves-around-you]

hear those bells ring: chapter 8 (a bakugo x reader fic)

Summary: Bakugo and Reader wake up on a beach and struggle with some feelings.

Pairings: Katsuki Bakugo/Reader; Katsuki Bakugo/You

Rating: M(ature)

Warnings: Adult language. 

A/N: Hey y'all! Just as a quick note, I'm traveling out of state to see family later this week, so I'm not 100% sure when I'll update next. I will say I have Ch 9 started, and I will be writing some during my 16hr drive, but I'm just not entirely sure when I'll be able to upload again for at least this week. Thank you all for your patience, and hope you enjoy this chap!

~*~*~ No spoilers or anything. This is just a self-indulgent AU fic with aged up characters. Everyone’s in their mid-20s. Fic title is from a song called “Achilles Come Down.”

Ao3 Link: Here

Ch 1 Tumblr Link: Here

Ch 2 Tumblr Link: Here

Ch 3 Tumblr Link: Here

Ch 4 Tumblr Link: Here

Ch 5 Tumblr Link: Here

Ch 6 Tumblr Link: Here

Ch 7 Tumblr Link: Here

Several things didn’t feel right to you as you swam back into consciousness. 

For one thing, your whole body felt cold and sore all over, like you’d run a marathon, and the closest you had ever come to a marathon before was binging several seasons of a TV show in one sitting. 

Secondly, it was much brighter than it should be in your room. Maybe you’d left the blinds open? But that didn’t count for how loud it was all of the sudden, a continuous, repeating noise your foggy brain couldn’t quite place. 

And thirdly, why the hell was your hip vibrating? 

You cracked open your eyes, wincing at how gritty they were, and then you had to squeeze them back shut and open them again because apparently, you were still dreaming. 

Why else would Bakugo’s face be inches from yours, half illuminated by the sun rising behind your head? 

You blinked numerous times but nothing changed. Bakugo’s sleeping face stayed right where it was, his head cradled atop his folded arm as he slept on his side. His expression was so… smooth, so peaceful, vacant of his typical scowl and burning red eyes. He looked much younger, you thought, as he breathed deeply and rhythmically, and every time he exhaled, little tufts of sand were disturbed, arching up into the air before drifting back down to form tiny dunes. 

Wait… sand? 

Slowly dragging your gaze off the blond, you glanced past his head and saw… more sand. A beach. Then the perpetual whooshing noise you’d been hearing suddenly clicked in your head, and you shifted to look past your feet, staring at the dancing waves that were dyed orange in the rising sun. 

Oh, shit. Sunrise meant it was morning. All at once, last night came flooding back to you like the morning tide. Bakugo’s injury, his confession (for lack of a better word.) Running out of the agency with his hand holding yours. Getting accosted on the sidewalk, the blond immediately coming to your defense. His hand in yours again, sweaty and still hot from his quirk. Then the food, and the car ride, ending at the beach… where you’d fallen asleep. Next to Bakugo. You slept next to Pro Hero Dynamight. On the beach that he brought you to. 

You squeezed your eyes closed one last time just in case this was a particularly stubborn dream, but then a bird called overhead, loud and piercing, and when you snapped open your eyes again, crimson ones were staring back at you. 

You inhaled sharply as the blond’s squinted gaze seemed to stake you to the sand, and he looked just as confused as you felt. 

Then your hip started vibrating again from where it was pinned beneath you, and you realized it was your phone ringing. 

You bolted upright— more to get away from those scarlet eyes than to answer the phone— and when you dug the device out of your pocket, you cringed at the name on the screen. 

“I-It’s, um, Kirishima,” you said, clearing your dry throat as you looked back at where Bakugo was still lying on his side. 

“Don’t answer it,” he rasped past what sounded like an equally rough throat. 

“I—” Before you could argue, the phone stopped buzzing in your hand, and you sighed. “Well, he hung up anyway— oh, fuck. He’s called me ten times and left me half as many texts.” 

The redhead had given you his number the day after you arrived at the agency, telling you to call or message him with any problem or issue you encountered. Now, you winced as you skimmed through the messages the hardening hero had sent you, each more worried than the last. 

Kirishima: Hey, um, this might sound crazy, but did you just run out of the building with Bakugo? Just ignore me if not! 

Kirishima: So I checked your room, and you’re not in it haha. And I also checked the security cameras, and it definitely looked like you getting in the car… 

Kirishima: You’re totally not in trouble or anything btw! I just wanted to check in on Bakubro. He wasn’t looking too good when I left him, but he seemed fine running out of here, so I’m just kind of confused… 

Kirishima: Heyyyyy, it’s just been a few hours now. Are you guys okay? 

Kirishima: You didn’t have to take Bakugo to the hospital did you? 

The last message had several worried-face emojis at the end, and guilt gnawed at you. 

“He seems really worried,” you murmured. 

“Shitty Hair’s always dramatic,” Bakugo groaned as he leveraged himself upright, shaking sand from his pale hair and cracking his neck. “He’ll be fine for another thirty minutes.” 

The phone started vibrating in your hand again before you could reply, and you looked from it to the blond. 

Bakugo must have seen something in your face because he immediately frowned, eyebrows forming a sharp ‘V’ over his scarlet eyes. 

“Stitches, don’t—” 

You swiped the answer button and brought the phone up to your ear. “H-Hello?” 

“Oh my god, you’re not dead,” Kirishima gasped on the other end. “I was really starting to worry there.” 

You winced. “I know, I’m so sorr—” 

“Is Bakugo with you?” the hardening hero cut you off, but you knew he wasn’t trying to be rude and was merely concerned for his partner. 

“Yes,” you said. “He’s here next to me.” 

Bakugo scowled at being mentioned, but you ignored him. 

“And is he okay?” Kirishima asked. “Did you guys go to the hospital or something?” 

“No, well, I mean yes, he’s okay, but we…” you trailed off, panicking, but then the phone was suddenly snatched from your fingers. 

“I’m fuckin’ fine, Shitty Hair,” Bakugo grunted into the device. “Just like I told you last night. So stop pulling your hair out. We’ll be back at the agency in twenty minutes.” 

You heard Kirishima start to say something on the other end of the line, but then Bakugo hung up and tossed the phone into your lap. 

The two of you stared at each other in silence, broken only by the hiss of the surf and the calls of birds overhead. Bakugo’s eyes slowly scanned over your face, and you were suddenly very conscious of how ridiculous you must look with sand everywhere. You just hoped you hadn’t drooled and made the grains stick to your cheek. 

“W-Well, we should be getting back,” you laughed nervously, rocking up onto your feet and then swaying when your vision tunneled. Fuck, you must still be worn down from last night’s healing session. 

Bakugo was still staring up at you, and you were already off-kilter, out of sorts, so the moment your vision cleared, you tucked your phone into your pocket, stepped behind him, and picked up your socks and shoes. 

“I’ll, um, wait for you at the car,” you muttered before you started across the dunes to the parking lot. 

The whole way, you refused to look back. One, to save yourself a broken ankle, and two, to save yourself the embarrassment. You paused at where the sand ended to shake out your socks and shoes (as best you could, anyway) and then put them on again, and you thankfully made it back to the blond’s sleek, black car without any accidents. 

Using the shiny window and exterior of the car as a mirror, you did your best to brush the sand off your jeans and out of your hair. There were still a lot of grains caught up in the weave of your sweater, so you quickly pulled it off and starting shaking it out. 

Movement in your peripherals caught your attention, and you looked over to find Bakugo suddenly standing at the driver’s side of the car, still staring at you. 

Your cheeks flushed in the cold morning air, and you fumbled for something to say. You suddenly felt very naked in your thin white t-shirt, and you were very grateful that you had decided to put on a bra last night when you changed. 

“Just… didn’t want to get too much sand in your car,” you finally mumbled, and you flapped your sweater one last time. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Bakugo grunted, ripping his gaze off you and opening his door. “Interns are gonna have to vacuum it out anyway.” 

He ducked and slid into the car, so you quickly pulled your sweater back on before you followed him in. The inside of the vehicle still smelled like fried takoyaki and sweet potatoes, and the trash at your feet crinkled as you sat down. 

Then the engine turned over with a loud purr, and Bakugo leaned over and cranked the heater up to the max. A shiver ran through your body as you were blasted with the tepid air, but it quickly warmed up, as did your seat, and you sighed as your relaxed into the heat. 

“Seatbelt,” the blond muttered, clicking his on, and then he put the car in gear and started backing up as you buckled in. 

Silence settled over the pair of you, but it was more awkward, tense, than it had been last night. Bakugo seemed to notice it, too, because before the car even left the parking lot, he reached out and flicked on the radio, tuning it to some rock station that blared out shrieking guitar riffs and thundering drum solos. 

It was a little jarring for your cottony brain, but a few minutes later, you started bobbing your head to the music while looking out the window beside you. 

You very specifically made a point to not glance at the hero on your other side, but you could feel his eyes on you every now and then. You wondered what he was thinking and then very quickly decided you did not want to know. 

The ride back to the agency was quiet except for the music, and it thankfully seemed to go much quicker now that Bakugo was driving with a destination in mind, not just aimlessly. Before you knew it, the car was exiting the morning traffic and pulling up to the curb outside the familiar building. Then the blond turned off the car and sat back with a sigh, and you couldn’t help but dart a quick look at him. 

There was still some dried blood crusted under his ear and down the side of his neck, and sand and cement particles dusted the collar and hood of his sweatshirt— your sweatshirt. His skin was a healthy hue, though, and he barely had any bags under his eyes considering what he went through last night. 

Which meant your bags were twice as deep. God, you just wanted to put a bag over your head and run upstairs so no one would see you, but you knew you would never be so lucky. 

“Let’s go bite the fuckin’ bullet, Stitches,” Bakugo grumbled and pulled you out of your thoughts, and he was opening his door and exiting in one fluid movement before you could respond. 

You followed him out a lot less graciously, and you paused on the curb as you stared down at the trash on his floorboard. 

“Leave it,” the blond said as he came around the car. “Like I said, interns will clean it out.” 

“I would hate to give them more work.” You frowned. 

“That’s what interns are for,” the blond scoffed and rolled his eyes, stepping up beside you to close the passenger door himself. “Come on. I need coffee.” 

“R-Right,” you stuttered, overwhelmed by his suddenly proximity and his sugary smell that had a bit of the beach to it now, like salted caramel. 

Bakugo’s red eyes flicked down to your face, but you couldn’t take his intense scrutiny anymore, so you slipped out from between him and the car, taking a few steps towards the agency doors. 

“Wait.” 

The blond’s rough voice had you freezing mid-step, and you didn’t move as he came up beside you again. You didn’t want to, but your eyes drifted up to his like they were drawn by magnets, and Bakugo was looking down at you with a frown. 

“What?” you asked, your voice only wavering slightly. 

You thought he was going to order you to not tell Kirishima about where you two went last night, or something to that effect, but what he did next shocked you. 

Bakugo reached up toward your face, and the breath stilled in your lungs when his fingers brushed your temple, warm and calloused. Then he was pulling away just as quickly, and you saw he was pinching something green and stringy between his fingertips. 

“Seaweed,” he grunted, flicking the plant away, and before you could even blush or thank him, he was striding for the agency entrance. 

You stumbled over your feet to catch up to the blond, but he thankfully held the door open behind him so you could slip in on his heels. You could hear the sounds of a busy office past his broad frame, the shuffling of paper, phones ringing, the murmur of voices, but then one voice rose above the rest. 

“Bakugo Katsuki!” 

The volume of Kirishima’s voice made you wince and duck behind Bakugo, and you heard the blond mutter something like “Here we go” as heavy boots stomped toward the two of you. 

“What the hell, man?” the redhead demanded as you heard him come to a stop in front of his partner. “Where have you been? Do you know how worried I’ve been? The amount of blood left in that bathroom upstairs made one of the interns cry! And then you just sneak out of here? Disappear for hours? You didn’t even bring your phone or wallet! I thought you’d driven into a ditch, and I was going to have to go identify your body in some morgue!” 

“You know I’m not gonna die in a stupid car wreck, Shitty Hair,” Bakugo scoffed. “And I was gone for like six hours. Calm the fuck down.” 

“Calm the—” the hardening hero abruptly trailed off as Bakugo shifted on his feet, revealing you behind him. The redhead blinked, the anger— which you’d never seen on his face— melting into surprise, then recognition, and finally confusion. 

You tried to smile but was sure it came off as more of a wince. “U-Um, good morning, Kirishima.” 

“I…” He continued to gape at you for a second, his eyes flicking from your messy hair down to your sandy shoes, before he regained control of himself. “G-Good morning.” 

“I’m really sorry I missed all your calls and messages,” you said with an apologetic smile. “I fell asleep.” 

Oh, fuck. Maybe you shouldn’t have said that. 

“Right…” Kirishima said as he blinked at you, then at Bakugo. “Fell asleep… where exactly? Also, is— is that a seashell in your hair, bro?” 

Your face flooded with heat, and you thought you saw the blond’s cheeks go a little pink too before he abruptly shoved past his partner. 

“I’m going to take a shower,” he grunted over his shoulder, stomping across the main floor in the direction of the locker rooms. “Tell one of the interns to go clean my car. Outside and in. And the tires better be waxed, too.” 

“Wha— wait, Bakugo!” Kirishima spun around to shout after his partner. “What about your arm? Did you get that looked at? And you still have to fill out your reports!” 

“Later!” 

“You say that every time!” 

While the two partners were engrossed in their argument, you saw your opportunity for escape and seized it. 

Every intern and sidekick was staring after Bakugo as you hurriedly skirted the edge of the main floor, beelining for the elevators. You slapped the button and almost wept when the doors opened immediately, and you heard Kirishima shout your name just as you stepped inside. You hit the button for your floor, also tapping repeatedly at the “close doors.” Mercifully, the doors did close before the hardening hero caught up to you, and you sagged against the wall in relief. 

Then you stared wide-eyed at your distorted reflection in the elevator doors. 

What the fuck was your life right now? A week ago, you were just a nobody from America, and now you were spending the night with pro heroes? 

You returned to your room in a fog, wincing at the faint bloody footprints you’d left just inside the door. You would need to clean those. Also your clothes. And yourself. 

You stared longingly at your bed and wanted nothing more than to just dive into it and sleep for twelve hours straight, but the salt and sand crusted over every inch of you was starting to get real uncomfortable now, and you didn’t want to let any more seaweed dry into your hair. 

The memory of Bakugo’s fingers against your temple, his form looming over you, caused your cheeks to burn again, but you shoved the thoughts into a little box at the back of your mind. Nope. Couldn’t deal with that right now. 

Shower. Taking a shower. That’s what you needed to focus on. 

You quickly grabbed some underwear, thick fuzzy socks (since your bloody slippers were probably in the trash somewhere) a pair of cotton shorts, and an old orange hoodie. Not for the color or anything, it’s just what you had. Then you emptied the pockets of your jeans onto the small nightstand beside the bed, but you frowned when your phone was the only thing you pulled out. 

You had collected some shells and bits of sea glass last night when you were walking in the surf. You remembered having them in your hand when you made your way back to Bakugo and your shoes… but you must have fallen asleep before you put them in your pocket. You probably left your treasures in a neat little pile on the sand there. 

The realization made you a little sad, but then the memory of Bakugo splashing water at you and smirking, followed by his sleeping face in the sunlight, flashed through your mind, and even just the thought of the blond made you feel hot. 

“No, you can’t do this,” you admonished yourself, clutching your clean clothes in clawed fingers. 

You could acknowledge that the explosive hero was attractive. You had eyes. But there was a difference in appreciating someone’s attractiveness in passing and… this. The weird sensation in your belly, like your stomach was full of bubbles, helium, butterflies en masse. You’d had crushes before, you weren’t that innocent, but you couldn’t have a crush on Pro Hero Dynamight. The blond had literally just agreed for you to be his healer, and that was like pulling teeth. He wasn’t interested in you like that. 

Then why did he take you on a moonlit seaside date? a traitorous voice in the back of your head whispered. 

Not a date. That was definitely not a date. You just… tagged along with him to get food… and drive around the city… and he did take a detour to the ocean after you mentioned you had never been… 

“Nope. Nu-uh. Stop it.” You shook your head vigorously, until it hurt, until your pulse pounded in your temples. 

You weren’t going to be like those rabid fangirls who followed heroes around at all hours of the day and night, practically stalking them, posting fantasies on forums about how they were gonna get married and have twelve children, placing auction bids over a towel that was allegedly used to wipe some hero’s face at a disaster site. No, you refused to stoop so low. You told Bakugo last night that you wanted to help him, and you do. You’d fixed his ears for now, but with how often he damaged them, you wondered if there was a more permanent, long term solution you could look into… 

But you couldn’t be a healer while panting after him. That was unprofessional, inappropriate. So, no. You couldn’t have a crush on Bakugo Katsuki. Even if you did, you couldn’t. Shouldn’t. 

You would just have to… get over it. Or ignore it. That was fine. You could do that. 

Nodding, you grabbed a towel out of your wardrobe, but then you remembered Bakugo was also taking a shower downstairs, and your mind immediately tripped and fell headfirst down into the gutter, remembering the chiseled chest and abs you’d seen last night when he was shirtless. 

Okay… maybe this was going to be a little harder than you thought. 

~*~*~*~ 

Bakugo stood in the shower with the water cranked as hot as it would go, bowing his head into the scaling stream and watching as the dust, blood, and sand swirled down the drain beneath his feet. 

He couldn’t believe he fell asleep last night. 

He had meant for it to be a ruse, just so you would stop talking, but the next thing he knew, that damn bird was screaming right above his head, and he was opening his eyes to sunrise… and you. 

You, wide-eyed and pale save your red cheeks, with your sandy hair glinting in the rising sun. You looked almost as shocked as he felt. Almost. Because Bakugo had been floored. He was a light sleeper by nature, and hero work had only heightened that. He usually woke up at the slightest noise, which had made dorming at UA a nightmare sometimes, and the reason he never let his “dates” spend the night. He’d tried, once, but he had just laid awake all night, stiff as a board, and kicked the woman out the second the sun rose. 

But last night, he had slept for nearly six hours straight, right next to the ocean. Next to you. And, despite his sore body, it had been the best sleep he’d gotten in weeks? Months? A long ass fucking time at least. 

What the fuck was wrong with him? 

The blond shook his head and tipped his face up into the spray of hot water, hoping it would scald these stupid fucking thoughts out of his head. 

Especially the memory of you standing on the curb outside, looking up at him with an expression he couldn’t place as he picked goddamn seaweed out of your hair like a fucking moron. 

Fuckkkk. He needed some coffee. 

Bakugo spent the next few minutes scrubbing his body pink, and he was just finishing the second wash of his hair when he heard the bathroom door bang open. 

Shit. The blond knew he had welded the lock shut coming in here, so that could only mean… 

“Bakugo!” 

Goddamn it. 

The explosive hero growled under his breath as he rinsed his hair one last time and turned off the water. In the silence left behind, he could hear boots stomping against the locker room tile and knew Kirishima was coming to find him. The bastard. 

Bakugo ripped open the curtain and stepped out of the shower stall, grabbing the towel that sat on the bench just outside. He wrapped the white fabric around his waist and then stalked forward out of the bathroom and into the adjoining locker room, running into his partner just past the threshold. 

“Did you seriously just break the door down to come bitch at me?” Bakugo grunted as he shouldered past the redhead and made his way to his locker. 

“You were the one who welded the lock shut, so it was already broken, don’t even start,” Kirishima said, following close on the blond’s heels. “Besides, I’m not here to bitch. I’m here to talk to you.” 

“Same thing,” Bakugo scoffed and wrenched open his locker. “And what the hell do we have to talk about? You can see I’m not dead, and I told you I’d do my reports after I showered.” 

“Okay, you did not say that,” Kirishima grumbled behind the blond. “But I still have questions. Like where you were last night. With Stitches.” 

The blond bristled at the way his partner said your name— well, nickname, whatever— but he refused to turn around as he dug out some clean clothes. 

“I went out to get food, and she wanted to tag along,” Bakugo muttered into his locker. “That’s it.” 

As he was rummaging through his duffle, his eyes wandered to the plastic bag he’d shoved to the bottom of the locker before his shower, full of sand and the clothes he wore last light. The plastic was only slightly opaque, so he could see the handful of shells and other shit he picked up out of the imprint your body left in the sand this morning. The imprint that his imprint seemed to curl around, but he just chalked that up to gravitating toward a warm body on a cold beach. But he didn’t know why he picked the shells and crap up as he was shoving on his boots, didn’t know why he didn’t just throw it away when he was stripping his clothes off earlier… 

Thankfully, Kirishima’s voice ripped him from his embarrassing thoughts. 

“That’s it?” the redhead asked. “You went to get food… for six hours?” 

“Yes, fuck,” the blond growled as he straightened up with a semi clean outfit. He’d worn these clothes yesterday before his shift, but they would have to do. “Why the hell are you being so nosy anyway?” 

“Because I’m wondering why the hell you let her tag along when you won’t even let me go with you to get lunch most days,” Kirishima said in a disbelieving tone. 

“We see each other almost every second of the fuckin’ day, Shitty Hair.” Bakugo rolled his eyes as he started pulling on his underwear and jeans. “God fuckin’ forbid I have a moment to myself.” 

“But that’s what I’m saying, bro. You never want unnecessary company. So, I’m wondering why you deemed her necessary… and why you’re being so secretive about it.” 

Bakugo felt his cheeks flare with heat, and he scowled into the locker as he buttoned up his pants. 

“She wasn’t necessary,” he sneered. “And I’m not being secretive. I just didn’t want to deal with your bullshit lectures. Last night or this morning.” 

“Hmm,” Kirishima hummed. “So then it has nothing to do with the fact that she healed your arm?” 

Bakugo froze halfway through putting his shirt on. He was facing away from his partner, but he could feel the redhead’s gaze trained on his back, and he cursed himself. He’s totally forgotten about his arm since it barely even felt sore. 

But Kirishima hadn’t seen the extent of the injury. Maybe Bakugo could still get out of this. 

“What the fuck are you talking about, Shitty Hair?” he scoffed as he finished putting his shirt on as normally as possible. “Did you hit your head last night when I tossed your ass down the tunnel?” 

“Don’t do that,” Kirishima said, and his hard tone made Bakugo turn around. The hardening hero was frowning at him, more serious than he’d been outside of a  battlefield in a long time. “I may be dumb, but I’m not stupid. I didn’t see the injury up close, but I did see all the blood you lost. I know it was a serious injury, so serious I even called for a nurse when I went downstairs last night, even though I knew you would just bite my head off for it. But then you ran out of here last night like it was nothing. And even though your back is bruised to all hell, none of the cuts I see right now would account for all the blood I found in the bathroom upstairs. Or the chunk of rebar.” 

Bakugo barely suppressed a wince. He’d totally fucking forgot about the rebar. He should have taken it with him last night. 

“You’re not even bandaged,” Kirishima went on, adding more nails to the blond’s coffin. “Or stitched up anywhere. I would have maybe believed you’d gone to the hospital to see a healer, if not for your daring escape last night and the fact that you came back this morning carrying half the beach with you. So, you didn’t go to the hospital, no one on our staff is a registered healer, and Stitches was the only one to see you before you left the building. It wasn’t hard to put the pieces together from there.” 

Fuck. Shit. Goddamn it. 

The blond ground his teeth, trying to figure out what to say, and Kirishima crossed his arms over his thick chest. 

“Well?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “Are you going to respond? Tell me I’m wrong?” 

The blond wished he fucking could. But the hardening hero knew him too damn well. 

“… you can’t fucking say anything,” Bakugo finally growled out, clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides. 

Kirishima frowned. “What?” 

“You can’t say anything,” Bakugo repeated with a scowl. “To anyone. Stitches… doesn’t have a permit or license to use her quirk.” 

“I know.” 

Now, it was Bakugo’s turn to frown. “What? What do you mean, you know?” 

Kirishima sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “Well, when I first had this suspicion last night, I looked her up. All guests of Japan have to report what their quirk is, and if they get permission to use it for whatever reasons, they’re licenses still mark them as immigrants. I looked up her name in the registry, and she didn’t have a permit.” 

“Then why the fuck are you playing twenty questions with me?” Bakugo snapped and threw his arms out. 

“Because I wanted to make sure I was right!” the redhead said as he raised his hands defensively. “But… bro, this could really get her in trouble. She’s not even a full citizen.” 

“Don’t you think I goddamn know that?” the blond huffed, turning back to his locker to fish out his shoes. “And she knows it, too. But it’s not like I’m going to report her. Are you?” 

He glanced over his shoulder as he sat on the bench in front of his locker, and Kirishima frowned at his red-eyed glare. 

“Well, no—” he said. 

“Good.” Bakugo finished putting on his boots, stood, and closed his locker. “Then as long as you keep your mouth shut, there isn’t a problem.” 

“But there is,” Kirishima said as he slid in front of the blond to stop him from walking away. “Because last night wasn’t the only time she healed you was it? She healed you the night you crashed into her apartment and probably every night since, hasn’t she? That’s why you’ve been so interested in her. You’re using her as your own personal doctor, and that’s not cool bro.” 

“I’m not forcing her to do anything.” The blond scowled to cover up the lingering guilt he still felt worming through his chest. “Last night was only the second time she used her damn quirk on me, and since I was unconscious the first time, and fucking deaf the second, I didn’t exactly know what she was doing until it was done.” 

There were a few white lies in there. Technically, it was the third time you used your quirk on him, but he didn’t really count the headache you’d soothed on Monday. And even with his fucked up ears last night, he’d known what you were doing. 

But like you said last night. It was your quirk. He couldn’t tell you how to use it. 

Kirishima pursed his lips as he stared at Bakugo, and then he sighed. 

“Alright, I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I was just… worried. If something happened to you while she was using her quirk—” 

“Nothing’s going to happen,” the blond said, and his tone was confident. “Despite her fumbling, Stitches’ quirk is pretty powerful. She’s not going to kill me. Besides, it’s not like I’m fucking trying to get injured. It just happened, and she was there and wanted to fix it. End of story.” 

“Okay, Okay.” The redhead raised his hands again, and he looked like he wanted to say more, but then he just sighed. “Just… be careful. Both of you.” 

“Whatever.” Bakugo rolled his eyes. “She’s only going to be around for a few more weeks anyways, so you can unclench.” 

The second the words rolled off his tongue, he wanted to take them back, but… they were the truth. Once your shop and apartment were fixed, you’d leave the agency, and then he wouldn’t see you again unless he swung by to have you fix up his ears. But maybe it would be better to find another option, a different healer. One that didn’t make him feel seven kinds of fucked up on the inside… 

“Earth to Bakubro.” 

The blond blinked as a hand waved in front of his eyes, and then he smacked it away. “Get out of my face.” 

“Ow,” Kirishima pouted as he shook out his hand. “No need for violence. It’s not my fault you were day dreaming about your new girlfriend.” 

Heat flooded through the blond’s body, burning in his cheeks and the tips of his ears, but he tried to cover it up with a snarl. 

“Don’t be fuckin’ cute, Shitty Hair. She’s not my girlfriend.” 

The words sounded so juvenile coming out of his mouth. He was half tempted to slam his own head in the locker door for saying them. 

“Oh, really?” A sly grin crawled across Kirishima’s mouth. “So you didn’t take her on a moonlit drive to a takoyaki stand that somehow ended with you two sleeping on the beach?” 

How the fuck? Bakugo stared at his partner blankly until the redhead snickered. 

“I saw the trash the interns pulled from your car,” he said. “And when the two of you came in, looking like you’d just woken up, you had enough sand in your hair to build castles with. Again, I’m dumb, not stupid.” 

“Shut up,” Bakugo muttered and shouldered past his smirking bastard of a partner. 

“Oh, come onnnnn, bro, you gotta give me some details,” Kirishima cajoled as he followed on the blond’s heels. “Likeeee… Oh! Did you hold her hand?” 

Bakugo gritted his teeth as he recalled the feeling of your palm against his before he violently shoved the memory into a corner of his mind and set it on fire. 

“I will end you if you don’t shut up,” he growled as he stomped toward the locker room door. 

“So that’s a yes,” Kirishima said. “I personally think the two of you make a very cute couple. I saw you were already sharing clothes, though you wearing Dynamight merch does seem a little egotistical.” 

“I will seriously blow your fucking face off. Starting with your lips.” 

“Oh, speaking of lips!” the redhead gasped. Then he ran around to face Bakugo while walking backwards, and the smirk on his face was infuriating. “Did the two of you kissssss?” 

He puckered his mouth and made kissing noises, and Bakugo stopped dead in his tracks as his palms started to warm up. 

“You have three seconds,” he deadpanned. 

“Awww, I’m just playing, man,” Kirishima laughed, slowing to a stop a few feet away. 

“Three.” 

The smile started to fade from the redhead’s face as he saw the orange glow surrounding Bakugo’s hands. 

“Bro, come on, I was just teasing,” he said with a nervous chuckle, but he started to back away towards the broken down door behind him. 

“Two.” 

“Alright, Alright!” Kirishima quickly turned for the door, but Bakugo heard him mutter under his breath. “Guess that answers that. You definitely wouldn’t be this crabby if she kissed you.” 

“One!” 

“Wait, Baku— ahhhHHHHHH!” 

~*~*~*~* 

You slept for the rest of the day and didn’t wake up until the orange glow of sunset was filtering in through your blinds. Yawning, you stretched in your bed, and you had about three seconds of peace before you recalled what had happened this morning. 

“Nooooo,” you groaned as you pushed your face into your pillow. You wished it was only a terrible dream, but you knew it was just embarrassing enough to be real. 

You’d slept on the beach next to Bakugo, and you were pretty sure Kirishima, and the rest of the agency, probably knew already. 

For a moment, you wondered if the blond himself had said anything to anyone about your date that was definitely not a date, but then you knew the explosive hero would rather pull his own teeth out than talk. Besides, he certainly wasn’t conflicted about what you two did last night. To him, he got some food, stretched his legs on the beach afterwards, and happened to fall asleep, and you just happened to be there with him. That was it. So you needed to stop reading into things before you hurt your own feelings. 

Sighing, you flopped over on your back to stare at the ceiling, tracing the shadows caused by the fading sun streaming through the blinds. In all honestly, you still felt tired. You could probably roll over and just go back to sleep right now… 

As if in protest, your stomach snarled, loud enough that it echoed through the room. After picking up your phone and squinting at the bright screen, you saw it was almost six-thirty, which meant it had been over twelve hours since you last ate. 

The texture and flavor of those takoyaki balls jumped to the forefront of your mind, and your stomach grumbled again. Unfortunately, you didn’t have a car to go back to that stand, or to go anywhere really, and you hadn’t gone grocery shopping today like you intended to, so you would have to make due with what was left in the fridge. 

But the thought of having to get up and make something seemed more taxing than usual, and you were seriously contemplating just going to bed for dinner. 

Then a knocked sounded at your door. 

You immediately bolted upright in bed, heart caught in your throat. Could it be…? 

But no, it was Kirishima’s voice that called your name through the door a moment later, and you tried to ignore the disappointment that welled up inside you. 

“J-Just a minute!” you called back, voice still rough with sleep. Then you guzzled the bottle of water that was on your bedside and slid out of bed, hissing at the cold floor beneath your bare toes. You glanced around for you slippers for a moment before you remembered they were gone, and you sighed and resigned yourself to icy feet since your fuzzy socks were tangled somewhere in the bed, and it would take too much effort to excavate them. 

You didn’t want to keep the hardening hero waiting any longer, so you quickly turned on the light before you tiptoed your way to the door, unlocked it, and opened it to reveal the towering redhead. 

“Hey there!” Kirishima grinned before he seemed to take in your appearance, and then he frowned. “Oh, sorry, did I wake you?” 

“No, no, I woke up a few minutes ago, don’t worry,” you said, combing your fingers through your wild hair self-consciously. 

“Well, I’m glad you got some rest. You definitely deserved it.” The redhead smiled again, but there was an undercurrent to his voice that you couldn’t place. 

“Oh, no,” you laughed nervously. “If there’s anyone who deserves to sleep for a whole day, it’s you. But I’m guessing you probably haven’t slept since I saw you last night.” 

“I don’t need much sleep anyway, but I got a few hours in earlier this afternoon.” Kirishima sheepishly rubbed at the nape of his neck before his signature grin slid back into place. “But I’m actually off for the rest of the night and tomorrow, so I’m not a workaholic, I promise.” 

“Good to know,” you chuckled, but then you couldn’t help but fidget, shifting from foot to foot on the cold floor. 

The redhead must have noticed your discomfort because he looked down at your feet and then let out a small gasp. 

“Oh, that’s right! Duh.” He slapped his forehead before he pulled his other arm out from behind his back. You hadn’t even noticed he’d been hiding one arm, and you blinked down at the bag he was holding between his fingers. 

“What’s this?” you asked. 

“It’s a gift! For you.” Kirishima smiled and jostled his hand, so you had no choice but to take the so-called gift. 

“U-Um, this is really nice, Kirishima, but I don’t need…” You trailed off as you pulled the Dynamight colored slippers from the depths off the bag, a blush burning across your cheeks like wildfire. 

“I, uh, found your other pair down the hall,” the hardening hero said in a weird tone. “And given the state of them, I thought you would need a new pair.” 

“Thank you…” you murmured but avoided his gaze. You didn’t want to talk about the bloody bathroom because you knew it would bring up questions you didn’t want to answer, questions that Bakugo probably skillfully avoided while your poker face, or lack thereof, would give you away in an instant. 

“You’re welcome!” Kirishima said brightly, ignorant to your inner turmoil. The two of you stood there in silence for a moment— you, staring down at the slippers, him, probably staring at you— before the redhead broke it again. “Well, aren’t you going to try them on?” 

“Right now?” you asked as you snapped your head up. 

“Yes, right now,” he said with a teasing smile that was offset a little by his sharp teeth. “I need to know if they fit, or if I should go grab you another pair before I leave.” 

“O-Oh, okay.” You cleared your throat nervously before you stepped back into your room, holding the door open and gesturing the hero inside. 

“Thanks!” Kirishima practically skipped into the room and looked around with an interest that made you blush. 

“Sorry about the mess,” you muttered, closing the door behind you and then scurrying over to the bed to haphazardly fix the covers. 

“No worries.” The hardening hero smiled at you. “We want you to feel comfortable while you’re here, so use the room as you see fit.” 

You briefly wondered who the ‘we’ he was referring to in that statement was, but you quickly told yourself it was probably just PR-speak for the agency. 

“Well, um, you can take a seat if you want,” you said and gestured to the chair in front of your desk. “This should only take a second.” 

“Cool.” Kirishima eased himself down into the rolling chair, and you had to admit, he looked a little comical. You knew he was over six feet, probably closer to six-four or six-five, so he almost looked like an adult sitting in a little kid’s chair, with his knees higher up than they should be. 

You tore your gaze from the imposing hero as you made your way to the bed, hopping up on it and letting your legs swing since you were a bit too short to reach the ground. Then you took the brand-new Dynamight slippers— that smelled like they’d just been pulled from the packaging— and slid them onto your feet. 

“Ohhhhh, these feel really nice,” you sighed, wiggling your toes into the plush orange soles. 

“Yeah?” Kirishima grinned. 

“Super soft.” You nodded and smiled as you kicked your feet out towards him. “And they fit perfectly, see?” 

“Awesome,” he said while still grinning, but then some of the brightness faded from his expression, and when his eyes found yours, they were uncharacteristically serious. “It’s not much, but I just wanted to give you something as a… small thank you.” 

“For what?” you asked with a frown. 

“For last night.” 

Your legs froze mid swing, and you blinked at the redhead as you felt sweat break out on the nape of your neck. 

He couldn’t mean… 

“Last night?” you laughed anxiously, trying to deflect. “I don’t think I did anything thanks worthy. I mean, I tried to stop Bakugo from leaving but failed. He just, uh, really wanted that takoyaki.” 

“Bakugo’s like a stubborn bull when he makes a decision, so I’m not sure even I could have stopped him if I caught him at the door.” Kirishima gave you a slight smile before he became serious again. “But you kept him breathing and stopped all that bleeding, so I think you deserve a little thanks. Don’t you?” 

Your lungs seized as your heart pounded in your ears. Fuck. Oh, fuck. He knew. He knew what you did. Did Bakugo— 

“Bakugo didn’t say anything,” Kirishima cut in as if he could see the panicked question on your face. “So don’t get mad at him. I kinda just figured it out myself, and he told me not to say anything to anyone… which maybe included you, now that I think about it. Shit. But I have a terrible poker face, and I don’t want to lie to you while you’re here—” 

“Kirishima.” 

The redhead stopped his rambling at the tightness in your voice, and he winced. 

“Sorry,” he said before he took a deep breath, let out a sigh, and met your gaze again. “What I’m saying is, Bakugo didn’t tell your secret… and I won’t either. I think it’s very… dangerous, what you’ve done and may continue doing. But you saved my best friend, more than once now, so I’m not going to turn you in or anything. I really just wanted to say thank you. Bakugo can be a bit… abrasive, but I’ve known him for a decade now, and he’s a good guy, an even better hero. The world is better off with him in it, and right now, that’s thanks to you. So… thanks.” 

He smiled tentatively as he rubbed the back of his head, and after a moment, you let out the breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding. Your head spun from the lack of oxygen, spots dancing before your eyes, and you clasped your shaking hands in your lap as you took several deep breaths. 

He wasn’t going to turn you in. He knew your secret and was going to keep it, just like Bakugo. You were okay. You were okay. 

“Are you alright?” Kirishima asked a minute later, like he could hear you trying to convince yourself. 

“Y—” Your voice cracked, so you cleared your throat and tried again. “Yes. I— sorry, I was just… a little startled.” 

“Yeah, I get that,” Kirishima said gently. “I probably could have worded it better and not just dropped it on you like that. But, seriously, you have nothing to worry about. I’m not going to get you in trouble.” 

“Thank you,” you whispered, dropping your gaze to your slipper-clad feet, staring at the Dynamight color scheme. “I… know you could get in trouble, too, for keeping quiet, so… thank you.” 

“Well, I’ll only get in trouble if something terrible happens, and from what Bakubro said, you’re pretty talented, so I’m not too worried about it,” the redhead said, and when you glanced up at him, he winked at you, causing you to blush. 

Bakugo had said you were talented? 

“W-Well, I don’t know about that,” you muttered before you suddenly noticed something about the hardening hero. You squinted, the shadows thrown by the sunset and blinds not making it easy, but you thought… “Are you wearing makeup?” 

Kirishima abruptly went as red as his hair, scratching the side of his neck and averting his gaze. 

“Is it that noticeable?” he asked with a nervous chuckle. “I, um, got a black eye, and our PR manager said it wouldn’t be good for me to be seen with it, since you know, hardening hero. I’m supposed to be unbreakable and all that. So, uh, one of the sidekicks said she could cover it up, and I thought it looked alright…” 

“No, no, it’s actually hardly noticeable,” you tried to reassure him. “It’s just, up close, the skin looks lighter around that eye now, which… doesn’t match the other side completely. But… wait, how did you get a black eye? I didn’t notice it last night. Or this morning.” 

“Oh, well, um, I didn’t… have it then,” he said haltingly, but when he caught your eyes for a moment, he sighed. “Bakubro and I just had a… friendly conversation, and he caught me by surprise. He actually felt really bad after! Usually, I can harden myself faster, but I kinda… tripped and faceplanted into a doorframe.” 

You pressed your lips together to suppress a smile. He seemed so embarrassed, you didn’t want to add to that. But maybe you could… 

“Well, you said you’re off for tonight and tomorrow right?” you asked, and the redhead looked up at you with a confused frown. 

“Uh, yeah?” 

“That’s enough plausible time for it to heal somewhat, or for you to go to a doctor,” you said delicately, worried you were overstepping. 

Unfortunately, Kirishima just continued to blink at you with a perplexed tilt to his head, so you sighed. 

“I could… fix it for you,” you offered as you stared down at your slippers. “I know it probably hurts, and l-like your PR manager said, gotta protect your image…” 

You trailed off into awkward silence, and the hardening hero didn’t say anything for so long you thought you had upset him. But when you looked up, he was wearing the most… constipated expression, for lack of a better word. 

“I… on the one hand, I know I shouldn’t, and I don’t want to bother you since you did so much last night,” he said with a furrowed brow. “But… on the other hand, I am very curious to see how you fixed up Bakubro.” 

“Well, on the bright side, a black eye is much easier to fix than a humerus pierced by rebar.” You laughed nervously as you slid off your bed. “And I won’t tell on you if you won’t.” 

Kirishima grinned at you, and a hint of excitement entered his eyes. “Deal.” 

“Okay, just stay still for a moment,” you said, walking up to where he was sitting. 

“Like this?” The redhead sat ramrod straight, and since he was so tall, he was almost eyelevel with you. 

“Perfect.” You smiled and extended your hands out, but you only got close enough so that your fingertips were barely brushing the skin on either side of his eye. You didn’t need much power for something this small, and you were also trying to break your habit of straddling pro heroes because it was vastly unsustainable. 

The makeup around his eye felt a little cakey under your fingertips, but you ignored it as you summoned a tendril of your quirk and sent it into his skin. A pulsing ache started up in your own face, but luckily no bones were broken, so you were able to patch up the tissue damage in a matter of seconds, and you barely felt any dip in your energy levels. 

“And done,” you said as you stepped back with a smile. “How does that feel?” 

“Good.” Kirishima blinked, reaching up to poke his cheek. “Wow, that was so fast! And kinda cold and tingly. Bakugo was right, you are good.” 

There it was again, a mention of Bakugo talking about you, possibly praising you. 

“I’m really not, but I’m happy I could help.” You blushed as you moved back to the bed, hopping up on it to put some space between you and the hardening hero. A moment of quiet stillness passed between the two of you, but it was quickly broken by the growling of your stomach. You clamped a hand over your gut, but the growling only got worse, like it was refusing to be silenced. “Ahh, sorry.” 

“Don’t be!” the redhead said and waved his hands. “I’m the one who should be sorry. You said you just woke up, and now you’ve used your quirk, so you’re probably starving.” 

“Maybe a little,” you laughed lightly. “I still need to go look in the fridge and see what I can throw together. So, if you were hoping for a free meal, you might have to settle for subpar quality.” 

“Nah, I’m good, don’t need to steal your dinner tonight.” Kirishima grinned, but then it took on a sly quality, and you could see a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Actually, I was just about to go meet some friends for food and drinks. Why don’t you come with?” 

“W-What?” you stuttered, blinking at him. “N-No, I couldn’t…” 

You definitely couldn’t. The redhead said he was meeting friends, which almost certainly meant other heroes. You couldn’t just… go to dinner with pro heroes. You were a civilian, a fucking seamstress. What could you possibly talk about with professional heroes? 

“Aww, come on, it’ll be fun!” Kirishima said as he leaned forward in his chair. “Think of it as a thank you for protecting my image. Besides, it’s only a small get together, and the food there is amazingggg.” 

“I-I wouldn’t want to impose,” you tried desperately, shifting from where you sat on the bed, hoping he would pick up how uncomfortable you felt. 

“How can you ‘impose’ if I’m inviting you?” the golden-retriever of a human laughed, completely missing all of your body language. “Besides, the gang will loveeee you. Mina will probably talk your ear off once she finds out you work with clothes. But don’t let her con you into making her a new wardrobe. Because she will try.” 

He was already talking like you had agreed, but at the mention of wardrobe, a last-ditch excuse jumped into your mind, and you seized it. 

“I don’t have anything to wear, though,” you blurted out and then became intensely aware that you were in cotton sleeping shorts that were much shorter than you would have preferred them to be in this instant. Blushing to the roots of your hair, you tugged on the collar of your old orange sweatshirt, splattered with paint. “M-My jeans are covered in sand right now, and I didn’t bring a lot with me, most of it’s in storage while my apartment’s fixed.” 

“The bar we’re going isn’t anywhere fancy, it’s totally casual!” Kirishima countered with a grin, and he gestured down to his outfit of dark jeans, a gray Henley shirt, and a thin black jacket. “I’m sure you definitely have something better than this.” 

You smiled stiffly, your mind casting about for an argument, any argument, but the redhead was smiling at you so excitedly, and you were such a people pleaser at heart… 

“Alright,” you heard yourself saying, as if from a distance. “When did you want to leave?” 

“As soon as you’re ready!” he said. 

“I— well, I need some time to change and get ready,” you stammered, trying not to think about how crazy your hair probably looked right now. 

“Okay, how long do you need?” he asked with an expression of complete innocence, and then he just looked at you expectantly. 

“Um…” You bit your lip, calculating the least amount of time you would need to at least look somewhat presentable. “Could you give me fifteen-- twenty minutes?” 

“Yup!” He grinned and shot to his feet, so tall his hair nearly brushed the ceiling as he walked to the door and opened it. “We’ll be waiting downstairs, so just come meet us at the reception desk!” 

And with that, he walked out of your room and closed the door behind him. You blinked. 

“We?” you squeaked out to the empty room. 

Fuck. Why didn’t you even think about the fact that Bakugo would also possibly be there? 

You really should have just gone back to bed.

#bakugo #bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugo #bakugo x reader #bakugo x you #bakugo/reader #bakugo/you #bakugo katuski x reader #bakugo katsuki x you #bakugo katsuki/reader #bakugo katsuki/you #katsuki bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugo x you #katsuki bakugo/reader #katsuki bakugo/you #bakugou x reader #bakugou x you #mha #pro hero dynamight #my hero academia #bnha #boku no hero academia #my writings #fanfic

[pippenpaddlopsicopolisthethird]

Top 5 anime you think are criminally underrated!

This is a really good question, and it was VERY difficult to keep myself to only 5. These are all anime that I think deserve a much wider viewership! (Plus five more!)

I ended up spending waaayyyy longer on this than I thought, I can’t imagine how much I would have written if you’d said top 10. I can literally talk about anime forever. Here’s some I wholeheartedly recommend.

1. Shojo Kageki Revue Starlight (Action, drama, romance)

This is my newest love, as of yesterday, when I binged the whole thing. The best way I can describe it is by mashing up other anime. Take Revolutionary Girl Utena, iron out about three layers of metaphor, and trim off all of the dark themes related to the Rose Bride. Then throw it in a blender with Madoka Magica and Love Live!, add half a cup of Gay Concentrate, and serve up the result: A character-driven drama about girls at a performing arts school, who settle their differences in magical-girl-fantasy duels styled as impossibly gorgeous theatrical stage-combat musical numbers. Beyond the flash and high concept, there’s a well-written cast, solid emotional core, and really engaging plot.

2. The Eccentric Family (Drama, comedy)

This show is my favorite genre of fantasy; mythical creatures living in the modern world, right under humans’ noses. In this series, humans only know tanuki as the cute little raccoon-dogs, but tanuki are really sentient shapeshifters whose goals are to outsmart the humans who live in the cities, pester the tengu who rule the heavens, live a life of freedom and trickery, and not end up on the inside of a hunter’s trap. The story follows a family of a mother and four sons whose widely-respected father was killed to end up in a human’s hot pot, as they try to enjoy their lives, live up to his imposing reputation, and unravel the increasingly suspicious circumstances of his death.

I have called this one “deceptively light-hearted” when describing it. My friend got halfway through the first season and came back to me with the verdict, “consider me fucking deceived.” This show has weight and does not pull its emotional punches, but neither does it ever stumble into becoming grimdark. Its worldbuilding is solid and the characters are all fantastically developed. Plus I wrote a whole post about one of the main antagonists(?) who I hadn’t even mentioned here.

3. Dennou Coil (Mystery, sci-fi)

Dennou Coil is a masterclass in worldbuilding, in my opinion. It’s a near-future sci-fi world, basically if Google Glass had taken off and become as common as cell phones are today. Many people don’t see the real world, they see the virtual textures of the world as they’re rendered through the glasses. Kids in one city have learned to mess around with codes, collecting tradeable fragments that break off the edges where the system glitches, chasing viruses that hide in pockets of obselete code in abandoned areas of the city where the software doesn’t get updated often. They spend their time after school saving virtual pets from being accidentally deleted by the city’s antivirus, trading tall tales about kids who get caught by the antivirus and get their glasses bricked, and spinning urban legends about ghosts waiting just behind anything that’s visibly rendered, waiting to steal kids when they least expect it. Every detail they introduce is critical to laying the foundation for the mystery that forms the show’s plot.

Everything about this world feels real in a way I’ve never seen in a sci-fi anime. It’s all grounded in a clear understanding of programming, and lives by show-don’t-tell. The stakes aren’t life-and-death; the kids tagging glitches like graffiti to distract the city’s antivirus software are only at risk of ruining their glasses, at least at first. The plot and escalation is perfectly-paced, and the mystery is so satisfying to piece together as it unfolds.

4. ID:Invaded (Sci-fi, action, thriller, murder mystery)

This show is like Psycho-Pass meets Silence of the Lambs. To catch a serial killer, you need to think like a killer, and nobody does that better than killers. A contraption called an “id well” can manifest an uncaught killer’s unconscious mind as a bizarre, unique, deadly terrain driven by stream-of-consciousness, and convicted murderers turned “detectives” dive into these wells to try to solve the mystery each well presents and discern the identity of other killers before they can strike again.

This show is a tightly-written, perfectly paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller. The two layers of mysteries inside and outside of the wells balance high-octane, big-screen action with tight, tense realism. Plus the soundtrack is an absolute banger.

5. Ping Pong the Animation (drama, sports)

Imagine if I told you that there was a show that, in 11 episodes, unpacked how patterns of relationships are repeated across generations, how the tradeoff between talent, practice, and who you are outside of your achievements can scar the spirits of kids, and what it feels like to wrestle with the tension between your core understanding of yourself and how others expect you to be. Imagine if I told you that every major character goes through massive restructurings of their fundamental sense of self and how they see others, and that every single arc comes to a well-rounded and satisfying end. Imagine if the animation style pushed the limits of both realism and absurdity, landing somewhere between rotoscoping and caricature, pushing the impact of action and stretching the character’s expressiveness without betraying faces that are animated like real human people. Imagine that it had a dub so fantastic that it sits next to Baccano and Cowboy Bebop in my mind, shows where the cast threw themselves into their roles with their whole hearts.

Now imagine that I told you that this story is told in the context of high schoolers playing ping pong, and that it’s arguably the best show I’ve ever seen. Go watch this show.

#my posts #my asks #anime recommendations #shojo kageki revue starlight #the eccentric family #dennou coil #id:invaded #ping pong the animation #i understand that the obvious answer includes baccano but everyone who follows me knows abt it by now #ones that almost made the cut: #acca-13 and Sora no Woto and Stars Align #and Princess Jellyfish and Sarazanmai and Kakushigoto #yupuffin