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#i need to plan my panels better jesus
hakusins · 15 days
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cw // suggestive
worshipped route for whitney the faithful (or fallen?) where he's preparing the sacrifice pc for weekly prayers~
whitney the faithful/swap au idea belongs to @just-dol-headshots
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achenetype · 2 months
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better the devil you know. — dealer!ares
pairing: dealer!ares x reader
content/warnings: suggestive content, no sex in this one sorry but i do have a sequel planned, age gap, modern au, reader's parents are implied to be abusive, ares drives recklessly, Inappropriate Thigh Touching (TM), drug mentions, dealer!ares
listening to: home by daughter
In hindsight, you should have gone to a college further away from your hometown. It would have been harder for your parents to convince you to come home if you weren’t living forty minutes away.
It would have been easier, actually — easier because you could have been hanging out with your friends, studying and drinking and smoking, instead of sitting with your back pressed against your door while your parents fought in the kitchen down the hall.
Jesus fucking Christ, your mother yells, muffled by the door, you don’t even care about this family!
You can’t hear what your father says in response, but the crash of a plate shattering against the wall makes you jump. Your hands shake as you pull your phone out of your pocket and scroll through your contacts until you reach the last number.
“Hey, kid,” Ares’ voice crackles through the speakers of your phone. “What’s up?”
Another thud sounds against the wall. You let out a shuddering breath, clutching your phone in your hands. “I, uh—I need, like, a favor,” you say.
You can almost hear Ares raising an eyebrow through the phone. “A favor?”
“Yeah,” you whisper. “I need—are you at your apartment?” You chew on your lip, pulling your sweatshirt tighter around your body. “Cause my—uh, things aren’t the best at my place right now,” you say.
Ares sighs, the sound made crackling by the speakers. “Thought you were at school?”
“I went home for the break,” you say. Another piece of glassware smashes against the wall; the sound crystallizes in your mind, piercing and terrible. Tears well up in your eyes.
You flinch and gasp, pressing your back against the door. “My parents—they, uh, they’re fighting, again.”
Ares clicks his tongue. “Shit, angel.” The sound of a lighter flicking on rasps through the phone and you squeeze your eyes shut.
This is the worst idea in the history of bad ideas. Ares isn’t a friend—he’s something different. Your dealer, yes. A smoke buddy. And sometimes, sometimes, there’s this weird tension between the two of you—this energy that makes your stomach turn and your head spin.
But asking him a favor like this…it could ruin everything.
“Can you,” you say, “can you, um. Come pick me up?” You bite your tongue as Ares lets out a slow exhale.
You’re about to retract your request when he says, “Send me your address.”
“Huh?” You blink, your breath catching in your throat.
“Send me your address,” Ares repeats. “I’ll be there in half an hour.”
It feels like the air has been sucked out of your lungs. “Okay,” you breathe. “Okay.”
You’re not sure whether he hangs up or you do.
A few taps at your screen later, and a location pin pops up on in the black space of your messages.
You slowly stand up, still leaning against the door. The world feels like it’s moving in slow motion as you grab your backpack and absently start to fill it. Clothes. Your wallet and keys. The last dregs of the weed that you’d bought from Ares a few weeks ago.
You slide the panel of your window open, wincing at the scrape of metal on metal. You were used to sneaking out, but your legs had never shaken like this before—you’d never been running from something. You’d always been trying to get to somewhere, never away from it.
You step out onto the roof and shuffle to the edge of it, shimmying down the fire escape and jumping down to the pavement. Rain soaks through your sweatshirt as you walk around to the front of the building, dampening your skin and hair and chilling you to the bone.
You’re sitting on the sidewalk when Ares’ car—a battered Jeep—pulls up. You hear the door slam before you see him, but he kneels in front of you and gently brushes your hair out of your face.
“Hey, angel,” he murmurs. “C’mere. Up you go. Let’s get you inside.” His hands are warm and strong, pulling you to your feet, and his arms bracket your chest as you lean against him. “C’mon, angel. In the car.”
You nod numbly, stunned from the cold and the fear swirling in your chest. Ares’ eyes are dark as you climb into the passenger seat of his car and pull your knees to your chest. He tosses your bag into the backseat.
“Thank you,” you mumble.
Ares looks over at you and sighs, turning the key in the ignition. “‘S nothing.”
You tuck one soaked piece of your hair behind your ear as he pulls away from the curb. Cold air wafts through the air conditioning, making your sweatshirt stick uncomfortably to your chest and your arms. Your legs, exposed by your shorts, pebble with gooseflesh as you shiver and shift in the seat.
Ares’ eyes snap from the road to you, up and down, and one of his hands slides from the steering wheel to rest in the empty space between the two of you.
Despite the AC, it is suddenly and dizzyingly warm in the car.
Ares’ hand wavers in place for a split second before moving again, settling against your bare thigh. His thumb draws small circles on the flesh of your thigh as he drives.
“You okay?” he says, low and rough, not taking his eyes off the road.
You nod. “Mm-hmm,” you murmur. Your legs part even more, shifting your hips up slightly, and Ares’ grip on your thigh tightens.
The tension in the air was so thick you could have cut it. Your eyes flick from Ares’ hand to his face, back and forth, and the car speeds up as he merges onto the highway.
“Hold on,” he says, maybe more to himself than to you—his fingers dig into the soft flesh of your thigh. You can feel a bruise forming under the skin, and the thought makes you just the slightest bit wet.
Just a little. You’re not that depraved.
Ares slides his hand higher, his fingertips grazing the seam of your torso and your leg, and you shudder as he slips a hand under the hem of your shorts.
Against your better judgement, you spread your legs that extra inch and lean back.
“[Y/N],” he says. “Tell me not to do this.”
“What?” You blink and look over to where Ares is white-knuckling the wheel. The speedometer on the car ticks up—Ares had already been speeding, but now it reads eighty, eighty-five. Ninety. You feel gravity pressing your back to the leather seat.
“You need to tell me to stop touching you,” he says lowly. “If you don’t want this, tell me no.”
You bite your lip. Oh.
“We can’t do this, angel,” he says, still pressing the gas pedal down. Ninety-six. Ninety-seven, eight.
“What if—what if I want you to?” The words come out of your mouth before you can stop them. Your heart batters against your rib cage. Ninety-nine.
Ares takes an exit—you're going too fast to see the sign—and leans on the brake, stopping just short of the crosswalk. The momentum throws you forward.
His hand moves from your thigh to rest across your collarbone, holding you back from hitting the dashboard.
"We're going to my place," he says roughly. "And we're gonna finish all this." He gestures with his free hand in the space between you and him.
You lean forward, so sweetly, and press a short kiss to Ares' lips. "I look forward to it," you say softly.
When the light turns green and Ares' eyes flick back to the road, you sneak a glance at his legs. Something satisfied and a little giddy curls up inside your stomach when you see that he's hard in his jeans.
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plasticfangtastic · 8 months
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American Royalty. Ch. 4
A Homelander X F! Reader and Dadlander fanfic.
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A/N: if ya like to be taglisted plz leave a comment to be notified on the next release. got the writers block and too many wips so here is an early chapter. hope y'all like it. plz check my pin post for prev. chapters.
Tags: mild gore, angst, lots of angst, slow burn, fluff, oc characther, child neglect, dadlander, romance.
Chapter Four
Seeing Stars
You had him agree to you working three days as his personal chef, and he couldn’t have you Sundays no matter how much he asked.
Within the week you had gotten a letter from your bank telling you that the pending investigation on your account had been closed and now you could access it, it had even accrue significant interest after being untouched for seven years it was better than an early christmas miracle as you sobbed in your bedroom with the letter in hand, you cried in the kitchen after calling a realtor to see an apartment, by the time you seen a couple of apartments you had come home to find an enveloped taped to your door. Inside paperwork and some keys– seeing red for a moment, but as Helena tugged at your shirt, your anger tucked itself away, you held her crying into her shoulder as you finished reading the letter.
Before the month ended, you had moved into a large, renovated and well located 2 bedroom, 1 office, 2 bathrooms apartment in the ground floor of a duplex, it had to be at least eighteen to twenty thousand dollars in rent but he had simply purchase it– writing in his letter that he wouldn’t allow you to continue raising his daughter in the projects or some refurbished new york closet, he had even collected information on local schools in your new neighborhood for you consider, informing you that he would take care of tuition cost.
As you settled in a space so big you had nothing to fill it with, as you watched your daughter actually behave like a seven year old for once, you laid on the floor by the open concept kitchen, feeling the rich wood underneath your skin, staring at the black granite benches and hardwood cabinetry– the floor was even heated! You heard a landing in one of the two thin yards, you knew your daughter was exploring the bathroom, so it felt safe to do this now.
“I’ll have my interior designer come by this week to help you select furniture and stuff.” He said upon entering, distubed by how barren it was, all your belonings in a a dozen boxes total, tucked in a corner of the living room.
“You are a bastard making me indebted to you.” You grumbled.
“I can’t have her live in a broom closet infested with rats. Kids need yards and space.” He looked at the cherry wood panels lining the outdoors, the vines and trees growing in a decent sized yard, extra big by New York standards– you could get her a puppy, a kitten or…?”
“She likes fish.”
“I could have a pond installed.” he said with a smirk crainign his back as he tried to look less imposing as you refused to lift your head from the heated hardwoods– you should be okay with utility bills, I left them on credit for your convenience. Have you had a chance to look at schools?”
“What are you actually planning, John.” You sat back up, switching names had taken him off-guard wondering what angle you were going at him from– haven’t even started work with you and now you are showering me with presents? This is beyond just wanting to see your kid is not like you actually seen her.”
“You said to take things slow.” He didn’t try hiding that devious grin– Ryan… needs a story.”
“Jesus Christ you are sick.” you now had to stand up for real– you want me to play mom to your kid? I don’t even look like him.”
“Genetics are weird. Helena looks like you and Ryan looks like me, like those dogs from ‘Beauty and the Tramp’."He touched your cheek with a bare hand– Can’t wait to see you next Thursday, mom.”
“Oh god…” You chuckle, losing your mind as his hand hurts without a scratch– How are you going to tell this to Helena?”
“Is in early development but the team will take care of it. I need Ryan to attend the same school as Helena so please hurry up.”
He left not before telling you to take Helena to MOMA this saturday at 2 pm, it wasn’t a suggestion or invitation, it was an order
You did as you were told that evening, one of the best schools in the city was under a half hour walk from this cell, knowing Helena had to be enrolled soon didn’t help, and your commute to Lucci had increased but now you could pay for gas and not cry. Sending him a texts about schools to the number he had given you in his many many notes seemed anticlimactic but that was it.
Helana had grown suspicious, but she played dumb and you knew it too, so you both played stupid when you headed to MOMA that weekend.
You just casually came the same day and the same time as Homelander and Ryan were about to have the whole museum closed off as they received a private tour,  but he asked you to join them not giving any real explanation for why but nobody questioned, neither kid spoke to each other much if any, Helena simply enjoying the silence, she looked at you as she asked about the pieces but it was Homelander who had the most to say about the works, leaving you left out but happy, you knew that face of his so well, to see it on your daughter’s face made your day.
He had taken the opportunity to discuss your employment not your relationship, giving you list of things Ryan should eat, would not eat, wanted to try and things he wanted to try himself, then your hours and some odd request about handling Ryan’s school lunches being instagram worthy, handing you socials to research for such task.
You started work that following week, the Vought kitchens were top of the line, your job was to meet all of his requirements, some of the chefs that recognized you looked at you with relief and curiosity, wanting to know what had happened to you but you were unwilling to share. That first breakfast was returned with clean plates, even the waiter was shocked when he saw empty plates come out of his penthouse.
It had been so long since you could play with such new equipment, this was it, this was the place you belong in, him or not involved this was your happy place now.
Two weeks had passed.
 As you headed for the staff elevator you met Homelander, who had honestly just been waiting for you.
“I got the paperwork sorted… you just have to sign and fill stuff. Nice school! Great stem program not that Helena will find it hard.” he said politely, his posture extra stiff.
“Did you do a background check on her?” you looked around for witnesses.
“Hard not to. Our kid is the captain of the math club… her school team has won most of the math competitions in the last four years. Not to mention the piano recitals, and science competitions”  He looked so proud– her grades are perfect. She might be the smartest little girl in the city.”
“She’s the smartest little girl in the world.”
“And her new school would let the whole world know just that.” He said matching your smug.
You watched him carefully waiting for him to spit out what he wanted to say, either about her schooling or something else.
Helena was allowed to continue attending her old school until you were ready for transfer, he had only briefly talked to you for school discussions, and with great disinterest on what made each school good or not, if anything you found yourself doing this for his son as well, thinking of what this school would do for his well being, and if it was the best choice for a homeschooled kid, and how would this new school commute affect Helena’s after school routine. 
On the days you didn’t work in Vought’s towers she was still babysat or stayed at Lucci’s, she was too young to be left at home, even if you knew she was perfectly safe, but no matter what she was still little. 
During the days you worked in the tower she was kept in the company daycare in the 20th floor, most of the kids there were normal but there was at least one other super-abled child her age, it made you happy to see her interact with a similar kid even if said kid abilities involved phasing thru objects all willy-nilly and make objects phase thru other objects, making you worry of what would happen if he lost focus and Helena got caught inside a wall.
“By the way our kid escaped the daycare.” He held the elevator open for you as he entered, before you could panic he shot you a charming smile– is okay she’s at the gym…”
Your eyes had welled up regardless, you jumped into the metal box pressing the bottom frantically.
“She’s perfectly safe… A-Train is there and so it's that… Noir… her and the only little Supe kid decided to do some mischief, but I kept my ears on her all day.”
Forcing yourself to take deep breaths as the elevator smoothly traveled to the lower floors.
“Is it not her that I am worried for.” you said firmly.
You followed him as he guided you through an unfamiliar floor, inside the large colosseum gym that had been fitted to test somebody’s athletic skills you found your daughter floating in her wavy bubble, but all you saw was your kid swaying in the air.
“Helena get down here immediately!!!” You ran after her reaching for the kid as her bored expression was replaced with embarrassment as she descended into your arms– you cannot run away from daycare!”
“I don’t want to be surrounded by babies.”
“Helena you are a baby!” you squeezed her against yourself, just glad she was still in one piece, you noticed the other small kid in the room– jesus…”
Carrying your kid you reached for the other one, taking his hand.
“Hey sweetie… let me take you back to daycare before your mommy or daddy gets worried.
“Am I in trouble?” he asked meekly.
“No, but Helena is so grounded.”
“Mom!”
“Don’t mom me! You have any idea how dangerous that was!”
“Oh don’t get mad at the kid, she was just acting like a kid. Don’t be such a buzzkill” he mocked you.
“I don’t want or need your opinion– now you got two seconds to explain yourself!”
You began to gently drag yourself and your kid’s victim out of the gym, A-Train absolutely shocked to see anybody talk to Homelander like that.
“Look I had A-Train and Noir come check them out, they were safe!” He chased after you.
“Oh that was your doing.” Helena said–  "I really wanted to meet A-Train” she waved innocently at the Supe, who returned the gesture as a true professional– and... Mom… I wanted to see the building, that’s all… sorry I used Elmo to escape… but his powers were just too useful”
“You cannot use people like that.” you said in shock.
“People like being used.” Her words were just cold as she wriggled herself out of your arms, falling without touching the ground, she took Elmo’s hand taking the small kid towards the exit– some people are born serfs.” She mumbled to herself.
Homelander's heart beat violently– oh his daughter was a brat and had a questionable attitude, he hadn’t even interacted much with her, but he was proud. His whole body went light and his smile couldn’t be contained as he saw the small girl with true love in his eyes, this was the moment he saw her as truly his own.
Ryan was still reluctant to accept his father’s philosophy, but this little one understood that she was born better from the start on her own.
She turned around to face you again, little Elmo sucked on his thumb as her eyes glowed pale blue.
“Is it alright if I come to the training gym if I ask permission first?” 
“I…”
“Of course all Supe’s should know to keep their powers top notch. You are more than welcome to use the facilities.” Homelander had cut you off, petting the little girl’s head as he approached the duo– Just ask your mother so she doesn’t have a heart attack. Then again this is one of the safest places in all of New York and little Helena over here is perfectly safe, after all I am here.” He said while staring at you.
His voice was sweet, you were defeated as Helena tried to contain that cheshire grin of hers while staring at you– he was your boss , and the Homelander so could you really go against him so publicly?
“You had a terrorist attack in this building… but I guess…” She ignored him again then looked straight at you– I learned something new today.” 
A-Train and Noir exchanged concerned looks taking a few step backs, Homelander seemed intrigued to watch your reaction, you gave way, unable to speak, just frustrated as your ex looked just as smug as his kid.
Little Elmo scoot behind her– in the round gymnasium a cement boulder hanged in chains, her eyes glowed the brightest you’ve ever seen, lifting her hand with one quick swipe the boulder broke in half, the dust showing the invisible blade bending light, it gain a blue color as it was touched before fading, she looked so proud of herself, you stared at Homelander and now you understood why nobody had informed you that your daughter was missing. It didn’t sit well with you.
“you’re still grounded for a whole week.”
“But Mom!!”
You had walked into a trap, one you did so willingly, jailed in a nice house, any hope of Homelander being driven away or losing interest in her was gone as he looked at her with pure adoration in his eyes.
You got used to it… this prison was lovely, it was nice to come back to a spacious cell. Homelander had indeed brought his decorator to your house but you didn’t want designer furniture and high end stuff, you kept it simple and cheap, most of your stuff second hand and from Ikea, only relenting to agree with the poor designer over the kitchen, his budget was absurd for the task, only taking advantage to purchase all the appliances of your dreams, you indeed needed a air fryer that matched your splashback.
Helena was happy to have a room that felt like a bedroom, large bookcases that could be filled with her own books, a small courtyard facing her doors, where she now could sit down and read with the breeze in her hair. She seemed happy, euphoric when she began her new school, making you forget what was happening in the background at times.
Homelander would come from time to time to speak to you about mundane stuff and work, his patience saintly as he allowed you to get used to his company once more, just so you could be okay with him entering her life, but then again he was your jailer.
He himself had begun forcing himself into her life when you weren’t around, it was all a matter of timing and perception.
Homelander watched the daycare center, from afar, a much needed service, it occupied a whole floor, the tower employed thousands of people in its 99th floor so there had to be help for those mothers and fathers who needed to work but had children with no babysitters, it was one of the many appealing things about being employed by Vought, and the center offered a variety of activities for all age groups.
Helena saw it as a jungle, all these children just a bunch of savages, keeping Elmo around not because she liked his company but because he was the only other Supe child in her age group, he was a sweet kid, afraid of bugs and that liked to talk about cartoons, frankly it was a challenge to figure out what to do with him. Homelander watched as she taught the kid to play chess, taking hours to explain the basics as the seven year old had very little clue what was happening, but in its own way it was nice to talk to another kid like himself.
Homelander even bothered to do a background check on the child– both of his dad’s both worked at Vought one in hero management and the other in marketing, both very busy bees it seems… he had done the same with all of Ryan’s new classmates, he knew their entire families before his kid even stepped foot and said hello to any of them, all done before he started school the same week as Helena– there was the big issue of her being on the 10th grade while her older brother just began the 6th grade, so he couldn’t enjoy seeing the both of them interacting, it was hard to witness for he wanted both kids to become closer so desperately.
Hence why he was standing on the foyer of the daycare center, a young lady that looked too cheerful for her own good, welcomed Homelander.
“Hi! How can I help you today, Homelander? Are you looking to enroll little Ryan?” She swayed side to side trying to see if the kid was behind him by any chance.
“Actually… am here to speak to one of the kids… hmm… Helena L/N.” He said with a firm tone– I believe her mother left a message.”
Homelander texted you an hour before cominf down, not even asking you that he was going to take her for training, you were stuck in the kitchen helping with some work function taking place tonite, a thousand canapes had to be made and you were stuck with the pistachio and lemon layer cakes.
You had no time to argue, taking your precious break time to make phone calls and try not to use your knife on the nearest asshole who pissed you off afterwards.
She hopped on the desk seeking for any notes, and he was indeed correct.
Now he had her all for himself, you prayed he wasn’t going to drop the news on her, but you couldn’t leave and abandoned your team, she was safe, you had to believe she was safe, she was smart, she was so smart and she could escape him, you just had to trust her.
“Can I bring Elmo?” Helena looked up at Homelander, a slight ache building on her neck as she looked up at the man– he might get lonely.”
“He’s not a dog.” He didn’t even try putting on a soft babied voice with her– and I wanted to talk to you.”
“But he’s always ‘The Dog’ when we play house.” She faked the most innocent voice she could muster, turning around to look at the glass doors  dividing the friends– … He will probably sneak out to the gym if he gets lonely, they got his favorite snacks today… he told me liked five times and I think they’re playing Bluey on the tv.”
“Oh! and you play mommy?” He grimaces so hard his eyebrows touch.
“No, the robber.”
He led the way and she was more than happy to explore the building as they headed downstairs.
“What do you think of them?”
“Elaborate.”
“Those without powers.” she wished she could see his expression– and be honest. None of this ‘Wednesday Addams’ crap.”
He looked around at the sea of smart casual fits and stress on the floors above, the world moving so fast paced, nothing but monkeys hurling shiny rocks while playing dress-up.
“They can be useful, if they are not… then they don’t matter to me.”
He smiled, his heart fluttering and his stomach filled with butterflies as he heard her speak– why did Ryan struggle so much to understand this? He thought.
“When you are born with such gifts–
“I might be a kid but I am very familiar with your Compound V, I already had this talk with my mother. Fascinating stuff… I am still trying to understand the whole dosage thing… How does your company decide which kid to give more versus others? Did they just look at who could provide the best backstory before deciding between 10 mils versus the whole vial.” 
She stared at the glass walls where the kids were housed, the tone of her voice still flat.
“Why you say that?”
“I’m a poor kid from the projects, with a single mom, formerly homeless and now with enough powers to make Athena envious. Not to mention how 92% of supes are white but the percentage below middle class to poor is almost the same as with the 6% blacks, while the percentage of upper class white supes is closer to the same percentage of 2% asians and latino supes… if anything a good chunk of latino and asian supes are upper class… something-something model minority yadah-yadah.” she pressed the elevator door– I’d make a good story. Shame that I can’t be a Supe.”
Homelander stared at her, placing his hand on the back of her head.
“You can be anything you want, Helena. You have been blessed beyond belief with powers… if you want to be Supe then you are ready for major leagues.”
She rolls her eyes.
“Only the 1% of superheroes ever make it to the major leagues, most supes never achieve anything beside D-list status and everybody is fighting for the crumbs left behind by your posse of clowns– is not a fiscally responsible decision. A career that can only exist on extreme gambling is not one that can make money. Not to mention am not cute or tall." She took the first step into the elevator– I never want my mother to worry about money. I want to buy her a mansion on top of a cliff staring at the ocean, have a dozen maids care for the house and she can just spend the rest of her life in luxury”
She turns to see him crossing her arms with a serious look on her tiny face.
“My goal is to take your job.”
“The Seven?” He grinned.
“Vought.”
“I can wait to see you try.” he grinned.
“It won’t be that hard… At least when I am in charge security will be tighter.”
Bottles of V dropped from above Homelander’s head, he caught most of them but a few were lost, those were hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drops staining his pants and shoes, Helena caught one bottle, sliding it between nimble fingers back and forth.
“Don’t look so surprised, it seems this is a common occurence… Here's an unwanted tip: use biometrics and only allow lab techs to enter the 67th floor, not just rely on good will, clown.” sections of her body and clothes flicked back and forth between visible and invisible, taunting him about how easy it had been to steal them using her superpowers.
As his eyes took an extra tinge of red, he saw a brief flash of pale blue encasing her, he followed her to the entrance of the Gym, where she expected to be left alone with Homelander not to find another kid.
“The prodigal son.” she mumbles.
Ryan sat on top of some raised stepping stones in the recently established obstacle course, Helena imagined she needed to know parkour in lieu of flying abilities, which seemed redundant for the kid who could fly.
“Thought you two could practice together.” He shouted while placing the V on the nearest bench.
“Guess there are ways to successfully murder a child and get away with it.” She raised an eyebrow– and here I thought you wouldn’t be irked by the words of a little girl… like I said you’re a maladjusted person.”
“I don’t hurt children. I have no idea…” he said calmly while a little bit angry, as he returned to her side.
“I dunno– it would look really bad if the press found out that you’re a deadbeat.”
His expression dropped as the little girl's eyes glowed.
“Smartest little girl in the world… or...?” She said dryly, as she headed towards Ryan to save him the walk– my bubble refracts light, easy to spot if you notice images are wavering without the heat.”
The little boy ran cheerfully after his father, who for the first time ignored him, his eyes transfixed on the little girl, who had been playing stupid all along.
taglist-- @fromforeigntofamiliarity , @demodemo909 and @immyowndefender
here's the house:
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crippleprophet · 6 months
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hi i was wondering if you or any of your followers had tips for dealing with chronic muscle pain (specifically hip and knee).
nothing i’ve tried has seemed to help (pt, otc pain meds, ice, heat, rest, acupuncture, cbd lotion, epson salt baths, stretching). and i’ve peen told that the only pain meds that would help would be narcotics (which i can’t take due to family).
also everybody has seemed to circle back to “it’s because of your mental health that everything is shit”. and doctors refuse to do any tests past moving my legs around and poking at them.
so i will try almost anything. thank you
i’m so sorry you’re dealing with this, i have chronic muscle pain & i know it can easily be so debilitating. regardless of whether there’s a relationship with stress or whatever, your physical symptoms should still be fucking treated! the abject cruelty of not managing your pain aside, it’s almost like it’s harder to handle mental experiences when you’re in pain all the time… you don’t deserve this bullshit & i’m really sorry 🖤
i am suspicious of your being told that only narcotics would help tbh — i don’t doubt that many folks need narcotics to effectively treat their pain, & opioids have definitely been the most effective treatment for me when i have access to them (although more for nerve stuff than muscle) but there are definitely medications you haven’t been offered yet that might be helpful.
idk if you suspect that your muscle pain may be related to chronic illness but my muscle pain (including what was dismissed as untreatable fibromyalgia symptoms) improved dramatically when i got on an immunosuppressant (hydroxychloroquine in my case). if you haven’t gotten a basic rheumatology blood panel done by your GP it could be worth a shot as my elevated inflammatory markers led to that prescription even though i’m definitely underdiagnosed.
i’m also like, really pissed nobody’s given you a muscle relaxer jesus christ. i’m on 4mg tizanidine from my PCP & it’s been immensely helpful for my muscle pain, i choose to take it probably once a week because it’s more effective at knocking me out all night that way lol but i also use it as a rescue medication when i’m having severe cramps. really helpful to just get a fucking break & some decent sleep every so often. in that thread i’m planning to ask about starting prazosin at my next appointment, it’s prescribed for nightmares (which i def have lol) but can prompt a certain level of muscle relaxation which is part of how it helps with sleep
idk if this is an option for you due to family etc but delta8 (weed equivalent that’s technically legal in the US) has been vital for managing my own pain. expensive as shit but so it goes.
idk if you already use a mobility aid or if that’s an option for you but it could be worth looking into! redirecting some of the force applied to your muscles might make things like walking easier or could help with balance if you experience sudden weakness / cramps.
super depends on your situation but it could be worth paying attention to your feet as well, getting plantar fasciitis house shoes vastly improved my knee-hip-back pain, knees in particular. mine was more joint related than muscular but from studying biomechanics it’s all interrelated & from my perspective anything that helps may make it a bit easier to keep going until you find a better long-term solution. so even if it doesn’t seem related to your pain if there’s anything that might make your life easier right now i encourage you to consider it!
other folks feel free to respond with things that have been effective for you! i really hope you find some solutions that make things more bearable for you 💓💓
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mattholicguilt · 2 years
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Timeline of Scott and Jean’s Marriage Falling Apart (part 1)
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(New X-Men #131)
I’ve been rereading New X-Men and I really want to dig into all the stuff that went down between Scott and Jean (and why they SHOULD have gotten a divorce). I feel like everyone has a tendency to just blame the affair with Emma but there was so much shit going on before that. Let’s take a look. 
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The Search for Cyclops #4. Jean saves Scott from possession by Apocalypse, and Ozymandias seems to foreshadow that Scott will not fully recover from the trauma of possession. Ozymandias is correct.
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Uncanny X-Men #393. Logan asks Scott how he’s doing since the possession stuff and Scott lashes out at him for invading his privacy. On the Scott-and-Jean front, it’s mentioned that they no longer have their psychic rapport but that Scott knows his wife well enough to know her plans. 
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Uncanny X-Men #394. There’s trouble in paradise and Logan can tell. He brings it up to Jean. 
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“Everything’s fine,” she lied. (Logan also kisses Jean in this issue because he thinks they’re about to die. Stop doing that, Logan. Jesus.) 
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New X-Men #114. Once again Logan decides that Scott and Jean’s increasingly strained relationship is his business. (This is OUR failing marriage.) 
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(Hank also notices that all is not well in the Summers-Grey marriage.)
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New X-Men #116. Scott takes marriage advice from some bugs. 
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We finally get some more context on what exactly is going on with Scott and Jean. They haven’t had sex in five months (probably not since before Scott’s possession by Apocalypse.) Scott is cold and distant, according to Jean. Scott is traumatized and all Jean wants to do is help him, but she can’t. (Sidenote: Jeannie baby you ALSO don’t know what it’s like to be POSSESSED by an evil spirit. Grant Morrison I am sending you a copy of Fantastic Four #286.)
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New X-Men #117. Jean is lonely so she seeks out Logan, who explains that Scott and Jean are perfect for each other. Then Jean kisses him and he’s like, “You and me are never gonna happen.” (For some reason I remembered this kiss happening AFTER Scott and Emma first hook up, but look at that! Jean’s infidelity came first.)
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New X-Men Annual. Emma taunts Scott about the fact that he and his wife aren’t having sex. 
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New X-Men #139. (Flashback)
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Emma propositions Scott and he turns her down. 
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New X-Men #118. Jean asks Scott if he messed around with Emma during the annual. This is building up to be a really terrible cocktail of trust issues and intimacy issues. Like I think Jean’s paranoid (and projecting, considering she had just tracked Logan into the woods to kiss him) but also she’s not entirely WRONG because Scott IS having/going to have an affair with Emma. 
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New X-Men #120. Somehow, the Phoenix returned. Possibly to salvage Jean and Scott’s marriage because, as we know, the Phoenix Force looooooves Scott. 
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New X-Men #121. Same energy as the “Love you, wife” panel from Uncanny 394.
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New X-Men #122. The girls are fightingggg. Scott’s concerned about the Phoenix returning (as am I, but my concerns are rooted in the fact that Grant Morrison forgot about the Phoenix retcon.) I wonder if Jean’s desire for psychic and physical intimacy/closeness is somewhat being fulfilled by the Phoenix at this point? Her husband won’t touch her, but the Phoenix wants to be fully entwined with her. 
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New X-Men #125. Cassandra Nova digs around in Scott’s head and says that Jean expects him to be so much better than he is. Scott powers through. 
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New X-Men #126. They love each other so much. 
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Cassandra Nova messes with Scott’s brain again. Did the bugs tell Scott he’s going to sleep with Emma? Also: interesting here that Scott might be afraid he’ll let Jean down as an X-Man, or as a husband, or both. 
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“Well! Now that Cassandra Nova’s dealt with! Back to the matter at hand: we still can’t be intimate with each other and we need so much goddamn therapy.” 
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Cyclops #3. Scott tells some Savage Land cavepeople about his marriage difficulties. (Choosing to interpret “leader” as in Scott being leader of the X-Men, a team Jean is on, and not that Scott is somehow the leader of their relationship.)
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New X-Men #128. For some reason, Scott thinks that bringing his marital problems to Emma is a productive idea. He also makes two really annoying references to wanting Phoenix and being unsatisfied with “just Jean.” (They’re not. the same. person.) 
But I do think what Scott says some very illuminating stuff here about “faking teenage unconditional love in the face of unstoppable chaos and change” and “I’m not who I was and I can’t tell her who I am... in case she hates what I’ve become.” 
It’s easy for Scott and Jean to be Scott&Jean when everything’s going to hell and the X-Men are getting thrown into high-stakes mission after high-stakes mission. But it’s hard to find a balance when things are relatively quiet. (🎶 But at least the war is over...)
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New X-Men #131. First of all, I love how much Emma looks like Generation X-era Emma here. The little glasses, the big fur robe. Second of all, it’s been interesting to see how much Hank, Logan and Emma all become involved in Scott and Jean’s marital problems. 
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For example, here’s Logan pointing out that Scott and Jean need to communicate better. 
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Scotty you’re a master strategist. WHAT was the plan here? Emma is not a therapist. Of any sort. 
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She’s definitely not a qualified sex therapist. Also I agree that yeah, Scott’s possession trauma seems to be affecting him in much the way a sexual trauma would. So he should see an actual, licensed therapist. Who isn’t trying to mindfuck him and actual-fuck him for a laugh. 
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This is actually so disappointing because I want them to be having these messy, invasive conversations about JEAN. But they’re just talking about the Phoenix. 
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Once again Scott expresses that he doesn’t want to hurt Jean, and he feels that telling her the truth about his feelings will hurt her. 
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[Narrator voice] They were in fact having some kind of weird affair. 
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New X-Men #134. Hank is very concerned about Scott being unfaithful. It’s almost as if he cares more about preserving Scott and Jean’s marriage than Scott and Jean do. 
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New X-Men #138. Scott says that Apocalypse’s possession made him feel like his life and his marriage were small and boring. 
(I’m gonna post this now before Tumblr can eat it again. More to come.) 
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madraleen · 8 months
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Attack on Titan - Hajime Isayama Vol.26-27: A Roller Coaster of Emotions Commentary
-i'm laughing bc beast is literally like FUCK EREN FUCK YOUR REBELLION FUCK THE FOUNDER GIVE ME LEVI
-i hope levi gets his revenge and doesn't die
-ARMIN YOU HAVE NOT SUCCUMBED TO FACIAL HAIR SYNDROME EITHER I KNEW YOU WERE A FAVE FOR A REASON
-'the other ackerman' haha
-i miss eren. as in, i miss seeing his pov, seeing him talk, seeing him interact
-oh this is armin's plan
-i'm surprised eren isn't just eating jaws...? to get the titan power...?
-EREN IS COMING HOMEEE
-ooooh "assassin's bullet"? oh no... who's getting killed. should i get tissues. not one of ours?
-armin always reaching out to stupid eren help
-how long has it been eren, how long is it since he left, the jerk?
-oh levi. you haven't changed a bit, i love you
-"it's normal to kill them" jesus, gabi
-oh. oh sasha. oh no.
-ZEKE'S PLAN?!?!?! OH YOU BETTER DO SOME EXPLAINING YEAGER BOYS!!!
-"you put your trust in us... and we've lost our trust in you" nice hange
-mikasa crying for sasha, my heart
-eren imma need you to show emotions babe. babe please help us.
-anyway i feel better now that we're with the survey corps.
-my heart hurts for eren. i don't know what's happening, but it's eren and i love him and it hurts seeing levi confirm that he never expected to see HIM like this, and goddamn i need answers and reconciliation.
-i'm not just anxious to uncover all the mysteries, to see who lives or dies, i'm also stressed to see who will snap. who will slip. who will make a misjudgement and how much it will cost.
-YESS THREE YEARS AGO ON PARADIS HERE WE GO
-the pure titans be having a dance party in the background
-um. alright, anti-marleyan volunteers... but zeke kinda nearly destroyed us...
-OOOH OKAY, zeke turned ragako into titans.
-"to crush the world to dust" eren is OUT FOR BLOOD
-"welcome to our filthy island, home to defiled devils" LEVI I LOVE YOU
-WHERE WOULD THEY GET SEAFOOD, YELENA!
-why can't we have this kind of fun all the time :'(
-armin my pacifist bb :(
-ayy, eren's shot panel followed by sasha's getting shot panel, pain
-PAIN PAIN PAIN PLEASE LET ARMIN AND EREN FIND THEIR WAY BACK TO EACH OTHER OH MY GOD NOT EREN AND ARMIN
-will we come to understand eren? like, on page, not on analysis and intuition
-eren with a manbun and no facial hair. yes, good, keep this. I MISS EREN LET'S SPEND QUALITY TIME WITH EREN POV
-ngl i've missed seeing eren say 'fight.' it's been so long and it was so defining for his character.
-"my dark night!!" LMFAO SCHOOL MIKASA WTH
-what is this demon eren pose on v27 cover.
-okay but why is eren angry with US? why won't he talk to us, to hange, when HE put us in the worst position?
-ey, mikasa gets her speshul status too. she's hizuru's hope. welcome to the hope club, don't let the pressure break your back
-sir. you gave your father to the authorities, what do you mean you've always been loyal to your father's dream. sir. zeke. oh. oh i see.
-WHY IS HE ATTACKING HANGE, EREN WHAT ARE YOU DOING NO. man he's so desperate. you CAN'T turn against him, he so fucking desperate and hopeless and broken
-NO HANGE YOU'RE THE BEST COMMANDER DON'T SAY THAT
-who. who is the baby daddy? who is historia's baby daddy? does eren know about this?
-i'm so angry. i'm so angry at what we (the characters) have been through, at how we've been backed up against the wall again and again to the point that we (the characters) became like this, and i'm so angry at all the suffering we (the characters and the readers) have to go through. it's all so HOPELESS. part 1 was suffering and pain and questions, but there was always hope. there was "okay, we'll fix the thing, we'll learn the secret, we'll take back the city, we'll find the traitors," there was always a concrete goal and you could see hope at its attainment, you could believe that things would get better if only we had this thing. but now? there's no hope. there's no good outcome. there's nothing. there's literally us against the entire world, and the way we're going, us against each other as well. there's nothing!
"you all got so big... how dare you." L E V I I ADORE YOU
-why. why did gabi and falco have to go to the blouse house. why. so good. so painful.
-not to be armin, but... why can't we all just talk :'(
-why is the horse smiling when gabi falls, lol
-WHY DID LEVI FEEL THE NEED TO SAY HE WAS POPULAR ENOUGH WITH THE LADIES OH MY GOD HOW IS LEVI THE COMEDIC RELIEF IN THIS GODFORSAKEN MANGA
-i don't know who to trust! except levi ofc, levi is special
-what the fuck...someone blew up zackly...
-oh. eren has escaped. of course. because why not. to quote mikasa... “what the hell is happening?”
-eren back to his shirtless wonder era
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littlewalken · 6 months
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Oct 29
At the point where I need to decide if I want to actually read a few comic book stories or just go with the summaries for my Spider-Man writing thing. Got to remember something I said about Dark Gwen, it was better without dialog.
Already have a direction with the writing, in digestible chunks between decision points, there's going to be some Imagination Land stuff going on, so relying on the summaries and the handful of panels I can find online might be the way to go.
After all the Marvel way is just blame a clone for it and have a retcon.
The hardball game of eventually we'll do laundry and if you don't go with me something might get lost and... Has caught up to only needing to hand wash what I'm currently wearing and a sheet set. All that's holding up the sheet set is I don't have a clothes line, nor do I plan to get one, trust me on that. I have other sheet sets and if a laundry crack head has to have cheap Walmart sheets they can have them.
I don't have eventually in me right now. Eventually we'll move. When that happens I'll get my eventually back.
Current retail therapy has me wanting to get the Kwami surprise I don't have. I only need a handful but it's not quite at buy hte last couple of ones off the internet yet. I have 2 Tikki and no Plagg. I need about 6 in total, regular or Monarch ring, so message me for that because I'll have to get out the list I made.
Once I get to a certain place in at least the note taking for the Spidey stuff I can shift gears to something else like prince sassy pants, the Jeff, or gay pirates. I just want to keep certain things in the forefront project wise to help train my brain to focus right now so it's too busy to concentrate on the general depressiveness of the situation around me.
It's not a depression is a choice thing, more a cognitive thing to keep my spirits up, even if it's just with busy work so I can feel I've 'done something'.
Like the latest bread Jesus which was made in a loaf pan and aside from one serving was eaten up yesterday.
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marcholasmoth · 2 years
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OSRR: 2996
and it's done.
below is a long post. some of it is ranting about people. most of it is happy things and love for the con and my con family. proceed as you like. ☺️
i woke up this morning, put my watch on the charger, set another alarm, and went back to sleep for another hour or so. it was much needed.
got up, showered, collected myself and my things, and went in search for the things i needed for my final panel, and i went. i put out table covers, had someone grab the bulbs, and then got repeatedly frustrated because my "helpers" were less helpful than i'd hoped. when i say "put these out" i don't mean scatter the tiny packaged things on the table and call it a day. take them out. sort them. organize them. so that was fucking annoying.
and like. i have been having an extremely difficult time this entire con finding people with fine enough motor skills to do things within my threshold of acceptability. i found one person. one. out of everyone i know, one. and thank fuck i've known her a long time, because otherwise it would've been a problem. she was one of the people from my a cappella group at unh when i went there. it's nice because i get to see her every con. i need to hang out with her more. we're in our 30s now. we gotta hold onto that, yknow?
also because i'm literally in my 30s now, i don't have time for people who don't own up to their own bullshit. for people who cause drama because they happen to be unhappy people and can't communicate. do you not like how someone does something? talk to them about it. do you not want to be around someone who you feel has done you wrong? tell them. don't use other people as your intermediary because you can't fucking communicate. use your goddamn brain and use your words and write it down so you know what to say if you're anxious. don't expect people to read your mind. it costs no money to be nice to people. you think you have a thankless job? don't be a bitch to people, and maybe it won't be so thankless. take responsibility. plan around shortcomings you're aware of. don't have a license? plan trips. aren't getting somewhere until a lot later than you intended? let someone know and come up with an interim plan. don't fucking refuse to communicate and then bitch about how you're the only one doing anything. that's on you.
jesus christ.
i have no patience for this.
none of it.
on a different and better note, once said obnoxious-drama-causing person left, i could think again. fuck. my mental state is so much worse when they're around because i constantly have to think about them and how they'll react. they on about hating manipulative people and how others create unnecessary drama. look in the mirror. your acting like a teenager. you're not. get over it.
i should add that "could think again" is a very loose phrase. i still couldn't brain; these cells i've got here have been deep-fried so much this weekend.
so when i went back upstairs to work on my paper, i found the room with a handful of people gathered and chatting and having a good time, including the con guests. i eventually sat down and pulled up my laptop and realized that there was no possible way i was going to be able to write the paper i needed to before midnight. at first it was because i couldn't think of a topic. then it was because it was almost 10pm. so i gave up on it and sent an email to my professor.
but.
not before i made a new friend.
so as i was sitting there, trying to think of a paper topic, the conversation in the room was between a table of my friends and family and the guests we had this year. just hangin out. it was so fucking hilarious, i laughed so hard, and it was pretty great. one of the people we had as a guest was sitting across from me and as the others were talking, we made faces and shared reactions like "are you hearing this??" it was fucking hysterical. he came over to talk to me when he got up. i told him what i was writing (or trying to write) and he read what i had, which was the honest thoughts in my head as i tried to think. he thought it was incredible.
so i pulled up the STUPID essay i wrote last year. yknow, the precursor to the SMART essay i wrote? because i was panicking and had no clue what to write? well i pulled it up and he read it and he said it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen and that it needed to be in the world. so he's gonna do a narration of it and post it on the internet. this whole-ass monologue is gonna be voiced by major attaway and posted on the internet and im so excited. because holy shit. it's my favorite thing and i am honored to have a new friend. who's a voice actor. it's so cool.
and speaking of cool, let me just talk about joel for a minute.
(i will have you know now that i am not, in fact, drunk, nor have i had any alcohol in the last 24 hours to impair my reasoning.)
he's so fucking spectacular.
this isn't me drunkenly rambling about how cool my boyfriend is. this is me being incredibly proud of the man he is and the relationship that we have.
he's got an interview on tuesday. he's gonna talk to my professor, the regional CISO of minecast, about a job, his résumé, and work stuff in general. he supports me getting a job in dc once i'm done with my degree, and has a plan for himself if/when it happens. he wants to take over the con. he has plans for all of this stuff. he's had conversations and has been open and honest (as always) and i love everything about him. i'm so, so lucky to have him by my side as we go through everything. i have him, i have my con family, and i have people who love and appreciate me for the person i am. they are grateful for the things i do and do not expect things from me. they're kind and inclusive and considerate, they're honest and they say what they mean. there are of course a few expectations, but every bushel of blueberries has a bad few until you pick 'em out.
i'm happy. the con has gone well. i've had several pairs of people in almost all of my panels, and one of them gave me something - the girl was wearing a togepi pin and yesterday i said i loved it. it was star-shaped and super cute and it was awesome. today they gave me one just like it. i was so happy! i put it on immediately and i wore it all day. last night a girl gave me a bottle of super glue and made sure i drank water to stay hydrated. i've had really awesome people in my panels this year. i really have loved it. the stress and everything i go through is worth it when i see the people there enjoying themselves and creating things that they can keep. maybe sometime in the future i'll have a panel for like, making something small that is in demand in the area for people, like hats or something, and get together a big donation box for things to bring in so we can donate it to a local shelter or something because it's october in new england - winter is coming soon, and shelters everywhere are in need of supplies for people who are in need. and maybe we can help them, even just a little bit. so there's that. i'd like to do that if i can.
and after my terrarium panel today, i took a bunch of time to sort through and organize all of the arts and crafts things and make sure they were labeled properly. it was so organized. only a few cardboard boxes remain for arts and crafts. i have also started to make a list of things i'll need for next year so i'm ready for the con ahead of time. i'll also need to be able to access it easily because i have the most time-intensive hands-on needs-to-be-done-beforehand prep work of any department save for the actual scheduling and everything of the convention. plus as it stands, i'm still gonna be by myself, so i'll handle all interactions involving crafts, like the polymer clay lady or the cloudbreaker people and their steampunk stuff or what have you. regardless, im proud of myself and the work i do. i could be better at being less anxious, but i brought my teddy bear named harold with me. he's got a pokéball hoodie, so i thought it was appropriate for him to come along to the con. it was a good decision. so harold has been with me this weekend, which was nice. all of my attendees have been kind and supportive and understanding.
i love what i do here. i love this con. i love these people. i love this family. i wouldn't trade it for anything.
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dllow25 · 2 years
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The kindest man I ever had the honor of knowing has passed.
I had long suffered with depression before the day I picked up the phone and called for help. My insurance company gave me a list of six different mental health physicians to call that were in our network of covered providers. The first four didn’t have availability for six+ weeks…the 5th was Dr. Minor. 
Dr. Minor answered my call almost right away. I was a very young, very scared pregnant newlywed sobbing in the parking lot of a Big Lots. (Very on brand for me) He was so friendly. He listened to me and he knew the need to see me was urgent. He stayed on the phone with me until I arrived at his office, a church in Hamilton. 
His office was something straight out of the 70s. Wood paneling, old books, a big desk and comfy chairs. I felt safe there. 
Dr. Minor had explained to me that in addition to being a licensed psychologist he was also a pastor. He asked if I felt comfortable if he ministered to me during the course of my treatment, to which I agreed.
Over the next few years, Dr. Minor helped me in unimaginable ways. I saw him twice a week as a patient, and every Sunday at church. He was my doctor, pastor and friend. He helped me to find hope when I had none. He helped me to find healing and peace. He helped me to forgive. With my healing came happiness. 
The day I had Carter, he came to the hospital to see me. That’s how much he meant to us. He lived his life in service to the Lord. He was truly a disciple of Christ, who best conveyed his faith though his actions. An angel on this earth. He LOVED his family, his German Shepard and his Saturn convertible. 
A few months after Dr. Minor baptized baby Carter, he called me one evening. He told me that he and his wife were planning to move to Branson, MO as he had taken a job closer to their adult children. I was so happy for him but sad for me. I was filled with uncertainty. If I was no longer seeing him, would I fall back into the depths of my depression? Dr. Minor reassured me that I was ready and that he believed in me.
I still think about the things we talked about in therapy. Some days, I still use the tools he equipped me with to fight off overwhelming, unwanted feelings when they rush to the surface. But those days are fewer and farther between.
Over the last few years, we spoke on a handful of occasions. The news of his passing was very hard to take. Still, I have no doubt that it’s a glorious day in Heaven and that the Lord welcomed Pastor Minor home with open arms. I imagine the Lord saying to him, “Well done my good and faithful servant”
He changed my life forever, for the better. He saved my life and there aren’t words to describe the eternal gratitude I feel for him. I pray so deeply that he knew these things. That he was there for me in the darkest hour of my life. That he helped me not only with emotional and physical healing, but with spiritual healing. One day in his office, I told him I felt ashamed for the time I spent pushing Jesus away. I truly did not feel worthy of Gods love and forgiveness. I felt angry at God for my suffering. Pastor Al looked at me and said, “If you’ve never had doubts, you can’t be born again” It was in that exact moment that I was washed in the blood. The moment you are brought to your knees, broken in mind and body and you surrender your suffering and your whole heart to God is one you will never regret or forget.
I pray Dr. Minor knows that he led me to the foot of the cross; where I received salvation. I would not be the woman of Christ I am today without his help. I know I’m not the only one who can say these things. The world is a better place because he was here and I’m truly blessed to have known him as my doctor, my pastor but most of all, my friend. 
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makeste · 3 years
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BnHA Chapter 322: IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME
Previously on BnHA: Endeavor was all, “Kirishima please take Hagakure and Aoyama and put them away somewhere out of sight until we’re finally ready for the U.A. Traitor Plot.” Shouto was all “HEY DEKU DID IT EVER OCCUR TO YOU THAT MAYBE YOU WANDERING THE STREETS LOOKING LIKE A GOTH PRAYING MANTIS IS EXACTLY WHAT AFO WANTS.” Deku was all “I’M SORRY I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF MY CRUSHING MARTYR COMPLEX AND ACCUMULATED TRAUMA.” Mineta was all “HEY DEKU YOU SWEET THANG, IF I COULD REARRANGE THE ALPHABET I’D PUT ‘U’ AND ‘I’ TOGETHER, ANYWAYS HMU 💖”, or at least that’s what fandom apparently thought he said. Everyone was all “WELL SINCE WE’RE BACK HERE IN KAMINO WE SHOULD DO THE THING” and did the whole “launching someone into the air to save someone by dramatically grabbing their hand” thing that everybody fucking loves to do in Kamino so damn much. Iida was all “[bombards me and Deku with feels].” Deku was all, “ू(ʚ̴̶̷́ .̠ ʚ̴̶̷̥̀ ू).” I was all, “(;*△*;).” Horikoshi was all, “my work here is done.”
Today on BnHA: 
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oh my god.
so I finally went back to look at what I wrote up for 321 last week, and it’s a hot fucking mess lol, and I really don’t want to deal with that right now, so we’re just gonna skip it and go back sometime in the next few days or something because I really want to read the new chapter and I have no self control. I’M SORRY IIDA
oh my god he’s breaking out the narration word bubbles oh my god. shit is about to get epic isn’t it
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has there ever been a chapter that opened with these that WASN’T epic? serious question. anyways all aboard the Feels Express I guess
YEP
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I saved a bunch of other crying kaomojis when I was looking for ones to use in the “previously on” summary, and right now it’s looking like that was a good fucking decision you guys. if I’m going to be an emotional wreck I might as well do it in style ʕ ಡ ﹏ ಡ ʔ
AND BY THE WAY!!
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SHOULD I JUST THANK HORIKOSHI NOW AND SAVE MYSELF SOME TIME LATER. THE MAN ALWAYS FUCKING DELIVERS WHAT ELSE CAN I FUCKING SAY GODDAMN. IS IT TOO EARLY TO DECLARE THIS MY NEW FAVORITE CHAPTER? I SHOULD PROBABLY READ FURTHER THAN ONE PAGE BUT I’VE JUST GOT A FEELING
(ETA: it’s like. maybe my second favorite lol. A HUG WOULD HAVE PUT IT IN FIRST, I’M JUST SAYING.)
anyway so Ochako is releasing Iida, which is actually hilarious, because idk if you all know this but Iida can’t fucking fly you guys
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like, I assume Ochako released him because she already knew that Kirishima was in place to catch him, but I really love this split-second of panic on Iida’s part where he’s all “HMM, IS OCHAKO TRYING TO KILL ME, ACTUALLY”
LOL THERE’S A THOOM AND EVERYTHING
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that’s some plus fucking ultra on Ochako’s part right there. “IF THEY DIE THEY DIE” goddamn girl did you leave your chill in the same locker as Momo or what
now poor Kiri is all “DAMMIT DEKU ARE YOU PASSED OUT OR WHAT, I DIDN’T GET TO TELL YOU MY THING GODDAMMIT”
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oh my gosh he is curled up so small you guys oh my fucking lord
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RESIDUAL “LOST CHILD” FEELS FROM LAST WEEK COMING IN FOR A LANDING!! PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR SEATBACKS AND TRAY TABLES ARE IN THEIR UPRIGHT POSITIONS OMG ( ˚͈͈͈͈̥̆ ₍₎ ˚͈͈͈͈̥̆ )
LMAO IIDA IS TRYING TO CONFIRM THAT OCHAKO PLANNED FOR KIRISHIMA TO CATCH HIM, AND KIRISHIMA IS ALL “NOPE I’M JUST HERE BY CHANCE BRO”
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Ochako is the U.A. Traitor confirmed. Hagakure I am so sorry I doubted you. Ochako get over here. so are you Toga now or what
anyway so now everyone is running over before Iida can react to this casual announcement of his attempted murder. and now Mina is taking her turn, and Horikoshi is all “HEY BTW IS MINA CRYING ON THE LIST OF THINGS THAT MAKE YOU CRY?” and of fucking course it is, you bastard. I’m not made of stone
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( ɵ̥̥ ˑ̫ ɵ̥̥)
SLDKFJLSDKJ:LKWEJ
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IS THIS THE PART WHERE I JUST START SCREAMING INCOHERENTLY FOR THE REST OF THE CHAPTER LOL. SURE FEELS LIKE WE ARE GETTING TO THAT TIME
OH MY GOD KACCHAN AHHHHH
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I CAN’T OMG LOL I ALREADY GLANCED AT THE NEXT COUPLE OF PANELS, AND HE’S STARTING A WHOLEASS MONOLOGUE ABOUT ALL OF HIS DEKU FEELS AND OH MY GOD
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“HERE YOU GO MAKESTE, A WHOLE CHAPTER OF ALL YOUR FAVORITE META TOPICS JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE THEM” THANK YOU HORIKOSHI YOU’RE A BRO (っ˘̩╭╮˘̩)っ
SLKASODIFALWKFLKJ
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THEY’RE JUST DEKU AND KACCHAN. holy shit you guys. because oh my god, but it’s like when Deku was talking to the Vestiges about saving Tomura, and he turned into his little child self because his heart and intentions were so pure?? and it’s like that again, except that we’re seeing them as their child selves because that’s who they are to each other?? like, not that they actually see each other as children, but just, they can see past all of the stuff on the outside and see each other to their cores, to who they are inside, and when they look at each other they each simply see the other boy that they’ve known their whole entire life. idk?? does that make sense??? DOES ANY OF THIS EVEN MAKE SENSE I DON’T KNOW WHAT WORDS ARE ANYMORE I’M JUST SWIMMING IN FEELS OKAY. I’M TRYING HERE
they’re just boys, is what I’m trying to say, I guess. just Deku and Kacchan. all the walls are down, all the gaps are bridged, and all it is is the one boy reaching out and connecting with the other, and just,,, (꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)
OH MY GOD [GRABBING YOUR SHOULDERS AND POINTING WORDLESSLY] !!!1LK1
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DO YOU ALL KNOW WHAT THIS IS YOU GUYS
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HOW PERFECTLY FUCKING RAD. WELL LET ME JUST ENJOY THESE LAST FEW SECONDS BEFORE MY LIFE IS FOREVER CHANGED, I GUESS
OH
MY
GOD
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CAN HE EVEN SAY THAT??? IS THAT EVEN LEGAL??? IS HE EVEN FUCKING ALLOWED TO SAY THAT. WHAT IS HAPPENING
OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!
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─=≡Σ((( つ ◕o◕ )つ
GET IN HERE, EVERYONE!!
Y’ALL HE REALLY DID IT. “BAKUGOU IS SUCH AN ASSHOLE HE HASN’T EVEN APOLOGIZED” WELL GUESS FUCKING WHAT. GUESS FUCKING WHAT, YOU GUYS!! LET’S FUCKING GOOOOO ((((/ ̄∇ ̄)/\( ̄∇ ̄\)))) AHHHHHHHHHH
OHHHHHHHH
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HEH. I’M ALREADY DEAD, HORIKOSHI, YOU BASTARD. DO YOUR WORST. GO ON
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YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON “US”, HE SAYS. ALONG WITH A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF OMG. KACCHAN, YOU STUDIED!! YOU UNDERSTAND!! PREACH!!
OH NO!!
OH WAIT!!!!
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LOL I GOT SCARED THERE FOR A SECOND BUT ANYWAY! EVERYONE GET IN HERE!!! GROUP HUG!!! OR WAIT, NO, WHAT ABOUT -- [GRABS YOUR COLLAR URGENTLY] YOU DON’T THINK -- COULD THEY POSSIBLY -- !!!!!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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ARE YOU GONNA HUG!??!?!?!?! I AM NOT OKAY!!!!!!! !!!hgk
REACTION PANELS LOL EVERYONE ELSE IS ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEATS TOO WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
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LOL OCHAKO
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I KNOW THAT IN REALITY THIS FACE IS JUST BECAUSE SHE’S CONCERNED ABOUT DEKU’S FRAGILE STATE RN, BUT I KEEP THINKING ABOUT THE WAY SHE JUST DROPPED IIDA COLD THOUGH, AND I CAN’T HELP BUT FEAR FOR KACCHAN’S SAFETY LMAO. THAT FEELING WHEN THE CLASS PERV AND THE CLASS BULLY BOTH BEAT YOU TO THE LOVE CONFESSION. KACCHAN WATCH YOUR SIX
OKAY BUT LOOK, IT’S NOT THAT I DON’T LOVE ALL OF THE OTHER KIDS, OKAY, BUT CAN WE PLEASE!??!?! HELLO?!?!? MOMO, JUST -- COULD YOU JUST FOR A MINUTE --
NOOOOOOOOOOO
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“DON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT, I HAVE TO SAVE SOMETHING FOR THE FINALE” HORIKOSHI YOU BETTER WATCH OUT, I’M COMING FOR YOU WITH A TWO BY FOUR!! NOT THAT I’M UNGRATEFUL!! BUT JESUS CHRIST, YOU CAN’T JUST DO THAT, AND THEN ALMOST DO THAT, AND THEN NOT!! OMG I HATE YOU
sure let’s cut to Thirteen then, yay. I mean I’m glad they’re alive lol, don’t get me wrong
(ETA: I think that might have sounded a bit sarcastic so I just want to clarify that I really am happy Thirteen is alive and on the job again lol.)
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it’s just that if your name doesn’t begin with Baku or Deku I honestly am not interested for just these next five minutes okay lol. like I’m just gonna be completely honest. I am too invested lol, please, they were having a moment, JUST LET ME HAVE THIS PLEASE
OH DAMN U.A. GOT SWOLE AF
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THIS SCHOOL HAS BEEN JUICING WTF. I THOUGHT YOU WERE TARTARUS LOL
I’m literally not even reading the speech bubbles though omg I’m so sorry. I really hope there is not a quiz, I promise I will come back to it later scroll scroll scroll
okay so they brought him back to U.A. and he’s all tired and out of it yes
oh goody Hagakure knows all about the security system
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(ETA: is it just me or is Horikoshi really laying it on thick with the hints about these two guys lately? I’m on to you sir.)
THAT’S WONDERFUL NEWS. GLAD THIS CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE IS SAFE IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE TRUST
ffs Deku
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WHAT WILL IT EVEN TAKE TO CONVINCE YOU THEN?? SWEET JESUS
-- holy shit, what??!
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they know?? how did they find out??! holy shit???
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I’m about to cancel the whole of Japan lmao. fucking try me dudes
-- THE PRINCIPAL!?
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NEZU GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!! WHAT THE FUCK
“a ticking time bomb” tell you what, this man is just asking to be punched in the face. literally begging for it omg
(ETA: I have been advised that I misread this part; Rat Principal told everyone how safe U.A. was, but he’s not the one who ratted out Deku; that was “the rumors”, apparently. which, if I had to guess, were probably started by AFO.)
oh I see, so it’s to be Feels, Part II then
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he looks so sad and tired and lonely and she goes right for the hand, god bless. though if Kacchan’s not gonna hug him, you’d think someone would at least. or is it because he still smells bad. hmm
AND THE CHAPTER’S ENDING ON HER LOL WELL OKAY THEN
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I MEAN IT’S GREAT AND ALL, I LOVE OCHAKO REALLY I DO, BUT WE WERE PROMISED GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GODS, WHAT GIVES SOB. I WAS ALL READY TO BREAK OUT INTO SONG AND EVERYTHING. SURE, HE DID THE APOLOGY, BUT WHERE IS THE FOLLOW-UP GODDAMMIT
(ETA: just to clarify the reason for my rambling here, I was really waiting for the hero name reveal and the presumed deeper meaning behind it lol. but I guess that is a conversation still to come! and we still need Deku’s response to the apology too for that matter. lots to look forward to still.)
WELL WHATEVER, SO THAT IS THE END OF THE CHAPTER! SHOUT OUT TO MY BOY RAT “LET ME JUST TELL EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD ABOUT DEKU’S SUPER SECRET IDENTITY, I GUESS THAT’S ALL RIGHT NOW, NOTHING BAD COULD POSSIBLY COME OF THIS” PRINCIPAL. listen here you little shit
anyway but if you’ll excuse me... IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME. IF I COULD FIND A WAY. I’D TAKE BACK THOSE WORDS THAT HAVE HURT YOU, AND YOU’D STAY. I DON’T KNOW WHY I DID THE THINGS I DID. I DON’T KNOW WHY I SAID THE THINGS I SAID. PRIDE’S LIKE A KNIFE, IT CAN CUT DEEP INSIDE. WORDS ARE LIKE WEAPONS, THEY WOUND SOMETIMES. BUM~ BUM~ BUM~, I DIDN’T REALLY MEAN TO HURT YOU. BUM~ BUM~ BUM~, I DIDN’T WANNA SEE YOU GO. I KNOW I MADE YOU CRY, BUT BABAY, IF I COULD TUUUUURN BACK TIIIIIIIIIIIME...
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0aurelion-sol0 · 4 years
Text
SNK keeps on being amazing. ( A rant that is not really one. )
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133.
Just this panel alone is able to confirm everything that I wanted from this manga.
Eren's condition has always been what I suspected.
Ever since he sided with his brother Zeke, who manipulated Marley in attacking Eldia to retrieve the founder and other titans. Something THEY DIDN'T WANT TO DO, because they were being pressured by many other countries and were not as powerful as before due to their lack of powerful weapons like the ones in the Middle Eastern Alliance which were able to PIERCE through the fucking Armored Titan.
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THIS resulted in the fucking festival and we know what happened then. Dozens of people died including children continuing the cycle of hate that has been started for god knows how long. And Eren WILLINGLY took a part in it because he wanted his actions to be a little easier while he was going to genocide the whole fucking world.
INCLUDING his own island because let's be honest when Eren is done with the Rumbling, destroying every ecosystems. EVERYTHING that keeps a planet alive, his little island won't live for long.
"The ground... It's crying." CHAPTER 131 said by one of the goddamn kids he fucking killed.
Marley is now sure, let's fucking kill all Eldians.
He did his attack on Liberio, he betrayed everyone. Crushing Hange's every possibilities of finding a peaceful way of settling things down after having been hidden MANY useful informations by Eren, Zeke and his group but also the Azumabitos.
Sparking a civil war inside Eldia, leading to an Eldian supremacist group cause let's be honest when Floch killed that Marleyan and than gave his little first king Fritz speech, it was like seeing Hitler all over again and the Klux Klux Klan.
I MEAN... FLOCH OF ALL PEOPLE! A guy who has PTSD after seing dozens of his comrades died, their faces exploded by fucking thrown rocks. He bastardized Erwin's ideologies and no matter how good willing he was, he was just a dead man walking acting like a fool.
He also betrays his own party now, the Jeagerist by allowing the very people they tried to stop the power to stop him. By activating the Rumbling, he also caused the death of Eldians inside the walls as we've been shown with Hitch.
AND THE WORST... destroy every connection he has with his friends. Hurting them, putting them in danger by the very group he created and the Titans.
Oh but that's not all...
He uses the titan the same way Marley did it, with oppression and violence. He is not stopping the cycle of hate, he is continuing it. And it will have repercussions inside the very group of people he tried to defend.
People killed each other inside the walls and they will kill each other without it. Mikasa as shown us that when her parents got murdered and she almost became a slave.
And he killed Hange with these same titans. I don't care if they sacrificed themself. He didn't live up to what he preached. They died and Hange was someone close to him and was concerned with his well being. Maybe it was too late but they also had many other priorities as Hange was commander. They also fell into depression because of their position. One of his mentors and friends, one who tried to talk with him while he was in that cell planning to destroy the world...
talking to himself...
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At this point, you know where I'm going with this. We've all suspected it, we all know it. Let's not be blind about it.
Eren is influenced by the Attack Titan. Not Ymir (at least I hope so and I think so), not Kruger and certainly not Grisha.
It's pretty clear now.
I mean Eren's change happens off screen, every time we see him he is completely different from what we used to know of him.
He barely cares about his friend and don't give me the bullcrap of (hE dOeS tHiS fOr tHeM.) If he was he would have secured them and put them in a place where they wouldn't interfere, he would have tried to convince them. HE WOULD HAVE COMMANDED FLOCH NOT TO HURT THEM.
He would have not commited genocide after knowing what it led to with Reiner, Annie and Bertholt.
That's not Eren. And the stupid argument of "hE's aLwAyS bEeN vIoLeNt". That's just bullcrap and it just destroy every bit of beautiful empathy we have seen of him. With Mikasa, Armin and Historia. Levi who he respected a lot.
It just isn't coherent. Every action he does is not coherent since the timeskip.
NOW HE'S CHALLENGING HIS FRIEND ? WTF ?
I mean is no one questionning this, doesn't it seem off from what we've seen of him.
Eren is no strategist BUT... he isn't stupid. Every sane person would know that these actions will not benefit anybody.
But... they still happened.
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If we look back again, here is Eren being positive trying to put Armin in a good mood.
The outside world... endless possibilities. It's a man who wonders.
Yet, AT THE RIGHT MOMENT... he has a flashback of Faye. And his face just change.
Isn't it just weird ? Like at the right moment where he can have a positive outlook on thing. NOPE.
And this has been going and going and going...
Here:
Chapter 130.
Eren arrives in Liberio what does he see.
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A flashback of his mother's death
I mean it's pretty clear now.
_________________________________________
Eren has been influenced and convinced by the Attack Titan that there's no way out. He's been reliving past memories of his and others, past memories that were traumatic. It put him in a state of depression and dread through 5 FUCKING YEARS. On top of that, he is able to see the future and what he saw will happen and has happened hence his reaction to Sasha's death.
A fucking mental breakdown.
Jesus Christ, I don't know if I've ever cursed that much in my life.
It's impossible to stop what is going to happen, because what is going to happen, needs to happen.
But as we know Sasha is in the afterlife with Erwin, Hange and the others. And we have been confirmed that this is the afterlife. So we have time-travelling, afterlife, 13 years curse, people who can turn into titans, parallel dimensions and Eren who can see through birds.
But the fandom said, no, the prospect of him being manipulated by the Attack Titan is impossible even after knowing it has special abilities.
I MEAN...
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Umm... This has happened before. And I saw no one complain.
So why this ?
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Is impossible ?
Especially when Eren's whole arc is about questionning his perspective of the world and becoming in control of his violence and rage. Having an agency. HELLOOOO!!!????
What better way of having the main threat of that being the very thing that causes all of his problems and his powers.
Doesn't this remind anyone of anything ?
Yep. The Uprising Arc. And who ? Historia, the girl whose all life, she couldn't act as herself or have any real agency.
Yes, you know the girl whose pregnant and decided to live the rest of her life Little House On The Prairie style. ( I mean I don't think it's her but... that's what it's looking right now. )
And who is a descendent of Ymir Fritz. With too much uncanney similarities between the two.
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They could have said the Founder, Eren Jeager or something else but no they said... "It's the Attack Titan."
And it's not Ymir, if she was the one to control Eren. Why wouldn't she free herself on her own if she's able to do that ?
And in 131, she was clearly in a position where she was questionning her choice.
And perhaps she probably tried to stop Eren but the Attack Titan took over him and her. Using her powers as she is the founder.
And now just like Eren, she has no eyes. She is still a slave. Why ? I thought Eren freed her. So ? This is the only logical explanation right now.
I mean when is the last time we saw Eren.
He was sleeping inside his titan in 131. Having a dream about seeing his "sight" of freedom as a kid. And also potentially watching things with birds.
It's just weird. If he was fully in control, the characters wouldn't have questionned it and none of this weird shit would be happening.
He clearly doesn't have a free will.
This requires too much energy and Eren is a normal Eldian, not one of Royal Blood. Being both in Paths, watching this " sight ", communicating, watching with birds, moving his titan which is enormous and the thousands of colossal titans is clearly hard and too dangerous for only one person to do.
Isayama has fooled us all and me in the process.
All this time, it was that goddamn thing pulling the strings. And with the help of Isayama since he is the goddamn author of this series
In chapter 88, we learn the true meaning of Shingeki No Kyojin.
The beauty of the japanese language, as confusing as it is, can be translated by Attack On Titan, at least for us american and western audiences.
( yes because as someone pointed out in the comments, it's a mistranslation but since I don't understand how to give credit by linking because I don't understand how it works, i can't credit. So you can find the person in the comments. DO NOT JUDGE ME, tumblr is not the best place to post sometimes. )
But it's not the Attack on Titan anymore.
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It's the Attack Titan.
( piece of shit is it's surname. )
3K notes · View notes
plush-rabbit · 3 years
Text
In God's Warm Embrace
Pastor Simeon decides to talk about you and your little absence around the Church as of late.
Warnings: could be considered noncon, or like coercion
Warnings: 4.2K
A/N: (〃 ̄︶ ̄)人( ̄︶ ̄〃)
You walk through the corridor, the statues looking upon you. White roses are placed in vases at each window, the petals wilting at the ends and falling onto the lace tablecloth. The eyes of a crucified Jesus seem to follow you as you enter a room. It’s empty, only pictures and a singular cross looking upon you and keeping you company as you sit on a teal cushioned chair and wait.
The room is filled with light, the rays of the fading sun catching amongst the panels and shining a kaleidoscope of colors onto the room, peeking at the top of your knees and creeping to your thighs. Your hands are moist with sweat, your brow knitted with worry and your lips pulled into a frown. Shame floods your body, burning hot with the fire from hell, your tears slipping down the curve of your face and dripping onto the collar of your shirt. You’re stuck in silence while the world outside moves on, living shame free and simply existing.
The door to the office opens with a gust of warm air entering, and in the same breath, it’s closed, clicking to a lock. You swallow and your mouth is dry, your gaze sticks on the hardwood floor, trying to make out a pattern within the lines. A chill runs through your body when two hands rest on your shoulder, gripping tightly onto you.
Silence rings in your ears, deafening and enough to make your ears ache. “You know I care for you deeply, do you not?” He offers no room for you to answer him. “I do my best with what I can, while I’m in charge of the church- in charge of you. You know you’re able to come to me if you’re ever struggling.” His index finger twitches against your shoulder. “Have I not made that clear?” He squeezes your shoulders with both hands.
“No, Pastor Simeon. You’ve made it clear I can turn to you. You’ve taken great care of me ever since I found the Church.” You can hear laughter ringing outside the window, the color on your knees twinkling with each passing second. “I appreciate it very much.”
“Then, you’d be willing to tell me why I found you with Pastor Raphael? You know, he doesn’t just allow anyone in his office.” His nails are cushioned by the fabric of your blouse. “Nor does he allow anyone to sit so close to him.” You can hear something venomous in his voice, a low hiss that is gone as soon as it came.
“I simply needed help planning the monthly party. You seemed busy with a new follower and I didn’t want to take away your attention.” Your heart leaps into your throat, catching and making it impossible to breathe. “I didn't mean to offend.”
“You know I’m always happy to make time for my favorite follower.” His hand creeps closer to your neck, his skin warm against your clammy one. “While you’re here, I’ve also been meaning to ask you why you haven’t shown up on Friday nights? You know we still hold services on those nights.” His index tickles the base of your neck, stroking upwards onto you. “Where have you been?”
You rub your thighs together, anxiety deep in your joints, making you antsy and uncomfortable. “I’ve met some friends,” you confess. “We go out on Fridays and well, Fridays are usually empty so I assumed-”
“Ah,” he says simply. “You believe that your own enjoyment is above others who are seeking guidance from our Lord.” He sighs, his hands coming closer to the base of your neck, fingertips light against you. “I see the Devil has tainted your heart,” a sad tone lacing at his words.
“No!” You gasp out, trying to look above. “It- It’s not-”
His words cut through yours. “Tell me, are these friends the ones who saved you when you were alone? When you were lost and broken? Are they the ones who rescued you from damnation?” You shake your head. “I can’t hear you.”
“No,” you mutter, twiddling your hands together. “That was you.” You swallow, your lips dry and the swirl of colors makes it hard to focus. “I apologize. I just thought-” your lips pull into a straight line- “I had thought that perhaps I could go out. I didn’t mean to abandon my duties here. I promise to do better.”
“You’re in God’s house. You should know that promises made under here are sacred.” You nod your head. “Speaking of Fridays-” his hands finally wrap around your neck and you startle- “you’ve been missing confession during then.” Your hands flutter but make it no further than your chest, your eyes trying to latch onto a reflective surface to look at him. He says your name in a light whisper, his fingertips caressing the front of your neck. “I’m sure you have things to confess. Don’t fret, we all sin from time to time. We are only made in God's Image, but he’s the one who gave us free will. As long as we find our path to light, we’ll surely be saved.” He clicks his tongue, a hand faltering away to slip past your shoulder and tease at your collarbone. “Is there anything you’d like to confess? After all, you have my undivided attention.”
“I’m afraid I have sinned.” His hands tighten around you. You aren’t sure if it’s a threat or something else- even then you aren’t sure what the “something else” could be. “As you mentioned earlier, I’ve been putting my own satisfaction above others. I fear that I’m becoming selfish in my ways. However, I know that with enough prayer, I could overcome this. I think I'll head home tonight and pray.” You don’t know how to feel with his hands around your throat, not liking the way they seem to claim over you. “I still need to purchase items for the monthly party.”
As you move to rise from your seat, he pushes you back down. You fear that the Devil’s clawed hands will rise from the floor and grab at your ankles. You call his name, straining your neck to look up at him and when you meet his eyes, you look back down, murmuring an apology for daring to look at him.
“You’ve been lacking your duties, playing around with people who don’t care for you- at least not in the way I do- and now you want to rush home? You’re already here, let me help you. Let me be the one to help you repent your sins. I am a man of God, devoted and under his light, it’s only right that I save you from damnation.” His words leave a sinking feeling in your stomach, aching and twisting around, pulling tight until acid is rising- thick and burning. “You want to be forgiven, don’t you?”
You nod your head. “In the confessional?”
“No, dear.” The colors are warm on your skin, his hands light, and the room cold. “This one is a bit more personal. Something that I’m only willing to share with you.” The sun shines outside, colors reflected across the room, shining in an heavenly light. “Hebrew 4:13-” he sounds almost smug as he speaks, his abdomen pressed against the back of your chair- “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” You can feel him hover closer to you, his hand lowering past your collarbone and slipping to the curve of your breast. “You seek to repent for your sins, do you not? Do you think Raphael would still be intrigued with you after learning that you’re abandoning God to seek out pleasure from others? I know how you care for the opinion of others.” His hand massages at your breast, pulling at the cup, your hardened nipple peeking through the shirt. “Come now, my little lamb, make the wise choice.” His finger pinches at your clothed nipple, causing you to pinch your thighs together, a shameful sound muffled between your closed lips. “Do you wish to confess your sins to me?”
Your body is lit aflame with the way that he touches you, an uncomfortable growing wet spot forming between your legs. “I wish to repent, Pastor Simeon.” Your stomach drops at your words, your heart beating against your chest and a cold feeling wraps tight around you. “Please, help me.”
“Open your mouth,” he says, a hand hugging your throat and forcing you to look up at him. You do as you say, the tip of your tongue peeking past your bottom lip. “You wished to repent for your sins.” His lips curve into a thin smile. “Well, I’m about to help you.” He bows his head, the apple in his throat bobbing as his lips are pursed together. Spit falls onto your tongue, the taste bitter with wine, and thick with salvation, as you close your mouth and swallow it. A hand cups your face, his hand softly curling into a petting motion. “Good-” he pulls away and you watch him move, standing before you with hands on his belt, the metal clinking together as he undoes the belt- “get on your knees and take my cock into your mouth.”
You can still feel the way that his hand felt when it was wrapped around your throat, the lingering feeling of something tight coiling around you and you fear that you’ll be left with bruises. “Yes, Pastor Simeon,” you whisper under your breath.
The chair squeaks in the room, your knees cold as you meet the floor. You open your mouth, wanting to speak further, to perhaps put a stop to this or have some sort of guidance, but the taste of wine weighs heavy on your tongue, your breath coming out in short pants as your hands tremble to unzip his pants. You inch close to him, the zip echoing in your ears as you pull it down. He removes his shoes and kicks them off the side, his pants lowered and he stands in his briefs in front of you, the outline of his cock bulging against the fabric. Your hand cups over the outline, your lips pulled into a frown when warmth emanates from it and burns against your palm.
“Are you okay?” You look up at him, with wide eyes, sneaking a glance back to where your hand still holds his covered cock. “I understand, being tempted is quite different than actually committing the act, but I assure you-” his hand curves over the top of your head- “this is for you. I’m trying to save your soul. I was chosen by God, I wouldn’t dare trick you in any way.” He senses your hesitation, the worry in your eyes that brim over with tears. “How about this? Kiss me. That way, it’ll be an easy transition for you.” He helps you onto your legs, standing against him, his hands cupping your face and lips bittersweet with wine. “We’ll kiss like lovers. Make love as one, and I assure you, that after today’s session, you’ll be one step closer to God’s Light.”
His lips are soft, tongue even softer as it slips between your lips. His kiss is nice- something pleasant and slow that makes your stomach churn as if butterflies were inside of you. You lean closer to him, pressing your chest against his and your hands are awkwardly stiff at your sides. He’s still pressed against you- his erection stiff and pulsating with heat as he deepens the kiss.
A hand leaves your face, leaving you cold. You whine into him when his hand traces down your body, grabbing at your empty hand and placing it above his cock. He holds yours, gently mimicking jerking motions as the kiss continues. Saliva pools under your tongue, slipping past the corners of your lips and dripping thickly onto your shirt. Your head spins, fever burning your skin as the summer heat does to you. You hold together onto him, the cock thick in your hands as shakily continues the motions without his help. With a mouth filled with his tongue and shared spit, he pulls away, pecking at the corner of your lips to your jawline and against your neck- right below where your heart pulses. His briefs are slipped off, the heat of his member burning against your hand.
“Get on your knees. It’s time to worship,” he says quietly to you, his hands wrapped around your arms, guiding you to your knees. “Remember, that this is for you.” Your knees meet the cold floor once more, your joints aching and lips already feeling bruised despite the soft kiss. “You’re the sinner and I’m the one guiding you to salvation.”
Your cupid’s bow bumps against his cockhead, a slimy trail of pre-ejaculate spreading across your lips. A hint of something salty replaces his bittersweet taste, you push yourself forward, your lips opening as you wrap them around his cock. His hands cradle the back of your head, a sigh of pleasure filling the air between the two of you.
“Suck on it,” he orders, pushing your head deeper onto his cock, until it hits your uvula. You hollow your cheeks, the soft, plushiness of it pressed against the side of his cock. “Just a bit harder, my dear.” His hands knit between your hair and his fingertips press against your scalp. “You suck on my cock, and I’ll guide you.”
True to his word, he guides your head, pushing you deeper down his cock as tears spring to your eyes, your ears hot and chest losing air with each thrust. Your mouth closes around his cock, a pitiful attempt at sucking at his cock while he thrusts your head onto him. With each thrust, the tip of his cock hits the back of your throat, his hands holding tightly onto you. To say he is forceful feels almost wrong, but his hands are heavy, his gestures anything but sweet and the only kind words that he can hiss out between his clenched teeth are praises that make your stomach twist. You aren’t sure if it’s his taste that is acidic or sickness settling in.
“But while my relationship is secure with you, I know sin can break our fellowship at times. I’m still human, and I often forget who I am and Whose I am. You want to convict and correct me, not shame me.” His voice cuts through the air, louder than your choking. He holds power in his voice, muttering through the prayer, increasing in volume as his moans do. “So before I take communion today, I’m asking You to truly search my heart and reveal hidden things for which to ask Your forgiveness.”
The noises that fill the room are loud, gagging and wet slapping sounds with each movement. Your jaw aches, tears slipping past the curve of your face as your nails dig into his thighs. You call his name and it’s unheard, a jumbled mess of slurred sounds that are lost within the wet slapping sounds. Yet, even with his cruelness, something pulses between your legs. It’s an uncomfortable situation, something thick slipping past your entrance and resting on your underwear, the twisting in your stomach rivaled by a burning ache.
“Oh my,” he grunts, pressing your face down to his base. Your tongue slips around the underside of his cock, tracing at a vein as saliva slips down your chin. “My little lamb, you feel fantastic.” He’s too deep in your mouth, closing at your throat and blocking any air that can travel. “Just hearing you gag is nearly enough for me.” Your face burns, burning hot tears form and cling to your lashes. Your mouth bubbles with drool, your palms slapping against his thighs as you call to him through his cock. Something acid crises in your throat, only to be washed away by his thick seed. It slides down your throat, heavy and filling, white creaminess staining your tongue and burning past your tears.
When he pulls you away, you cough, small specks of semen ruining the cherry wood floors. You gasp for air, the scent of candles burning strong in the air. “Sim-” a cough interrupts your words- “Simeon,” you hiccup, your hands flat on the ground. You look up at him, watching as he strokes his cock, semen dripping onto the floor. “What are you doing?”
“We’re not done yet,” he says as he grabs you by your biceps and lifts you into a standing position. “I apologize for the roughness but it’s what the Lord commands me to do. Now, it’s time for the other steps.” He presses you against the edge of his desk, the hem of your skirt in his hands and his breath close to yours. His thumb brushes away your tears. “Lift up your skirt for me, my sweet lamb.”
“What?” You ask in a strained whisper, wrapping your arms around yourself, giving yourself the comfort you desperately need. “What do you mean? Wasn’t that enough?”
“There can never be enough salvation.” he grabs your hands and lets them hover over the hem of your skirt. “Now, lift up your skirt. Don’t make me repeat myself again, dear.” He takes a few steps back. He gives you a slight nod, allowing you to proceed.
You lift up your skirt, the fabric clenched in your hands, and even though you just had his cock in your mouth, you feel exposed. Simeon hums in thought, stepping towards you, his index finger tracing over your slit. His index presses harshly against you, almost teasing at your entrance and when he pulls away, the tip of his index is shining. He tilts his head and rubs his index and thumb together, your arousal smearing between the two, as his hands on your thighs as they reach the hem of your underwear and pull down. You can feel a cool strand of your arousal slap against our warm skin when the fabric pools around your ankles.
Your clothes are removed, falling onto a lifeless puddle on the floor. You rest on the desk, your hands flat against the table as you peer at your Pastor. He fills the gap, the tip of his cock smearing between your lips. You gasp out, your head shaking as you look around the room. “Wait- Wait,” you stop him. He listens and gives you a tender smile.
“What’s wrong, my dear?” His hand cusps at your face, his thumb brushing against your lower lip.
“I’m a-” your face burns with shame as you look down. Your hand is casted in rainbow light. “I don’t- I’m saving myself till marriage. I don’t- isn’t there another way?”
“My lovely lamb,” he whispers out, his lips ghosting over your collarbone and resting over a pert nipple, another hand covering your other breast. “You don’t have to worry about that right now. God won’t hate you for acts of love. If that’s difficult for you to comprehend, why don’t you think of me as your God for now?” His lips peck at your nipple, his mouth opening and suckling at your breast. “Making love with God is not a sin.” You arch your back as he nurses on your breast, his other hand massaging and kneading at the other breast.
Tears dry in your eyes, your gaze wide and doe-like. “What about a condom? I’m not on birth control or anything.”
“My dear-” he kisses at your breast once more, lolling the hardened nipple with the tip of his tongue- “with me inside of you, it’ll be much more pure. It’ll be the pure essence of me- our God- in your body. Nursing at your womb and filling you with life. Don’t deprive yourself of that.” He lifts his head, your breast is cold from the air, the other pert from touch.
Your rim is stretched, a pain sparking between your legs. The crown of your head is pushed against his desk, your hands lawing around his biceps. He muffles your yelp with a rushed kiss, his tongue pushing past your lips. You gasp for air, pulling him closer to you and wrapping your legs around him, hoping that that will deter him from continuing.
It doesn’t.
He thrust into you, pulling away, his cock stretching you virgin walls. He pulls away from the kiss, his lips on your neck before he rises above you and kisses your lips once more. Your legs loosen from the hold on him and he grabs at you, pushing your legs into a bent position over your body. Everything feels much too tight, the position only bringing a stinging pain with pleasure right at the cusp, your body aching for anything to remove the pain.
In a desperate attempt, you bring your hand to rub at your clit, letting out a breathy moan when it does relieve you from the pain. He kisses your lips once more and unable to think, you can only press down at your clit.
“It stings,” you murmur between the lips. “Pastor Simeon, it doesn’t-”
“Just give it a second.'' His hand replaces yours and his fingertips feel foreign compared to yours. “Such a good follower to know that you have to play with yourself.” He presses the kiss deeper, his hands finding a sweet rhythm that makes you gasp into his mouth, the pain fading away with every thrust. “How ever did you know to do something like that?” His pace quickens, a wet clicking sound filling the room as he pushes himself inside of you. “Do you do this often or-” his fingers pinch at your clit, causing you to squeeze your legs together, your cunt wrapping tightly around him- “did someone teach my favorite follower something so perverse? What was it? Were you being a whore and touching yourself or did you let someone play with you?”
“Me,” you choke out, clinging onto him, so desperate for another kiss to dull the fading pain. “It was me.” Your tears catch on your tongue and you shake your head at the taste. “I’m so sorry Pastor Simeon. I was weak,” you moan, closing your eyes until colors and organic shapes fill the inky blackness. You can feel the gold cross around his neck rest between the valley of your breasts, a cold surface against your fevered skin, it bobs and piches at you with every thrust.
He grunts above you, moaning your name until it sounds odd in your ears, his cock twitching inside of your velvety walls. His cock fills you, stretches your cunt and makes you feel impossibly full. Your clit pulses with arousal as you drip around his cock, pulling him close to you, desperate to feel his burning skin upon yours. He calls your name, stuttering his hips inside fo you before coming to a still. You’re filled with his seed- creamy white that spills out of you only to be pushed back in by his hands. You’re covered by him, your entrance puffed and spilling with white discharge, your body shakes as he pulls himself out. His lips meet your in a tender kiss, sucking at your bottom lip and holding you close.
Your eyes are heavy with exhaustion, your body shaking lightly as thick semen pours out of your ravaged cunt. You call for him, your hands blindly searching as they fall past the edge of the desk. His lips press against your forehead, cold hands that touch at your feverish body, makes you lean into him. His lips smile against you.
“You’re free to rest here as long as necessary.” You open your eyes at him, your brows furrowed but without energy and no room to have any coherent thoughts, you are unable to ask him anything. “I hate to leave you here, but I have a meeting to attend. I’ll hope to see you again next Friday, of course.”
You turn your head lazily towards him where he’s already buckling his belt. “Next?” You ask with a pause. “What do you-” a yawn ruins your sentence and chance to speak.
“Surely, you did not believe that one session was enough to lead you to redemption? Oh my, sweet lamb, no.” He clicks his tongue and shakes his head with a patronizing huff. “You’ve told me yourself that you’ve touched yourself- do you believe that God would take in such a whore?” He smiles at you and it’s cold. “He wouldn’t,” he says simply, adjusting his collar, the necklace that once laid between your breasts now rests between his. “But I’m here to watch over you. To give you the treatment that you deserve and make sure you get into God’s good graces.” He walks to the door, his back turned to you, until his hand is around the knob. “Now remember, you wanted this, and I’m more than happy to help, my dear lamb.”
The door clicks close behind him and you are left in a darkening room, the kaleidoscope of lights vanished long ago, only a dripping trail of semen leaking from your cunt. Your body aches and you feel cold, naked under the eyes of the Lord. With shaky limbs, you rise from the desk, wearing the clothes as they are- wrinkled and dirtied from the dust on the floor. You pat yourself down. The doorknob is cold under your touch, your body pricked with goosebumps, and let the door close behind you.
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Text
Paloma, Part I
Series Masterlist - Part I - Part II
Word count: 4100+
Rating: mature, 18+ only
Outline: Statesman!Frankie "Catfish" Morales, Agent Jack “Whiskey” Daniels, and "You" (OC cis/het female reader, Statesman research analyst, code name “Paloma”; age 26; reader is “blank canvas”/no physical description/no use of “Y/N”)
Warnings: fully legal age gap; curse words; references to M/F sex; lots of yearning; a little sprinkling of angst; American readers, please be warned that this piece features the absolutely filthy fantasy of Statesman paying off your student loans in full
You left Kentucky on a sunny June morning with a rolling suitcase, six cardboard boxes, and a heart full of golden light. You were ready for the new challenges of your promotion and the move to New York, but it was still hard to quell the little butterflies that insisted on dancing and twirling in your gut. Statesman HQ was like a beacon that had been calling to you for the last three years, and you were half-convinced that the promotion and the move were a daydream; something that would be snatched out of your hands if you thought about it too much.
It was strange to leave Kentucky, your home since you were four years old. You had been raised in a small town about an hour south of Louisville, and you hadn't had the opportunity to leave until college. Even then you didn't travel very far, just to a dorm room at the University of Louisville, going back to your hometown for every vacation instead of flying off to California or Europe like some of your more glamorous friends.
You had put your time to good use, though. You busted your ass and completed an accelerated program in Criminal Justice that earned you both a Bachelor's and a Master's in one go, with a minor in statistics and data science. The result was a deep and abiding love of research and analysis, with the burning desire to do good in the world.
---
The Friday morning of your graduation ceremony, you emerged from your apartment fresh-faced and giddy, ready to walk the stage and start the next phase: adult life in the "real world." You knew that your life was about to change, but as you juggled the garment bag with your cap and gown and tried to lock your door, you had no idea just how much. You heard a soft voice say your name behind you, and it made you jump and drop your purse, spilling the contents across your doorstep. You turned to see a woman of about 40, with flawless terra-cotta skin and an adorable mop of chestnut hair. Black horn-rimmed glasses framed bright, inquisitive eyes. She immediately bent to help you retrieve your belongings, stammering gentle apologies.
"I'm so sorry! Let me help you get your things. I didn't mean to scare you." She smiled sweetly at you and handed you back your sunglasses and lip gloss.
"No! It's fine, I'm sorry I'm so preoccupied." You lifted the garment bag by way of explanation. "Graduation day! Um, how can I help you?"
"You don't know me, but my name is Ginger. I work for an organization that recruits bright young minds like yours. It's a lot to explain, but if you're interested in a job interview next week, we'd love to talk with you." She handed you a creamy white business card with a Louisville address.
You frowned. "Statesman Distillery? I don't have any experience with alcohol production or marketing. I do data analysis and my degrees are in criminal justice."
"We know. We've been following your research and your schooling for a while." She gave you a mischievous smile, and it looked for all the world like she was hiding something fun behind it, something secretive and intriguing that made you want to know more.
"Please, just give me an hour of your time next week? When you have some time to pay us a visit, just call that number and ask for me. I'm really looking forward to chatting with you."
You thanked her and promised you would call, and then you tucked the card into your bag and forgot all about it for nearly a week. Graduation day was hectic, with lots of relatives visiting and interrogating you about your career plans, and the days afterward were spent attending parties and saying goodbye to friends who were scattering to far-flung places. After you had finished the last of your university-related errands like returning a few library books and picking up your official transcript, there wasn't much left to do except putter around your apartment and take a few days off before beginning a job search. Those student loans weren't going to pay themselves off.
You found Ginger's card in your purse on Wednesday morning and put it on the fridge with a magnet. On Thursday you were so hungover you didn't want to make any calls. On Friday you found yourself at loose ends with nothing planned, so you picked up the phone and dialed. When you reached the switchboard you gave your name and asked for Ginger, and they put you right through. She picked up after one ring, as if she had been waiting for your call.
"Hi! I'm so glad you called me! Can you come by today?" Ginger sounded genuinely excited to talk to you, not smarmy or fake like other corporate recruiters you had spoken with.
"Oh, uh, yeah. I mean, yes, thank you. Are you sure today's okay? I can come next week if that's better."
"No! Please come whenever you're ready. I'm really hoping you'll like what you see."
"Okay, will I need to dress up? Will I be meeting with anyone for an interview? Should I bring copies of my resume?" You wanted to make a good impression, but you weren't sure if this was just something the distillery did casually, like a winery tour, or if you would need to be ready for a formal interview.
"Nope! Just bring yourself! We already know everything we need to know about your qualifications."
"Ah... okay. I'm all yours. I'll see you in about an hour?"
"Perfect! I'll leave your name at the front gate with the guard. Just show them your ID and they'll wave you through."
You said your goodbyes and put the phone down. What kind of data analysis job was even available at a distillery? Market trends? Did they need a criminal justice major for tracking down rip-offs, like people counterfeiting their product? But wait, didn't the government do that kind of thing? The ATF? You shook your head clear of questions and hopped in the shower. You could ask Ginger all of your questions, since she seemed to be so happy to talk with you.
When you arrived at the Statesman Distillery an hour later, you were impressed at the size of the facility. Distilleries were pretty common in the state of Kentucky, with lots of little family companies sprinkled around. But Statesman rivaled the big names for sheer square footage.
Ginger met you in a conference room and offered you coffee, and then asked you to sign a non-disclosure agreement. You didn't think twice about it. NDAs were common in lots of industries, and you guessed that it had something to do with trade secrets, Statesman not wanting to leak information about their whiskey production details. When Ginger began the tour and you walked down a long hallway with multiple sparkling white laboratories behind thick glass, you found it unusual, but not alarming. Cleanrooms, maybe? Something to do with alcohol distillation formulas, probably.
When she ushered you into a large wood-paneled office and introduced you to Champ, the head of Statesman, you thought it was odd. Companies didn't normally introduce new college graduates to executives during tours. Based on the size of the organization, you thought you might meet the CEO or President once or twice a year, maybe at a holiday party or a company retreat. But he was friendly, and he seemed to have already heard of you; his eyebrows raised an inch at Ginger when she gave him your name. He also seemed far more interested in criminal justice and data analysis than you expected for a distillery executive, but you shook hands and answered all of his questions politely.
When Ginger asked you to step into an elevator and it dropped 10 floors, you started to wonder a little. When the doors opened and she walked you to a room with a huge bank of monitors, with screens showing all kinds of maps and security video feeds, you were downright confused. But when she revealed the cherry on top, the fact that Statesman was not in the business you thought they were? That was too shocking. You were sure she was joking. You turned behind you to look for hidden cameras, expecting a prank show host to come jumping out at you.
"This is a joke, right?"
Ginger smiled that sweet, warm smile at you. "No joke. We want you to join the Research Unit, working in the Data Analysis section. You would be keeping our agents safe, helping them make the best decisions possible. And in turn your work could save lives, hundreds of them. Maybe even thousands. What do you say?"
"I... uh... I still think you’re joking. I’ve never heard of anything like this. I… are you sure you want me?"
"Yes, if you're interested. We could use you on the team." She pushed a little slip of paper into your hand, and when you saw the annual salary that was listed, you almost fainted.
"Ginger, this is way too much. I just graduated and this is, like... this is a senior analyst's salary. I'd be able to pay off my student loans in like three years!"
"Actually, we would be paying your student loans off before you start work. If you have financial burdens hanging over your head you could be vulnerable to bribes or extortion attempts from foreign governments or bad actors. We want you clear before you start with us. Think of it as a signing bonus."
"Holy shit! Sorry, I mean... I... Jesus." You looked at her in confusion. "Y'all really want me?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yes, we really do."
"Okay, when do I start?"
And that had been it, your first "big girl" job out of college. You were welcomed warmly to the Statesman team, and you loved the fact that you did interesting work that had a real impact. The hardest part had been telling your friends and family the required cover story, saying you were doing market analysis until you could find a job in criminal justice somewhere. But since you were happy with your new job and it paid well, none of them pressured you to move on.
During your first two years with Statesman you climbed the ranks, earning promotions and new responsibilities that eventually put you in the seat of Assistant Director of Data Analysis. You had risen high enough in Statesman that your work required a code name, and you chose “Paloma,” a nod to your favorite grapefruit cocktail. You answered directly to the head of the Research Unit, and every report that your team produced was vital. You weren't wasting your talent in some corporate hole, enriching the CEO's salary at the expense of your sanity. You were saving lives, making a difference. Your reports had even been sent to the New York headquarters, where they used them as a model for operations.
And the job had brought you romance, too. One day not long after your promotion to Assistant Director, you were walking out of the conference room, so focused on your phone that you didn't see where you were going. You bumped into something large and solid in a denim shirt, and a pair of warm, calloused hands held your shoulders to steady you. You cursed softly to yourself and then looked up into the most gorgeous pair of brown eyes that you had ever seen. A man with patchy stubble and a well-worn baseball cap smiled at you, eyes crinkling with warmth.
"Whoa! Are you okay?" His eyes looked concerned as they searched your face. You looked at him with wonder. He was so, so beautiful. The smile dropped, and then his brows knitted together into a slight frown. "I said, are you okay?"
You realized you were staring with your mouth half open like some lovestruck teenager, and that an embarrassing amount of time had passed since you first met his eyes.
"Yes!" Your voice was louder than you intended. "Yes, I'm sorry. Sorry I bumped into you. I should have watched where I was going. I'm sorry."
"That's okay. Did I hurt you?"
"Ah, no. No, I'm fine. Sorry. Just distracted today."
"That's okay. Sorry I startled you." He smiled again and squeezed your upper arm.
You could have stayed there forever, leaning into his touch. He let go, much to your chagrin, and then went into the conference room. You made a note to ask someone who he was, to see if you could find out more about him. He wasn't being escorted by a staff member, so he was obviously part of the Statesman organization somehow. Someone would know who he was.
You went into the ladies room, running into Ginger at the sinks. "Oh, Paloma! I'm so glad I saw you. I need to steal your boss for an urgent matter. Can you run his 11:00 meeting in the conference room? I know it's last minute, but I'll buy you lunch later."
Your brain flickered out for a nanosecond. The 11:00 meeting? The conference room? The handsome man? You recovered your composure and smiled at Ginger. "Yeah, no problem at all. Tell him to drop his notes off in the conference room and I'll be there in just a moment."
Ginger smiled and punched your shoulder softly. "Thanks, Pal. I owe you one."
You washed your hands in a trance. Oh lord, this was going to be interesting. You squared your shoulders and met your own eyes in the mirror. You looked exactly like you had this morning, just your normal self. Most of the time that was fine, but right now you wanted to be more glamorous, more devastating. You wanted to absolutely bewitch the handsome mystery man in the meeting. In the absence of some kind of last-minute emergency Hollywood makeup team, you would have to settle for a fresh application of lip balm and a quick scrub of your teeth with a damp paper towel. You flicked a stray eyebrow hair into place, sighed, and headed back to the conference room. Looks weren't important anyway, right? Statesman had hired you for your brain, not your face. And really, you were more interested in showing your boss that you could do well in your new role. So you banished your insecurities from your mind and breezed into the meeting.
"Good morning everyone." You studiously chose not to look at the handsome man you had run into, keeping your eyes on your notes for the time being. You were afraid that if you looked at him you wouldn't be able to tear your gaze away. "The Director has been called away for an urgent matter, so I'll be leading today’s operational planning meeting. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Paloma."
You risked a glance at the handsome stranger, relieved to see that his eyes were on his notepad and not on you. You let out a breath and found your stride, walking the group through the team's findings, the data, the implications, and the desired outcome for the mission. Agent Tequila asked a few cocky, half-assed questions, probing you for weaknesses. Normally that would have irritated you, but today it was a welcome focus that took your mind off the butterflies. You knocked Tequila back in place with a few well-chosen words, and then opened up the floor for questions.
The handsome man raised his hand, and your eyes fixed on how large and thick his fingers were. Oh God, this was torture. "Yes, Mr...?"
"Catfish. Um, can you tell me more about the extraction plan?"
"Yes, absolutely." You went over that phase of the mission, giving all the details your team had gathered about the terrain and the timing. When you were done, Catfish smiled at you, and your knees went weak at the sight of the dimple that appeared. No one else had questions, so you closed the meeting and stood to leave.
Suddenly there was a warm wall of denim at your elbow. "Hey, that was really detailed information. Thank you so much for walking me through everything."
You turned and smiled. "You're welcome. Glad I could help." You fumbled for something to say, trying to extend the conversation and keep him in your orbit for however long you could while everyone else filed out of the room.
"So, um, you go by 'Catfish.' Can I ask why? That's your code name, right? There's not some kind of hidden tragedy where that's the name your parents actually wrote on your birth certificate?"
He chuckled, throwing his head back. The expanse of his thick neck and bobbing Adam's apple did nothing to improve the butterflies. They only fluttered harder, rising higher in your chest.
"It's an old Army nickname, I was Special Forces about a million years ago. Now I'm here on the transport team. I'm a helicopter pilot. When we're not working you can just call me Frankie."
"Ah." You bit your lip and nodded. Why couldn't you think of something else to say? Fortunately, Frankie continued the conversation.
"And you're Paloma around here? I love that drink. Am I allowed to know your real name, or is that classified?"
You grinned and shook his hand, giving him your name. When it rolled off his lips in that deep voice it sounded like heaven to you. You didn't want anyone else to say your name ever again. Just him.
He leaned closer, like he was sharing a secret. “Can I ask you a question? Top secret.” He winked, and you nodded.
“Can I take you to lunch?”
Your heart dropped into your pelvis, and you gulped, hard. “Y-yes. Yes, that would be great. I’d love to.”
---
When Ginger found you in your office at 2:00 p.m. you were staring off into space, smiling blissfully.
“Hey, Paloma. Why did you blow me off for lunch? I came by at 12:30, I was going to take you out.”
“Oh! Oh my god, Ginger, I’m so sorry! I had a date.”
She raised her eyebrows at you, settling down in one of your visitors chairs. “A date?”
“No! Not a date. A, um…” You burst into husky giggles, and then confessed everything to her: the handsome man, the crinkles around his eyes, his dimples and his silly code name, the easy conversation over lunch, and the fact that he had scribbled his phone number down on a sticky note that was now burning a hole in your pocket. You felt like you were 12 again, confiding in your girlfriend about crushes and cute boys.
Ginger laughed and gave your hand a squeeze. “No wonder you forgot about me. I can’t compete with a handsome helicopter pilot!”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Ginger. I really didn’t mean to forget.”
“No, it’s okay. But definitely call him this weekend and make a real date. I’ll want details when you take me out for an apology lunch on Monday.” She winked and left your office.
You sat back in your chair and tilted back to look at the ceiling while you considered it. Was it too soon to call him and make a date? Ugh, this was agony. You decided that going by conventional rules hadn’t really mattered to you at any point in your life until now, so why the hell not?
You took a deep breath, trying to puff up your confidence. When he answered the phone on the second ring, you dove right in. “Hi, Catfish? It’s Paloma. Listen, I had a really good time at lunch, and I’d like to see you this weekend if you’re free.”
---
On Monday, you had a whole lot to report to Ginger.
Frankie took you up for a sightseeing flight on your date, and you loved the way he controlled everything; making sure he warned you before any sudden movements, and checking that you weren’t getting airsick or anxious. When the rotors were stilled and you were back on the ground, Frankie reached over to help you unbuckle your harness. Something got stuck, and the agonizing extra seconds of feeling him jostle the strap near your hip made you bold. When it was finally free and he was about to pull his hand away, you grabbed his wrist. He looked at you, alarmed that something was wrong, and you crashed your lips against his, all teeth and tongue and wanting. Frankie was as good a kisser as he was a pilot, and you spent the rest of the date making out in his truck.
The next weekend, you found out that his warm, work-worn hands were also magic in the bedroom. Frankie was adept at tweaking your sensitive spots as gently as the little buttons and switches of the flight panel, bringing you to thrumming heights the same way he did his helicopter.
The rest of the summer passed in heady, humid days and nights like a dream. You loved Frankie’s easy sense of humor and his confidence in the cockpit. But Frankie was less confident about your relationship, voicing concerns about the decade-plus that separated your ages, and whether he was keeping you from dating men your own age. He made self-deprecating comments about being an “old man,” and you reassured him that there was no one you’d rather be with, no one who could sway your attention. You loved using your hands and arms and lips and tongue to reassure him, finding that he had his own sensitive spots that you could manipulate. You loved sending him to sleep with a smile on his face.
But as much as you and Frankie enjoyed the relationship, the nature of his work with the transportation team meant that he was never in town for very long. At the same time, your job was getting more complex, requiring late nights at the office that interfered with your time together. You refused to dwell too much on the fact that you were torn, that you loved your work as equally as you wanted to spend those nights with Frankie.
By the end of the summer, you both came to the realization that it was nobody’s fault, simply a case of poor circumstances, and you decided to end things and remain friends. In October Frankie left Statesman to take a job that relocated him to Florida. You were wistful, and you missed him, but at least it had been an amicable split. At least friends was something. And as sometimes happens even with the best of intentions, the time in between each phone call grew longer, and you eventually lost touch. Last you heard he was spending weekends with his old Army buddies who all lived nearby, and he had a new girlfriend. By February the ache was starting to subside, and by April you were nearly ready to date again.
In May, almost three years to the day after Ginger’s visit to your apartment had changed your life, you were offered the position to lead the Data Analysis team in New York. You jumped at the chance. Statesman located an apartment for you, and from the pictures you were already in love with it. Huge windows looked out over the city, and it was within walking distance of Statesman HQ. Your farewell party was bittersweet. Ginger offered to come visit you, and promised that New York would be everything you hoped it would be. Your team gave you such high praises that you joked that if that’s what it took to hear accolades, you would have left ages ago.
---
Your first few days in New York were spent acclimating to the Statesman HQ, and getting to know your neighborhood. It was strange to find that you could walk or take the subway for whatever you needed, compared to the Midwest where a car was required for everything. Your new team was welcoming, and you enjoyed your new duties immensely. Your first two weeks on the job passed in no time, and you went home every night feeling like you could fly.
And then you hit a wall, in the form of Jack Daniels, a.k.a. “Senior Agent Whiskey.” You knew him by reputation, of course. Ginger had filled you in on his exploits, his overbearing charm, his smarmy flirtations. You had seen him once or twice in passing when he had visited Champ’s office, but you hadn’t actually met him in person.
When you finally did, you almost asked for an immediate transfer back to Louisville. --- "Paloma" Series Masterlist Just-here-for-the-moment’s masterlist
Tag list: @honeymandos @driedgreentomatoes @silverwolf319 @mourningbirds1 @honestly-shite @anaaaispunk @greeneyedblondie44 @spacedilf @maxwell–lord @nicolethered @dihra-vesa @the-queen-of-fools @juletheghoul @anxiousandboujee
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Nightwing #81 Review
i swear i actually thought no one was interested so i didn’t write one but a grand total of two (2) people said they wanted to read it, so here it is. honestly, my opinion’s been going a bit downhill, but the art is really cool and there are some decent parts so. holding out i guess? i really hope taylor has an end goal or at least a cohesive plan, otherwise i don’t see this series going anywhere i’ll particularly enjoy
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the cover is very straightforward in its imagery, this villain has nightwing in the palm of his hand, easily manipulated, easily controlled no matter the action dick thinks he’ll take. 
what i find interesting is the colour: both previously and heavily in this issue, the colourist has chosen to make pink this villain’s main colour, with different shades of pink as accents. so why the red in the cover? possibly to just make it more eye-grabbing, though one could argue that pink is even more eye-catching than red. maybe to convey a sense of dread or fear that pink won’t fully get across. either way, it’s definitely a decision i’m curious about.
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so melinda zucco is in a high enough political position within bludhaven that she is next in line to become the mayor after the previous mayor died and dick just,,,,didn’t have any idea she existed? dick didn’t know anything about her? forget dick’s own brilliant detective skills, forget his doggedness at anything zucco related, you’re telling me bruce never found her and told dick about her? maybe he wouldn’t have now, but back when dick was a young kid, he definitely would have at least made dick aware of her existence, to let dick know and ask if he wanted to interfere with her life or anything.
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i have a thought about zucco’s facial expressions. she is very much stone-cold poker face throughout the entire issue. the only time i see her pull a different expression is near the end when dick corners her against a wall with an arm around her throat. 
this is most certainly intentional, what with the varied and intense expressions we see on other characters, dick most prominently. i’m wondering what exactly is the creative team’s reasoning behind this. in these panels, zucco is meeting with the most dangerous, powerful, near-bloodthirsty man in all of bludhaven and becoming the mayor of the city respectfully. in both of these panels, there is barely a hint of emotion in her face: no fear, no determination, no satisfaction. it’s just odd, considering the circumstances she’s in, regardless of any training recieved.
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just spitballing here but. like. from what i’ve read so far, dick doesn’t really seem like bludhaven’s guardian angel. more like when peter parker first put on spandex and blindly stepped out into new york.
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dick, how exactly can you underestimate someone from one move. so he caught your escrima. anyone with enhanced reflexes can do that. you still don’t know how he can actually fight, and this is shown in the next set of panels. 
i just don’t like the wording here. dick’s “underestimated” him, but beats him up easy in the next page. in addition, i don’t know much about combat, but i would assume it would take more than one move to determine exactly what an opponent’s skill level is, made even more complex when you add physical enhancements and metahumans and aliens into the mixture.
idk my first thought when i saw that he caught the stick was “ah ok he’s enhanced” because obviously he couldn’t have reacted fast enough if he wasn’t (as there are few people trained enough to catch it on human reflexes alone.) then the wording in the next panel, i’ve underestimated him, made me think “oh no ok so he’s not enhanced, he’s just a really good fighter and can give dick a run for his money in a fight.” then, it turns out my first assumption was proven correct in the next panel. it just comes across as misleading to me.
(also sidenote but his curls are cute.)
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have i praised the art enough in this series? no, i have not.
i adore the way this is laid out and illustrated. without even having to read the text, the action sequence is visually engaging and intense, and easily followable from one panel to the next. dick’s physical expertise comes through quite efficiently, and i love the special attention shown to draw our attention to dick’s escrima in the bottom right corner.
also that move in the middle row leftmost panel that’s the mcu black widow move to get up off the ground it was the first thing i noticed and it made me laugh; thought it was worth noting
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i’m really loving dick’s escrima sticks in this run. they’re just so multipurpose, it’s hilarious and exhilarating. kinda reminds me of bruce’s belt, the way the button in the middle does eevveeerrryyytthhiinngg. 
got a problem? don’t worry! dick’s installed a feature into his escrima that can fix that! (i like thinking dick helped make them it makes me happy and makes my engineer!dick side satisfied)
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yawn. your big heart is your one true weakness yadda yadda the fact that you care will be used against you blah blah we get it. jesus can the villains please find a different weakness to exploit, this is getting old.
i need dick’s capacity to empathize and care and love to stop being a weakness that villains sneer about. bonus points if dick saves everyone anyway, either because of or despite his great big heart and the villain is surprised by the goodness of mankind or some shit like that.
i need it to be a strength, right from the get-go. the fact that he cares so incredibly much should be an asset that dick has and will use. he’s a very complex character with years of background, it can’t possibly be that hard to find another weakness of his. 
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ooooh this is cool, gosh i absolutely love this.
because what exactly is the reader doing? we are seeing the fear in dick’s face, just as this villain intended. even better, we’re seeing the reflection of it from the villain’s glossy mask, telling us exactly what we’re seeing and exactly what he likes so much about it.
dick’s standing up straight, shoulders drawn back, looking up at this villain’s face with determination and resolve, but his suit is tattered. one eye looks to be swollen. his hair is falling limply around his eyes, as opposed to the curls from earlier. his escrima aren’t even part of the main focus, instead blending into the side of the mask in the outer corners of the mask’s eyes, which tells you exactly how big of a threat they are to this villain.
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poor bitewing’s quite alarmed.
also on second thought why would you bring your puppy out like this, when you know you’re gonna end up fighting someone in the suit. a) how many grey three-legged adorable little puppies live in the bludhaven area dick? and how easy will it be to connect the doggo running around with nightwing with the doggo that dick grayson owns? and 2) is this puppers trained? does she have fighting experience? how exactly can you ensure she will survive this highly stressful situation?
dick take better care of your dog 
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you know what? i was with tim on this one. why exactly is dick so optimistic and trusting about the people of bludhaven? bludhaven, which has been described as gotham’s smaller, smellier, more corrupt sister city once or twice. it’s not just the corrupt people in power, the entire system needs to change and people need to have faith and hope in order for them to come together, espcially if they’ve been living in conditions like how bludhaven has been described. from how clueless dick is about his own goddamn city, i can tell he hasn’t been here long.
it was a nice moment of hope, i’ll admit. but it was a tad unrealistic for me.
also it was in a weird place in the comic. this sort of confrontation and big get-together of the people to rejuvenate hope in each other feels like it should come near the end of a run, if not the end of an issue. certainly not in the first third of an issue. the pacing’s a bit off to me.
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loyal little puppy patiently waiting for her human to wake up. i love her so much.
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no it’s not. it’s bitewing.
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living for this t-shirt honestly. do comics of dc characters exist in the dc universe? they must if the mug and the shirt are any indication
(now i’m imagining the first batman movie that came out in the dc universe and bruce just. being so offended at who they chose to play him.)
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well, yes. but when a group of people are put through hellish conditions over and over again, they soon become desensitized to the pain and terror of their everyday lives in order to both stay sane and keep their life relatively stable, and part of that becomes ignoring or blocking out anything that isn’t directly important to you or your loved ones. having a bleeding heart will most likely get you killed in a city like bludhaven if you don’t have the same skills that vigilantes have.
and of course, people are more than capable of coming together and rallying under their city’s vigilante after seeing the good they’ve done and how they’ve helped the people, but that sort of trust takes time and effort to build. dick also had the whole ric arc and was gone for a while, which has been referenced several times in this particular issue in fact. that’s not going to make bludhaven’s citizens any more likely to trust him.
maybe i’m being a bit harsh but this comic is comic off as a bit too idealistic for the amount of change nightwing can do in a city given the present and past circumstances as well as nightwing’s own abilities. even dick grayson can’t pull off everything.
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ok seriously this needs to stop this needs to stop.
right now, dick reminds me of oliver queen in the few episodes of the cw’s arrow i watched. he does the punchy-kicky-fighty and occasionally has smart insights due to the skills he gained from his past that he certainly definitely totally has but only ever exhibits once, while his team does all of the background research and information gathering and actual work.
this is dick’s city. if he has the same intelligence, worth ethic, and stubbornness in this run that he’s been shown to possess all his life, then he knows this city inside out. he’ll have meticulous notes organized in a ridiculously efficient system, he’ll have scouted out zucco long before this started, he’ll have known when anything big happened in the bludhaven political landscape in an instant.
i’m really not liking exactly how much dick’s relying on babs and tim in this series. sure, he loves them and cares for them and likes working cases with them. but he always pulls his own weight, has always been a mentor figure to tim instead of what’s weirdly becoming the other way around, and takes point on the cases in his own damn city.
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what kind of weak-ass oracle is this?? redacted fbi files are child’s play. babs used to hack into the fbi for fun. this one particular picture is so out of character i want to laugh.
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reading this series has unfortunately made me confront that, despite the tiny fluid acrobat dick that lives in my head 24/7, canon dick is impossibly 5′10 and muscular at that.
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mmm. titties.
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tim said hydrate or die-drate bitch
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love how dick’s doing all this intense brooding and stuff meanwhile bitewing is curled up in a soft comfy post having the time of her life.
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you don’t understand i would legitimately kill myself for her.
also the lighting in this one scene is cool. the blue tones come off so well.
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they’re just. so multipurpose!! they can become a bo staff. they can cut glass. they can become a grapple hook/line. they can electrify someone. they’re a funky colour. i’m becoming really attached to these things. absolute solid choice in weaponry.
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if you’re gonna write up every rookie mistake dick has made during this series to head trauma, then dick shouldn’t be out and about at all, much less in costume.
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see this? this is just straight up wrong. dick most definitely should have spotted her, and would have immediately moved to take her down.
scratch that, dick would have done a full check of the building, because he knows not to break into places uninformed, especially if the owner of the apartment was raised by the maroni family. someone as highly trained, experienced, and competent as dick wouldn’t have done this.
and if you chalk it up to head injury, (which is probably true), than his ~love interest~ and his little brother should have done a much better job making sure he stays in his house.
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zucco looks so awkward it’s fucking hilarious
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are those shadows that mimic a domino mask, to both reflect and hide the fact that his mask is missing? are those bruises around his eyes, to show how, despite what good he’s doing, being nightwing is hurting dick right now? 
(isn’t his domino mask supposed to have an electrifying feature that keeps people from removing them?)
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it’s a little odd how the three known villains of this series are all coloured in warm shades, more specifically pink. meanwhile, in earlier issues, dick’s fondest memories were in pink, memories of him and alfred in particular. why has the colour pink changed from signifying something benevolent to something malicious? idk i hope this gets explained later.
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this i did like. either it’s just a display of brute force in anger, or dick slipped the ties and pulled them off once untied. both ways, it’s an unintentional display of power, and i think that’s kinda cool.
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again. dick is,,,tall? sort of? weirdddd
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i’m so glad most readers are unified in the notion that this was the absolute dumbest fucking thing.
i’m hoping this gets disproved or something soon. and i hope dick doesn’t fall for it, because he definitely knows better than to take something as important as this at face value.
what exactly is taylor trying to accomplish here? why is he trying to go back on what we all knew was a happy, loving childhood and throw strife and disharmony and (what i’m assuming will be) infidelity? this will not end well at all.
---
,,,,,this review got way longer than expected lol. and i realize most of it just became me ranting. i guess i didn’t realize how ticked off i was originally. fingers crossed it gets better.
tag list: @woahjaybird @birdy-bat-writes @anothertimdrakestan @subtleappreciation @screennamealreadyused @bikoncon @pricetagofficial @catxsnow @thatsthewhump @xatanna-troy @red-hood-redemption @capricorn-stark @batshit-birds​ @comics-observer
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Thoughts on, Invader Zim Quarterly: Holiday Special
WEEEE WISH YOU A MERRY JINGLY WE WISH YOU A MERRY JINGLY!
Ahhhhh It’s out! I’m so excited!
But I always get excited when it has my man Membrane and my man Eric Trueheart involved with the comics. 
Also santa..   Tbh, I was excited and nervous about this quarterly. 
Excited because it has Membrane santa backstory...
But I was nervous because that it means they might bring back the santa-blob monster from the Holiday special on the TV... and The Christmas special is one of my least favorite IZ episodes...   I mean... I rewatch it occasionally, and it’s fun, but I’m just kinda used to IZ having more BITE in it’s satire if you know what I mean? The Christmas Special in the IZ universe doesn’t really say anything about the capitalism of Christmas... it’s not like IZ hasn’t made fun of capitalism before. (that’s the whole show)  The Christmas Special in the show just kinda fell flat of my expectations of what an Invader Zim episode should be....
The only thing I respect the Holiday Special for, is that it goes down the “Santa isn’t real” route in a kid’s show and sticks to it. (there’s no “real santa” that shows up and “solves everything”) All of the “Santa’s Helpers” confused the Santa mythos with the Christianity Jesus mythos. (”waiting one day for his return”) Which makes sense, since IZ is like dystopian future Suburbia Hell. I just kinda like that there’s no “real santa” that interfered to “fix everything” and that Zim himself ended up CREATING Santa when he didn’t exist previously. Like I find that kinda cool...
Other then that, I just kinda wanted something else from the Hoilday special then what I got. (It taking priority over scrapped episodes like “the trail” and “Ten minutes to doom” and “mopiness of doom” does not help it’s case in being one of my C-tier episodes...) 
So maybe this quarterly will fill the void of what I wanted out of a Holiday special? Well, let’s see. 
SPOILERS FOR THE QUARTERLY BELOW THE CUT
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Ways to get Dana off-board immediately: Monster Santa is canon. 
I always never liked to view the special as canon for ways that it fell flat before.
And I had the excuse of saying that the snowman was an unreliable narrator and I could adapt it down the line in my fic as a different story. 
I just didn’t like the idea of Monster-horror-blob santa...  Like... Cool design... but he just kinda represents everything I disliked about the special...  (including the major inconsistency of when Tak’s ship got fixed...)
But then again.. I need to remember IZ’s lore isn’t as consistent as I think it is sometimes... 
Okay, fine. Monster blob santa real... what else you got for me, Holiday special?
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FACE HUGGER SANTA! FACE HUGGER SANTA! I AM NOT INTO IT! 
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WHAT?! WHAT?! WHAT?! NO. DANA HATES THIS!
Okay, kinda into it because this means that ZIM CREATED SANTA in this mythos... I am dying.... wait.. this takes place in the future then...soo...?
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haoFhaGHAOhfgg 
It was all a dream?!  
GOOD.
my heart couldn’t take it if horror-santa was real... 
Also... that nightcap and bed... Does this mean we’re going to have an Invader Zim Christmas Carol?!?!?! I know that’s been adapted a schmillion times but I would be so into that.... 
Also... Flying... hamm...
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Good ol’ Zim... Repressing those memories...  
Also this being the THIRD ETF reference in a quarterly, It can be very safe to say the Quarterly issues take place after the events of ETF.
Clembrane exists in the Quarterly, Membrane has robot arms, Zim remembers this (kinda)  Yeah this is definately ETF verse and it’s here to stay. 
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Christmas Carol?! I’m down for this... and I can’t help but notice their claws look familiar
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OH HOLY HELL I WAS RIGHT! THESE GUYS! I LOVE THESE GUYS?!
Why are you here tho?
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I’m a bit lost on why these guys wanta take over the earth, but they’re hilarious so I’m just glad they’re here.
Also...   The Christmas Special is Schrodinger's Christmas... did it happen, or was it a dream, or the tales of a lunatic snowman... I guess I’ll never know. 
The issue goes on for an IZ Christmas Carol parody (heck yea) and the visions are all hilarious and I’m not gonna spoil them here... but...
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Eric.... this is terrifying..........thanks I hate it. 
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TINY DIB THOUGH! GHAOGHAHGAHAHA
THIS IS GREAT
THE MORE DIB SUFFERS THE MORE I LOVE IT!
“Though I am Dib and sickly father”
I’m dying XDDDDD
Also... What the fuck is Zim’s reaction here... 
I find it funny that Zim has put Dib into simulated realities before... (in the show and comics) and in the show, Dib is all powerful and in the comics, Dib is just himself and Zim is his brother..
But seeing a simulated Dib all weak and pathetic and chronically ill BOTHERS ZIM?!?!
That’s... well that’s interesting. 
Thought he’d laugh at this honestly, but he seems greatly annoyed... 
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I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE BEST THING! 
(those who know me know why I’m dying over this)
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YES!!!
ZIM DOESN’T LIKE WHEN PEOPLE FEEL BAD FOR HIM OR PITY HIM! 
(which confirms like a lot of my hcs and adds spicy kindling to my au much mad respect) 
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This I find interesting...  Zim complepative over his lonely/abandoned grave. It’s like he really doesn’t know how to feel. It’s more of a numbness then a sadness. Or he noticed how empty his life is... 
He feels lonely and empty about it...  which tracks considering how Zim’s greatest fear in the Trial was to be deleted and never be remembered by anyone. 
I don’t know... This panel makes me feel things...
Johnen: Haha. Zim’s not that deep a character.
Eric: Hey for the Christmas special, let’s have Zim parody a Christmas carol and feel lonely staring at his own empty grave when he realizes no one cares about him or misses him.
Johnen: Cool. Do it. 
What are you two assholes doing to me, man?! I have feelings! 
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AND ONCE AGAIN!
Zim hates pity and people feeling bad and sorry for him. 
Man this makes me so sad...  And it really feels like this issue looked into my brain again, cause I have some plans relating to Zim not wanting sympathy or pity from anyone later down the line (okay I’ll shut up about my au. We’re talking Zim here)
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And of course, Zim breaks everything like he usually does. (this time on purpose)
Also nice callback that Zim remembered that Dib said he liked his boots one time in the Poop-wizard issue. 
Also, it ends? I guess this quarterly has a few shorter stories this time... which I’m fine with. 
Also, Zim should consider Green and Blue like D-list friends at this point and just invite them in for some fundip or something (come on, Zim, it’s Christmas.....) 
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GASP!?!?!
LITTLE MEMBRANE!!!
AND GRANDPARENTS CONFIRMED!!! 
Wait... so his Parents are scientists too? Is that why he always wanted to be a scientist?
But then wait.... If Membrane inherited Membrane Labs from his parents... Why is HIS FACE the brand of the Company?..... There’s so much Membrane-face brand merch in the show. (it decorates his home..) 
Like even if they were dead, if his parents founded Membrane labs, I feel they’d still be the face. of the company... (that’s how a lot of corporate faces are these days... they show some old dead guy who made the company as opposed to the son who inherited the Company.... Like everyone knows who Walt Disney/Mickey Mouse is, but unless you pay close attention to that kinda thing, not everyone knows who the current chairman or CEO is in the modern age....)
I just find that a bit odd. 
Anyways... I feel people can still do what they want with Membrane’s parents and get away with it. I’m not changing my “his parents were farmers” headcanon. Sorry comic..
BUT I LOVE THEIR DESIGNS.
I love how Membrane looks a lot like his mother, and his father is just BUFF GAZ with a pipe.... Truely legends. 
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GASP!!!
COLLEGEBRANE COLLEGEBRANE COLLEGEBRANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOOKOUT DIB, THIS IS YOUR FUTURE!
I FUCKING LOVE HOW OILY HE LOOKS.. AND IT ADDS UP CAUSE...
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The Membrane Men when they don’t shower or bathe in months.....
Someone help these two.
(thank god Membrane got better at personal hygiene.) 
Also Teenbrane STILL has his human arms and not his robo-arms.
This means he loses his arms later in life...  YUSH HORRAY FOR HEADCANNONS BEING VALIDATED!
He didn’t lose his arms in a shark accident when he was a KID! It happened WAY LATER!
NICE!
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OH MY GOD HE IS BABY!
HE IS SO SHY AND ACKWARD! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
I LOVE HIM!
He is just... all sweat and hiding his work but also very passionate and spiteful. 
Like you can see who he grew up to become, and you can also see how a kid like Dib came out of a man like him...
But I love social anxiety awkward early twenties/late teens Membrane... He is a baby! 
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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
MEMBRANE ;w;
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Basically, Membrane knows that Santa isn’t real, but he doesn’t want to be mad at his parents so he harbors a grudge on Santa instead... THAT’S SO SWEET I’M CRYING  TTmTT
LIKE THAT IS SO SWEET AND I’M CRYING!
(also I love how me and Ceph understand Membrane’s character too well that the gesture he does in the 2nd panel here are reminisant of our fic so many times... Like we have his mannerisms down and I love when the mask slips from Membrane and we get to see a real person... augh soo good) 
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WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT TO MAKE MY MAN THIS SAD?! ONLY I CAN MAKE HIM SAD!
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MEMBRANE TTMTT
AUUUGHH
Also probably guessing the parents are dead...   I’m just laughing at their designs... 
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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
Yes you are, Professor Membrane... Don’t let anyone tell you different. (actually, please do) Well, I mean,  At least you’re trying and get progressively better.
(also... this probably means everytime Dib has asked his Dad for a dangerous weapon to fight Zim with, Membrane just gives it to him no questions asked and I’m doing a MAJOR concern about this man’s parenting skills... get help please good sir!) 
Also, Dib really saved the day again here (like he did in Dib’s big day)
Dib called about destroying santa when Membrane was in one of his lowest points...  He hides it really well...   Especially from his children..
Ah..  I loved that one.
But I’m a huge Membrane Simp though.
I did find the stuff about Membrane’s parents a little weird... like I said regarding how Membrane’s face is the brand of Membrane labs...
Could be true that they were other scientists and that Membrane founded Membrane labs later... but that seems highly unlikely... 
Also... Why does the house look that hug when in the christmas special, it looked kinda like...well... just not that, and kinda more humble from the interior and not some big rocket lab...
So yeah... AMAZING character building for Membrane (which I eat up)
Hilarious Grandparent Designs. But I still prefer @esthyradler​ ‘s Grandparents. The superior Grandparents.
Anyways... The Quarterly was GREAT! 
I kinda find it funny the Zim story is the weaker one of the two again... But I honestly blame the Christmas Horror blob connection and the Christmas Carol parody. 
Or maybe my Membrane Bias is clouding my mind here.  I do have Zim bias but sometimes Zim can frustrate me. There’s just so many times Zim can do and say the same things you know? Zim is my baby, but sometimes his denial and annoyance with everyone can be very predictable at points. Zim was just way more fun in the last quarterly than this one. 
With Membrane it’s more of a blank slate what to do with him cause he ony started really mattering as a character since ETF. Yes, I do love show Membrane, but I admit he wasn’t exactly a character then. More of a presence and excuse for why Dib had access to lab equipment. With Dib’s Dilemma and this Hoilday special, the Quarterly folks seem determined to turn him into a fully realized character with the rest of the cast and I’m extremely excited to hear that!
(Computer issue/backstory WHEN?!) 
I don’t really have ratings or systems for these but hope you liked my thoughts.
Merry Christmas everyone.
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makeste · 3 years
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BnHA Chapter 313: Deku VS Lady Nagant
Previously on BnHA: Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai Lady Nagant showed up to fire a cupid’s arrow into my heart, and a bunch of literal bullets into my son. Deku was all “oh shit it’s Hawks’s super-hot badass murder senpai, what do I do, let me think back to Hawks’s advice for a sec.” Flashback!Hawks was all “anyway Deku so if my super-hot badass murder senpai ever shows up you’re basically screwed so you’d better abscond the fuck out of there.” Present!Deku was all “lol idek why I flashed back to that conversation since I’m just going to do the exact opposite of what Hawks said” and charged directly toward Nagant because WHY NOT. Overhaul was all “waah I need to get back to my boss who I put in a coma out of love” and Nagant was all “jesus christ why did I even bring you here” and had a flashback to AFO who was all “ILU NAGANT IMMA GIVE YOU AN EXTRA QUIRK SO PLEASE CAPTURE DEKU FOR ME PLEASE AND THANKS” and yeah. Shit is all over the place right now and I love it.
Today on BnHA: All Might gets attacked by a pair of discount assassins and is all “Call an ambulance! ...BUT NOT FOR ME” and it’s really badass but also I really wish he would stop tempting fate like this. Lady Nagant is all “[casually flies around town shooting shit]” and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t read an entire chapter of just that. Deku is all, “[gets shot (≥_<)]” and releases a giant Smokescreen which prompts En to show up. En is all, “( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) (⌣̀ Δ⌣́) ( •̀_•́ )σ (¬、¬) (눈_눈)” which I consider to be a high point of both the chapter and of my life. The chapter ends with Deku using the Third’s quirk to launch a bunch of random objects at Nagant so that he can jump up and grab her arm all sneaky-like, and I’m sure this is going to prompt another week’s worth of discourse that I don’t care about at all, but fuck it, I’m having a good time.
OH WE’RE CUTTING BACK TO ALL MIGHT WELL THAT’S NICE I GUESS. CONGRATS ON NOT BEING DEAD
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you named your car??
you named it Hercules??
I love you so much??
please marry me you giant fucking dork???
lmao speaking of huge fucking dorks
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who the fuck are you clowns. la dee da we’re gonna murder All Might with our synchronized spear attack!! I mean... they’re clearly trying their best... maybe I should just be nice and politely hype them up like All Might is so clearly trying to do
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like okay, but we all agree that this is actually the least intimidating attack any of us has ever seen, right?? these guys zipped up their hoodies all serious-like and are trying to attack All Might and Hercules with their Walmart tiki torches, but just, no?? right?? like the only way this could possibly be effective is if they were trying to kill All Might with secondhand embarrassment
“those are assassins” this is a VERY generous assessment, All Might
OH MY GOD THE TIKI TORCHES ACTUALLY KILLED THE FUCK OUT OF HERCULES
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[slaps roof of car] this baby can fit so many weaponized festive backyard lighting solutions in it
and yet, even after watching this with my own two eyes, I still can’t take these dudes seriously. idek what it is. anyways r.i.p. Hercules, I loved you a lot but I guess you weren’t actually a very good armored car were you
omg they didn’t know it was All Might??
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okay 1) for a moment there I was like “oh hey maybe they’re not so bad after all” but then a moment later it was like “ah nope, they are.” like, that was an interesting .06 second emotional journey there. anyways 2) All Might you have my permission to kick their asses for this disrespect, and 3) anyone else all of a sudden getting “wouldn’t this be an interesting time for Stain to suddenly show up” vibes?? no?? just me???
(ETA: hmm tbh I’ve still got those vibes and they haven’t gone away lol. Stain?? you out there buddy?? do you want to be cool for just once in your life. ball’s in your court pal.)
OH SNAP ALL MIGHT ARE YOU REALLY GONNA DO IT ARE YOU GONNA KICK THEIR ASSES
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PROTECTIVE DAD MODE ACTIVATED?? BECAUSE YOU KNOW I’M HERE FOR THAT SHIT, SO YEAH, FEEL FREE
omg he’s shouting at them about how much Deku has suffered lmao and they’re just like falling over from being scolded
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so they have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about though, right? “SIR THIS IS A WENDY’S” well whatever, you killed his pet car so he’s in a bad mood now
OH MY GOD
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LIKE, JUST SO WE’RE ALL CLEAR, THESE FOUR PAGES SO FAR HAVE MADE ALMOST ZERO SENSE. LIKE MAYBE 2% SENSE TOPS. BUT ASK ME IF I CARE. GO AHEAD AND ASK. I SAID GO AHEAD, IT’S OKAY. ...NO I DON’T CARE AT ALL THANK YOU FOR ASKING
(ETA: also, the more I look at this panel, the more I’m just like, why the hell would you phrase it like that though, sob. way to doubly tempt fate?? are you trying to give Horikoshi a challenge??)
and now back to Deku who is randomly bouncing around the city and narrating it to himself just in case he was confused about why he was doing this
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who are you talking to Deku. but thanks we appreciate it
man you gotta love that overconfidence. the smartest guy in the world warned you away from this lady, so SURE, LET’S RUN RIGHT UP TO HER. “I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT, FLASHBACK!HAWKS, BUT I’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE” well okay then!!
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I think it would be funny if RHA.com put little Buzzfeed-style polls in between the chapter pages so they could survey people at random intervals as they read their way through the chapter. like, you finish this page and then there’s a little poll there asking “do you think Deku’s plan of catching up to Lady Nagant and finding out where Shigaraki is will work?”, and you click “no” just like everyone else and then nod as the results show that 97% of your fellow readers also picked “no”, and you chuckle to yourself wondering how many of the 3% accidentally clicked on the wrong option by mistake, and then you keep on reading
ANYWAY, SO
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HOW’S THAT PLAN WORKING OUT FOR YOU SO FAR DEKU. nice kick, though!!
omggggggg
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ouch
update: Deku’s plan not really working out. sources tell me my boy has been fucking shot. this is an ongoing story and we will keep you posted with the latest developments as they come in
wait what
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feel free to explain to the rest of us what all of this “UNLESS...” and “THAT POSSIBILITY...” shit means anytime, Deku
oh lol did he realize she could fly??
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BREAKING NEWS UPDATE, CNN’s John King reports that Deku is still fucked. eyewitness reports now coming in that Nagant is doing no-look shots and basically not even giving a fuck. sources described her mannerisms and expression as “sexy, but in like an effortless sort of way.” we will continue to bring you the latest
so now there’s basically an entire page of Deku being all “ah fuck so she’s basically closing in and she could already hit me with impossible accuracy even from Far Away, so if that’s the case then her being Up Close is probably going to be even worse!” making good use of that Big Hero Brain there, Deku
so now what, you’re doing some kind of spiraling kick thing?? how is that going to help
oh lol he’s using Smokescreen to create some cover. aww, good for you Deku you named one of your Smokescreen attacks
OH NO LADY DON’T TELL ME AFO DIDN’T EVEN FILL YOU IN ON THE BASICS
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seriously, AFO?? you basically told her what Deku’s exact strategy was going to be but then couldn’t be assed to drop that little, small, barely notable piece of knowledge that Deku is rocking multiple quirks?? is it supposed to be a secret or something?? you dropped the ball here man
damn this is getting intense now
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(ETA: the way En is poking Deku’s head in that first panel is fucking sending me, I love this guy so much omg.)
well then what are you planning, Deku?? I’m actually really curious!! I am genuinely starting to be invested in this fight scene not only in the “wanting to see who wins and how that impacts the plot” sense, but also in the “wanting to see how it happens because the choreography and strategy is actually pretty cool” sense, which honestly hasn’t happened for quite a while now! this is fun
anyway so what’s up Deku, are you going to use another quirk?? I’ve been speculating that he hasn’t actually unlocked the last two yet (since Two and Three didn’t exactly seem convinced when we last saw them), but maybe I’m about to be proven wrong
(ETA: well he clearly has Three’s obviously, but Two’s is still MIA, and that’s the one I am of course the most curious about. that’s the one we’re all curious about, let’s be real.)
OH SNAP???
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AHHHH I’M HYPED LOL. ANOTHER SHINY NEW QUIRK LOL SHOULD I PUT UP THE USUAL DISCOURSE DISCLAIMER
(ETA: so yeah, after thinking on it, I’m not gonna say “please no Deku discourse on my blog” this week, but I probably will ignore any discourse that does come my way though, just because I don’t have much interest in getting involved in what would probably be a pretty repetitive discussion. like, I can just sum up my opinions (which is what they are) here instead. in fact here they are lol:
1) I like the SIXQUIRKS and I like seeing Deku be a badass.
2) I also don’t think Deku is too OP. more like he’s exactly as OP as he needs to be at the moment, given that we’re approaching the end of the series. I expect the other kids will also be pretty damn OP when we see them fight again. we’re just at that point now where they’re all badasses (as well they should be; they’ve grown a lot and they deserve it). it’s just that Deku’s the one we’re getting to see right now.
3) of course I miss Kacchan and the others, but for me this vibes much closer to the MVA arc where even though I missed them, I was still having a blast (as opposed to the dark days of the Basement arc where I was pretty much losing it lol). like, even though Kacchan’s my favorite, I still love Deku a lot and this arc has been amazing for him getting to shine on his own (for like the first time, really).
4) y’all know I love the OFA plot and I’ve never been shy about that lol. I like all of the Vestiges a lot. Banjou and his over the top personality; En and his “guy you thought would be serious and :| all the time but is actually hyper-animated and ALL OVER THE PLACE” energy; Shiro who actually is a :| sort of guy lol; Three who I still expect will be fleshed out in a more detailed flashback at some point; and of course Two, who, well. you know what I think about him lol. Bakuverse is still on the table and I’m still hyped. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we still have yet to see Two actually talk to Deku (as opposed to talking to the other Vestiges while Deku is distracted). did he lend him his power yet?? or is he still holding out?? either way it’s definitely going to be a Big Thing when it finally happens and I can’t wait to see it.
5) Lady Nagant is Everything and just because Deku grabbed her arm doesn’t mean the fight is over yet lol. Overhaul hasn’t come into play yet either. not to mention that even if the fight is over, the “where do we go from here” part still has me excited either way. her connection to Hawks and the HPSC is very intriguing and we’ve barely touched on that as of yet; she definitely has more of a role to play in this.
6) last but not least, I feel like every week the discussion is all about how much focus Deku’s getting, and how OP he is or isn’t, and OFA this and OFA that, but meanwhile I’m actually so invested in the character development here though?? the way Deku has distanced himself from everyone (except for the Vestiges, because of course they’re already dead so it’s not like they can die again lol)?? the way he’s pushing himself far too hard and we can see the shadows in and under his eyes, and the fact that he never smiles, and even All Might has remarked on how he isn’t taking care of himself at all?? the fact that he’s so single-mindedly obsessed with focused on stopping AFO?? the fact that he’s still the same sweet old Deku despite everything and was so kind to that fox lady with the umbrella, but there was also something so sad about that scene because it felt like a reminder of the type of hero that he wants to be, but that he’s not allowed to be right now?? because the stakes are too high and the world is falling apart?? and he feels like he’s the only one who can do something about it?? and that he has to be?? and that he is putting so much pressure on himself right now, and it’s absolutely too much pressure for any one person to bear, and I feel like no one is fucking talking about this lol goddammit.
anyway so yeah. I have feels about this, and every week that slow-burn angst is getting more and more intense behind the scenes, and I feel like it’s all going to hit a breaking point eventually. sooner rather than later. it really feels like a mirror of Katsuki’s post-Kamino arc. where all that angst was just churning below the surface for like twenty chapters and then it finally was like “okay it’s time” and it all came bursting out and we got the best five chapters of the fucking series (in my admittedly biased estimation lol).
basically, I know that most of fandom is billing this as either the “villain hunt” arc or the “solo Deku SIXQUIRKS fighting arc” or whatever. but for me, it’s always been and still is the Deku Angst arc lol. the cool fights are a sexy bonus (the worldbuilding less so because even though it’s interesting to see society at such a low point, it’s also very depressing and gets old pretty fast), but for me the thing that’s really keeping me engaged chapter after chapter is seeing Deku like we’ve never seen him before. seeing him all quiet and withdrawn and brooding and focused on AFO, AFO, AFO, and seeing that “he just doesn’t take himself into account” mentality taken to extremes. I am invested in that. I’m soaking up that angst each and every week, and I’m invested in seeing what comes of it. it’s a big picture thing. week to week this arc might just seem like a bunch of villain fight scenes, sure. but Deku’s emotional journey is the thread that’s going to carry this arc through from beginning to end, and for that I’m willing to be patient.
anyway that turned into a BIG OL’ RANT there but yeah! so those are my thoughts on the disk horse as it currently stands. and like I said, I’m open to discussion, but tbh I will probably just wind up repeating these same talking points endlessly so just a fair warning lol.)
anyway so Three says Deku has yet to use his quirk at ALL but now he’s trying to combine it with another quirk?? damn. also please check out En’s face here you guys
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En launching a sneak attack up my favorite character list by the sheer power of his expressions alone. he really knows how to make the most of his screentime
OH DAMN DEKU
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at this point the 3% from that hypothetical poll earlier are starting to feel prettttty damn smug, I’ll bet. well shit
what in the fuck
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?? so like releasing his chi or whatnot?? isn’t that basically just like base OFA all over again?? also Deku did you seriously just apologize to Gran’s cape
update: Nagant has turned her eyeball into a gun
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hm. hmmmmmmm. ...okay yep, still somehow sexy
anyway so she’s just floating up there building suspense, as one does. lord I sure hope she has good reflexes because something tells me she’s going to need them
OH SNAP HE THREW GRAN’S CAPE AS A DECOY WHAAAAT OKAY THAT’S SOME SMART SHIT DEKU
LOL SHE’S MAD NOW
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JESUS CHRIST SHE JUST NEVER TAKES A GODDAMN BREAK FROM BEING AWESOME HUH
DEKU ARE YOU JUST THROWING EVERY DAMN THING IN YOUR INVENTORY
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but without the cape and the hood how will you continue to look like an enigmatic badass. you really can’t. which means we might finally be moving on from the wandering nomad part of this arc, stay tuned
LOL YOU MANIAC
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I hope he went full Kacchan with the dialogue there. his face sure looks like it lol. popped out of a building all mad fdskljlkj omg
well this was fun, shit. I still have basically no idea what Three’s quirk does though lol. like, can he use it to charge up objects with kinetic energy or something?? but then what was all of that talk about combining it with one of the other quirks?? or was that just because he was using Smokescreen at the same time??
(ETA: having seen and read an additional half-dozen explanations of Three’s quirk, I can say with confidence that I still have basically no idea what it is or does.)
anyway so!! Deku is a badasssssss but something tells me not to count Nagant out just yet even so. also I really enjoy seeing Deku flip out on people like he doesn’t have a fucking hole in his torso because it reminds me of A CERTAIN SOMEONE and I always love to see him channeling that feral energy; I feel like it’s been a while
anyways good luck to you both!! I truly wish that both of you could win. but if not, then maybe you can at least become friends instead. you have so much in common, you both can fly and have multiple quirks and you’re both badasses, and plus it would just be really funny to see the look on Hawks’s face lmao
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