#i went and found the clip for this comic and i am sad to say little rascals does not hit the way it did when i was eight years old

[cryptocism]

sometimes the joke going over your head can really work out

#my art #sad to say that a lot of my understanding of gender came from misinterpreting things that were supposed to be transphobic jokes #it worked out in the end tho lmao #my comics #i went and found the clip for this comic and i am sad to say little rascals does not hit the way it did when i was eight years old #sad and upsetting lmao

[recurring-polynya]

@trulytaka​ asked: um i’ve always dreamt about a tattoo artist!renji falling for a client AU. it’s okay if you can’t come up with anything, just a suggestion!

How is it even possible that I have never read a Tattoo Artist! Renji AU?? (If there is one, please, send it to me immediately). Anyway, I got way too enamored of this idea, this is not even remotely a drabble, it is 4400 words and it is incredibly self-indulgent, I am absolutely not sorry.

It takes place in America and everyone is Japanese-American, because I am way more comfortable writing about American tattoo culture. I have never actually read a Tattoo Artist AU, I don’t know how they are supposed to go, this is just based on my own experiences getting inked. It’s mostly a story about Rukia and Renji being incredible nerfballs, there are not nearly enough stories about Rukia being a nerfball around Renji.

Read on ao3 or ff.net

💀     🛹     💕

Izuru Kira found Renji Abarai in the break room, simultaneously trying to cram a burrito into his face and read a Hellboy comic. He was holding the comic open with his elbow in an attempt to avoid spilling guacamole on Abe Sapien.

“Your two o’clock is here,” Izuru informed his distinguished colleague.

“Oh, great!” Renji replied, creasing the foil wrapper into a spout so that he could pour the last of the salsa drippings into his mouth.

“She’s waiting in the consult room,” Izuru went on, watching Renji toss the crumpled foil ball across the room, completely missing the trash can. “Look, have you met her before? A Miss Kuchiki?”

“Just exchanged a few emails,” Renji replied, as he scrubbed his hands at the sink. “Why? Is she scary?”

“Not in the usual way of Abarai clients,” Izuru replied. “I was just… wondering if she was... in the right place.”

“Her request was very specific,” Renji replied, scooping up his comic and the manila folder underneath it. “In fact, I am quite proud of what I came up with for her.” He whipped the folder open.

Izuru stared at it for a moment. “That is so specific.”

“I honestly think this is one of the best tatts I have ever designed. I hope she’s a real weirdo, because not just anyone deserves a masterpiece of this caliber.”

“Mmm,” Izuru agreed. “Yeah. Anyway, if there’s been a, uh, miscommunication, see if you can just… redirect her. Both Momo and I are in today, okay?”

Renji scoffed and stuffed his comic in Izuru’s hand as he marched down the hall toward the consult room. A miscommunication. Renji wondered what was wrong with her. She was probably mousy and wore glasses. Izuru always assumed girls like that would rather have a sad poem about the sea or a sprig of herbs inked on her wrist (conveniently, his specialties). Plenty of mousy girls with glasses would rather rock some fangs or dripping daggers, in Renji’s professional experience.

“Knock knock!” he announced, as he slid the door open. He took one step into the room and stopped dead.

Rukia Kuchiki was not mousy. She did not wear glasses.

Renji didn’t know much about suits. He did not happen to own one himself. But he guessed that Rukia Kuchiki’s suit was expensive, in part because it fit her perfectly, despite her tiny frame. It was jet black, and didn’t have a single speck of lint or cat hair on it. Her perfectly manicured hands were folded neatly on top of her crossed legs. She was wearing very tall, very pointy heels. Their soles were bright red, which Renji had learned from television meant that they were super expensive. He realized that he probably shouldn’t be looking at her legs, even though they were very nice to look at. His eyes snapped up to her face, but that honestly wasn’t any better.

Renji wasn’t often attracted to women, but she had probably the most interesting face he had ever seen-- heart-shaped, with big, dark eyes, a sharp chin, the cutest little nose. Her make-up was subtle and professional, and her hair was swept up with a clip, although it must be fairly short, because a few pieces hung down in front of her ears, and a thick lock dangled between her eyes.

She looked like a mean lawyer from a movie, one that would drive a fancy sportscar like an act of violence. Scary, for sure. But not in the usual way of Abarai clients, who tended toward the large and beefy, not that sharp and sharklike.

That nose, though.

Suddenly, her face split into a big grin. “Hi,” she announced brightly. “I’m Rukia Kuchiki.” She had a deep voice, a very beautiful voice. “You must be Renji Abarai.” Her eyes flicked to his arms. “I mean, of course you are, who else would have those arms? They’re so cool.”

“My arms?” Renji said stupidly. “Are they… famous?”

Rukia’s cheeks flushed. “Oh, well, I follow you on Instagram, and you don’t have any pictures of your face, but your arms are in a lot of the shots and they’re, well, they’re kinda distinctive. Do you think, um, would you mind if I looked at them?”

Renji’s eyebrows shot up. It’s not like he wasn’t used to having his arms checked out, but most people were more… subtle about it. Oh, well, it was her dime. “I didn’t do them myself, obviously,” he pointed out, rolling up the sleeves of his t-shirt so she could see the baboon skull on his left shoulder. A skeletal arm traced down the rest of that arm, complete with an outline of his own hand bones. On the right side, a snake spine coiled around his bicep, ending with a hissing skull. “I mean, it was my design, but my friends-- the other three tattoo artists here-- all helped ink me up.” He plopped down in the chair that sat catty corner to the couch where Rukia was sitting, and held his arms out. “We’re sort of a full-service studio. I’m the skeletons and monsters guy. Izuru, the guy you met on desk duty today-- is good at calligraphy and watercolors and little, itty bitty tattoos. Momo is our nature girl, she specializes in flowers and animals, and she’s great with bright colors. The snake skull was all her. Shuuhei is really into classic tattoo art-- you need a hula girl or a heart with an arrow through it, he’s your man. He’s also incredibly talented at revamping old regret tattoos, there’s good money in that.”

“Mm,” Rukia agreed, finally tearing her eyes away from his forearms to look up at his face, and abruptly turned even pinker. A lot of people fantasized about getting a tattoo and then got a bad case of nerves when it was time to make the leap. Maybe all this was way out of her comfort zone. Renji was trying his best to be friendly and chatty, which usually helped, but he was not used to dealing with this class of lady. He hoped he wasn’t coming off as too familiar.

“Actually,” Rukia went on, pulling on her fingers nervously. “I picked this place specifically because of you. For your work, I mean. I’m kind of a big fan. I saw some of your paintings at an exhibition over at the Fine Arts College, and I just, you know, fell in love. I’d always thought I’d like to get a tattoo someday, and when I found out that you were a tattoo artist, I knew it had to be you. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, and I’m babbling and I’m really sorry, I’m just very excited.”

Renji blinked. “You’re not babbling,” he replied slowly. He was sort of hoping she might say some more things about how much she liked his art in her beautiful voice. “Wait, an exhibition at the art school? That must have been at least three years ago, when I was doing my MFA.”

“Er, right,” Rukia looked a little sheepish. “A friend of mine had some work in the same exhibit, you probably don’t know her. My favorite one of your paintings was the one with the Black Lagoon creatures eating hamburgers at a diner, but I also really liked the one that was like a huge monster with a big bone mask stalking through a city, the way you did the shadows was just incredible.”

That particular painting was currently wrapped in brown paper and stuffed behind Renji’s couch. His last boyfriend had told him it was “creepy.”

“Uh, glad you liked it,” Renji managed. “Who was your friend?”

“Her name is Inoue. Orihime Inoue.”

“Oh, the robot girl!” Renji exclaimed. “Er, I mean she drew robots. Constantly. For every assignment. I didn’t mean to imply she was… robotic. In any way.” Jeez, Abarai, pull it together, he chided himself. “Yeah, I remember her. I didn’t know her well, but she sure could draw some tight robots. Is, she, uh, doing well?”

“She’s doing storyboards for a stop-motion animation studio,” Rukia replied.

Renji smiled. “That sounds perfect for her.”

Rukia bit her bottom lip and Renji’s throat went dry.

“So, um, you said in your email that you would have a design for me to look at?”

Renji realized that he was gripping the folder like a doofus. “Right! I did a couple of variations,” he explained, passing it from one hand to the other. “But you explained the concept pretty clearly, and I’m really happy with how the first one came out. I mean, obviously, it’s your tattoo! Please give me any feedback you have, you won’t offend me, even if you hate it! Tattoo designs often take a few iterations, it’s very normal, don’t hold back.”

She was staring at him, those big eyes wide and sparkling. “Can I… see it?”

“Oh! Right!” He shoved the folder at her.

Rukia opened it up and gasped.

“I especially love the way you draw skeletons,” Rukia’s email had read. “Do you think you could tattoo a grim reaper doing a sick kickflip on a skateboard onto my outer bicep? I do lift, so I am pretty jacked, if that makes a difference.”

“It’s perfect,” Rukia sighed in a tiny voice.

“Um, in the first variation (that’s page 2) I added some sunglasses, and in the second one, the grim reaper is flipping the bird and also its head is on fire. I guess I thought that grim reapers should be gender neutral but now I’m wondering if you would have preferred more of a… lady grim reaper?” Renji yammered absently.

“Oh, no,” Rukia murmured softly, flipping through the pages. Renji wasn’t even sure she had listened to a word he had said. “These are amazing. I love the sunglasses, but I also like the way you put little flames in the eye sockets in the first one…” She waved a hand absently. “Oh, and don’t worry, I like a non-binary skeleton.”

A small problem had just occurred to Renji. “Hey, um, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I… may have overestimated the size of your arms.”

“Oh?” Rukia asked, and abruptly shucked off her expensive suit jacket. She was wearing a pale purple sleeveless silk blouse underneath. She held one arm out experimentally, and then flexed. The muscle definition on her bicep made Renji take an involuntary swallow, but the fact that she was wicked cut did not buy him much in the way of real estate.

“I’ll just shrink it down maybe 25%,” he reassured her. “I’ll have to simplify some of the detail on--”

“No,” Rukia frowned, her eyebrows drawing together. “Don’t do that.” She thought for a moment. “I’m not committed to having it on my arm.” She uncrossed her legs and hefted one high-heeled foot onto the coffee table in front of her. “What do you think? Is my thigh big enough?”

Renji tried to make words come out, but it just wasn’t happening.

“Er… sorry,” Rukia said slowly, tugging at her hem. “I forgot I was wearing a skirt today.”

“Huh?” Renji scrambled to recover. He needed to say something. She looked really embarrassed. Say something! Say something professional about her leg! “Sorry, I was, uh, thinking!” Good, good, now keep going. “Don’t be self-conscious, I see people’s bodies all the time. Bodies are no big deal, we all got ‘em, right?” This was true in the abstract sense, but he knew these were blatant lies as they exited his mouth. Most people’s bodies were no big deal. He had only known her for five minutes, but was certain that Rukia Kuchiki’s thighs were a very big deal. He studied her leg, stroking his chin, like he was some kind of anthropologist of thigh tattoos. Mostly he was trying to figure out what would seem like an appropriate amount of time to look at a person’s thigh, a person who was your professional client that you most definitely did not have the hots for. “There’s certainly plenty of room,” he declared. “But, you know, people are going to see it less. Which is a selling point for some people! It’s just a personal decision that you’ll have to make. It sounds like you had a big vision.”

Rukia gingerly placed her foot back on the floor. “I had actually been wondering if maybe the upper arm was too public, anyway,” she admitted. “The fact is, I just got full access to my trust fund, and this is sort of a celebration, but I may have been a little overeager to piss off my big brother. He’s very stodgy.” She contemplated the area of her leg that was covered by her pencil skirt. “But so are a lot of people in my field. I can wait until I’m running my own company before I get started on the full sleeve of my dreams, right?”

“Worked for me,” Renji replied, utterly lost by whatever she was talking about. “What… field are you in?”

“Oh, finance,” she dismissed.

Finance. Of course. Renji tried to shoo away the weight of disappointment that was settling in his stomach. He was talking to a friendly client who was clearly loaded, loved his work, and was contemplating thousands of dollars worth of future business. He should be thrilled. He should probably be trying to sell her one of his old paintings-- they were only gathering dust, anyway. Renji would never break the studio policy about hitting on clients. The fact that she would surely laugh at him if he asked her to his favorite burger joint ought to make things easier, right?

“This is so hard!” Rukia declared, and Renji was shaken from his reverie. She was just contemplating his draft designs again, though, flipping back and forth between them.

“You don’t have to decide right now,” he reassured her. “You can think about it and email me. If you’re happy enough, we can schedule your session, and we’ll work out the details between now and then. Chat it over with your pal MechaHime, she’s got good opinions.” He paused. Momo always said he was too nice during consults, they were running a business, but he couldn’t help it. “Or you can just call back when you’re ready. No pressure.”

Rukia slammed her fist down on her knee. “No! Let’s schedule it! Do I pay now?”

“20% deposit. Let’s go out front, Izuru will ring it up.”

“Perfect.” She looked longingly at the drawings again. “Can I take these with me? You’re absolutely right, Orihime will know what to do.”

Renji wrinkled his nose. “It’s actually against studio policy but…”

Rukia’s face suddenly became very serious. “Then it’s against policy.” She winked at him and smiled. “You should take care of your intellectual property, Mr. Abarai.”

“I never get over to this part of town, to be honest,” Rukia admitted as they walked back up to the front. “Is the taco place across the street any good?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s great,” Renji agreed. “Momo and I painted a huge mural on their wall, so they give us free churros.”

“Are tacos a good post-tattoo celebratory meal?” Rukia asked curiously.

“Well, you actually want to eat beforehand,” Renji pointed out. “It’s important to keep your energy up. I don’t estimate yours should take very long, I’m gonna book you a two-hour slot.”

“Ah, okay,” Rukia agreed, and Renji realized belatedly that...maybe… she had been asking him out? No. Surely not. His brain scrabbled for a response, but then he stepped into the reception area and his brain shut down entirely.

“It’s DONE!” Shuuhei bellowed. “Behold my work, ye mighty, and despair!”

Tetsuzaemon Iba, serial client, yakuza enthusiast, and assistant manager at a doggie day care, was flexing. He was not wearing a shirt.

From behind the reception desk, Kira was wearing a dour frown and shaking his head.

“It’s a masterpiece,” Renji declared. “I admit I was skeptical, but it looks fantastic, man. You happy with it?”

“It” was a massive tattoo, covering the wide landscape of Iba’s broad back. It featured a lucky cat, grinning maniacally, its paw held high. It was on fire. The kanji for “lucky charm” was incorporated somehow. It was a disaster. It was perfect.

“How could I not be?” Iba boomed.

“Whoa,” a tiny voice behind Renji said.

Iba’s face went pale when he realized that he was being Peak Iba in front of an elegant, professional woman whose shoes probably cost more than his entire net worth. “Gimme me my shirt!” he demanded of Shuuhei.

“That’s… amazing!” Rukia exclaimed, her face lighting up. “Wow, how long did that take?”

Shuuhei blinked slowly as he passed Iba his shirt. “Five sessions.”

“Well, it’s so cute!” Rukia announced. “You must love cats.”

Iba lifted at the same gym as Renji and watched Momo’s Pomeranian on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He was a regular fixture at the tattoo studio, and all four of them liked to drag him, but no one, none of them, had ever roasted him this hard. Renji cursed that no-asking-out-clients rule, because he wanted to buy Rukia Kuchiki her own body weight in tacos and then ask her to be his wife.

“He’s more of a dog person,” Shuuhei supplied.

“Great with dogs,” Izuru added.

“Shut up, you jerks, I am a lover of all animals,” Iba grumbled as he pulled his Hawaiian shirt over his shoulders. “Is this your lawyer, Abarai? Did you finally get arrested for that hairstyle?”

“I have an MBA, actually, not a JD,” Rukia replied matter-of-factly. “And I am his client. Can you show that large man my tattoo design? Is that allowed?”

Renji chuckled, and pulled out his drawing.

“That,” Iba declared, “is a wicked tatt.”

“Oh, you showed me that email!” Shuuhei recalled. “It came out great.” He regarded Rukia. “He was really excited about that one, you made his day.”

Rukia just beamed proudly.

“Are we booking a session, then?” Izuru asked hopefully.

“Yeah, two hours,” Renji nodded.

“Let me just finish ringing up Iba, and I’ll see when you’ve got an opening,” Izuru replied.

“This your first one?” Shuuhei asked Rukia conversationally.

“Mm-hmm,” Rukia nodded.

“Well, you made a good choice. Clean design, mostly black with just a few color pops, should go on quick and easy, and it’ll hold up really well, too.”

“This is Shuuhei, the one I was telling you about, who fixes a lot of bad tattoos.”

“I have never had to fix an Abarai tattoo,” Shuuhei declared. “He’s great with first timers. Very gentle. I’ve fallen asleep while he was inking me.” Shuuhei pointed to the pair of crossed scythes gracing his upper arm. “This is one of his.”

“Oooh, neat!” Rukia agreed.

“You’re being embarrassing,” Renji informed his friend.

“Always,” Shuuhei agreed. “Nice to meet you! I hope I get to see the finished product.” He waved to Iba as he headed off toward the back. “Don’t forget to moisturize!”

“Everyone’s so friendly here,” Rukia said softly to Renji. “This isn’t at all like I pictured it.”

Renji stretched his arms behind his head. “Nah, we’re just a bunch of goofballs who like drawin’ on people. Very lowkey.”

“I guess I’ve thought a lot about the getting tattooed part of getting tattooed, but I never thought of it as… a job. That people have.”

“It’s a great job,” Renji replied. “I love it. I’m just lucky that Izuru over there has enough business sense to keep the other three of us from running it into the ground.”

“That’s certainly the truth,” Izuru agreed, as Iba headed out the door. “Two hours, you said? Renji’s got a 4-6pm block open on a Wednesday, three weeks from now. The 24th, how does that work for you, Ms. Kuchiki?”

“Do you think that’s enough time to settle on a design?” Renji asked. “If you come up with changes, it should only take me a day or two to incorporate them.”

“Oh! Yes, three weeks should be fine. I thought… it might be a little sooner,” Rukia replied, sounding a tad disappointed.

“Abarai’s a busy man, three weeks is actually pretty quick,” Izuru explained.

“Right, of course!” Rukia nodded. “Yes, I’ll take the 24th!”

She then paid her deposit, a process which involved her taking approximately ten thousand items out of her purse, including a full-sized drawing pad, a single fingerless glove, and a Pez dispenser with a duck head. She was the most contradictory person Renji had ever met, and he just wanted to know everything about her. But instead, they were going to exchange a couple of emails about a grim reaper on a skateboard, he was going to spend an hour and a half two inches from her naked thigh in a state of intense, non-sexual concentration, and then he would likely never see her again.

“Okay, I guess that’s it!” Rukia said, stuffing the last of her worldly belongings back into the purse. “Three weeks, then!”

“Three weeks it is,” Renji agreed. “Unless we happen to run into each other at the taco place.”

Rukia blinked. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “Right. Ha, ha, of course!” She’d been walking backwards toward the door, an impressive feat in those heels, and she spun suddenly to pull it open.

“It’s a push,” Renji and Izuru chorused together.

“Ha, ha, of course it is!” Rukia laughed nervously, and ducked out.

Izuru stared pointedly at Renji. “Wow,” he said.

“I don’t know what you have against her,” Renji scowled. “So she’s professional. She was really nice. She’s a big fan of my work.”

Izuru cocked his head. “She’s clearly also a big fan of you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Renji said.

“Look, I’m sorry I implied that a person who drives a Lotus Exige would not be interested in having your weird skeleton doodles permanently placed on her body,” Izuru held up his hands, “but did you really not notice the little hearts and singing birds floating around her head every time she gazed longingly at you?”

“Since when do you know anything about cars?” Renji snapped.

“It looked fancy and I asked Shuuhei what it was, okay!”

On cue, Shuuhei burst back into the reception area, Momo close on his tail. “Are we talking about the hot client who has a crush on Abarai?”

“Did you ask her out?” Momo asked breathlessly.

“She’s not really his type,” Izuru mused. “Very corporate.”

Renji frowned. Did he have a type? If his type excluded people like Rukia Kuchiki, he might need to get a new type.

“Who cares, she was adorable!” Momo insisted. “I woulda asked her out.”

“Renji, if you go out with her, can you get me a ride in the Exige?” Shuuhei added.

“I’m not gonna ask her out!” Renji protested. “What happened to the no-hitting-on-clients rule?”

“The rule is no creeping on clients,” Shuuhei correctly. “This is different. She’s clearly into you, big time.”

“Also, she seems non-terrible, unlike the questionable human beings you usually take up with,” Izuru pointed out. “We could relax the rule if it netted you an actually decent partner for a change.”

Renji scowled judgmentally at Izuru, as if his own dating history had been remotely better before he and Shuuhei finally hooked up.

“Oh!” Momo waved her phone. “Speaking of which, I googled her, like you told me to, Izuru--”

“Izuru!” Renji protested.

“--and you were right! She’s not just one of the Kuchikis, she’s the granddaughter!” Momo thrust her phone in Renji’s face. It was some article about some fancy charity event, complete with a picture that was clearly Rukia, dressed in a dramatic black and gold evening gown.

Renji wanted to push Momo’s hand away, but he also didn’t want to stop looking at Rukia in that dress. “The who?” he asked.

Izuru and Momo sighed dramatically in synchronized exasperation.

“Embarrassingly rich old money family? I don’t know what they actually do, but they’re always in the newspapers, donating money for something or other--”

“Billionaire philanthropists,” Shuuhei intoned in a fake deep voice.

“--I heard they’re descended from some famous clan of samurai back in Japan,” Momo ignored him. She jerked her phone back and started tapping at it frantically. “I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of the grandson-- Rukia’s brother, I guess. He always makes those lists of top ten hottest bachelors.”

“He’s dreamy,” Shuuhei seconded.

“Impossibly dreamy,” Izuru thirded.

Momo flipped her phone around again, to reveal a picture of a very serious, and very handsome man in a classic three-piece wool suit. Renji supposed “impossibly dreamy” was not an inaccurate description.

“Yeah, I think I’ve seen pictures of that guy before,” Renji shrugged. “He’s okay. Rukia has a more interesting face, I think.”

Momo and Shuuhei exchanged raised eyebrows.

“You do like her, then?” Izuru asked, his face brightening. “You’re wrong, by the way, Byakuya Kuchiki has the face of an angel.”

“Rukia says he’s stuffy,” Renji shrugged. “And fine. I like her. She’s cute and nice and had good taste in tattoos. What’s not to like?”

“Are you gonna ask her out, then?” Momo pressed.

“Absolutely not,” Renji replied. “She’s my client. Besides, as you just pointed out, she’s loaded. What’s she want with a scumbag like me?”

All three of his friends groaned.

“You have good delts and sexy hair,” Izuru pointed out.

“You give amazing hugs!” Momo declared.

“You draw fantastic skeletons,” Shuuhei added. “Which, apparently, is relevant to her interests, and not a thing you usually find on Tindr.”

“Also, we’ve already established that she does like you, regardless of whether she has a valid reason for doing so,” Izuru concluded. “So, if you’re at all interested, you really shouldn’t let that stop you.”

“I think you should go for it,” Momo encouraged.

“Me, too,” Shuuhei agreed.

Renji grimaced. She was an amazing girl, too good to be true probably. If she had any sense at all, she would certainly turn him down. But maybe… just maybe… she didn’t have any sense. “Okay,” he grudgingly agreed. “I’ll do it. But not until I’m finished the damn tattoo!”

#my writing #wacky au requests #god i want to read 100k worth of this #i just don't want to *write* it #insert dog no write! only read! meme #special thanks to mr p for coming up with rukia's car for me #we spent about a month once discussed which 80s sportscar each of the vice-captains would drive #it is the best bleach conversation we have ever had

[superman86to99]

Superman #84 (December 1993)

Superman takes a short Paris vacation! Like, one day short. What's the worst that could happen?

Oh, man.

So, for the past few issues, we've been hearing about children being abducted in Metropolis. Now we see that they're being kept inside a giant toy house by some creepy bald man in Quasimodo clothes who seems to be obsessed with toys -- a "Man of Toys," if you will. Side note: no wonder the children haven't been found... all the articles about them are just gibberish! (See clip below.)

The kidnapper thinks that these kids' parents don't deserve them, and that they're much better off here, in an underground hideout with a man who threatens to starve them if they don't play with him. (And I do mean literally play, with action figures and stuff.) Meanwhile, as these children cry for help, Superman is having the time of his life. While helping move a stranded ship with some huge-ass chains, Superman spots a sunken galleon with a treasure chest inside and fantasizes about keeping the booty...

...before turning it over to the authorities anyway, the big boy scout. Then, he wakes up Lois at 6 AM and tells her they should go to Paris right now, which usually means your significant other is having a mental breakdown, but in this case they can actually do it. And so, after deciding that he deserves to use his powers for fun every once in a while, Superman and Lois drop everything and fly to France with super-speed for the rest of the day/issue.

Anyway: back to the child abduction! Cat Grant and her son Adam attend a Halloween party at Adam's school, but there's a disturbed weirdo in a hideous costume lurking among the crowd. Yes, I'm talking about Jimmy Olsen in his Turtle Boy suit.

Shortly after that, a guy in a dinosaur costume (see, all the creeps are dressed as reptiles) lures Adam out of the party with the promise of "superb video games." What child could resist that? Of course, that turns out to be the kidnapper and Adam ends up in his hideout along with the rest of the missing children and, worst of all, not a single "Lextendo" console.

The kidnapper gets angry at Adam when he refers to the toys at the hideout as "old-fashioned junk" (he was REALLY looking forward to those video games), and even angrier when Adam tries to free the other kids. Adam is brave and puts up a good fight, but...

And those were Adam Morgan's final words. "Uh-oh."

Next, we have a pretty harrowing scene of Detective Turpin letting Cat know Adam’s body was found, and Jimmy and Perry White taking her to the morgue to identify the body (most people probably wouldn't bring their former boss to something like that, but Perry sadly knows more than most about losing a kid). As for Lois and Clark, they were gone so long that the Daily Planet had time to print a headline about the murders. The issue ends when the lovebirds walk into the office smiling like two people who just spent the night fooling around in Paris... only to feel like jackasses when they find out what happened.

To be continued!

Character-Watch:

And that's it for little Adam Morgan who, unlike the also tragically diseased Jerry White, didn't even get any post-death appearances. Adam went from a little kid scared of Superman, to a huge brat, to a character who was approaching likeability as of last week. That's why I hate it when DC kills off young characters like Adam or Liam Harper: in long-form storytelling, children represent potential. Look at how much Wally West or Dick Grayson evolved over the years compared to their mentors! Sure, there's a huge probability that Adam would have ended up disappearing from comics for 25 years anyway, but who knows, maybe we'd now know him as Teen Gangbuster or something. GangbusTEEN.

This issue also represents a turning point for the kidnapper, who is never named or seen clearly in the story itself but I don't think I'm shocking anyone by spoiling the fact that he's Toyman (it's in the cover, for one thing). In his last two appearances before this storyline, Toyman helped Superman save some kids from Sleez and looked genuinely sad to learn about Superman's death, so this is a pretty dramatic change for the character. We'll find out why he went from big softy to child killer in Superman #85 (but don't get your hopes up).

Plotline-Watch:

The most disturbing part of the issue, all things considered, is still the part where Toyman climbs into a giant crib and hugs a huge stuffed bunny. Look at serial killer Tommy Pickles here:

Don Sparrow says:  “Even with the upgrade, Toyman is still just a man in a suit, a common complaint about Superman’s rogues gallery.” Funny you should say that, because I JUST shared an old Wizard interview in our Twitter in which Dan Jurgens talks about how Doomsday came out of his frustration with the fact that most Superman villains are dudes in suits (plus other interesting tidbits from the era, like how it was actually Roger Stern’s idea to bring back Hank Henshaw, so check out that link!).

Don again: “The entire Superman storyline of this issue feels like filler. Diving for buried treasure and soaring off to Paris -- it all feels like wasted time next to the Adam storyline.” I have a theory that the entire ship sequence is there as an excuse to put Superman in those big chains and make that Spawn joke (which I didn’t get until now, since I’ve always read this issue in Spanish).

Superman says that pulling that big ship was "a little easier than expected" -- that's either another hint that there's something going on with Superman's powers since he came back, or a subtle dig at the state of American ship manufacturing.

Another adorable "window tap" scene for the books, and this is the sexiest one so far. Is it me or has Jurgens started copying more than just Teri Hatcher's hairdo from Lois & Clark? (For anyone who thinks Lois has gotten implants, I refer you to this clip.)

While in Paris, Lois asks Clark if he's ever wondered what would happen if his rocket had landed in other countries. Don: “Clark’s conversation with Lois sounds like a bunch of concepts for Elseworlds stories. We eventually would see a Russian Superman, and a British Superman, but not yet the French Superman. (Hire us, DC!)” Yep, got my French Superman pitch ready, Jim Lee. Or just let us do Russian Superman again, since Red Son wasn’t even the first time you published that idea.

Don once more: “Another thing that makes no sense about the ‘new’ Toyman is his resentment of technological toys—when in previous appearances he himself had deadly high-tech toys to vex Superman over the years.” I especially resent his hatred of video game consoles. Incidentally, I wonder what types of games are available for Adam’s beloved Lextendo. Star Lex 64? Mega Man Lex? Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles & Lex?

No one is more upset at Lois and Clark for going AWOL than Whit. NO ONE. He's so furious that his usually grey mustache turned black.

Patreon-Watch:

As always, shout out to our patrons, Aaron, Murray Qualie, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, Samuel Doran, Bheki Latha, Mark Syp, Ryan Bush and Raphael Fischer! Last month’s exclusive Patreon article was about the recently unearthed sequel to Superman 64 for the PlayStation, featuring Metallo, Parasite, and Lois looking even hotter than in this issue:

Hot damn. Find out more at https://www.patreon.com/superman86to99!

And believe it or not, Don Sparrow has even more to say about this issue. Read his section after the jump:

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow​):

I should start off my section with a big caveat:  I flat out hate this issue. There were several weird decisions made in the post-Death-and-Return era (most of them along the same lines of making the Superman titles more grim-and-gritty), and this story was one of the worst of them.  My theory is that, despite the praise and record-breaking sales of the Death and Return storyline, the Superman creative team felt pressure to have more extreme storylines, perhaps in response to the wildly successful Image books coming out at the time.  Between this story, and the upcoming “Spilled Blood” storyline, the Super books take a hard—but temporary--turn into more violent and upsetting storytelling—even though these stories are by the same writers as the previous few years. While death has always been a part of comics, and Superman comics was no exception, there is a jarring glibness and unfeeling toward the way violence is handled in these pages that is quite different from the stories that preceded it.  It’s made all the more jarring by the fact that well-established personalities suddenly veer wildly out of character, Toyman chief among them.  

We start with the cover, and while it is technically well-drawn (by the familiar team of Jurgens and Breeding) it’s also a very upsetting visual.  I think they should have gone with the pieta type pose with Adam and Superman, OR the scary badass bowie-knife Toyman (who apparently has a Cheshire cat smile now) but not both.  But the cover is a good hint at the tonal dissonance of the comic within.

We open with a splash of the now-extreme 90s looking Toyman, with his serial killer shaved head and spooky cloak, ignoring the pleas of hungry kids he has locked up in a tiny jail cell for days at a time (if that sentence doesn’t ring alarm bells for how wrong this is for a Superman story, I don’t know what will). For much of the issue Toyman’s eyes are obscured by glare on his lenses, further de-humanizing a character who was once one of Superman’s more empathetic bad guys.

We cut to Superman tugboating a huge tanker with giant chains and it’s a cool visual (one repeated in the Batman V Superman film).  It feels especially out of place to focus on, given how upsetting this issue is otherwise, but throughout the whole comic, Lois is drawn smoking hot, especially on the two page spread on pages 9-10.

The scenes depicting the actual murder, while still wildly out of place in a Superman comic, are well done, and give a real sense of darkness and menace, which I suppose is the intent.  Perhaps my least favourite visual is the Big Bird stuffie, silently bearing witness to what’s about to occur.

The edges of the panels on get more slashy and off-kilter (to me, looking very much like the layouts more typically seen in Image comics of the day) and I suppose I appreciate the restraint of how little Dan Jurgens shows of the death of a child, showing only a bloody slash on a black background.  This is still a pretty baroque image for a Superman comic, but certainly less violent than it could be, given what is happening.

Cat Grant’s silent horror is well staged, and powerful in its way.   Lastly, Clark Kent bending in sorrow and regret is a powerful image.

While this issue is handled marginally better, and more maturely than other comics on the shelf at this time, I still believe it is one of the biggest mistakes of the era.  Giving a long-established character an unceremonious death for shock value is gross on its own, but making it a child definitely crosses a line for me.  Making it worse is that, while the Toyman is a criminal and a killer, he has shown in past issues (a similar kidnapping storyline involving Sleez) that he genuinely cares for the well-being of children.  So for a long-time reader, this also felt like a betrayal of a long-established, fully developed character.   Adding to the ugliness of this is that Adam dies heroically, trying to free the children who have been caged, unfed, for days, but even in that regard, he fails.  The headline at the end of the issue confirms all the children are dead.  Adam’s death did not buy the other kids enough time to get away. It was all for nothing. Had Adam died, but the other children lived, maybe this issue wouldn’t leave quite as bad a taste. [Max: It’s weird because it’s all told in a way where it’s told in a way where it would make sense, narratively and within the story universe, that the other kids survived, but then it’s almost casually revealed that nope, they died too. A scene of one of the kids relaying Adam’s heroism to Cat in a future issue would have gone a long way.]

Superman doesn’t come off well in these pages, either.  It’s honestly the type of story they should just stay away from, because the more you think about all the calamity that is going on around the clock, the less defensible the whole Clark Kent persona becomes. Superman carving out time to romance his fiancée directly led to the preventable deaths of innocent children—how do you come back from that?

STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

I’m always looking for hints that perhaps Jimmy or Perry know Superman’s secret identity deep down, and Jimmy’s anger at Lois and Clark on their return to the Daily Planet offices would seem to give that theory some credence, as he’s as angry at them as if he knew Clark really were Superman.  Either that, or he’s ticked that it fell to him, and none of them to escort Cat into the morgue. [Max: Has this issue finally converted you to the “Jimmy is terrible” side now, Don?]

I don’t think I’m the only one who disliked the new Toyman—SPOILERS BE HERE: years later, in Action Comics #865, Geoff Johns retconned this whole story, reverting Schott into the criminal who over-relates to kids, rather than the child-killer of this story.  Apparently the infantile Schott, who speaks to “Mother” a la Norman Bates, is a robot so lifelike it fools even Superman, and the “Mother” he’s constantly replying to was the real Winslow Schott trying to recall the malfunctioning robot. [Max: That’s one Geoff Johns retcon I really didn’t mind, even if it felt kind of derivative of his similar “all the Brainiacs are robots made by the real Brainiac” reveal.]

#superman #dan jurgens #josef rubinstein #toyman #cat grant #adam morgan #dan turpin #whit #gangbusteen #super luthor fighter ii turbo championship edition

[simpbur]

hello! i would like ur 40 song wiblur playlist

anon thank you so much for asking <333 while it would’ve been easier to just drop the link i have so many thoughts about everything so i explained why every single song has its spot on this list which was IMMENSELY fun for me

(also: if anyone does want the link i can provide both apple music and spotify but if u would like the apple music link i’d rather it be through dms or an ask off anon that i can make private!)

another also: i bolded all the songs for ease of perusing if you don’t want the director’s commentary and bolded + italicized the ones that i think fit Very Well

another another also: wrote the second bit of this on my laptop and the keyboard is p funky so if there are any typos or things that do not make sense i will try to fix them asap haha

saint bernard by lincoln: this is one of those like. Dream SMP Songs that i added because it fits into so many different relationships and plot lines and arcs but i think there’s some connection to c!wlbur somewhere out there. idk i asked my friend and he said to add it so this one goes out to him

amnesia was her name by lemon demon: ghostbur song ghostbur song! mostly comes from this lovely animatic

o valencia! by the decemberists: okay this is one of those songs that only really has one lyric that fits but is an absolutely banger so it’s here anyway. you’ll also notice a trend of quasi love songs that i relate to c!wilbur’s perception of l’manburg and i think this song shows this in a really cool way, esp with the chorus (‘and i swear to the stars i’ll burn this whole city down’ is The Line)

achilles come down by gang of youths: another one of those Dream SMP Songs. i think this fits better with c!tommy but i like it too much to remove it. this is a somewhat common trend with the earlier songs on this playlist (i’ve been building this thing since january, for reference)

brave as a noun by ajj: another Dream SMP Song. i think certain verses fit better than others when it comes to wilbur’s character but that ones that work really work

harness your hopes by pavement: a song that is one here for vibes alone. i have no idea what these lyrics mean. all i know is that i heard it, thought of c!wilbur, and put it on the playlist. thank you all for being here

evelyn evelyn by evelyn evelyn: sad-ist made this a tommy and tubbo song (as she should) so it’s validity on this playlist is questionable but folks used to compare it to wilbur and tommy’s relationship during the pogtopia arc and i think some points were made there

the execution of all things by rilo kiley: i’m so excited to get here because this was the first song i put on the playlist that i think really works and i thumb nailed an animatic for the last verse and november 16th so! i think it’s a good l’manburg song and the last verse has some good ghostbur lines (‘and lately you’re all alone with nothing left but sleep/but sleep never comes to you, it’s the guilt and forever wakefulness of the weak’)

i’m just your problem from adventure time: this ones a bit tricky since at is my favorite show of all time and i cannot detach this song from its in-show context very well but there is a very cool animatic with this song that landed it a spot on the playlist

man burning by josh ritter: almost became an animatic but the audio i wanted to use (which i recorded at a josh ritter concert and it’s just him and his guitar and there’s echo and it’s very haunting and pretty) has my stepbrother singing in the background and i could not edit it out so. that will probably not happen. but anyways the only hole i would pick in this song is that it’s mostly about self sabotage which isn’t really applicable but i think the imagery is cool

mamma mia by abba: here me out. here me out. this is another song that fits so well and i have spent so many hours thinking about this and somewhere there is a note on my phone explaining how every single line relates to c!wilbur’s entire arc from founding l’manburg to the resurrection (made when we thought gbur was going to get resurrected in january) and just. the metaphorical ‘you’ is l’manburg does this make any sense (another almost animatic except now that wilbur’s actually back it might become an actual animatic)

the other side of paradise by glass animals: no idea why this is here other than being a Dream SMP Song. it’s good tho

infinitesimal by mother mother: they saaaaay it stared with a big bang but they saaaaaaaay it came out of a small thing latelyyyyy i’ve been feeling like a big bang You Know

curses by the crane wives: had a thing drawn out for this song showing the comparisons between c!wilbur and c!niki because of the chorus and i think the last two lyrics of said chorus are the best thing about this one

lonely eyes by the front bottoms: gotta admit that i have no idea how this song got on here but i’ve come to associate it with ghostbur based on vibes alone. it’s a friendly song he’s a friendly ghost it works. the other tfb song coming up fits a bit better methinks

king of new orleans by better than ezra: not to put better than ezra on my c!wilbur playlist but like. something about the whole ‘tasing something up to let it fall’ motif makes me think

get me away from here, i’m dying by belle and sebastian: another almost animatic song (there’s a trend here). not only does the story told in this song work i like the lines ‘play me a song to set me free/nobody writes them like they used to so it may as well be me’ in relation to my l’manburg

montgomery forever by the front bottoms: certain bits and pieces of this song fit so well, specifically the chorus and those bits in the last two choruses Yeah (’montgomery forever and ever and ever and now they’re blowing it up/(x2)/as you started laughing and crying and trying to explain how all you want to do is leave’)

don’t look back in anger by oasis: out of all my almost animatic songs, this one got the furthest. the animatic, which I got pretty far in thumbnailing, was about wilbur and tommy and kind of drawing comparisons between their characters, also about the revolution in general. maybe i’ll finish that animatic one day idk 

snow by ricky montgomery: i wish i had a link for this so bad but!! saw art on twitter!! with the lyric ‘bury me six feet in snow’!! and went ahfsdjfk!!

burning pile by mother mother: a Dream SMP Song. also a jam there’s no real specific connection for this one but i think it could fit in a couple of ways

rounds by the oh hellos: in the same position as snow except it was on tumblr..... @ whoever made this comic i saw these lyrics in your brain is massive and your art is incredible

lovely by mt. eddy: on here for vibes alone. there’s something in the lyrical content too, but my thoughts in that regard are not very fleshed out

adventures in solitude by the new pornographers: ah yes..... the song that prompted this all...... this is a beautiful and incredibly well written song and if you’re going to listen to any song off of this playlist i’d encourage you to listen to this one. it’s place of here is mostly cause of the chorus but the imagery in the verses could all represent a part of c!wilbur and i’d love to explore that more

caught in the middle by paramore: obligatory paramore song. i think it got on here because limbo = ‘middle’ but i’m not quite sure. on the verge of being deleted if i can find a better pmore song

delicate by damien rice: one of the oddest songs on this list and i am well aware that it sticks out like a sore thumb. a song that’s on here pretty much because of one lyric, which is ‘and why’d you sing hallelujah/if it means nothing to you’ which i related to both eret’s betrayal and how my l’manburg is hallelujah yknow

bang! by ajr: almost animatic song. i think we all know what the bang is here

somewhere only we know by lily allen: ik i said don’t look back in anger has the most potential to get made into an animatic but this song might actually take it place. on par with adventures in solitude in terms of how pretty of a song it is, and probably even moreso. it’s kind of turned into a ghostbur song in my head, and makes me cry like an infant child every time i hear it

a pearl by mitski: i cannot defend this song’s place on here past the line ‘it’s just that i fell in love with a war and nobody told me it ended’

eight by sleeping at last: the official c!wilbur song needs a spot on here <3 if i can dig up the clip of cc!wilbur talking about this song in relation to his character i’ll add it but until then yeah <3

always by rilo kiley: no idea why this is on here but it fits well!! could not tell you why!! banger!!

celebration guns by stars: it’s a hauntingly beautiful song about war, and kind of one of those that necessarily isn’t about wilbur but moreso his place in the story? idk how to explain it but yes

passerine by the oh hellos: it’s. it’s from the . the fic. yeah h

oh, you are the roots that sleep beneath my feet and hold the earth in place by bright eyes: added this after the real resurrection and i think it’s because fo the imagery? also the last verse

we are beautiful, we are doomed by los campesinos!: all i have to say is ‘i cannot emphasize enough that my body/is a badly designed, poorly put together vessel/harboring these diminishing, so called vital organs/i hope my heart goes first, i hope my heart goes first!’ has always made me think of pogtopia era wilbur :(

dead weight by jack stauber: no real connection other than eret played this song during a break during the ghostbur’s january ‘resurrection’ and i heard it and went :0

point me at lost lands by tired pony: gives me season on l’manburg vibes..... i love how free and passionate it sounds and that's p much the only reason it’s on this list haha

ghosting by mother mother: added this five seconds ago because i could not BELIEVE it was not on here. ghostbur song. mans sang it on that one stream with the reverb and everything. the lyrics ‘i will be kind and i’ll be sweet/if you stop staring straight through me’ hit particularly hard back when everyone thought that ghostbur was actually wilbur in disguise 

#oh man. oh man #this was so fun ty anon #i'll do some spell checking after i write my english paper but for now take this #wooo boy #also if i interpreted canon wrong i do apologize i am here to have fun and think about fictional character #anon #ask

[taejeonie]

what if jaemin and taehee dated…

YAY OUR KDRAMA COUPLE

honestly i think that this would start off as a blur to them

like jaemin didn’t even know when or why he suddenly liked taehee

once he fully acknowledged his feelings,,it felt like they were there from the start

and unconsciously, he would have the audacity to FLIRT with her

the dreamies were all video calling, mark and taehee on the other end of the line due to 127’s schedules

hyuck was talking about something when jaemin suddenly said

“noona, you look so pretty today”

the other dreamies were completely thrown off

“that’s so sudden,” mark said while laughing

most of the dreamies has surprised looks on, meanwhile hyuck was baffled

taehee: ahh thank you

she said it as if it’s nothing,,,like this was completely normal she’s still shy tho

and ever since that day, jaemin made a silent pact with himself to get taehee to fall for him

so he sends her good morning texts and good night texts

texts in the middle of the day asking if she ate already, or if she’s taking care of herself properly

these surprised taehee at first but soon she learned to get along with it thinking it was like,,to fit their dynamic of being kdrama people

sooner or later, jaemin would call her and ask her to meet in front of their dorms so that they could go eat in the cafe taehee wanted to go to

“on second thought, i’ll go to your dorm so you don’t have to go to mine”

“but i could just-“

“i don’t want you to get tired from walking to our dorm”

“jaemin, your dorm is literally-“

“no this is final i am going to your dorm and you won’t move a step until i get there”

“…..okay”

“alright see you!”

when the line cuts she looks to mark beside her like (・・;)?

“is it just me or jaemin’s acting really weird these days?”

“hmm?”

“do you think…do you think he,” then she moves her eyebrows up and down like in a weird way

and mark gets all the more confused

from another person’s pov, this situation would look rather comical due to the fact mark has no absolute clue of what taehee’s referring to and why was she moving her face like that

and then taehee leans closer to mark and whispers, “do you think he likes me?”

then mark’s like Ö

“you think he lIKES YOU?”

“nO! he’s just so weird we never go this far with our jokes”

then there was a pause on both ends until mark says, “well do you like him?”

“idontknow??”

“WHAT”

then there’s a knock on the door and both of their eyes widen

“that’s jaemin,” taehee hurriedly whispers

“tHAT’S JAEMIN??”

then before they know it taehee’s already out of the door sweating buckets- wait why is she nervous

maybe bc ur starting to acknowledge ur feelings dumbass

“why are you so red?”

“im what?”

“are you sick?,” then jaemin tried to check if she was hot but taehee pulled away before he could touch her forehead

“im not i was just,,,doing stuff with mark”

jaemin’s face falls slightly when he hears this but then proceeds to ask, “oh? what stuff?”

“we fixed our room- enough about mark. let’s go!!”

unconsciously, taehee grabbed jaemin’s arm and whined like a baby which the latter found ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE.

he scrunches his nose at her before pinching her cheek, “alright (*´꒳`*) whatever my cutie noona says (*´꒳`*)”

then taehee felt her face get hotter when she heard ‘my’

jaemin interlaced their hands together and although he’s done it a thousand times before, it made taehee the most flustered person to ever exist at this moment

when they got outside, taehee let go of jaemin’s hand, causing him to pout

and he made sure she was gonna see his frickin pout.

“where’s the car? ( ^ω^ )”

“actually, we’re walking (⌒▽⌒)”

“we’RE WHAT”

“kidding!!! we’re taking the bus stop over there,,”

“oh okay, you looked serious-“

“i don’t want my baby to get tired (*^ω^*)”

never did taehee know that there would come a day where she wanted to punch jaemin in the face

it was strike #3 baby

now the actual cafe date!!!

taehee would get stuff like red velvet cupcake, chocolate cake, hot choco,,,stuff like that

and jaemin goes, “we went here to this nice café just for you to order that? we have those in our cafeteria”

“you’ll know the cafe is good if simple snacks like these are good”

“whatever you say”

jaemin would also take lots of pictures of her using his phone, then he sets his favorite one as his lockscreen

“aaaaa”

“no”

“aaaaaaa”

“jaemin, no”

“taehee-ssi, the cake isn’t going to eat itself”

“obviously,,,im gonna feed myself”

“but i want to be romantic so aaaaa”

she gives in anyways

when she gets home mark was like, “so you did enjoy your date”

“shut up it’s not a date”

“dUDE DO YOU EVEN SEE YOURSELF RIGHT NOW???”

so mark knows taehee has feelings for jaemin

best friend tingz

as for jaemin, i think that the first person to know

would be renjun

like days after their cafe date, renjun would see jaemin’s lockscreen and JOKINGLY say

“you like taehee noona, don’t you?”

“maybe i do”

…..

“you sound so serious you weirdo”

“its the truth”

renjun: chokes on his water

meanwhile jaemin’s just going through his camera for all the taehee pics

so when renjun looks at what’s causing jaemin’s fond smile

he’s like “yeah this kid is nuts”

there were times where jaemin would randomly buy stuff for taehee

like clips and hair ties

coffee

127 and dream were together in the practice room once again to prepare for the year end concert

taehee was on the floor talking with hyuck

and when hyuck’s about to kiss taehee on the cheek that’s when jaemin steps in

“here’s your coffee, darling (*^o^*)”

hyuck feels something cold against his lips and pulls away in confusion

jaemin pinches taehee’s cheek when she says thank you and walks away

“darling??? that’s new”

“i know. hes so,,,,weird these days i don’t know what’s gotten in to him,,”

pffft

“but he got me coffee so *shrugs*”

“that’s his coffee though how are you not dying”

“no it’s not it’s sweet, here”

“*sips coffee* hmm that is weird”

in reality, jaemin got that type of coffee so he could share with her

jaemin ain’t slick tho

when jaemin walks off mark wiggles his eyebrows like those uncles during christmas and jaemin’s like

“oh no he knows…”

“bUT!!! why does he know?”

“does perhaps,,,,taehee noona have feelings for me too?”

it kept jaemin up and attentive the whole practice schedule

thinking if he should confess or not

days later of jaemin making moves on taehee, taehee felt her feelings grow for jaemin more

and tHEN she starts to worry about the outcomes

“what if jaemin’s just really joking? but if he’s not then we’re kinda fucked? oh no what would the others say”

and she just looked really out of it that it caught mark’s attention

“what’s wrong? you look out of it today”

“mm”

“taehee?”

“mmm”

“is this about jaemin?”

“….no”

mark turns off his phone like the good friend he is and turns to taehee

“you have to stop overthinking”

“what if he doesn’t like me back?”

“will you believe me if i say he does?”

“probably not”

mark smiles amusingly, “you are so stubborn”

“what if the others find out?”

“you’re worrying about that as if you’re already in a relationship”

and taehee gives him like a sad glare that makes mark stop joking around

“if you’re talking about the members, of course they’ll be happy for you both without a doubt. the fans…there will always be a good and bad side of everything taehee. the only thing that matters is how you’re gonna handle it”

taehee goes silent for a moment, thinking

yes, mark IS right. she’s just scared of the consequences

she’ll act on her feelings, but not now

taehee presses her forehead to the side of mark’s face in a loving gesture before standing up and saying thank you

meanwhile jaemin and renjun are planning how jaemin should confess

“i think noona would like it straightforward”

“you mean plain,,,”

“well if you want to have bonus points then i think you should use a pickup line,,like an original one”

“well if it’s for her then i’ll do it then”

“whatever,” renjun thinks jaemin’s too cheesy for him, “but tone it down with your shamelessness,,,i think you’re scaring her”

later in the vlive,,,taehee was kinda out of it

she didn’t notice jaemin was talking

“nooooo i only like noona (*´꒳`*),” he said in aegyo

then mark’s like “really?,” while laughing his ass off in the corner

“really.”

then it’s like one of those movie stills where the male lead *lovingly* looks at the female lead

and taehee’s like ‘oh shit he looks serious’

but then the all but’s come in and shes back to being a chicken about her feelings

later into the night, the dreamies start to head home

as everyone bids their goodbyes, jaemin tries to kiss taehee’s cheek but she pulls away

“….you know you have to stop doing that right?”

“what?,” taehee baby,,you just hurt na jaemin’s feelings :((

“what will others think if they see us like this,,they’re going to think we’re in a relationship. what will your fans say?”

“but we’ve been like this since we were younger…you do this with the others too!!”

“but it’s different with you!”

“noona, can you please explain it properly because i don’t like…i don’t like talking with you as if we’re fighting”

“you’re so sweet and caring and- and…”

jaemin sighs, “and what?”

“jaemin, you don’t know what you’re doing. you’re so loving and i really appreciate it, but tone it down. please?”

jaemin looks down and taehee thinks their relationship is already fucked

sigh

“how can i do that if i like you noona?”

drAMA BOOOMB

“what did you say?”

“i like you more than i should. i want to be your boyfriend, noona, and i’m ready to face whatever outcomes we will go through. i want to hold your hand and tell you i love you before we go to bed,,i want to cook with you and hug you and do all the cringey stuff with you!! i was trying to give you hints the other day but your pretty little head couldn’t get it”

a tear slips from taehee’s eyes making jaemin laugh softly

and he knows, he’s got her already

“huh?,” jaemin wipes her tears away, “why are you crying, baby?”

the pet name makes taehee laugh as she punches him weakly and proceeds to bury her face into his shoulder

“you’re so cheesy, i hate you”

“no you don’t”

“i do”

“you love me,” jaemin wraps his arms around taehee and leans his head on hers

taehee sighs, “okay”

jaemin smiles at her as he pulls away, “so this means you’re my girlfriend now, right?”

“yea ٩( ‘ω’ )و”

AND THEYRE TOGETHER NOW

OH WAIT THIS MEANS THEIR ANNIVERSARY IS DURING NEW YEARS

THATS SO T^T

anyways,,,

i see cheeks kisses happening a LOT more often 

off cam and on cam 

nctzens: they’re just friends!!! ^-^

whenever taehee would pass by, jaemin would suddenly pull her into his lap and taehee would have to struggle for a bit 

“JAEMIN!!”

“JUST FIVE MINUTES PLEASE”

holds hands a lot 

there was this one vlive where jaemin was playing with taehee’s hands 

mark was talking about something,,apparently hyuck saw them being all sweet and lovey dovey 

he wanted to have taehee time too >:(((

so he RIPPED their hands apart and placed his arms around them and did ( ^ - ^ )

speaking of the members knowing,,,

obv renjun and mark would know first

shortly followed by chenji, hyuck, jeno, then the rest of the group respectively 

they all would be super happy for them ofc <33

found it endearing their anniversary is on new years 

the couple would DEFINITELY act cringey just to annoy jisung 

jisung in one of his voice only vlives: “these days jaemin hyung and taehee noona are so weird, REALLY. one day we were in a room together and tHey TalK sO WeiRd!! i had to leave the room”

PLAYING GAMES TOGETHER IS A MUST.

you know that video of a girl holding her bf’s hand while he plays on the keyboard then she lets go of his hand but then the guy pulls the girls hand back and continues playing?

taehee would def do that for fun

but then get SUPER flustered when jaemin grabs her hand back

taehee would be immune to his aegyo

and even when jaemin knows that already he’ll still continue to use it ,,, BUT!!!

there are cheek kisses in the end which taehee will succumb to

jaemin @ taehee : <3 __ <3

RIDIN ERA

TAEHEE WOULD BE SO HYPED

ALSO OBSESSED WITH HIS BLUE HAIR

obsessed to the point that’s all what she’s staring at even if jaemin asks for kisses

“sorry you just look so handsome wow im- wow…..”

JAEMINS AEGYO ON WEEKLY IDOL

taehee would do a live reacting to the dreamies’ aegyo

when it was jaemin’s turn she’d be like ???????

“i can’t believe i d- know this boy…..really”

COFFEE DATES.

coffee dates would be very sweet

if taehee was curious enough she would grow to be immune to jaemin’s coffee

would visit the dreamies a lot more when she’s free even if jaemin tells her she should rest

“noona only came for jaemin hyung :(((“ - park jisung, who is also in need of his noona’s attention

“what?? i love all of the jaemins and non jaemins equally (*´꒳`*)”

“she’s using twitter slang again”

but there are times where jaemin’s really stern and like: don’t come to the dorms u. need. to. REST!!!

so they facetime each other instead!!!

the reason why jaemin would scold her a lot bc he notices taehee falling asleep when she visits them so 1) they don’t get to spend *time* with each other properly 2) she’s not getting the PROPER rest she deserves

therefore jaemin values the health of taehee very much

jaemin would L O V E taking taehee’s pics

would set her as his phone wallpaper AND desktop wallpaper

would def ask her for an album pc (esp. the punch one) and would keep it in his phone case

overall taehee and jaemin would be a vvvv cute couple

it’s like their kdrama-like relationship turned into a LITERAL kdrama,,,except the sad parts

taehee would be very supportive on her part as jaemin would be the literal caring, sweet, cute, lovable boyfriend she needs

he just wants to look out for her ;(

“you know i love you right?”

“yes i know (⌒▽⌒)”

“like really really R E A L L Y love you?”

“i know, jaemin. i hope you know i love you just as much (*´-`)”

“i know that, love. now sleep, you still have an early schedule tomorrow”

“okay,,i love you…goodnight, baby”

“good night, my love. i’ll see you in my dreams (*´ω｀*)”

#nct #nct dream #nct 127 #wayv #nct imagines #nct drabbles #nct reactions #nct scenarios #nct blurbs #nct fluff #nct angst #nct x reader #nct female addition #nct female member #nct 22nd member #kpop female addition #mark lee imagines #renjun imagines #jeno imagines #haechan imagines #jaemin imagines #chenle imagines #jisung imagines #jaemin fluff #jaemin angst #jaemin x reader #jaemin blurbs #jaemin drabbles #kpop oc #kpop additions

[go-redgirl]

Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace

When Ellen DeGeneres returned from a summer hiatus to open the 18th season of her daytime talk show in September, she came armed with an apology. “I learned that things happen here that never should have happened,” she said. “I take that very seriously. And I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected.” Those remarks came in the wake of reports of workplace misconduct at “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Viewers tuned in for the apology: This year’s season opener had the highest ratings for an “Ellen” premiere in four years. And then they tuned out. “Ellen” has lost more than a million viewers since September, according to the research firm Nielsen, averaging 1.5 million viewers over the last six months, down from 2.6 million in the same period last year.

The decline has come at a time when workplace behavior, in Hollywood and elsewhere, has come under intense scrutiny against a backdrop of protest and social change. It is a startling setback for one of daytime television’s most successful franchises and for Ms. DeGeneres, who was at the forefront of an earlier cultural shift when, as the star of a prime-time network sitcom in the 1990s, she announced that she is gay.

The show’s loss of more than a million viewers translates to a 43 percent decline, representing a steeper drop than any of its competitors. This TV season, “Ellen,” the winner of dozens of Emmys since its start in 2003, is no longer in the same league as traditional rivals like “Dr. Phil” (3.1 million) and “Live: With Kelly and Ryan” (2.7 million). Now it finds itself uncomfortably close to shows hosted by Maury Povich (1.4 million), Kelly Clarkson (1.3 million), Rachael Ray (1.2 million), Tamron Hall (1.1 million) and Jerry Springer’s former security guard Steve Wilkos (1.1 million).

The loss of viewers includes a 38 percent decline in her core audience, adult women under 54, according to Nielsen. And it appears to have put a dent in the show’s ad revenue. From September to January of the 2019-20 season, “Ellen” brought in $131 million from advertisers, according to the research firm Kantar. That has fallen to $105 million for the same period in 2020-21, a drop of about 20 percent.

Ms. DeGeneres, 63, has publicly mused on the possibility of leaving the show in recent years, and the spotlight on her workplace troubles has added to the questions about her future. Her talk-show contract runs through next year. Warner Bros., the division of AT&T’s WarnerMedia that produces “Ellen,” confirmed that the show would return for a 19th season in September, after her usual summer hiatus. A spokeswoman for Ms. DeGeneres declined to comment when asked if the 2021-22 television season would be her last.

“‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ remains one of the top three highest-rated syndicated talk shows this season,” David McGuire, an executive vice president of programming at Telepictures, a Warner Bros. subsidiary, said in a statement. He suggested other reasons for the decline, like changing viewing habits during the pandemic.

“While broadcast is down across the board and Covid has been challenging for production, we are looking forward to bringing back our live audiences and a 19th season filled with all of the hilarious and heartwarming moments that have made ‘Ellen’ one of the longest running and most successful talk shows in history,” he added.

Whether or not the next season of “Ellen” is its last, WarnerMedia and Ms. DeGeneres are together for the long haul. In 2019, the company made a deal with her to produce four programs for its HBO Max streaming platform, including a home-design challenge series; a dating show; an animated show, “Little Ellen”; and a documentary series on inventors made in conjunction with the Albert Einstein estate. (In another deal, she recently signed a multiyear pact with Discovery to produce natural history documentaries and series.)

Public perception of Ms. DeGeneres started to change in July when BuzzFeed reported that several of the show’s former and current staff members said they had confronted “racism, fear and intimidation” on the set. Several staff members also said producers had sexually harassed them. Warner Bros. investigated the workplace and found “deficiencies.” Three high-level producers were fired, including Ed Glavin, an executive producer; Jonathan Norman, a co-executive producer; and Kevin Leman, the head writer. Ms. DeGeneres apologized to her staff before addressing her viewers in September.

Some observers believe the accusations may have weakened Ms. DeGeneres’s relationship with her audience. The host built her show as an oasis from the outside world, a place of goofy dancing, light jokes, cash giveaways to surprised audience members and high-wattage celebrity guests. Several years ago, she adopted “be kind” as her motto, in response to the suicide of Tyler Clementi, a gay college student who took his own life after being bullied.

“Her brand is not just being fairly nice — it is ‘Be Kind,’” said Stephen Galloway, the dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of film and media arts. “She’s chosen two words to stamp herself. You cannot have hypocrisy better defined than when you’ve chosen those two words to define yourself and everyone is seeing the opposite is true inside your show.

“The reason the incident with the producers was such a difficult and perilous moment is it’s the first time where something surfaced to indicate that a family — Ellen’s own professional family — was dysfunctional,” he continued.

Ms. DeGeneres referred to her motto in her on-air apology. “Being known as the Be Kind Lady is a tricky position to be in,” she said. “So let me give you some advice. If anyone is thinking of changing their title or giving yourself a nickname, do not go with the Be Kind Lady.” She added that she was indeed the cheerful person she appeared to be on television, but was also someone who experienced moments of sadness, anxiety and impatience.

In addition to her daytime show, Ms. DeGeneres is also a prime-time star for NBC — and her show for that network, “Ellen’s Game of Games,” also a Warner production, has lost 32 percent of its viewers this season, as well as 35 percent in the adult demographic important to advertisers.

Even with the complications affecting all talk shows during the pandemic, “Ellen,” with its loss of 43 percent of its audience, has suffered a steeper decline than its rivals. “Dr. Phil” is down 22 percent, and “The Kelly Clarkson” show has lost 26 percent of its viewers. Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest’s show has just lost 3 percent, and “Tamron Hall” is down 9 percent.

Ms. DeGeneres beat the odds to make her show a success. There is a television graveyard filled with the comics, actors, anchors and reality stars who have taken a crack at syndicated talk shows only to be yanked off the air because of low ratings. And when “Ellen” premiered, she also had to overcome the hesitancy of affiliate managers who thought an openly gay person could not connect with the women who make up most of the daytime audience. Her quick wit and approachable manner earned her millions of fans and ultimately a plum late-afternoon slot in most markets. As recently as a few years ago, the show was drawing roughly three million viewers an episode.

As Ms. DeGeneres fights through a loss in popularity, she has turned to celebrity friends to help her make the case that there is not much difference between the on-camera Ellen and the real Ellen. When Michelle Obama was a virtual guest last week, she spoke warmly about the time she went to Ms. DeGeneres’s house and they played a piano duet together. A video clip of the pair at the piano was shown.

Another recent guest, Jennifer Garner, also appearing remotely, raced to her hotel room balcony at the host’s request to tell passers-by how much she adored Ms. DeGeneres. “I love her!” Ms. Garner shouted. “She’s kind! She’s a humanitarian! She loves animals!”

By John Koblin

The post Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace appeared first on New York Times.

[britishassistant]

But I Like One Piece (18)

Something’s got to give eventually.

She just never expected it would be her.

It’s lunchtime, and they’re trying to navigate the strange, new dynamics that come from Ino trying to gain Sakura’s attention rather than the other way round.

She’s noticed that, despite bringing her normal lunchbox, Sakura has been picking at her food recently. As though she somehow finds it all somehow unappetizing.

It’s beginning to get a little worrying, so she brought something she knows the pink haired girl enjoys, just to make sure her blood sugar stays up at least.

She wordlessly holds out a skewer of dango to the pink-haired girl.

“Oh, no thank you.” Sakura says. “I’m on a diet—got to watch my figure you know!”

What.

“What?” Ino asks.

The wooden dango stick splinters in her fingers.

“What.” She says.

Over the blood rushing in her ears, she faintly hears someone go “oh no”.

“What do you mean, diet?” Her voice is as calm as she can make it.

Sakura flinches back, so she wasn’t as successful as she hoped she’d be.

Her tone is clipped when she replies, “You know, it’s not attractive to eat so much food, especially not unhealthy stuff. I’m working on fixing that. You should too, Mayu-chan, Ino-chan! We could be so pretty if we just lost a teeny bit of weight!”

No wonder you don’t have a boyfriend yet Tamara, the way you scoff down food like a pig.

She stands up, chair skittering away from her. She doesn’t grab Sakura’s collar, but it’s a near thing.

“Do you know when it’s acceptable to be on a diet?” She hears herself asking. “If you have food restrictions that it will kill you to violate, like diabetes or lactose intolerance. If your religion has foods that it’s not acceptable to eat, like pork or beef or animal products. If you want to improve your health by eating food to supplement an increase in activity, to build up protein for your muscles and iron in your blood. But thinking it’ll improve your looks...”

She hisses, “Open your mouth.”

“Wh-what?” Sakura leans away, hand coming up to try and cover the mentioned body part.

“M-Mayu-chan, hold on—” Naruto tries to caution.

She grabs Sakura’s hand, yanking her forward.

At this distance, her teeth don’t seem discolored and her breath doesn’t smell like bile...

“At least you’re not «bulimic».” She grumbles, dropping the limb. “So it’s just «anorexia» we’ve got to deal with. Shit.”

“W-what are you talking about, Mayu-chan?!” The pink-haired girl demands. “Those—those words, wh-what do they even mean?”

“They’re shitty eating disorders.” She tries to keep ahold of her temper. If she doesn’t know any better, it’s okay. She can be taught, she can be helped. “«Bulimia» is where you compulsively overeat and then throw up the meal. «Anorexia» is denying yourself food altogether. Both are symptoms of mental disorder, and done under the delusion that shitty starving will somehow lead to beauty. So why are you wasting food for this shitty delusion?”

Sakura flinches at the words “mental disorder”.

“T-th-that all sounds made up!” She blusters. “E-everyone knows that boys like thin girls best! My mom and Ino’s mom and all of Ino’s mom’s magazines say so!”

She throws her hands up. “What are you even talking about?! What boys?!”

Sakura’s eyes glance to Uchiha and away.

“Oh. Oh Sakura, no.” She says, despairing. “You’re—”

“What?!” Sakura cuts her off. “Do you not think I’m good enough?! Is the sidekick too presumptuous for trying to catch up to the heroine and the rival?!”

Okay, now she’s just completely lost.

“Sidekick?” Ino says, hands held up placatingly. “What do you mean, sidekick?”

Sakura laughs, a high and shrill sound. “Don’t pretend you don’t know! That’s all I’ve ever been to you! Just-just following you around, with no strength of my own! If it weren’t for you, nobody would even notice if I disappeared! Nobody would care! They’re all your friends, not mine!”

Ino shrinks back. “That’s-that’s not true Sa—”

“DON’T LIE TO ME!” The pink-haired girl’s chest heaves for a moment before the all rage in her expression and posture just...vanishes. Like she’s slipped on a mask.

It’s more than slightly disturbing.

Sakura exhales, a sweet smile on her lips. “I’m going to be a strong, ladylike kunoichi heroine on my own terms. Strong enough to beat all of you. If any of you have a problem with that, you can just keep your stupid mouths shut.”

So saying, she picks up her things and flounces to an empty table at the back of the room.

She pulls out a chair and resolutely turns her back to the rest of them.

There’s a moment of silence where they all stare at each other.

“...What just happened?” Naruto asks in a hoarse whisper.

She shrugs. It started out with vile words about diets and beauty that still set her teeth on edge, then went to Sakura’s awful taste in boys, then something about her not having friends?

That last one stings, honestly.

Ino curls into herself, looking miserable.

“She’s not a sidekick, she’s my friend, my best friend, but why, why—” The blonde girl looks up, pupil-less eyes lost and sad. “Am I a bad friend?”

“Nah.” Shikamaru says. “You’re fine. She’s just being troublesome.”

Chouji nods, reaching over the table to squeeze Ino’s hand and making gentle hushing noises as Ino’s shoulders hitch with sobs.

Sakura’s back twitches.

So she’s listening in then.

“I don’t get it.” Kiba complains, hugging Akamaru to his chest. “Why wouldn’t we want Billboard Brow to be strong? Isn’t she already strong anyway?”

“Ask Uchiha.” Shino says, stabbing a straw into his juicebox. “Why? Because he has repeatedly expressed disdain for Haruno’s abilities on the basis of her civilian status.”

“I have not!” Uchiha snaps. “It’s not my fault that civilians aren’t as prepared as clan ninja!”

“I rest my case.” Shino mumbles around his straw.

She massages the bridge of her nose. “Look, playing the blame game is not what we need right now. Not when our friend’s so intent on starving herself to death.”

“Is she?” Shikamaru asks, almost carelessly. “Our friend, I mean.”

There’s a quiet inhale around the table.

Sakura’s posture is tenser than a set tripwire.

“Of course she is!” Naruto slams his hands down on the table. “What kinda question is that?!”

“A rough patch is nothing to jump ship over.” She scoffs, biting into the spurned dango. “Usopp and Nami and Robin all had them, didn’t they?”

“And they all literally jumped ship.�� Shikamaru mutters, though with less heat behind it.

“Gi-give her time.” Hinata murmurs diplomatically. “It’s-it’s awful, to be ho-hounded. Let her ha-have room to breathe.”

Ino blows her nose noisily on a napkin. Her eyes are bloodshot.

“Anything.” The blonde says shakily. “Anything she needs.”

Chouji leans over the table to give her a hug.

“Anything she needs” turns out to be close to two weeks of pointed silences and increasing misery.

Poor Lee has it bad, because he wasn’t even there for the big blowup. Sakura will at least be civil towards him, but the tension between his crush and Naruto and her with no remedy in sight upsets him, though he does his best not to show it.

At least they’ve finally found a store that will sell them the materials and instructions on how to build twelve smallish shrines that can withstand the elements, so silver linings.

They just need to buy the right colors of waterproof paint and some offerings and it’ll all be ready.

Just in time too.

Now at lunchtime, she feels increasingly keyed up at the sight of Sakura’s steadily diminishing portions, getting more and more agitated until digging her nails into her legs is the only thing stopping her from marching over there and— and—

And at this point she’d almost be more worried if this was all her than if it wasn’t.

It gets to the point where she pours it all out to Gai-sensei one morning during training, while Naruto and Lee are busy sparring.

Gai-sensei’s eyebrows furrow, and he’s quiet for a long time.

“Sometimes,” He says eventually. “My most cool and hip rival does not feel very youthful. There are days where he is fighting many battles in his head. So many that plenty of tasks become like perilous trials in his already burdened state. Do you know what I do?”

She shakes her head

He smiles. “I try to see what he needs. Some days, he needs privacy and time, so I give that to him. Others, he needs a reminder of the present, that the battles in his mind need not impede the Springtime of our Youth, so we undertake most youthful challenges together.”

He claps a hand on her shoulder. “Your rival is trying her best to blossom as you and Naruto and Lee have done. You merely need to be there as best you can for her, to judge whether it is prudent to give her time or to test her mettle against yours. Do not try to force it. A rival is an equal, someone who you trust to stand alongside you rather than someone you need to protect.”

“I’m not sure if Sakura’s my rival.” She admits, rubbing the back of her neck. “...but I thought we were equals. I just don’t know why she thinks that I don’t think she’s my friend.”

“You did say that her attempts to improve herself, however ill-advised, meant she was insane.” Gai-sensei points out.

What?

Oh.

Oh.

“I’m an idiot, aren’t I?” She says miserably.

Gai-sensei ruffles her hair. “Not to worry, Mayu-chan! Admitting you have a problem is the first step to being able to rectify it!”

She thunks her head against her knees and groans.

So she’s made mistakes and needs to make up for them.

The only problem now is working out how.

It’s something she puzzles over for most of breakfast, and on their walk to the Academy.

Gai-sensei said to let Sakura “test her mettle” if she’d had enough time to herself.

And those terms she keeps using—sidekick, heroine, rival—sound like something out of a comic book or cheesy novel.

Wait.

Narrative roles.

The part of her that’s been trained to break down literature and rebuild it into a coherent thesis begins ticking over the possibilities.

She cautiously grins to herself. “I think I know how to help Sakura.”

Naruto and Lee look at her with naked hope in their eyes.

It’s like her favorite quote says: The value in fairy tales isn’t that they tell us dragons exist—but that dragons can be beaten.

Fortunately for her, today is a sparring day.

Even more fortunately, her first opponent is Shikamaru.

He can see she’s up to something so he forfeits in record time.

When Sakura stands opposite her, she gives her best innocent smile while they lock fingers.

“Y’know, I still don’t get why you’re even interested in that guy. You’re about a million times prettier than him, you know.”

So that’s what pink hair looks like against a red face and thERE is a punch.

It’s wimpy compared to what she’s previously seen, no real force or form behind it.

“A-are your eyes working?” Sakura sputters, trying to regain her composure. “Of course he’s prettier!”

She grins, making no move to fight back beyond blocking or dodging. “Eh, you’re a ten out of ten, he’s a five on a good day.”

She thinks she hears Uchiha screech from the sidelines as Sakura tries to force her emotions back under the mask. She darts in and pokes her opponent’s cheek before darting away again.

The pink-haired girl makes a sound not unlike a whistling kettle and begins to chase her around the ring.

“You honestly think you can beat me as you are now?” She taunts, mentally cringing at the line. “You can’t win if you keep half-assing it. You’re better than this Sakura, I know you are.”

“No. I’m. Not.” The next kick actually whistles past her ear. “I need to get stronger so he’ll look at me. I need to get stronger so you and Ino-chan don’t get hurt again!”

She darts forward to flick her opponent’s arm. “And this is the best way? Constantly putting yourself down, starving yourself, playing weak to look “ladylike”? Could you even protect Akamaru by hiding your strength like this?”

A growl emerges from Sakura’s throat. “You wanna see strength? I’ll show you strength, shannaro!!”

She spreads out her arms, grinning. “Finally. C’mon heroine. Stop holding back and show me what you really can do!”

Sakura’s punch connects so hard stars burst behind her eyelids.

She stumbles back a step or two and spits the excess blood into her palm.

She blinks at the small white things that come with it, poking experimentally around her mouth with her tongue.

Chopper’s Rumble Balls.

Sakura’s actually knocked her front teeth out.

They’re only baby teeth, but still. She can’t really help her burst of slightly incredulous laughter.

And this—this bubblegum bruiser thinks she’s just the sidekick.

Whispery boisterous laughter echoes in her ears.

She feels like her grin is going to split her face in two.

The pink-haired girl is babbling, horror clear on her face. “Oh my gosh, Mayu-chan, are you okay?! I’m so—”

She holds up a warning finger. “Don’t. Don’t you dare apologize for that, Haruno. If you do, I’ll kick your ass, I swear to Luffy.”

Haruno Sakura stares at her, bewilderment, guilt and irritation flashing across her face.

Then she squares her shoulders.

“As if you could.”

Iruka-sensei calls off the match then and there before they can really get into it, unfortunately.

He sends her inside to wash the blood out of her mouth once he’s reassured that it was only her baby teeth she’s lost.

He seems perturbed when she mentions putting the teeth under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy. Telling him that the Tooth Fairy gives good children money for more than one tooth doesn’t appear to help matters.

She gets back outside in time to see Sakura rush at Ino with a grin that bares all her teeth.

Ino, for her part, stares at her friend with something like amazed awe in her eyes, and only very narrowly dodges a black eye at the last second.

Their fight can only be called “dance-like” in the sheer synchronization of throwing blows. Otherwise it’s nothing that can be called elegant, or Nami, Robin and Vivi forbid, dainty.

It’s one of the most beautiful things she’s ever seen. She thinks they might even surpass Naruto and Uchiha’s fights in terms of passion.

And now she sounds like Gai-sensei.

Maybe time to quit her musings while she’s ahead.

She sidles up to Naruto. “How‘s Sakura?” She lisps quietly.

“So awesome.” Naruto breathes almost without realizing it, transfixed on the girl in the ring.

She pokes him in the side. He jumps and scowls at her.

“Kaa-san’s gonna ban you from cooking again, believe it.” He informs her.

“Not if you don’t tell she won’t.” She replies, doing her best imitation of his puppy-eyes.

“I’m gonna tell.” Naruto says immediately, the traitor. “And I’mma tell Tou-san and Gai-sensei that you stood there and let Sakura-chan hit you.”

She breaks out in a cold sweat at the thought of all the extra kata her father and Gai-sensei will put her through when they hear that she was messing around in a spar.

She flops forward at the waist. “Ugh.”

Naruto snickers.

She straightens up when Sakura and Ino begin screaming at each other about protection and supporting even really bad romantic endeavors and what sounds like the plot of a romance novel and standing side-by-side instead of in front or maybe in front is okay if they fight for it?

She doesn’t quite get what they’re saying.

Judging by their faces, neither do most of the Lunchtime Group, the rest of their class, or Iruka-sensei.

Well, even if it doesn’t quite make sense to her, Sakura looks a lot happier, if bruised and bloody.

That’s more than worth losing her front teeth and a week of cooking over, no matter how much the latter pains her.

She fiddles with the teeth in her palm, running her thumb over the root. They’re always so much smaller than it feels like they should be.

“Did people of your world really believe there’s a fairy that collects teeth?” Naruto mutters to her as Sakura lands the decisive blow.

“Kids were taught to.” She lisps back, doing a bit of mental math as the pink-haired girl throws herself into the arms of her downed opponent, the pair of them sobbing their eyes out. “You’d get, like, one ryō for three teeth.”

Naruto pulls a face that manages to be disgusted and delighted at the same time. “Your world is so weird, Mayu-chan.”

She tilts her head to the side and nods, as Ino and Sakura limp out of the ring and Kiba takes some of her weight as they head to the nurse’s office. “That’s fair.”

Sakura doesn’t join them for lunch that day, but she does move one table closer from the back.

The next day it’s two tables closer, despite the grumbles from some of the other boys in class as she perches at the end.

It continues in this pattern until Sakura’s sitting at the table behind them, pretending badly that she’s not interested.

She doesn’t quite understand why. The way Shino tells it, Kiba apparently broke Sakura’s window the evening after the spars by throwing a first aid kit through it.

Sakura’s parents thought it was a sweet gesture. His Ma was Not Happy.

Despite that, the pair of them came to school the next morning looking happier than they had for weeks. Ino and Sakura have been walking home together too.

Hinata turns around. “U-um, Sakura-chan?”

Sakura cocks her head, but no more than that. “Hm?”

“I-if it’s not too much trouble, w-would you like to si-sit with us for lunch?” Hinata says.

There’s a tense silence as Sakura tilts her head, considering.

The pink-haired girl exhales gustily. “Yes please, Hinata-chan.”

Naruto cheers as she gathers her things and sits back down in between Hinata and Ino.

“Hey, hey, Sakura-chan, do you wanna come over to Mayu’s this weekend? We’re gonna be painting shrines for the StrawHats, it’ll be really fun, believe it!” He asks eagerly.

Sakura’s brow furrows, but the smile she gives to Naruto is genuine. “I-I’d love to. Thank you for inviting me, even after...I-I’m really sorry I said...”

Naruto just beams at her. “S’okay! You’re our friend after all!”

She grins into her cherries as Sakura gets up to give him a great big hug.

That afternoon, they don’t have their usual lecture.

Instead, Iruka-sensei leads the class down the hall for a sneak peek at a new addition to the Academy curriculum that would be implemented next year.

“Now this comes from a new company based in Yukigakure.” He lectures. “They were kind enough to sell these weapons to Konoha at half the price they were selling to other hidden villages.”

There’s several large wooden crate, with heavily stylized kanji and a logo of four thin diamonds arranged in a strange pattern printed on its sides.

The kanji reads: Tsuruku Industries.

She’s not sure if that’s supposed to be a pun or not.

Iruka-sensei carefully lifts the lid off of the crate, and pulls out some of the packaging covering what’s inside as everyone crowds around.

“The Council has decreed that all Academy students from next year onwards need to be at least proficient in these as they are in kunai and shuriken to graduate. You all will still be on the old graduation plan, so your jounin-sensei will probably be the ones teaching you how to use them.” He explains.

Uchiha asks him something, but she can’t hear what it is.

She’s frozen at the sight of rows of gleaming black handguns and clear cases of bullets neatly packed into the styrofoam, all decorated with four thin diamonds.

She doesn’t think she can breathe.

«What the fuck.» She wheezes, before the world goes wobbly and sideways.

#but i like one piece #my writing #naruto #one piece #reincarnation #isekai #sakura haruno #ino yamanaka #naruto uzumaki #kiba inuzuka #akamaru #nara shikamaru #hinata hyuga #shino aburame #sasuke uchiha #choji akimichi #iruka umino #naruto oc #ketsugi mayu #straw hat pirates #dieting #tw: teeth #tw: eating disorders

[ft-dads-au]

The Loudest Silence

I Take Pride In What I Am 2020 Prompt: Quiet Pairing(s): Sting x Yukino (Unrequited), Human (Weisslogia x Female Skiadrum), Master Bob & Weisslogia, Weisslogia & Sting

A Collaboration by @mdelpin​ and @oryu404​

AO3 | FF.Net

Summary: “I really like you...as more than a best friend…” 

Yukino had been his best friend since...forever? Sting couldn’t even remember not being friends with her. She was a beautiful girl, smart, kind, and funny... 

There was just one problem. 

 “I love you, I really do, but I can’t love you like that.”

April 25, 2008

“Hey, Sting? Can I talk to you for a second?”

It was a beautiful day, but not even the warmth of the sun kissing his skin or the gentle sea breeze could lift Sting’s mood. He should be at the beach on a day like this, eating shaved ice and playing volleyball with his friends. Not moping in his backyard, twisting himself up in knots about what had happened with Yukino earlier that day.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you…”

Sting wasn’t oblivious. He’d noticed it a while ago, how Yukino was acting shy around him when she’d never done so before. And touchier. Reaching out to grab his hand or put hers on his shoulder too many times for him to ignore. Sometimes, when she was chatting with some of the other girls in their class, they’d all look his way and break out into giggles, and one of them would say something to her that made her blush, all flustered.

He’d been avoiding her for some time now, feeling guilty every time he saw the sad look on her face when he all but ran back home right after school, with some lame excuse like having too much homework. That guilt was only outweighed by the hope that she’d back down, but the very scenario Sting had been so afraid of had finally played out that day.

“I really like you...as more than a best friend…”

Yukino had been his best friend since...forever? Sting couldn’t even remember not being friends with her. She was a beautiful girl, smart, kind, and funny...

There was just one problem.

“I love you, I really do, but I can’t love you like that.”

Sting didn’t like girls. He’d much rather join them as they giggled and batted their lashes at cute boys.

As a kid, he’d always been drawn to guys he’d see in movies, video clips, or magazines, but it wasn’t until reaching his teens that he’d finally recognized it for what it was. The swimmers, surfers, and runners he’d see at the beach... Sting could watch them all day, and as soon as he realized that was precisely what he was doing most of the time, it was kind of impossible to deny the attraction he felt.

To himself, at least. He hadn’t been ready to admit that to anyone else yet, but Yukino’s confession had put him on the spot. As he’d watched her gather all her courage to express her feelings, a spark of hope shimmering in her eyes, he’d decided she deserved better than to be strung along. She deserved to know the truth, even if it broke his heart to tell her.

And just as he’d feared, she didn’t take it well. The hope in her eyes was replaced by the gloss of tears, and she’d left without saying another word.

“I’m sorry, Yuki…”

Sting rolled over on the grass, dropping the comic book he’d been trying to read in the hopes of distracting his thoughts, letting his eyes follow the white wisps of clouds that were slowly drifting through the sky above him. What would happen next? Would she tell her parents and sister? Their other friends? Classmates? How would they respond? And more importantly, would this mean the end of his friendship with Yukino? Sting was having a hard time imagining his life without her as his friend, they always did just about everything together.

“It’s way too hot to be racking your brain like that,” his dad’s chuckle suddenly sounded, snapping him out of his thoughts. He sat down next to Sting on the grass, shielding his face from the bright sunlight with one of his hands. “What’s bothering you, son? Anything I can help you with?”

Sting sighed, sitting up and facing his father. As nervous as he was about coming out for the second time that day, he could really use someone to talk to. Carrying this secret was wearing him down, he’d always been a terrible liar, and he just wanted to stop hiding. His parents were usually patient and understanding with him...Surely he could tell them this, right?

“Yukino has a crush on me,” he mumbled, picking a few blades of grass and rolling them between his fingers absently.

“Oh? Well, if you want advice on how to woo a girl, I’m not your guy,” Weiss chuckled, “At least, that’s what I’ve been told. But I can tell you this: as long as you just be yourself-”

“Dad, stop,” Sting cut in, “I don’t like her that way, and I wanted to tell her that without hurting her feelings.” He rubbed at his face in exasperation, “Besides, I tried being myself, and it didn’t go well at all. She might not want to be my friend anymore...”

“I’m sure you’re overreacting. You two have been friends for years, what makes you think she’d throw that away?” his father asked, offering a reassuring smile that crushed Sting under its weight, making him feel terrible about not being the son he was thought to be. There was also a hint of worry reflected in the slight furrow on Weiss’ brow as he waited for Sting to explain what was troubling him.

“It’s because I’m-” Sting hesitated, fighting an inner war between the part of him that longed to be free from the constant feeling of deception, and the part that just wanted to live up to everyone’s expectations. He could still chicken out if he wanted to, find some half-assed excuse for his words and behavior so he could stall for a little longer, but the truth would have to come out eventually. Besides, if Yukino ended up spreading the word, it would reach his parents sooner rather than later anyway. He’d prefer his dad hear it from him.

“I’m gay,” he admitted in a deep exhale, and just saying it out loud lifted such a huge burden from his shoulders already. He finally found the courage to look his father in the eyes, seeking his reaction, desperately hoping for the kind of understanding he was used to from him.

But it wasn’t there. Nothing was there. Instead, his dad was unusually silent. His expression was blank, as if he was looking right through Sting. Like he wasn’t even there.

“Oh.”

Oh? That was it? He’d just poured out his heart, and all he got in return was an Oh?

“Ugh, never mind,” Sting got up, suddenly feeling everything and nothing at the same time. A disappointment so vast it left a big empty hole that numbed him. “I’m outta here.”

Deep down, he was still holding on to the hope that his dad would stop him and call him back so they could talk about it, but Weisslogia remained quiet. He just let him stomp off without as much as uttering a single word, right when Sting needed him more than ever.

Resisting the urge to wait or look back, Sting rushed through the sliding door, passing the kitchen, where his mom was busy prepping food. For once, he wasn’t hungry.

“Now, now, why the hurry?” his mother called out, trying to soothe as always— a bright smile on her lips meant to lift his spirits managing to accomplish the very opposite.

He’d never felt so lonely before. Two of the people closest to him had let him down already, and he asked himself why she would be any different. He ignored her, simply because he couldn’t handle one more.

0-0

“What happened?” was the first thing to come out of his wife when Weisslogia stepped into the kitchen, the start of a rambling that interrupted all the thoughts he still hadn’t sorted yet.

“He already seemed off today, but then he just stormed off with a face like thunder and slammed all the doors in his path. I tried to talk to him, but he won’t say a word, doesn’t even want to come out of his room…” Skiadrum abandoned the fruits she’d been cutting, covering them with mesh food protectors to keep the bugs away, and sat down on one of the bar stools at the island counter, waiting for Weiss to give her an explanation. She was worried, and he couldn’t really blame her for that.

No matter how upset he was, Sting was never unresponsive. If anything, he’d come straight to them if something was bothering him, and could easily talk their ears off about it to help him process his emotions. Knowing that, Weiss felt awful about how their conversation, or lack thereof, had gone.

“It’s my fault,” he sighed as he sat across from Skia, running a hand through his hair. “He came to me with...something, and I wasn’t much of a help.”

“Something? Nothing too serious, I hope?”

“Well…” Weiss hesitated, unsure if he’d make things worse by telling her what he knew about their son without asking him first. But he wanted to soothe his wife’s worries and fix his mistake, and he couldn’t do that without Skia’s help. He was way out of his depth.

“Well?” she repeated, impatiently waiting for him to answer her questions.

“Well, Sting just told me that he’s homosexual.”

The frown of concern immediately fell off Skiadrum’s face, making way for a deadpan expression. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see that coming,” she said, the tone of her voice indicating that she already knew the truth.

“Wait, you knew?” Weiss asked her, perking up from his slumped position in surprise.

“Oh, come on! I’ve suspected it since he was 7! Remember that day when we spent half a day shopping with him for a winter coat? And ended up buying one from the girls’ department because he insisted all the boys’ ones had boring colors?”

He’d probably never forget that day. They’d been to every single clothing store in town, had thanked all the helpful staff members who had cheerfully tried to coax their son into liking one of the available options, but Sting was immune to even the best of sales pitches. ‘Nope, I hate it,’ he’d said, carrying an attitude that was so hilarious for a kid his age it made Weiss’ tired feet worthwhile.

“I figured he just liked brighter colors,” Weiss mumbled, shrugging his shoulders, “and he always kind of went his own way. Headstrong, just like his mother,” he tried to tease, but he lacked the spirit for it.

“That could’ve been the case, but there have been other signs pointing in this direction,” Skia argued, “and adding them all up, it just made sense to me.”

Signs? Weiss wasn’t sure what exactly she meant. He’d never reached that conclusion and the fact that his wife had made him feel even worse.

He knew he was oblivious to many things, but this was their child they were talking about—his son. And Weiss had always assumed he knew him through and through. Apparently, he’d been wrong. He wasn’t the attentive father he’d hoped to be.

“Why did you never mention it?” he sulked, wishing he’d gotten a heads up so he wouldn’t have been tongue-tied at the admission.

Noticing his dismay, Skiadrum got up to pour them both a glass of wine. “Because I could just as well have been wrong, and even if I wasn’t, it was still up to him to decide when he was ready to talk to us about it.”

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” she asked once she’d sat back down again and had a sip of wine, “Did your conversation go that badly?”

“There, uh...there wasn’t much of a conversation,” Weiss admitted guiltily, “I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t really say anything.”

Skiadrum almost choked in her wine.

“Oh my God, Weiss, really?!” she bleated, hiding her face in her hand, “Of course he’d take off at that, he must be thinking you’re rejecting him!”

“I’m not,” Weiss quickly assured, but as he tried to put himself in Sting’s shoes, he realized that was exactly what it must have looked like. “Oh, crap...I really messed up.”

“No, you haven’t-” Skia reached across the table to take her hand in his and chuckled, “Okay, maybe a little, but we all make mistakes. If I’d told you about my suspicions, this might not have happened, so I’m at fault here too. Now, let’s clear it up together, shall we?” She smiled at him and squeezed his hand, “You go talk to him, I’ll get started on a peace offering.”

She got up again, taking her wine glass with her as she moved to the counter and made room for the mixing bowl.

Weisslogia nodded absently, absorbed in his own thoughts. He had to admit, now that his wife had mentioned it, he was starting to see some of Sting’s quirks in a new light.

He was still letting the news sink in, trying once again to think about what he wanted to say, what he was supposed to say. But his mind was caught up in events that had happened long ago and knowing what he did, he couldn’t help but be scared for his son. And with that thought in mind, he decided to call the one person he knew who could help him.

0-0

“You did WHAT?” Bob yelled at Weiss through the phone, outraged at what he’d just been told, “Weisslogia Eucliffe, you utter simpleton!”

“I know, I know…” Weiss agreed, “and I’m working on it, okay? I just- I don’t know this stuff, and I really need your help.”

“Pfft, obviously,” his long time friend scoffed, “This stuff...Oh, that poor kid.”

“Not helping…” Weiss reminded him through gritted teeth, forcing a smile onto his face even though he knew Bob couldn’t see him, but he hoped it would help him remain somewhat positive. “Look, I just want to be a good dad, but I’m way out of my league here. I’m guessing he has questions, and I don’t know how to answer them. I’ll have to give him the talk again, don’t I? Where do I even begin? And what if someone-?”

“Pipe down,” Bob interrupted with a sigh, and it was then Weiss realized he’d been pacing through his study, almost pulling the old, corded phone off the desk. “Seriously, grab that pipe of yours and calm down. I’m getting stressed just from listening to you.”

He took that advice, even though he usually never smoked inside the house, opening a window and hoping the smell wouldn’t linger for too long.

“Okay,” Bob began, “First of all, I think it’s great that you want to be there for your son to answer his questions and give him the bees and the bees talk and all, but do you really think he’s lining up for that?”

“The bees and the bees?” Weiss puzzled for a moment until he understood what Bob meant, “Oh! I get it!”

“God, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward. Anyway, the point is, I know you want to protect him, but that really isn’t what he needs from you right now. All he really needs is for you to tell him that you’re proud of him and that you love him. Can’t be too hard, right?”

Bob’s words hit Weiss hard, leaving him speechless for the second time that day. The difference was that this time, he knew exactly what to say, what he should have said in the first place, and it broke him to realize that he hadn’t. He’d been so focused on the details that he’d lost sight over what was most important.

“You’re right. I screwed up, Bob,” he said miserably, “I let my boy down, what kind of a father am I?”

“This isn’t the time for that, Weiss. You weren’t expecting it. It happens, nothing is lost yet,” Bob assured him, “Trust me, you’re already doing better than a lot of other parents out there just by making an effort. Kids get thrown out of their houses for this or receive far worse responses than complete silence. God, the shit my dad said to me…”

“Oh God, I’m sorry,” Weiss immediately replied, remembering some of the things that Bob had shared with him about his earlier life.

“Water under the bridge, love,” Bob dismissed his apology, “You were the first person to accept me just the way I was, Weisslogia. You can do this. You’re going to march right into his room and put him out of his misery. Meanwhile, I will email you all the resources we use at the center so that you can be ready when he does ask questions. How does that sound?”

“Thanks,” Weiss smiled weakly into the phone, thinking it was a shame that Bob had moved back to Magnolia. He missed having him around as a friend. They had been through so much together during the time they’d lived together as roommates, first in med school and later when Bob had spent a few years in Edolas.

He could still remember all the terrible reactions Bob had gotten just for being proud of who he was and being unafraid to show it. He’d endured everything from name-calling, discrimination, and threats, to actual physical abuse. The latter was still freshly engraved on Weiss’ retinas like it happened only yesterday instead of decades ago, and the mere thought of something like that happening to Sting was enough to send his protective instincts into overdrive.

“Weiss?” Bob’s voice had turned somber, and Weisslogia instinctively tensed up. “I know where your mind is going, but… it was a different time. Our situations are different, okay? He’s going to be just fine.”

“Okay,” Weiss managed, he didn’t fully believe it, but his friend’s words did give him some comfort. “Thanks again, you’re the best.”

“Any time, dear,” Bob chirped, “Let me know how it went, and give Skia a big hug from me.”

They ended the call, and Weiss put out his pipe, feeling better now that he’d talked to Bob and got the reality check he’d needed.

He took a deep breath as he left the study and made his way upstairs, smiling at the sweet smell coming from the kitchen.

0-0

Sting’s room was a mess. There were clothes scattered all over the floor, ripped out of the closet as he’d picked out the ones to shove in a bag under the sound of loud music. Sting knew that the incident between him and his dad wasn’t over just yet, but he wanted to be ready to get the hell out if worse came to worst. He’d heard about parents having bad reactions before, but he had never expected that from his own family and best friend. He just assumed the worst, not knowing what to expect anymore.

As he took down the fairy lights that were hanging on the wall right next to his bed, his attention was gripped by the pictures he’d hung up just below them. Pictures of places he loved to visit, like the beach or the zoo. Pictures of him with Yukino and with his parents. He took one of them down, carefully removing the thumbtack and pushing it back into the wallpaper while he studied it up close.

It was a picture of Sting and his parents that one of the nurses at the clinic had taken last year. Sting was wearing his dad’s white coat and name tag for a class presentation. It looked kind of silly, as it was a few sizes too large on him, and they’d stuck with that theme by making funny faces at the camera—a happy family like they’d always been.

Pfft, yeah, right. What a joke!

Sting gazed at it, still remembering how he’d felt that day, so eager to fill his father’s shoes. His father was someone he’d always looked up to. He worked hard and had made a difference in so many people’s lives over the years, running the clinic, where everyone was treated equally regardless of how much money they made or what job they held.

Apparently, he didn’t view everyone as equally as Sting had thought.

Not able to contain his frustration, he moved over to his nightstand to grab some of his comic books. There were several he hadn’t gotten around to reading, and he wasn’t about to leave them behind. Once he’d scanned them all and picked his favorites, he turned around to put them in his already stuffed bag and nearly jumped out of his skin when he noticed his dad standing in the doorway, staring at him in dismay.

“Can we talk?”

“Oh, so now you want to talk?” Sting chided, struggling to close the zipper of his bag, “Okay, sure. Whatever you have to say, just say it.”

His dad sighed, the sound inaudible over the out-of-place pop tunes but visible through his body language, “You surprised me, that’s all.”

“I surprised you?” Sting slung the words back, “How do you think I feel?”

Outraged by his father’s words, Sting couldn’t keep still, his body thrumming with nervous energy. He began taking a few items out of the bag, throwing them aside to make room for different ones.

“Can you please turn that down so we can talk?”

When Sting ignored his request, his father went ahead and turned off the music himself. “There, that’s better. It’s a hot day, isn’t it?” he pointed out, “Why don’t we sit outside for a while?”

He opened the door that led out to the balcony they shared and walked out, leaving the door open for Sting to follow.

Sting took one last look around his room, trying to decide what to do. His dad was acting oddly calm, which allowed a voice in the back of his head to suggest it might not be so bad. Still, its negative counterpart immediately reminded him that he hadn’t made any attempt whatsoever to stop him from packing his stuff either.

He’s just gonna let you leave, just like he let you walk away before, it taunted, and Sting had never felt so worthless.

Despite his fears, he went outside, his eyes glued to the ground because he knew it would only take one glance at his father’s face for him to break.

“Have I ever told you that your mother and I thought we’d never be able to have children?” his dad spoke the moment Sting stepped out on the balcony. “We’d been trying for years, and when it finally happened, your mom had a miscarriage that almost took her life. After that, we’d decided not to try anymore. But then, when we weren’t expecting it, you came along.”

He came closer, putting both his hands on Sting’s shoulders, “Hey, look at me.”

Sting obeyed hesitantly, noticing to his great surprise that his dad was smiling at him, the way he did so often. A proud smile that was both everything Sting wanted to see and unbearable to look at at the same time.

“You are the best thing that’s happened to us, and nothing will ever change that,” he said, hugging Sting close to his chest. “I’m so sorry for not having the words to tell you that right away.”

Sting’s doubts melted away as he felt the warmth of his father’s arms wrapped around him, and the reassurance of kisses pressed into his hair. He’d so sworn to himself that he wasn’t going to cry, damn it, he wasn’t a little kid anymore. But in that moment of overwhelming relief, he felt five years old all over again.

“You smell of pipe,” he accused as he sniffled, burying his face into his dad’s shirt anyway, squeezing him so hard it made his old man chuckle.

“It was prescribed this time,” his father replied innocently.

“I’m sure,” Sting nodded, unsure whether he should be convinced.

“So, are we okay, or…?” Weisslogia asked, pulling away to look him in the eyes again.

He considered the question.

Were they okay?

Sting thought about how discouraged he’d felt just a few short minutes ago when he’d thought that everyone he loved was now against him. Now that he realized that wasn’t the case, he felt kind of bad for having so little trust in his dad, and for all the bad thoughts his anger and fear had fed him.

“Yeah, I- uhm, I guess I may have overreacted a little? You know, with the whole packing my bag thing…”

“No, it’s understandable. I can only imagine how scary it must’ve been for you to tell me, and when I should’ve been there to take those fears away, I only made them worse. Definitely not my proudest moment as a parent,” Weisslogia remarked. “But I need you to know that I’m thankful you’ve told me and that you can always ask or tell me anything. I may not have all the answers, but I’ll do my best to be there for you whenever you need me.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Sting shrugged his shoulders. “Consider yourself forgiven,” he smirked, trying to joke it off, but he quickly dropped the act.

“Thanks, dad. That means a lot to me.”

“It means a lot to me too,” his dad smiled again, giving him another quick hug.

“I should talk to mom, huh?” Sting figured, remembering how he’d shut her out earlier when she’d tried talking to him.

“Only if you want to,” his father assured him, “but I have a feeling she will take it much better than you think,” and knowing his parents too well, Sting guessed that this feeling his dad was speaking of was probably more than just that.

It didn’t matter. Sting took his word for it, which made him a lot less nervous when they went back inside. His suspicions were confirmed when they came down the stairs and were greeted with the smell of something sweet and familiar. His mother would often bake a treat of sorts when he was upset, and it seemed like today was no exception.

“Hey, mom? There’s something I want to tell you,” he called out to her, taking the stairs two steps at a time, feeling more confident knowing that his dad was right behind him.

“Yeah?” she answered once they’d reached the kitchen, and sure enough, there was a plate full of cupcakes waiting for them on the island counter. She was just finishing topping off the last one with white frosting.

“I hope it won’t melt, they’re still a bit warm,” she mumbled to herself before turning her attention to Sting, “but they’re not quite done yet, something is missing…”

She rummaged through one of her cabinets, one that was perhaps even messier than Sting’s room was at the moment. Sting shared a look of wordless astonishment with his dad at how she was even able to find stuff in there, but it didn’t take long for her to return to the plate.

One by one, she decorated the cupcakes with a generous amount of rainbow sprinkles and smiled at the end result.

“That’s so much better,” she winked at Sting, “I think they’re perfect like this, don’t you?”

Sting could feel himself getting emotional again at her words, and he ran around the kitchen island to wrap his mother in a hug. “Thank you,” he managed to get the words out before bursting into tears.

“It’s nothing to cry about silly, this is a happy occasion,” he could hear the smile in her voice and feel the warmth of her body, and it struck him how lucky he was to have her as his mother. He hugged her even tighter, remembering what his father had said about her having almost died before he was born until she gently pushed him away to get a look at his face.

“I know,” he sniffled, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, “It’s just been a rough day.”

“Well, why don’t we sit down and have some cupcakes, you can tell me all about it.”

He nodded, already grabbing a cupcake and shoving the whole thing in his mouth before finding his way to one of the stools on the other side of the island. He hoped his mom could help him figure out what to do about Yukino because as relieved as he felt at the moment, he knew there was still an uncomfortable conversation in his future.

His mother waited patiently, watching him eat cupcake after cupcake, for once not even scolding him for his lack of table manners even though he could feel the stickiness of the frosting on his face.

He was getting ready to explain his predicament when the doorbell rang. His mother handed him a napkin with a smile and got up to answer it.

“I’ll get it, it’s probably one of the neighbors or something, I’ll be right back.”

Sting watched his mother walk away from the kitchen towards their foyer, grabbing another cupcake from the tray as he waited for her return.

“You feeling better?” his father asked, and Sting had to laugh when he noticed his father’s face was also covered in frosting.

“Yeah,” he admitted, after handing him a napkin of his own, “I just wish -”

“Yukino!” Sting heard his mother’s cheerful voice and tensed up once again, “You didn’t have to ring the doorbell, sweetie, you know you’re always welcome to come in from the yard!”

The sound of their steps echoed on the tiled floor, and Sting felt the cupcakes he’d already eaten settle in his stomach like a lead weight. Even though his mom was acting as if everything were normal, she had to have noticed that Yukino’s eyes were puffy, and her cheeks were blotchy from crying.

Not that Sting looked any better at the moment.

“Sting, look who’s here!”

His father saved him from responding, “Yukino! It’s been a while, how are you, dear?”

“Just fine, Dr. Eucliffe, thank you,” she attempted to smile, “Is it okay if I borrow Sting for a few minutes?”

Sting could feel the combined weight of both his parent’s glances, but it was his father who answered. “Of course.”

Just as he was getting up from the stool, he felt his father’s hand grab his and squeeze tightly as he mouthed the words Just be yourself at him. He gave a small nod in return and led the way outside through the sliding door.

“Do you wanna...sit here?” he gestured towards the bench swing where they had often whiled away entire afternoons, feeling kind of awkward and unsure what to say.

“Okay,” Yukino’s voice was quiet, and her movements were stiff as she sat down. Sting sat next to her rocking the swing slowly to give his antsy legs something to do.

They sat like this for several moments, neither saying a word, and Sting came to the conclusion that she had come to break off their friendship. The way she had rung the doorbell instead of coming in like she always did, how she wouldn’t even look at him.

It hurt, but he decided to be the bigger person.

“Sting, I-”

“It’s okay-”

Sting stopped talking and gestured to her to continue.

“I, uhm, I wanted to say I was sorry for running off on you like that,” Yukino’s voice quavered, and when she finally looked at him he was shocked to see the sadness clouding her usually sunny features,” You’re probably pretty mad at me, huh?”

“Mad?” Sting’s head jerked in confusion, “No, of course not. I was just scared that you’d hate me and wouldn’t want to be friends anymore.”

“No, of course I want to be friends, the best of friends. I just-” Yukino sighed, “I was embarrassed and a little hurt and confused.”

“It was probably dumb of me to think that-” she began, and once again, Sting could hear the tremble in her voice. It made him feel terrible for making her feel that way, but he also knew he couldn’t have avoided the situation for much longer.

She took a deep breath, but it didn’t seem to help much. “Sorano said I was being silly, that this way I could have you forever and we could talk about boys and go shopping and-”

She wasn’t able to continue, as the tears that she had been trying to contain refused to stay hidden any longer.

Sting tapped her on her shoulder, and when she finally peered at him, he held out his arms in silent invitation. Yukino hesitated for a moment before accepting his embrace.

“You’re not silly, it’s not like you can choose who you like or anything…” Sting talked while letting her cry out her feelings in his arms. He sighed before apologizing, not for who he was, but for how he had inadvertently made her feel. “I’m sorry, I never meant to hurt you.”

“Yeah, Sorano said that too,” she sniffled, moving away to begin the interrogation he’d been expecting, “How long have you known?”

Sting averted his eyes and kept them fixed on the flowers in his mother’s garden, “About two years, I guess…”

“Oh. That’s a long time,” Yukino replied, and Sting could hear it, the hurt in her voice, intensifying the guilt he’d already felt over the way he’d handled this.

“You could have told me,” she chided, “I’m your best friend, and I didn’t even have a clue.”

“No, I couldn’t,” Sting snapped, frustrated that she still didn’t seem to get it, “especially not with the way you were acting.”

“I’m sorry,” he sighed, immediately regretting his outburst, “that was uncalled for. It’s just… none of this is easy for me. I’ve heard the way people talk at school about this stuff, what was I supposed to do?”

“You don’t need to apologize, you’re right, I was out of line,” she replied, holding his gaze evenly.

“I did want to tell you,” Sting ran his fingers through his hair, thinking of all the times he’d considered the idea, but something always made him hold back, and then she’d developed a crush on him. “But I- I was nervous about how you’d react, and I had no idea how or when to bring it up.”

Yukino nodded before looking down at her hands which were clasped on her lap, “It just all feels so strange, we used to tell each other everything, and I don’t want that to change.”

“Neither do I,” Sting shook his head, “No more secrets?” He held out his hand with only his pinky extended, breathing a sigh of relief when Yukino met it with hers right away.

“No more secrets.”

“So...are we good?” Sting still felt a little unsure until she flashed him one of her smiles. It wasn’t as vibrant as always, but he could glimpse a ghost of her usual smile lurking underneath, and he knew then that they were going to be okay.

“Yeah, we’re good,” she assured him.

“Thank God, I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d rather spend a lifetime of talking about boys and going shopping with.”

“Good,” Yukino managed a giggle,” cause you seriously need some fashion help.”

“You know what?” Sting examined the clothes he was wearing, wrinkling his nose at how plain they felt. When he was still younger, he hadn’t given a damn about what anyone thought of his fashion choices, and he’d love to get that back after hiding for so long.

“You’re totally right. Half the contents of my closet are already on the floor, I might as well throw some stuff out and get a new wardrobe,” he decided.

Yukino rolled her eyes and teased, “How is that any different from how your room normally looks?”

“Shots fired.”

Yukino laughed as she swatted away Sting’s finger guns. The sliding door opened, and they turned to see his parents bringing out plates of food.

“Everything okay, you two?”

Sting smiled at his parents, “Yeah, everything’s just fine.”

And for the first time that day, he actually believed it.

#fairy tail #ftdadsau #ftlgbtpride2020 #sting eucliffe #ftlgbtales #I Take Pride In What I Am 2020 #prompt: quiet #fics #dads pride 2020

[soyouareandrewdobson]

Digging through the archives 1: The ReBoot drama

Hello and welcome to one of the first “subsections” of posts I am going to make on this tumblr for the sake of an easier overview. This one is titlted “Digging through the archives”, because it will always relate to something I will find by literally looking for some of the oldest “opinion” or personal related stuff about Dobson that there is. So think of this here less as me tackling his comics and more of my own version of what the Hypocrisy of Andrew Dobson does.

With that explanation out of the way, lets just briefly talk about Dobson and his idea of fan entitlement; If you have followed Dobson throughout the last year or so, you know he has a very low opinion on fans of the original She-Ra and He-Man, 80s cartoons in general and Star Wars, to the point he thinks the people behind it are all potential alt righters (link red flag comic) or basically man children.

 To anyone who knows Dobson however, it would be no surprise now to learn that he has a tendency to be the same kind of way to other people and creators. Like when he whined to an actual writer on a Frozen related property about the necessity of giving Elsa a girlfriend, which even resulted in Aaron Sparrow being involved at one point, a professional animator and comic writer on the Boom Comics related Darkwing Duck issues. A prime example on how Dobson will literally make himself also unsympathetic to the people he wants to work for/with.

 But then there is what I found in relation to a little animated series by the name of ReBoot and that is really where both his entitlement and egotism kinda shine.

For those unaware: ReBoot was a computer animated adventure show produced by Mainframe Entertainment and ran from 1994 to 2001. It is actually listed as the first fully computer animated cartoon out there and is fondly remembered by a lot of people. Unfortunately, I myself have never watched it so I can’t give a “valid” opinion on it. All I have seen so far are clips on youtube but I will admit that what I have seen in them looks fun and intriguing, even if the animation at parts (especially in season 1 related content) has not aged that well. But hey, early computer animation, that is forgivable. And any media that manages to make an episode that is also in a way a huge tribute to Evil Dead of all things in a children cartoon is a big win for me.

Now, how is ReBoot connected to Dobson? Dobson has been a fan of ReBoot, a fact he made publicly known when in 2007 rumors of a continuation of ReBoot emerged. Something Dobson, again, the man who is pissed about the entitlement of She-Ra fans, has not been very happy about.

But Dobson, what is so wrong about being “different” from the past? After all, let the past die! The original show had terrible artwork! And not everything back in the day was good, right?

 Yeah, it is pretty obvious how his complaining and stands against “modern” fans ring pretty hollow when he himself acted as the entitled brat he thinks critics of new She-Ra and Thundercats Roar are, back in 2007 already. Also I honestly feel that at the very least the creators of that idea gave their fans still more “control” than Rian Johnson did. And we all know how much Star Wars suffered in terms of reputation because of it.

BTW, this webcomic continuation mentioned? It is actually not just a rumor that went nowhere, but one of the most fascinating aspects I found when reading up on ReBoot via Wikipedia. The idea was that of the five potential pitches (so again, there was variety given that even could have been expanded on) people could choose one that would be further adapted. Additionally the people behind the idea were looking for more active input by fans, giving people the chance to apply as artists working on it if they decided to submit samples people could vote on. Something Dobson jumped actually on. And tried to manipulate in his own favor

 The thing that catches my attention at first is how hyperbole Dobson is. Claiming the fate of the show is in their hands and treating voting on this thing like it’s a live or die situation, with pointlessly writing stuff in caps as if we are reading the headline of some trashy newspaper article. It just comes off less as someone who is a fan and more of a fanatic of the show. Second, I just find it hilarious that of all the plattforms online Dobson decided to post that “VERY IMPORTANT” information people should act immediately on, was deviantart. Did he genuinely expect people would flock to what he wrote in order to immediately do something about the vote? Deviantart even back then was mostly for posting fanart, few people read journals and even less people cared for ReBoot. I don’t know if the /co/ board of 4chan existed back in 2007 already, but he would have had more success posting on there and get the information out, than on dA.

 Lastly, the shameless self promotion. Stating he does not care which pitch wins, when only three day prior he whined how they all suck and he wishes the show would be done justice by someone. That someone obviously being him, the person who is so hardcore as a fan, because he already waited 8 years just to watch season 3. Damned be any other artists or pitches that may be better or more popular than him, HE is the true messiah and that is his chance to shine. So don’t be “neutral” and judge fairly based on actual competence, talent and effort, just vote for him blindly or else Trump wins the second term and your beautiful nation turns into the fourth rei- I mean,  Dobson will be a very sad guy who has come to terms with the fact he is not talented enough to work on a reboot/continuation of his favorite children show.

Well, it seemed to have had some impact though, as four day later he posted this

 And obviously Dobson is pissed his favorite pitch did not win and instead of being grateful for the good ratings some of his artwork got he focuses instead on the fact that his Enzo and Megabyte pic had the lowest rating. Which in my opinion it kinda deserved. I mean, look at those artpieces:

Enzo is okayish looking but the rest? That is not Megabyte and a genuine background, it is a cola light version of the entire Ripley disaster with the Samus Artwork commission. Also, Enzo’s hands just look weird. His fingers more alien than they need to be and the position of his legs not really adjusting to how the hip is supposed to move. The comic sample page that Dobson drew being okay overall, aside of the fact that Enzo in one panel HAS FOUR INSTEAD OF FIVE FINGERS ON ONE HAND DESPITE HAVING FIVE FINGERS IN A PREVIOUS PANEL. I am also not really a fan of how Dobson puts emphasize on the word “FAN” and “PAGES” in the post, indicating he thinks he is a better and bigger fan than any of the people who submitted their entries too, off handedly praising them but also making it obvious he thinks he is the most fit for the job, because he can also “copy any artstyle” and adjust to the needs of his superiors. Yeah, sure. That’s why you are nowadays and with even more time and effort put into your work so “good” at imitating Ladybug, your comics look exactly like in the show…

 Now considering that Dobson does not have ReBoot under his resume and likely tried his best to bury any enthusiasm for it, you can imagine how this chance at being an official artist ended up.

 Not even much of a follow up or introspective in why he may have not won. His enthusiasm died within two days.

And honestly, I am surprised that as a result he did not fake depression and rage quit doing comics for a month or so as he did here and there.

And that is pretty much the end of the ReBoot drama, at least as far as I know.

If you are interested what happened with the comic project, here is what I managed to gather:

The project did actually not die in development, but “ReBoot: Arrival” would be reimagined under the name “Code of Honour” and be published online in three “issues” over the course of the next few months. The comic’s status as “canon” continuation of the show is however very much in the air, as quite a lot of people think it is something of a fanfiction, others think it is a good enough continuation that unfortunately still does not deliver on an “ultimate” ending of the franchise. That said, with additional plans like a movie trilogy never been realized and the “reboot” known as “ReBoot: The Guardian Code” having been perceived as an insult by fans and a disappointment by most audiences (which Dobson was surprisingly silent about) this comic seems to be the best thing fans can still hope for and read.

Yeah, I am not even kidding. The comic is still up. Here, have two links to independent pages if you want to either read it for the first time or revisit it for the sake of nostalgia.

As for Dobson, if he reads this, I just have one thing to say to you: Don’t you ever again try to whine about how entitled fanboys are, if you felt entitled enough yourself you tried to manipulate a competition in your own favor in the hope to become a writer and then exploit ReBoot for your own agenda and benefit.

#andrew dobson #syac #tom preston #she-ra #reboot #reboot:the guardian code #western animation #computer animation #bob #megabyte #enzo #hypocrisy

[layce2015]

Life is Strange 2 (Sean Diaz x Reader)

Chapter 10: On The Road Again

Chapter 9

*Sean's POV*

Charles drives up to the Reynolds house and pulls over. Chris and Daniel jump out the back and start playing in the snow, (Y/N) follows as she climbs out. "Looks like Daniel found a new brother..." Charles said as we watch them run around. "No kidding...He dumped me like a rock..." I said as I watch them then I look over and see (y/n) leaning against the truck for a moment before she joins the boys as she starts to act like a zombie. "Argh...I'm a zombie! I'm here to eat your brains." She said and the boys squeal as they run from her then start throwing snowballs at her.

"I'm glad you three came along...It's great that Chris found a new friend out here..." Charles said and I nod at him. "So...what's the story between you and the girl?" He asked me. "Oh...uh....we're just...just friends...." I said. "Oh...well....I've just noticed how close you two are. I just didn't know if there was something going on." He said and I give a small smile to this.

"Anyway...It's good for me to get out too...We've had a rough time over the past couple of years...My wife, Emily...She died two years ago. Obviously, it was tough on Chris..." he admits. "Shit...I'm sorry, man..." I said to him. "Thanks...It's been a struggle...Especially...trying to be a good dad..." he said. "You're...doing your best...Chris is awesome. And...he's got a wonderful imagination..." I informed him. "Thanks for saying that...Chris does have talent...he's a storyteller." Charles said.

"Yeah. He showed up when I was drawing at the market. He gave me some tips..." I said to him. "When I look at you and Daniel...how close you two are...I realize I'm far from being up to the task. Chris deserves a real family. Anyway...I shouldn't have brought this up. Okay...Forget it..." he said then he turns his head.

"Do you have some...kind of problems?" I asked him. "I'm just...not the man I was...I shouldn't even have brought this up, you know just forget it..." he said, embarrassed. "No worries...Didn't mean to make you feel bad..." I said.

"We all have our ups and downs, right? That's how life works. Your grandparents sure did have their share of downs, too...But they're always there for us. For Chris. They seem like good people." Charles said to me.

"Chris talked to me and (y/n)...He said that...you sometimes lose it...When you're drunk." I said and his eyes widen at this. "Oh, fuck..." He mutters, distraught. "Maybe...You should get some help...Don't handle this alone..." I said and he sighs. "Shit. Maybe you're right. His grandparents...my wife's parents. They offered me their help and...They want Chris to go live with them. I haven't replied yet. Maybe I could...s-send him away for a little while. Give me time to get my shit together..." he said and I nodded. "Might do him good. Yeah..." I said.

"I know I gotta do better. I can't let pain define who I am. Everyone has to go through some shit...But they're always there for us. For Chris. They seem like good people." He said. "Yeah, my...my mom left my dad a long time ago...she...never came back...She broke all ties with her parents, too..." I said as I look down. "Sorry for bringing that up." He said.

"It's okay. I hope they don't stress out because we haven't come back..." I said and he nods. "Yeah, we should get you three home...Don't keep them waiting." He said and I nod. "Yeah..." I said and I get out of Charles' truck then I turn around to look back at Charles.

"Oh and...Uh...Thanks...for your honesty. I'll try my best to be a better...dad...for Chris." He said and I nod at him then I turn around towards Daniel, Chris and (y/n). "Hey buddy, wanna set up that Christmas tree?" Charles asked Chris as he runs up to the truck. "Yeah!" He said. "Well, I'll get there before you with my Dadmobile!" Charles said and Christ smiles. "No way you can beat Captain Spirit!" Chris said then he turns to Daniel and said. "See you later, Superwolf!" Then Chris flies off towards his house, Charles steadily behind him in the car.

*(y/n) POV*

"Hello! Hello? Claire? Stephen?" Sean calls out as we enter the house ans shut the door. "Looks like Grandma and Grandpa haven't come back from church yet." Daniel said. "Well. At least they won't yell at us for going out..." I said and Sean shrugs. "That was so cool to spend time with Chris at the market!" Daniel said with a smile.

"So...did you set things straight with him? Told him the truth?" Sean asked him. "Yeah, yeah, I did...He was disappointed..." Daniel said. "Of course he was. You lied to him." I said and Daniel looks down then back up at us.

"Did you know Chris's mom was an artist?" He said. "I...didn't...How so?" Sean asked. "She drew comics! You should see her drawings, they're so cool. Just like yours!" Daniel replied and Sean smiles. "Thanks, dude."

"Hey! Uh..." Daniel said then he looks down. "What? What is it?" I asked.  "Guys...I wanna go check on the room...upstairs. I know it's Mom's. Please..." he begs and Sean shakes his head. "Daniel, you heard Claire. They will freak out if they know we went inside." He said to him, firmly. "We won't tell them! We'll be in total stealth mode! They won't know anything if we make it quick...It's just... I really want to know what's inside. What kind of stuff she had. Chris had tons of things that belonged to his mom. And I have nothing! Come on, guys...You guys don't even have to come with me...if you don't want to..." Daniel said as he starts to head up the steps.

I sigh at this as I look over at Sean and he could tell it from my face that we have to go with Daniel. "Fuck it. We'll come with you...So you don't make a mess and get us caught." said Sean and we head upstairs and examine the locked door together.

"The door is still locked! I just...Don't get why they lock the room. What's the big deal?" Daniel asked as Sean and I check the door. "We'll find a way to open it." Sean said and Daniel looks up at him. "Sean, this is super easy! I can just break the lock with my power!" He said. "Yeah, I could do that with a hammer...But let's try and find the key instead, alright?" Sean said and Daniel nods. "And if we can't find the key...I still have an unbended paper clip we could use it." I said. "Yeah, we could....but like I said...let's find it first." Sean said and we start searching for the key.

"I'm just gonna clean up real quick." Daniel said as he heads to the bathroom and cleans up, then heads to the staircase to act as lookout. "Guys, hurry...I'll stay here in case they come back." He said as Sean and I look around in his grandparent's room. 

"Didn't you say you saw her lock that door the other day?" I called out to Daniel as I look through the nightstand and Sean looks through the cabinets. "Yeah." Daniel replied. "Do you remember what she was wearing?" I asked him. "Uh...she was wearing this weird cardigan." He replied and Sean and I exchange a look then Sean runs out of the room and head towards the bathroom. 

I follow him and see him digging in the hamper until he pulled out the key. "I found one key, so it better fit." He said as we head over to the door. "Just try it!" He said and Sean inserts the key into the door and pushes it open. He enters the room and Daniel and I follow as we looks around to see a few items strewn about but also boxes inside.

"Wow. There's not that much left. Where do you think they put the rest of her stuff?" Daniel asked us as we look around the small room. "It's her teenage room, I'm sure she...sorted through her things before leaving for Seattle. The rest is probably packed in these boxes." Sean replied. "Sean...What do you think happened to all the stuff in my room? When we left..." Daniel asked. "I don't know, enano...I wish I could answer that." Sean replied. "Okay..." Daniel said as he picks up a book and sits down to read it. 

"I miss not having any memories of her, Sean...Why would they remove all the pictures..." He said. "Because they made them sad..." Sean said and Daniel nods. "Yeah...Dad did the same thing too...I've never seen any picture of Mom in our home." Daniel said, sadly.

Eventually, I come up to a dresser and saw that there was a letter. I picked it up and realized that this was a recent letter and I look it over, while I frown at it. "Boys..." I said and they see the letter in my hand as I walk over to the bed and sot down. "What's it say? Read it!" Daniel exclaims, desperately, as he sits on my right side and Sean sits on my left.

"I've heard the news about Seattle. Please help my boys if they come to you..." I read and Daniel looks up at me. "What? Why did they hide this from us?!" He asked. "I don't know..." Sean said and I continue to read. "You can reach me at this address, it's a PO Box I use sometimes." I read. "What's a PO box?" Daniel asked. "Well, a cop out...in this case..." Sean grumbles and I give him a small frown before I continue reading. "I beg you please help my sons." I finished and Sean scoffs.

"Oh yeah, right...Total bullshit." He growls. "What do you mean? She cares about us!" Daniel exclaims. "Well...I don't..." Sean said. "Maybe she...changed her mind! We could try and contact her!" Daniel said. "You don't even know her, okay?! Don't get any wrong ideas. We should just...stick to our plan. For now..." Sean said, firmly, and Daniel looks down in sadness.

"Can I read it...?" Daniel asked me and I nod. "Yeah...Then we gotta go..." I said when suddenly Claire and Stephen enter the room. "My Goodness. What happened...?" She said to us and we jumped up in shock and fear. "Shit!" Sean and I exclaim.

"Excuse me, what are you three doing in here?! Except, visibly...ransacking our house while we're at church?" Claire asked us, angrily. "Claire...We're sorry...But we just wanted to --" Sean started to say but Claire talks over her. "No one ever told you that everything you say before a but has no value? You know you shouldn't be in here!" She yells.

"Claire, please. Calm down..." Stephen said to her. "No, Stephen! They went way out of line here! We specifically told you to stay out of this room!" She shouts. "Uh...I just wanted to see my Mom's stuff!" Daniel said. "This isn't her room anymore! There is nothing to see in here! It's time you learn to respect some rules!" She said to us.

"Actually, we did find something..." I said as I hold up the letter. "Yeah! We found a new letter from my Mom! She said she wants to see us! But...You didn't even tell us!!!" Daniel screams at her. "She's not my daughter anymore! Or your mother! She burned all those bridges!" Claire yells as she grabs the letter from my hand. "One letter doesn't change what she did to me...all of us! She is not welcome back." She said.

"It's been eight years...maybe it's time to move on." Sean said to her. "Don't you dare lecture me, Sean. You don't know anything about how I feel!" She said to him. "Don't blame them for being curious about her, Claire." I said, defensively. "But I know her better than anybody! She hasn't changed! She just feels guilty!" Claire yells. "I can't hear that." Stephen said and he leaves the room. Claire starts to go after him, then walks back up to us.

"Listen, kids...I know life has been tough on you the past month...Bless your souls. And...and we put up with a lot of things...But... that...Going through our stuff, our personal belongings...That shows you don't respect us. Then you act like I'm the bad guy! After what we've done for you! I knew something like this might happen...maybe you three staying here wasn't such a good idea..." she said and Sean scoffs. "Man! I think I see why Mom left now...She couldn't put up with your stupid rules anymore!" He shouts at her. "Oh...So that's what you think? Then let me tell you something --" She starts to argue when suddenly, Stephen screams from downstairs, and then a clatter of furniture.

"STEPHEN!" She shouts and we run to Stephen's room to find him trapped beneath the cupboard. "Oh, shit!" Sean a d exclaims in fear. "Get...this...damn thing off me!" Stephen exclaims and Sean, Daniel and I run over to the cupboard and try to lift it as Claire exclaims. "Stephen! No! Hold on, honey! We'll get it off..."

"NO...stop! My legs!" Stephen screams and Daniel steps back, looks at Sean and I then gesture towards the cupboard. "Do it, Daniel! Now!" Sean screams and Claire looks over at us. "Do what? What's going on? Oh, Lord! What...What are you doing, Daniel?" She kept asking, frantically, as Daniel holds his hand out, concentrating on lifting the cupboard. Sean and I pull Stephen out then Daniel falls to the floor in exhaustion.

"Oh, my baby...Stephen, are you okay?" She said as she falls to her knees and cradles his head in her lap. "Now I am...Thanks to Daniel...You were right, Claire. I should have fixed that cupboard months ago. I guess my laziness will get me someday..." Stephen said.

"What in the name of God was that all about? That's impossible...What are you, Daniel?" She asked and I hold my hands out to him. "Claire...Listen..." I started to explain before Stephen places his hand on her arm. "They saved me, Claire. That's all that matters..." he said. "Maybe...It was a miracle...Thank you, Lord..." she said then the door bell rings. Claire looks out the window and gasps..

"It's the sheriff..." she said, fearfully, just as we hear a voice calls out. "Stephen? Claire?" Claire looks over at us in fear. "Sean...I didn't..." she said as the Sheriff said. "It's about your grandsons."

"We didn't call them..." she said. "I know, Grandma..." Sean said as we hear the Sheriff said. "Someone called us...We know they've been here. They were spotted at the Christmas market, earlier today..."

"Guys...What are we gonna do?!" Daniel asked us. "Go hide in the garage!" Stephen orders and Sean and I shake our heads. "No...No! No way! if the police searches the house, that makes the two of you accomplices." Sean said and Claire looks towards the door and back at us. "Get your bags and go out the backdoor...I will distract him..." she said. "Really?" Sean and I asked. "Yes. Now..." Stephen said.

"Stephen?" The sheriff calls out as Stephen looks over at us. "Get the hell out of here!" He orders as the Sheriff continues. "I know you're in here, your car is in the driveway..."

"I'm so sorry...For everything...I wish we could have helped you more...I wish you could stay here with us... Watch out for your brother, Sean..." she said as she hugs Daniel and Sean. "Yes. Be careful...We'll see you as soon as we can, okay?" Stephen said then Claire goes to hug me. "I'm so glad I got to know you, (y/n). Promise me you'll watch over my grandsons." She said and I nod at her. "I promise." I said. "Thanks for helping us...Both of you..." Sean said. "Yeah, and thanks for keeping me here as well." I said and Claire nods.

"Oh, we love you. Now hurry up!" She said and she goes over to the door. Sean turns to Daniel and said. "Daniel, wait for me while (y/n) and I go upstairs and grab our bags!" Daniel nods at us and we run upstairs and Daniel crouches as he runs to the back. Sean and I grab all of our clothes and stuff them in our bags, quickly, and we head creep down the stairs and sneak around to the back towards Daniel.

After we put on our coats, Sean peaks his head out of the door to the backyard then turns to us. "Move your ass, bro..." he said and we run out to the yard just as we see another cop car pulling up to the house. "Shit!" Sean and I exclaim and head towards Chris's backyard. "This way!" Sean said and we climb the fence.

Chris looks up in surprise and gets up from his tree house's swing. "Daniel! What's going on?" He asked and we stop in our tracks. "Hey! Chris..." Daniel said and Chris looks at us. "You okay?" He asked. "Yeah...no...We have to leave right now." Daniel replied and Chris sighs, in sadness. "I knew you wouldn't stay..." he whispers.

"Sorry...Wish we could." Daniel said and Chris looks up at us. "You better come back...Hold on a second." He said then takes off his cape and hands it to Daniel. "Here, this is your cape...You're the real superhero." Chris said and Daniel smiles. "Thanks, Chris...That's super cool...Like you." Daniel said and I place my hand on his shoulder. "Daniel, let's go!" I said and we start to go before Chris stops us.

"Take the Troll Forest shortcut...It's right through there...Nobody will find you!" He said as he points towards the forest behind his treehouse. "Chris, you rock..." Sean said and we head towards the shortcut. "Goodbye, Captain Spirit..." Daniel said. "See you around, Superwolf! The Spirit squad will stay united forever!" Chris said then he watches us run off, then heads back up to his tree house. While he runs, Daniel turns to see Chris standing in his tree house, making the Spirit squad pose. "Whoa!" Daniel said then he does the pose in return, and runs off with Sean and I.

"I feel like a fake superhero...Chris was so sad when he found out...That..." Daniel said, sadly. "He had to find out anyway...Before he did something...Dangerous..." Sean said. "I know...I just feel sorry for him..." Daniel replied. "Don't be. No matter what happened...I think you guys will always be friends." I said.

"Guys...I'm tired of running away...I don't want to be a superhero anymore..." Daniel said as we sit on the log, taking a break from running. "You don't have to use your power, if you don't want to." Sean said to him. "I know but... Sometimes I can help and -- How do I know when to use it?" Daniel asked. "You don't. You can only trust your guts. And...Listen to your brother. And me." I replied as I place a hand on his shoulder. 

"You'll think we'll see Grandma and Grandpa again?" Daniel asked. "I don't know...We'll see." Sean said. "Where are we gonna go now? See...See Mom?" Daniel asked. "No way, man. We don't need her, okay?" Sean replied. "But...She said she wanted to find us!" He said to his brother. "We stick to the plan: we go to Puerto Lobos. That's where we belong. No one will tell us what to do. We can be whoever we want!" Sean said.

"You think? I don't know..." Daniel said in sadness. "Trust me, man. From now on...We make our own rules!" Sean said and I dig into my backpack. "Look...I got you a present." I said and Sean smiles. "Same here. Merry Christmas, enano." Sean said as he holds out a snowman craft and I hold out a yo-yo, which I secretly took from this box.

"For real?! But...it's in two weeks!" Daniel said. "Who cares? Dates are boring! Here..." Sean said and he hands his present to Daniel. "It's...Weird. But...I like it!" He said to Sean then I hand him my present. "Gee...A yoyo? Awesome!" He exclaims in excitement. Then Daniel hugs Sean then me. "Early Christmas is the best! Hey, I got something for you too!" He said as he searches his backpack.

"I wanted to finish it, but we're doing it now, so..." Daniel said and he gives Sean and I a couple of drawings, which were of us in superhero getup. "Awww, man...That's so cool." Sean said and I smile at Daniel. "Yeah, this is great!" I said but then Sean digs in his backpack and pulls something out.

"Hey, (y/n)...I got you something." He said and he holds out his hand and shows me that it was a bracelet with a wolf charm dangling off of it and I smiled as I take it. "Oh, Sean...this is really pretty. Thank you." I said as we stand up and I kiss his cheek. His face turns red at this then into to my backpack.

"Here....this is what I was working on back at that market." I said as I hand him the drawing I did, which was of two wolves, a bigger one and a smaller one, and a fox, which was standing between them, and they stood proudly on a cliff. "Wow, your drawing skills are coming a long way." Sean said. "Thanks to you." I said just as we hear a horn of a train.

"Hey. Listen..." I said as we hear the horn go off again. "There's our ride...Come on. All aboard!" Sean said as the freight train travels along the tracks. The brothers and I head down and hop aboard. We look out as the snow covered trees passes us, quickly, and we go to sit down. 

I look down and see the boys looked alittle sad and I frown at them and I sigh and I began to sing a song, to hopefully make them feel better. Which it did as they listen to me and smile.

Carry on my wayward son

For there'll be peace when you are done

Lay your weary head to rest

Don't you cry no more

#sean diaz #road trip #lis2 #x reader #lis sean #life is strange 2 #video game #lis2 sean #sean diaz imagines #sean diaz x reader #reader imagine #reader insert #reader #daniel diaz #telekinesis #fanfic #fan fiction #fandom #fantasy

[darthspideys]

My thoughts on Phase 4

I AM SO EXCITED FOR PHASE 4 let me just start with that. Just generally, without knowing much about the movies or trailers or anything I am pumped. It looks so cool and there are going to be so many more heroes in the universe and that makes me so happy. I know some people want more focus on like the characters from previous phases but I love that they're staring out with new stuff because its the end of the infinity saga and they want to showcase that before immediately going into sequels and threequels. 

Before I get into specific series and movies I want to talk about a couple of general things:

Disney + : I don’t like that “phase 4″ also includes the series(s). don’t get me wrong, I love them like series(s) were my favorite announcements of the night but like it’s weird that they're technically counted in the phase. It makes me feel like if you don’t watch the series you're going to be missing a plot point from a movie which would irk because its a lot easier to buy a movie ticket once or twice a year than to pay for a streaming service every month (though I’ll give Disney this 6.99 isn’t a bad price that's only like a dollar more than Hulu with commercials) . 

The logos: Look I know logos aren’t everything but like some of those were... how you say garbage? terrible? a crime? Like some of them were spiderman far from home advertizements bad in terms of graphic design (I’m sure we’re going to see a lot of people using the ‘graphic design is my passion’ meme and it's totally appropriate). Not all of them we’re bad though, like The Eternals one was soo good, I liked how the background was kind of like a starry night, and the Shang Chi one good and the Doctor Strange one was okay. The Hawkeye logo was *chefs kiss* perfect, I love how they took the Fractions Hawkeye logo and updated it a bit because wow yes. The Loki logo was so bad I can’t even look at it, the fan made ones were so much better, loki I’m sorry you deserved better than some clip art that I think makes a word.... and the wandavision one was just werid but then again everything about them is werid so

The casts: MARVEL HAS THE BEST CASTS EVER that’s it im saying it, no I do not take constructive criticism. Say what you will about the movie but like the amount of talent that has been and will be in the mcu is astounding I mean we had RDJ and Chris Evans, who are amazing and Brie Larson (who by the way has a freaking oscar) and now we’re going to have Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Kumal Nanjani, Natalie Portman is back, MAHERSHA ALI IS BLADE LIKE WOW (I think he has an oscar too correct me if I’m wrong), Awkafina is gonna be in chang chi (I love her sm), and so many others just the amount of talent is astounding. 

The diversity: SO MANY WOMEN. AHHH JAne foster as female thor??? Our first LGBTQ character (confirmed at least) is going to be a bi black woman??? AMazing??? Another headlining black superhero with blade?? 

Moving on to the actual movies and shows. I’m putting a read more because idk if I’m going to talk about every individual announcement but I might so-

My favorite announcement by far had to be the Hawkeye series, because KATE BISHOP BABEY. She is my favorite marvel comics character and soon to be mcu character :) and now she’s going to get the love she deserves and more people will know about her which makes me so happy. Also it’s interesting that they didn’t announce her casting, so I have hope that maybe they will cast someone asian since that’s always been my headcanon for her even though she’s white in the comics. I’m trying not to use a lot of screaming in caps sentences but just know when I think about Kate being on my screen I AM SCREAMING. When I first saw the post about the series I cried because I was so so happy. And fingers crossed this series is taking cues from the fractions hawkeye comics because that really encapsulated Clint’s character in a way the mcu... hasnt (I really hate mcu clint but that’s a story for another time) so I hope that while they introduce Kate they also fix mcu’s clint and make him actually likable.  (if you couldn't tell I really really don’t like MCU clint.) or at the very least not screw up Kate like they did mcu clint. 

Next up THE SAMBUCKY SERIES. (I know it has a real title but like thats long and I can’t spell soildier to save my life sooo yeah I’m gonna call it the sambucky series in tags and stuff). I know not alot of people are talking about this because we already knew that it was happening, so it’s like yeah we already saw that but seeing Mackie and Stan up on stage together just made it feel so real and it made me so excited. And then Mackie was holidng the shield and I was like ahhhhhhhhhh hes freaking captain America!!! I could write a million essays about why its so important that hes cap and why it means to much to me and a lot of people but,,, another post for another time. But anyway these characters and the actors who play them have so much good chemistry that I can’t wait to really see it. One thing I’m not so excited about... the logo. There was a totally different logo when Disney + originally announced it and I liked that one so much better, this one is just... clunky?? idk but it’s not having that big an impact on my life lol its more of an annoyance then anything. 

I feel like now I should mention an actual movie.. 

THE ETERNALS. I’m going to admit I don’t know that much about the characters or the team (which I will soon fix when I do my wiki deep dive to find out everything) but if your judging just by the cast, this movie is going to be great. I mean the amount of talent in this movie is outstanding and I really have high hopes for what it could be. 

Doctor Strange: The multiverse of madness intrigues me more than I thought it would. Like for starters the name is pretty ominous, and the fact that we’re getting an actual confirmation/movie about the multiverse (far from home really let me down in that regard) is really exciting. Also it’s supposed to be the first “scary” mcu movie, I don’t know how scary they can get with a PG-13 rating (which I’m going to guess there going to try to keep because there’s a big chunk of the fanbase that’s young) but that really made me interesting. ALSO WANDA MAXIMOFF IS GOING TO BE IN IT, so that makes me so excited for it because although I’m not the biggest fan of Wanda's character (which I blame J*ss Wh*don for completely and her lack of characterization in the rest of the mcu and the complete nerfing of her powers.... another post for another time.) I’ve always wanted to see her and Steven use magic togther and I’ve seen a few panels where Wanda, Strange and Loki form a little magic squad which I WOULD VERY MUCH LOVE to see put on screen (minus Loki I’m guessing), also maybe this movie will fix a little bit of her characterization? One thing that makes me nervous about this though is the teaser that it “directly connects” to the wandavision series, if I’m not able to get Disney plus and watch the show I don’t want to have missed out on plot points for the movie but I guess we’ll see. 

since I mentioned it already, lets talk WandaVision. The logo as a mentioned earlier is so very bad, but- yeah idk it’s just very bad. Also the name is really werid? like wandavision with no space? It’s like they went to tumblr, found thier ship name and was like ‘that sounds like a great name for a show’ (that is their ship name right?). I was not planning on watching this show at all UNTIL I found out that FREAKING GROWN UP MONICA RAMBEAU is going to be in it. I didn’t think they would ever bring her up again in the mcu so I’m so happy that she is going to be in this show and I hadn’t even heard any rumors about this so it was a really fun suprise. Am I sure that they are only putting her in the show so that people will watch the trainwreck that is wanda and visions relationship? Yes. But will I fall into the trap because of Monica? YES. But I think this show could be good if your willing to get past the obvious weridness of human girl is in love with basically a robot, a human looking robot sure if your being generous and maybe not fully a robot (a synthoid?) but it’s still werird because he's not human.  I’m curious to see what timeline they use for this, because vision is still dead at the end of endgame. I guess they could use the 2 years between civil war and infinity war but that’s just not a lot of time for a complete story (and if this show “directly connects” the doctor strange 2 then that means that movie takes place pre-thanos as well which would be werid) 

That all being said, I am really excited to see Wanda’s character done by someone who isn’t J*ss Wh*don or the R*ssos because they screwed her up so bad and she was such a badass and powerful character in the comics (my personal theory is that all of these men saw that and went ‘a powerful woman? more powerful then men? we can’t have that around here’ like what was done with Carol in endgame). 

BLADE. We don’t know much about this movie and I don’t know much about the character but I AM PUMPED even though we don’t have a release date for it yet. I just think Mahersha Ali is so talented and I love Black lead heros so yeah. 

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER am I a little sad they didn't use Thor Four: More thor as our queen Gina Linetti suggested? Yes. But I love this title and it’s just crackhead enough to be acceptable. I’m so happy that this movie is being made, because  1) someone has to make up for the first two thor movies somehow, 2) someone has to fix the mess the R*ssos made of thors character and 3) Thor Ragnarok made me actually like thor as a character, so I want to see more of that Thor. ALSO JANE FOSTER AKA NATALIE PORTMAN IS BACK??? AND SHES GONNA BE FREAKING FEMALE THOR YES YES YES (that picture of her holding the hammer? wow. powerful. showstopping. amazing) I can hear all the dudebros screaming about how much they hate it but 1) who cares what they think? and 2) its completely comics accurate which is thier usual lame excuse for misogyny so they can suck it. ALSO VAL IS THE QUEEN OF ASGARD AND TESSA SAYS SHES GONNA FIND HER QUEEN so we’re gonna get REAL CANON BI VAL (aka out first lgbtq mcu character who is also a woman of color which is so amazing and important!!!!) ANYWAYS THOR IS GOING TO BE AMAZING, its the movie I’m most pumped for AND THE LOGO IS AMAZING and thank you takia watiti for coming to save us. 

Black Widow... hmmm... I’m not as excited for this because one it’s not that much of a surprise since we’ve even seen set photos for it and because Scarlett Johanssen, I just don’t like her. I like Nat as a character even though Scarlett has the acting range of a celerity among many other issues but yeah. I’ll still go see the movie because girl power, and the more female led movies are successful the more they’ll make and more it’ll make the stupid dudebros and misogynists in training at my school mad. Also Rachel Wietz is talented and I liked David Harbour in Stranger things (or you know the 5 total episodes I’ve watched) 

Shang Chi looks like it’s gonna be good, and idk what the ten rings is but uhh I like it. And I love that we’re getting the actual modern and hopefully they’ll do a little flashback or callback to iron man 3. ALSO AWKAFINA 

What if? I love what if comics just because it’s a cool concept and it’s nice to see what if but this feels kind of pointless almost??? Idk I just don’t know why its here (also I originally thought this was going to be on hulu so I’m bitter about that). But I’m interested to see what kind of animation style they’ll go with (which honestly is a huge factor in whether or not I’ll watch it), and depending on what stories they do, if I watch it I’ll probably just end up skipping around and only looking at certain ones. 

Spiderman 3, Captain Marvel 2, Black Panther 2: I’m super pumped for all of these!!! I mean especially after that cliffhanger at the end of spidey (which I’m still shook about). I cannot wait to see my girl carol again, and hopefully her movie will explain what’s going on with the “kree sleeper cells” that skrull maria hill talked about in ffh along with what the heck talos and his wife were doing on earth while fury is in space? (also a cute little reuinion scene between fury and carol?) (also also what the heck has carol been doing since captain marvel and before endgame) (also also also plz give me carol rhodey and intoduce jessica drew thanks) okay so maybe I’m asking a lot of this movie but yknow..and I’m always up to see more Okoye because she is iconic and I love her. 

Fantastic 4, Look I know there's been a bajillion fantastic four movies and they were all bad ( I personally liked the one With Micheal B Jordan, Miles Teller and Kate Mara)  but I have faith in marvel studios. I mean they did take a basically unknown hero and turn him into one of the most beloved heroes and launched that single movie into a cash cow 23 movie freaking franchise (I’m talking tony stark and the tony stark cinematic universe by the way)  so I think they can pull off the biggest miracle of all time and make a good fantastic four movie. 

Mutants... I don’t really know what they mean by this? Like do they mean X men? Or a new movie called mutants? Or mutants themselves will be peppered into the mcu? I think that it shoud be one of the last two options. Just because even if the x men don’t show up for another 2-3 years its still kinda soon to just reboot the whole thing? (also I don’t think that Jean Gray should be recasted because Sophie Turner slayed that role despite the writing being terrible), even the fantastic 4 movie the lastest one will be 6-7 years old by the time marvel reboots it so- also the x men have just been so overdone by fox in bad ways that I feel like if theyre going to use mutants which they should they should do a new team and pull out some lesser known characters and or just put mutant heros in the mcu which I would love to see. 

annnnd an hour later.. here we are. If you made it to the end, thank you because I had a lot to say. 

#phase 4 #marvel #marvel sdcc #sdcc #mcu #mcu phase 4 #thor #thor love and thunder #love and thunder #shang chi #mutants #fantastic 4 #black widow #spiderman 3 #captain marvel 3 #black panther 2 #what if? #blade #wandavision #sambucky #sam wilson #bucky barnes #hawkeye #kate bishop #clint barton #gabby says

[sunshine-zenith]

Much to the surprise of no one, I wanna talk about The Tick some more- specifically my own history with it (ei how I first encountered it, how I got into it, etc). I tried to keep the tears to a minimum on this one, but common y’all. It’s me

Below a read more because whoo, did this get long

Back in high school, I was really into CreepyPastas, and I would spend hours combing through fanwikis and articles. I mainly read Creepy Cartoon Conspiracies, since those where the easiest for me to find.

Most, not gonna lie, sucked. They often left me feeling uneasy for days on end when I read them due to the subject matter, but I was hardly impressed. Everyone Is Dead/In A Coma/A Hallucination Of Another Character theories were a dime a dozen, and after a while they started to seriously grate on me (especially when someone claimed “Oh it makes so much sense it must be true~” shut the hell up Brenda no it doesn’t. It is, at best, an interesting fanfic idea that someone was too lazy to actually make into a fanfic. Get that “true story” ish outta my face already)

And yet, I still read them, day in and day out. I was a lonely teenager, aight, I didn’t have anything better to do.

I first encountered The Tick in what might’ve been a Crack.com article about such theories when I was between thirteen and fifteen. It claimed that The Tick was all in the head of a kid with Lyme disease, imagining that the tick that bit him gave him superpowers instead of bedriddening him. Arthur was his dad, who had primary custody of him I think and who he idolized, hence making Arthur his sidekick, and the show’s apparent weird sense of humor came from the kid being immature.

I remember rolling my eyes at both the theory and the show because of how it was described, and I went on with my life. For years after, I was half convinced I imagined the entire article because, again, the way the show was described it sounded too bleh to be real (harsh first impression, I know)

I believe around 2015/2016ish was when I first heard about the 2017 adaptation. I have no memory of how I found it, if it was through word of mouth, an article, or if I finally decided to google The Tick to see if it was actually real. I just know that my only thought was “ugh, another soulless needlessly edgy reboot?”

What can I say, edgy reboots that missed what made the original so good felt like they were a dime a dozen as well, and as a teen I had been so jaded and desensitized that the thought of another one gave me a headache -\(•>•)/-

Fast forward to this year (2019), maybe March. My friend (hi Nyx) has been trying in vain to get me into The Adventure Zone (I’m trying, I swear. I’m following the graphic novel adaptations, at least) when they sent me the cover of Green Day’s “Basket Case” that Bastille did for the 2017 run. I have no idea if they knew I liked Bastille or if they just thought it was catchy and wanted to share it with me.

That said, I liked Bastille so much and found the cover so catchy that I had to look up the show it was for. I was still reluctant, still worried it was going to be just as edgy and soulless as I thought it would be, but I still TV Tropesed it.

And I was pleasantly surprised at what I found (and more than a little amused to learn that at first the Tick was built up to be a hallucination of Arthur’s, only to- plot twist- not be, given my history with CreepyPasta).

That said, I was also pretty -\(•>•)/- about it. “Heh, looks like I was wrong. Man, I am so glad that The Tick continues the trend of good reboots,” I thought, and I fully expected to just make my way through the TV Tropes pages between my classes then forget about it a week later.

Then I watched the clips posted to YouTube. Specifically, the one where Arthur tells the Tick his tragic backstory, and all the Tick can do in response was give Arthur a slightly awkward, slightly painful hug. And I fell it love.

Everything, from how the Tick and Arthur acted in that scene to the height difference to the hug itself reminded me of me and my best friend, G. We hadn’t seen each other very often that semester- we have vastly different majors, no classes in the same building, he was in a play, and I was teaching Fridays and attending meetings Wednesday nights. I was tired, lonely, and I missed not just him, but my other friends as well (hi Nyx)

So I threw myself into all things The Tick. I got a Prime membership (first six months are free if you’re a student. I had and still have zero plans of continuing with it once those six months are up), I watched the 2001 adaptation (by the by, seriously I need to talk about it more. It’s good gay ish), I read the original 12 Edlund comics (the unofficial 13th issue. Give it to me. Please I beg of y’all I need to know what happens), I’ve checked out and have plans on binging the cartoon, and I just.

I really love this franchise, okay?

I love it, and I get ridiculously sad every time I think about how it keeps getting axed and especially about the 2017 run being axed.

I love it and I actually regret no giving it more of a chance when I first encountered it while reading dumb CreepyPasta.

I love it, and I am so looking forward to seeing where it goes next

It’s sounds ridiculous, but it feels like home

#the tick #the sun shines #cy yaks on and on #TL;DR Its my friends faults blame them

[go-diane-winchester]

Why I stopped liking Misha after eight years.

I loved all the guys at one point.  I don't stan anyone.  Some people may think I am crazy about J2 only.  Well, yeah.  I loved everyone, once upon a time, until they gave me a reason to hate them.  Now only the Js are left and despite being flawed [like every human being on earth] they are still decent human beings.  They are not manipulators or provocateurs.  They are just flawed.  So my admiration has gone back to season 1 to 3, when it was just J2 and they were enough.  With some side order of John.  I like all the Winchester boys, but not blindly.  Even if one of my boys do something wrong, I will acknowledge it.  I wont ignore it, or make excuses for it.  Nor will I dog him down for it.  Unless he is a repeat offender, like Misha.  Misha is not one of my boys.  He is barely a man.   

Before I started to really hate Misha, I had a soft spot for him.  I didn't ship him.  I don't ship.  I mix and match according to my mood.  That is how classic slashers used to do it.  Because pinning your happiness on one ship, when the are a bevy of beauties out there, is a silly thing to do.  I was going to write an epic story for Jared and Matt, where Misha was going to play a pivotal role as Matt's brother because I always felt Matt and Misha had similar fraternal features.  It was going to be an epic.  I was also going to do a suspense-ish story with Jared and Misha, where the epilogue was going to be Misha brutally killing an old woman, but he was the hero of the story.  That story was actually close to my heart.  Unfortunately I got sick, and didn't write anything for years, which is a good thing because I would have regretted wasting such a nice story on that leech. 

I was going to write a Cockles story about two years ago, with Jared, JDM, Gil McKinney and Tahmoh playing supporting roles.  I am meh! about destiel, but never begrudged others who liked it.  Hey, different strokes right?  Its all fantasy anyway.  Or so I thought.   I heard some canon talk on YouTube, here and there, and thought that ''this girl doesn't understand slash''.  How was I to know the majority of them don't understand slash.  Then the hellers started to really misbehave in YouTube comment sections, on Twitter and at cons.  You had to blind not to notice it.  And I was shocked.  I said, ''I wish I could meet Misha.  I will tell him about these fans.  They are giving him such a horrible name.''  I liked him and thought he would make everything better.  How stupid I was. 

Then I realized that everyone else is a either a jerk or leeching off J2's fame.  I realized that Speight was a Trump supporter and that put me off.  Misha blurted it out on a panel and Richard looked angry about it.  Its the first and last time I appreciated Misha having a big mouth.  At that time though, I still liked Misha.  I realized Matt was following a heller on SM, who was bashing Jared continuously, so he can get lost.  Osric was nice and I paired him with Jared mostly, because the big and small thing does something to me.  Sevin was my jam.  This was my honest thoughts when I encountered Kevin zig-zagging and outrunning Sam "Oh, let this cutie be Sam's pairing.  Poor Sammy is so left out because of destiel.  At least now he will have his own stinking cute pairing''.  Not even knowing how I was going to come to regret supporting destiel.  

I felt sorry for Misha, because he was poor and lived on handouts.  I remember him saying that Random Acts was inspired by a woman who bought gifts for him, his brother and mom on Christmas Eve when he was very little.  I felt sad that he cut himself, because he was a bullied teen.  I was furious when he got mugged.  I wanted those pigs caught.  ''Ok, fine, steal his stuff, but there was no need to hit him''.  In other words, I believed everything he said.  I was a sucker.  And I was livid when I realized that he played me and all his other fans. 

The first thing he did, which I didn't like, was bashing the Bible.  I am a Muslim and found that very offensive.  That made me think back on that lady who showed him kindness as a child.  Why would he bash her beliefs when she was so nice to him?  But I thought, first time offence, and let it go.  Then I realized that he was too provocative on stage.  Whether it was swearing or talking abut sex, he didn't care whether children were in the room or not.  I am fairly sure he curbed his language when West was on stage with him.  I cant remember though.  When it came to slash, I was always baffled at why he was talking about it at cons.  As far as I knew, slash-related questions were banned.  Later I realized it was because he was breaking the rules, which was essentially making Jensen look bad. 

Once there was a heartfelt complaint from a minion that fans were asking Misha very sexual questions in a panel.  I was angry.  Why are fans being vulgar with an actor?  He's not your boyfriend.  Later, when I checked for myself, I realized he was being provocative too.  He also made some blasphemous remarks.  Later he complained to one of the handlers ''I didn't know where to draw the line''.  I forced myself to give him the benefit of the doubt even though, that incident stayed with me for all these years.  So he creates the environment that he is complaining about, to make himself look like a victim.  Well sow it and reap it, hypocrite. 

Jaxcon 2017 is where I started to pay attention to Misha and his hellers, and Jibcon was where my mind are fairly made up.  It was only when I looked into Travis Aaron Wade's case that I fully made up my mind, that Misha might be a shadier character than I thought.  Misha has said some very scandalous things about Jensen and Dean followed by ''oh, I am going to get a phone call about this.  I just know it''.  If you have been told not to do something, then why do it?  It was Jensen's death threat that made me really hate this guy.  When I first heard about it, I thought, ''Misha is going to give them a stiff kick for threatening Jensen''.  Months went by.  When Misha kept on pandering and pandering despite the abuse online, that is when I realized that this man is a manipulative, heartless creep who only thinks about himself.  I regret my Misha admiration and I feel a little ashamed that he suckered me.     

Edit:

A reader added this and it thoroughly surprised me:

Agreed on all, but one point I think is off and I’m almost certain I’ve heard that Mishas kids actually swear and he’s ok with it; jokes about it in his panels. I saw a clip once where J2 and MC are on stage and he talked about it and J2’s reactions were almost comical.

If anyone knows which panel that was, please let m know.  I want to see J2's reactions.  And what Misha said. 

#misha #misha collins #jenmisheel #jenmish #destiel #dean winchester #deancas #casdean #dean x castiel #destiel headcanon #jdvm #jensen ackles #jensen and misha #sam winchester #sam and dean #wincest #castiel #cas #cockles #jensen and jared #dean and cas #bi dean #dean is bi #supernatural #spn #spnfandom #spnfamily #jared padalecki #padackles #performing dean

[jawbreakers2015]

Player Profile: Hang

avid modder, occasional TO and montage video producer from Germany top 12 in the Jawbreakers Stunfest Qualifier (artwork of Drop by Kagu)

What names do you go by?

I used to go by Troke for the entirety of April. Which was based on a dumb coincidence where I talked to Neer and had one of my usual mobile spelling errors and I wrote "I'm having ha troke" instead of "having a stroke".

I wanted to go away from "Hang Boy" since quite some time as I specifically wanted to get rid of the "Boy" and just "Hang" felt wrong and was still associated to Hang Boy anyway. But I guess I'm back to that now.

Reason to why I wanted to rid myself of "Boy" was as simple as me linking my online persona to my OC (By choosing her for profile pictures on basically any platform) which then of course lead people to believe she is a male based on the thought "Hey this is Hang Boy. So the profile picture must also be Hang Boy".

The name Hang Boy btw occurred just as I started my first step into the internet, when I was a big fan of the Binding of Isaac. So i needed an online name and I ventured through Isaac related things. Which was when I came across the Tarot card "Hanged Man". So I just took that and adjusted a bit.

How do you feel about your performance in this tournament?

Was pretty okay. I didn't expect to get far into it. Although I'm a bit sad I didn't make the Top 8 picture. Only needed one win more as well.

However I would have been disappointed in everyone else, if they allowed for me to reach Top 3. So good that didn't happen.

What was your strategy preparing for and competing in the tournament?

I haven't played Blaze in weeks. The only times I played recently was to get some recordings for a Toxic montage. Right before the tournament I was more worried to finish my Isaac run. Which I did win!

And during the tournament was pretty much just "Turn some nice music on, jam to it, play some Nitro, do some silly cuff shenanigans, do dumb parry grab down throws so the viewers can laugh over something".

I did "fly" with Nitro in one match but sadly it wasn't streamed so only Hellraiser was able to see the glory of Flying Cuff™.

Which was your hardest match of the tournament?

Hellraiser I suppose. He did kick me out of it. I never really played him or saw him play and he didn't fall for my aggressive playstyle, so it was a tough time.

What surprised you most about the tournament?

Cherry's second place finish. I know he's good, I think he's underrated even.

But second place is a really good finish. Even more so beating JawDrop since, in my opinion, he has some of the craziest tech and can be really really confusing to play against.

(Yea he also has weird lag even tho he lives in France but whatever :p)

Is there anyone you didn’t face that you wish you did?

I would have wanted to play Defur if possible. To some degree I see his entrance as a sort of meme entry. But jokes aside and game aside, I can only take my hat off to this man and his effort for the tournament scene.

Sadly didn't get to play Daio. It feels like a tradition to face off against him in FellowsTV hosted tournaments. Which always goes the same way tbf. He counters my playstyle hard, I'm annoyed to play against him, don't bother changing my playstyle in order to win, get demolished. But the tradition counts!

I'd put Neer in the same boat. Hate playing against him but it just kinda has to be.

How did you get into Lethal League?

A friend bought it for me. We played a couple of games, he had to leave. I went into QM, found Garu, got absolutely demolished, he friended me and pulled me into it.

I specifically remember seeing his Latch corpse juggles and thinking "Man this is so cool, I want to be able to do this too". So right of the bat I started to play for the style, which is what I still go by.

Style > Efficiency

It feels bad not having paid for LL nor Blaze but I bought LL for a bunch of friends so guess that checks out.

What's your current Lethal League experience?

450+ hours in LL 340 hours in Blaze (As of now. 26.4.2019) And a giant bunch of hours of community interaction and modding.

I was very excited when asked to be beta testing and it fulfilled a childhood dream of being in video game credits.

Despite only getting into Beta a month before release, I stacked up 90 hours before the game came out. Lots of 9 hour playtime days. It was massive fun.

I bought almost all of the merch...got most signed by Tim & Dion too. I went to the Netherlands twice to meet TR. It was fun, they are cool people. Watching Dion doing a live dance off was pretty rad ngl.

I brought self made cheesecake the second time, but Tim had to get it into the building since they check your bags for normal visitors and it wasn't allowed to bring food.

I'll never forget the sight of Tim with his big bag looking like he's smuggling a bomb into a convention.

Who are your main/side/counter character picks?

Everything. So yes random, it's random.

However I most enjoy playing Nitro because of all the dumb things he can do. Especially flying, cuff storage (specifically for down angle on the ground, to just pull a little bit forward) and half pull.

Doombox is also very fun. Special>bunt>smash>parry>special>repeat can chain pretty often on some opponents and is hilarious.

The only characters I "despise" playing are Toxic and Sonata. But only because I'm really bad with them.

What are your favourite character outfits?

Dust and Ashes. Just their whole design.

For real tho. There's not really skins that stick out to me since I use my own modded ones.

Can you share your favourite/most used custom outfit?

Hm I missed that that's not "outfits"...well take a load of skins! In order

Mothyman Jeviman Spacetor Golden Switch Drop Palette Sonata Supercharged Latch PaDice-a the Rapper Skull Grunt Supercharged Grid Supercharged Doombox Dropbox FYouBox Nitro with a blue, white and mint color scheme I made for every character and lastly my Toxic skin with that same color scheme

What are your stage preferences?

Idc. I play random so who really cares. I guess insert the usual "Paradise field eclipse succs!!!"

What input method do you use?

PS4 Controller Dpad for movement L1 Bunt R1 Swing R2 Grab

I used to play LL on a cheap SNES controller using only face buttons. When I was over at Dutch Comic Con with Serchiot I played a couple games of Blaze with his PS4 controller and really liked his layout and the feel of the controller. So I just sneakily stole his layout and got myself a PS4 controller.

Coming from all face buttons, I needed some time to get used to it. But in my opinion it's just superior this way.

How do you make your character montage videos?

I have two ways of recording clips. Just consciously recording with OBS or putting Shadowplay on and saving every time something cool happens. I usually just boot up Blaze and jump into ranked to get some games in. With the Toxic montage it was a bit different since I now have a 4K monitor but 4K can hardly be recorded at 60fps and setting the output resolution in OBS to 1080p got me weird screen effects. So every time I went to record, I put the resolution of my monitor to 1080p in order to at least get that in good quality. Then I just cut all the good clips out of the recordings and mix ‘n’ match ‘em. What's usually the hardest decision is what music to use. There's been a couple of songs that I'd like to use, but they either don't fit over Blaze gameplay, don't fit my playstyle or were just the wrong length.

My two favourite Montages are definitely for Candyman and Nitro. Candyman took a long way to develop, because I just wanted to show off so much. It's one of the few montages where I actually asked higher skill players for games instead of jumping into ranked. Picking the song was really hard, I was only sure I wanted a Klaus Veen track, but OD V2 was too mainstream and most others were too short. So in the end I opted for two songs with a break in between the montage. Splitting the clips into two sets, each song one. With the second part containing what I considered the more hype bursts.

And for Nitro I actually had the montage pretty much done, but I wasn't too happy with it. Still planned to just upload it like that tho. However when I saw the Nitro voice actor interact with a community member in a way that could only be described as "incredibly wholesome", I was inspired to redo most, if not all, of the clips and do the best I could. For the first time actually going into training mode to lab some combos (mostly corpse juggles tbf) and eventually learning Flying Cuff™ too. Watching JawDrops Blazin' Combo video and taking a slice off the Nitro plays there. Which resulted in a montage I am very happy with.

What other games do you play?

It differs from time to time.

The only games I always come back to are retro games like SMW, CTR or something like Mario Kart 8D. Which I always enjoy playing at local tournaments and pretty successfully so even. People just can't handle it when someone plays with one hand.

Atm I also like playing TBoI Rebirth.

Will you come to Stunfest?

Probably not. Driving/Flying over to France is just very expensive. I would love to meet all my Baguettes (Lusked, Jawdrop, Aru and Lalou, who stated he can't make it due to exams, yes I know). But exams and the neer-ing end of my apprenticeship is leaving a lot of work to be done.

So it probably won't fit into my schedule. However never say no! Trips to Blaze events aren't uncommon for me.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to the community?

Play the game for fun, not for glory.

Stop rubbing yourself for an imaginary title that doesn't mean anything as there's not even any competition for it.

I can't stress enough how great Soda City Funk by Tim Legend is. Go listen to it right now.

And for my last words. Be more like Kota. And remember, We love Ramkat <3

#Jawbreakers #Lethal League Blaze #Player Profile #Hang Boy #Hang #Europe #Jaw Breakers #Lethal League #Team Reptile

[canaryatlaw]

alright, so today’s been a bit of a whirlwind. sadly my laziness (or chronic exhaustion, if you prefer that label) got the best of me and I slept through the middle church service and ubered to the last one since I was signed up for the nursery. this is why it’s better when I’m signed up for the middle service so I’m not tempted to skip out. but I made it there with a bit left in the service and got to watch it for a bit so that was nice. it was centered around joy, and the part at the end I got to witness involved a dancing christmas tree, menorah, and dinosaur onstage while they handed out krispy kreme donuts, because how else would you define joy??? (for context, they had their annual Christmas store event yesterday where they have low income families from the communities our church support come in and be able to buy presents for their children and families at very reduced prices, with all the proceeds going to charity, and while the adults are doing this they also do entertainment for the kids, so the costumes were leftover from that and I suppose they decided to put them to work. I heard that the little kids were very much NOT a fan of the dinosaur 😂) service ended and we had our volunteer huddle before heading over to the room where I helped with the pick up of kids from the last service and drop off for our service. I think we ended up with 4 helpers so that’s a decent number, and I think we had like 8 or so babies so that’s a pretty good ratio. things were fairly calm for the most part, a few of them were crying on and off but were ultimately consolable, didn’t have to call any parents so that’s always a win, especially when we found out at the end that one of the little girls we had had been having issues the last few weeks that resulted in calls to parents, and this was the first time that didn’t happen, so that’s encouraging. At the end of the service we cleaned up and I waited for the last parents to show up (always the ones that are volunteering in some capacity themselves so they tend to be the last to pick up) then headed out. The plan was to go to the place to get brunch for the date after church. I’m gonna try to explain the route of the blue line and the bus route the best I can because my navigation in this got a bit complicated. I can take the bus right from my corner to basically a straight line down. my church is right off the blue line, which intersects the bus twice, as the blue line makes a V in and out of downtown, traveling southeast until it hits downtown, then traveling southwest out of it, with church being on the southwest prong. I generally take the bus to the first intersection and take the V down to the church because it tends to be faster. the second intersection is only one station west of my church, but for some reason the bus service is really spotty from that station so I tend to avoid it. but this brunch place was right off the bus route, and it was before the first (northern) intersection of the blue line, so it made sense for me to take it one stop west on the southwest prong and take the bus from there, so that’s what I did, except the bus service was spotty and I ended up taking an uber from the train station to the place so I didn’t end up being late. Met up with the guy, there was a bit of a wait so we walked over to a coffee shop nearby and hung out for a bit until we got called. this place was entirely Ron Swanson themed (from Parks and Rec) which was really just so flipping fantastic, and the food was very good. He was a self-confessed nerd, so we talked a lot about comics and superheroes and all that good stuff, and at some point the conversation migrated to the various systemic problems in child welfare and criminal justice (probably because he was saying he tends to lean libertarian on some issues but still supported social services and such) which is always interesting. overall it was nice, I’m not sure if I’m feeling any romantic attraction but I guess we’ll see where it goes from here. Once we finished I got on the bus with the intent to take it the rest of the way home (and here’s where things get really complicated) until I got a phone call from who turned out to be the guy who had done the custom fitting for the suits the law firm I was working for was paying for us to get, and he had the suit and was passing through Chicago tonight and said if we could meet up I could try it on and get it. There was a tense moment when I was like “you know I’m not with the firm anymore, right?” and he said he did but the suit was still made and paid for so it’s mine. he was heading west into the city and was hoping we could meet before he hit downtown where he was meeting with the other women from the firm who I definitely did not want to see, and I knew there was a starbucks a few blocks from my church that would be in his direct path, and at this point the bus was just coming to the northern intersection of the blue line, so I hopped off the bus and got back on the train and took it down to where my church was (I told you this was complicated). So I bought a snack and sat down to wait, he showed up a few minutes later and gave me the suit to try on, so I went to the bathroom and like. guys. it’s so perfect. I love it so much. like I can’t even tell you. I like actually had been really sad about it because I thought I wasn’t going to get it anymore since I don’t work there but it’s made and it’s mine and I love it so much lol it’s great. the only thing I was kinda meh on was the button, but that’s super easy to get replaced so I’m not concerned about that. and like, it’s a fucking super nice suit, custom made, like that shit retails for like $1,000 so this was QUITE the bonus from a company I no longer work for 😂😂😂 so this was pretty awesome. I took an uber pool home because I didn’t want to deal with having it on public transit. when I got home I chilled for a bit and got ready for the first night of the crossover, which I was going to be livetweeting from the Batwoman Podcast account for the first time. Overall I thought the episode was pretty solid, I have to fangirl about what was by far the best part for me, which was of course the inclusion of Clark and Lois which they filmed on the Kent farm from Smallville, and when they transferred to that scene they played the iconic Smallville theme song that’s all like SOMEBODY SAAAAAAAAAAAVE MEEEEEEEEEE and y’all, I actually died. my soul left my body. I was legit screaming, like I CANNOT believe they actually did that. if we get more Smallville references in this crossover as its been hinted we might in the preview clip I will actually die and probably remain so. So I was completely overwhelmed by that lol. But I did of course watch the scene with the introduction of Lois to the universe and man, I love her so much already. Between schooling Clark on some sexism to being ready to fight off Oliver and Barry with a hammer to saying “go get him Barry!” because Oliver’s “kind of a joke” I just totally fell in love with her. she’s perfect. Of course then I absolutely died again when she called Clark “Smallville” in the same exact way that Erica Durance as Lois Lane did on Smallville which is a thing that was completely unique to Smallville, I screamed again and it was just so damn good. so that was obviously the highlight of it for me. the Barry and Oliver training stuff was interesting, I’m not sure how I feel about the whole “Barry has to draw on darkness to use Oliver’s skills” thing which just seems a bit unnecessary, but maybe they’ll pull it through. I thought the beginning was pretty funny with Oliver waking up to Iris and them all being so thoroughly confused about everything. Then there was the fight scene at the end which was pretty good all around, very inventive with the number of heroes participating in the fight and how their various power sets were used. Of course it peaked my interest that this was “Ivo” labs and the robot was named “AMAZO” which is intriguing because it’s a very different interpretation than Arrow took on the subject, yet it’s much closer to the overall DC universe lore about the character and his creations. I found it particularly interesting though that they were linking the mirakuru to the robot, which was of course something that came directly from Arrow’s plot regarding Ivo and the Amazo (ship) so I’m curious as to where they’re going from there on that subject (if it’s not just a throwaway line, anyway). The ending where they decided to go to Gotham and the shot of Batwoman on the roof was really fucking epic, and definitely a great place to end the episode. So yeah, excited for tomorrow’s installment and of course the Legends episode airing right after it that is sure to be fucking hilarious. Once that was over I watched this past week’s episodes of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Blindspot before watching the last episode of the newest season of Great British Baking Show and I just want to say I’m very proud of Rahul and I hope he truly knows how talented he is and goes far in life. and yeah, shortly after finishing that I started getting ready for bed (and definitely wasted time in there somewhere) and now I’m here and it’s almost 2 am because I’m bad about this stuff, so I should really be getting to bed now. Goodnight my dearies. Hope your Monday doesn’t suck. 

#daily journal #December 2018 #Rachel watches The Flash #Rachel watches Supergirl #Rachel watches Arrow

[titaniasfics]

Fractured Light - A  Kalagang Oneshot

Okay, this is probably trash. But it wouldn’t leave me alone.

Rated M: Mature Situations

Note: I own nothing related to Sense8 or its characters, nor am I profiting from this writing.

Author’s Note:

This is my first foray into Kalagang fanfiction. Actually, this is my first Sense8 fanfiction ever.  

Fractured Light was inspired by the events at the end of Season 2 (where I think I might have died a little death). I don’t even try to speculate on how the cluster would have gotten Wolfgang out of BPO - that’s for another fanfic. Instead, I focus on the aftermath, in Paris, during what I imagine to be Wolfgang’s recover period.

XXXXX

The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out

You left me in the dark

No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight

In the shadow of your heart

from Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine

Wolfgang’s chest still ached even after nearly a week from being rescued from the BPO facility in Berlin. There was also a general soreness to his muscles that still made it hard for him to get out of bed in the morning. But he never complained about the residual pain from the electric shock.  Kala knew these things only because it was in their special nature to know these things about each other. He couldn’t hide the pain from her, even when he tried.

Just as she couldn’t hide her longing from him.

Kala thought about her cluster, now scattered to their home countries except for Riley, Will, Nomi and Neets, who were still London, dealing with the aftermath of Wolfgang’s extraction. Sun was the last to leave Kala, her parting gesture a remarkable strong hand placed over Kala’s fist.

I take everything I'm feeling, everything that matters to me... I push all of it into my fist, and I fight for it.

Kala knew a fight was coming, and her biggest adversary lay, weak with torture and self-loathing in the master bedroom of her Parisian flat.

She sipped a cup of strong coffee on the paint-chipped balcony, shivering in her pajamas. The black silk pant-set was much more demure than what she would wear in the heat of Bombay, but she found Paris to be much colder than she’d imagined though it was already spring. She’d taken to wrapping herself in a bright pink comforter to keep away the early morning chill as she continued to hold her vigil over Wolfgang.

He was awake now but he neither called out to her nor made any attempts to move; in fact, he had barely spoken to her since they’d arrived. It was clear that he wanted to ease into the day on his own. She understood this. Privacy was an illusion with sensates, connected as they were but she could pretend to give him space. To let him be alone with the tumult of his feelings, as long as they did not carry him away. That she would not allow.

She rose when he was ready and went to the kitchen to fetch his coffee and fix a meal tray. She tried to arrange for a typical German breakfast - butter bretzeln und käse or even pfannkuchen but they were in Paris and so she opted for a crusty, buttered roll, dutch cheese and a tartine.  She carried the tray to the bedroom and set it down on the end table. He’d risen, making his way gingerly to the bathroom. She wanted to help him, support him in some way but Wolfgang was not the kind of man who asked for help, even if he needed it. And he wanted very much to stand on his own feet after what had happened, becoming stronger and stronger every day.

Kala smoothed out the soft, white blankets as he ran the water, and took in the airy room painted in pale yellow, bordered with a typical ornate balustrade in braided leaves of tinted gold. The floor was a mosaic of tile in colors that picked up the pale yellow, adding blues, pinks, purples and golds of the decor. The blue sky beyond the wide balcony was dotted with the thick, white clouds of a perfect spring morning, complementing the cheerful colors within. These were tones she would have chosen for herself and she was again reminded that Rajan had bought this apartment, decorated and prepared it for her comfort and to keep her safe.

Her husband, who had so considerately arranged for the perfect hideaway for his wife and her lover.

Why didn’t she feel more ashamed of herself?

“Because, you have something dark and wicked inside,” Wolfgang’s voice came from somewhere inside of her, startling her but only for a moment. He now stood behind her - she had sensed not only his approach, but the intention behind it.

She turned her head to find his face was only a few inches from hers. “Just as you have something good and beautiful hiding inside of you.” She made sure to speak the words out loud.

That familiar, dark feeling flowed through him again, nearly crippling him, and in consequence, her. Instead of closing the space between them, he sat heavily on the mattress. She took the chair near the bed, folding her hands on her lap. Everything tasted of bitterness and it was tied, irrevocably, to her.

“Why do you do that?” she asked.

“You know why,” he said, turning his head away as if the sight of her pained him. It did, in fact, pain him. She was too aware of that fact.

“It means nothing to you that I disagree entirely?” she asked..

Wolfgang’s face became hard. There was still a drained look about him that was slowly improving, though the agony was the result of something that could not be seen. “It doesn’t matter if you agree or not. It’s the truth.”

Kala flipped the bangs that had fallen over her face.“You’re right. You betrayed me.”

His eyes went wide in surprise. “What?”

“You did,” she shrugged, numbering off her reasons as if she were reading from a delivery manifest. “You were tortured. You were drugged. And in your moment of greatest weakness, you betrayed me. Had you been held longer, you would have betrayed our entire cluster. They would have hunted us and either killed us or turned us into zombies. Did I leave anything out?”

“You’re crazy!” he said, the look of horror on his face bordering on the comical.

“This, I can agree with. In fact, I would propose that we are both crazy in the same way.”

She felt his struggle, the way he gnashed his teeth to keep from doing something embarrassing, like cry in front of her. She wanted to wrap herself around him, heal every wound that had ever been inflicted upon him but she could not make him forgive himself. This was one thing he had to do alone.

She reached for the blood pressure sleeve, the sound of velcro tearing itself apart resounded in the hollow space. Fumbling, she wrapped the black elastic material around his arm, receiving only his tortured silence. He said nothing still as she pressed the button on the machine, the pneumatic pump whirring to life. While the machine worked, she put the stethoscope over her ears, pressing the cool metal disc to his pulse. She was hardly a medic but she understood the fundamentals of human physiology.

“I think you are healing well despite the fact that the shocks put a great deal of strain on your heart.” She pulled a clip board from the end table, detaching the pen and updating the information on the pad. “You are very strong.”

He only stared at her, though he was a mass of conflicting emotions beneath the surface.

When the machine gave the digital reading, she made a notation on the chart, removed the sleeve, and set it aside. She picked up his coffee cup, offering it to him, her hands unsure but she willed themselves to be steady. Still he said nothing. Butterflies grew and spread throughout her body as she waited for him to take her offering.

“I think it’s gone cold,” she said finally.

He woke from his stupor and took the cup from her, placing it on the table next to them. Then he pulled her towards him and held her, a hug that said everything he couldn’t bring himself to say in words. Kala’s body gave itself up the contact, the press of skin against skin, the scrape of stubble as he dragged his chin across her shoulder. After a long while, he leaned back, his fingers curled in her dark hair.

“You should have stayed with Rajan,” he said finally.

Kala’s eyes narrowed until the muscles twitched. “Never say that to me again. This is not about Rajan. This is about you and me. Us.”

“BPO knows who you are now because of me,” he continued. She could barely sense anything beyond his self-loathing, like an opaque screening hiding him from her sight.

“None of us would have been able to withstand what you did for very long.” She dropped her eyes to her lap.  “You cannot be held responsible, for it is entirely my fault,” she whispered.

“How?” he asked with genuine confusion.

“If I had gone away with you instead of waiting for Rajan---”

“That’s not true.” He place a finger beneath her chin and gently lifted her face look at him. His eyes hungrily devouring every detail, a look of pain crossing his features. She felt that bottomless well of misery open within him, causing tears to spring involuntarily to her eyes. “I’ve given you nothing but trouble. It would be so much easier for you if they had ---“

“Would you stop it already!” she said, unable to separate her feelings from his, her anxiety and frustration with his guilt and and anger that was so old, it was an open artery that bled through his soul. “I told you, if something ever happened to you, my life would feel as if it were not worth living. You cannot use this argument with me any longer.”

“I could disappear.”

“You cannot!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I will not let you go.”

He sighed, the opaqueness of his sadness giving way to something more primitive, that thing she recognized as always burning between them. She clung to him but he pulled slowly back, his lips finding hers. A small gasp escaped her, an opening he took advantage of to taste her and kiss her thoroughly. She finally understood what Riley had meant by presence - Wolfgang was everywhere, his breath on her, inside of her. Her heart raced but there was an echo, a repeated cadence that told her she was not only experiencing herself, but also the sensation of his heart hammering inside of her chest. Everything was duplicated, multiplied until she thought she might overflow the boundaries of her body.

When they broke apart, he pressed his forehead against hers, his breath nearly insufficient for words. “Do you know this is the first time we’ve ever kissed in person?”

Kala smiled in relief. “We should make this count.” She sought out his lips and kissed him, sinking in a sea of sensation with only a dim perception of the world beyond them. Voices of pedestrians from the street below blended with the sounds of traffic to form a background that faded before his light blue eyes which now stared back at her with undisguised need.

He slipped his hands under the hem of her shirt, electricity springing from the points of contact. She couldn’t stop kissing him while his hands traversed her skin. Her hands, his skin, the wanting they felt for each other became tangled up until she could not tell where his ended and hers began.

His large palms covered her breasts, kneading them beneath the thin material of the silk pajamas. She shuffled to straddle him, pressing herself down onto his erection, poorly hidden by the flimsy cotton of his sleeping shorts.  It was his turn to groan, his hands fumbling impatiently with the buttons of her pajama top. The sun-warmed breeze blew across her exposed skin from the open window, his hands following the material, caressing her shoulder and arms. Simple. Such simple touches were enough to make a fire burn throughout her body.

He pressed her down onto the bed, tugging her pants and underwear off of her, pausing to admire her. “I have imagined you naked so many times,” he said, running his hands over her shoulders, down the side of her ribcage, over her waist and hips until they chased down the long muscles of her legs.

“Here, I thought you loved me for my mind,” she stammered.

He smiled, his first smile since she’d visited him in Berlin the day of his capture. A sob left her lips and she pulled him down to kiss him ferociously, her legs winding themselves around his waist, clasping him to her. Unlike their shared fantasy, in which she experienced him surrounded by waves of water, here she was rooted firmly by gravity, pinned between his hips and their bed. Heavier, more solid than in the abstract. He licked her neck, a long taste that made tremors race across her body, tremors whose response came in an answering shiver of his own. She was no longer a virgin - not in the technical sense - but the newness of his every touch returned her to the uncertain days of her girlhood.

She reveled in the confounding sensations of having him and being him - of his hand ghosting over her breasts, his tongue swirling over her nipples before his lips descended over them, the path of his mouth over her ribcage and her belly, squeezing her legs to pressure him for what she most wanted. This was met with gentle denial as he undid the knot of her feet and opened her, putting his mouth there and making fireworks burst inside of them both.

As she came down from her high, he was flushed and panting. He had felt her climax and was teetering at the edge of his own precipice. Their hands became tangled as they worked his shorts off, their mouths colliding wildly. His length rose from the dark blond curls at the apex of his thighs, which she encircled with her hands, working him with slow deliberation. The noises he made mingled with nonsense words, German words that held no meaning.

He pulled away suddenly, eyes that were normally hooded with danger now dark blue with lust. Kala leaned back as he crawled over her body, leaving kisses as he went, every sensation he evoked now connected as if by a cord to the deepest place in her belly. She clung to him, kissing him as he pressed his hardness against her, rubbing against her slickness until, without warning, he froze.

His eyes were filled with uncharacteristic vulnerability. Even the slight quivering in his voice was not hidden from her because he was asking for something beyond that moment.

“Do you really want this?”

Kala tilted her head. “When I told you I loved you, I meant it.”

He dipped his forehead to touch hers. “That's a yes?”

She was breathless now with her need to have him inside of her. She lifted her hips, pressing against him.

“Yes.”

He nodded once and lunged, filling her in one, powerful thrust. She arched upwards, a loud cry exploding from her before his mouth smothered it. Locked together, he spared nothing as he rocked in and out of her, at first slowly, then more frenetically. She no longer felt the ever-present chill of this city which now belonged to them. Instead, sweat burst out in a damp sheen over them both.

Kala could only hold on as the tension rose, multiplying between them. She had a sudden vision of a lecture on the natural e function, heard her professor’s voice defining the number and its slope, describing how e goes to infinity in both x and y, how there was no natural end to the function at its limit. As they climbed together, she felt Wolfgang’s breath near her ear and thought they were approaching something without limit, something that could rise and rise, each coordinate driving the other toward eternity.

Then he whispered her name.

“Kala…”

Everything burst into a thousand shards of fractured light.

Light and dark, fire and water; the point where there were no longer distinct elements. Kala and Wolfgang disappeared.

And after, there was only peace.

XXXXX

Kala could not say she’d fallen asleep. That would have implied unconsciousness. And she was far from unconscious. She heard life bubbling up beneath the balcony. She felt the pressure of the bunched up blanket pressing insistently into her lower back. She smelled their sex hanging thick in the air.

But beyond that, she was completely surrounded by Wolfgang. His head lay on her breast, his chest rising and falling against her belly.  Kala wedged her toes between the mattress and his thigh. Presence. Kala was not simply with Wolfgang. She did not exist alongside him. She was submerged in his being, just as he was in hers. She also understood how the loss of such a thing might irrevocably damage a person, or a cluster, forever.

Wolfgang stirred, his cheek sweaty where it lay pressed against her. She didn’t mind it, even whining in protest when he tried to lift himself from her.

“Don’t,” she ordered, squeezing her arms around him.  His long sigh sent warm breath over her skin.

“I will crush you,” he murmured.

“I can handle it.”

He lay a while longer before lifting his head to look at her. “What do we do now?”

Kala ran a finger over his lips, indulging in memorizing his face. “The first priority is for you to heal completely. Then we wait for Will to tell us what the next steps are.”

He captured her finger between his teeth, nipping it before releasing it. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.” She shifted when he rose to lay beside her, pulling her onto his chest. “We are in Paris! One of the most beautiful cities in the world. We enjoy it.”

She sensed the encroaching self-hatred steal over him again, the one she wanted to hold back forever. “I’ll never forgive myself, but I’m too selfish to leave you alone.”

Kala lifted herself on her elbow to look down on him with a smirk. “I believe this demonstrates a particular lack of good character on your part that should be of great concern.”

His eyes widened before crinkling in humor. “If this is the case than we are perfect for each other.”

fin

#sense8 #kalagang #fanfiction #kala dandekar #kala rasal #wolfgang bogdanow #fractured light #canon compliant #rated m #because I'm in the middle of a massive project #but here I am writing this #titaniasfics