#did this all in one day btw | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sailing-through-hawkins · 10 months

Text

inspired by this anon ask given to @steddieas-shegoes because i'm ALWAYS down for lovestruck not-exactly-human-anymore eddie (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ) it's not perfectly written to the prompt with the demon-ness and swaying around the kitchen but it was fun to write!!!

To become more, you must sacrifice that which holds you back.

The things that limit you.

The people.

Henry had become more. He left ashes behind his every footfall and, in turn, became the god that he is, the god he was always meant to be.

Humanity does not share this fate, he is sure. Eleven had proved that even those who have only potential will always bend to the confines of their limitations.

They must have the will to break free of the cage.

The ambition.

Henry walks along, his creatures making way for his path. They shiver and keep their distance, in awe of his control, his power. He almost smiles.

In front of him lies a body, void of life, of purpose.

Perhaps, he thinks as he raises a hand, perhaps he can give it purpose.

Perhaps those who have potential just need his aid to find the will for it.

It takes time, too much time, too much of humanity has tainted this one, but his new creature finally rises.

It stares up at him, loyal and keen. More readable than his other creatures, more cunning, more like him.

Yes, this realm's god has made it in his perfect image.

Stronger, faster, sharper. More powerful than what was, it is perfect.

And even more perfect as he hears the distant shrieks of his creatures. Someone is slaughtering them, attempting to destroy his vision.

Attempting to ruin the world's evolution.

He watches through the eyes of the lone survivor, flying high above the carnage, sees a young, grimy boy, swing a weapon into the neck of his beautiful creatures with a snarl on his face.

The violence of humanity disgusts him.

The boy drops the weapon, running towards another, a girl on the ground. She is weak and will die soon enough, he is sure.

"Robin, Robin, are you - shit, shit, shit, that's blood -"

"Steve, it hurts so fucking bad, I - I'm - oh my god, it hurts -"

"It's okay, c'mere, I got you, it's gonna be okay -"

"Go," he says to his creature, turning his nose when it tilts his head. Still too much humanity. Perhaps not as perfect as himself. "Find the boy. Steve. Ensure he does not get another chance to delay us."

His creature knows what he saw, had seen it with him. It bows its head and begins its flight to the other world.

"Soon," he says, staring up at the thundering skies with an almost-smile. "Soon, it will all burn. Ready...to be reborn."

"No, no, stop, please -"

Steve laughs as Eddie blows raspberries into his neck, long and keen tail wrapped around his wrist.

Eddie sits on the counter, arms wrapped around Steve's neck as he pulls him further into the space between his legs, poking a cold nose into the skin where his neck meets his shoulder.

"Come on, you've proven your point," Steve tries squirming away but the tip of Eddie's tail just swoops in under his shirt to softly tickle his sides, where the bite wounds are still sensitive, and he can't stop the burst of laughter pealing out of him. "Eddie!"

"The demon lord requires more, a much greater sacrifice," Eddie says dramatically into Steve's neck, arms tightening around his neck. Eddie inhales and yells, "It's your pride!"

With a squeal, Steve muffles his laughs into Eddie's shoulders as Eddie tickles him even harder. "Okay, okay, I give, I give," Steve manages to say between his bouts of giggles. "I give, you win, oh Great Demon King."

"That's Mr. Great Demon King to you," Eddie sniffs as he loosens his grip on Steve and hops down the kitchen counter. Brushing off imaginary dust, because Steve and Robin keep this place clean as fuck (mostly Steve since Robin almost got her leg chewed off that one time, but she makes up for it by yelling directions at him), he turns around and pretends to walk away very slowly.

"C'mere," Steve grabs his hand and spins him around, leaning back against the counter with Eddie in his arms. The fake snooty expression on his face melts away when Steve curls a lock of hair behind his pointed ear, cupping Eddie's jawline gently. His thumb strokes his cheek, gliding over the stretched, scarred skin. "Hey."

Eddie's eyes, brown and red and like there's a whole world inside them, soften and he bumps their foreheads together as the purr in his chest starts up. "Hey yourself, handsome."

He's been really cold ever since he came back but he doesn't seem to care much. Steve cares a lot, maybe more than he needs to, and always tries to keep him as warm as possible with sweaters, blankets, whatever works. In this moment though, where Eddie's pressed against him, the kitchen lights making a golden light behind him like some kinda halo (the irony makes him grin), his horns like little upside down vampire teeth. Maybe there was something to the vampire theory, he thinks as he ruffles the curls at the back of Eddie's neck.

"Steve," Eddie sighs, his eyes closing as he smiles goofily, fangs poking into his bottom lip and wings fluttering.

"Yeah?" Steve smiles, pressing a gentle kiss to Eddie's cheek.

"Just wan'ed to say it." Eddie nuzzles into Steve's cheek with the mumble, sighing again when Steve wraps his arms around Eddie's waist, his tail winding up the sleeve of Steve's shirt. "Like sayin' yer name."

Something bubbles up in Steve's chest and he giggles to let it out, the warmth and sweet affection pouring out of him. "Yeah? I like saying yours too."

"Then say it," Eddie's head quickly shoots up and he stares at Steve, the tip of his tail flickering back-and-forth on Steve's forearm the way Tews' does whenever Dustin swings a toy in front of her face. His pupils are massive, way bigger than any human's should be, and it makes his eyes look even bigger. "C'mon, say it."

Steve hums, tilting his head one way, then the other, laughing when Eddie huffs and pouts at him. He leans in closer, pressing a kiss to his nose, and says softly, "Eddie."

The gust of wind that Eddie's wing-flapping causes is so strong it makes the entrance door slam against the wall and makes Steve jump, but he just laughs when Eddie's wings stretch up and around them both awkwardly in apology.

"Think it's time for dinner, angel," Steve whispers into the tiny space between them.

"Call me angel one more time," Eddie whispers back with a glint in his eye. "And I'll show you exactly how unholy I can be."

"Whatever you say," Steve grins and boops Eddie's nose. "Angel."

"That's it!" Eddie hunches down and lifts Steve over his shoulder, bouncing his way around the kitchen. "The Great Demon King has declared no dinner for defiant knights!"

Steve laughs and shoves at the wings crowding over his head, "What if I used true love's kiss to appeal to the judge?"

The bouncing pauses and Steve blinks when he finds himself right in front of Eddie again, his limbs bound by Eddie's tail and hands. Eddie squints at him and sniffs, the snooty expression snobbier than ever. "The Great Demon King rejects your offer and demands five true love's kiss in repentance."

Rolling his eyes, Steve pecks the corner of Eddie's mouth, grinning when the tip of his tail wags back-and-forth again. "Well, when you put it like that, how could I say no?"

#sailor✧writes #steddie #au content: kas!eddie #writing #ficlet #kas!eddie #kind of #did i really spend half an hour making my own text divider for this post yeah i did and it's so fun to look at i love it #also henry was wrong about robin btw she didn't die he just overestimates how fragile people are #he's also got a massive god complex the upside down creatures weren't worshipping them they're scared of him #one day i'm gonna write a kas fic where all the upside down creatures band together and get rid of him i think it's what they deserve

208 notes · View notes

tennessoui · 9 months

Text

there’s so much emphasis on modern anakin being a racecar driver but i need more emphasis on him being like. a professional surfer. going after the most insane waves. thrilled with the speed he can pick up and the slight danger. he’s already got the hair for it! and he would look nasty good in like a partially undone wetsuit, tits out and tanning while he sends cow eyes at lifeguard kenobi just think of the bulge in the front of the wetsuit

#obikin #surfer anakin au #just anakin going after the sickest waves when no one else wants to get into the water cause ts dangerous or something #gets his arm bitten off by a shark #most traumatic day of obi-wan's lifeguarding career #anakin (mostly unconscious): why are you freaking out kenobi ar you jealous the shark got a piece of me before you did #etc etc #kit's silly lil aus #also anakin is a huge shark defender btw #has a shiirt that says not all sharks

288 notes · View notes

hephaestuscrew · 5 months

Text

I go back and forth on whether I think Securité was the first time Minkowski and Eiffel hugged. Because on the one hand, I think that by the end of season 2 Minkowski and Eiffel are friends who are deeply important to each other, and that Eiffel is a physically affectionate person, and that Minkowski gives really good tight hugs when she wants to. And if Minkowski and Eiffel didn't hug before Securité, then it seems probable that neither of them would have hugged anyone at all in 864 days.

But on the other hand, there are still emotional barriers between them by the end of Season 2. Eiffel isn't expecting Minkowski to hug him in Securité and he doesn't initiate a hug himself. And if you don't expect to hug your friend after you've been presumed dead in deep space for over 200 days, then when would you expect to hug them?

Minkowski apologises after hugging Eiffel in Securité. And it's not completely clear if that is just for the tightness of the hug and the lack of warning, or if she's apologising for hugging him at all. Eiffel says "it's all right. Don't apologize for hugging", and that could mean it isn't a big deal because they've hugged before, or it could be giving her permission for a new way of interacting. He could be telling her that it's all right, they can be people who hug each other.

We don't know whether Minkowski and Eiffel ever hugged before Securité, but we do know that she carried him to the lab during his Decima attack in Do No Harm. We know that as he convulsed after collapsing, she told him "It's okay, I've got you", which I think implies she was holding him. And going all the way back to Cataracts and Hurricanoes, we know that when he nearly drowned in his spacesuit, she brought him inside. There's just something so emotional to me about the idea that before Securité, Minkowski might have only ever touched Eiffel in a gentle or affectionate way when he was unconscious and at risk of dying. And then, after he gets stranded on the shuttle, for a while she thinks he is dead, or as good as. He's lost in deep space where none of them can reach him. And when he returns, this time she grabs hold of him and she doesn't want to let go.

#Wolf 359 #w359 #Renée Minkowski #Doug Eiffel #Renee Minkowski #Important that I continue to find new ways to talk endlessly about that hug #I'm holding up my 'this is platonic' sign as ever btw #This is one of these questions where both possibilities make me super emotional #And there's all of this on top of the fact that the other person Eiffel is closest to on the Hephaestus #is physically unable to hug him 😭#Also I said 864 days without hugs because that's how many days into the Hephaestus mission Securité is #but I'm actually not convinced that Eiffel got a hug before the Hephaestus left #The evidence suggests he was a very isolated man #He's so touch starved #Let them hug!!#I definitely believe that Minkowski and Eiffel hugged a significant number of times #in between Securité and The Watchtower btw #There's something so natural about the way he says 'C'mere #give us a hug!' in The Watchtower #that implies hugging did become something more commonplace for them #wolf 359 spoilers #w359 spoilers #the empty man posteth #Eiffel & Minkowski

90 notes · View notes

sadlynotthevoid · 3 months

Text

Since I saw that post about og!Cale solving a murder crime in Alberu's noble meeting, I've been obsessed with detective!ogCale, who solves crimes on his free time because he's too fucking bored.

Hence: bungo stray dogs crossover AU where, while a transmigrated RokSoo and company go around doing the usual "let's mess with white star" stuff, og!Cale got basically adopted by a bunch of weird professional detectives.

I'm talking about an AU where bsd happens in the world of tboah/tcf. So, while a member of the agency was going through the county for reasons, they witness og!Cale stealthy dropping a hint about a mystery to a near knight. Then he leaves, pretending to be drunk all the way to his home.

What everyone else sees is the local drunkard ready to cause trouble at the minor inconvenience.

What the detective in question sees is a very bright teen, good at solving crimes, who has nothing to do but pretend to be drunk. Needless to say, they take Cale back with them.

(It could be anyone, but it's most likely to be Dazai if they just take Cale with them and don't tell anyone. Though, I think it would be funny if it was Kenji the one who did it. Double-way adoption ensues)

Og!Cale is puzzled at how he ended up at the Armed Detective Agency as a recruit, but he doesn't complain. He even likes his job and his coworkers, even if Dazai keeps trying to unalive himself.

Besides, he doesn't have to keep with his trash act here. Everyone here is smart enough to tell he's acting. They're detectives, damn it. It would be strange if they didn't notice.

So, freedom.

And the ADA people like him too. This quite quirky, smart, witty and creative teen fits just right with them.

At some point, Ranpo has to tell him that "no, you're not smart. You're really smart. Not as much as me, although" because og!Cale's hypercompetence is normalized for him and sometimes he doesn't realize that "everyone else hasn't reach to that conclusion yet" when talking with normal people.

Fukuzawa looks at this sassy child and is like "I guess I got yet another son". Because, why would the hella rich son of some noble be so happy to join a group of strangers and do all this hard job? You can say he obviously loves his family from the way he talks about them, but he also brights up at the minor genuine act of care. It's concerning. Not urgent, but still concerning. He's keeping him. He's eighteen, legally an adult, and came on his own will. So, It's not a kidnapping.

96 notes · View notes

kaladinkholins · 1 day

Text

yeah taimizu IS toxic and off putting actually ‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️

EDIT: TO BE CLEAR THIS IS A POST IN FAVOUR OF TAIMIZU!!! I AM A DIRTY TAIMIZU SHIPPER!!!!!

#it's funny because that was my FIRST thought about them but then i realised wait this is scratching some itch in my brain #people are all very correct about this btw and their discomfort and dislike of the ship is valid #but it's so interesting to me and that's why these days I'm leaning further into that toxic aspect of their rship in my art #that whole “strangles you with the red string of fate” drawing i did was meant to capture that as well #like this equal amount of aggression and twisted affection/attraction they have for one another #like it's very fucked up #and people are not wrong to think so but i enjoy it LOL #one of the theses of my fic is literally “theyre fucked up but they make it work”#like i dont want them to be perfectly healed and normal by today's standards #i want them to be crazy and murderous but work through their shit individually AND together and make things work #and have feral nasty sex bcs mizu deserves to be a pillow princess (TO MEEEEE)#i still have a meta drafted that actually goes in depth on their rship and why we “”“should”“” root for them #but my brain is goop rn and cramps are KILLING MEEEEE so have this first instead #taimizu #blue eye samurai #fandom.rtf #shut up haydar #wank.mp3

43 notes · View notes

spinjitsuburst · 2 months

Note

ramble about ur favs i wanna hear abt ur thoughts -zaptrap

HAN’S INFODUMPING ABOUT JAY... START!!!!

so like sgdkdhdkdhd I say Jay and Lloyd are my “favorites” but honestly it’s so hard to pick favorites out of this skittles squad like I love EVERY character for a variety of different reasons. I was going to also infodump about Lloyd but then I started talking about Prime Empire and then this post got. Long. So. it's just Jay I may infodump about Lloyd another day especially since I'm very Conduit Brained Rn but yea yea!

this is long so i'm putting most of it under the cut so y'all don't kill me for making a huge long post

I considered putting Zane and Sora on here as well since I’d also consider them my “favs” but like this is already gonna be. A lot of. Infodumping (also i typed THIS part before I even started and decided not to yell about Lloyd because this already got long enough). Maybe I’ll make a separate post for those two hmm hmm much to consider but for now MY (technically) FAVORITE NINJAGO CHARACTER: JAY WALKER

THE SPARKPLUG WHO INVADED MY BRAIN LIKE A PARASITE

so hey his name is a pun this makes me laugh ridiculously hard every time I remember he is named. After a misdemeanor HSKSHDKFH

Jay is such an interesting case of a character for me because I started out the show not liking him. Which is. Stares at my entire account I think my feelings have changed somewhat

Jay starts out as an asshole I don’t think anyone can disagree with me there (although honestly they’re all assholes in early ninjago they bullied a ten year old and left him dangling several feet off the ground) but over the course of the show you can see him start developing into a much more interesting character. He goes from being so insecure he's faking everything about himself to someone who knows who he is and is so genuine about it

now yea we could argue about whether his character was too uwu-ified post-season 10 but this is the FUN HAN POST SO WE'RE NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT the point is you can SEE the growth that Jay has gone through and I am going to show you that growth through what I call

✨ The Skybound to Prime Empire Effect ✨

I AM SO PASSIONATE ABOUT THE IDEA THAT PRIME EMPIRE WAS WRITTEN TO BE A DIRECT PARALLEL OF SKYBOUND AND WAS CENTERED ON SHOWING HOW THE NINJA ESPECIALLY JAY HAVE GROWN THROUGHOUT THE SEASON

when season 12 rolls around we are at the point in Jay's development where he is CONFIDENT in who he is. He's a fun-loving jokester with the power of lightning and the drive to help people whenever he can. He uses jokes and humor to help alleviate tension and get people through whatever's happening. And when on his own what does he do?

BECOME AN ENTERTAINER BABEY

i like to think jay's club in prime empire was a safe haven for anyone stuck in the game who figured out hey. we Can't Leave and felt freaked about it. Also Jay would generally try and spread the word that hey something ISN'T RIGHT HERE which would lead people to want to stay with him

(totally plugging my friend's fic but this kind of thing is explored in would you like to enter prime empire by @finn-m-corvex y'all should check it out cool cool)

also the prime empire shorts which i watched all of in the midst of typing this video cuz i love them go watch them please please please jay was publically fighting the red visors which I imagine may have raised some red flags for some players

THIS SOMEHOW TURNED INTO PRIME EMPIRE INFODUMPING LMAO ANYWAYS Jay's confident! He becomes an entertainer because it's who he knows he is! And it's something that will get people hyped and having fun, which is very in-character for Jay to do! He uses those kinds of things to mask the Bad Things going on and get people remembering what's good

I've talked about this sort of thing before but that's Jay's whole philosophy as early as season 9! Which is a DIRECT contrast to how he views it in season 6, as Nadakhan puts it scarily accurately

"You make jokes to mask the fact that you're afraid"

(i was gonna grab a screenshot for that like i did with the hunted scene but netflix has bloCKED THE ABILITY TO TAKE SCREENSHOTS THE WAY I USED TO and i don't have them already and i'm too lazy to grab them from elsewhere so alas trust me he says it)

making jokes to hide your fear and using humor to remind yourself of what's good and coping with the bad are two VERY different outlooks on it

so I think this outlook is what drives him to make this glamrock persona in the first place - this is a bad situation, one he's in with other civilians, and what better way to keep him and themself safe until the others get there than throwing a big performance at a safe place!

also it's just so gender okay I want to look like Superstar Rockin' Jay so badly

it's also interesting to see his outlook on his parents change over time! In season six he finds out Ed and Edna aren't his birth parents and feels upset about it, not understanding why his birth parents would've abandoned him. In season twelve, that outlook changing is EXACTLY why Jay's able to get through to Unagami

"I was abandoned by my parents, too!... I never understood why, and I never had the chance to even ask. But I always hoped there was a good reason. What if there's a reason?"

(again curse you netflix i wanted SCREENSHOTS whatever whatever)

It's this scene that gets Unagami to calm down long enough for Milton Dyer to get there, and presumably is what stops him from just. Flattening him and Jay like a pancake.

to piggyback off of this i absolutely adore how Unagami and Jay consider each other adopted brothers in that one book I still haven't read and I hope he's in Dragons Rising at some point Unagami is my favorite "villain" (no longer a villain) in the whole show he deserves more screentime

like this is where i found out about this and it's plagued my mind ever since. i need to read. this book just for them

SO YEA OKAY Prime Empire is "Who is Jay as a Person Post-Skybound" to me also it opens up so many fascinating things about Jay. I rest my case

so backpedaling a little bit. JAY CARES SO MUCH ABOUT HIS PARENTS GUYS IT'S SO SOFT AND I'M sobs

like yea the first episode with Ed and Edna in it has Jay avoiding them like the plague but this gets explained very easily when you remember he was bullied for his home life before he became a ninja. It makes a lot more sense why he wouldn't want them around his new friends, assuming they'd react the same way. Also how was he supposed to know literally all the rest of the groups parents were either dead, presumed dead, or had a toxic relationship with their kid lmao

(Cole calling his mom kills me. Cole's mom is dead. I know they probably just didn't think that far ahead when writing the dialogue but it's so funny mans pretended to call his dead mom to get on Jay for not appreciating his parents iconic behavior)

anyways literally every episode Ed and Edna are central to (except like the one in skybound) Jay stops at nothing to protect his parents and it means the absolute world to me he's so much like them!! They raised an inventive little nerd and he will stop at nothing to make sure they're safe and it's. It's SO IMPORTANT TO ME OKAY

ALSO this is an excuse to clip my favorite piece of dialogue possibly in the entire show. Except Netflix won't let me now. So you just get the text dialogue

Jay's just fallen from the sky with a messed up eye and is incredibly distraught that all his friends are captured. And his dad just. The woRLD IS FALLING APART AND HE'S EATIN' SOUP-

Ed i love you

anyways

anways anyways this just turned into me rambling about prime empire and then Ed and Edna and a lot of disjointed other stuff but thank you for this opportunity i was going to also ramble about lloyd but i put this post in a word count and

yea i think that's enough for a tumblr post anyways! If anyone wants any like. More logically thought out and direct thoughts about characters feel free to send me asks this was fun thank u @zaptrap for this opportunity to scream about jay

#help this was. my brain is so not intact today so if this makes absolutely 0 sense i understand #i did end up watching some prime empire stuff during my ramblings and guys. the ending of that season still makes me cry #this is fully prime empire propaganda btw i need to like. talk about the season more because despite what my skybound posting would lead #y'all to believe THIS IS THE ACTUAL SEASON THAT LIVES IN MY HEAD AT ALL TIMES MOST OF MY MUTUALS ARE JUST MORE SKYBOUND BRAINED #AND IT RUBS OFF ON ME EASILY #but no prime empire is the fucking best #if i talk about jay long enough it WILL just turn into prime empire #also after I wrapped up this post i continued thinking more jay thoughts but this post is already long enough #like how jay is actually SO incredibly self-sacrificing and how he cares so much about helping people #also wow i didn't even mention his powers in that whole ramble. rare for me.#one day i wanna do!! a powers masterpost. like how i view all the ninja's elemental powers #but thats another day's project i am. So Eepy #anyways hope y'all appreciated this #also thank u serp for sending this ask which allowed me to Scream into the Void about jay walker #category 11 han moment fr #ninjago #lego ninjago #jay #jay walker #unagami #edna #ed #i have no idea if ANY of this is coherent btw #prime empire #skybound #hunted #quest for the lost powers #ask #spinjitsu screams

57 notes · View notes

kirby-the-gorb · 1 year

Text

Advanced Boy commission for DxSurprise on twitter! (I don't think they're personally on tumblr anymore but their disability resource archive is still up at @spoonie-living!)

#kirby #request #(for filing purposes)#kofi commission #dxsurprise #knives #knife kirby #wheelchair #disability pride #queer pride #queer #they paid me double asking price gave me a bunch of elements they know I love and told me to go wild #so I did -u-#I'm very happy with this one.#although really all the commissions brought great ideas that I feel I executed well!#this is the last commission from those two days they were open btw #I am leaving the desert at the end of the month #I will evaluate after I make it home when/if I'm likely to open commissions again #also the disability pride flag is by capricorn-0mnikorn here on tumblr!#I really love the design and the symbolism associated #and there's two different color versions - this one is designed for screens and digital use #there's a more full-saturation one meant for physical objects like flags #(tbh I like the colors in the digital version best)#favorites

182 notes · View notes

unlikely-gravestones · 2 years

Text

We’re going to talk about the 1889 meeting. Why? because I’m back on my bullshit after drawing this, and am not done dissecting the episode quite yet.

I want to begin where it all starts going wrong, which in my opinion, is when Dream tells Hob Lushing Lou’s real name. By doing this, Dream inadvertently reveals more of his inhuman nature (knowing the real name and backstory of a person he’s never met). Hob looks at him and says “How do you know all that?”, and Dream deflects by looking down at Hob’s cup and responding with “Your cup is empty, you need more wine.”

Hob doesn’t take the bait. Instead he continues, “You knew Lady Johanna, you know Lushing Lou, you know everyone, don’t you?”. He pushes Dream, because Hob only has scraps of information after centuries of meeting with the man and he wants to know more. Every time they meet he shares his whole being with His Stranger, shares entire lives he’s lived and names hes taken. He’s seen Hob at his best and his worst, and what does Hob know in turn? that he’s immortal like him? that he has some weird sand that subdues people? and now, apparently, that he knows everyone and the life they’ve lived? Still, Dream deflects; “Saw her again, you know.”

And Hob gives in.

I love how he just looks at Dream for a second, then smiles almost bitterly at the table and puts his cigar down before looking back up and indulging Dream. He see’s that this line of conversation will get him no where, that His Stranger is avoiding this subject and will continue to do so whether Hob joins him in that or not. So Hob looks down at the table in acceptance, as if he didn’t expect to get anywhere with his statements but was disappointed nonetheless, and looks back up with a small smile to indulge Dreams avoidance.

But Hob doesn’t let go of it.

When Dream tells him that Lady Johanna undertook a task for him and succeeded, Hob again highlights the fact that he knows practically nothing about His Stranger- albeit in a more straightforward way.

“That might be the only thing I’ve learnt after 500 years.”

To me it feels like Hob doesn’t care about the information itself- Lady Johanna doing anything some 100, 50, 20 years ago means nothing to Hob right now. Its who the information is coming from, what it represents. Dream might have avoided divulging why he knew so many people’s names and stories, and Hob might have temporarily allowed him to, but he had never truly dropped the subject. And the way he looks- Hob naturally smiles a lot, and even now he can’t stop the way his lips quirk despite it being at his own self-deprecation. You can see it written all over his face here and in the above sequence when he puts his cigar down; the humourless way he smiles at his own misfortune.

But Hob is nothing if not persevering, so he brightens up the mood, talks about how people are almost always better than you think they are.

(i just thought this was a nice pic, sorry)

We could also read him opening up to Dream (talking about his mistakes, learning from them even though it feels like it doesn’t stop him from making them- perhaps a little foreshadowing for whats about to come next) as a way of trying to get Dream himself to open up. He is honest with Dream, as he always has been, in the hopes that tonight is the night His Stranger becomes a little more honest with him (though with our current track record of the night, this doesn’t seem likely, but as Hob says...he cant seem to stop making mistakes, and i wonder if this is something he thinks often of himself when Dream fails to meet him in 1989).

Dream looks at him like this:

And maybe its that not-quite smile he gives Hob after his honesty, that emboldens him to say “I think it’s you that’s changed,”. And this, my friends, is where shit well and truly hits the fan. Because suddenly that small smile is gone, though not in anger yet, and Dream asks “How so?”

We all know what happens next. Hob, correctly, supplies the idea that the reason Dream continues to meet him every century, despite them both knowing at this point that Hob will never give up on life, is because His Stranger seeks friendship. Hob understands, of course he does; Dream is the only living constant Hob has, he’s already referred to Dream as his friend because to Hob, that’s what he is- regardless of how much he does or doesn’t know about the man. This is of course when the iconic “YyOUU dAAREREeee,,.,..1..1.1....,,,,.” scene happens, and Hob briefly tries to backtrack. He averts his eyes immediately and looks at the table (a recurring staple in avoidance tonight), gesturing with his hand as he says “No, look, I’m not saying-”, as if trying to explain it any better would make Dream accept it. I like that he seems to backtrack just a little bit, only to double down on it a few moments later. He put himself out there a bit by boldly stating that Dream sought companionship with him, that His Stranger was lonely, and it was evidently ill-received so he backpedals to reduce the damage of his words.

Yet when Dream says “You dare suggest one such as i might need your companionship?”, Hob simply looks at him and says yes. Yes, because he does, and this night has been a sequence of Hob pushing and relenting on what he actually wants to talk about so of course this is the moment he pushes.

And when Dream stands up? When Hob stands? When Hob moves forward?

I don’t know why he moved forward, why he took that step closer to Dream- what was he planning on doing? reaching out and touching him? simply standing closer as if it might keep His Stranger with him for just a few minutes? give him just enough time to talk some sense into the man? I don’t know, but i love it nonetheless.

And when Dream leaves, when Hob chases him. When he doesn’t tell His Stranger that he didn’t need him anyway, doesn’t say good luck finding someone else who understands- but instead says that he’ll wait. That he’ll still be there, 100 years later, because they’re friends and because Hob has faith in him, in them. That if Dream shows up, it’ll be because they are friends.

When he stands there, and quietly but with feeling says “...Fuck.”

Yeah. Good episode.

883 notes · View notes