Have we talked about Eddie's response while he's processing, yet? The "so you two were..." and then the little "o-okay" after Buck confirms they were on a date.

There was something. very interesting in the way he played that. The softness and confusion. Not discomfort, just. curiosity, maybe? Seeking confirmation from Buck. And then falling into the super supportive role immediately as soon as Buck seems worried over his reaction.

Eddie is processing something there. And I am really looking forward to seeing how it all plays out when he figures out what it is.

OP to you being clueless to their flirting/feelings I

ೃ⁀➷ TW/CW: Fluff, Nothing much tbh, A little bit of Teasing, Gender Neutral Reader, let me know if I need to add more TW/Tags ♡ Minors please interact with me only by liking or reblogs. ➳ Characters: Ace D. Portgas, Luffy D. Monkey, Sabo, Zoro Roronoa, Sanji Vinsmoke, Izo, Cavendish, Rayleigh, Trafalgar Law

⤠ Part II ⤟ One Piece Masterlist ⤠ Cbat Song⤟

I wrote this when I wasnt that well so if some stuff sounds/seems weird I'm sorry, I tried my best to correct it HAHAHA I need to write more about one piece sob,,,,

Ace and Luffy are the worst for the mere reason that they are straightforward. A lot. Like they both clearly stated that they like you in a more romantic sense when you stated that you two were friends, but if you somehow still didn't get the hint they would be clueless about what to do other than scream their love. Ace would be a lot more flirty and teasing than Luffy, mostly because the latter isn't interested in it lmfao. Also Luffy is oblivious too, he isn't that interested in having a love relationship, while Ace not at all, and would notice things pretty quickly.

Sabo isn't that bad. But I feel like he could be quite oblivious too, making the situation both funny and annoying to everyone else. You both like each other, flirt even, but still convinced that the other is just being friendly koala is screaming into her pillow please. Luckily Sabo braincells would connect and realize what has been happening for a while, also thanks to Koala, so everything is well. Kind of. He has no idea how to make you realize his feelings without screaming like the other two

Zoro is both oblivious and straightforward. He lives in his own world of training, not noticing it your flirting or his own until it's too late. Drives him a little bit insane how oblivious you are even if he thought it made things pretty clear; he likes you and wants to take your relationship further, but maybe his wording wasn't the best and you misunderstood... Somehow.

You just think that Sanji is being, you know, Sanji. So you don't think too much about it. Expect the fact that he is being much worse when it's about you; he knows your favorite food, drink, book and he is always, always thriving for your attention and praise. Not also very shy about it, will remind you time and time again that he likes you. Without batting an eye. Maybe tearing a little bit considering how you constantly reject his feelings by calling him friends, although you didn't mean it

I like to think that Izo is into a more traditional way of courting, so your misunderstanding of his gestures is pretty normal, considering that they both be seen as platonic and romantic. However, he is gonna make stuff pretty clear soon while slightly teasing you, finding your obliviousness simply adorable. He won't mind it that much, using it mostly to tease just a tiny bit. A tiny bit he says, lying.

My sweet boy Cavendish is so confused and perplexed. He honestly thought it was pretty clear, considering how clearly he favors you over anyone else. Not that he minds it, he finds it as a battle to make you understand his feelings, and it's a good excuse to pamper you with gifts and affection. Like the dude would propose to you to be his partner like he's asking your hand in marriage, he is not subtle by any means. Probably took the word out of his dictionary.

Rayleigh is a fucker. He noticed how completely oblivious you are to his flirting right from the start and he is amused by it, loving to tease you and make you question what his action actually means. He doesn't do it with malice and would clarify pretty quickly his feelings, waiting for you to get embaressed over the situation with a smirk.

Poor Trafalgar has no idea how to work in this situation. You can literally hear the gear in his brain trying to work out, because, in all honesty, he thought his feelings were all over the place. He's glad that it isn't the case, but he has no idea how to confess his feelings without secondhand embarrassment. Especially with how many times you have called him a dear friend in his face, ignoring his groan and grunt.

This work belongs to @/astelren, do not repost, translate, copy, rewrite or share on tiktok without my permission. Reblogs are appreciated and encouraged♡

Their child experience their first crush

[ HEADCANONS ] [ Reaper & Aguri, Umi & Kousuke, Adam & Eve, Loid & Yor, Usagi & Mamoru ]

[ Assassination Classroom ] [ Gakuen Babysitters ] [ Shuumatsu no Valkyrie ] [ Spy x Family ] [ Sailor Moon ]

What a cute prompt!!! I loved writing it!! Enjoyed a lot writing ever single word!!

I grew curious and ask my mother how she deal with this and even when my sister and I are so diferent the experience wasn't that diferent! Honestly was so interesting to heard her opinion!

Reaper & Aguri

Reaper and Aguri are really loving parents, both of them want to show all their love and support and actually are a really close family, they balance each other, while Agury want to be clingy and totally affectionate, even babying you a little, Reaper takes a role to be a little stric and a good mentor in life

Both want to share a lot of moments, and, as much as they want to keep you as their baby both are well aware that you have to grow and do your own life, and even when they are looking forward to see you grow, you experiencing your first love will definetly hit them hard

Both are really smart, while Aguri may notice the hints because she is a teacher and has a little sister, Reaper is extremely observant and knows a lot about human behavior, but both will have really diferent reactions, while Aguri is incredibly happy and excited, wanting to show you all her support and want to know all the details, Reaper isn't happy at all! Not that he is mad at you, of course, is something completely normal and he had tell himself that he would happy when you find someone to love (just as he had done with Aguri), but the truth is that the moment he notices it all his maturity and role as a good father is throw away from the window, he only wants his little baby back

Reaper will be the kind of father that feels like your lover is trying to steal you away form him but at the same time he feels incredibly happy for seeing you so happy, is so contradictory that is giving him headache. However, he is smart enough to know that it isn't right for him to act from those feelings, he just puts a smile and acts as if it doesn't bother him all while Aguri is asking you for all the details

Even if you prefer to don't say anything about it there is no way to hide it because both will find out and both want to know about your crush! And at some point Kaede will get to know too and she will be the one to came and give you some peace, stoping Aguri and Reaper from asking (if they were being pushy, but if you were willing to share the information she will be there to heard you too)

All of them will make a big deal out of it, Aguri is incredibly happy for her baby and is wishing you the best (while giving you some weird advices about romance), Reaper says that is alright but deep down he is trying to judge the person you like to see if they are worthy of being your partner (don't be surprised if he comes to pick you up from school more often), Kaede acts as if this is one of the greatest events, as determinated as her more important works, and be the one who gave you an actual useful advice

It could be embarrasing and a complete mess, specially because is the first time you develop a crush in someone, but at the end they only want the best for you

Umi & Kousuke

Umi and Kousuke Mamizuka are really loving and supporting parents, they may be busy most of the time but they always try to be there for you (specially in hard times, they are always there), the Mamizuka family is really close and loving

Umi is a teacher, she knows to identify when you need her and when you need time for yourself, so is more than obvious that she'll know when her precious child develop a crush for someone for the first time, she sees it all the time on school, and she couldn't be happier to see her baby grow up!

Choosing to tell them or not is up to you, but Umi soon or later will start to ask you about it, even if you decide to don't say anything she will start to ask indirectly, a little teasing honestly. Changes of your behavior like being more distracted or noticibly more happy or even blushy by school will be noticed by Takuma and Kazuma (they are rather clingy and affectionate with you, so if they will notice even if they don't understand it) and they will also start pointing it out and asking you with their innocent but cheerful expressions (Umi will just laugh at it, specially if you try to come up with a excuse)

Kousuke will be the last one to know because he is always busy, and is more likely that he will know by the others, even if you wanted to tell him is more likely that Umi will tell him that their precious child is in love once she is sure about it, and Kousuke will make a really big deal out of it! It isn't that he is overprotective, but he will be in tears while talking about how his precious little baby is growing so fast and soon you'll probably just go away and make your life (even if that is far from happening yet), honestly he is being a little over dramatic, acting as if you were about to get married soon

It could be embarrasing his behavior because even if you talk about it directly he may or may not try to sneak to see who is the one trying to steal his baby, and will end up envolving Takuma and Kazuma too because he wasn't able to shut up and end up telling them that you love someone, he end up explaining as if you were already in a relationship with that person, what will lead the twins to ask you if you are really in love, and if you go to the same school (that is probably, since Umi works there) they will sneak out of the nursery if they have the opportunity (or just see you around) and start asking you about your lover, what will lead the other kids to ask too (and Usaida will be teasing you, not even try to save you from the embarrasment)

If they actually make you pass an embarrassing moment or just upsed you they will deeply apologize (Kousuke wil be dramatic as always), at the end is Umi who will make everyone calm down and just wish you luck with your first love, willing to give you advice but telling you that you shouldn't feel frustrated if things doesn't work, just enjoy it! (and at the end, Kousuke, Takuma and Kazuma will show their support too, but they won't be as calm as Umi)

Adam & Eve

Adam and Even loves their family dearly, they want to protect their kids but loves them in their freedom, both want for their precious childs to discover the world from themselfs but are always close to whenever they need them, honestly the entire family develop a really wholesome enviroment, united but still free

Honestly, the fact that you are experiencing your first love can easily go unnoticed for a while if you don't say anything, Adam and Even will notice the little changes on your behavior (like being flustered, more shy or even excited to be somewhere) but won't say anything, or at least not to you, they will talk about it and will be Adam who suggest to let you be for now and wait until you feel ready to talk about it, in the mean time they will just keep an eye on you in case is something bad

Soon or later Cain and Abel will notice the little changes too, but they won't be as discreet as their parents, asking you right away about it or probably at your parents, at first they will try to push you to talk about it in a joking manner, and maybe even teasing you about you probably having a crush on someone, it would depend on your reactions, but at the end they will get the answer they wanted and they won't be too happy about it

Is a big contrast because while Adam and Even are taking the news more calmly and just trying to calm your brothers, is Cain and Abel who are taking the news more dramatically, no matter if you are older or younger than them, even if you were the middle child they had grew quite atached at you, they consider you not only as a sibling but also as a best friend, it always had been only the three of you against the world and suddenly some stranger wants to take you away from them! (thats actually not true, is just them being overdramatic)

Adam and Eve will try to calm them down and stop them from making a scene by assuring them that all of you will always be a family no matter what happen, but what Cain and Abel said will end up bugging Eve a little, later she will try to talk about it with Adam, what if that person really tries to take you away form all of you

At the end Adam and Even will want to talk to you about it, wanting to know how the person you like is (and who is, if you are willing to tell them), they want to respect your privacy but they are also eager to know (you still are their baby after all), and even if they don't say it both want to make sure the person you like is someone good for you

Eve and Adam will try to give you advices about love and relasionships, about how it has to be give and recive equally, their advices are actually really good, Cain and Abel will promise to be some kind of bodyguards, promising to don't let that stranger breakeyou precious heart

Loid & Yor

Even when the Forget seem like the perfect family is because Loid and Yor always tries their best to play as a family, and Anya helps a lot too to keep the family enviroment!

Even when both are always looking after the family is Loid the more self-aware of everything that happens with his family (or at least tries to, he just want to ensure the peace for all of you), so it won't take him much time to notice the little hints on your behavior that you had just developed a crush on someone, he may don't want to asume it is a crush right away because he is pretty much cluesest when it comes to it (or at least with more real and deep relasionships) or even nervously in denial, but as time pass the more obvious it becomes for him and he almost panics

As much as Loid wants to repeat himself that all of this is just for his mision is undeniable how much he cares for his family, he wants to ensure your peace and happiness and you having a crush in someone is something he can't control and that makes him nervous! It triggers a little bit his protective side

There is no way Anya will not know, it would be a little confusing for her since now your mind is plagged with thoughts of someone and nervousness, still it doesn't take her much time to undestand it and, honestly, she'll find this funny only because of the reaction of your parents, she isn't interested on any kind of romance right now but she cares for you and wants to support you (even when she doesn't know how to do it or how important this may be to you)

If you don't say anything it would take Yor a long time to realice it, and she is so naive at times that she may just asume that you are being bullied at school, what lead her to be worry about you, leaving her to choose between ask you right away or try to find out who is bothering you

At some point Yor will also tell Loid that you are being bullied, what will lead him to explain that you just have your first crush (a little awkward since he isn't used to things feel so personal), both will be awkward and nervous about it the whole thing, wanting to protect you and support you but not knowing how to do it, and if you decide to don't say anything about it it would make things even more difficult to them, leading them to try to make weird plans to get information about who is your crush and to see if is someone worthy. In the other hand, if you do say them they'll try to show your support and give some advices, Loid's advaces are the most useful only because he know all of that for his job, but deep down he is being extremely careful with what he says, wanting nothing but to ensure your safety

Honestly, Anya could be of a lot of help here, innocently trying to bring the topic somehow if you or your parents decide to don't say anything (because is had started to stress her a little)

Usagi & Mamoru

Usagi and Mamoru tried to be good parents and be always there for you, but if they already lead Crystal Tokyo it would be a little more difficult for them to be always there, however they always tries their hardest to at least let you know they are there for you, as well the Sailor Scouts are always there for you and treat you as family

All of them are really caring and try to look after you and Chibi Usagi, so there are high chances that when you develop a crush for the first time you went to at least one of them for advice, or even for help to try to undestand your feelings, and even if you decide to don't to tell them anything at some point at least one of them will notice your strange behavior (probably Minako, Makoto or even Usagi)

It isn't that they want to embarrased you or anything but once one of them get to know then you having your first crush it quickly become the biggest ghossip among the sailor scouts, if one of the sailor scouts know first they will talk about it a lot before even telling Usagi, but if is Usagi or Mamoru who get to know first then Usagi will be ranting about it, between wanting to tease you and ask you all the details and crying because her little baby had grow so fast! In the mean time Mamoru is trying to calm her down, but he also think that it would be good to talk about it with you

All of the sailor scouts are debating about it, trying to come up with a plan with how to help you, well, half of them don't think is the best idea to intervene if you haven't asked for help

Soon or later Usagi, Makoto and Minako start trying to ask you about it with little discretion, they are usually protective and watch over you but now they are a little more clingly just in hopes to see who your crush is (and try to get a glance of how you act with them), at the end is Mamoru and the other senshi who are more respectful and does support you and give you advice in a more mature way, wishing you the best

As well, you'll have Chibi Usagi's support, no matter if you are older or younger is probably that she grows attached to you since in Crystal Tokyo she used to be more lonely, so, if you don't mind, she will grow a little clingy with you (just like she is with Plut), she will be bothered if you decided to don't tell her and gets to know because of the other sailor scouts, but at the end she will be the first one asking you about it, she will be really interested and will tell you her own veredict about your crush, telling you if is a good or bad person for you (she is being a little prideful and playful, but at the end she wants the best for you)

However, no matter if they all are pretty cheerful about this whole situation everyone wants the best for you and will cheerish for you, actually giving you some useful advices, however there are also high chances that they will end up embarrasing you by trying to help (hopefuly not in front of your crush), also, some of them will try to watch carefuly your crush to make sure they don't want to take advantage of you because of your title

just curious | theodore nott

pairing: theodore nott x reader

genre: angst, mutual pining (but they don’t get together boo 👎👎👎 me), theodore wears glasses (yes that’s it’s own genre), reader is called princess by everyone bc i didn’t want to use yn in this

wc: 2.2k

note: i wrote this in two hours while listening to super shy - new jeans (intended for it to be a cute fic) and ended up with this angsty little piece, it’s a wip i ended up abandoning but am putting it up for anyone who might like that sexy pining genre of not ending up tgt, also was gonna stay on my docs but got too emotionally attached to not post it (you better talk to me about this theo or i will cry)

Theodore is a friend of Draco. That's how you know him. Theodore Nott: the tall, cute, and quiet friend of Draco's who's eyes —when he smiles, like really smile, curves upwards in an adorable manner. Theodore who, whenever you were to hang out with Draco's friend group, keeps a closed off expression that is so hard to gauge and read that you gave up the second time you met the lad.

The door clicks open and you prepare yourself for what's to come next, taking in a deep breath as you try your hardest to play it cool. Theodore steps into Draco's living room, shopping bags in his hand as Pansy follows him from a few steps behind.

You try not to think too much of it, friends hold shopping bags for their friends all the time, it's only natural. Pansy smiles when she meets your eyes, her voice soft as she nags you on why she hasn't seen you in so long. "Draco ought to bring you around more, I know you're his friend before ours but there's no reason for him to keep you to himself like he does."

Draco scoffs at that, "it's not like I don't invite her, she just doesn't want to come to stuff."

That's not exactly true though. You do want to come to stuff —if anything you loved going to them, Draco's friends have always been very welcoming and accommodated to your every need; it's just that every time you were to spend time with them, it seems like you can't take your eyes off of one particular person (hint: it's not Draco himself).

And quite honestly, you doubted whether he even knows your name. "In my defence, work has been hectic," you deflect with a small laugh, your eyes betrays you and drift to where the real reason stood. Theodore meets your eyes straight on, and offers you a nod as if he's only noticing you now and was saying his greetings. Yeah, he definitely does not know your name. "But I'm here now so let's enjoy it."

Pansy pouts but let's up when Astoria calls for your group of friends from the kitchen, Blaise right behind her with an apron wrapped around his stature. "Well?" He cocks his head. "What are we waiting for?"

Dinner went by smoothly, mostly Blaise stuffing you with his cooking and Pansy catching up with; asking every question she could possibly think of. You didn't mind if for the most part, actually quite enjoying the attention as the group went on and on. "You're shy, aren't you?"

The question is weird, and not exactly directed at you so you turn back to your plate as you take a bite of Blaise's lasagna (Draco helped cook the noodles for this, he wants you to keep this in mind). You feel something kick mid-chew, looking up to the person sitting opposing you; only to see Theodore with his full focus on Pansy.

You turn to her as well and she laughs as she repeats her words. "You're shy, aren't you?"

"Not really?" You don't think you are, not really. You're just trying your hardest not to make it obvious that you're interested in someone at this very table who does not seem to be interested in you one bit. "At least I don't think I am."

Astoria laughs kindly, finding you cute as she says: "you've just been quiet today, you're never like this with Draco and I."

Yeah well Draco and Astoria weren't plaguing your every thought every time you were within one metres of them. "Oh." you murmur. "I guess I'm a bit tired today."

"Work?" Blaise suggests and you shake your head. "What is it then?"

"Just Boy problems," you say off-handedly, quickly regretting it when their faces turn to one of interest. "But it's nothing big, I promise."

"Are you seriously going to tell us that and not elaborate?" Draco looks offended, hell, he feels offended that you weren't elaborating. "What did that dickhead do?"

Your heart warms at the fact that your friend cares about you enough to immediately hate on whoever might be causing you boy problems but are quick to dismiss the situation. "Nothing, drop it."

From the look on their faces, it looks as if they weren't going to drop it anytime soon. Pansy opens her mouth, ready to say something when Theodore clears his throat, letting you hear his voice for the first time tonight. "Why don't you tell them about who you saw at the shops today, Pans."

Her eyes light up suddenly, going off on how she ran into her scumbag of an ex boyfriend as she was shopping for a new dress. Your eyes found Theodore's, sending him a small smile as you mentally note down on how you'd have to thank him for it later.

And when he offers you a small smile in return, his dark eyes softening —yet not enough for you to see those half moons you hold oh so dear to your heart, you try to remind yourself that he is nothing but a man doing the bare minimum.

"Stay the night," Astoria says softly, "it's late, Princess. I can't have you heading back on your own at this hour."

As much as it sounded pleasant, you can't help but feel like you might be intruding their night (even though you've spent countless night crashing at their place after a bad break up before, you guess that it's just different now that you weren't staying to cure a broken heart with a comforting shoulder —Astoria— and someone bad mouthing your ex —Draco—). "I can't," you tell them. "And trust me, I'll be fine."

Draco isn't chuffed by your answer, looking apprehensive as he thought everything over. Blaise and Pansy left for their shared apartment mere minutes ago so it wasn't like he could ensure your safety with them. But someone else was still here though, "Nott, can you take her home?"

Theodore startles from his spot by the coat rack, pausing with one arm in his coat as he looks at Draco like a deer caught in headlights. Cute. He then glances at you before hesitantly nodding.

This is bad. Oh god. Okay.

"Great," Astoria says with a smile. "Take care of our Princess, please." She then turns to look at you. "Call me when you get home safely, okay?"

At your nod, she hugs you goodbye and sends you out the door. Theodore walking slowly by your side. He's silent when he opens his car door for you and you try your best not to swoon. "Thank you."

He hums in acknowledgment as he walks over to the driver's side, Theodore does a double check to make sure you had your seatbelt on before he started the car. The ride is quiet, save from the song playing from the radio; a familiar tune you can't place a finger on.

He asks for your directions and you tell him, sneaking glances as you did so. His hair is longer than it was the last time you saw him —but to be fair, it has been months since you did; a few dark strands cover his eyes and you resist the urge to reach out and push them away. Maybe even taking out a hair clip from your purse to pin it back just so he wouldn't have to deal with it again.

It's calm and overwhelming at the same time, sitting so still and tranquil next to Theodore like this. You want to say something, you want him to say something; anything if meant you get to hear his voice again. If it meant you get a chance to memorise it and compartmentalise it in a folder that is ardently his.

"Oh thank you by the way." He looks at you for a split second before turning his focus back to the road. "For switching the topic back there."

Theodore only nods and you try not to cry. Why won't he speak? It's almost like he doesn't even want you to be interested in him.

"I really do appreciate it."

He hums this time around, a low note vibrating from his chest. It's either a nod or a hum, that's all you're ever going to get from Theodore, huh?

You bite the inside of your cheeks, looking straight at the road as you did so. Should you even attempt to make small talk? All your attempts have been futile so far so why even try. You didn't mean to huff, or at least not as loud as you did, your arms instinctively as you looked out the window absentmindedly.

This catches Theodore's attention though, prompting to finally say something. "Thinking about those boy problems again?"

You don't answer him, you don't let yourself feel the satisfaction of finally hearing him speak for the second time tonight. You don't say anything related to that topic whatsoever. "Do you have a girlfriend, Theodore?"

You can hear the hitch in his breath, see the surprise in his rapid blinks, feel the shift in the air. The car pulls to a stop at a red light, the tail lights of a car a few metres in front of you shines your faces the same shade.

He looks at you and you hope —no pray, that he doesn't notice the sparkle in your eyes as you look at him. Or maybe you do, you can't tell anymore. The only thing you can tell is that you are so incredibly into Theodore Nott, and him driving you home is not helping your case at all.

"No," he says earnestly. You don't let your eyes flicker to his lips, you don't let your eyes flicker to anything else but his eyes, trying to gauge him for something; anything, only to end up finding nothing.  "Why are you asking?"

A car honks from behind, breaking the two of you away from your trance. "Just curious."

You thank Theodore as he pulls to a stop outside your house, he —just like you would expect from Theodore Nott, only nods at your thanks. And when you bid him goodbye with one leg out of his car.

He tells you, "Goodnight, Princess."

Princess, that's what your friends called you. That's what Draco Malfoy called you at the ripe age of ten years old where the two of you would play royalty and would later be his favourite nickname for you, then further on your other friend's choice of name for you. That's what Theodore Nott calls you because he does not know your name.

"Goodnight, Theodore." You shut his car door behind you, and take a few steps to your front door before turning over your shoulder. Looking back at him at once, finding him reaching for his glasses within his glove compartment; ones with round wired frames that settle flatteringly on his high nose bridge. He shuts his glove compartment box and you turn back to your front door. And unbeknownst to you, with your back to him, Theodore turns to look at you once, and then, twice when you finally enter your house, before finally driving off and into the night.

Curiosity kills the cat, that’s what Theodore thinks as he unlocks his front door. Curiosity kills the cat, is what he reminds himself time and time again as he sheds off his jacket. Curiosity kills the cat, that’s what he knows from the start. But how could curiosity really kill the cat if it was already dying? 

If it had already yearned for something for long; a clenching thirst yet to be fulfilled, if it was already wailing to just be held, would curiosity really kill it then? 

It's weird. It's weird how —now that he thinks of it, he can't seem to recall you ever going on a date. Not a single one. While him on the other hand; yeah, he can't exactly count the amount of dates he’s gone on in the past month on one hand. 

It's not entirely his fault though, he’s trying to put himself out there; trying to find the one despite knowing that said one is constantly running around the back of his mind and was sitting in his passenger seat mere minutes ago. But he chooses to ignore it because one, it's wrong and there was no way you could ever reciprocate his feelings. And two, even if you were to reciprocate his feelings, he will never cross the line between platonic and romantic. 

He’d take the endless yearning over any potential heartbreak any day because the second he crosses the line, there's no turning back. And no amount of romantic feelings you might have for one another will make up for the years of friendship between him, you, and most importantly, Draco. The blond was your best friend before anything else, and he doubts you’d ever risk ruining your friendship for someone like him.

So, for now, he’d settled for the guilt he feels every time he sees you; he’ll hold back on his urges even though it’s clearer to him now, in this very night, than ever that you are as infatuated with him as he is with you. 

He’ll take off his glasses, he’ll place them by his bedside table, he’ll lay in his bed, cold and alone, he’ll try to fall asleep and not think of you, he’ll try and try to make it through tomorrow, make it through the date that Blaise had set up (yet again) for him that will inevitably be the worse hours of his life and think about what it be like had his date been you instead. 

— from bee: yeah i wrote this theodore with jeon wonwoo in mind so what about it?? theodore is so wonwoo coded idc idc

What if Carlisle had turned Esme before Edward?

Interesting question. Let's look into the details.

Carlisle Turns Esme

I mean, there is the problem that this would be Esme in her teens in order for Carlisle to meet and turn her before Edward which is... well...

It wouldn't happen, especially as at that point Esme was doing relatively fine by all appearances. Charles didn't happen until a few years later.

So, we'll pretend Esme's a little older and that Carlisle had had the same sort of meeting with her all before Edward's set to die of the Spanish flu.

There's always the question of if he would, and I do always think the man needed that little push of Elizabeth begging him on her death bed to save her son, no she doesn't care how, just do it.

Carlisle had had many ill patients before this point, many he likely could have spirited away to turn without being noticed, and yet he didn't until Elizabeth's plea and then he was turning quite a number of people until Emmett and he probably realized with Rose that maybe not everyone wants to keep living if it means becoming a vampire.

But he could turn Esme for much the same reasons he did in canon. He's still desperately lonely and seeking companionship, he meets thing young woman and then sees her near death around ten years later, just left as a Jane Doe in a morgue to be unmourned and unremembered, and he can't stand it.

The only problem is at this point Carlisle wasn't sure the diet was actually possible for others. Everyone he'd met had said no, people who were otherwise very friendly and perfectly civilized, he hadn't met the Denali yet and when he first turned Edward he recreated his own turning in the hopes that that, somehow, was what made the difference with him.

It turned out the difference was "get them while they're young" and just immediately put them on the animal diet so that eating humans isn't even an option... except that of course Edward left for four years.

But anyways, we'll say Carlisle's out of his mind with loneliness (which he canonically pretty much was) AND ALRIGHT HE'S TURNING HER, and he recreates his own turning which I imagine he later feels really weird about as his turning was very long and painful and he's now tortured this woman on a theory he had that turned out to be wrong.

Woops.

Esme has a similar reaction to canon. This beautiful perfect man she boyband fantasized about in her late teens is back, turns out he's a blood sucking demon and she's one too, but it turns out aside from that he really is perfect.

The weirdness comes in in that there's no Edward so Esme doesn't slip into the position of mother (which in turn helps with the grieving of her own child).

Ultimately, I think this is better for Esme as she has to really work through the death of her son, not immediately fall into a romance with Carlisle and instead find out who she wants to be as a person and what she wants to do.

I imagine they pose as brother and sister (and no one quite believes them, even with the shared vampirism they don't look close enough alike, and think they're having an affair but after what's happened with Esme, Carlisle's not going to pretend to be her husband even in public)

Carlisle Turns Edward

There's the question of if Esme would have good enough control for this or not. I'm leaning towards no, we're given a lot of hints that Esme's control is not so good in canon and that she only ever reached a certain state of control. Since Esme came first this time, not Edward whose control is stupid good, I imagine Carlisle would spend much longer in the wilderness and perhaps might even give up the human charade to an extent in order to help her. He's either always a very rural doctor or else "lives outside of town".

This could mean no Chicago in 1918, very likely wouldn't in fact.

But we'll say it does, as Carlisle would want to work in an urban hub during an epidemic.

Elizabeth may not get as close to him, as Carlisle is now married, but we'll say she does, and she makes her plea. Now, Carlisle might not be as emboldened as he was by Edward. Edward's control was amazing, he had virtually no issues after a very short amount of time, and so Carlisle turned Esme with the belief that the animal diet wasn't only possible but easy to follow with no slips.

However, this time, Esme's first and her control is nowhere near as good, she struggles in human company and really can't go into town (we don't see her in town much in canon, and that's after nearly one-hundred years at this, this is her after only a few), and while she wants to be on the diet she basically can't live a human life the way Carlisle can and if she tries she risks murder.

There's a chance Edward would be the same way that I imagine would make Carlisle very hesitant to turn him even at Elizabeth's pleas.

So... I'm sorry, I'm going to cop out, I don't think Carlisle does it.

“Scott’s awareness of the Stiles and Derek thing is interesting to dissect” hi yes please do!

I find him a bit hard to read when it comes to this tbh. Scott seems aware that Something is going on throughout season 3. He always seems shocked to realize that they get along better, even though Scott is usually faster at trusting people than Stiles. (I wouldn’t be surprised if Derek/Scott’s issues early on are the source of this bewilderment.)

I genuinely can’t tell if/when Scott might have realized that their bond was more than platonic. Like he has so much “right in front of my salad?” energy that he must have noticed Stiles’s attraction at the very least, right? Was it Derek’s leaving in the s4 finale that made Scott realize that Stiles’s feelings were actually romantic? He seems very aware in s5 that Derek is a Sore Spot for Stiles.

Jeffrey-boy seems to have taken the whole “show, don’t tell” thing a little too literally here.

the thing about scott is he's really, really good at denial. especially self-denial. combining his world class levels of denial he also has multiple hang up about derek that he has a hard time letting go of and he has a specific way he perceives stiles (which is part of the mess in s5).

like he sees but he's also stuffing his fingers in his ears about it because derek and stiles being derek-n-stiles doesn't line up with what he expects from either of them.

scott also has the dubious privilege of being there from the beginning. it was just the three of them at the start of this whole fiasco.

there's hints but scott doesn't really get to see the big stiles and derek development in season 1so while he seems to kind of pick up on stiles possibly being attracted to derek because i mean look at this.

he's mostly seeing stiles being annoyed and angry but he isn't necessarily reading the deeper reasons for it because he's not privy to it.

than season 3 happens.

things shift in s3 when he realizes that he and stiles are not at all on the same page about derek. stiles has been spending time with derek outside of his knowledge for months and they're friendly.

Top 10 Anime Betrayals in Tattoo.

and than his reaction to derek and stiles messing around in the next episode. peter's entirely unsurprised and amused by this which just hints at stiles getting derek to be playful isn't new to him but for scott this is Huge. This is world altering for scott.

stiles becoming friendly with derek is one of the reasons scott's perception and trust of derek begins to shift into moving past his anger and resentment that was present in s1 and 2.

i know people say scott doesn't trust stiles and that's a whole thing to unpack and i'd have to rewatch 5a to parse it entirely but scott does trust stiles. while stiles is often right he also as often doesn't have the proof to back up his intuition in the moment.

scott is also way more scared that stiles isn't himself after the nogitune. he can see stiles spiraling and after derek leaves stiles becomes even more paranoid and irritable. almost as if stiles lost an anchor. which scott just went through himself with allison's death.

at the end of s4 this look is layered

he's terrified of losing stiles the same way stiles is afraid of losing him. it creates a weird feedback loop where that very thing happens because of their fears are exploited by theo. stiles and scott are so scared to lose each other and depend on seeing each other a particular way because of the roles they've assigned themselves they don't communicate properly.

stiles and scott are incredibly dysfunctional kids from different kinds of broken homes. it's important to remember that when dissecting their friendship.

the benefit of a doubt scene in season 5 says scott fucking noticed because his starting overture at trying to convince stiles about giving theo the benefit of a doubt is derek.

(theo is a hybrid peter-derek which is funny but he's also a dark mirror of stiles in a lot of ways. it's partly why scott is drawn to him.)

it's a calculated move on scott's part to bring up derek to appeal to stiles's emotions over his logic but he also is aware that he needs to tread fucking lightly here. the subject of derek is a double edged sword.

also scott witnessed derek's whole ass everything in 3B even if he was distracted. he knew derek would help look for stiles and protect him without a question.

i think scott figured out there was something going on in 3A and by 5A he knew it was something stiles was incredibly fucked up over but he wasn't the one that could fix it.

Danby Phamtom

ALRIGHT GHOSTS AND GHOULS

I finally finished Danny Phantom, and I think, as a wee lass I completely missed season three, because I genuinely did not know/remember that Danny got ice powers? Like, kind of out of nowhere. And if I'm being super honest...

They did a shit job telegraphing that. Like seriously? S3E2, Danny stumbles upon The Map to Infinity, and at the VERY END of the episode, FrostBoi says "He has more in common with us than he realizes." And I'm thinking "Oh yea, he's like, Prophesized Ghost Jesus or something, of course he has more in common with the ghosts." And then nothing for 4 whole episodes! Not a hint or inkling of anything, then

BAM!

Start of S3E6, Danny's got the shakes. Okay, that's interesting, maybe Danny has a Ghost Cold, or Ecto-Fluenza or something. It's not uncommon for these types of shows to do "Sickness has adverse effects on super powers" episodes, but no, it's ice for some reason. Still not really sure why Ice. Like, ice doesn't seem like a particularly ghostly power to me, outside of "Ghost cause a Chill" mythos. Lots of ice puns.

ANYWAY, season 3 seemed pretty okay to me. There's a little ick in some of the episodes. S3E1 was weird. It seems out of character for Plasmius to stoop to Danny's level, being a 40yo, and while Danny did the same to him, I'm still not really comfortable with the choice to have the Middle Age Bad Guy basically show the entire school Danny naked.

I can kind of see why a lot of people dislike Season 3, it often feels like it regresses characters to previous, less developed states for the sake of a plot when they could have just used a different interpersonal conflict that would have worked just as well...

However, I DO like some of the development shown in this season, like Johnny 13 and Danny having a kind of Frenemies relationship where they kick the snot out of each other but all in good fun. I actually wish we could see more of this, where Danny actually manages to befriend ghosts that were previously enemies. Like, can you imagine an episode where Danny senses a ghost, goes and finds out it's someone like, The Lunch Lady, and he's like "Doris, c'mon, we talked about this, you can't keep coming in here and bothering the Living lunch ladies just because you don't like what's on the menu. Let's go get some coffee and then we can go back to the Ghost Zone." That would be amazing and hilarious, plus, could you imagine the Lunch Lady haranguing Danny because "You're only skin and bones, Boy, you need to eat more. You'll never get big and strong if you don't eat enough!" The jokes write themselves!

Alright, to address the elephant in the room; Phantom Planet.

I want to say one thing. Yes, it's not very good, but I do kind of see where Sam, Tucker, and Jazz are coming from, I just think the writing about WHY they feel the way they do is bad. See, if you look at the Subtext of what the writers are TRYING to communicate, it's about the core of why people like Super Heroes. Yes, being special is cool, but it's about more than that. At the core of Super Herodom is a desire to be able to help people when they're in need in a world where more and more you're too busy keeping your own head above water to be able to help others.

This desire to help, mixed with the inability to do so creates frustration, and that frustration is exponentially increased when you see someone who CAN help either not help, or give up the ability to help.

There are entire shows I've stopped watching because the Main Protagonist is CONSTANTLY complaining about their super cool powers, and I absolutely hate that. I would do a lot of things to get super powers, and to see someone get them, and either complain about them, or even do what they can to get rid of them rubs me the wrong way because that is my dream. To be able to help people like that. I think THAT'S what they were going for with Sam, Tucker, and Jazz. They just did it poorly, like everything else in Phantom Planet.

What is the theory abt lg being from an alternate timeline? I’ve been seeing a lot of ppl talk about it and idrk where it comes from, and what are your thoughts??(have a nice day!!)

this ask magically appeared in my inbox just today but apparently it was sent weeks ago, holy shit! thank you for waiting op LMFAO

anyways, it's a theory that's been around before season 2, iirc! mostly because we had little to nothing lore wise around their powers, and its just fun thinking about while we waited for anything canon. there were a few things that did hint at lu guang being from an alternative timeline, being that we don't know his age and backstory, and his weird hair color (not a lot of people sporting full white hair, or any unnatural hair color in link click, at least)

those aspects don't necessarily point to him being from an alternate timeline, but they also could be hints towards it! but there's new content that makes this theory potentially canon! it's from this music video played during Bilibili World. it features an alternate mv for vortex, which is interesting because we see lu guang falling first:

in it, there are several shots with cheng xiaoshi wearing completely different outfits, some injured and one seemingly dead? Plus a frame that shows four cxs's merging into one. maybe it's just ooo pretty visuals, but there's a looot of imagery that implies different timelines (shard fractals, reflections, mirror images, etc)

There's also this shot, with lu guang wearing an alternate fit we've never seen - and he's wearing more black in this one?? his s1 fit also featured a dark shirt and pants but his flannel color was more dominant. this leads me to believe that this is lu guang but less experienced (another timeline).

maybe all of this is just non-canon for marketing, they did market lu guang as dead for all of pre-s2 lol, but i like to believe this is them teasing lu guang's past! even if he's the main character, he's someone who's past we know the least of. i'd argue we find out more about side characters than we do about him actually - which makes me (and a lot of other people) think he's from an alternate timeline!

that's the gist; i'll put my own thoughts under a read more so this post won't be insanely long

my own thoughts on the theory is that i think lu guang is from multiple alternate timelines. the frame with multiple cheng xiaoshis, and the one where four merge into one makes me believe lu guang met cheng xiaoshi in his timeline, but cxs either died or had a miserable life. he kept going into different timelines in an attempt to save him / be in a timeline where cheng xiaoshi is actually safe and happy, and finally got to the timeline we see in the show.

though that part requires him having more than just the power to look into what happens in a photo. but there's been proof of lu guang hiding what he knows / has with cheng xiaoshi (re: him hiding the fact emma died, and him hiding the photo that liu tianchen gave him). he's also an incredibly private person. if he hides from his closest friend, who's to say he isn't hiding something from the audience either?

we also don't know how they got their powers. if lu guang originally had the power to dive back into pictures, then it would make sense on how he's able to go to different timelines. also, studio lan clearly emphasizes the fact that the pair are two halves of a whole, and the show is more interesting because of that dynamic.

as an extra: lu guang's doting nature makes a lot of sense too, he just doesn't want to see cheng xiaoshi miserable again! it's a pretty known fact that cheng xiaoshi didn't have any friends (besides qiao ling) before lu guang, and his life insantly got better when they finally were a trio (interesting that it was mainly because of a mysterious person that popped out of nowhere). here's a fun twitter thread by t3mp0s about the trio's dynamic

lastly, i just think it'd be fun if at one point cheng xiaoshi slowly discovers what lu guang did in his past for him. and how hypocritical lu guang would sound after saying "past or future, leave them be" if he never applied that to cheng xiaoshi! either way i still want to see a cxs saving lg arc man... they keep teasing it EVEN IN THE MV

that's it!! i know link click's best quality is the trio going through other people's stories, but i think they're preparing us for the biggest one: lu guang's.

The villains wanna tease little robin (Elbie/Alfie)

Jude/Ellis (normal) Elbie/Alfie (normal) Vic/Will (normal)

I found the first two chapters, the premium ending and the epilogue:

So I recommend reading this beforehand.

But before I start talking about the ending, I just have to mention this scene from 1ch.

It happens that right now I'm reading Alfie's route on JP, and it really gives a huge hint to understanding his personality.

So...

The boys went to catch the culprit, but didn't take Kate with them. On the way to the Queen's room, they express interest in her… in their own strange way

Elbert apologizes for always asking the same question. But Alfie doesn't think he has anything to apologize for.

Actually, I cannot say I understand why Alfons thinks that way. What exactly did he mean by that? Because their relationship is based on mutual help, but mostly Alfons helps Elbert (with his obsession). And as I see it, it's really difficult to find his fault at all. I would even dare to say that without him, Elbert would be in a more dire state if he were still alive.

While they were away, Kate was surrounded by young debutantes. The girls she met while playing the role of the Queen. And the girls started asking her for advice. Obviously, Kate knows a few tricks if she has attracted the attention both Alfons and Elbert.

While she was trying to sort out this misunderstanding, Elbert and Alfons returned. The girls asked Kate to keep in touch with them and give her their contact information. Alfons, of course, commented on this.

As soon as they got into the coach, the boys began to compliment Kate.

And immediately after that, Alphonse begins to demand a reward

She tried to reason with them. It's weird to reward people who work together. But…

Kate realized that she should act before they made their demands, and stopped the coach.

She ran away, and Alfons laughs, how naive she is. Elbie followed her.

Alphonse mutters that this is all problematic, and follows Elbie…

I love both boys and thought I knew them very well. I finished Elbert's route and halfway of Alfons' route, but still some moments make me doubt. Of course, it's hard to know everything about someone, and over time, the developers will probably throw us something new, so I shouldn't be surprised… But still… Alfie feels guilty… This disturbing thought doesn't wanna leave my head.

I'm really happy to see Alfie enjoying himself. Recently I go soft for him and I happy when he's happy. For some reason, his route hit too close to home… Perhaps due to some personal experience. I cannot say for sure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🔝 Start page 🔝

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trigun Maximum Vol 6 Ch 1&2

Hey friends! I found this volume so interesting I actually decided to contribute to the bookclub conversation for once! Except that there's so much to talk about that I have to split this into multiple parts lol

I'm going to start with chapters 1 & 2, since I think they pair together well, but this is going to get super long so buckle in!

Poor Meryl :( she is very clearly still trying to process everything that happened at Dragon's Nest, and this is the first evidence we see of how that's affecting her.

She goes and has a chat with Wolfwood, evidently trying to gauge his thoughts on the matter.

Except that it seems he's also trying to figure out how much she knows, without revealing anything himself. Also, he's such a bad liar, like how has he made it this far?? And this is also when he tells her the she and Milly should leave, specifically stating that Vash himself is too dangerous for them to be traveling with, hinting at Wolfwood's own fear of Vash which is addressed in chapter 2.

I found these panels interesting for two reasons: first, the injury to Vash's hand. I assume this must be from when Elendira shot a giant nail through his angel arm, so it's interesting to see that injuries sustained in that state persist when his arm goes back to normal. Also, this is the first we see of Vash participating in self-destructive behavior in this volume, and don't worry, there's more later :')))

But moving on to the fight at the bank. There's a lot I find interesting about this fight. First, Vash's approach here is... something, and I can't say I fully understand his reasoning. Rather than his more typical "Haha I'm just a silly little guy, don't fight, let's just talk this out!" routine, it's more similar to that time in Trimax Vol 1 where he's intentionally acting deranged, presumably in an attempt to intimidate his opponents into giving up. I don't know, I feel like it was a weird choice in this situation.

But another thing to note, is even after it's made clear that the act isn't really working, we see a couple more panels of Vash looking, well, scary tbh. And it's not that we haven't seen him looking frightening before, but in the context of this relatively low-stakes fight, it's pretty odd. And also in volume 1, once the intimidation tactic ultimately failed, he gave it up. so what's going on?

But then we have to remember that we're pretty much watching this fight from Meryl's pov, which is important. In the moment, Meryl's conscious thoughts tell us that she's scared for Vash. Will he have the determination to fight, to pull the trigger, etc. However, based on how we (and presumably she) are seeing him in this fight, as well as some events later in chapter 5, subconsciously she's very much afraid of Vash too, and she just doesn't want to admit that to herself.

There's even a moment right before the fight ends, where as far as we can see, Vash isn't really in immediate danger anymore, and he even gets his own gun back, but we still get a whole page with a frightening looking Vash with Meryl screaming and collapsing in the background. It's been made clear by now that he's able to fight just fine, so that can't be the reason for Meryl's reaction here.

Still, by the end of the chapter, Meryl hasn't put this together herself, and instead admires how he's strong enough to keep fighting despite his regrets. Don't worry, there's more on this in chapter 5 :))

And on to chapter 2!

This chapter also starts with a nightmare (you seeing why I paired these chapters together? :3 ). This one is Wolfwood's, except instead of it directly being about Vash himself, it's about Knives, but we'll see how Wolfwood struggles to separate the two in his mind.

Wolfwood draws the connection between these two events, identifying the power the twins have to literally exude fear in a way that physically affects others nearby. This solidifies to him how the twins really are the same species, completely different from humans, despite Vash's very human tendencies. And that makes them terrifying! But then we get one of the most iconic panels in all of Trigun.

The juxtaposition here is top tier! Vash, our lovely protagonist, smiling and relaxed, happy to see his friend. Contrasted with the direct evidence of his power to destroy, Wolfwood having just called him a monster in his thoughts. Wolfwood is also caught off guard by this stark irony, and then we get another of the most iconic panels in all of Trigun.

The themes and motifs!! Now Wolfwood is the one looking down on Vash, now he's the one framed by destruction. His expression is hard to read but it could be anger? fear? By the next page, Wolfwood has put his gun away, Vash (supposedly) unaware of what's happened. But the fact is, Wolfwood's experiencing almost a kind of cognitive dissonance here. Knives is a monster, who Wolfwood wants dead -> Vash is Knives' brother -> Vash is also a monster, and Wolfwood should want him dead.

Except it's not that simple is it? Because the chapter goes on, and we see how Wolfwood doesn't just protect Vash during the fight, but they fight together in perfect tandem, back to back, a well oiled machine, hardly even exchanging words.

And when it's all over, Vash turns his back to Wolfwood without a second thought, completely trusting him now the same way he does when they fight together. And Wolfwood has the thought, "Man, everything's different when I'm back to back with him." Wolfwood also trusts Vash and is able to turn his back to him, despite everything. And even to himself that hardly makes sense, but it's true.

And so yeah, these two chapters very much complement each other, showing two of Vash's closest friends and their fear towards him and how they react to it. Meryl, at this point, is trying to ignore her fear of Vash, and instead focuses on her fear for Vash and his safety. Wolfwood very much acknowledges how scared he is of Vash and what he can do, but at the same time must admit that he trusts him anyway. Which is all some great setup for what happens in chapter 5!

Anyway, thanks for reading all this! Posts analyzing the rest of the chapters to follow :3

I've been gathering my thoughts, musing, discussing, re-watching and while I still don't quite know how I feel about the new season, I've managed to put something together.

I assume it's incoherent...

So, overall, I did enjoy the season. It was awesome to be back in the world again. The scenery was gorgeous (especially Xadia), Soren was an absolute hoot and little gremlin child Zym cracked me up.

Poor solo Mum Zubeia.

Having said that... I spent most of the season expecting each episode would deal with the elephant in the room and each episode just left me with more questions.

And maybe that would have been okay, if not for the persistent hype.

For so long we've been told how much darker this season is going to be. How Callum is super affected by Rayla’s absence, how he's dangerously obsessed with magic now but... he got mad at a book and that was kinda of it? He seemed quite interested in the mirror but this is the guy who almost got zapped by lightning to try and connect to the Sky Arcanum.

So, yeah, I've seen worse from him. I expected worse from him.

Episode one and Callum’s Reflections story showed he was clearly devastated by the events of TTM. Inheritance has him unable to even say Rayla’s name months after she’s left.

So honestly, his reaction to Rayla’s sudden return actually seemed relatively normal. He didn’t want to talk which we’ve seen him do before.

But he seems to see her reaction to his apparent rejection and concedes:

and this happens:

Rayla’s reaction just seemed… almost cruel. Cuddling and giggling with Stella while Callum sits upset. Saying he was joking when he referred to the fact she was missing for two years. Honestly, I was so taken aback by that.

(I know people love the cuddle-mama thing but what about my boy Callum?!)

The revenge thing also got me, because… when was it about revenge? When did that change? Are we to disregard TTM and Dear Callum? What was the point of them then?

What really got me for both of them was Rayla leaving the next morning (Why? To go where?) and Callum… not even noticing? Being more concerned about a magic show than the person he's apparently been worried sick about for literally years.

Rayla randomly re-appearing later that night also seemed… so strange. What was she doing all day? Why not come to Ez somewhere private? And like others have pointed out, she apologises to Ezran but never Callum? And he forgives her immediately? Soren seemed to be the most aware of how weird this whole situation is for Callum. (Thanks himbo, we love you).

My favourite scene was top of the Storm Spire when Callum seemed like he was going to talk to her but they took that away too?! And yeah, the callback was funny but come on! It really felt out of place.

Now we have Callum’s possession by Aaravos forgotten about and the issue with Rayla’s absence once again pushed back.

I would have bought her joking and attempts at flirting if we got a few more micro expressions of concern or doubt but it felt genuine rather than trying to awkwardly ease the tension.

The Drakewood sequence threw me to. Her attitude was such a departure from old Rayla (the Rayla who ran off solo to save a dragon because it felt like the right thing to do).

And don't get me wrong, I was hungry for why she changed so much but we got nothing. I'm really hoping this is addressed in later seasons because "time skip" just doesn't feel like enough to explain this to me.

Hints of old Rayla did make me hopeful (the immediate self blame when Soren doesn't come back) and I was hoping this would lead to her more relaxed nature being a front. Hiding her emotions is not out of character for Rayla, being good at it is. Getting better at that during a time skip I could buy.

But alas, that didn't seem to go anywhere either.

The Viren reveal was even stranger for me. Mainly because… what about people who haven’t read TTM? Wouldn’t you expect more shock from Rayla and Callum to find him alive? There’s been barely anything addressing the fact Rayla left because she wasn’t convinced Viren was dead. A throw away line in S04E03 which wasn’t really given any weight or importance.

And where do they go from here? Has Rayla been “validated”? From her perspective Viren has been alive the entire time and is actively trying to free Aaravos. So yeah, it hurt Callum that she left but her reasons are valid.

If anything Viren is more dangerous than she suspected in TTM.

And yes, I get I’m not a regular fan. My ~500k of fanfic focusing of these characters clearly shows that, but what about the casual fans? Or people just discovering the show on a binge watch? So many things in the season just make no sense. Characters do things because the plot needs them to, not for compelling reasons.

And sure, it might all get explained in the next season (please, please!!!) but there were a number of choices that felt off or confusing.

Which… after all the hype of “Where’s Rayla?”, the Twitter and Instagram posts, the panels, etc… we essentially got:

“Oh yeah, she’s there.”

I hope some of this is addressed next season. I want to know what Rayla was doing for two years. Why she came back when she did. What caused her change of heart when it comes to things like trying to save people. Why she hasn't apologised to Callum yet.

I know coming back after a hiatus was going to be difficult and integrating the supplementary material would be a task but we had so much wonderful character building and insight and it really felt like it was all for nothing at this stage.

I loved the Reflections series and utterly adored TTM. They did great things with the characters and I was really looking forward to seeing that continue in the series. I’m still hopefully for future seasons but I will admit to being underwhelmed by this one.

"Samurai Jack: Shadow of Aku" game issue

Alright, previously I analyzed Battle Through Time game and its ending, covering everything what's wrong in this game. Now let's jump into another game, very old game — Shadow Of Aku.

Although, Shadow of Aku is not canon, I still noticed some interesting moments. But, unfortunately, the story in this game suffers as well. What I liked — the visual, aesthetics, the music and sounds, locations, enemies are incredibly authentic to the classic seasons. We have the classic zombies, the classic beetle-robots and Aku's demonic henchmen we saw in 1 episode of 1 season and 8 episode of 4 season. What's cool is that we also meet new enemies, new robot models, we travel in new locations, see new inhabitants, what is a good detail. Also I can say that the gameplay in SoA is better than in BtT, it is more various, where you can run, fight, jump, climb, lots areas for platforming, puzzles etc. That is what I actually wanted from BtT, which had small levels only for fights mostly (although, I liked the graveyard level and the temple level). Another good moment — Aku actually takes forms of various animals during fight, uses fire breathing etc. If BtT had this element (and added all abilities Aku used in the classic seasons), then I'd like the fight in the last level a little bit more. Because I have no idea, why 5 season and BtT ignored the main ability of the character.

He also turned into an army just like in "Birth of Evil", but I wasn't able to make a good shot. And the main interesting aspect — this game is the only SJ thing, which in the first and the last time bings up the dilemma of paradoxes and time traveling. Neither the show nor the comics cover this story issue (well, the comics covered, but not directly and blatantly). It was surprising for me to see and to hear in SoA the "Wait, really? Do you want to rewrite history and erase my life and achievements at the same time?" theme. Too bad, this important and serious topic does not go to and to the end, plugging the archaeologist with Jack's heavy gaze and forcing to agree with his line "I can undo centuries of tyranny and bring peace to the universe!". And it is really weird, because he could insist "Then you will die as well. And everything good you did for people of this world, will be erased forever. Entire universe".

I mean, he is a scientist, so he can't see changing the past like "All will be the same, just a bit better", no, it doesn't work this way. Another moment already with Jack's newly emerged evil doppelganger. As he says, "I am your dark and evil self. You locked me inside of you, but Aku gave me life again!" or whatever. Actually, this moment gave me an idea…

Just imagine the creating an army of your doppelgangers/replicas with black magic from your negative emotions, i.e. only you can destroy them, they are subordinate to you, and they are fueled by your negative emotions and will die only after your death or overcoming your negative emotions. I.e. You can hide yourself somewhere that no one will find, and the replicas will do all the work to capture or destroy those you point your finger at. Well, of course, technically, there can be super-beings that are particularly powerful to defeat most likely, but against ordinary mortals, even those who possess magic, such an enemy will be the most dangerous. Aku, take a note. But now we come to the moments, which I can describe as dumb, meaningless or just strange. It doesn't have madness of 5 season or BtT, but still it has some own crazyness. Well, the beginning is pretty promising — just like in the show, you have to find the time portal and also to help various inhabitants, who can hint, where to find the portal or somebody who knows, where the portal is. Simple, but it works and can be presented in interesting and dynamic way. But many moments rise lots of questions. For example, why Aku's robots and demons transported the time portal to Aku's castle instead of destroying this in the beginning? It makes no sense. Aku could order to them to throw the portal into lava, or he could teleport himself to them and destroy the portal immediately. The premise makes zero sense.

Also, when Jack started to fall into the abyss in Aku's castle, Aku for some reason didn't shoot at him with the laser or fire.

Other tiny details are in the segments with inhabitants, who needs help. For example, the forest people, Aku's robots burn their forest... Ah? Why? What's a point? Why on Earth he'd try to destroy the wild nature? He wants to build factories, stations or a new technological city in this place or what? No explanations, just a reason for Jack to show heroism. The same thing with lyzard people — there's the same logic hole I pointed out here — these lizards tell Jack that they were enslaved by Aku, who wants to dig up all the jewels from their lands, and one captive shows to the robots where to dig — uh, what the f*ck? These incredibly advanced robots should have a built-in finder for such things and something like X-ray, i.e. you don't need to show them anything, they'll find it themselves, using magic in theory also!

Also, we see Exter, the creator of Ultra-Robots — why Aku didn't kill him, but ordered to exhaust teens with videogames? For what? What's a point? No answers, it makes zero sense, just an hommage to the classic seasons.

Among really funny moments I can describe the one with the robots, using electricity. There are new models of robot killers, and at one point Jack encounters them in sewage system or whatever, i.e. water location — Jack was in the water, and if they used electricity, Jack would be fried to a crisp. But they don't do this for some reason.

So, yes, that's what I can say about this very old and dated game.

Prediction time - I feel like the kids friend group might drift apart a bit post time jump. The boys fight a lot when things get stressful and I'd be surprised if we didn't see them butting heads trying to figure out how to save Max.

S1 - Mike and Lucas fight about the best way to find Will. Mike believes the crazy theory he's still alive and that El is their best way of finding him. Lucas believes a more logical approach and doesn't want El involved because he doesn't trust her. He goes to the lab by himself and finds out valuable information the group needs even though Mike was technically right. Lucas and Mike both have leadership skills but they go about using those skills in different ways which is why we see them fighting here. Dustin is in the middle of this fight and tries to get Mike and Lucas to apologize to each other. They eventually do and everything is resolved. S2 - Lucas and Dustin fight about D'art and Max. Lucas told Max everything that was going on with Will even though he wasn't supposed to. Dustin kept D'art even after he learned he was dangerous. They both did something wrong here and fight about it but it's quickly resolved. This season, Mike and Will spend very little time with Lucas and Dustin. Mike is worried about Will and is with him through most of the season. Lucas and Dustin don't seem to be bothered by this or find it weird that Mike and Will are off together. Neither of them attempts to go to Will's house to check on him. So from this it seems like Mike and Will go off together alone sometimes. It wasn't out of the ordinary for them to be together without Lucas and Dustin and they don't try to intervene. S3 - Lucas and Mike are pretending to be adults and think they are grown up because they have girlfriends. This leads to a fight between them and Will - especially with Mike and Will. Both of them apologize to Will later and realize they took things too far. Mike had a worse fight with Will over this and it's clear he spends time thinking about this. Will calls him out for not knowing what Dustin is up to and Mike attempts to help Dustin and reconnect with him at the end of the season. We also see Mike and Dustin together in S4. Not to mention that when Mike is apologizing to Will in Lenora, he references the fight here. He acknowledges he spent too much time with El and he regrets what it did to his friendship with Will. Will was right to call him out here and Mike pretty much says this. Dustin during this time is with Steve, Robin, and Erica. He's upset that his friends aren't hanging out with him at first and expresses this to Steve. But they are quickly distracted by finding the Russians and he seems less bothered by this once that happens. S4 - Mike and Dustin are playing D&D again but Lucas is still not interested. He has basketball now and it's unclear if he was only playing because he didn't want to be bullied or if he actually liked playing. It could be both and he is shown to be good at this. He drifted away from the group a bit but he's shown to be regretful of this and seems to genuinely miss his friends. Mike is less concerned about being nerdy than he was in S3 but there are few things that stick out here. Mike's room and basement are a mess and this is out of character. Along with the fact that Dustin seems closer to Eddie than Mike is. This makes it seem like Mike isn't really socializing much. There have been many hints of him having depression in the past so it would make sense to me if he was just going to school and D&D and not doing much else. Which would lead Dustin to be on his own and hanging out with Eddie more. Karen also makes a comment to Dustin about how he's welcome at their house anytime and this line sticks out. If Dustin had been hanging out there like he always has, why would she feel the need to say this? She also makes a comment about how she likes seeing them all together and it seems like this hasn't happened in a while.

Mike and Will reconnect their friendship in Lenora but they still have some things to talk about. They get into a fight at the skating rink and this fight is about how much they missed each other. They are both upset the other person didn't reach out more. They spoke on the phone a few times but didn't write each other letters. They resolve this fight but are still holding back with each other. It isn't confirmed if Lucas and Dustin were writing Will letters after he moved but I would assume they did at least occasionally. The boys don't exactly have a fight in this season but it's clear they aren't really on the same page and they are each dealing with their own things. They seem to be drifting apart more than fighting. The past couple of years are starting to catch up to them.

Which leads me to where they could end up in S5. Things are tense and stressful with regard to Max, the situation in Hawkins, and Eddie dying. Tense situations in the past have led to the boys fighting. I think Eddie's death will impact Dustin more than Mike. Not that Mike won't be upset but like I said above, I don't think Mike was very close to him. This could lead Dustin to break off with the group a bit. I can see him post time jump either not wanting to play D&D at all or taking up Hellfire in honor of Eddie. Lucas will be focused on Max and of course everyone will be trying to help. But like we've seen before, they tend to have different approaches to handling problems. I can see him bonding with El over this more. Will is connected to this problem somehow. He is seeing a vision of what Hawkins will be like in the future. I really like the theory that it's both Mike and Will having this vision. Either way though, if Will feels like he knows a different way to save Max I don't see Mike going against this. He will support him. Which would end up leading to another situation where Mike and Will are off doing their own thing and Lucas and Dustin on the other side and the groups eventually meeting in the middle. I do think they will be able to work together to save Max, but I also think they've been drifting apart for a while now. It's possible that they can work together but don't exactly end up completely reuniting like we've seen. If Mike has been separating himself from the group for months, I can see this causing some tension with Dustin and Lucas. It's been shown (both in S2 and I think there was a book that also stated this) that Mike has an attitude when he's depressed. He's similar to Max in this way where they both isolate themselves and lash out at the people around them. So I can see Lucas and Dustin pulling away a bit from him in the same way they did with Max (they thought she needed space). Only Lucas is now more focused on helping Max and it's possible him and Dustin just don't make the connection between something being wrong with Mike too. Lucas didn't understand what was going on with Max right away. We are seeing Will start to notice Mike isn't okay though - he is worried about the messy room comment and I think he will start to put together some things about El and Mike's relationship. I can see Will being upset that no one was taking care of Mike. Will is really the only one who sees him. This combined with the painting reveal that would have to happen early, would end up leading to Byler happening before the time jump. But it's possible that Lucas and Dustin don't find out about them until after. After the time jump, it's possible that Mike and Will would be hanging out with Robin and Vicky more but I can also see them hanging out with El and Max. Max and Mike in particular could help each other a lot and El and Will could start to form more of a sibling bond. I think if this is the case the girls might end up in the middle of the drift apart between the boys. I think Mike and Will would also end up closer to Nancy, Jonathan, and Argyle once this happens too. Depending on the situation with them and college, I find it plausible that Mike and Will would visit them and get a better sense of what life could be like for them outside of Hawkins. That being said, I think the boys will come back together and work things out by the end of the season. It would be nice to see the 4 of them playing D&D again. But we haven't seen that since season 1 so I'm not positive it will fit in here. We really haven't seen this being a thing they've bonded over. I think Mike and Will would continue to play but with just the two of them. I always thought D&D was meant to represent their relationship more than it was the boys friendship. But I do think they will end the series with them all being friends again even if it is likely they end up going their separate ways outside of Hawkins.

I've seen the theory that Tessa is not who she wants to appear to be popular right now. It's often said that she might be CYN.

It's a very interesting theory, but I don't think it's quite right. Most importantly, if Tessa turns out to be CYN, it devalues the pressure on N. The "universe or one little drone" choice he's being forced to make by someone N trusts.

Here are a few things that indicate that Tessa is Tessa after all:

When she arrives on C9, we see the things she brought with her. I don't think that's what the CYN godlike machine needs. At least not ordinary human stuff.

It's also the same way she grabs N as she did in the Gala episode.

About her saying she's "human" too often. I think there's a couple reasons for that. First of all, she says it when the fact that she's "human" or not affects a character's abilities. Like in the case of sentinel control. In the second place, I think it further demonstrates that she clearly separates humans and robots. (As she says about N: "my robot"). Yes and in the past she has said "humans" are coming.

I'm not sure about the toxic atmosphere at all. I don't think it would affect both the robot and the man in the spacesuit. I'm just going to assume that the writers did it so that UZI could bite Tessa's finger without jumping up.

About the sentinels not recognizing Tessa as human and the weird-looking blood. Well, as hinted at in episode 5, Tessa has some kind of arm problem:

It seems to me that this "something" required future intervention. Probably using technology like DD regeneration or just prosthetics. So the sentinel broke down trying to follow two contradictory orders. Obey the humans and kill the drones.

Just because she cooperated with Doll but wants to kill UZI doesn't stop her from wanting to kill Doll too. After all, she wants a list of all the drones associated with AS. Certainly not for a census. And she wasn't looking to kill UZI here and now.

And the blood. It was written somewhere that the blood disappears when she talks to N. And it does. But I'm sure it's a mistake in the animation.

Here she is talking to N (no blood):

Then V comes in and there's still no blood:

Blood appears:

And then it's gone again:

Those are probably the most meaningful arguments to me. If I'm forgetting something. maybe I'll write about it later.)

Oh, yeah. The timeline thing. To be honest, I haven't really figured it out yet. We don't have the exact dates of Gala, the destruction of Earth, the destruction of the people on C9, we don't even have Tessa's age. (Maybe in this universe, people live 400 years?)

Tessa's weird theory comes from this post:

Actually, I saw more than just this post. But I couldn't find the others.

Tessa's suspicious theory is very interesting. I'm really looking forward to seeing what this story turns into in the next couple episodes.

And if Tessa actually turns out to be CYN. Huh. Her shoulder patch could be considered a kill counter. Brutal.

I very much get the thing about being caught up in canon tbh. eternal slowburn felpac for the win I get it

also! you mentioned in that post, and iirc also alluded to it in My Saint, that Felps only became Pac's saint after they landed on the island and became coparents and such - I'm interested in that! what's your interpretation on Felps becoming Pac's saint? like how'd he get the idea to start praying to Felps in the first place?

(also: is this the same cinematic universe as It's Not A Fashion Statement where Felps is already a saint prior to everything else? because then I'm also wondering how that fact is generally perceived by people (including Pac) once they find out! unless that's planned for a later chapter of that fic in which case disregard this question LOL)

hi echo \o/ okay good questions

i think felps keeps the fact he's a saint under wraps until building the festa junina church where he kind of goes like: hey… do you know what would be funny? by this point it's less something he's actively trying to hide (we can maybe blame the memory tampering upon arriving to the island for that) and more something that just… hasn't come up. and feels kind of awkward to bring up because of how long it's gone without being brought up

i think pac started praying to him as a joke at first once he realised felps is actually a saint, and then everything went super downhill in his life so it became a lot more real. and then as felps' image spread to more churches + with pac starting the trend (i think it was him? apologies if not) it caught on to other people and just became more normal for the island (it fucks with felps a little… but that's too angsty for this)

i can't remember if i contradict myself in "my saint" and "it's not a fashion statement" but assumedly yes it's the same universe \o/ let me go under the cut real quick just for length

cellbit i think is delighted when he finds out (because he loves that felps is strange) but then immediately devastated (mostly jokingly*. mostly) that felps never told him before. in which felps would argue he's left hints and it's not his fault cellbit never picked them up. i don't

(*this is going to sound weird if you don't know the scene, but imagine how cellbit was acting when he was being jokingly upset that felps compared his banana to foolish's yeah okay sorry for bringing that to mind for everyone. it holds a special place in my heart because joking about that was the first domino for "it's not a fashion statement" if i recall correctly)

i don't think mike is too phased by the concept, even with felps having "hidden" it from him. he's married to a god so divinity isn't a big deal to him i suppose and he has other things to focus on. i think he would also maybe be the most understanding as to why felps hid it from people for so long. no logic to this right now just vibes

pac definitely acts the weirdest about it overall. but again--i don't think he'd blame felps for hiding it? to him and mike it would probably be the same as them "hiding" their mind link (they don't really think to bring it up sometimes). but also pac likes to be petty sometimes and he loves gossip so he'd probably put on the same act as cellbit--complaining about felps keeping such an interesting piece of gossip for him!

i think all of them are wondering what the fuck he did to become a saint and how the hell that worked (his jokes about coming back from the dead suddenly don't seem too much like jokes anymore!) but especially because as mentioned in "my saint"… felps was a corrupt prison guard lol. (chapter 2 of "it's not a fashion statement" will go into more detail on this \o/)

i think pac is the only one who treats him differently, but it comes and goes depending on the context. cellbit was already weirdly devoted to felps so it didn't change anything. mike has mine and doesn't need anyone else to pray to. that kind of thing \o/

anyway this is a lot of rambling but i hope it's enjoyable. i like to put "i think" before everything because i'm mostly just coming up with it on the spot lol

Playboy follow up pretty please

In the end, everyone (Midge, Susie, Gordon, Lenny - all the people something like this would directly affect-) agrees an interview and a couple of tasteful, clothed photos couldn't hurt.

The interview goes fine. She's asked about the comedy, and the balancing act of work and motherhood and time for herself, and she's asked about her taste in men, which she makes a meal of, joke after joke. She mentions a boyfriend, and hints at his identity, and that they're happy, and it's the most fun she's ever had, being with a man; that it doesn't feel like a second job, the way her first marriage had been.

She meets with the stylists and the photographer and Hugh before the photo shoot, and they talk about lingerie and bikinis, and Midge shrugs them all off, feeling like that's too much exposure, and not very her.

Instead, she pulls out one of Lenny's white button-downs, and asks if that will do.

Hugh stares at her as if he'd like to carry her off to his bedroom and eat her alive. But he just nods. "That'll do."

Midge gives a pleased smile, and it all goes pretty smoothly from there. She's done a few photoshoots for magazines; Vanity Fair, once, and Vogue. But they were very, very fashionable.

She's never lounged on a couch for a camera before, in nothing but a button down and her panties, and it's...

Kind of freeing, really.

She's still not interested in nude photos, though Hugh does hint a couple of times. The most she does is pull the shoulder of the shirt down a tad.

When she gets home, Lenny is waiting with Chinese Food, and he laughs, delighted when he finds out his shirt will be in Playboy.

"I should have put my name on the tag," he jokes. "Interview go okay?"

Midge nods. "It was great. They actually didn't ask anything too weird. I was worried about sex questions, but they didn't go that far."

Lenny shrugs innocently. "Sometimes they don't go that far."

"Or my boyfriend threatened to chop the editor-in-chief into teenty tiny pieces and hide them all over Manhattan like the worst Easter egg hunt," Midge jokes, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"Hef is not exactly known for his subtlety with women," Lenny shrugs as he picks at his sesame chicken. "I may have...let him know that I'd be a little cross with him if he pursued you."

Midge laughs softly and shakes her head. "I've never seen you get possessive before. Not even Joel brings it out in you."

Lenny gives her a sheepish look. "Joel is a moron, and I'm much prettier than he is. Hef on the other hand..."

"The pipe reminds me too much of Papa," Midge tells him, wrinkling her nose.

He narrows his eyes, tilting his head. "I'm trying to picture Abe and Hef in a room together...I got nothing."

Midge laughs and gets to her feet, settling in his lap. "I love you, you know. You don't have to worry about Hugh Hefner."

Lenny slides his arms around her, nuzzling in against her neck. "Good. I don't wanna share."

She grins and strokes his hair. "Me, neither."