#i'm gonna make a whole set of her in this ep i just needed this to stand on its own okokok

[luveline]

Jade!!! I’m so in awe of how you write Steve, like you capture his character so well! I was thinking about if the reader had also been dragged into the mess that is saving Hawkins and, as a result, has also unofficially been anointed a baby sitter - Steve would be all heart eyes seeing how well you get on with the kids and just how much you care for them (and how much they care for you)

thank you! Steve and you having a quiet moment between all the hubbub and just loving each other and being proud of each other for how you take care of the kids (word count: 1k) fluff and softie steve 🥺 ST4 EP 4 SPOILERS AHEAD

You try not to be too obvious about what you're doing as you stare across the room at Steve. He's sitting with his back pressed against the chair Dustin's currently slumped in, eyes blinking slowly as he attempts to stay awake. 

You're opposite on the sofa between Max and Lucas, Max finally asleep. Her face is pressed into your arm. She might be drooling. You decide that this is more than allowed considering what she's just been though. 

Lucas is still awake. Still worried. 

"I don't know…" he confesses quietly, almost too quiet to hear despite the room's silence, "what I would have done. If something happened." 

If Vecna got her, he doesn't say. 

You brush your knuckles against the back of Max's hand as you twist, giving him what you hope is a soft, reassuring smile. 

"Nothing happened, and nothing is gonna happen. We're gonna work this out. She's safe, Lucas. I promise," you whisper, putting on an exasperated tone. You're not sure how truthful you're being but you believe vehemently that everyone's gonna be okay. You have to.

You don't know him very well, any of them, only through Steve. They love Steve and seem to like you, and despite a big risk of going too far and overstepping, you really want to reassure Lucas.

These kids are so young, they don't realise how young they are. Growing up is traumatic enough without the constant threat of an evil power, and it shows on all their tired faces that they're stressed beyond words. 

Lucas sighs and crosses his arms over his chest, reminding you of Steve. You look to him, find your brown eyed boy watching you with an earnest, fond smile stretched over his lips. 

"Steve and I," you say, a little firmer, "we won't let anything happen to Max… or to you." 

"I'm a great fucking babysitter," Steve agrees, voice rough with fatigue. "And so is Y/N. That's double the protection, Sinclair." 

"Exactly. We've got a basement full of dorks who, including yourself, are smart and brave enough to get through this." 

Lucas starts to get that look on his face despite his overall maturity that you recognise as embarrassment; too much heart to heart for a teenage boy right now. You dial it down. 

"And to do that you need to sleep. Get some rest, gather your strength. The campaign isn't over," you say. Both Steve and Lucas snort at your cheesy joke. 

Lucas settles down and eventually falls asleep after you make a big show of not feeling tired. "I got it," you whisper. "I'll be on Max watch." 

Now, with all the babies asleep including the academics who basically saved the day, it's only you and Steve. 

"Are you okay?" you whisper. 

"Baby, I should be asking you that. I've been through this whole shtick three times already."

"Don't you think that's worse?" You can't imagine how scared he is. 

Steve straightens up with an awful groan and sets a dead stare at you that withers your bravery almost too fast. "I'm fine. I am," you say, words riddled with a scratching weakness, like your voice might break. "I'm okay." 

Steve gets up. You lift your head as he walks towards you, careful not to make too much noise. His hands are soft and very, very careful as he bends at the waist and takes your face into them, like he's assessing you.

His thumbs aligned at your jaw and his fingers cupping the underside, Steve dips his head towards his chin. "It's okay if you're scared. This is ridiculously terrifying," he says seriously. Then, less so. "Not that I'm scared. Shit's getting kind of old for me, if you know what I mean," he says, rolling his eyes. 

You laugh and shake your head, eyes closing. "Don't make me laugh, I don't want to wake up the kids," you whisper. 

His bravado softens. "You're good with them," he says, hands smoothing down the column of your throat, over your shoulders and up again, massaging you with a light pressure. "Really good." 

"I'm just following your lead," you murmur. 

He smirks. "Yeah," he says, leaning in, the heat of his lips fanning over your own, "I must set a good example, 'cos you're amazing." 

He kisses you, a soft, chaste peck that eases some of the tension you're holding, his smile pressed to yours. 

His fingers flex around your neck. 

"Are you really okay?" he asks as he pulls away.

You don't have to think about it.

"I'm good, Steve." 

"Yeah, you are." 

He leans down to give you a hug, an awkward struggle because of your position and the bodies you're acting as a pillow for. You can only use one arm when you hug him back, the other sandwiched under Max's shoulders, but it's a pretty good hug, all things considered. 

"You wanna sleep in my lap?" you joke into his neck. 

"Don't tempt me. I miss you," he says. Your arm tightens where you're wrapped behind his neck, crushing his perfect hair. 

"I miss you too." 

And you do. Taking care of the kids, trying to stop whatever it is that's happening from happening, you'd never not try your hardest but you can't wait for this to be over. To fall asleep next to Steve, and to not worry that it'll be the last time you see him when you close your eyes. 

You're on Max watch, but you're on Steve watch too. 

Steve pats your face gently, just once, and goes back to play guard dog at Dustin's side, though he lies on his back.

Max mumbles something in her sleep. You turn to her, your heart racing at the idea that she's having a Vecna related nightmare. You're tentative as you rub her jacketed arm, hoping to soothe her through it. 

"Poor kids," you murmur. 

"They have you and me," Steve says quietly. "They're gonna be fine." 

"Go to sleep, Harrington," you say, not bothering to turn to him. 

"They're gonna be fine," he repeats, sounding both amused and affectionate at your worrying. 

"I know. Now go to sleep, idiot." 

"Wake me up when you're tired." 

"Yeah, whatever you want."

"Wake me up when you're-" he starts again, in a tone usually reserved for the kids when they aren't listening.

"Alright, Steve. I will," you say, laughing under your breath. "Control freak." 

"What did you say?" 

"Nothing." 

"Yeah. S'what I thought." His scathing tone is dampened by the sleepiness. Your chest fills with warm affection.

#stranger things 4 spoilers #stranger things spoilers #stranger things fic #stranger things x reader #stranger things 4 #stranger things #spoilers stranger things #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #steve and max my beloveds #steve x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x gn!reader #steve harrington x reader fluff #steve harrington x reader fanfic #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington drabble

[and-claudia]

Against All Odds pt.6 (Joel Miller x fem! reader)

Warnings: more angst

General Warnings for later on: The main story will have an age gap between Joel and the reader (Reader will be 25 once we get to the main storyline), this will also be your warning that it will eventually be an x pregnant reader (if that's not your jam, I'm sorry) there is also going to be more graphic/trigger parts later on so please always to be sure to read the warnings BEFORE reading. This story will also be 18+ and TO BE ON THE TAGLIST YOU CAN NOT BE AN AGELESS BLOG (i do actually check that) also there first hand full of parts are all prologue so Joel won't actually be in it for a bit

word count: 4000+ (sorry this one wasn't as long, this ep is more about Bill and Frank so there wasn't a whole lot to work with and I wasn't sure what to add either)

Taglist Sign-Up (read my rules carefully before filling it out)

gif not mine

We walked along in a deafening silence for about two hours, no one daring to say anything. We stopped to eat, but none of us seemed to actually have an appetite. It wasn’t until after our short break that someone finally spoke up. 

“So how much further do we have to go?” Ellie asked. 

“We’ll try to go another hour then finish the trip tomorrow.” Joel said, throwing his bag over his shoulder. 

“Get to the river and stay there for the night?” I asked and he only nodded. 

He began walking without another word leaving me and Ellie to follow him. Once again, we were thrown into silence. We made it to a clearing beside the river as the sun began to set, making the shadows of the trees around cast us into darkness. 

“We’ll stay here.” Joel declared. 

“There’s no Infected here, is there?” 

“No.” I tried to reassure the younger girl. 

“Sometimes.” Joel said gruffly, contradicting what I had just told her. 

“Rarely. Joel has only ever come across one way out here. We’re ten miles from the outskirts of the city. We will be safe, I promise. Joel and I will switch off keeping watch throughout the night.” I said. 

“I’ll keep watch.” Joel said, leaning against a tree with his back to us. 

I walked over to him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, “Joel, you need to get some rest. You stayed up last night on watch. I can help watch.” 

“No, Tess and I kept watch.” He snapped as he corrected me. 

I sighed, “Joel, I know you’re hurting, but please don’t take it out on me. I had nothing to do with that. I’m sorry, I really am but we need to keep going. That’s what she wanted.” 

“You’ve realized when she got bitten, don’t you?” He asked, looking forward still. 

“No…” I hadn’t really thought too much about it. 

“I’ve been trying to figure it out this whole time and I think I got it. The only time it could have happened was in that damn museum. And it got me thinkin’... maybe if I wasn’t so focussed on protecting you, then maybe we wouldn’t have gotten separated. Maybe that clicker wouldn’t have gotten her.” 

I dropped my hand, “You- You’re not seriously trying to blame me for Tess getting bitten? Are you?” 

He didn’t answer my question just turned around and squatted down to get his canteen. 

“I am going to go fill my canteen. You and Ellie should probably do so soon or you’ll have to wait until the morning.” He said as I stood there stunned. 

After he walked off I walked over to where Ellie was sitting and sat down near her. 

“Dude, are you okay?” 

I only raised an eyebrow in response to her. 

“You look pale… oh please tell me you’re not gonna hurl again.” 

I shook my head. 

“Wait, what were you two talking about?” She asked realizing this had something to do with the conversation I just had with Joel. 

“He’s blaming me.” I said quietly. 

“For?” She asked clearly confused. 

“Tess.” 

“How?! It’s not like you’re the Infected who bit her.” 

I just shrugged. 

“Do you need to refill your water or can you wait till morning?” I asked wanting to change the subject. 

“I can wait.” 

I nodded, “Get some rest, we’ll get you to Bill and Franks tomorrow.” 

What I didn’t mention though was that I had just made the decision to stay with them as well and let Joel go back to Boston alone. 

After a while of trying to find a semi-comfortable, or more so tolerable, position to sleep against the tree I was leaning against I fell asleep. Despite what he had said earlier I had set a two-hour timer on my watch and had gotten up when it started going off, ready to take over watching out for our little group. But when I offered, Joel gave no answer and after a few attempts, I just gave up and walked back over to my spot to go back to sleep. 

The next time I woke up, it was just after dawn and Joel was nowhere to be seen. I panicked for a second thinking he just left us, but I knew he would never actually do that, no matter how pissed off he was with me. I figured he probably went off somewhere to go to the bathroom or something so I decided to be productive and go ahead and refill our waters down at the river. I grabbed all three of our canteens and began to walk down to where the water was deeper so I wouldn’t get dirt in them. 

When I got there I was surprised to find Joel there. I didn’t say a word or get too close. My plan was to refill the waters and that is what I was going to do. 

“You’re up early.” Joel commented upon seeing me. 

I only hummed in response. 

“Did morning sickness wake you up?” He asked. 

“Nope. I feel fine, Joel. Just refilling the water.” I said, closing one of them and grabbing the next. 

“Let me get the last one.” He said reaching for it. 

“I got it. I don’t need your help.” I snapped. 

“Is the girl awake?” He asked after sighing. 

“Ellie,” I emphasized her name, “is still asleep.”

He just sighed again before standing up and walking back to where Ellie was at. I finished up filling the last of the canteens before collecting them all and heading back as well. 

3rd person PoV

Joel got back to where Ellie was now sitting against a tree, awake. He didn’t say anything to her just went over to his bag to grab a small piece of jerky to eat before they left for Bill and Franks. 

“Do you want your jacket back?” Ellie asked, Joel had given it to her to cover up last night. 

He shook his “no” before tossing her the pouch of jerky for her to take a piece as well. 

“It’s not her fault.” Ellie said after a few beats of silence. 

Joel gave her a weird look. 

“Yn, she told me you blamed her for what happened to Tess. You can’t blame her for that. I don’t what exactly you two have going on, but you need to figure it out, and that means you need to realize that she didn’t get Tess killed, I get that you’re hurt but you can’t let that keep you from what you know you gotta do.  I mean come on, man she’s having a baby, don’t you want to be there for her? For your kid?” 

“You’re right, you don’t know what we have goin’ on, so don’t pretend to.” Joel said as he threw his backpack onto his back. 

By the time Yn got back the other two had already gotten ready to go. 

Yn’s PoV

“You ready for a five-hour hike?” Ellie asked. 

“I don’t exactly have a choice do I?” I joked as I handed her her water. 

“Let’s get going.” Joel said, taking his from me as well. 

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Ellie finally broke the silence we had been walking in since we left. 

“I thought you said there weren’t any infected out here?” She asked. 

“Rarely, why?” I answered her. 

“What is he looking out for then?” She asked, referring to Joel. 

“People.” He answered for me. 

“Oh,” The younger girl nodded, “Are Bill and Frank nice guys?” 

I could tell she was just as tired of the silence as I was. 

“Frank is.” Joel replied causing me to crack a small smile to myself. 

“How’d you get that scar on your head?” 

That question made me cringe as I waited to see what Joel would answer. But when he gave no response, Ellie decided to press the matter. 

“What? Is it something lame? Did you like fall down the stairs or something?” 

“I didn’t fall down any stairs.” Joel snapped.

But that didn’t stop Ellie, “Okay, so what then?... ew don’t tell me y’all were doing some weird sex thing and it went totally wrong.” She said, cringing. 

“It wasn’t a sex thing.” I said to her. 

“Okay, well if you won’t tell me, I’m sure I can get Yn to. She clearly knows.” Ellied said. 

Joel sighed, “Fine, someone shot at me and missed.” He said, which wasn’t a total lie. 

“See, that’s cool. You shoot back?” Ellie asked. 

“Yeah.” 

“You get him?” 

“No, I missed too. It happens more often than you think.” Joel said. 

At this point, I reached up and gently grabbed Ellie to pull her back in step with me so she wouldn’t ask any more about what had happened. 

We continued to walk along the path until we came to an old convenient store gas station on the side of the road. I remembered the palace. It was used to stash supplies on runs. 

“Wait here. I gotta grab some stuff I stashed.” Joel said, walking closer to the entrance. 

Neither Ellie nor I listened and continued to follow him. 

“Why do you have stuff stashed here?” Ellie asked Joel. 

“You ask a lot of goddamn questions.” Joel grumbled. 

“Yes, yes I do.” Ellied replied causing me to bite back a laugh, “But you didn���t answer the question.” 

“We leave supplies on routes so if we’re running low on something, we can-” I began explaining but was cut off. 

“No way!” The younger girl exclaimed. 

I turned to see what has caught her eye. It was a Mortal Kombat arcade game. 

“You ever play this one?” She asked as she messed around with joysticks and buttons on it. 

“I never did, but my brothers would sometimes.” I said, stepping up beside her. 

“I had a friend who knew everything about this game.” She said. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah! There’s this one character, Mileena, who takes off her mask and she has monster teeth and then she swallows you whole and barfs out your bones!” She exclaimed. 

“Well, that’s a lovely mental image.” I teased before turning around to see what Joel was getting into. 

“Do you remember where you put it last time?” I asked genuinely since he seemed a bit confused. 

“Yes, give me a minute. I’m just zeroing in on it. It’s been a while.” He said. 

I putmy hands up in surrender. 

“Well then while you zero in on it, Ellie and are gonna look around.” I said. 

“It’s all been picked over already. You know that.” He said. 

“You never know.” I said as me and Ellie began to look around. 

We came up to an open doorway and she hesitated before looking up at me. 

“You think there’s anything bad in there?” She asked. 

“Not besides grumpy butt behind us.” I said referring to Joel and his attitude. 

That made her laugh before she walked through. We walked into a smaller room that just had more debris on the ground. Ellie kicked a piece of cardboard out of the way to reveal a hatch on the ground. We both eyed each other before squatting down to open it. 

We got it open but before we could investigate Joel was calling out to us. 

“You two good?” 

“Yeah!” 

“We’re fine!” 

We yelled back. Then we turned back to the opening we had just found. It was pitch black and we couldn’t see anything inside of it. 

“How deep do you think it is?” She asked. 

I shrugged before grabbing a piece of debris and dropping it in. It quickly hit the ground so it wasn’t too deep. 

“I’m going to go down there.” Ellie said, already taking off her bag. 

“No, you’re not. I’ll go. You stay here.” 

“You have precious cargo. I’ll go. Look I’ll flip that trash can over and give myself an escape route.” She said. 

“Joel is going to be pissed if I let you go.” I said. 

“Then you didn’t let me. I bluntly ignored you and went anyways. Wait here, I’ll be right back.” 

Before I could react she had jumped down into the floor. It was only about a minute later I heard the gasps of an infected.

“Ellie, get out now.” I said quietly but loud enough for her to hear. 

“It’s stuck. It’s fine.” 

“I don’t care, get the fuck back up here.” I said sternly but she ignored me. 

By the time I was able to stand up, drop my bag, get my gun ready, and jump down, Ellie was already crouching in front of it. Sure enough the infected was stuck under rubble. I watched as Ellie stabbed it in the head with her knife. 

“Okay, if you’re done playing with that thing, can we go? Joel is going to freak if he finds out you got that close to one.” I said. 

She sighed and stood up before walking back over to me. I could hear Joel calling our names as we climbed out using the trashcan. Ellie went first and just as I climbed out Joel stepped into the doorway of the small room. 

“What the hell were you two doing down there?” He asked. 

“Looking.” I said, before standing up and grabbing my bag. 

“Picked over, my ass.” Ellie said as she stepped passed Joel, proudly showing off the box of tampons she had managed to find down there. 

“You find the stash?” I asked. 

He nodded, “Left the rifle there too. It’s almost out of ammo and I don’t think they’ll have any for it. Practically useless now.” He said. 

I nodded. 

Then without another word, he turned around to walk out. I followed behind him. Soon we were walking again. The silence took over. 

There wasn’t really much to see this far from a QZ. It was now mainly just land. There was an occasional abandoned car or building but other than that it was just nature. It was nice to listen to, but it was also boring. The last time I had walked through here Joel and I were talking the whole time practically now he had barely said anything to me the whole time since we left the QZ. 

Up ahead there was a pretty big hill, I remembered it from last time. There was a plane crashed on top of it. I didn’t particularly like looking at it. Although you couldn’t see anything, you just knew everyone died on that plane. It was eerie to see it. 

“You ever fly in one of those?” Ellie asked. 

“I never did, no.” I said. 

“A few times.” Joel said. 

“So lucky.” Ellie said in awe. 

“Didn’t feel like it at the time. Get shoved into a little seat, pay $12 bucks for a sandwich.” He said. 

“Dude, you got to go up in the sky.” Ellie said, cutting him off. 

I had to admit that she was right. It was pretty cool. You never see planes like that flying around anywhere anymore. 

“Yeah, well so did they.” Joel said, nodding to the crash, before truing and walking down the path.

“Way to be an ass about it.” I mumbled. 

As we continued walking, Ellie continued to ask questions. I answered when I could and listened when Joel would speak. 

“So, everything came crashing down in a single day?” The young girl asked. 

“Pretty much.” 

“Basically.” 

Joel and I said at the same time. 

“How? I mean no one was infected with Cordyceps, everybody’s fine, eating in restaurants and flying in planes. And then all at once? How did it even start? You have to get bit to be infected, then who bit the first person? Was it a monkey? I bet it was a monkey.” 

Her last comment made me laugh a little. 

“It wasn’t a monkey. I thought you went to school.” Joel said 

“FEDRA school. They don’t teach us how their shitty government failed to prevent a pandemic.” She explained. 

“To answer your question, no really knows. There are theories but no one knows with 100% certainty that it came from this or that.” I explained. 

“The best guess is that the Cordyceps mutated,” Joel began, “Then some of it got into the food supply. Probably a basic ingredient like flour or sugar. There were certain brands of food that were sold everywhere, all across the country, across the world. Bread, cereal,... pancake mix…” 

I caught the way his face dropped at the mention of that last one. 

“You eat enough of it, it’ll get you infected. So the tainted food all hits the store shelves, around the same time Thursday. People bought it, ate some Thursday night or Friday morning. Day goes on… they started to get sick. Afternoon, evening, they got worse. Then they started bitin’.” 

“By that night, everything had fallen to shit.” I added as the memories came flooding back. 

Joel nodded before continuing, “Friday night, September 26th, 2003. By Monday everything was gone.” 

I wiped the few tears that had slipped out off my cheeks as we continued to walk. 

“Makes a lot more sense than monkeys, I guess…” Ellied said, clearly unsure of what to say to all the information she just received. 

We continued to walk and I knew what was coming up. 

“We’ll cut across the woods here.” Joel said painting to the tree line. 

“Why? Isn’t the road easier?” Ellied questioned. 

“Yeah, it’s just… there’s stuff up there you shouldn’t see.” Joel said. 

“Well, now I have to see.” She countered. 

“I don’t want you to.” 

“Too bad let’s go.” She said walking out ahead of us. 

“Ellie!” Joel called to get her to stop. 

“Joel, just let her. She’ll have to learn at some point.” I said gently grabbing his arm only for him to pull it away from me as he followed Ellie down the path. 

She was a few yards ahead of us as we walked along quietly. I kept my eyes glued straight ahead not wanting to see what was coming up beside us. 

“Well, whatever it is, I think it’s gone!” Ellied called back to us. She stopped short and turned to her side to see what was in the ditch there. The pit was filled with human bones. Ellie turned to us for answers. 

“About a week after Outbreak Day, soldiers went through the country sides, evacuated small towns. Told you you were goin’ to a QZ and you were… if there was room. If there wasn’t.” 

This time I was the one to walk away without a word. I walked down the path trying to get away from the sight before us. Although I wasn’t from a super small town, my town wasn’t huge. I couldn’t help but think about if we hadn’t of ran that night would me and my family met the same fate as all of them. 

The rest of the walk was spent lost in my own thoughts. Finally, what snapped me out of it was seeing the fence to Bill and Frank’s appear in the distance. I smiled knowing I would be able to sit down and rest my feet soon. When we got to the gate, Joel punched in the code and it unlocked for us. We walked down the road and up to their house. The first thing I noticed was the flowers out front were wilting, Frank would never let that happen. 

It was quiet… too quiet. Joel called out both of their names but there was no reply. My heart began to race. 

“Wait here Ellie.” I said as Joel and I both went to look for them. 

As we walked around I knew what was going on. There was a thick layer of dust covering everything, food in the kitchen was rotting, their garden was being overrun with weeds.

“Joel…” I said, voice cracking. 

He turned to me and shook his head, “No. They are here somewhere. Let’s just check their room.” He said, stepping away to try their bedroom door. It was locked. 

“Joel… look around, they’re not here. They haven’t been for a while.” Saying it out loud made my heart break. 

Before any of us could say anything we heard something at the front of the house. We both rushed up there to find Ellie sitting at a chair reading a letter. 

“It’s from Bill.” She said, grabbing the envelope and reading off who it was addressed to, “To whomever… but probably Joel.” 

Joel took the letter and scanned over it. I watched anxiously as Joel read the letter. His face was unreadable. He didn’t say a word when he was finished, he just held it out for me to take. 

My eyes scanned over the words over and over as if they would somehow magically change. They didn’t. Bill and Frank were gone. I let that set in and read the rest of the letter. The was a “P.S.” at the very bottom. 

“I know you know where the keys to my truck are. Take it.” 

I laughed sadly as I read it causing Joel to give me a weird look. 

“He wants us to take the truck.” I said showing him what I was talking about in the letter. 

I saw the faintest of smiles appear on his face. But just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, and so was he. He turned on his heel and walked out of the house. I sighed and dropped my head. 

“Hey, why don’t I walk you down to the old shops, there might be some salvageable clothes down there. We can grab some, bring them here, wash them, take a shower and get cleaned up before Joel and I figure out the next move.” 

“Yeah, sure.” Ellie said. 

“Alright, come on.” I said as I stood. 

We walked out of the house and I could see Joel just standing at the edge of the yard, thinking. I let him be. He needed time to process, the least I could do was give that to him. It didn’t take long to get down there. Frank had fixed them up pretty damn well and there was actually a decent amount of stuff left behind. I told Ellie to pick out two sets of clothes to bring with us as I did the same. I tried to find leggings that would stretch hopefully once I began showing as well as shirts that would be big on me. Hopefully, we’d be done traveling before it got too bitter cold out. I also grabbed a handful of clothes for Joel to look through as well. 

“You were gonna stay too, weren’t you?” Ellie asked, suddenly appearing beside me causing me to jump slightly. 

I sighed, “Yeah. For the baby. It would’ve just been easier.” I admitted. 

She nodded, “I think he’ll come around eventually.” 

I gave her a grateful smile, “Are you ready to head back?” I asked. 

“Almost, I wanted to show you something I found, just in case you wanted any of it. Come on.” She said, turning and walking away to a different area. 

She led me over to a cardboard box. I gave her a weird look but opened it. Inside there little baby onesies. I felt my eyes begin to water a little. This was really happening, I was going to have a baby. 

“Shit, you okay?” Ellie asked clearly worried she had done something to upset me. 

“Yeah, I’m fine… it’s just kinda hitting me that I am having a baby… like there’s going to be a small human here in a few months… that’s insane.” I laughed, “You pick out 3, I’ll pick out 3, they’re small enough to fold down pretty small in my bag.” I said. 

Ellie nodded excitedly. We both stuck to fairly neutral ones. Once we had those we gathered up everything and walked back to the house. When we got there Joel was sitting at the table, letter in one hand and a glass of some type of alcohol on the table beside him. 

“What’s all that?” He asked upon seeing our small haul. 

“Extra clothes. I am going to wash them, then I figured we could shower, regroup and figure out our game plan.” I said. 

“Sure.” He gruffed, reaching for the glass. 

“Let me go start these, then I’ll show you where the bathroom is.” I said to Ellie. 

Once Ellie was in the shower I went back to where Joel was. 

“I grabbed a few things that I thought might fit you as well.” I said as I took a seat beside him. 

He nodded. 

“What do we do with the kid now?” Joel asked. 

“We take her with us.” 

taglist: (if you filled out a form and aren't on this list that means either a) your blog is not coming up in the searches so I am unable to confirm that you are 18+, or b) you did not follow my rules for being tagged in this fic)

@sexyvixen7

@joelmillerslays

@elliaze

@little-lovely-darling

@swimmjacket

@watercolorskyy

@mserynlarsen

@sebby-staan

@beelanie

@fan-g0rl

@paige96

@pedropascalfanclub

@ameliadraws

@mavs101

@azerty29

@rileyferg

@belliedellie

@rhaenyrasgf

@imcreepininyourheartbabe

@nani-kenobi

@lunas-sstuff

@holb32

@reidsgubbler

@cleocat246

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@vodkawriter

@taz-97

#joel the last of us #joel miller x reader #joel x reader #joel miller smut #joel miller x pregnant reader #joel tlou #joel miller x reader fluff #joel miller #hbo the last of us #the last of us hbo #the last of us #hbo tlou

[starseneyes]

Chenford - Lucy Chen / Tim Bradford - The Rookie - Season 5 - Ep 22

"Under Siege" AKA "Who in the Writer's Room Likes Horror?"

It's a bizarre day. If you love Chenford, then you need to know what's going on with the WGA - Writers Guild of America. They are striking for a fair wage and basic protections.

WGA members craft this ship and show we love so much, so please show solidarity for them as they fight for not only their future, but for future generations of writers.

SPOILER ALERT: If you want to remain spoiler free, I have no bloody clue why you're here. I can only assume a friend told you to check this out as a cruel joke. First off, dump that friend. Second, buckle up. It's about to get spoilery!

All good? Great! I can't wait to dive in.

Arrest Me... but make it SCARY

A bit of a different vibe for our opening tonight. No, this isn't Chenford-direct. But, it's important to know the vibe of this episode going in.

If any of you are Avengers: Infinity War fans, you might recall the Wanda / Vision relationship, and their whole sequence where they were ambushed. Originally, it was a lot longer, and had more of a horror movie vibe.

I loved that they went outside the box on that to play with genre throughout the movie.

I feel like The Rookie is playing with that a bit. It's been a while since my heart pounded during an episode.

In all honesty, it was probably Day of Death that last had me on the edge of my seat... and I watched that after I started Season 5 with near-canon Chenford.

Yes, I'm spoiled. Yes, I think OG Chenford fans deserve medals for their patience.

Speaking of which, your patience with me is likely wearing thin... let's get to the Chenford.

"Hey I heard it was Thornson."

Tim and Lucy show up together, and I'm having flashbacks to the two of them bailing out her UC buddy in the dead of night. These two know how to get moving when it matters.

Tim and Lucy immediately separate on their separate missions. That didn't work out too well for Celina and Aaron, but it looks like Chenford survive the night.

Look, I have a lot of ship trauma. "Leaf on the wind" anyone? Yeah, I've got ship trauma.

"A blood drive has been set up at the hospital. If you can do so, please volunteer at the end of shift."

I'm reminded of the fact that Tim Bradford regularly gives blood, so I'm heart-warmed that he's the one who gets to deliver the news to the team.

"Those are not store-bought Halloween masks."

It struck me immediately that Lucy is sitting front row like a Rookie.

Yes, I know that they are packed in there, so somebody has to sit up front... but it's Lucy, so it feels symbolic. As though she is sitting in the Rookie spot in Celina's honor.

"Hey. We heard the good news about Aaron. Unfortunately, none of our CIs have heard anything about a gang targeting the cops."

I know it's a little detail, but I love Tim and Lucy showing up together everywhere.

Of course, someone on Twitter called out the 4x01 parallel to them showing up at Wesley's together after I initially watched the episode. And they're so right. It's another parallel among many in this episode tonight!

"I hate to say it, but this is not gonna break tonight."

This one I spotted immediately the first time through—it's another night where he's sending everyone home because there's nothing more to be done... just like when they lost Jackson.

And I have to wonder if the intentionality of these parallels is to confirm or subvert expectation.

Like, are we supposed to see this similar sequence of events as an omen of doom? Or are we drawing these parallels with the intent of intensifying the torture before the cathartic release of Aaron's survival?

I guess we'll find out together in Season 6.

"I can't lose another."

Oh, Grey. Poor Grey. I guess I wasn't the only one having flashbacks.

Tim and Lucy Embrace

Tim knows Lucy is having that same flashback. There are too many similarities, too many things tying them all back to Jackson and the loss they all endured.

Angela about to give birth. Someone targeting them. An ambush and a shooting.

Yes, Aaron has a chance at making it. But the weight of this moment is not lost on this team who has suffered too much loss before.

Lucy and Tim step into the apartment, and they barely make it past the door before they're in one another's arms.

It's wordless. Tim motions to Lucy, and it reminds me of the hand motions when he offered to carry the War Bags after their last ride together.

Tim and Lucy no longer need a shorthand... they don't even need words.

He knows what she needs without her asking, and she knows what he's offering without a word spoken.

Back in Season 4 Episode 1, Tim asked what she needed. She asked for the hug. Now he knows what she needs in this moment as easily as he knows his own—some semblance of comfort in the horror of history repeating.

QUICK EDIT: Upon rewatch, I find I didn't imagine his "Come here" the first time (another call back), so technically he did use words... but they weren't needed.

Tim holds Lucy in his arms—so similar to their positioning in 4x01—but that's where the similarities end. Because Tim and Lucy of Season 4 no longer exist.

Everything has deepened between them since then. And while, yes, the hanky panky is fun... the trust is what they both need here.

They can't trust that everything will be okay. But they trust that with one another they are truly safe. And right now, they both need that comfort.

"It's okay," he whispers as he holds her, wishing it were true.

Tim kisses Lucy's forehead as he holds her, rubs her arms, and tries to offer some comfort as she leans against him, sobs overtaking her... like the first time he held her in Day of Death.

I know that we're going for the 4x01 parallels with how this is shot and staged, but I see the DOD ones, too. This is where they are safe when nowhere else feels safe.

Tim's hand cradles her head as he holds her. And much as this hurts like hell, this moment is important.

Tim and Lucy are one another's safe place. With each other, there are no pretenses or pretending, anymore. They no longer hide from one another or themselves.

They've embraced the beauty of who they are together, and while there will be many moments of joy... the sorrow is a part of the journey.

Tim and Lucy have had their share of it, true. But this is the first time they've traversed it as boyfriend and girlfriend. And the impact of enduring possibly losing another officer and friend to an ambush is too much.

Does being together make it easier? Hell, no. Is there a slight comfort in knowing you're not enduring it alone? Oh, yes.

"No we know. We ran your prints ... you don't get out of bed for less than 20K a day. Who hired you?"

Tim and Lucy are very good at what they do, and I love how they are supporting one another and building upon each other.

I miss them riding together, but we see what makes them great—they both think on their feet and they are sensational at the "yes, and".

I love getting to see the professional side still fires so beautifully between them. It's a feat I feared fumbled, but I'm freakin' psyched it fared fine.

Oh my goodness, that's way too much alliteration. But, I'm leaving it. It's ridiculous and it makes me smile!

The Trip Wire

Another commonality with Season 4 Episode 1. Gee wiz, we're going for lots of references with this one, and that leaves me curious about the intention... and whether there's a common thread that we're somehow missing that leads all the way back.

Or, I'm reading too much into it because I'm weird. I can roll with that, too.

Tim joins up with Lucy outside the house where she asks him for clarity that none of them have. What the hell is going on!?

"We should move on." "What? No."

Love that Lucy still stands up to Tim at work.

Look, even when he was her TO and then her supervisor, Lucy never shied away from speaking her mind. In this case, she sees something they're missing. And she's not going to let them miss out on an important piece of the puzzle.

"You think it's personal?" "I mean, look, if I was gonna go to the extreme of targeting police officers, why not take out some of my enemies along the way?"

And with that, Lucy BadAss Chen cracks the case. No, I don't know if that's her legal middle name. But it should be.

My brain immediately goes back to Tim accusing her of a social media obsession that happened to crack a case back during one of the Documentary episodes.

There's no skirting around this one—it was all Chen.

"I'll take Moran." "You're not going by yourself." "I'll go with her."

Alright, Fierce Protector. You do you.

"You should be out kicking doors with Metro." "I'm good." "I don't need you protecting me."

Well, damn, I thought it was just me! I thought I was gonna be the only one in this Meta calling out Tim in the Protector role, but I guess my on-screen bestie had to chime in, too.

Also, bringing back "Good" in this scene, which truly feels like their word, and I love it.

Tim will always have Lucy's back. He knows that she is capable and strong, but he's also her boyfriend and spent a lot of time as her TO and then Supervisor. Worrying about her was a part of his job, and now it's an ingrained part of his life.

He's not trying to undermine her independence or capability. He simply wants to be close because then he knows she is safe and doesn't have to hold his breath wondering.

"So, clearly what you're saying is you need me protecting you." "Clearly. You know me so well."

It was pinging my brain, and I couldn't figure out why until someone pulled out the DOD GIF on Twitter and I started slow-clapping like a sports movie.

Yes, of course! When Lucy woke up in the hospital to find Tim by her side... as he is, now.

I kept seeing DOD parallels in this episode, and I'm strangely comforted that others did, too.

Plus, a return of "Clearly", which has been another of Tim and Lucy's words. "Clearly, Ashley's gotta go." "Clearly this isn't working out."

"I'm happy it's you at my six." "Back at you."

Major "We protect each other" vibes, and I bloody approve. Look, we know that Tim is a Fierce Protector. But he also knows that his girlfriend is a kick-ass bad-ass.

Now, we enter into a fight scene that is a bloody masterpiece.

Yes, I wondered why they emptied their clips at the Riot Shields, but I'm not a cop, so I don't know if there's some logic behind it I don't possess. Other than that... this fucking rocked.

Like, literally. I couldn't have been the only Xennial rocking out when Janes Addiction started playing! Someone go hug the Music Supervisor, Music Coordinator, Screenwriter, Director, or whoever threw that track out there, because it's bloody brilliant.

Tim and Lucy are working together, talking it out as they go. And we see all that time they've put into building their communication is really on display, even in a bloody battle.

"We stand a chance, but only together."

Hell, yeah, Lucy! I've been saying that all season. No, not in terms of having the high ground (rest in pieces, Anikan Skywalker's limbs), but in terms of getting through this thing called life.

Tim and Lucy stand a chance of surviving as Chenford through end of show only if they work together.

And on-the-screen in this particular moment, the same holds true.

"Pull not push, copy that."

Love. Them. Look at Tim taking the word of his capable wife and putting it into practice.

Tim and Lucy are literally fighting for their lives, here, and they are fighting together. When one's on the brink of being overwhelmed, the other is there.

Lucy delivers a strike to free up Tim. He takes on several at once, and she goes for the shield. I was screaming, "Hell, yeah, baby girl!" like the big sister I am to my on-screen bestie because she was crushing.

Tim is the master of pepper spray, I swear. He's used it in many creative ways, but super smart to go straight for the eye-holes on the masks to try to penetrate.

Lucy's close to losing consciousness when Tim rips the guy off of her, repaying the earlier favor of her freeing him up. It's a literal give-and-take... in a fight for their lives. This is bloody brilliant.

Nolan finally makes it up there, and Tim helps Lucy through the door to the stairwell, literally shielding her with his body.

Once inside, Tim has his hand on one of his favorite places—Lucy's leg. But this isn't a sexy-time touch. This is the, "Thank God you're alive" touch. If they hadn't worked together, that could have ended very differently.

"I have Bradford and Chen secured upstairs."

Chen and Bradford, sir. It's Chenford. Not Braden.

"You should be on your way to the hospital." "We'll go after."

At least Tim is saying he'll go. Like, seriously, this guy is the king of avoiding medical attention. And too often when he's gone in, he did so knowing nobody was waiting for him on the other side.

Now, not only is he willingly going to go in with his girlfriend, he knows that they'll leave together. Look how far our boy has come.

A Glance

Our last moment of Tim and Lucy is just a glance... a subtle glance between the two of them where that wordless communication comes in.

They've always have this layer to their relationship—communicating without a word. But it's so much deeper, now.

And as we reflect on the end of a season, I have to say it's been incredible to witness their growth alongside y'all in real-time.

This season has been an absolute roller coaster, and my first with all y'all! I started with 5x01, had to catch up, and have loved this whole journey.

Thank you all for being so welcoming to a late-comer like me. And thank you for reading!

Remember, love one another. Give yourself grace. Don't worry about "perfect" because it doesn't bloody exist. Go after your dreams. Fuck Fear. And believe in yourself, always.

And if you're not ready to believe in yourself... know that I believe in you. And I'm always rooting for good things to come your way. You've got this.

#Chenford #Lucy Chen #Tim Bradford #Melissa O'Neil #Eric Winter #Lucy x Tim #Tim x Lucy #Meta #The Rookie

[thispatternismine]

ATLA live action impressions part 2

Following on from last night's post, here are my impressions of eps 5-8

Still really loved it. Gonna be tarred & feathered for this but I actually like it better than the animated show

Highlights:

Ozai giving Zuko credit for finding the Avatar. There's this weird idea in the fandom that Ozai never intended to take Zuko back. Even though we saw him do exactly that at the beginning of Book 3. Yes he set an impossible task, but when Zuko (apparently) achieved it, he was like 'ok yeah cool - you have met my standards'. Sure, there's no way Zuko would have continued to meet those standards if he'd stuck around, but Ozai did actually keep his word. The fact that he does it to make sure Azula knows she's overstepped & remind her she's replaceable, is an especially nice touch

Getting to see how Azula is treated by her father. I've seen way too many people try to claim Azula was never abused because she wasn't literally set on fire like he was. Never mind that she avoided that fate only because she was able to meet his standards. And having to constantly strive to meet the standards set by someone who thinks 'find a guy who's been missing for a century' is a suitable task to set his kid is abuse.

Another annoying tendency of the fandom is to flanderise Ozai into some diabolical caricature who spends all his time thinking up new ways to torment poor Zuzu, so having that scene of him banishing Zuko was a nice touch. He genuinely believes he is being a good dad & raising his kid to be strong (note: This isn't me saying Ozai is right - I'm saying he thinks he's right.)

The 41st Division 😭

Iroh & Ozai interacting with each other

Gyatso!

I spy some female soldiers! A problem with the animated show was that it's all well & good deciding that the Fire Nation has female soldiers, but bias is a thing & 99.9% of the time if you ask someone to draw a soldier it'll be a man. Yeah sure they all stayed to guard the Fire Nation that's why we didn't see any till Book 3 suuure

"Anything you need." "It has to do with Koh." "Anything but that." DYING

Aang's whole speech to Zuko about how helpful his notebook was (let's be real Iroh probably sighed & told him it was a waste of time so this was the first time he heard 'Hey good job on the Avatar research!') & the way they bonded before he unwittingly set Zuko off

"Quit it before they think there's something wrong with you. More than there already is."

"The Firelord deems your performance... below average." OOF. Pretty sure that's the worst thing you can possibly say to Azula. She'd much rather be told she sucked outright than just 'meh'

Waterbender Yue

Non-arsehole Hahn

Using Kuruk lore from the Kyoshi books!

I like the changes to the NWT siege. Having the spirits' mortality be an occasional, temporary thing to gain an appreciation of life that occurs during a full moon when the powers of those who will protect them in that state are at their peak, makes more sense than permanent vulnerability that relies on nobody finding out. Also never made sense that a naval officer was stationed in a fucking desert & was able to just take time off to go through a spirit library, so having Zhao find his info from the Fire Sages works better IMO. I do hope we'll still get the spirit library though

Ozai's lil eyetwitch when Azula backtalked him like if you agree

Haven't mentioned yet but I love the costumes in this

Also never mentioned Momo, the Real Hero of ATLA

Sokka continues to be awesome

Lowlights:

June calling Iroh cute & fawning over him. Normally I'd think it's unfair for the live action version of a character to be held accountable for what the animated version did, but this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Like og!Iroh's groping of June being treated like a joke has been called out many times so they fucking had to know what they were doing

Why isn't Azula's fire blue? We got like 1 second of it & that's it. Maybe consistent blue flames are a power up she'll obtain later idk

#atla #zuko #azula #ozai #aang

[plasticfangtastic]

Cozy Corner Kinktober Day 21-- (3 for me)

Behind the Scenes

A Homelander X Tek Knight fanfic, and Maeve is here.

Cozy corner kinktober– prompts: 18. Voyeurism, 10. orgasm denial, alt. Kink of choice– Exhibitionism.

A/N: Tek is gonna be OOC a bit bcuz honestly he’s only been in 1 ep and god knows what he's gonna be like in S4, so am inspiring him heavily on Bruce Wayne just to help myself here (used to write superbat fics back in HS), so sorry ‘bout that… I also set this in s2 so I don’t think Tek Knight’s tumor would be as advanced as it is in gen V so his hole fetish has been toned down, as I imagined it would’ve been something that slowly progressed over time… from kink to straight up fetish.

TW: masturbation, whatever the fuck is up with Tek Knight Hole fetish, angst, both men are being pervs, Bisexual Homelander, cum swap.

word count: 5.2K

Nothing beats an ex-lover when you need the strongest distraction after being utterly humiliated.

Edgar said no lies as he equated him to a manchild. His verbal lashing stabbing deeply into every insecurity, even threatening with terminating his contract had barely raised his blood pressure. He hadn’t cared… ignoring him and educating him in what he really was… what Vought really was and how meaningless he was in return… more than condescending… it hurt… it made him want to fly to his apartment and burn it down.

Instead he was at Tek-Knight’s afterparty, mingling with lesser A-listers and wondering what had gone wrong in his life that he had to smell the foot fungus on people’s mouths.

He turned to look around after escaping another pitch for his next film, Homelander couldn’t think of doing another film when he was feeling so terribly down, his sinuses burning as he tried to not drown himself in self-pity and crying… wanting so dearly to speak to his brother in private, just to hear his words of affirmation and encouragement.

His sole consolation came in the shape of other members of the Seven being subjected to the same meandering– not that they seem to be suffering too much.

Homelander eyes Maeve as some above average publicist chatted her up.

“Want me to get that for you?”

Homelander turned to spot a sharply dressed man, their shoulders rubbing at the same height as he offered a glass of bubbly.

“Sparkling White Grape Juice. Had to go all the way down to the kitchen to find a single bottle for you.”

“I don’t need it.” Homelander said just as sharply as this Italian suit made him look.

“Your tongue is looking 15% paler than usual. You’re parched.” he replied pushing the glass closer to him– "She's aroused.”

“You fucke–

“The publicist. She is being extra flirty… If I had to guess, she its already planning on how to get Maeve to fuck her in the parking lot.”

Robert turned to face him as a red glove delicately ripped the glass off his hand, he gave it a sniff to make sure it was clean, pleasantly surprised that was the case– even the juice smelled clean.

“I know you think I have a death wish but please…”

“Stop analyzing me.”

“So who ticked you off? Couldn’t be Maeve because you wouldn’t leave her alone if that was the case? Was it Matt Damon over there– he’s so snobby? Or was it in the office?” He stared at him trying not to chuckle, seeing that slight squeeze of his jaw– Is it that new cute little thing? Or a wHole other thing?

“Stormfront doesn’t bother me.”

“Bzzz.” He chuckles while taking a sip of his champagne– lie to all those cocsuckers but you can’t lie to me John.”

“Don’t call me that.” The glass made a slight crack but it kept its shape.

“Thought you reinstated my privileges after so long.” He looks down at the rim of his glass, happy he took a sip, and the mark his lips left behind– have some pity on me. I'm going through some health issues.”

Homelander turns to stare at him, undressing him from toe to head, looking at the density of his bones, his heart for any blockages, abnormal palpitation or growing tissue, his lungs for unusual growths then as his sight sets on Robert’s head he freezes, squinting at the mass.

“Going to try some medications. Just a scare but the Doctors aren't sure how they are gonna crack this titanium skull of mine– oh the irony of an indestructible body being the reason behind my demise.” He chuckles dryly hiding the slight tremor on his voice expertly.

“Chemo?”

“And go bald!? Jesus John… I know you’re mad at me but don’t pray for my downfall. You think people would see my movies if I became ugly?”

“I don’t think it matters, nobody who comes to see your crap has any taste… or eyes.” 

That earned a smile on the other man, as he saw his tongue lick his lip, Homelander had finally found a distraction.

“This party it's so boring– want to play a game, Tek?”

Tek Knight blushes before a snide smile crossed his face, leaning even more closer towards Homelander knowing there was no reason to whisper into his ear, he just wanted to see the hairs of his neck raise as his silvery voice susurrated, Homelander couldn’t help but to choke back a moan, as the tip of his nose rubbed his ear.

“I’ll play anything you want, John. Just to help you smile again– so heads or tails?”

He was so smooth with his words, no wonder he was so popular, always around Homelander’s sphere when it came to those important women focused rankings.

Homelander knew the rules like the back of his hand, just as he knew how this man would never leave the house without that stupid casino chip on his breast pocket, if he knew Homelander was going to be in the vicinity… neither liked letting go.

It had been a torrid and sudden affair– the first time they’ve met had been like a smack across the face, Madelyn had wanted a team-up to help boost Homelander’s image, to have the world’s greatest detective and up and coming TV name staple teaming up with the world’s greatest superhero– It was the stuff of legends.

There was a maturity to Tek Knight that other supes didn’t have, the way he handled the masses was smooth, the way he poise himself and dressed was the definition of suave, he was born for the camera and it loved him, his little warming exercises even had a charm to them while Homelander still struggled to control his secret stutter… deep down he believed they wanted him to study the weaker supe, to copy him, to spend time with him and discover how to be better… he never expected to find himself drawn to him, Tek read him with ease learning how to handle him more than anybody else… he didn't use tricks to mess with him just used his gifts to learn how to speak to him, Tek hated deceith just as much as he did– quick to call bullshit even from Homelander.

He didn’t like the boy’s scout persona either… It was being able to speak freely to set the fire inside Homelander… There was this unspoken rule amongst all supes… Some clung to the belief they were too moral to fall trap to the factoid, while others just kept their mouth shut knowing the consequences would be too great if the lesser flock heard them… but here… Tek didn’t care, he had no desire to care.

Maybe that’s how Homelander found himself on top of him, maybe that’s why he didn’t flinch at the taste of bourbon on his lips, maybe that’s why that stupid green chip bothered him so much, he could’ve ripped it off his hand easily. Catch it mid-air as he flicked it. Turn around and ignore him for the rest of the party or simply leave.

But Tek knew he was too transfixed now watching the gold sparkle under the low light as the chip dropped back into his hand and hid under the heel of his palm.

“Heads.” Homelander said looking at the compound fracture at the base of his glass.

Robert grinned, lifting it to reveal the faceless side, Homelander groaned.

Rules were simple… 1 hour… don’t get caught… each round progressively gets more and more dangerous… they could not go where the others couldn’t see, no flying out of state or running underground, they had to stay where they could see or hear each other no matter what, or it was an instant disqualification. 

“What’s the prize this time?” Homelander began to walk towards the balcony of this venue, not wanting any of the people who caught the coin flip to pry any further– or…?”

“The usual.” He smiles as he follows him.

Close enough that he doesn’t need super senses to smell him, to feel his presence rubbing against him, hithering closer as they close glass doors behind, he can’t never fully forget the feeling, just how Tek made him feel, the way he knew how to touch him and where to touch him, how delicate his touch was for how deadly it could be, he swallowed.

Looking down and thinking of jumping into the pool several floors below, anything to maybe get away from him… feeling like a deer caught in the crosshair of a pack of wolves.

Homelander watches the heads below, minding their business knowing the party was just a couple steps behind, crossing his hands in front of him as Tek takes out his phone, leaning closer until he’s resting his entire weight against him, his thumb presses play– it didn’t matter what his screen was playing, just a decoy… for any lucky passerby to simply see two men hanging out having a laugh at some stupid video.

“Want to play for 1 hour, this time?” Tek said softly, hiding his excitement.

“Jesus, you think my time it’s worth pennies?”

“It's my party.” he laughed lightly.

“Fine. You're so gonna regret this when it’s my turn.” That was the childish glee that Tek liked so much… this softer and playful side that only he could be privileged to.

It really should’ve never happened, the mission was over and the room was covered in soot and guts, watching each other heave, sharing few words, staring at each other for too long, jumping throats before the bodies grew cold. They had no idea why… not after… only that he liked him… he liked John… he liked knowing this secret half that so few could be privy to, it was a rush to be the bearer of such secrets, to see that soft look on his face of bliss as they held each other's arms… but they could’ve never been together, even if Tek Knight’s demographic could’ve been more forgiving… nobody would allowed them to be together… so it was nothing but a fantasy– nothing but a dream within a dream.

“It’s not fun if you make it easy.”

Homelander sighs and lowered his zipper, hearing the sound of his facial muscles move as Tek looked down. 

Homelander stroke the limp member slightly, getting tutted by his friend, he groaned and stroked harder, looking at the monkeys beneath still unaware of what he was doing, low enough to make sense of what they could see, his blood pressure increase knowing how bad it would be, how bad it would fucking destroy him if they caught him stroking his cock next to a man.

Tek made the game harder, sliding his arm across Homelander’s shoulders, knowing his hand was out of frame enough that he could stroke his ear without being noticed from the party, his nails caressing his chin, he hissed wetly as his touch drew circles on his cheek leaning his head lightly into his digits– some people caught wind of them, seeing exactly nothing, just two friends laughing, something cute at most, a phone camera took a photo from behind catching all the indecency and nothing.

Homelander was so fucking hard as he heard the fan make commentary.

“No cumming, yet… you know the rules.”

“Fuck off.” Pre-cum coating his gloved fingers, he watched his cock twitch against the cold wind, wanting badly to just end it, feeling the burn building under his stomach– my turn!”

He tucked it, leaning down, hiding his face as he tried to breath himself back together, force it if he could, but he couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly, feeling the adrenaline coursing thru his veins, swallowing the intoxicating perfume, Homelander shoots a cautious look behind examining the room and the building for their next spot.

“Anywhere in the hotel grounds… we don’t leave the place…54 minutes left!” Homelander hisses.

“How many casualties allowed?”

“2 per person max.” He begrudgingly said– can’t make a scene… too many big names… journalist… photographers… we make it look like accidents.” Homelander looks him straight into his soul– already got Stan Edgar breathing down my neck.”

It hurt him to deny himself, but Robert didn’t argue, just massaging his neck to help him cool down.

Both men smiled at each other.

Counting every tick.

The game began.

It was a maze to navigate, to find blind spots, to discover empty halls and ignored crevices and staircases, Homelander and Tek Knight chasing each other from a distance, giggling like naughty school girls the closer and closer they got to being caught, watching their displays of debouchery with amusement as they grow increasingly more horny and frustrated, they couldn’t cum until the last set or until one gave up, edging until it was unbearable.

Homelander rubbed his aching hardened member against the pillow of some stranger’s suite who had foolishly left the balcony open... Robert listened to his meandering waltzing around the room, sniffing some girls lace underwear while frothing his cock, being just a pitch louder than he should for the other man’s pleasure before he had settled on the bed and now Robert could feel his own cock about to break, his balls heavy and swollen and the pre-cum stain dampening his suit as it twitched around his hand.

Homelander loudly suckled on his fingers, wetting them until they were covered in a thick layer of drool.

Letting out the most obscene moan as he slapped his own ass, earning a dirty glance from the soon to be loser-- Tek had broken into the suite below drinking in their minibar just hearing the action with eyes closed as he stained the bed with pre-mix… as he tried to calm his cock and definitely to avoid coming from the sounds of Homelander fingering his pussy, choking as the wet squelching sounds grew furiously louder.

“That couple just finished having dinner downstairs… you might want to hurry up… should be here in a couple minutes tops.” He mumbled trying to calm down as Homelander moaned louder calling his name inside desperate whispers– fuck…”

He pressed the right spots, twisting his back as he sped up his rutting, feeling sweat drops down his nose as he got closer and closer to cumming, as his fingers dug deeper enough to bring that pleasurable pressure, gasping as the pain had started to become so unbearable.

“Quit.”

“No!” He stopped throwing the pillow against the wall, turning on his back, breathing heavily.

“John… Come meet me in the bathrooms… now.”

“You giving up?”

“No.”

“Then I am getting a cold shower.”

“John if you don’t come meet me in the bathrooms I’ll go find somebody else to join me.”

He didn’t like that tone… he used it so much on Robert it was no surprise the actor had learned it worked both ways, Homelander sat on the bed, putting his suit on after dousing his groin with cold water, glad the padding hid his half-mast. 

Flying out the balcony and hopping back to their party searching for him amongst the crowd of drunks.

Maeve caught him coming back, caught the fluster in his step and the flush on his cheek under the coloured light.

Biting her lips, knowing what was happening… she should’ve known that when these two knuckleheads got together they would either try to out-bitch each other or play their stupid dirty game… 

She used to wonder if he would make her less miserable if he had been able to be with Robert, if his anger and obsession wasn’t fueled by projection… Neither man could’ve ever been together, and he had taken it out on her, obsessing on the only woman in his eyes (supposedly). 

Maeve knew just how hungry they were… touch starved… letting their hands touch just never for too long just constant light brushes… just bumping shoulders here and there for a second too long… Maeve at least found joy in seeing him suffer even if it was returned to her x10 worse.

She took a glass, a canape and followed him discreetly.

He entered the empty bathroom, tapping on each cubicle as if he was a mere human finding nothing until the last stall.

Sitting on the disabled toilet with his ankle over his knee and two glasses of champagne.

“So romantic.”

Placing the glasses on his sides, he dug into his breast pocket to pull out a flower head, extending his fingers towards him– slightly wilted and small, a once vibrant rose bud… but just as fragrant as the rest.

Showing up at his penthouse always carrying roses, making him know what those pretty women in the movies felt when their hands were filled with a bouquet… Homelander had gotten plenty in his life… given many as well… so the magic should've died out... yet here he was a twenty-two year old sheltered boy swallowing nervously as his cheeks heat up in front of the boy he liked. 

Jittery and bashful from a single rose… just small enough he could hide it in his jacket… no matter where they would go… if he could get away with it… if he knew he could… Robert would make his heart flutter.

He picked him by the collar, scrunching the fine fabric of his suit before risking it all on his lips, Tek Knight took a second to react, entertaining his hands as they leap towards the exposed flesh of his neck, digging into his scalp as their tongues twist.

Slamming themselves on the wall letting the unlocked door rock back and forth, Homelander's lips plump as he suckles and licks every ridge, alcohol and peppermint pungent on his tongue, wanting to savor him, wanting to swallow every drop of drool of Robert’s tongue, wanting so desperately to fill this anguish. 

Kissing him was the cure to a million ailments, it filled him with just as much happiness as it made him die… it was agonizing knowing how much his body wanted Tek… how much it missed him, his breath could’ve been sulfur and he would would’ve choke on it gladly… just agony… if he could be that foolish young man again to try to change time... Homelander still wouldn’t hesitate jumping back into this car wreck, he would hurt himself on this soft silky lips over and over again.

Tek pressed his knee in-between his tights, dropping his hands over his arms, ripping the gloves with force until his naked hands rubbed against each other, his left fingers latch on the zipper pulling it to feel more skin, wanting to feel the buttery feeling of Homelander’s being.

Homelander returned the favor, skillfully opening his shirt, knowing he couldn’t just rip it off– that had been hard to explain before. 

Feeling every hurried heartbeat against his hand, feeling every inch of hardened muscle on his smooth chest.

“Want to call it quits, John?” He sussurated into his neck, suckling on the crumbs of heat he could get– come on, sugar. I want you so fucking bad… I want to die inside you…” tracing his chin the tip of his tongue, Homelandeer shuddered whining as the pain in his pants grew unbearable once more, crying into his hand as Tek Knight licked his ear– I want you to fuck me so fucking hard I’ll need crutches.” 

“Robert!” he hissed, pulling his head wanting to kiss him more, quick pecks laughing quietly into him, panting constellations into his neck– give up and I’ll make you feel like fucking Madonna.”

He parted, taking a pair of steps back stopped by the toilet’s edge, close to coming undone.

“Lower your pants. Game hasn’t ended.”

He undoes his belt letting it flop on his sides, teasing him as he takes his sweet time lowering his zipper… he’s hard, twitching in the warm air. Homelander doesn’t copy him turning towards the exit, brushing close enough to tease the man, hands quickly grab him by the hip pressing himself against him, rubbing his length on America.

“I want to make this more fun, you pervert.”

He pushes the door, leaving him behind, stopping by the basin, a wide grin on his face.

“Fuck that stupid fucking glass. You and your weird hole kink… You know Knight… I find your thing funny so amuse me…why else bring those here– You know I don’t drink.”

“To celebrate my victory of course.”

It had been a gradual thing, to witness his fixation evolve, that naivety inside Homelander had wilted into bitterness and seeing Tek’s humiliating exploits almost comforted him… that he broke without him.

They would never be more than a rendezvou, they clung to each other wanting to make every second longer than before, parted by the wild current they still swummed against it, hoping to meet in the middle, content to just brush their fingertips.

Over the years as time settled on them while their hearts remained inmature, Homelander had noticed this unusual proclivity, it began as simple fascination, pensive stares, fingers caught drawing circles repeatedly, burning his finger as it follows the edge over and over… watching him fuck a tree engrossed him, cackling as he got worse and worse, he had been so good that he can’t find pleasure in people anymore– he thought.

Wishing it was him.

Homelander cocked his head watching the man spill on the floor, bucking his hips, hissing and gasping as the bubbly fizzles around his sensitive head and his hole, tickled by the fizz in a way a tongue could never, it was growing warm and sticky, as he pushed the expensive drink with his girth, the cold made him shudder now the smooth wet glass licked his cock back.

Homelander leaned down whistling to catch his attention.

Robert stops abruptly– Homelander bare it all. 

It was hard to believe there was a time where he was shy and nervous, where he had to teach him what to do, where he was too afraid to bend over for him, now he purred as his fingers teased his entrance, pushing in, stretching himself just a tad– Robert mouth watered, wanting to bury his face in there, the glass no longer as appealing.

With his belt dragging on his ankles, he quickly found himself on his knees.

Homelander gasped– guess he wasn’t the only one allowed to play dirty, he thought. One hand firmly using a glass fleshlight and the other spreading his cheek, Tek squeezed and slapped as his tongue drew circles, as it reached deeper, slobbering into his chin… the taste strong and salty.

Homelander had to hold the base of his cock, leaking pre-cum into the polished floors.

“This is the women’s bathroom.”

Both men flinched, eyes and muscles ready to neutralize the threat yet all Tek Knight could muster was a shrug before returning back to his meal.

Homelander twisted his back, careless fingers vaguely attempting to push him away, stifling a laugh as he stares back at Maeve, she looks at the exit knowing there’s a passerby in the hall cursing at the out of service sign.

“Please tell me you haven’t killed anybody tonight.”

Homelander shook his head biting his lip as Tek sped up his tongue, lowering it until he was suckling on the sensitive perineum, biting it, and kissing it, not stopping as he stared at Maeve briefly, not hiding his annoyance.

Back then she was the one next to him in the magazines… always running after her… she was the one that was the most special, she was the one that understood him the best, who suited him best… horseshit, he told himself.

“Only 1 person, my bad.” Tek Knight kisses his ass standing up, pulling his pants with one hand and carrying the glass with the other– I quit.” He grumbled.

Coming into the champagne glass, looking at his load as it mixed with some bubbly before leaving it on the sink.

He took to the basin after taking a handful of paper towels, washing his hands without care while soaking the towels.

“Hey…” Homelander took his shoulder.

“What?”

“You can’t just quit!?”

“I can’t stand her.” His smile is still so charming as he speaks, looking down as the washes off the sticky champagne stains off his groin– go! be a tattle-tell if you like Maeve… nobody its gonna fucking believe you.”

“Don’t be like that… Maeve isn’t going to do such thing… right, Maeve?”

“Don’t care. You can have him now if you want, Ms. Cockblocker.”

Before Meave could answer back, she was met with an accusatory finger on her face, Tek zipped his pants after doing half the job, just clean enough that he could survive whatever was left ot the afterparty but Homelander wouldn’t let him leave, his hand pulling on his elbow keeping him firmly in his presence.

“Ignore her… we always did love an audience.” He turned to Maeve– you stay right there and keep watch, understand?” He growled, eyes flickering red towards her direction.

“What do you want anyways?” He said still miffed but relaxing around Homelander’s grip.

“Just making sure you two weren’t going to be covered in blood… dunno if you know this Knight but there’s a lot going on right now.”

“Yeah right. You just wanted to ruin my fun… like you always do.”

“You think I want your se–

“Both of you shut up! Maeve learn to mind your own business and you don’t antagonize her… she’s here because she wants to watch that’s why! She has what three bottles in her already!”

“Two and a half… fuck you drink a lot of merlot.” He seemed disgusted at the choice– please tell me you had the moscato, it was simply refreshing!” 

“I don’t like moscato.” she chuckles– and am not drunk, I'm tipsy.” she laughs with a sleepy smile.

“You’re just another pervert who wants to see his ex get fucked in the ass by his other ex... so be quiet and enjoy the show."

She tried to wipe that shit eating grin on her face.

“Forget about her and just think of me… I want you… I won… so my price is you sucking me off…” He took his face stroking his neck, forcing him to look directly at him– Robert…”

“You didn’t win. I quit. That means the price is null…” both looked so needy, Robert's darkened eyes almost pleading him to make him stay where his lips couldn't.– suck me off first… please, baby… I’m upset.”

“No, you sore loser…”

“You’re so cruel.” He moped.

Homelander rolled his eyes taking the glass before skulking the contents, Robert got hard immediately, watching Homelander lick the rim clean before forcing him into a salty sweet kiss.

Cum frothing from the friction. 

They danced their way back into the cubicle, grinning as the toilet lid squeaked under his weight, Homelander threw his boots and his tights off with enviable effortlessness giving Mr. Vernon plenty to take a hold off, he squeezed his thin legs, savoring the velvety texture, his cock hard and leaking, Tek took it giving it a few pumps, licking his taste off lips with anticipation, his mind solely focused on John, Maeve ceased to exist even if the stench of merlot didn’t, he only wanted this.

“Thanks baby.”

“Only because you’re cute, John.”

Throwing his head back as the other man took his manhood, slurping and swallowing, each stroke followed by his mouth, Homelander placing his hand firmly on his neck pushing him further, he could feel him chuckle against his length. 

Homelander came hard and embarassingly quick, whimpering as he buckled his hips.

But Robert was glad regardless.

Tek didn’t stop moving his lips, wanting him to grind his teeth some more, he let it out with a wet pop, gasping with a satisfied smile, kissing his legs and thighs wishing to leave hickeys and burns.

“You swallowed.” He sounded so disappointed it touched the other’s heartstrings with guilt.

“My turn.”

Tek pushed him back, standing up weakly, leaning to his side to take the second glass of champagne he had left on the floor before.

“Lick it.”

Homelander obliged, licking the edge creasing his nose as the fizz got on his nostrils.

Maeve grimace was short lived, Homelander hand tugged on that pesky belt, pulling him out once more, stroking him roughly, as his tongue parted his lover’s needless toy.

Maeve sat not minding if her skirt got damp, biting her lips as she saw the blonde get on his knees.

Transfixed as she watched his head bobbed, clenching her legs as the man sung loudly, they spoke with only looks, whispering to each other, Robert encouraging him, to look past the flavor, Homelander groaned, displeased but he would cooed him, coaxed him to keep going, coaxing gently to take it deeper, playing with his hair as the man flat tongue made him see the runnign waters of the river styx, rutting his hips into his throat as he saw death welcoming him.

Maeve hand stroked her clit, taking short breath as she tried to not make a sound, her pussy soaking her fingers as she traveled a little further, wanting to fill herself with anything but not wanting to make a show for the bastards either.

Maeve had to look away, she had peeked into something forbidden. It seems for Homelander had leaped into his mouth, kissing him, burning him, Tek was seeing stars, the mixture of salt and french sweetness coating his tongue.

Craning his back as the other man’s weight pulled him down– he saw his John from all those years ago, how nervous his hand was, cupping his cheek, searching for cues to deepen their kiss, to know Robert had wanted him just as much as he had.

He always had.

Fame, fortune and the admiration of many didn’t compare to being Homelander’s.

He wished he hadn’t been greedy.

He wished he had been happy to just be the mistress.

He wished he hadn’t been the clever one that turned to that once naive boy and told him that it could never be.

He had to cut him out of him like he was cancer.

No matter how much he wanted him, no matter how much it hurt to see him running after that redhead.

He looked up to catch her, smelling her arousal and regret.

“Come to my loft… John… just for tonite…” he susurrated– I want to be yours…”

Homelander smiled, half lid eyes and bruised lips gave him a soft yes.

Maeve ran out the bathroom wanting to find something to wash away the confused feeling in her stomach, thinking of that cute publicist that had been eyeing her all night.

Robert’s ear followed her heels, as John kissed him while fixing himself doing just enough of a good job that cameras wouldn’t notice how disheveled he was, he had done a good job considering he hadn’t stopped kissing his lover for most of the ordeal.

“I’ll be a good boy and get the bath ready for when you get home, Tek.”

“I’ll get the condoms on my way home then.”

“Why? We are gonna run out of them anyhoo” he growled into him, licking Tek's lower lip, gnawing on him until a scarlet drop fell on his tongue– see ya in a jiffy, Robert.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“I’ll go first.”

Homelander rolled his eyes, kissing him goodbye for the time being.

Ignoring the crowds as they both left to attend more pressing matters.

Glad to meet again as if they were just those hopeful stupid kids yet again.

#homelander #tek knight #homelander fanfiction #tek knight fanfiction #the boys fanfiction #my fic tag #personal #cozy corner kinktober #homelader x tek knight #homeknight? #Hometek? #TekHome? #not proofread sorry #I am esl sorry for grammar #hometek #holelander

[melonteee]

are you planning on watching the rest of the live action? I'm not trying to be confrontational or accusative here because it's obviously fine to be critical of it but it's kind of wild to me that you keep going off about it based on hearsay and you've only actually seen 1 episode

The reason I don't want to watch the rest of it is because of what I've been told lmao, like I don't need to see all of it to make up my mind when I get told the 1, 2, 3 of everything and got upset just from hearing it jfkg. I don't think it's hearsay to see clips or be told the script word for word somehow, it's not like people are just lying to me for fun about this. I don't think SEEING this version of Sanji NOT watching Zoro verse Mihawk and NOT shouting his line will make me go "Oh yeah that's great actually I'm so glad they excluded him", same with knowing Nami's village ACTUALLY treated her like shit or making Gin a 5 minute cameo where Sanji doesn't even need to put himself on the line for the Baratie. Like, I can watch it all for sure, but somehow I have a feeling I'd just get more upset from actually seeing it HHH

I watched the first ep and I did not feel One Piece, I have been told of the changes and feel even LESS of One Piece. I know myself enough to know I would just go into this tearing my hair out and the more I'm told the more my jaw drops at what the hell they've done LMAO like I really don't think looking at the pretty sets and the attractive actors is gonna change my mind 😭 and considering people who have seen the whole thing are finding reasoning in my complaints, I feel like perhaps this series is the predictable netflix show that's been on time and time again, you know? I don't particularly want to watch a car crash of my favourite series I guess

#ask

[jellovella]

a thought blob about maws ep 6

i think like. the latest superman ep. i'm glad it ended up becoming clear to jimmy and lois that clark wasn't hiding it bc he didn't trust them specifically but bc he was just scared especially since he hadn't told anyone anything like that ever before, and that they made it clear that they accepted him for who he is and ended up pretty understanding about the whole thing despite being mad at first, like idk it feels like a pretty cool queer analogy imo especially when it's put side by side with the literal queer relationship facing the same fears of being ostracized...

... but i still really feel like the whole lois trust issues thing hasn't been resolved. i think it will be in future episodes considering not only is their relationship the backbone of the whole series, but also the general is probably her goddamn dad, who's also the same guy who gave her the issues in question. but i think her arc of realizing that constantly demanding answers from everyone around her and putting herself and others in dangerous situations to satisfy both her fear of being out of the loop and also her need to pursue her own ambitions is not very good, is definitely not quite done yet?

and people are probably gonna use that as an excuse to be dicks and complain about her character being poorly written or whatever, but this definitely seems to be something she's been set up for from the very beginning, and just bc she's still not quite getting it (she was mad that jimmy didn't tell her for crying out loud!!! it's not even his secret to tell!!!) doesn't necessarily mean she won't. she clearly has unresolved problems that can't just be magicked away in this one episode, the trust issues run deep, i mean come on she was scared that he was faking having feelings for her bc of this shit. she was probably scared the whole clark thing was just a facade, which isn't entirely unreasonable, i mean hey in some iterations it IS a facade, but like she clearly has had some pretty bad experiences with having secrets kept from her that would make her spiral off into thinking like this...

anyway point is it's not out of character or bad writing for her to behave like this, it makes sense entirely considering how she's behaved all season and the past parts of herself that she has shared. saying her character was ruined by this stuff just doesn't make any sense to me bc like. she's literally been like this from the start! obsessing over finding answers! only it turns out it's not just bc she wants to get recognition but also bc she's so used to being left out of the loop that now she's become desperate to be in the loop as much as possible! a character doing shitty things due to unresolved emotional issues isn't bad writing y'all and it also doesn't make her the goddamn antichrist. this is a kid's show. chill out

#my adventures with superman #maws spoilers #clark kent #lois lane #jimmy olsen #i love this show and i'm tired of seeing people's stupid takes on it #i was considering writing a whole well thought out essay explaining lois' motives #but then thought yk what? #if they don't get it already they've probably been watching this show with their eyes and ears closed #so instead i'm just gonna release my thoughts into the wild periodically in true tumblr fashion #anyway i'm just glad they were able to communicate and reconcile :)

[love-as-simple-as-shaving-soap]

5x20 predictions

okay y’all—

i am finally jumping on the predictions-about-isabel’s-return bandwagon! if anyone cares to read, buckle in and please proceed

i went back to watch the last ep isabel was in onscreen in (i.e. 1x16)

and i am inclined to think (like many of you have already mentioned) that she is coming back to tell tim she is getting remarried. i’m not sure if she’s inviting him or not, but at the very least telling him so he doesn’t hear about it elsewhere and thank him for helping get her clean.

basically, the last convo tim and isabel had (onscreen) was at the rehab center when they decided that it was “the end” between them. tim tells her that everyone told him to let her go since she was already gone, but he held on because he couldn’t abandon her when she was so lost. but, because she wasn’t lost anymore, he had to let her go… he had to let her go to give her a fresh start away from all of the memories of the destruction her addiction caused. and of course, it was heartbreaking (hence the ep title) as they said their goodbyes and he walked away leaving her standing there.

and here’s the thing… even here with the actual act of breaking up with isabel, tim does what he has always done in his relationships on the show… he thinks more about his partner than himself. he mentions letting isabel go and doing it for her. he doesn’t mention himself and honestly, i think it’s because he isn’t really thinking about himself there… he isn’t even seeing it as them letting each other go because they both need a fresh start separately— he focuses only on what isabel needs as opposed to the both of them.

anyway, i recapped this whole bit because i think it would make sense for isabel to return and tell him she’s made the fresh start and to thank him. not just for sticking with her while she was lost, but also letting her go when she wasn’t anymore…. because he said the words that needed to be said aloud, he made that tough call that needed to be made, and because of this she is now living an amazing life that her fresh start afforded her.

also— it would be sweet for them to acknowledge that tim also needed that fresh start and that it also brought him to a “beautiful place” in the end (bonus points if there is also some light teasing about lucy being his rookie that called about his study habits way back when)

this convo would lead so well into a chenford i love you… like isabel moved on, tim moved on and they are both happy. they let each other go and were able to move forward and find the real thing again and each have a bright future ahead— full of love and promise. and i'm sure lucy will be a bit nervous about isabel showing up again... i mean, 1) she saw the way tim longed to protect isabel, to get her back and 2) she hasn't been in love the way she is with tim... he is her first serious relationship where she actually sees their future as set, while tim had that with isabel first. it would make total sense to let yourself feel insecure about that... so i think it would be really beautiful for tim to acknowledge that he made that choice to end the marriage, not just for isabel's sake, but for his own and how it brought him to a place to fall in love with lucy and to build a new future together

i’m gonna stop here for now cos i actually need to get some coursework done and i could honestly go on all day about this. i’ll probs pop back on to write another block of text about chenford or a spec fic before the next ep is out (like seriously i will spiral out about chenford and 5x20 again in the next 3 weeks several time over)

anyway… if y’all stuck through this to the end, what are your thoughts about it? would love to hear more from all of you fellow chenfordians!

#i hope they go down this route #i hate when writers bring back exes to stir up unnecessary drama (esp when shows don't have time for that shit) #bring back exes to inform characterisation and character development #not for pure shock value #like pls make it make sense at least #y'all i have half a paper to finish and i just can't believe i am so obsessed i had to write this first to make room in my brain #chenford #tim bradford #lucy chen #isabel bradford #the rookie #the rookie spec

[goodobservationshirley]

rewatch thoughts - ep 201

here we gooooo, i'll try to squeeze through season 2 before christmas break

truly the number one thing this show is good at is time jumps, an underrated storytelling skill

cam burying her head in the sand and refusing to acknowledge problems which leaves donna having to deal with it all -> look at them being doomed <3

donna telling gordon that selling cardiff wasn't up to him anyway: ma'am that's murder

really the whole of their dynamic is being set up in this episode. yes cam can't handle change and she'll put off even acknowledging the need for it for as long as she can, but donna can get through to her better than anyone else

i acknowledge that my position as president of the donna fan club may compromise my impartiality here, but it's funny how the other three all think of themselves as visionaries and it's always donna who over and over again has the best ideas/ makes things work...

the best thing about the switch to focusing on cam/donna for season 2 is that it's free from joe's shenanigans. and i'm not even trying to dunk on him for once but he's so lost and manipulative it kinda pollutes all his relationships until season 4. cam/donna being free from all that allows the show to explore other things such as: relationships (as in partnerships of any nature) are hard. they're a lot of work, even with the best intentions

this episode feels like being at the top of the roller coaster. you can see all the twists and turns ahead of you and the anticipation is at its peak <3

oh and i almost forgot: my guy gordo has just never been well, i knew he was always sick but i didn't remember just how omnipresent that was even early on. i'm gonna cry for a full hour during 408

#halt and catch fire #hacf 2024 rewatch

[blackjack-15]

finishing up ep 4 --

return of the love scene lighting while marcus is making the cake. they're really not subtle with how any shot is framed, which as a lighting/set direction geek i appreciate

i keep calling pete paul gosh dangit this is what i get for pirating without subs...the feds were right

pete's very slurred speech about him following carmy's career and how sugar did too? so cute. carmy has no idea how to handle praise that's directly tied to him rather than tied to his cooking directly and it's a little heartbreaking. it's not just that he doesn't have the language to express himself, he doesn't have the ability to receive it from others -- we're hitting another repression and abuse flag right there

"we spilled a whole bottle of xanax in it?" "...are they dead?" "no, just sleepin" "keep up the good work" hilarious outcome, i'm giggling like a schoolgirl carmy's relief is Palpable

"i can't be in [the Beef] five minutes before i start thinking about dark shit" "that's prolly why i like it so much" carmy i love you baby you have Got to not self-flagellate, the world does it enough to you

cicero's dream about carmy's father is another great example of the bear's ability to have a stripped down, simple scene full of dialogue with a present, dark undertone. carmy's "what happened to the kid" is so sweet and soft -- i wonder if, like a lot of youngest children, carmy has a soft spot for/always wanted a little sibling. his sadness at hearing the kid in the dream sat there waving as his father is palpable

syd learning that being rougher, not more hesitant, with tina being the way forward is wonderful, and a hugely important lesson for bother her and the viewers. people are like ingredients -- they each need to be treated in individual ways in order to bring out the best in them

"thank you jeff. chef." THERE WE GO TINA YES GIRL

"love you, bear" "love you" WE GOT AN I LOVE YOU FROM CARMY HUZZAH not quite an un-asked for i love you but close enough. he's like a skittish deer combined with a raging asshole (deer with boxing gloves for antlers?) -- you gotta let him come to you or you're gonna regret it

carmy trying to hide his laughter at pete being zonked is really cute

"sorry, pete" i'm calling it now end of S3 pete/carmy bromance bring it in

syd watching carmy in the restaurant before marcus comes in with cake....the crumbs are Delicious thank you

super solid episode all the way around -- i think ep3 had higher highs? but way lower lows, while ep4 is good all the way through

let's keep truckin halfway through s1, so the Problems are gonna start cascading p soon, methinks...

#the bear #liveblogging

[itsawsten]

➟ Introducing WATERPARKS ( starring awsten knight ( it’s me ! ) , otto wood ( @notottofromparx ) & geoff wigington @theregoesgeoff ) // @hollywoodfamerp

mentions of ( @margseliserobbie ) , ( @milcycyrus ) , ( @zcndcyas )

quick note/disclaimer;; for anyone new to waterparks, awsten has a condition called synesthesia so he sees and categorizes music in colours. his ever changing hair colour also represents this. so the set has lots of colourful and flashing lights for this reason as like a way for everyone to see what he does. staging notes;; there’s a lot of different and flashing lights depending on the song based off the note shared above. so expect that and will be explained below. otto is always set in the back of the stage on his drums, geoff moves around playing on his guitar and awsten is either glued to the mic or moving around, with the mic or guitar in hand (various on song). they will also have music videos or some musical aesthetic playing on the screens behind them for the audience to also enjoy

introduction;; after being introduced, by margot -- awsten will give her a hug and small talk with her before taking his place onstage behind the mic ❝ zendaya and miley cyrus -- guess we might as well cut now . ❞ he'd joke and laugh some ❝ year fucking two -- here we go . we're waterparks , god's favourite boy band and now yours . make sure you sing , clap and dance along . ❞ for the whole set unless singing certain songs the lighting is mostly a red colour.

st*rfucker ; this song is the shortest in the whole set but such a beautiful start to any set for them -- awsten will be wearing his red jacket for now but it will come off later [ jacket here ]. the stage will light up with flashing lights of rainbow colours, otto on left side of the stage, geoff playing on the right as awsten wonders around as he sings. visuals playing in the background looking similar to rainbow road in mario and presenting the words 'it's been a pleasure, nice to meet you' when needed -- awsten also screams out london during the song (you'll know when if you watch the vid) the end of the song symbolized with the stage going black, unable to see the stage or band. [ 1:06 - 2:55 ]

brainwashed ; for this song -- awsten's already removed his jacket. the lights come back on, lighting up the stage of mainly pink and orange/yellow flashing occasionally with white. the visual video includes couples dancing, rain and a couple more visuals. awsten will interact with the audience to clap their hands, sing some line and small talk about how much they enjoyed the album that released earlier in the year. the stage again goes black at the end of the song. [ 20:57 - 24:39 ]

royal ; getting into this song, the lights come on just as awsten first asks when people got into the band, raising their hand upon each album they first heard til reaching double dare (first studio album after three EPs), where this song comes from. he then states this song is for them before once again getting the crowd to clap with him as the song begins. the lights and visuals vary as the song goes on. a couple of times nearing the end as the line 'i wish i was royal but i'm not' repeats, awsten gets the crowd to sing a couple of times the words. as the rest of the songs prior the stage goes black at the end of the song -- but the lights come on the moment awsten starts to speak. [ 41:24 - 45:28 ]

brief break as awsten speaks to the crowd [ similar to 45:30 - 46:16 of video, between royal and telephone ] ; ❝ Hell yeah , man . you guys are so good . damn . i can't wait to come fucking back here on halloween four tour . -- see ! you guys sound good , your moving , the pits are healthy . here's the thing -- i'm not gonna say anything back as i'm not sure if i'll be right here and with who but i will say.. ( someone speaks ) don't say fuck , like chill it's a good place.. ( person speaks again ) -- oh fuck you then . i'd re-invite everyone in this whole crowd , except for you motherfucker -- nevermind , i'm just playing . ❞

telephone ; lights remain on from awsten's little chat. before playing this song awsten mentions getting their first song in a netflix show -- being this very song in the show 'heartstopper'. he asks if anyone saw the show or not. before mention to check it out, introducing the song and getting right into it. once again he claps first, getting the crowd to join -- lights of red/orange/yellow and green fill the stage. the visuals are curtians that reveal lights of a stage -- on the chorus different lights appear. at the end of the song awsten stops singing and walks towards geoff -- the two having a guitar break before awsten returns to the mic singing the last line of the song. the lights go off, showing the end of the song. [ 46:16 - 49:35 ]

ritual ; the lights come on -- starting in red . awsten get someone from his team to take his guitar away for this song. starting off getting the crowd to chant "otto wood" with him. shortly after he turns to geoff, who has a flag around his neck, which awsten offers to tie it in place for him. then he directs the crowd to back up and keep there as he introduces the song. the lights remain red, flashes of orange/yellow come in with the beat and upon reaching the chours, awsten counts down 3, 2, 1, go! before everyone in turn dancing with the music. visuals vary. the stage goes black at the end. [ 49:35 - 53:24 - if watched just imagine him saying london over san diego ]

closer ; before starting this song, the stage lights up in stagnant red lights. otto sits around at his drums til needed, geoff takes a seat on stage with an acoustic as well. one of their team gives awsten an acoustic guitar. he thanks the crowd for anyone who's listened to the album and how much it means to him, while playing the guitar to the beginning beat of the song he's about to sing. he gets personal on how hard it is to release something so personal but how rewarding it is when it helps people. he thanks everyone again, dedicating the song to everyone listening and introduces the song. the stage goes black again before they start the song. the lights come back on, still red, nothing flashing as a sunrise visual plays behind awsten. at the right beat, otto hits his thimbals before a silence takes over in the song after the chorus and they all hit their instruments. the lights flash and turn blue/purple and the visuals become a sunrise. after this chorus the lights flash again -- turning to red then a much darker blue/purple with a night sky visual behind them. white lights occasionally flashing as they play. as they reach the final chorus the light go stagnant again in blue and the visuals go off, otto and geoff stop playing. the beach set visual slowly returns, lights calmly changing colour til they reach red as awsten sings and plays alone. sunrise visual repeats as the song slows til it ends the the lights go off, the stage again going black. [ 1:03:55 - 1:09:37 ]

real super dark ; the stage remains dark and in this awsten's guitar is taken by their team. as the song starts, going red as awsten starts to sing. occasional flashes of orange/yellow lights. the visuals vary as awsten sings and wonders around the stage, even at one point towards the end getting on the ground briefly. at the end the stage goes dark again. [ 1:15:33 - 1:18:13 ]

funeral grey ; the stage lights up -- geoff and otto playing away as awsten wonders the stage asking for the crowd to make some noise. lighting is set with red/orange/yellow with confetti type visuals -- nearing the chorus tennis balls drop in the visuals , also displaying a grey sweater after the first chorus . nearing the end of the song smoke briefly fills the stage. [ vid dif from above ; 1:24:29 - 1:29:43 -- includes exiting speech for below ] fuck about it ft. miley cyrus (replacing blackbear) ; as the lights come on awsten speaks saying they have one final song and thanking everyone for coming out and for getting to play. he also asks if anyone in the crowd will make the london show on halloween. -- after this awsten introduces the song and mentions a special guest will join them in place of blackbear who's become a big part of the band offstage. the visuals start with red roses and the stage darkened but lite up enough to see the band. awsten directs the crowd to put their hands up and shortly after he starts wondering the stage. the visuals are of the band similar to the museum paintings they posed for in the music video as the lights turn red . after the chorus the visual turns to a white diamond, and occasionally flashing miley over blackbear and the lights turn blue and miley cyrus enters the stage to sing with them, replacing blackbear over awsten's usual of getting the crowd to sing his lines. seeing her places a stupidly bright smile on awsten's face and he hugs her before stepping away before starting to sing with her, roaming the stage again. directing for hands up before the second chorus. during a music break he asks the crowd to make noise for otto, then geoff before singing the next line, walking back towards miley sing with her til the stage goes black briefly before the chours starts again. in the dark awsten sets his mic on the stage to share one with miley instead. dancing around stage with her as they sang til the last lines which they just stop and look at each other, smiling and laughing like old pals. [ ( ending speak is before the song above, order is different for this festival though // original vid ref -- 28:32 - 33:12 ] additions after the final song ; once the song ended -- awsten was just smiling and laughing with miley, thanking her quietly after moving the mic away from their mouths. gently rubbing her arm, giving her a more loving smile til all of a sudden without thinking he leaned in and kisses her. the world around them not mattering to him til he heard cheering turn to gasps. quickly pulling away, looking towards geoff, then back towards otto -- both mouths gaping open. looking towards the crowd looking ahead curiously, shocked and wondering til awsten dropped the mic, darting off stage without another word -- not even properly ending the set.

final notes;; epilepsy warning to anyone viewing the linked by each song. the original number at the bottom was from the spotify set -- but i did add both. the videos are linked mostly to see what is explained -- just know it's slightly different from those lives to group lives. just keep in mind the outfit picked for their performance as well as it won't line up with what's in video so -- use your imagination. full set list linked here -- songs are linked in desc of videos. first one is all but the last two on my set list & the second video covers the second to last song only -- enjoy my references in full ; time - 25:24 [ xxx ] & [ xxx ] // here's the song on spotify [ xxx ]

#tw long post #hollywoodfameevent #hfrpmusicfestival #career; waterparks; writing you songs and singing them all like #[ enjoy some drama & hopefully something in the gossip soon ]

[matan4il]

Another amazing meta. 💙❤️ Every time I feel doubt creeping in on whether buddie will go canon, I head to your meta to remind myself that it'll be a crime not to follow through.

And this week's was... wow. So much happened in only a handful of scenes. That "solid ground" line from Bobby. The second I saw the GIFs for it I instantly thought there's another Buddie/Bathena parallel.

But the moment that really got me was Eddie return to the couch with beers only to find Buck asleep. It reminded me of the trope where the couple who haven't seen each other for a while, are all set to get jiggy, one goes to the bathroom and comes back to their partner sparko on the bed and sighs. So when you said it's the most naked they could be without removing their clothes, I understood you completely.

I honestly looking forward to the rest of the season, especially their date night. ☺️

Hello, my darling! Thank you SO MUCH for the kind words about my 612 meta! :D I'm so happy that you liked it. And honestly, every aspect of Bathena in this ep (though that "solid ground" line was probably the highlight) screamed that they're paralleled with Buddie. It was stunning!

YES! Hon, that is exactly it. Because whenever that trope happens, we're not meant to read it as "these two aren't interested in each other," we're meant to understand that they have reached THOSE levels of domesticity, of comfort. And that's what we see with Buddie in this ep.

I'm very much looking forward to their date night as well! I still can't believe no one else posted this spoilers pic of their poker night before I did. I was so sure I couldn't be the first one, it's why I phrased it as a question... But it makes me so happy the entire fandom went crazy over it, 'coz yeah, same! That poker game scene is gonna DELIVER. I just know it.

If it's okay, since you sent me a second ask and I'm falling behind, I might answer it here too, if it's alright with you?

Omg that anon just made me realize that it's not just the couch Buck hasn't really picked. So he was living with friends (frat house as the anon called it), then Abby's apartment, and then he chose the loft with Ally, obviously expecting it to be there home (and I may be misremembering but wasn't it her choice). I can't believe I never realized that.

I don't hate the loft either, and your right, it fits his bachelor lifestyle. It definitely feels like a bachelor pad, but now I can't get over the fact he didn't choose it alone, for himself.

This is in continuation to the anon asking about the loft. You're both absolutely right! From the way Buck and Ali interact with the sales lady, it's clear that Ali HAS a lot of say, and that she saw Buck's loft as the place that would be her other home. Did she have the final say? We don't know. But at the end of the day, the way he presents it is that this would be the first place he gets on his own.

So IDK, I'm still mostly positive about the loft. Did he choose alone? No. 'Coz he did have a gf he was committed to, and even if they weren't at the stage of fully living together, they were on the road there (a bit similar to how we saw Taylor in his loft in 5a, TBH. And yes, that very much strengthens the similarity to how he didn't choose the couch). But he was so enthused about being "an adult" who supports himself and is paying for his place on his own. I can't overlook that. And much like the whole idea of how a journey through the wrong r/s is needed in order to find the right one, that's how I kind of feel about the loft. It's not Buck's ultimate destination (that's Eddie's house), but it is an important step on the way there...

Thank you, darling! Hope you have a beautiful day! As always, here's my ask tag. xoxox

#buddie #911meta #buddie meta #911 meta #9-1-1 #evan buckley #eddie diaz #edmundo diaz #evan buck buckley #911 #ask #gatergirl #anti bucktaylor #anti buckali #anti buckabby #911 spoilers #911onabc #911 on abc #911abc #911 abc

[chaosthatsmellsgreen]

Netflix's Avatar The Last Airbender thoughts, part 4/5

about the characters from the Fire Nation

Zuko and Aang: they softened Zuko a lot, which, eh, it's fine. he opens up to Aang a little too easily in ep 6, but i loved their little talk about their studies and how they grew up. it's on the nose but honestly, you can't exactly pretend that the Zuko-Aang parallels in the OG show were subtle. "I need my honor back" *sharp cut to Zuko* was anything but subtle, so i'm actually fine with this

Iroh and Lu Ten: so, the discussions around the siege of Ba Sing Se, and Lu Ten's funeral, and Zuko's remembrance of Lu Ten were all wonderful. it's a nice detail to include the earth kingdom soldier, to show the consequences of Iroh's actions more, and i decided i liked how they handled it. i like that Iroh doesn't apologize - there is no point, and no apologies will bring the soldier's brother back. the only thing he can do is show that he knows too many lives have been lost in this war already, and move on; maybe hope that confronting him has helped the soldier move on in some way as well. as for the casket scene; Leaves from the Vine is exploitative a little, but i think the show did a good job of not just riding the free tearjerking the song itself lent to it, but providing substance under it. i especially adored Zuko in that scene; he's young, too young and too raised in an emotionally repressive family to be able to say what he really wants to say. it doesn't even really seem to be allowed for him to say "i'm sorry for your loss", because Lu Ten's fate is regarded as an honourable death more worthy of congratulations than condolences. but obviously, Zuko feels how much pain Iroh is in, and (what i also love) he's struggling with Lu Ten's death himself. there were hints in the original show that Zuko would've spent time alone with Iroh and Lu Ten, and the gifting of Lu Ten's medal is such a precious, telling moment of their relationship. my last comment is that having Zuko not only personally relate to Iroh in his grief, showing him that Iroh isn't alone in this pain, but then sitting with him after that is such a heartwarming, beautiful moment.

Zhao: so Zhao's story was interesting, i think it explored his motivation a little better, and he remained more consistent. in the OG show, he goes a little 0-100 after his first few episodes, here it was more gradual from being a nobody to having ambitions of killing the moon and becoming Firelord. hm. this is almost like a pattern huh

Fire family: is the easiest way to refer to the whole Ozai-Azula-Zuko-Iroh situation. Ozai and his relationship with his children is framed differently and expanded upon. they did change the whole dynamic somewhat, which i don't think is necessarily bad, it certainly lends more depth to Azula, whose story culminated originally in what Overanalyzing Avatar called "The Extremely Expedited Complete Mental Collapse of Azula" (if you haven't watched his analysis on why he thought Azula's breakdown was too sudden, i really recommend it). i think with how they are setting up her character, if they take it in the same direction as ATLA did, they'll have a more solid and believable breakdown at the end. i think Ozai seems weirdly - bear with me here - protective of Zuko. like he believes the crap he's spewing, and while he still treats Zuko horribly (i think the burning of Zuko's face was somehow even more cruel in this, it felt less angry and more deliberate, cold, which is... ugh. hard to even think about.), he clearly seems like he'd prefer Zuko on the throne over Azula. which was not the case in ATLA, even when they were children and Zuko wanted to show off to his grandfather, before he did anything, Ozai was already frowning. now, i don't necessarily think this change couldn't make an interesting story, i just hope the message about how abusive and horrible Ozai is to his children is not gonna get twisted and excused because of this change in attitude. i also like that there is a little more emphasis on the fact that Ozai and Iroh are brothers, and that they actually TALK to each other

priorities: from the above points, i think a clear pattern forms: despite the runtime being roughly equal to ATLA's book 1, NATLA season 1's priorities lean sooooo far towards discussing the fire nation, their soldiers, their supporters and opponents, Zuko and Iroh, Ozai and especially Azula that the Gaang looses a crapload of the runtime they originally had. and while this obviously benefits the fire nation characters, it has this negative effect of us missing out on a lot of opportunities for the main cast to bond while we're busy watching Mai and Ty Lee hyping Azula up for... whatever reason

Mai is not in this show btw. i know there was a girl with Ty Lee and Azula who looks like Mai but it wasn't her.

PART 4/5

START // NEXT // PREVIOUS

#natla #natla spoilers #atla live action #atla live action spoilers

[girljpg]

i warched good omens season 2

i have a lot to say that doesn't really amount to anything so i'm gonna start typing at random

i liked the romantic vibe of the season and all the cute flashbacks. the dialogue between the leads was appropriately trusting and sweet. they really leaned into showing how they rely on each other. i also like that the conflict was pretty small in scale compared to season 1. it's not armageddon, but there were still some stakes if you include all the humans that almost died. although.... heaven and hell seem to know exactly where crowley and aziraphale are... yes, they fooled them at the end of s1, but wouldn't they idk. try other means? why didn't they get their names erased from the book of life earlier if that was something higher up angels could do? whatever

i like that there were real actual gay characters (lesbians even! who looked like real people!) even though I was worried they were getting together too fast, the reveal towards the end that they were going to move slow felt realistic. but them having to talk crowley into confessing his feelings felt ripped straight from a fanfiction. the lesbians comparing themselves to aziraphale and crowley was a bit on the nose. many moments did in fact feel like fanfiction. the dancing together, the "I need you!", the "We can just be us." all of that was cute and probably something i would've written idk could you do any better??? i am not immune to fluff. but also, that's a grown man. does it not take agency away from the character to have his relationship explained to him? and then they had the gall to not even show us this conversation. ideally he would've come to a conclusion about his feelings on his own-- perhaps after seeing gabe and beez fuck off to alpha centauri and going huh. i guess you can just do that. or even just through way of flashback-- oh no wait. all of the flashbacks were from aziraphale's point of view for some reason. why didn't azi get any realizations? you know michael sheen would've ate

the "i was wrong dance" well here's the thing i did clap

I thought the set of the street in london with all the little shops looked nice although there were always so so many extras walking around. is london really that crowded?

i thought they kind of wasted muriel's character. she seems to disappear for a long time before the plot calls for her to conveniently be there. i know she's meant to be a bit dim but surely she noticed 70 demons walking down the street.... ALSO i thought the book crowley handed her was going to be good omens but it. was not

looooved shax loved new beelzebub. who else. idk everyone was really giving it their all. megatron showed up for all of two episodes i think but was pivotal for the ending. what are you doing neil. gabriel is also doing. things. they wasted jon hamm as well by making him a frustrating himbo. one of the only scenes i liked with him was crowley yelling at him for trying to kill aziraphale in s1 and then trying to jump out a window and then calling crowley nice. but that whole bit felt more like a crowley scene than a gabe scene. he does get a mug with his name on it tho and hypocritically falls in love with the fly lady so all is forgiven.

i'm gonna be real with you all.. the way they filmed the kiss felt awkward. the way the camera swings around and crowley grabs him felt very....... rehearsed? a little unnatural, i think. the way crowley LUNGES. idk i need to rewatch the last ten minutes again. and it went on so long. we got like three of four angles on it like whoah. but the reaction face we got out of michael sheen. mamma mia

"I forgive you." asdejgkasdgahdgdfs when i say i paused the ep for extended laughter lmfaoooooo. clutching a wine bottle to my chest and cheering. this fucken guy. babygirl is distraught for all of about ten seconds before it's time to start the new job. i did start yelling at my screen after that point. he had no right to look crowley dead in the eye across the street and not run back to him. COWARRD. i understand why he did it but COWARD. why, after sooo long, would you think crowley would jump for joy to be an angel again... i watched all eight minutes of the credits certain that there was going to be more but nope. catch ya next time for the second coming (of jesus?? <- does not know things about the bible)

so i was pretty satisfied with that watch. i wish the season was longer than 6 episodes but tbh they had to make this story from nothing and it shows in the romcom hijinks and threadbare mystery. but it was fun and went by quickly. then i check on the fandom and they're, get this, upset for some reason about this ending. there's no pleasing some fans i guess. good job neil you've pissed off the people who wanted them to kiss AND the people who didn't want them to kiss, bravo! hopefully in a month or so everyone will cool down about it. and if not well. plenty of fanfic fodder until season 3. not that i read good omens fanfic, but it'll be there. just be happy there was a kiss alright!!!!!!?!!!1

(i just know we're going to get a flood of people calling aziraphale a big meanie and crowley a poor little scrimbly blimbo meow meow who got rejected. booooo stop that right now)

#go2 spoilers #go2 #feel free to come into my inbox if you felt the same or hate my guts forever it's up to you

[purrincess-chat]

Hi Cat! May I ask you to rank S5 episodes aired so far? and what did you like the most about each of them?

Finally getting around to answering this now that s5 is officially over. Overall, I'd say s5 was definitely not as bad as people have made it out to be, and I'll share my full thoughts on it later and go over some of the notes I took upon rewatching, but I'd say this season on average was pretty mid? Adrinette hard carried a lot of episodes that otherwise were just okay. Again, I've said it a bunch, and I'll say it a bunch more times, ML's biggest problem is pacing. S5 is probably the most ambitious season of this show by far, and they crammed a shit ton into this one season that would have been more digestible if it were spread out I think.

But anywho, I'll discuss more later. For now, here is my episode rankings for season 5! The ratings are rough, and I will likely adjust them to be a bit more specific when I eventually do my complete episode ranking with all the other seasons, but for now these ratings correspond to how I relate just the s5 episodes to each other. None of them got a 10, and tbh most of these eps sit around 6-7/10, so ranking them was actually kind of hard because as I said, Adrinette hard carried some of these eps, and I just did not care for the other things going on in them. Okay, here we go:

Protection: 9.5/10

Anyone who knows me or is in any way familiar with me probably knows why this episode is here. The picnic will go down as one of Adrinette's iconic moments. The whole set-up was incredibly sweet, and I could stare at that scene for hours.

2. Emotion: 9/10

Outside of thinking that Felix should have come back sooner and that perhaps this should have been the mid-season conflict rather than the Kwami's Choice eps (I'll talk more about why in another post eventually), I really liked this episode. I love how much Marinette has grown. I enjoyed Felix being a lil gremlin man. Idk, I liked it.

3. Elation: 8.5/10

"Cat, but you always shit talk MC-"

Incorrect. I shit talk toxic stans. I'd be lying if I said seeing those two losers kiss didn't make me feel things. I also appreciated the realness of this ep on why they couldn't be together, and that Chat Noir/Adrien had enough respect for Marinette to realize that there was a power imbalance between them. It was very sexy of him.

4. Revolution: 8.5/10

This one honestly surprised me being this high, but so much shit happened in this episode. Like I needed to sit for a sec after watching it because it was a lot to process. While I was rewatching it, I had moments where I was like wait, is this a new episode? But then I'd remember, nope. It's still the same one where all this other shit happened. And weirdly, it didn't feel too rushed? A lot of episodes this season felt like they were moving a million miles a minute and rushing to get to the point, but I felt like for as much shit as went down in this episode, it flowed pretty well.

Also, I'm Adrinette trash so of course I'm gonna rank their first kiss high fucking sue me

Also, hardly anyone talked about the LadyNoir power up! Like hello???

5. Deflagration: 8/10

I know I just dunked on the Kwami's Choice arc, and I will probably do it again because these two episodes were HARD carried by Adrinette. I didn't care about Kitty Noire or Scarabella at all. Their fight was lame, why the fuck did they start talking like that, just, ugh-anyway. I felt like part 2 was the stronger of the two episodes, and not just because of the Ladrien crumb! (though the ladrien crumb was v nice) I enjoyed the Resistance swooping in to help. I enjoyed Marinette outsmarting Gabriel. I enjoyed Adrien ripping the earrings off his dad like how dare you touch her things, you crusty eggplant. I liked the Adrinette scene in the cafeteria. I dunno. I don't think giving up their Miraculous was really necessary, but I appreciated several of the moments in this episode.

6. Passion: 8/10

So, in prior seasons I came to really not care for Nathalie when she was simping for Gabriel, but I gained a lot more respect for her this season. I just kind of wish she'd been like that from the beginning. There to make sure Gabriel doesn't go too far, someone to love Adrien and carry out his and Emilie's wishes. I wouldn't have minded even if GabeNath happened as a result if they were able to talk Gabriel down from his madness and truly let Emilie go in the end. But alas, we didn't. I loved the Adrinette moment in this episode where Adrien just immediately tells her what's wrong. It was such a huge step for him as someone who usually just buries his feelings. And the kwami swap was much better this go round.

7. Jubilation: 7.5/10

My cat is sleeping on my notes, but I remember enjoying this episode. A thought that I had in regards to the fantasy that they saw is that the gift sees beyond the masks, even if they don't. Like, yes, of course they want a life together because they're soulmates. They just can't quite see the whole picture yet. Idk how to explain it, but anyway, it was a cute episode. The nightmare children need to be burned at the stake, but overall, it was nice.

8. Transmission: 7.5/10

Listen. I did not give a single fuck about the new heroes, and their battle was very anticlimactic and lame, but god dammit, the Adrinette in this episode! Adrien audibly recognizing he shouldn't have played with her feelings as Chat Noir. Him seeing his photos in her trash can and telling her he loves her! The motherfucking hand game! Nothing else happened in that ep. It was just them.

9. Determination: 7.5/10

I absolutely loved seeing Adrinette go all pink sparkles when he looked at Marinette, and how Kagami was like stop being a fucking wuss and ask her on a date. As much as I cannot with the statue scene, I loved that Adrien was just like lol yeahhh you kissed me, it was kind of awesome. Like baby boy XD I liked him being lowkey jealous and wanting to be more with Marinette and trying his damnedest to get closer to her when she was freaking out. His patience with her this season has been so sweet.

LN stans can roast me all they want, idc, but I have a lot of thoughts about her switching her affection to CN. Not to say that she doesn't genuinely have feelings for him because I think she definitely does deep down, but I have always seen her pursuit of him this season as a means to run away from her problems. (i.e. her feelings for Adrien) Because she never got over Adrien, and that much was obvious. And Alya even called her on her bullshit. Marinette was trying to force herself to stop loving Adrien by throwing herself at Chat Noir, and while her feelings for him might stem from a genuine place of love for him, she was trying to love him for the wrong reasons. Rather than it being a natural thing, it felt very much like she was only doing it because she thought it would be easier, and she was refusing to face and process what had happened as a result of her loving Adrien. I just wish that the reversal were handled differently. She can and absolutely does love Chat Noir, but in this context, it just felt a little cheap to me. Not as genuine because she was still clearly hung up on Adrien and avoiding that.

10. Multiplication: 7/10

We have reached 6-7/10 territory. A loooot of eps are in this range, so it was actually pretty difficult to rank. I went solely on vibes for this section. Any single scene that sticks out in my memory for each episode were the breaking points on these.

Idk why, but I liked this episode. I loved the scenes of Adrien trying to greet Marinette. I loved everyone getting progressively more bored with waiting for Monarch to show up again. It was cute.

11. Derision: 7/10

Do I think this backstory should have come way, way, way, WAY sooner? Yes. Like s1-s2 sooner. Did I still slurp up all of the Adrinette anyway? ...Well, I'm only human.

12. Evolution: 7/10

I actually skipped this episode in my rewatch to save time because I know it's solid. Bunny Cat was cute. Seeing Gabriel fucking wreck himself because he's an idiot was funny. Alix being the GOAT was fun. Yeah. It was a nice start to the season.

13. Pretension: 7/10

I'm not a Feligami hater like some people. I think it was a bit rushed, but I think that's more of an issue with ML's general struggle with pacing rather than a reflection on the viability of their relationship. I liked seeing how Felix has a softer side because he was always meant to be morally grey. Emotion talked about that a little bit. He had no dog in the fight between Gabriel and LB/CN. He has his own motives for doing what he does, and he's not a bad person, just has done some questionable things to get what he wants. And I think Kagami would be good for him. I loved her roasting him and kicking his ass (and he loved it too).

14. Confrontation: 6.5/10

As the pilot of the Lila downfall plane, you'd think this episode would rank higher, but like, listen. Was Marinette's plan very sneaky and big brained? Yes. Did I enjoy seeing them get caught? Yes. Did this shit need to happen way sooner? Yes! The fact that Alya said with her whole chest in the episode before, "You know we're always ready to believe you." When she fucking wasn't? Like, bitch, your bestie is LADYBUG. Perhaps if she doesn't like someone, recognize that it's for a good ass reason? And I hated how dismissive they were of Adrien when he tried to speak up in that scene too. My honest reaction to Lila being outed was just fucking finally. I rank this one lower as well because they cut a small moment that I wish they fucking hadn't where everyone apologizes to and hugs Marinette after they're exposed. Because they fucking gaslit her for months about this bitch, and she absolutely deserved that apology!

15. Collusion: 6/10

Ya know, I'm not much one to care about Andre. They really tried to paint him as a victim this season, and I just was not there for it. It's okay for him to just suck too. They're all rich, sucky people. It's okay to just say that.

A note I did make that I might talk about later is on the topic of Chloe and her alleged redemption that everyone is mad about and how Astruc just hates Chloe, and I'm not going to say he doesn't. I just think that overall what happened there is when they started planning out future seasons, it was more plot convenient for her to be mean than it was for them to put in the effort to redeem her fully. And looking at some of the other redemptions they've done in this show, we know they would have botched it anyway. They kept her mean because it served their purposes for making things happen. That's it.

16. Revelation: 6/10

For reasons mentioned above in Confrontation, I ranked this episode lower because I wanted to fucking strangle everyone. Everyone in that god damn class knows Chloe is a bitch and always will be. The fact that they all turned on Marinette, including fucking Alya who knows she's FUCKING LADYBUG just ugh. Honestly, when their future plans got fucked in the next episode, I was lowkey like GOOD. Suffer, dumbass bitches! It's what you get! But I'm also just really petty, and I wanted to see Lila finally get shut the fuck up.

17. Adoration: 6/10

This one was fine? Let's go lesbians, I guess. Idk, in comparison to the myriad of other shit going on in s5, this one just felt like filler. Gabriel is an asshole, what else is new? I kind of wish Marinette got a better confession, since, ya know, we've been waiting for it since s1. I wish it were a bigger moment and more heartfelt, but like, eh, I guess.

18. Intuition: 6/10

Seeing Gabriel fuck himself over was nice. Other than that, it was just okay. Get dunked on, you moldy cheeto dust of a human being.

19. Perfection: 6/10

"Cat, did you rank this episode this low because of Adrien's cringy-ass song?"

AND I'D DO IT AGAIN! And the fight was kinda boring. I love Kagami, and she deserved the love in the end, but like c'mon.

20. Illusion: 6/10

A big thing I noted from this episode that became kind of a recurring thing throughout s5 is the illusion of choice. I'll talk more about it in my s5 analysis, but I think that illusion of choice extends to Gabriel's wish too in the end. I did love Nathalie fucking bodying him the second Adrien walked away. It's what he deserves.

21. Destruction: 6/10

This one was fine, I guess. I wasn't super into the format of it being a flashback that Marinette was explaining to Alya at their sleepover after the fact? And that it kind of just glossed over them Cataclysming Monarch, since that was kind of an important thing for this season. ML made some weird choices for big moments throughout this season that kind of cheapened the impact, imo. Idk. Baby girl is smart and all that, we been knew.

22. Representation: 5.5/10

Adrien fighting his dad was the highlight of this episode. You go off, king. The play was incredibly info-dumpy, and I feel like this information should have been spread out more organically. Rather than hinting at all of this shit in s3-4, they should have just sprinkled in these details as actual confirmation back then rather than dumping it all in our laps now.

23. Reunion: 5/10

Listen, this episode wasn't bad, and Adrien being a horse girl is funny, but in the context of this season and compared to the other episodes, this one is honestly just filler. Like, it's cool lore, but feels a bit out of place in this season, especially because she didn't call on her past holders for advice on how to like, idk fight her villain, she called on her for love advice. Just felt very unserious in the context of this season.

24. Conformation: 5/10

This one was fine-ish? The whole finale is definitely the weakest finale we've had. And I've ranked Miracle Queen in my bottom 10, yall. This is saying something. I'll go ahead and continue in my next point because

25. Re-Creation: 4.5/10

Both of the finale eps were just... They happened? I feel like they were pulling at too many threads bringing in everyone the way they did. I feel like the perfect alliance thing was an okay choice? I kind of dislike that Adrien was just no where to be fucking seen for most of these episodes. I know a lot of people are upset that he doesn't know about his dad, and there was no reveal between him and Marinette. Which, no identity reveal, I can live with, but I feel like letting Gabriel make his wish was such a weird choice. I'll talk more about it later, but we've been following this show since s1 and rooting for Ladybug and Chat Noir, and they just let the villain get what he wanted? And you can argue that he didn't really get what he wanted because he died or whatever, but like he got the Miraculouses and made a wish. Stop being obtuse about it. Like what is the ultimate lesson here? What's the message? I'm willing to give s6 a chance, but my future with this show is going to depend on how they unpack some of the fallout of this finale.

And for those arguing over Emilie v Amelie in the ending scene, it was Emilie in the original script and storyboard, and her memorial statue is gone, meaning they no longer have to memorialize her because she's not dead, so unless they randomly decided to not bring her back last minute, that bitch is his mom. Also, they removed a scene where she and Adrien smile at each other, but I digress

26. Migration: 4/10

I'm not going to explain this one, but anyone that knows me, knows why this one is here, and why I didn't care about this episode.

Anywho, my biggest takeaways from this season were that it was a bit too ambitious at times, and I think in general it lacked a lot of the heart of ML. Big moments we've been waiting for fell flat because they got lost in the mess of them trying to cram storylines we should have been getting this whole time into one season. It's not a bad season, and I think it is definitely a step in the right direction. ML just needs to get better about pacing its story arcs so that it maximizes its time and doesn't have to rush through shit to get their point across.

#ml spoilers #miraculous ladybug #cat replies #asks #cat ranks ml s5

[fluffypotatey]

watching Leverage: ep 8

I GOT ME GRAPE FANTA 😎 WE SPLURGING TONIGHT 😚

Pre-game show:

ok so i think i've got it figured out on who i'd be besties with from this show this is of course unrelated to the previous episode. also, let me know which of the crew i'd be besties with! i only know these guys for 7 episodes and y'all have all the 5 seasons, so 1st impressions and after some development?

nathan wouldn't trust me (obvi as i am young and inexperienced with heisting but i am a good strategist! so that should count for something) but eventually, he'd adopt me as one of his heist children

sophie would adopt me on the spot i just know it

alec and i would be besties. maybe i would feel a little intimidated by his hacking skills at first, but he'd be very welcoming and i would laugh at his jokes so yeah

i would be way too intimidated to be near eliot alone just because i feel like he has that aura of "don't talk to me"

unfortunately i don't think parker and i would start off well because i tend to be too polite and not say what i mean and she's a very blunt person

but anyway

it is really weird how they've listed the episodes because the last one being ep7 is super confusing for the continuity. if you watched the horse job before the wedding job like me, it makes no sense for alec to not know who eliot's "girl" was. however, if the wedding job was set before the horse job THAT MAKES SENSE!

SO WHY ARE THE EPISODES LISTED OUT OF ORDER???? WHY DID YOU SCREW WITH THE CONTINUITY LIKE THAT????

also it makes so much more sense that an ep3 nathan would be a little perturbed by heisting the mob and feel a little bitter about marriages because we're just getting to know him!!! it makes no sense for him to be bitter like that at ep7. not after the fucking bank shot job where we see him so soft for sophie???? ugh

this episode, we are watching *checks notes* The Mile High Job, spoilers for the episode will be followed under the cut (obvi 😗)

My Mile High Reaction (not sponsored by grape fanta)

oh dear, this ep is gonna be heavy

they blamed a child's death on her pre-existing conditions???? conditions unrelated to the side effects their fertilizers gives???? oh boy, i am getting pissed and they aren't even real but oh man i wanna hit something

oh they hiding evidence??? that would be important to the case??? corporation sir that's illegale. no that's literally illegal. anything you hold that's important to the case the other side needs to have as well. that's literally *breathes* i will...persevere :)

sophie: not speaking english the security guards: speaking english trying to understand her

to be fair! i am also that dumb

oh so both of them are just gonna hop away from the desk, okay then, keep it together my god lmao

ok i know they're trying to steal the information that the prosecuting team needs (the couple is prosecuting right? i'm assuming bc they have the burden of proof) but i'm worried bc there's a "doctrine of the poisoned apple" that basically means that any info gathered illegally cannot be used in court no matter how integral it is

i am curious to see if they bring up this little doctrine or ignore it (i'd be find with either tbh)

????

what happened with alec???? why does nathan not want them speaking about him???

shit this is a continuity thing huh

ALEC THANK GOODNESS

baby, did you...did you put a whole ass hot pocket in the microwave with no plate??? not even a paper towel??? and you grabbed it??? with your bare hands, dear lord

get a paper towel. sir, i'm embarrassed

*sighs* this was originally episode 4 wasn't it? alec and the crew not being as smooth, alec missing that they had a mission that day and fumbling to help them,

ok so i'm a little annoyed about how the episodes are listed and how janky they are continuity -wise

oh no the crew is about to be caught and this could have been avoided if the guy at the chair was more present in meeting! she says with a straight face. how ever will they get out of this one

yes, mister corporate evil man sir, please tell us everything about how you plan to tank the court case on a phone call where you're not even trying to keep quiet

i love you parker. how did she evade getting caught and exit the room before nathan and eliot? no one knows! but we all fucking love her for it!

"ok i got two for first class" nathan, sweetheart, he didn't even hesitate "ok sophie and i'll take those" yeah, yeah, ok sir, okay

ALEC BRO WITH A STRAIGHT FACE awww newlyweds

eliot....eliot, my dude, where, how???? WHEN? air marshal???? WHOMST???? WHO ARE YOU? WHAT THE FU

omfg alec i love your customer service voice. perfection lmao

awwww she loves fidget so much (that's an adorable name btw the kitty's so cute i wanna nuzzle!)

lmao eliot that flip was so extra, you just needed to stumble my dude

SOPHIE

NATHAN'S SO FLUSTERED HELP

"cuffs are his, wips mind" bro you should be so glad i wasn't drinking right bc i would have choked fr

ELIOT DEARY YOU SOUND LIKE A TEENAGER WHO GOT DRAGGED ALONG THIS TRIP "idiot," he says like sophie's his step mom and he's so embarrassed that he has now learned more info about his dad's sex life than he needed to

alec <3 i love him so much

parker i love you but you almost got punched (not your fault, you didn't know the lady was touchy about the promotion comment)

OH THEY FAKE DATING!! FAKE MARRIAGE

oooooooh nathan you in deep shit

oh man my brother would hate parker as a flight attendant

the pilot does not sound that clear on the intercom, leverage! really you hear more static than the pilot and it's way too loud and everyone just nods like they understood

mood eliot

madam, if parker said there's a system, then there's a system! do not mess with it!!! ma'am it ain't that hard to wait. if you really feel queasy, the bathroom is right behind you

ALEC MY BOY

yeah ok he could speak spanish to me all day. he sounds like a man who's so happy about his job! alec, you making me fall for your persona

lmao for a second i though the guard was going to look at the camera

"hey is there room in [the elevator that alec is making sure to take up every bit of space]" alec: idk bro you tell me

i know i say this so much but....alec i love you

"i bet you think we all look alike" I CAN'T BREATHE HELP I CAN'T I LOVE HIM

NOT THE SENSITIVITY SEMINARS

I CAN'T BREATHE

wait what are the playing on the plane? there's a movie playing. it looks western. eliot what are you watching????

yes eliot, let's just rummage through all the carry on bags. that's not suspicious

i mean.....parker's got a point. dying on a plane is pretty low. more people die in car crashes, but people feel more confident driving than flying

can't tell if that help the lady or not, but parker's delivery was hilarious either way

hands off sir that's a married woman! a fake married woman but still!

oop trouble in paradise

alec <3333333 my tall WoW geek, he's found his people

back the FUCK up nathan 🔪 leave him alone!

his little smile when he said "the meeting's starting!"

oh that better be fake alec!

oh thank goodness

lmao of course the accountant is the one who wanted ginger ale

nathan, sweetie, sweetheart, deary, pumpkin, gumdrop......you are so bad at pretending to be mad at sophie you whipped son of a bitch

OH????? THE ASSET IS THE ACCOUNTANT!!!! HAHAHAHA YOU HAVE TO SAVE HER NOW PARKER LMAO

so sorry but i was distracted (by eliot's voice) for a little bit but we good now

aww parker got her ginger ale to soothe her anxiety (didn't help but it's the thought that counts)

poor steve (derogatory)

i love cheryl. i'd die for her

oh shit he got a knife!

FUCK HIM UP ELIOT

you're gonna leave the knife in there??? with the unconscious hitman??? what if he wakes up what then?

oof you're gonna go that route? after 9/11??? ok then

good, good eliot got the knife

honestly i feel bad for that flight attendant. this must be one her worst days on the job

oh they got a countdown!

oh dear they cutting close on time

just curious: was there a content warning that was placed just before this episode aired? i know this show came out in 2008 but 9/11 was still fresh in people's minds. so to air an episode where a plane gets hijacked to crash, i feel like there was a warning placed for viewer discretion.

NOOOOO ALEC BABY HE SOUNDS SO DEFEATED :( HE THINKS HE'S GONNA LOSE THEM T^T HIS NEW FAMILY NOBODY TOUCH ME

HOW HIS VOICE CRACKS WHEN HE REALIZES HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO AND HE IS HELPLESS TO THEM NO

ohhhhh stressedstressedstressedstressedstressedstressedstress

AH OKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOKOOOK

THEY GONNA LAND ON THE HIGHWAY

THEY DID IT

ok but is alec still in the boss's office? or is he back a HQ? how had no one found him? oh dear wait

ok nvm we got comedy all good

fuck off steve

aww we got soft sophie/nathan

haha she still won. love her

General thoughts

ok i have no clue why the episodes are mixed up like that because this episode feels like an ep4. it's just after the wedding job and the team isn't as solid yet. tbh this could even work before the wedding job but i wanna say no bc nathan was too up his ass in that one.

alec, my boy, you shined beautifully in this. i don't care if he wasn't the best team player! this was his episode and i loved it. i love that we got to see him geek out about video games and even about coding stuff that only he understands. i like how he is such a great people person! alec just met cheryl and yet he knows exactly how to work with her and make her believe he has worked at this place since forever. and maybe i'm hoping that he found her on WoW and they became internet besties

anyway, good episode, i enjoyed it. i laughed, almost cried, got stressed toward the end but all turned out well!

#leverage #fluffy reacts #long post #i like to consider myself the funniest bitch alive #why? bc i laugh at myself #i am hoping that one day when alec's playing WoW he finds cheryl and they hit it off so well just them playing together #maybe they build their own guild #also who taught alec spanish??? was it his nana? was it one of his foster sibs? i wanna know! can you show me! #i wanna know about the alec backstory!