#phew another out of season edit

[crosshairlovebot]

enclosed intentions / crosshair gn!reader

pairing: crosshair x gn!reader (no y/n). reader has a nickname.

description: amid your growing feelings for the silver-haired sniper, you and crosshair are paired together on a mission that goes awry, which brings to light intentions you've been aching to know.

word count: 9,934 (pHEW!!)

warnings: near-death experience (everyone lives). landslide. heavy storms. enclosed spaces. minor injury. minor injury description. making out. light angst.

been wanting to write another crosshair fic for a while bc he's my GUY and i love him!!! season 3 is only fuelling the burning fire he stokes in my chest. i hope you enjoy this! strap in! it's a long one! (sorry if there are any errors, i've edited this but it's so long it's entirely possible that i missed some <3)

also posted this on ao3. feedback is welcomed, reblogs are appreciated.

More often than not, Clone Force 99 was sent on dangerous missions – missions too specialised for the regular battalions and squads that filled the Grand Army of the Republic. The missions that troubled Jedi Generals regarding the potential loss of men. But Clone Force 99 and their specialised skills took on those missions with ease, enthusiasm even.

You were about to embark on another one of those missions.

When you’d first joined the GAR as a medic, you’d heard rumours about the squad of defective clones and their enhanced skills, and you would be lying if you said you weren’t impressed by their reportedly unbroken mission success.

When Echo walked into your medbay after he’d been rescued from Skako Minor and you were the first to check over him – making him feel comfortable after years of prodding and inhumane treatment – it only made sense for you to join the team as a field medic to continue to treat him and the other members of the squad.

Though they were initially dubious of the idea of a nat-born joining their ranks, they had always been a misfit crew – you were only another addition to that, and it wasn’t long before your presence with the squad felt like being at home.

You got on with each of the members well, even if they grumbled and complained about your regularly scheduled medical check-ups after missions.

Tech was a great help in collating the medical files he’d made from when he acted as the informal medic. You joked along with Wrecker, who often used you as an alternate barbell, lifting you over his head to warm up before a mission. Hunter often conferred with you before mission briefings to go over any hazards that could harm them. Echo was probably your strongest bond, the trust that existed between you both created a level of closeness not shared with the other members of the squad.

But Crosshair…

You’d soon discovered that Crosshair was weary of anyone who wasn’t part of his immediate family, and you joining Clone Force 99 – and in such constant close quarters, meant your relationship with the sharpshooter was a little more distant than the others.

You tried not to let it bother you so much, but it was hard when you were joking with Wrecker, and you could feel Crosshair’s discerning enhanced eyes on you. You often ignored his gaze as best you could, but sometimes you would look over at him, and hold his eyes for a moment before he got up and walked away.

You wish you knew what those looks meant. You would lay in your bunk at night, and think about it, trying to piece together any patterns and figure out why Crosshair’s eyes never seemed to truly leave you.

Despite the distance between you both, it didn’t deter your intrigue about him. There was something about him that drew your attentions towards him.

If you didn’t feel his eyes on you, your eyes would find him. He was so fascinating to watch. Everything he did, he did with purpose; intention. Nothing about Crosshair was insignificant. Every word, every gesture, every look held meaning. You liked trying to figure it out, but you had yet to decipher much of it – especially when it was directed at you. He was like a puzzle that didn’t want to be solved, hiding all his answers in disappearing ink, you had to hold him up to the light to try and unravel him. You wished he would let you, but his terse demeanour kept you at bay - not wanting to disturb what balance you had.

So you were content to watch him from a distance. He was methodical about everything. Cleaning his rifle the same way after every mission, never missing a step, always performing each of them in the same order. His armour went on the same way. You would watch how his toothpicks would always dangle from his lips as he cleaned his prized weapon, and you would almost be hypnotised by the way he moved the wooden stick between his teeth. You spent so much time staring at his mouth, that you could probably draw it from memory.

He was magnetising.

Whenever you needed to perform a medical check on him, you would do so quietly and draw it out, as if trying to soak up every moment of the closeness to him, catalogue it all.

When it came to checking his hands, you would gently hold them in your palms and gently massage the joints that could get cramped from holding the rifle tightly. You would check the nerves with a light prick on each fingertip and around the palm. Those examinations were so tense, his eyes on you the entire time watching your every move in the tiny medbay on the Marauder. You could barely focus in that room, there was nowhere to hide from his sharp eyes. And when you dared meet his gaze, his eyes would hold yours in a way that left you breathless and you were never able to look him in the eyes for very long. They’d look right into yours, an expression dancing in them you could never place.

But he never said anything to you – not unless you asked him a question about pain. But you’d think about each interaction for days afterwards.

Your silent exchanges filled your head at night, spilling over into your dreams. Dreams where those hands you’d just inspected in the waking world would be holding you tightly, that mouth you’d stared at brushing against your cheek and neck, whispering things you pretended not to remember once you woke. You’d wake up from those dreams confused, still feeling the ghost of his touches on you. It didn’t hit you until several dreams later that that initial intrigue had given way to feelings much deeper; to an intense crush that only seemed to build the longer you spent with Clone Force 99.

If anyone else noticed, they never said anything. You carried on as normal and hoped Hunter’s heightened senses didn’t pick up on the way your face heated or your heartbeat increased when Crosshair was near.

Except the silence between you broke a few days ago.

After the last mission, you were scheduled to do the weekly checks on the squad. You always left Crosshair until last, knowing he liked to clean his rifle as soon as the mission debrief was over. When you called him into the tiny room, he sat down on the bench, and you completed the first part of the check-up smoothly.

It was when you were massaging one of his hands, loosening the stiffness with your own fingers, that you felt his close around yours.

You had stilled and slowly looked up at him. His brown-eyed gaze met yours and you felt the air get sucked out of your lungs. You watched his eyes flick between yours, his throat working as his fingers were warm around yours. He was holding your hand, and it was warm and strong despite its slenderness. It was such an innocent gesture, and yet the sensation of his touch made your face burn and heat unfurl in your chest as your feelings for the sniper were unleashed in full force. You didn’t know what to do, but you would be lying if you didn’t like the feel of his fingers around yours. But this was Crosshair – the Crosshair who barely spoke to you, who watched you like he was analysing your every move.

“A-am I hurting you?” you managed to stammer out.

Crosshair blinked, seemingly jolting himself out of a trance and pulled his hands away roughly, frowning. “No.” His voice was like gravel, and he stood up and quickly left the room, check-up unfinished.

You had no idea what had happened, what you had done, what he had done, but you stood in that room trying to quell your racing heart for ages before you worked up the nerve to emerge. You spent that night thinking about the warmth of his fingers around yours and the way his throat bobbed like he wanted to tell you something.

What was it that he wanted to say? You knew Crosshair was always intentional in everything he did, so what was his intention with holding your hand like that?

Now, as the Marauder flew into a planet you couldn’t remember the name of, you felt those brown eyes on you from where Crosshair sat in one of the seats in the cockpit, his arms crossed and toothpick between his lips. Echo helped Tech guide the ship as Wrecker bench-pressed Gonky in the corridor. Hunter stood nearby as you held onto the back of Tech’s pilot seat as the ship flew into the planet’s atmosphere.

Since joining the squad a mere two months ago, you had been to more planets than you ever thought you would visit in your entire lifetime, but you had never seen anything like this.

The sky was full of enormous floating rocks, with thick greenery on top. You didn’t know how they stayed floating like this.

“This place is unbelievable,” you murmured. “How is this possible?”

“The rocks are held up by the planet’s unique gravity, creating a balanced pull that tethers the rock to its place. Think of them as miniature planets that exist within the atmosphere,” Tech explained.

You hummed in amazement as Tech flew past them all and steered towards the planet’s surface, which lay beneath a thick bank of dark clouds. The clouds gave way to rocky terrain, with a mountain range that jutted up from the ground haphazardly, not unlike their floating counterparts, as well as canyons and valleys. The whole planet seems to be rocks in various states. Tech landed the ship in a clear area and then everyone turned to Hunter.

“So, what’s the plan, Hunter?” Wrecker called out, finally giving Gonky a rest and placing him back on the ground.

Everyone gathered around a holomap Hunter had brought up. You felt Crosshair slide in next to you, his crossed arms grazing yours. Heat prickled your skin, the memory of the warmth of his fingers coming to life again, and you shifted slightly, drawing your arms closer to your body. You looked up at him but for once, his gaze wasn’t on you, but on the blue graphics in front of him. Your face burned. It was embarrassing how much of an effect he had on you, and even more so now after that moment in the medbay. He seemed to have completely forgotten about it, and here you were still having phantom feelings of the way his fingers wrapped around yours.

“We divide our squad,” Hunter begins. “Break off into pairs. The mineral we’ve been sent to recover is located across this entire sector, but according to Tech, not all of it will be viable.”

“There is a very narrow window in which the mineral is usable, and it will be difficult to find. But we will need to be cautious. The viable mineral is highly volatile when handled. And there’s an incoming storm headed this way, and due to the unique gravitational field on this planet, the storms here are quite lethal,” Tech tapped on his datapad.

You took a deep breath in. It appeared there was a lot that could go wrong.

Hunter nodded. “I can feel it. We’ll need to move fast, so let’s get going. Echo, you’re with me in the Badlands. Tech and Wrecker, you head west for the Valley. And that leaves Crosshair with N’edee up in the Mountains. Comm if you find any viable mineral and triangulate your position as best you can for reference before extracting as much as possible. Then head back to the Marauder where we’ll reconvene. Questions?”

Everyone shook their head. “The terrain is tough out there, so let’s try to avoid N’edee having to patch up any injuries,” Hunter added, sending you a smile. Everyone nodded before Hunter signalled everyone to move out.

N’edee was the little Mando’a nickname they’d appointed you. It meant ‘no bite’. After you’d first joined, you’d witnessed your first ever disagreement between Crosshair and Hunter and, not used to their scuffles yet, tried to mediate between them. They were so amused it stopped the argument and earned you the name – since you’d rather try to keep the peace instead of letting them fight it out.

Now, you knew better, but the name stuck. You wished you hated it, but Crosshair’s smirk as he called you it the first time was the first time he ever sort of smiled at you.

And the last.

The squad grabbed their gear, and you strapped your med pack to your back and holstered a blaster you barely ever used. You felt your whole body go into overdrive, not only because of the risk of the mission but also because you were paired off with Crosshair. The thought of being so close; just the two of you sent nerves running through you. If it was anyone else, you wouldn’t hesitate to ask what happened in the medbay, and try and sort it out and move forward, but you didn’t have that kind of closeness with Crosshair. There was no way you felt comfortable bringing up the way he held your hand – this was an important mission, and you didn’t want to risk ruining it by making Crosshair uncomfortable and clam up so tight you’d lose the modicum of trust you had.

Whenever intention he’d had, you weren’t destined to ever know what it was. So, you’d just have to take a page out of his book and pretend it never happened.

You made your way down the Marauder’s gangplank to find Crosshair waiting for you, helmet under his arm and holding the barrel of the sniper with his free hand as the hilt rested on the ground. He was the only one there, the others had already started their treks. You quickened your steps down as he looked over at you, heat blooming up your neck.

“Sorry,” you told him. Crosshair shook his head, either dismissing the apology or disappointed in your slowness to get ready – you couldn’t tell.

“Let’s go, the storm’s moving quickly,” he informed in that way of his. He placed his helmet on and started walking. You watched him walk away, not looking back at you as his long legs carried him quickly through the rocky ground in the direction of the mountain range.

“Try and keep up,” he called back, and you huffed, adjusting your med pack and jogging after him.

Crosshair kept a quick pace as you both walked, and his height didn’t help. The rhythmic beeping of the scanner Tech provided you with and your footsteps were the only sound between you both. You tried to keep up as best you could as you approached the base of the mountain range, but you were still lagging a couple of metres behind him.

You had been worried about the awkwardness a conversation about what happened in the medbay would bring, and yet you were not even close enough to have one.

You huffed, a light sheen of sweat covering your brow, as you stepped over a bunch of rocks, moving between them as best you could, looking down at your feet to ensure you didn’t fall. The weather was beginning to change, and you knew the storm was getting closer as the wind picked up and nearly knocked you off balance a few times. But you had still to find any viable mineral. You looked at the scanner and saw it was indeed picking up signs of the mineral, but none of it was suitable – either too old or too young a sample. You sighed. This was going to take longer than you thought, and you only hoped you had more luck once you reached the mountains, and that the storm would hold off.

“Watch your step,” Crosshair called back to you. You looked up to watch him as he stepped on a boulder and jumped down into what must’ve been a small ditch at the foot of the mountain range. You frowned and kept walking. As you got closer, you were surprised as you realised he was waiting for you. His helmet was trained on you as you reached the rock and you tried to pretend like it wasn’t a big deal to you. You stepped on top of the boulder, the wind whipping around you as his gaze tilted up at you. For once, you towered over him. You couldn’t help but smile playfully at him.

“So, this is what the world must look like for you,” you joked, trying to ease the tension that was still thick between you.

Crosshair let out a small scoff at your joke before holding out his hand. “Hurry up.”

You widened your eyes at his extended hand, your eyes flicking to it and then back to his visor. After the medbay, you hardly imagined he’d be offering a hand to you again in a clinical setting, let alone to help you descend a boulder. You looked at his outstretched hand, letting a moment pass as you waited for him to retract it, but he didn’t.

This gesture was intentional.

You slowly placed your hand in his. His hand was as warm and strong as it was several days ago, and the familiarity of it made your insides jolt as you felt it wrap around your palm. The nerve endings in your hand tingled in excitement as they ignited from his touch. Heat coiled its warmth through your whole body as you crouched down to a sitting position, doing your best not to topple over not only from the wind. He helped you slide off the edge down to where he was standing, his hand steadying you.

You wobbled on your feet slightly as you landed, and you looked up at him, wishing he wasn’t wearing his helmet right now so you could discern his steely gaze. Though you had a feeling his bare face still would not betray anything of what was going on in his head.

Was he acknowledging what happened? Or was he just being considerate of the terrain?

Before you could open your mouth with a ‘thank you’, he let go of your hand and started walking up a pathway that seemed to wind up the mountain.

You guessed it was not the former.

You took in a shaky breath, body tingling with the remnants of his touch as you felt its cold absence and started after him; scanner poised as you walked.

The pathway up the mountain was wide enough to walk on, but too narrow to walk side by side comfortably without worry of falling over the edge. So, you trailed behind Crosshair once again, who had now slowed down that the route had grown more precarious. You clenched your jaw as you followed his steps carefully, avoiding any loose rocks as you walked. You tried not to think about the increasing ascension of the mountain, the ground below getting smaller and smaller the higher you both trekked as you continued to scan the side of the mountain for any trace of a viable source of the mineral, but still, there was nothing.

The higher you moved the wind that whipped around both your bodies increased as the clouds rolled in. You had to move your hand alongside the mountain as you waked, too afraid you’d blow away as the gusts of wind threatened to knock you over.

You’d been walking for a few hours by now and with the weather getting worse, the constant pace was starting to wear on you; arms and legs sore and feet aching, face stinging. You looked out over the cliff and saw you were almost halfway up, and the sky was getting darker as the storm continued to draw closer. Every time you looked, it seemed to be moving towards you quicker, so as much as you wanted to stop and rest, you knew that you couldn’t – especially when you looked ahead at Crosshair and saw he didn’t seem to show any signs of exhaustion.

Though you knew clones had been engineered to withstand increased levels of physical exertion, you still felt inadequate not being able to keep up. Even after two months with the squad, you still weren’t used to the physicality of the missions. You weren’t initially trained as a field medic, but you still didn’t want to look like you couldn’t handle this simple mission – even if it was more gruelling than you anticipated. So, you gritted your teeth and kept walking, despite the way your body protested with each step.

Crosshair began to slow before he stopped and turned to look at you. “Picking up anything?”

You shook your head and hoped you didn’t sound as puffed out as you felt. “Nothing viable. Not even a false read.”

Crosshair grumbled. “Another wild bantha chase.”

You tried to sound upbeat, but you weren’t fooling anyone. “Maybe the others have had more luck?”

“Maybe,” Crosshair said, his helmeted face drifting from you to the sky. He removed his helmet and scowled as the storm drew closer and closer to your position on the mountain. It was close enough now that you began to see flashes of lightning strike within the clouds, and you jolted when a crack of thunder sounded like it was almost on top of you.

“The storm is too close,” he said, shaking his head in concern.

“I know. Should we head back to the Marauder?”

“There’s no time. We need a pickup,” Crosshair sighed and placed his helmet back on, pressing the side of his helmet. “Hunter, do you copy?”

You watched him, hand gripping the mountain as the wind grew stronger with each passing second. You were starting to feel spits of rain hit your skin as more thunder and lightning struck. Your body was shaking with exhaustion and all you wanted to do was lie down in a safe place and fall asleep.

“Wrecker? Do you copy? Tech? Echo? Hunter, are you there?” Crosshair spoke into his comm, his voice getting harder with every word. He let out a frustrated sigh.

“I can’t reach them. There’s too much atmospheric interference with the storm, maybe even the gravity too.”

You looked at him and tried not to sound panicked, but you knew your face betrayed you anyway. “What do we do?”

A crack of thunder sounded, and it was like the sky was splitting open. The mountain shook under your feet, and you fell to your knees, yelping. You felt Crosshair crouch next to you, a hand on your back to steady you. You looked up at him as the rain started to pelt down heavily on you both. You tried to shield your face, but the rain was so heavy it felt like knives cutting as it hit the skin of your face.

Crosshair hooked a hand under your arm and hauled you up. “We have to move.”

“We need to get off this mountain!” You shouted over the rain.

“We need to find shelter. Come on,” Crosshair skirted you in front of him and you both started to run up the path in the pouring rain. You held a hand against your brow to try and see, but the rain and wind intensified more than you thought possible, blurring your vision.

“Crosshair, I can’t—”

You slipped on a rock loosened by the wet ground. You cried out and fell forward, landing on your hands harshly. You felt your palms sting as you tried to get to your feet, but Crosshair slid his hands under your armpits and lifted you just as there was a flash of bright light, and the mountain shook again, this time more violently. It felt like the lightning had hit the mountain this time, and when you tried to look up to check, your worst fears were confirmed as the sound of rocks tumbling began to get louder over the heavy rain. Panic coursed through your veins.

“Go!” Crosshair yelled, hand steady on your arm as you both ran, him pulling you forward. You could feel rocks landing behind you and you tried to run faster, skin numb from the rain.

“There’s a cave up ahead! Hurry!” Crosshair shouted as he led you towards the mouth of the cave. Your thighs and calves burned, and Crosshair pulled you inside just as rocks fell and covered the entrance of the cave, trapping you both inside.

You fell to your knees, catching your breath as you looked around and realised how dark it was. You’re eyes hadn’t adjusted yet, so could barely see anything, but you heard Crosshair’s body hit the ground nearby as he sat down, grunting as he took his helmet off. His breath moved quickly too as you blinked and tried reaching out to see where he was.

“Crosshair?” you said, patting the hard ground next to you until you found his knee.

“I’m here,” he said, placing a hand over yours. You sucked in a breath as his fingers curled around yours. “You okay?” He asked, his voice raspy.

Your heartbeat which had only just started to slow, picked up again as he held your hand again. How many more times was this going to happen? Would you ever not freak out when he touched you now? Was that his intention?

You swallowed. “Yeah, I’m okay. Are you?”

You felt the muscles in his hand flex. “Yeah.”

You took in a shaky breath and let him hold your hand again, relishing in the feel of his fingers wrapped around yours for a moment, so warm and solid. The feel of his knee under your palm, a part of the body you had originally thought completely savoury until this very moment. After a moment too long of no sound except the roaring rain on the other side of the rock, you cleared your throat before you felt around you with your other hand. “I can’t see.”

“I can.”

You blushed profusely and hoped to the Force you didn’t look as bewildered as you felt. “Right. Of course.”

Crosshair slowly let go of your hand but made a point of keeping your empty palm on his knee, like he knew you needed to feel him close by.

The word intentional flashed in your mind.

Your stomach turned over at the gesture and you wiped your face with your other hand, shoulders beginning to shake. You heard Crosshair take off his pack and scramble through it, pulling out a small light that he usually placed on the end of his rifle. He clicked it on, and you shielded your eyes, before blinking your vision clear. Now you could see Crosshair’s face half illuminated, his brow was creased as he held out the light to you.

“Thanks,” you said, taking it from him. You pointed it around the cave and realised it was not so much a cave, but an oversized cavity in the side of the mountain. It wasn’t very deep, and it looked like its width was only a little bigger than Crosshair was tall. But it had saved your lives. You looked behind you, at the rocks that had fallen there.

“How are we going to get out of here?” you asked, running the light over the edge of the cave to see if there were any openings, but there were none substantial enough for you to try and get leverage to move the rocks that blocked you both in. Some rain fell through the cracks, the water landing on the rock as the storm carried on outside. That was good – at least you had some airflow.

“We need to wait for the storm to pass before we can see if comms will work to call the others,” Crosshair explained. “If we can’t contact them, we’ll have to wait for them to find us.”

The thought of being trapped in here for an undetermined amount of time made your heartbeat begin to race. “And if they can’t find us?”

“They will.” Crosshair’s conviction was comforting. You’d learnt that his belief in his brothers was unwavering, and never misplaced. If he believed that they would find them, then you did too.

You looked at him, careful not to shine the light in his sensitive eyes. His gaze was on you, and this might’ve been the first time you didn’t feel the need to avert your eyes. As intense as his gaze was, it was soft, and the brown of his eyes shined in the low light. Your hand was still on his knee and your eyes flicked down to it. You didn’t know if removing it would make it more awkward, or if leaving it there would. In the split-second moment, you were debating it in your head, with your body still shaking when Crosshair interrupted your thoughts.

“You’re shivering,” Crosshair said. “You need to get dry.”

You looked up at him and realised just how much you were shivering, now that the adrenaline had worn off. Your clothes were soaked through from the downpour, and the chill was sinking into your bones. You knew that if you didn’t get dry, you would get hypothermic.

You held out the light to Crosshair to take, which he did wordlessly. With shaky hands, you pulled your med pack off your back and placed it in front of you. Crosshair shined the light where you needed it as you searched through the items for a reflective blanket and when you found it, you pulled it out, the light bouncing off the shiny fabric. You looked at Crosshair, heat crawling up your neck.

“Um, I need to…”

Crosshair turned his head immediately but kept the light pointed in your direction. As quickly as you could, embarrassment flooding your trembling frame, you removed the layers of clothes you had on. You kept on the black GAR issue bodysuit you wore under all your clothes, even if it was slightly damp – you weren’t going to be completely bare with just a blanket between you and Crosshair. As you stripped everything off, you noticed the palms of your hands were grazed from the fall, and it hurt to move them as the skin stretched. You would deal with it once you weren’t shivering anymore, but the priority right now was to get warm.

Once you piled all your clothes together – there was no hope in everything drying whilst you were stuck in here, you pulled your knees to your chest and wrapped the reflective blanket around you tightly.

“Okay.” You said and Crosshair looked over and he squinted as the light bounced off the blanket, gaze searching your frame.

“What about your hands?”

“My hands?”

“You fell. I saw your palms are grazed.”

He was so perceptive, you wondered what else he saw that he never acknowledged. “I’ll patch them up after I stop shaking,” you told him, wrapping the blanket tighter.

Crosshair shook his head. “Aren’t you always telling us that injuries should be treated as soon as possible? Give me this—” he pulled the med pack in front of him and pointed the light inside.

“Crosshair—” You said as he dug around your pack, pulling out some antibac wipes and bacta patches. “You don’t have to. It’s not your job.”

Crosshair sent you a withering look before he placed the light between his teeth and gestured for you to show him your hands. You sighed and pulled your hands out of the blanket as best you could without it slipping off your shoulders. You turned your palms up, still slightly tremoring. They weren’t bleeding, but they were red and rubbed raw from the gravel you landed on. And they stung, but you were trying to be brave about it.

They were easily treatable, but your hands didn’t look pretty, that’s for sure.

Crosshair looked at them, adjusting the light in his mouth so they were completely illuminated before he shook his head with a frown, ripped open an antibac wipe, and cradled one of your hands in his.

 He met your eyes, a silent question in their gentle expression as his hand was poised, wipe ready to be drawn across your palms. You’d never seen him look at you like this before; this softly. It was so easy for your crush to bloom when he looked at you like this. You looked into his brown-eyed gaze, cheeks heated, and you nodded.

Crosshair gently placed the wipe on your palms, and you sucked in a breath as it stung the exposed skin. You felt the hand that cradled yours tighten and then he slowly began to clean the wound. With his attention on your hand, you could watch him unabashedly. The roles between you had now reversed. He was treating your hands as attentively as you treated his. The way he held your hand in his large palm was so gentle that your heart fluttered. You could feel the heat permeate from under his gloves into your skin, and you felt your hand slowly begin to still, the warmth returning to you with his touch. You were so touched at the way he was doing this for you, without you even asking. The way he insisted upon it. You hadn’t expected it after the medbay, and you ignored the little voice in the back of your head that asked what his intention was and simply savoured this moment of kindness from the man you were hopelessly crushing on.

He was as methodical as he was when cleaning his rifle, wiping the wound on one hand in even strokes that coated all the raw skin twice before he moved to the other hand, a new wipe this time.

You watched the way the light was poised between his teeth, and when his eyes flicked to yours for a moment, you averted your gaze back to your hands reflexively. You heard him breathe out through his nose harshly as he discarded the wipe and grabbed a bacta patch, pressing it between his palms to warm the liquid. You watched him, your eyes meeting his tattooed gaze once again as your hands remained suspended between you.

You thought back to the medbay, at how his fingers had curled around yours so naturally like it was instinctual; at the way he pulled his hands away so quickly and so forcefully it was like your hands had been burnt; at how fast he’d left you standing there, reeling from his actions. You tried to think of what his intention had been, and what you had done that had made him retreat.

“I’m sorry…for the other day.” Your voice was quiet in the small space. The storm continued to rage outside, but there was no way he hadn’t heard you. Crosshair looked at you, knowing exactly what it was you were referring to, and placed the bacta patches in one hand before removing the light from his mouth to talk, confusion etched into his brow.

“Why?”

You brought your lips between your teeth as your eyes flicked between his. “Because I upset you.”

Crosshair looked at you for a moment, an undiscernible expression passed over his half-shadowed face as your eyes stayed locked on each other. What you would give to know what he was thinking, what thoughts swirled in his head. Two months of watching him had barely scratched the surface – you wanted to know everything, to be privy to the innermost workings of his mind.

Crosshair was the first to break his gaze, shaking his head.

“You didn’t upset me.”

You frowned at him, but before you could ask him what he meant, he had placed the end of the light back between his teeth and started applying the bacta patches to your palms, activating the adhesive and smoothing them down over your hands with his thumbs. He held one of your hands in both of his, his fingertips touching the back of your hand as he ran his thumbs along the edges of the bacta patch. He pressed them gently down, and you could already feel the bacta doing its job. He did the same thing to the other side.

You watched him and you realised you’d never felt so cared for before. Never had you been held so gently, treated with such practised methodical hands that were also so soft and caring. Your heart swelled.

He took the light out of his mouth. “Bandages?”

You cleared your throat. “They’re in the side pocket.”

Crosshair took some out and started wrapping your hands up so the bacta patch would be more secure. He was so good at this. With the light dangling from his teeth, he circled the bandage around one hand, before he tied it off and tucked the end, and then the same on the other side.

When he was done, he dropped his hands from yours and removed the light from his teeth for the final time.

You looked at your hands. You couldn’t have treated them better if you had done it yourself. You hadn’t even had to coach him through what to do, and that impressed you. It only made the warmth in your chest grow, that hopeless crush in full bloom and only growing more hopeless by the minute.

“Thank you,” you told him and pulled your hands back underneath the blanket.

Crosshair hummed and then placed the light up on its base between you both and leaned it against the rocks behind you, so the beam of light shined upwards and illuminated where you at. You watched him then sit back against the rock, stretching his long legs out in front of him and closing his eyes, sighing. You sat facing him and brought the blanket around you tighter. You no longer shivered, but you still wanted to be warmer than you were. You stared at the side of his face, Crosshair’s profile half-lit in the light. You gazed at the brown of his skin, the sliver of his hair, the slope of his nose, the purse of his lips. You noted the stubble lining his angled jawline, and wondered what it would feel like against your lips. He was beautiful.

“Crosshair?”

He only hummed again in response.

You tightened your hold on the blanket as you worked up the courage to ask the question that was burning inside you. You couldn’t sit here anymore and not know.

“If I didn’t upset you…what happened?”

Crosshair opened his eyes, but he didn’t speak straight away. It was like he was searching for the right words, the best way to explain what had happened. You waited patiently for him to answer, your anxiety only building in anticipation.

Crosshair scraped the sole of his foot on the floor of the cavity as he brought one of his knees to his chest, resting his elbow on it. You swore you saw the tips of his ears turn pink, but you weren’t sure in this light. “I…crossed a boundary, and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry for acting the way I did.”

You blinked at him, confused. That was the last thing you expected him to say, especially his apology. “Boundary? What boundary?”

“Does it matter?” Crosshair grumbled, his voice scratching.

“It does to me,” you told him gently.

He turned quiet again. He avoided your eyes, instead choosing to focus on a spot on his knee, frown etching deeper into his brow. You wished he would look at you. All those times you caught him watching you, now you willed him to meet your gaze. If he looked at you, you would be able to tell him with your eyes that he could trust you with whatever it was he was having a hard time verbalising. That you wouldn’t judge him the way you knew so many people did. That you saw him, how underneath all that surly exterior was a kind heart who’d been wounded too many times. But he pointedly didn’t look at you, and all you wished to say would remain your secret.

Crosshair sighed, breaking the silence. “You’re our medic, that’s more important.”

That only puzzled you more. “More important than what?”

Quiet descended again, and after several moments, you tentatively reached out and placed a bandaged hand on his shoulder pauldron. His eyes darted to you, wide like they were before in that medbay, and he shrugged you off, his voice hard and frustrated, and his cheeks tinted pink.

“Just forget it. It won’t happen again.”

You watched him, and the way his hands were clenched on his knees. The way he wasn’t looking at you anymore. You recalled the panic in his eyes that you saw in the medbay when he allowed himself the comfort of holding your hand, and how he’d had that same expression just before. You thought back to all the times you caught him looking at you, the way his eyes never left you – even when it was just the two of you during check-ups. The way he brushed up next to you when standing in mission briefings. The way he didn’t hesitate to touch you when he was helping you or keeping you safe – because it was easier to hide behind those gestures than the curling of his fingers around yours alone in the medbay.

Intentional. Intentional. Intentional.

Oh. Oh.

You felt your heartbeat increase as heat rushed through your body, your stomach flipping over at the realisation. You bit the insides of your mouth to stop yourself from smiling before taking a breath. It all made sense now.

Crosshair wasn’t upset at you, he was embarrassed. The man who was so careful about everything he said and did, had one moment where he allowed himself to do something on a whim, and it had made him vulnerable. The impulse had revealed a secret part of himself he had always intended to keep hidden, and now it was out there, and he was embarrassed about it.

He was embarrassed because he thought you didn’t feel the same.

What a fool. A beautiful stupid fool.

Nerves rattled through your body, but you couldn’t sit here any longer and not let him know how you felt too.  “Crosshair…” you said his name softly, barely above a whisper.

Crosshair didn’t move, his eyes stayed glued to the middle distance, his hands still clenched into fists. You let out a breath and held out your bandaged hands. At the movement in his periphery, his eyes slid towards your hands and then up to your face. You flexed your fingers, a silent signal to place his hands in yours. His mouth turned into a line and just when you thought he wouldn’t, he slowly placed one of his tight fists in your palms.

You cradled his hand, the back of it resting in your bandaged palm. As best you could with your other bandaged hand, you began to manually unfurl his fingers, spreading them out slowly against yours. He let you, his hand as pliable as it usually was when you did this – there was no apprehension in this moment, only trust. You began to slowly massage his hand, pressing and kneading the joints of his knuckles and the centre of his palm. Neither of you spoke, and the storm continued its fury on the other side of the rock, but it very well could’ve been a parsec away with how intimate this moment was. All you could focus on was him. You could feel him watching you, wondering what you were doing, but you didn’t let his intense gaze pull you away. Not anymore.

Once you reached the end of the massage, you slid your palm over his, fingers lined up. You moved your hand slowly like he was a baby tooka you had to coax into your lap, you were giving him time to pull away. You let your fingers fall between the gaps of his and then curled your fingers down, so you held his hand.

You felt him tense as he realised what was happening, and you looked at him, but his eyes were locked on your intertwined hands. You waited to see if he pulled away, but he didn’t. His hand stayed firmly in yours, his fingers still splayed out – but his palm stayed pressed into yours. You heard him take in a shaky breath as he finally looked at you.

His eyes had softened on the edges, but his shoulders were still tense, and he had an expression that looked like he was pleading with you; begging you not to play with him like this.

You wouldn’t dream of it.

“Is…is this the boundary?” you asked. You felt Crosshair shift, and his voice came out in a rasp and his ears were definitely pink in this dim light.

“Yes.”

You looked down at your intertwined hands and squeezed his gently. “And me being your medic is more important than this?”

His reply came a second and a half later, all strained and breathy. “Yes.”

You looked at him, his tattooed gaze boring into your face. Ever the perceptive one, you could see he was trying to figure out what you were doing, and why you were doing it. You offered him a smile as you gave him the answer.

“This…this isn’t a boundary for me. Me being your medic has never mattered when it comes to this with you, and never will.”

You watched his eyes widen minutely, and if you didn’t know his face so well, you wouldn’t have noticed anything. But other than that almost indiscernible change in expression, Crosshair remained unmoving, his shoulders still rigid and his fingers still splayed out, not touching the back of your hand.

You searched his face and suddenly felt like you had completely misjudged his actions. Maybe he didn’t have the same crush on you, you did him. Maybe he had just held your hand by mistake, that what you thought had all been intentional, wasn’t actually intentional at all.

Your face burned and embarrassment flooded your body. You started to pull your hand away from him.

“But if it’s a boundary for you—”

But Crosshair’s fingers came down before you could rip your hand away, and he held your hand to his tightly, stopping your palm from leaving his. His hold was secure, warm and purposeful. There was nothing to hide behind anymore.

“It’s not,” he told you, his voice as soft as you’d ever heard it. He looked at you, and he was more vulnerable than you’d ever seen him. You felt your heartbeat flutter. You knew this was hard for him, vulnerability of any kind wasn’t Crosshair’s comfort zone. You smiled at him as reassuringly as you could.

“Good.”

You felt his shoulders drop as his whole body relaxed. Your heart almost burst when you saw the corner of his mouth turn up at you – a smile that was yours and yours alone. You smiled at him, that warmth in your chest glowing brightly, making you feel so at home, you almost didn’t mind you were trapped in this space. You were with Crosshair, and that was enough.

You both sat there, holding hands in the torchlight. It was such an innocent kind of intimacy, but for you both, it held so much. So many unspoken feelings now known through the feel of your palms against each other. You never wanted to let go, and you suspected he didn’t either. You felt his finger muscles flex and you squeezed his hand. He lifted his thumb and placed it on top of yours, stroking it gently in a ministration so comforting you could’ve sobbed. You smiled at him, and he returned it.

A genuine Crosshair smile was a rare gift so few received. He kept them, saving them for the people he trusted and loved. To get one now, to see the corners of his eyes crinkle and the smile lines in his cheeks stretch in a closed-mouth smile, you felt honoured. You never imagined you would ever see Crosshair smile at you like this, to let you close like this – to let you close at all. The dim light of the cave had revealed the disappearing ink of his feelings, and it was extraordinary. You would tell him the full extent of what you felt for him in time, but for now, your feelings were wordlessly exchanged with just you two for witnesses.

You watched as Crosshair tentatively and wordlessly brought the back of your hand to his lips. With his tattooed gaze on you the whole time, he placed a lingering kiss there. You inhaled sharply at the gesture and the skin tingled under the bandage where he kissed you. The rain outside was heavy, but your heart felt light – like if you weren’t trapped in this space, you float away and join those rocks in the sky. You watched him pull away, brushing his lips on the spot for a moment before he let your hands drop between you.

“Was that okay?” he asked, his husky voice asked softly.

You chuckled, a grin stretching across your face. “Yes. More than okay.”

Crosshair hummed, his eyes smiling. “Good.”

The mountain shook again, and you looked around you frantically as dust from the cavity began to fall on you both. Crosshair pulled you against him, arms going around you as he shielded you to his chest. You held onto the edge of his chest plate so tight it dug into your fingers, your face pressed into his chest as he held you tightly. You squeezed your eyes shut and tried to focus on the mixed smell of soap and wood of Crosshair instead of the panic that coursed through you. When the tremor stopped, you looked up at him, and him at you.

“You okay?” he asked

“Yeah,” you lifted your head but didn’t dare untangle yourself from Crosshair’s arms.

Crosshair adjusted the blanket on your shoulders, pulling it tighter around you. “The longer this storm goes on, the more danger we’re in.”

“Should we try the comms again?”

Crosshair let go of you briefly to grab his helmet and put it on. “Hunter, come in. Tech? Wrecker? Echo? Do you read?”

You waited. Crosshair’s arm tightened on you, but he let out a frustrated sigh and pulled the helmet off roughly, setting it down next to him. “Still nothing.”

You let your head rest on his shoulder as you sighed. “What do we do?”

“Wait.”

You groaned. Crosshair chuckled and you felt his hand run up and down your back soothingly. It was a simple gesture, but one that conveyed how much he cared for you. A man of few words, he let his actions show his feelings for you. And you had no doubts about it.

After a minute, you lifted your head to find him looking down at you intensely. You felt his arms tighten on you as this hand travelled down to your waist and stayed there. You blinked up at him, drawing your eyes across his face before they landed on his lips.

They had been so soft when they touched the back of your hand, what would they feel like pressed against your own? You’d dreamt about it, but you had a feeling that it would be nothing to the reality of it.

“N’edee?” His voice was quiet, but you feel the weight on them in your stomach.

“Hmm?” you hummed innocently, but there was nothing innocent about what was running through your mind right now.

“Can I test another boundary?” His tone was hesitant, careful as he leaned in a little closer to you.

Your voice came out in a whisper. “Which one?”

“This one.”

Crosshair slowly closed the distance between you and pressed his lips to yours. It was like your whole body lit up inside, igniting you so completely you were aware of every nerve ending you had. Your fingers tightened on his armour just as Crosshair languidly pulled away after too brief a moment. You stared at him, dazed with your mouth parted slightly, and in need of more.

“Well?” he asked, his voice like silk.

You were breathless. “Not a boundary. Kiss me as much as you like.”

“If you insist,” he smirked and pressed his lips to yours again.

Kissing Crosshair was an all-consuming kind of feeling. That magnetic pull he already had on you only seemed to intensify the minute his lips descended on yours. You wrapped your arms around his neck as he hoisted you onto his lap, your thighs falling on either side of his as you straddled him, and the blanket slipped off your shoulders – not that you needed it anymore with the heat that thrummed through you.

You melted into the kiss, and you were right – your dreams of his lips were nothing compared to the real thing. You felt the tickle of his breath on your cheek as you arched yourself closer to him. With just your body suit on, you could feel every hard ridge of his armour against you. His arms moved across your back, and you could feel his fingertips searing along your shoulder blades. His hot mouth moved against yours and you allowed yourself to nip at his lips. You felt him flinch before his lips stretched into a smile against yours, a chuckle vibrating his chest.

“Guess you do have some bite, N’edee,” he mumbled against your lips.

“Just for you,” you breathed, and he groaned into your mouth, kissing you deeper.

He was just as starved for you as you were for him, and you wondered how long exactly he’d been feeling like this towards you, but you’d ask such questions later. His mouth was heavenly, his lips like a caress against yours. Your lips parted and he took the chance to deepen the kiss as you dragged your hands up into his buzzed hair, feeling the short strands against your fingernails. And you felt just how skilled he was his tongue as it slid against yours, and you silently thanked his toothpicks for giving him the practice.

You’d never been kissed with such passion before, with such intention. Now, he was no longer embarrassed, he did not hold back his kisses and touches. That knowledge made it all the more thrilling as Crosshair pressed you into him, pulling your hips against his with hands that you knew to be tender, but now held with you with such desire you felt dizzy.

He moved his lips down your jawline to just below your ear, and you panted as you tightened your arms around him, rocking into him. He sucked the skin there, his tongue darting out and wetting the area. It made you moan so loudly you were glad no one else could hear how desperate you sounded.

“Crosshair,” you moaned.

You felt him smirk against your skin before he made his way back to your lips. Groaning into your mouth again, you felt his hands move from your hips to your ass and back up again, and you felt your body go into overdrive, pulsing with a wanting need. Where did he learn to kiss like this? You wanted to thank whatever Kaminaon training module taught him, or the illicit holos you knew Tech had stashed on the locked-down data drive you found a week after you joined them – whichever it was.

You were so lost in his kisses, the way they grew in fervour with each press against your skin, you almost didn’t hear the beeping of Crosshair’s comm in his helmet.

“Crosshair,” you said when you finally heard it, pulling away, but his mouth just found your neck instead. You patted his shoulder. “Crosshair, the comm.”

“What?” he said raggedly. His lips ceased their attentions, and he pulled back. His lips were all swollen and you smiled at the knowledge that was all you. You stayed perched in his lap and he grabbed his helmet and put it on. You could hear the other voice when you were this close to him.

“Crosshair, come in.” It was Hunter.

“Copy, Hunter,” Crosshair said, and you mentally applauded him for not sounding as breathless as you would’ve.

“Are you and N’edee okay?”

Crosshair’s hand squeezed your thigh, and you squirmed on top of him, smiling. “For the moment. We’re trapped on the mountain. The storm caused a cave-in, and we can't get out.”

“We’ll lock in on your signal and fly to your location. Stand by.” You realised then the rain and thunder had stopped, and that the storm had now passed.

“Copy,” Crosshair said before he removed his helmet and placed it next to him again, and you both looked at each other. He gripped your hips. “They’re on their way in the Marauder. Wrecker will be able to push the rocks out of the way, and we’ll be free.”

You breathed in, relieved help was coming. “I didn’t even realise the storm had passed,”

“Well, we were busy,” Crosshair snided.

“Right,” you laughed lightly.

Crosshair looked away from you for the first time since everything changed between you, and his hands on your hips loosened. You frowned as you watched his once open expression, slowly begin to close off again in the dim light. He looked uncertain, all in his own head again and you realised that he was worried – worried that this moment together was but a brief interlude in which you got caught up in the danger of the situation. You wanted to shake his shoulders and tell him he was being absurd, how he could think such a thing after all you just said and did. But you didn’t, because like baby tooka, Crosshair needed gentle reassurance; that his vulnerability and his feelings were not being played with.

Later, when you had more time and were back on the Marauder and tucked away in the medbay just the two of you again, you would tell him just how much he had nestled his way into your heart. That your crush was much more than that, that you saw all of him, and though you were still learning to decipher the riddles he was made of, you never wanted to stop. That you saw all his intentions, and now yours was to hold his heart in your bandaged hands the way he held yours.

But for now, in your final moments alone with him before his brothers rescued you both, you locked your eyes on him and gently grabbed the hands that had slackened on your hips, linking your fingers together once more. You watched his eyes find yours, his brows slanted at the ends as he looked at you with all this apprehension. You brought his knuckles to your lips and kissed them, lips lingering there as you let the gesture convey wordlessly your intention to keep nurturing what was between you for as long as he let you. That this didn’t end once you were both bathed in sunlight again.

“I hope we’ll be busy again later? And many laters after that too?”

Crosshair’s shoulder relaxed and you smiled as the corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk, his eyes smiling as he squeezed your hands once more. “Oh, I’m counting on it.”

banner art by @vimse thank you reading! if you made it this far, thank you! i appreciate it so much! this is the longest standalone fic i've ever written!

🏷️ @starrylothcat @sinfulsalutations @moodymisty @nahoney22 @freesia-writes @nobody-expects-the-inquisitorius @bobaprint @crosshairsnose @jesseeka @thegalaxys-edge @chopper-base @shredderwest @leavingkamino @r2d2staser @beckbucket @pb-jellybeans @mylifeisactuallyamess @padawancat97 @littlecrowtime @jedipoodoo @ezras-left-thumb @lovelycurls @fruitsaladtree @literallydontlook @burningfieldof-clover @queencousland101 @clonethirstingisreal @skellymom @hopelessromantic727

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#larissa writes #crosshair x reader #crosshair x reader fic #crosshair fluff #crosshair angst #soft crosshair #tbb x reader #the bad batch crosshair #tbb crosshair fic #the bad batch fic #bad batch crosshair x reader #tbb crosshair x you

[bronx-bomber87]

Good evening fandom! Welcome to my inaugural mini review post. Holy hell I can’t believe we’re finally here. These probably won’t be as detailed as normal like I mentioned. Mini review is the goal. It’ll be initial thoughts and feelings. Which will be fun cause all the other seasons other than S5 I had ton of time to reflect on moments. These thoughts for S6 could change when I rewatch the season for review purposes this summer. The exciting thing is having those first reactions. That's what these will be.

So you're getting hot off the presses thoughts haha I just watched it couple hours ago. These are thoughts I had while it was happening. With some editing to make it readable ha Want my reactions be as authentic as possible with these. Why I avoid spoilers tbh. Be interested in seeing what everyone else’s are as well. The gif library was an absolute turd so I didn't get to use all the gifs that were made yet. So I made some. Anyways this so friggin exciting to delve into so let’s get started.

6x01 Strike Back

Tim got scruffier from the finale to now-and I’m here for it. Mm. Plus he's in Metro gear. Phew Lord. Something about scruffy Tim gets me going. Adore them riding together automatically after their battle. I truly love it. The little things I continually love with them. Also LOVING the Metro call sign. Yum If this going to be his call sign all season I am about it.

Oh my lord why is her sitting at his desk so squee worthy to me? It’s getting me all in my feels. I love that Lucy can just use his office as her own. So cute using it to steal it for some study time. I love this so very much. Then her asking if they can ride together so he can quiz her? Tim doesn’t hesitate for a moment before saying yes.

Still amazes me we’re in the place with them. The Tim of old would’ve groaned and moaned about such a task. He jumps right on it for her. Ready to help her out. Even though he’s not sure how much it’s gonna do. Clearly very aware Primm is out to get her. That is common knowledge now.

Lucy is right when she says it sucks. That she has to battle this and face possible wild cards.. It isn’t fair when she's earned her spot more than most. Fought and clawed for everything she's done in this department. Definitely more than Nolan... Hey wouldn't be a review if I didn't pot shot Nolan would it? lol I love Tim finding a solution for them. Saying they can take out do the box calls all day. Widen her knowledge a bit on it. Sharpen her skills with odd calls.

I love her grateful smile when she says 'Thank you.' Loves this man. Damnit they’re so cute their banter coming out of his office is on point. Tim saying she learns best when she’s pissed off. I mean if that isn’t her rookie experience with him in a sentence. Lucy saying this feels like she is giving him permission to be an ass. Heh it kinda is no matter what Tim says.

You know he kinda loves being able to make her his boot again in some form. He is going to enjoy himself with this. There is no doubt about it. That's why he's doing that smile of his. Lucy calling him out knowing this man so well. Pointing her finger and all. God I love these idiots so much. Tim trying to tell her just his smile. Uh huh sure it is Tim.... Lucy following after him with a smile of her own. These dopes I've missed them so damn much.

I’m very much loving Tim has not really shaved in 6 weeks ha. The scruffy remains and I’m excited about it. Lucy is starting to question asking Tim to help her. We all know she learns best from that man sitting next to her though. I also always enjoy when she gets to drive. Another micro shift that has changed that I love so much. Her heart eyes when he says Angela’s cop brain is just booting up LOL Loves this goober of man.

Lucy absolutely losing it and going on a rant of epic proportions had me rolling. LOL Massive emotional downward spiral happening here. I’m dying as I watch Tim take it in. God Eric the master of expressions crushing it again. This was a huge one for her holy crap. Nuclear really. Well done Melissa getting all that in with one breath basically. By the time she’s done I’m cackling at Tim’s expression. LMAO Oh my god these two. God I’ve missed them so much it pained me.

Lucy knowing Tim's reply without even looking at him. Just epic married status at this point. Doesn’t even have to look at him or for Tim to say anything. It’s already there because of that crazy good connection they have. How deeply they know one another. It’s so good. Tim being the smart man he is says nothing. Lucy knowing he’s thinking it haha

Lucy coming to conclusion she will do crazy wild card during the day and the manual at night. She will sleep when it's over LOL Tim shaking his head. Knowing there is nothing he can say right now that'll make this better. Or to derail her crazy train of thought. This is like S1/S2 them with the added benefit of them being together now. It’s glorious.

Getting serious Plain Clothes Day vibes from this episode as well. Except this time Lucy light years away from who she was then. Confidently reciting what she’s going to do Tim nodding along. Tim wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t rock her boat a little though. Lucy getting in her head about the crime scene now. Tim isn’t wrong she did tick all the obvious boxes. That the point of today is looking for wild cards. That’s what he wants her to engage that brilliant brain of her's in. It's why he's here.

To zero in on the 'Out of the box thinking'. Poor Lucy spirals out not being able to decide if she wants his help or not. I ADORE Tim telling her it’s ok to not know the answer. Not shaming her in the least just needing her to make a call. God how far we’ve come. Tim pushes her because he knows that is when she learns best. Trying to add a little urgency to her decision making. Unfortunately it backfires. I kinda loved them calling each other by their ranks in this heated exchange.

Lucy is so flustered it’s giving me PCD vibe once again in the best way. The sprinklers turn on and Lucy panics. There’s the wild card….We watch as a bullet leaves this man’s body and enters the storm drain never to be seen again. Lucy being so very disappointed in herself. It’s reminiscent of the disappointment she showed in s1 but only now she's far more experienced. So it hurts much more now….Oh Lucy my heart. You poor thing. Couldn’t have gone more wrong if she tried.

I can’t believe they played clown music upon her entrance.... Beyond cruel but that's cops. Always taking shots when people mess up spectacularly. Tim trying not laugh.... Babe she is spiraling right now maybe don’t lol Poor thing I would be mortified too. I love how both Tim and Lucy smile when they see Wes and the wee one. My heart. She wants Wes's opinion and he just crushes her with logic. Ugh She needs a hug. Bad day for our girl.

Lucy continues to break my heart as they sit in front of the crime scene. She is on the verge of tears. Verge of a breakdown it feels like as well. Killing me softly. Saying she should skip the detectives exam. My girl. Tim doesn't want her to give up. I will say this fight I feel like I would be Tim. Trying to be so supportive it’s come off as agreeing with her she can’t do it. When really he was just trying to be supportive of whatever she wants.

Can't win for losing right now Timothy. She is in a bad way right now. Lucy has some weight to her argument though. if I was her in this moment I would feel the same way. If I’m in a bad headspace I need reassurances. So I can relate to both of them in this fight. It’s not a fun time for either of them. Tim is still learning that emotional depth he needs to have with her in these moments.

Being supportive has worked before so he's not sure why it's backfiring right now. They’re solid but always room to grow beauty of them. Lucy spots someone pull up to crime scene crying. She has them peel out with Tim not really understanding why. Lucy catching her digging through her trash. She ends up getting a confession. Phew Well done Luce.

Oooh this final scene. Oh my damn lord. This is some PRIMO productive angst holy hell. Eric and Melissa came out swinging with it. I knew they were going to have one more scene about it. I just didn't think it would be this explosive. I adore Tim picking up on how short she is with him. Grabbing her by the arm and confronting her. Growth continuous growth for them both continues to show. Love it. Look at Tim being the one to come at this. I’m so proud of him.

Throwing her words from 5x21 somewhat back at her. Saying this isn’t going to work if she isn’t honest with him. Then Lucy really lays into him. Now do I think he purposely undermined her? No I don’t. Not ever. That’s not in his DNA to do that to someone he loves. I was deeply hurt for him when she suggested this. You can see how hurt he is when she says as such. He’s getting emotional and it makes me as well. I just wanna hug him.

Tim as we know is a DEEPLY loyal person. Also one of my main relations to him as a character. To purposely hurt someone they love isn’t fathomable to a loyal person. It's unthinkable. You have to hurt them first. To undermine Lucy would be to hurt her so he would never. To be accused of such by your favorite person? That cut's so insanely deep for him. I haven’t seen him this hurt since the 'Tim Test' line from her in 4x08. I’m legit wounded for him. He is so upset she could think that of him.

Now Lucy might be onto something with the subconscious part. He could’ve done it not realizing what he was doing. Because love isn’t rational. Man is hardwired to protect her and want to keep her safe. So I could see this especially with her psych background. I think this is solid guess at what happened. Now was this the right time to lash out at him for Isabel stuff? I don’t know…

Felt like a low blow when he was already down for the count. She is throwing him daggers with her eyes most of this conversation. Feels like its more than just the UC right now but that's just my guess at this point. Let's not forget she was having UC doubts towards the end of last season.

Now do they need to have these fights and conversations? HELL YES. My god this subject needs to be discussed. Especially with how 5x20-5x21 were. Want to reiterate this is my first impression. I was literally writing this as I experienced their fight for first time. When I rewatch it this summer this could change. My POV could shift. But right now I see a man who only thought he had her back and was raked across the coals in this moment.

So for me right now in this moment I feel like Lucy had pent up frustrations and took it out on Tim. The protective side of me for him isn’t pleased with that tbh. Doesn't mean I love Lucy any less. I adore her so much. You all know that. But my gut leaned towards Tim in this fight. That may be bias idk but it’s how I felt when it was said and done. Tim was very very defensive when she brought up Isabel. Which hasn't happened in awhile. But his emotions were heightened and he was on the defensive before they'd reach the topic of her.

Lucy basically kicked him while he was down and he felt it. I'm not discounting her feelings at all. She is allowed to feel overwhelmed. Has every right to be. She is STRESSED and it is coming out in all kinds of ways. Ways that aren't like her. I think she stewed on this thought the ENTIRE shift and it came out in the worst way. Which also isn't like her. What she did had him defaulting back to old school Tim. Cutting off the conversation before more emotions were to be had or he said something he would regret.

Basically cut the fight off at the knees and walked away. Lucy’s face says it all when he walks away. She wasn’t expecting that. Shocked he just left her like that. Oh Lucy, you wounded him more than once and he retreated HARD. Leaving her standing there wondering what the hell just happened? God this is so good though everyone. This is the type of angst I'm all for. What a way to start the season off hot damn. Hurts so good angst to get us going. I could not be more excited for where we go this season. Feel free to comment on this. Love to chat with you all about this. All uncharted territory for us all. We're in for quite the ride.

~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

Who are these friggin people? They’re insanely ruthless. Like Rosalind level ruthless in how they just dispose of people. Sending two their team out as a distraction to be blown up. Jesus. Then sniping their own guy. They’re smart but cold af. Then killing who I thought was the boss at the end. Shit. Consider me intrigued.

I liked the 6 weeks later. Makes sense need to do a time jump.

Celina being more afraid of Tim than Harper. LOL little does she know they’re basically the same person haha

Poor Aaron wants to be back in the game and can’t be. I agree with Grey he’s not ready even if he thinks he is.

God I love Nyla Harper. Took that mofo out like the complete bad ass she is. Came with repercussions which made me sad for her.

Angela being more excited to see burritos than her husband lmao I love this woman.

Feeling little potential flirty action for Aaron and his therapist.

#Caitlin's Mini Reviews #chenford #S6 #6x01 Strike Back #the rookie 6x01 #otp: doing my job #otp: unless it is #the rookie #tim bradford #lucy chen #tim x lucy #lucy x tim #eric winter #melissa o’neil

[starseneyes]

Chenford REWIND- Lucy Chen / Tim Bradford - The Rookie - Season 5 - Ep 6 & 7

*phew* almost all caught up on this REWIND of Chenford! And with today's edition, we will be completely caught up to date of current airing (5x11 being the most recent to air).

I'll put together a Master Post later to make things easier to find. For now, it's time to talk about another favorite of the season.

SPOILER ALERT: This is not one of those reviews where people tip-toe around spoilers. I will spoil every last morsel in these episodes without restraint. Please know that going in! I do try to write these as though I were seeing them for the first time.

Alright, with all the red tape out of the way, let's dive into the fun!

The Reckoning

"Hello. Good morning!" "Chen. Sanford." "What's up with him?" "He's just grumpy with everything he's got going on." "Wait. What? What's going on? "Nothing." "What." "He's fine. I'm fine. We're just eager to protect and serve." "Aaron." "I have to go. I'm so sorry." "What?"

Cackling during this scene the first time I watched it.

Aaron's doe-eyed, assuming that Lucy would know everything going on in Tim's life already (because he's not Nolan-level oblivious) then realizing oops, he should've kept his mouth closed.

Side Note: "Nothing" is never a good cover... just sayin'.

I also find it fascinating that Chris is framed out of most of the scene. Yes, he's there in the establishing shot and brief interaction with Tim, but as soon as Tim departs, this is Aaron and Lucy's conversation.

Lucy's worried. She could tell something was up with Tim because he was about to walk by without even acknowledging them. When he did, he could barely look Lucy in the eye, and he stuck to last names without salutation.

At first, she thought it might be something trivial, but Aaron's words affirm something is definitely up with her husband.

"I think the radio belonged to the broody one." "The broody... Tim forgot his radio? Tim Bradford, 'Super Cop'? You know, this guy will not let me forget that I was once three and a half minutes late to Roll Call. Can you believe that?" "I guess." "This feels like Christmas. Thank you."

Oh, I know that glint in your eye, Lucy Chen. You're cooking up something. But, she pauses as she considers exactly what to do.

And this is the difference between a Tim/Lucy prank earlier in the show versus now. Now, Lucy wants to do something that will be fun... not just funny. Lucy decides to go the same route my husband did when he proposed—scavenger hunt.

"What the hell?" "What is it? ... Who sent that?" "Someone who's about to get in a lot of trouble." "You know you could just file a incident report and get a new radio." "And get written up? That's one day suspension without pay."

I love you, Tim Bradford (platonicly. I'm happily married and he's fictional... so...). He truly is the Super Cop who wants to do everything by the book.

"I think I know where this is."

And what I LOVE about this is that Lucy Chen has already been to these places, and timed it out to know how long it would take Tim to get from one to the next.

She knows him so well. ("too well", anybody?) Lucy knows that she needs to break through his walls by getting him active.

Paintball? He loves it. Shooting range? Totally something he did with his ex as a date. Tim isn't one to open up about feelings easily.

This is a way to prime him, and help him think about something other than whatever is bothering him.

"Man, this is one sketchy-ass looking coffee truck."

Side note that I love that someone had to look at that line in a script, then either find or design the perfect coffee truck to make Aaron say that. It gives me such special pleasure to think about.

"It's where I get my coffee every morning. No oatmilk mafia hipsters rewriting screenplays. A buck for coffee and you go to work." "You sound like the old dude from Up!"

My husband was over my shoulder when I first watched this on Hulu, and he was rolling at that. But, it's so true. Tim is a creature of habit. He likes what is comfortable because it's stable, and his life often lacks stability.

It started in childhood... not knowing if Dad was going to ignore him or lay into him at any given moment. He learned to constantly be on guard, to be slow to trust, and to find what comforts he could to get through until he could get out of the house.

So many of Tim's life choices are informed by the abuse he survived.

"Damnit. They're running us all over town." "Okay, so, like, what's the point? I mean, they haven't asked for money or anything. And if they really want to screw with the police, they could do a whole lot more with that radio." "I don't know. We gotta figure out what studio lot that is."

First off, my hat's off to Aaron, who wants to be a detective. He's diving into the why right off the bat. Tim, though... he's in the game.

Right where Lucy wants him.

"My favorite movie was shot right here on this lot."

Woah, woah, woah. Your favorite movie is Shane!? I mean, it tracks for Tim's character, absolutely. In high school, my US government teacher spent a whole semester having us watch US Westerns and writing about them. I aced that semester if you can imagine.

While I'm not a fan of Shane personally (I don't like most Westerns), I get why it appeal to Tim. And it's heartbreaking.

Shane is a Western where a man is hired to help a family of homesteaders, gets into many a gunfight, befriends the son of the homesteaders, and then when injured protecting them... he leaves. The boy stands at the door crying out for Shane to come back... and that's how it ends.

This is not a happy story. It's a story of a man who did the right thing. He took out the bad guys, then abandoned the people he'd connected with to protect them from retribution. And this is Tim's favorite movie.

"Wait, your favorite coffee place. Your favorite movie. Whoever's doing this knows you really well." "Chen."

Again, Aaron with the Detective cap on. And it takes only seconds for Tim to realize who would know all of these details about his life... Lucy.

When did they talk about his favorite movie? The coffee would be an easy one, but I bet there's some fanfic out there about how Lucy conned Tim into telling her his favorite movie, possibly by guessing terribly on purpose to draw him out.

Much as Tim tries to avoid talking about personal things... Lucy has always drawn him out. He has helped refine and sharpen her, but in the same manner, she has helped pull him out of his darkness. And she's doing it again with this distraction.

"Where's my radio?" "Did something happen to your radio? Oh, you know what, Halloween is tomorrow. Maybe a vengeful spirit took it."

This flirty banter is giving me major end-of-season-4 Chenford vibes. I don't know if Lucy even realizes she's doing it. But sitting together in that hospital room, they erased all the awkwardness—or so she thought.

Because Tim's had time to think about Lucy, now, in the absence of the all-consuming vortex that was Ashley. Without the distraction of his girlfriend, all he sees is Lucy.

"Why are you doing this?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "Is holding my radio payback for how tough I was on you as a Rookie?"

Tim's playing a game of 21 questions and Lucy hasn't answered a damn one. Well done, girl!

But I also like the quirk to Tim's lips at the end of that statement. He's having fun. Even arguing with Lucy (playfully), he is having so much damn fun.

"Were you? I hadn't noticed."

Oh, yeah. Definitely flirting.

"Okay." "But, again, I don't know what you're talking about. But I might be able to help you look for your radio if you tell me what's going on." "Nothing is going on with me." "Please. I rode with you long enough to know when you are being you, and when you're upset. I mean, are you okay?"

How do you tell the woman of your dreams that you're falling in love with them while they're dating another man? I don't know, and Tim certainly doesn't either.

Because this isn't just about Ashley. Yes, he is hurting because yet another person walked out on him. Hell, she practically trampled on his oxygen line on the way out the door.

Without Ashley to redirect his thoughts, he's having a harder time ignoring how much he wants to be with Lucy. And her being soft with him makes it even harder because he starts to question himself. "Is it possible she could feel something? Should I ask?"

His attitude totally shifts as he makes the decision to play it off.

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

Tim, someday, someday, I hope you realize that "nothing" is a terrible, terrible cover story.

"Then I don't know where your radio is."

She storms off, and we can hear she's really frustrated. Lucy hopes that this game is helping loosen him up because she wants to help him.

Last week, she didn't get to be there for him as much as she wanted. Now, she has a chance to help him, and she feels like it's failing.

Lucy is drawn to Tim as much as he is drawn to her. It's all a matter of getting on the same page. And right now she feels like they're flipping back and forth instead of landing on the same spot.

"Hey. Hi. What the hell is going on with Tim?" "Well, he lost his radio." "I will give you his radio if you tell me what's bothering him." "Honestly, I don't know. He won't tell me either." "What?"

Maybe Aaron should do all the lying for the team, because he's the only one who's any good at it. We know he knows what's up with Tim. But, he's being a good Gofer and keeping his trap shut.

But Aaron also knows that Tim and Lucy know more about one another than most cops he's met. Even if Aaron hasn't sniffed out the romance angle, he knows that there's something there. And he ain't getting in the middle of it.

"Hi. Good morning." "Good morning."

Everything is shifting! Did you clock that? Oh, I totally clocked that. Tim's graduated from monosyllabic greetings for Lucy to an actual phrase! Progress! But he's still not looking her in the eye.

"Still missing your radio?" "No, it's in the shop." "Where's your standard issue?" "This is it." "That hasn't been standard since the sixties... Wait, let me get a photo of you with it, first!"

Peep Aaron looking ANYWHERE other than Tim and Lucy? He knows better than to get in the middle of this.

Tim and Lucy have a tendency to take embarrassing photos of one another. It's a quirk they share... one of those places where two seemingly very different people overlap. And I so hope Lucy got her shot so we can see it make a comeback at some point.

Can you imagine their wedding slideshow? Half of it's just going to be shots of them pranking one another.

"Uh, here. I thought torturing you would be more fun, and getting your mind off of whatever has been bothering you."

First off, coworkers don't need to hold onto the object they're passing that long. Y'all are being obvious right outside the station. Second, she clues him in on why she was doing this... it wasn't revenge. It was concern.

Damnit, that's hot. You know Tim's thinking it. Lucy Chen did all this for him.

"I should know better than to get into your personal business."

This is another deflection. Back in 5x02's opening scene she talked about having a lot going on in her "personal life" and we know that involved Tim. But after 5x02's breakup scene, she's convinced that he isn't interested.

"Goodnight." "Night... Ashley and I, uh, broke up. Well, I guess, technically she broke up with me."

Did you see how Lucy's head whipped around? Because Tim Bradford just let her in. It's been a while since Tim has let her in on anything. He's been keeping her at a distance for a while—even last week when he was injured.

But here he is, letting her into his personal life. She had given up, and he just let her waltz right in. Lucy knows what a big deal for Tim this is, even if she doesn't understand what's going on in his head and heart. Could you two just TALK!?

"And just so you know, I did appreciate your whole radio gag, a little. Took my mind off things." "Well, good."

See that little size up and shimmy? Because Tim Bradford complimented Lucy Chen. And she has a thing with Praise. He basically told her that her whole plan worked, and that he understood and appreciated it.

And for some reason, that little affirmation cracks open something between them that they've both tried to bury since their "breakup".

Looking at the woman of his dreams, radio in one hand (a literal communication device), Tim considers another leap.

And, oh, you know he has to have it bad to try this, again, after how badly he fell the last time. But he feels that connection between them, again. And there's no Ashley, anymore, to distract him from it.

And look. At. Lucy. Her face reminds me so much of the end of season 4 when she and he stood in this parking lot looking at one another, her anxious of what he might say. Some part of her knows.

But before Tim can open his mouth, the door opens, and out parts Mr. Professional Chenford Blocker himself, Chris Sanford.

Lucy and Tim both look caught. Because even if they weren't playing tonsil hockey, they were in an emotionally-charged moment that shouldn't happen when she's dating someone else.

And Tim just got the second coldest shower of his life (nothing tops bleeding-out Chris).

"Do you wanna join us? We're gonna go get a bite to eat." "Oh, no, no. I'm good. I'm beat. You two have fun."

And he means that. He wants Lucy to be happy, even if it isn't with him. But that fake smile is so heartbreaking. Because, here he was, considering a huge leap... and now he's clamming back up because he thinks Lucy is truly happy with someone else.

You know who isn't happy about this interaction? Chris, that's who! Early on, he clocked something between Lucy and Tim, but she was able to shove it off.

Think about it. She never called or texted anyone when she decided to spent the evening at the hospital by Tim's side. But likely she told Chris later about it, not thinking anything of it.

Now, Chris comes out to see Tim and Lucy chatting, and she invites him on their date!? Chris might think things are good between him and Lucy, but a part of him definitely sees Tim as a threat. He no likely.

Good.

Lucy and Chris walk off, arms wrapped around one another, but the camera stays on Tim, offering us a shot of him from a distance, defeated, looking back at the opportunity missed with the woman he's falling for.

We feel how distanced he is, now, from Lucy. We feel his struggle with that distance.

And as we switch angles to see it from her side... Lucy is looking back at him.

Remember beginning of season 4 when Lucy and Tim stood together in his living room, his left arm stroking her right arm after their hug? Lucy felt the change in energy between them. She saw the look in Tim's eyes.

She loves that look. She's addicted to that look. It's been a long time since she's seen that look, but she saw it at the hospital, and she saw it again just now. She loves when he looks at her like that.

It's hard to say if she knows how he feels about her, but I think she is struggling with the same thing he did with Ashley—Do I risk it all for someone who I think is unavailable to me, or do I stick with what's easy, but not satisfying?

Even though she's still with Chris, Tim being available, more flirty, complimenting her, and showing the slightest bit of interest is sending her spinning.

She shoves it down... but it'll come out, someday. Like a spring wound too-tight eventually snaps.

Crossfire

"If your puppy vouches for her, it could go a long way." "I don't know. Having a kid act as a CI on his own sister? I mean, they might not even be in touch."

I need to point this out. Is it directly Chenford related? Yes. Go with me here.

If you've seen the episode, you know one of the key Chenford-related moments is coming up, but this conversation feeds right in.

Nyla and Angela want to get Lucy in as a UC. But Tim, yes Tim is the first one to reason why it's not the best idea. Why? Because he's concerned for the kid.

He's not thinking about Lucy's career, or even about the possible apprehending of a criminal. He's thinking about this kid. We need this context to see where Tim's head is at.

"How about we keep an eye on the kid, ourselves? Make sure he's safe."

Nyla and Angela are the ones pushing this. Lucy, too. Tim isn't doing any pushing. But he's actually the one hearing Aaron. Because Tim does have a soft spot for kids. He was one, once, and his childhood sucked.

Lucy at Gunpoint

Aaron glances to Tim, aware of how Tim's stopped freakin' breathing and is watching the situation unfold.

"We should pull Tabin out, now." "Nah, he's fine." "Sir, no it's not. You are endangering this career all because it's good for Lucy's career." "Excuse me?" "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

I saw the responses online, "Good! Someone called him out". And, sure, it's good Tim knows his Lucy-o-meter is showing because that's going to get him in trouble someday.

But Tim would never put a kid in danger for Lucy's career. Hell, he hates that Lucy puts herself in danger for Lucy's career.

But Aaron doesn't know Tim's history with an ex-wife who was UC. he doesn't know about Tim's abusive childhood and how he would never want to put a child in harm's way.

Tim is working the op the way it needs to be worked because he is a seasoned cop. In this moment, it's actually Aaron who is operating off of emotion. And Tim is smart enough to know it, so he drops it instead of starting an argument—the work comes first.

"I don't wanna blow my cover." "You got it."

Wow, how far we have come. Tim used to think Lucy didn't have what it took for UC. Now, he's letting her call the shots on her UC op. He respects the hell out of her, and that is earned, and that is built.

Lucy Makes Herself

Look, I don't know what the long-term plan here, was. Did Lucy want to keep using that cover to infiltrate the gang further? I don't know. But the second she saw Tim and Aaron in trouble, she leapt out to help.

Tim and Aaron can absolutely handle themselves. Lucy made an emotional decision. And it got her made.

Was it the right decision? Who knows. Aaron was the only one to get through to Tabin, and Lucy's presence didn't help anything. But she was worried about Tim and Aaron.

"Night."

Lucy doesn't know what went down between Aaron and Tim while she was undercover. But she knows what made her break it. And she's had time to think about their chat outside the other day—what was Tim going to say?

Because she knew he was going to say something. And lately he's looking at her with these soft eyes... What does it mean!?

"Hey, uh, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said, you know, about Lucy. That was totally out of line." "It was."

Because Tim would never endanger a child just for Lucy's career. But, also, calling Tim out about Lucy was out of line—but that part wasn't wrong. And Tim knows it.

"It's all good. Look, sometimes tensions get high, but we get the job done. And you had my back the way you threw yourself in front of mom for me." "Oh, yeah, she was gonna lay you out." "Come on."

Aaron and Tim has become a really unexpected relationship for me on this show. Tim has softened enough that while he maintains authority over Aaron, he listens to him. Of course, this is Lucy's influence in his life. So it makes sense that the three of them are sort of becoming a new OT3 on the show.

In the past, it was Jackson, Lucy, and Nolan who formed the OT3. Common element? Lucy, of course. She brings people together in unexpected ways.

And while Aaron's comments were out of line, it's not wrong for someone to call Tim out about his intentions and choices. He's an authority figure in the station, and a supervisor. People need to know he's on the level at all times.

That's going to play into the rest of a season, I think. But, what do I know? I'm just a girl from the very-near future rewinding back to Chenford classics of ages past.

As ever, thank you for reading and joining me on this journey. We're all caught up! Can't wait to see what's next for Lucy and Tim (and Chenford)!

I'll put together a Master Post to-date later. And I can't WAIT to see what 5x12 has for us all! See you then!

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

[imichelle-l-rigby]

Reflections: Cillian Murphy’s Limited Edition

Season 3, episode 6

✨I think I’m sorta catching up 😊✨

———————————————————————

*I am a music prof (predominantly classical vocalist), and I LOVE listening to Cillian’s music choices! That being said, sometimes I won’t like a song simply because of a vocalist (it’s a professional hazard - sorry!) 👩‍🏫

** The following are my own observations/opinions. We may not agree, and that’s ok! That’s what makes music fun! 😊

*** I wouldn’t say I’m well-versed in Cillian’s music preferences, but I do enjoy them (for the most part). I always wind up adding to my own playlists after listening to Cillian’s recommendations.

———————————————————————

Let the show begin!

🎵Set 1 (Fading Stars II - Come And Play In The Milky Night)

Fading Stars II: sounds like film music. It uses the same motif over and over again, slowly filling out the texture

Come And Play In The Milky Night: this reminds me of 2010s pop music. It’s got that wistfulness that I associate with that decade! (Isn’t it horrifying to be talking about the 2010s as “old”? I just hurt my own feelings!)

🎤Talking Break:

Grand isn’t as good as tippety top. Noted.

Coltrane! ❤️

Wow! The last song is from the ‘90s!

“Sitting in cars that are moving”

“Scintillating observations”

🎵Set 2 (Over My Shoulder - Glass, Concrete & Stone)

Over My Shoulder: I am having so much fun with this one! 😎😆 I love the story of this song as well.

The Beggar: again, a very fun song! But so different from the other in this set. Rhythms are interesting.

Glass, Concrete & Stone: it’s cool that there are 3 predominant instruments, like the 3 materials mentioned in the title. Melody is strange and unexpected. I like it!

🎤Talking Break:

Cillian just wants a twin, specifically David Byrne. 😂

Every track on the album is in the same key, and it’s heard above the drone. I am intrigued.

🎵Set 3 (Ta Douleur - Hard-boiled Babe)

Ta Douleur: this is so urban, but I’ll be honest - some of the sound effects sound *ahem* rude? 😅 not offensive, just like someone ate something that didn’t agree 😂😂😂😂 and I’m afraid I’m not mature enough to move past that. 💨

Hard-boiled Babe: I didn’t expect the harmonica!

These French “girl pop” songs are a genre I didn’t expect him to be into! Goes to show you can’t pin this guy’s musical tastes down.

🎤Talking Break:

He’s forever better at French than me

🎵Set 4 (War Zone - Ethiopian Rock)

War Zone: another song featuring “sound effects” - I like how the war sounds get louder and louder, but also how the melody is just so “vacation vibe”. Good commentary!

Ethiopian Rock: melody is in the bass line. The echo is fun. It feels like a reinterpretation of protest rock, but I can’t explain why other than vague similarities.

🎤Talking Break:

Old Jamaican music! Cool!

🎵Set 5 (Hill & Gully Ride - Asa Branca)

Hill & Gully Ride: this is so fun! Had I not been told it’s Jamaican, I would’ve assumed Puerto Rico or Cuba. It reminds me of those dance rhythms that came to NYC in the ‘40s and ‘50s.

Ma Blonde Est Partie: this sounds so early country/country blues. Aka OLD American styles. And I find this amazing. This might honestly be my favorite song for this episode! I love the instrument mix (in ways it sounds Appalachian?), and the vocals are so fitting here!

Asa Branca: gorgeous! 😍 it’s got a little of everything to offer! The style keeps jumping around!

✨favorite set✨

🎤Talking Break:

Cajun! Now that makes sense why I’m hearing so many Appalachian sounds!

And a series about music in the US. I’m not going crazy for hearing all that! Phew! 😅

Ask a reasonable question - your question may not be reasonable or even adequately answered! But it’s not Brian Cox

Him trying to describe emojis is precious

“A mystery wrapped inside an anorak wrapped inside an enigma”

More Yorkshire Man

🎵Set 6 (See the Sky About to Rain - Big Pharma)

See the Sky About to Rain: Neil is a specific voice. It’s always jarring at the beginning, but then I settle in and can enjoy his vocals.

Your Name Is Snake Anthony: whoa! Talk about jarring - that segue was shocking! Quite atmospheric, and in some places the background is atonal or polytonal (no key or multiple keys).

Paralysed: so my autocorrect doesn’t like the way the title is spelled 😂😂😂😂 bless it’s American little heart. I suppose the bass line that plays the “short long” motif over and over is representing your heart beat. It also repeats notes over and over again, like it’s possibly paralyzed.

Big Pharma: interesting rhythms/punctuations. I don’t love it, but it definitely sticks with you. Will be honest, the “sniffing” sounds at the beginning was a little gross. Idk what it’s supposed to be, but it sounds like someone’s got a stuffy nose 🤧

🎤Talking Break:

Ah yes, the exclusive

A poetry reading!

🎵Set 7 (Geronimo Blues - Condition of Us)

Geronimo Blues: a pretty song (which I know is weird since the lyrics are pretty critical)! And Kae is good at this, but it always takes me a second to understand the lyrics. I guess my brain has a buffer with this accent 😅

Condition of Us: again- such a strong contrast! I love the vocals here! ❤️ I’m having fun!

🎤Talking Break:

I can’t even spell the verb for getting goosebumps. Dude. What even?! 😂

🎵Set 8 (I Walk on Guilded Splinters)

The archive footage - I have concerns about his speaking vocal quality.

I Walk On Guilded Splinters: honestly, this sounds like healthier vocal production than what I just heard. Yes - there’s a way to give a raspy sound without hurting yourself. ANYWAY. This is a cool song! I love the echos. 😎

🎤Talking Break:

Correct. No intro needed for Bill Withers

🎵Set 9 (Kissing My Love - Inside Straight)

Kissing My Love: 💃💃😍😍 ooh these vocals! The funk! The groove!

Inside Straight: gimme that jazz! 😎 and can we just talk about the subtle internal harmony changes in the piano chords? Like… that shouldn’t be that cool. BUT IT IS. And everything about this is fire! 🔥 although, the raspberry scat line was a little… special. Impressive, but … yeah. 😅

🎤Talking Break:

Miles played with everyone! He pioneered so many jazz styles it’s insane!

“Pugilistic kind of sound”

“He played with the Wombles!”

🎵Set 10 (Video Life)

Video Life: just getting flashbacks to the VHS era. 😅

🎤Talking Break:

Lots of pop

“One man Beatles” - I am intrigued!

🎵Set 11 (Somebody Made for Me - Every Night)

Somebody Made for Me: OMG HE DOES SOUND JUST LIKE PAUL MCCARTNEY!! 🙀🙀🙀🙀🙀🙀 even the scoring sounds like Paul! Like… 🤯

Every Night: I AM SINGING ALONG WITH A PAUL COVER AND JUST LIVING MY BEST LIFE 💃😎😆

🎤Talking Break

You are correct, Cillian. All roads lead to the Beatles!

🎵Set 12 (Single Pigeon)

Single Pigeon: IT’S PAUL!!!! 😍😍😍 🙌 the vocal line is kinda all over the place (awkward?) and that reminds me of pigeons just wandering around 😂

🎤Talking Break:

“Doesn’t outstay its welcome”

🎵Set 13 (I Want You to Love Me - She Walks In Beauty)

I Want You to Love Me: I like the driving, powerful left hand bass in the piano against the right hand melody. And the vocal drone! That’s not heard often! The drone isn’t even always in the “right” key as she’s going through, so that’s also a fun quirk!

Must Be Tears: I love the “old school” production aesthetics!

She Walks In Beauty: gorgeous! So ethereal, which is what I get from the title alone. It’s hard to make synth and electronic instruments not sound cheesy, so I really like this. And more poetry!

🎤Talking Break:

Byron!

No it’s over already???

Yay covers! And jazz!

Coltrane!!! Finally.

“Mind yourselves”

🎵Set 14 (Wonderful World - Nature Boy)

Wonderful World: I do like the jazz, but I’m not enjoying the vocals that much. Strings are an interesting addition, though!

All I Need: more layering effects. I like this a lot! It’s got a swanky nightclub vibe to it. The piano solo is so satisfying.

Nature Boy: yes! 😎 the bebop is popping! I loooooove bebop/hard bop so much. It’s INSANE and I have so much respect for the art form. This is a great way to end the show!

———————————————————————

Thanks so much for reading! And dare I say it, I’m proud of myself for catching up - I think I’m only a week and a half late with this one! Woohoo! 😂

Tag list:

@iammrsrogers @deliciousnutcomputer @mariamoonie @brownskinsugarplum76 @look-at-the-soul @kj-davis @neverroad @teapothollow @thepurplearmyposts @possessedmarshmallow

#cillian murphy #Cillian Murphy’s limited edition #bbc 6 music

[lovecolibri]

I also don't remember what your anon is referring to as far as another anon and Tim (PHEW 🤣) but I saw the point about him and Lucy and had to chime in. This is not me saying that he's above reproach, as I have plenty of criticisms of him, BUT I also don't think it's fair to say that him and Kristen are on the same level about things, including their views of Buddie.

Anyway, the only thing that I ever found him say on the record about Lucy was in a TVLine preview of 5B and it was, "I'd say she's like a female Buck."

Which...knowing what we know about how their story unfolded, is extra creepy 🤣 It's also not accurate description of her character, or at least not the version that we saw, which makes me think that he was fairly out of the loop in the creative process. I know that he was interviewed after 5.1 because he wrote the episode, but I really don't think that he said anything (or at least not much) about the OG 911 after that. Which again gave me vibes that he wasn't super involved in the plotting and writing for season 5 aside from episode 1. But I definitely think that he involved in the editing, given how much was cut, especially with regard to Lucy. I can't remember the source, but there was a quote circulating last year that Tim was basically always present in the editing room and extremely influential in terms of what made it in.

Also, I know that he told Variety that he deleted his Twitter account because he was getting annoyed with Tarlos/Carlos fans complaining about Carlos' lack of screentime and he got sick of defending it (which 🙄 ... maybe you shouldn't defend it then! ) BUT the deleting occurred ahead of the OG 5B premiere and I turly always felt that he was trying to avoid Lucy backlash. Like, he was smart enough to know it was coming, and was all, "It wasn't my idea - don't blame me!" (Which again begs the question of WHY you put Kristen in charge, but whatever)

The original anon just said something about it being interesting that Tim basically hasn't said anything about OG because he doesn't want to be involved/associated with the mess and was distancing himself and focusing on LS. As I said, I don't really read the interviews so I can neither confirm or deny any of this but him being in the editing room wrt L does make sense, but then again, knowing how personal Eddie's story with PTSD and his military service is to him and to Ryan, I feel like if he had stepped in we might have gotten less of that stupid spider call and more focus on Eddie's story instead of it being shoved into the end of the episode. But either way, none of us will REALLY know what happens behind the scenes unless someone comes out and confirms anything. I'm sure *someone*, even if it wasn't Tim directly made the call to cut as much L as they did because KR sure AF has not let it go and has fought tooth and nail to get her back and to squeeze her in where she can.

I will say it would surprise me zero amounts to find out Tim just doesn't want to deal with people calling him out for how he does things and also Twitter is...a cesspool so him leaving there kinda tracks HOWEVER, he's clearly still on Facebook where the Tarlos and Buddie fans are far fewer and far less engaged soooo 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

I certainly don't think him and KR are on the same page about Buddie (especially because it would be quite the feather in his cap to pull off and get a lot of "critical acclaim" because apparently following the obvious narrative and telling a coherent and well-built up love story is still groundbreaking storytelling) however if someone over HIM is pumping the breaks? It would make sense for him to leave the show with someone who is in line with that vision, and put his energy into LS instead, with the bonus of letting someone else take the backlash.

#my sweet nonnie friends #911 #buddie #clearing out my inbox #don't judge me some of these are going to be so old... #this one isn't though #but now my inbox has MORE things! #i absolutely have deleted some asks sorry! #but not all of them are ones i want to answer #sorry sorry sorry! #i know it sucks when you send and ask and it doesn't get answered believe me #but it is what it is and i love you all and please keep sending me stuff

[handarii]

The Clowns

A Shout-out of #BRINGBACKITORI2017

#me #or is it washu kichimura #hmm is there any hope ishida's bringing the manager back? #the clowns #hoito roma #donato porpora #uta #furuta nimura #souta #washuu kichimura #lol #nico #phew another out of season edit #tgedit #tg #tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul re #tgre #mine

[ramuoto]

TOP 10 MANHWAs

if anything good came out of 2020, it’s my discovery of manhwas. 

well, it’s not like i’ve never read a single manhwa in the past 15+ years but tbh, the ratio of manhwa:manga i consume on a weekly basis has jumped exponentially this year. previously it was like 1:99 and now it’s like 90:10 LMAO. 

so, just to remind myself that the world is still full of good things, i had to make this list. which i will probably edit in the future, if i can be bothered to. :) 

anyhow, this list was not made in any particular order, just whichever came into mind. it’s loooong so be prepared! (I’ve read way more titles than mentioned but just included the ones worth checking out)

for whoever stumbles across this list, i hope some of these resonate with you and i hope they make you as happy as they made me. 

pic credits: https://geekculture.co/geeks-guide-to-transmigration-novels-avoid-death-at-all-costs/

1. Ebony

https://mangadex.org/title/41838/ebony

Bahahah omg he looks evil there! But our dearest archduke is hardly that aww. Soz, I just ripped off the covers of the manhwa cos I can’t find a panel I liked more than another. I mean, this manhwa is a GEM. I can’t even begin to describe this because everything about it blew me away. This is not something you read when you are craving for fluff, or just wanna have something brainless after a hard day at work or if you just wanna have some eye candy lol. This is something you pick up on a weekend, when you have time, because you need those hours to digest, appreciate, clutch your chest, tear a little because you find yourself falling in love with these characters. It doesn’t have any of that cliche isekai, romance, revenge themes going on. It has a solid plot, backed by incredible characters, beautifully woven by the authors and artist with incredible pacing that keeps you on your toes and keeps you looking forward to the next chapter. Maybe I would have been happier if I found it after it was completed lol. HAVE I CONVINCED YOU ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU WANNA READ IT?! like, idk, just go. JUST GO READ IT GDI. 

p.s. it says there romance but naaaaaaah, dont go in with that expectation. :) this story is so much more than that. 

2. Bring the love

https://mangadex.org/title/44472/bring-the-love

This...this!!! THIS MANHWA NEEDS MORE LOVE. If you need a lot of fluff, a little, ok maybe quite a bit of sadness and tragedy, sweet sweet romance, cutie pies, please, look no further!!! Again, pacing, character development are so important to me and this manhwa aces it. I love the 2 MCs very much. And the side characters too. :)

3.  A Stepmother's Märchen

https://mangadex.org/title/39474/a-stepmother-s-m-rchen

When I first read this, i fucking cried. like please don’t ask me why. it’s not like its an absolute tragedy but I was just rooting for the MC so much and I really want for everything to go her way. That’s how much I adore this MC!!! I LOVE HER. I LOVE HER MORE THAN YOU DO NORA! HAHAHHA. okay soz. I need to keep this spoiler-free.

Anyhoo, there is nothing typical about this time travel plot. Sure, she goes back to try to undo the stuff that went wrong but phew, she certainly changed things so much everything that comes her way have made it so her previous experiences can hardly help aaaaaaand that’s what makes it fun! I sometimes wish the pacing could be a little more consistent, and there could be more characters I could love a little more wholeheartedly (so i wont have to be in so much despair when i read this sometimes lol) but omg the art, isn’t it pretty?! I’ve re-read this soooooo many times but the art blows me away all the time. And have I already mentioned how much I love her?! I LOVE YOU SHULI! AND I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY!

4.  Lady Baby

https://mangadex.org/title/34691/lady-baby

I literally LOL-ed when I saw this cover. WHO THE HELL ARE THEY. WHAT LADY BABY?! ehehehe. okay anyway, uhm, this is already incredibly popular. im not sure if i need to elaborate but yes, it’s adorbs!!! i dont think i like the MC as much as i love her family lol. and everyone else who adores her. im looking forward to when they get older. :) actually not really. please stay cute for as long as yall can! but yeah, i do wish the plot can move a lil faster. i want to see more character development in the other kids too COME ON! 

5.  Death Is the Only Ending for the Villainess

https://mangadex.org/title/47754/death-is-the-only-ending-for-the-villainess

am i allowed to reveal how shallow i am rn? like the previous choices were all like ‘wow-deep-plot’, ‘wow-character-development’ and this one i just included cos of AESTHETICS ALONE?! the novel covers are breathtaking!!! the manhwa art is amazing as well. and the harem is great! LOL. as for plot... uhm... it’s alright. it’s pretty engaging and i quite like the MC, she’s smart and independent and i love how she views them all antagonistically at all times HAHAHHA. her past is kinda... weird though and i do wish they’d stop referencing it. cos... girl why do you wanna go back to reality!!! stay here! it’s way more exciting! 

i love the whole isekai/reincarnate/transmigration theme and this is honestly one of the better, not-so-cliche or cheesy ones HA.

6.  Beware of the Villainess!

https://mangadex.org/title/47286/beware-of-the-villainess

do you already see the whole villainess theme?! am i suppose to start feeling embarrassed about my choices?! NO! cos this one is AWESOME!

again, another wildly popular title. for good reasons. it’s hilarious, our MC is as real and candid as it gets and LOOK AT THAT BLUE HAIRED BEAUTY. DO YOU SEE HIM?! IMPLANT HIM INTO YOUR MEMORY NOW!

it’s highly entertaining and breaks all isekai-reincarnation-villainess plot stereotypes. definitely one of the titles i look forward to every week.

7.  Who Made Me a Princess

https://mangadex.org/title/32506/who-made-me-a-princess

what? why did i choose this?

BECAUSE OF CLAUDE OF COURSE. ahahaha. okay aside from the amaaaaaaazing art and the beautiful people, the plot is not too bad. a little extreme at times but it’s interesting enough to keep me going. it’s currently on hiatus though and i was highly annoyed by how the first season ended. (YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENED? NOTHING.)

i hope the plot can move faster in the next season! and that our dearest MC athanasia can you know, finally be a little more useful... like omg just tell lucas already!!! and tbh girl, no matter which guy you choose, i approve. :D 

8.  The Flower That Was Bloomed by a Cloud

https://mangadex.org/title/37648/the-flower-that-was-bloomed-by-a-cloud

i featured this before, mostly out of frustration HAHAHA. do you see why i chose this cover?! yeah, i support this (unpopular) pairing okay! the other one is doomed!!! no matter what the author is trying to do now!! I DONT SUPPORT IT!!! lol.

anyway, i had to feature this cos the art is unique! and the story is great. :) and i looooooove listening to the ost while i read it. it starts out kinda slow but as the pace picks up, you won’t be able to stop. and you find yourself conflicted at various points. it did win an award for a reason. 

no matter what, i still think dowun is best for her okay. it’s dowun or nothing. he’s devoted to her, we all know that! he just needs to ditch that annoying female guard!!! ok yknw what, maybe nothing is better. :/ *cries*

9.  Solo Leveling

https://mangadex.org/title/31477/solo-leveling

why do i even bother? this manhwa is popular enough. 

the art is great. the MC is great. i use him and his gang as my wallpaper. 

im just not sure i like how this season’s plot is progressing. :/ but i guess it brings us nearer to solving the mystery in the first leg of the manhwa. i just enjoyed the whole part of him leveling up and now that he isn’t really leveling up anymore... idk. am i hoping for more plot shit like bleach (oh wow now u quincy?)... idk man. anywho, no regrets starting on this series and marathon-ing it to death. 

cross fingers the plot picks up and doesnt get too complicated for its own good.

10.  The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion

https://mangadex.org/title/31606/the-reason-why-raeliana-ended-up-at-the-duke-s-mansion

okay, tbh, by the time i reached 10, i still have like 15 other series i was considering LMAO. i even considered lengthening this top 10 to top 15. but that would just be more of me and my nonsense. so... why did i choose this?

COS I LOVE THE 2 MCs!!! they’re adorable. the plot is again, kinda far-fetched at times (i literally laugh my head off at some parts) but it’s isekai-reincarnation okay! anything is possible in whatever magical crap country you end up in! lol. and i like how straightforward it is... in the sense there’s no 2nd lead. like okay i mean they are there but we all know they have no chance. oops. sorry!

and cos i can’t give up on the other titles i have, imma just list them down, without pictures... cos im tired. HA. 

11. Doctor Elise 

https://mangadex.org/title/29474/doctor-elise 

Kudos to the huge improvement in art style lmao. The good... lovable MCs, engaging plot. The bad... sometimes lengthy, incredulous medical moments (i work in the medical field so i... idk. sometimes this borders on iryu LMAO and i need to remind myself this is romance) otherwise, this is a highly highly entertaining read.

12.  Seduce the Villain's Father

https://mangadex.org/title/46775/seduce-the-villain-s-father

This is another of my ‘father-love’ whims. MC is adorable and ML is handsome. enough said.

13.  The Villainess Lives Twice

https://mangadex.org/title/49644/the-villainess-lives-twice

This is like a lesser version of Ebony and Bring the Love combined HAHAHA. The plot and premise is great and it’s awesome to marathon! I don’t find myself loving the MC as much as I should but the ML is a darling! I just find her a little toooooooo gloomy. Like come on girl, be more spunky! 

14.  The Stereotypical Life of a Reincarnated Lady

https://mangadex.org/title/46790/the-stereotypical-life-of-a-reincarnated-lady

I dont know why I like this so much HAHAHAHA. It hardly has a plot. I just find the MC and ML amusing i guess lol. 

15.  I'm Stanning the Prince

https://mangadex.org/title/45586/i-m-stanning-the-prince

Sometimes I wonder if I should be ranking this higher but I kinda feel this manhwa is trying to achieve too much with an underpowered MC. I love her... but I just don’t like how she’s just a pawn of everyone else and I dont know how she can change this situation of hers. It’s cute though. the MC and ML.  and the ML reminds me so much of american/jap Mackenyu. 

16.  The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass

I HAD TO. the art is so pretty! but girl, dont use the hour glass so much! you look a little too old! i would appreciate it if MC stops basing too much of her moves on the “past” tho like idk you are gonna sound unoriginal soooooon like develop your own thoughts soon okay? <3

17. Inso's Law

ANOTHER ONE. omg. im a lil on the fence regarding this but i like MC too much. and her harem LOL. i dont see where the plot is going either but i just hope for a happy end... ):

18.  Why Are You Doing This, Duke?

HAHAHA. this is sooooo sooooooo cute, i would have ranked it top 15 if it wasnt licensed by tapas tho cos they are a joke. WHY NOT TAPPY GDI. 

19.  Miss Not-So Sidekick

Uh-oh. Is this a top-20 list now? anyway, the MC for this series is GOLD. im not liking where it’s currently heading tho thus the lower ranking.

20.  IRIS - Lady with a Smartphone

omg IVE NEGLECTED THIS FOR TOO LONG. lemme go buy more chapters hahahaha. it’s a tad too lengthy... otherwise i like the MC and yummy ML!

still not enough?

Special Mentions - Okay, these will be unranked cos I don’t think these are that good but probably still worth a read.

I've Become the Villainous Empress of a Novel - this is new, im looking forward to how it progresses wheeeee.

Lady to Queen - It’s a ruthless manhwa. There was a point i started reading all sorts of sadistic content (i was running out of content i swear) and this was one of the better ones. I appreciate the MC very much. the plot now is a little weird and im a bit wary of the MC’s sister... hopefully the ML can be more useful. he’s pitiful though. but dude come on, dont rely on the wrong gal.

Goodbye, In-law - I’m not sure if i like the current progress buuuuuuut MC and ML are cute so who cares.

The Duchess' 50 Tea Recipes - plot is still engaging. MC and ML are cute. i dont know where the plot is heading towards though. 

A Falling Cohabitation - this is interesting and fun but a lil lengthy.

Light and Shadow - the sequel is out!!! i highly enjoyed this entire series!!! i would have probably ranked it a lil higher if i did this post earlier but too many series have overtaken this in my heart lol.

This Girl Is a Little Wild - is the hiatus ending yet? i would add it back to top 20 if it came back LOL. it’s highly entertaining tho. ML is adorable.

The Duchess With an Empty Soul  - pretty nice. MC and ML are a little boring. i think it can end soon. LMAO.

A Capable Maid - it’s amusing how she gets her powers for all sorts of situations lol. the prince is creepy tbh. and im secretly rooting for the other king hehe.

Beware of the Brothers! - it’s cute and heart-wrenching at the same time! not too sure im digging the latest plot development but okay... i’ll take it. they’re all cuties.

Living as the Tyrant's Older Sister - hehehe. it’s cute. duke is kinda silly but the latest chapter made me squeal!!!

The Evil Lady's Hero  - idk where the plot is going but MC and ML are adorable!!!

The Dragon Next Door - HAHAHA. it’s hilarious.

The Youngest Princess - she’s growing uppppp noooooooooooo

Virtues of the Villainess - ginger is hilarious. i dont see where the plot is going tho... and cant say i like the ML yet. i dont even get to see him much, hello?!

The Justice of Villainous Woman - pretty wholesome... i like the MC! (the ML is fine. no one else to contend with so...) can u end already?! lol.

Amina of the Lamp - hey, what happened to this? it’s pretty inconsistent but i do like the MC and ML... and the art...

The Villain's Savior - this is some sadistic shit. i reserve it for when i feel sadistic. i pretty much wanna see MC happy but idk if she’s making the right choices. :/

I Don't Want to Be Empress! - HAHAHAHA uhm it’s getting interesting. i just want ML to step up more... 

La dolce vita di Adelaide - I FINISHED THIS! and it’s wholesome, feel-good and cute. some parts felt a lil extra but ah whatever.

The Black Haired Princess - plot. move. faster!!! otherwise the MC and ML are pretty cute.

The Abandoned Empress - im a lil on the fence but i know how popular this series is. it started out HORRIBLE. i hated the ML so much. and then i found the green hair boy creepy. like MC, you need better taste in boys. it’s certainly getting more interesting now though. so please, continue to make my money’s worth!!!

Lucia - i. am. not. guilty. of. anything. *smut warning* anyway go read the novel. it’s better. hehehe.

What's Wrong with Secretary Kim - i do not need to elaborate any further. 

Past loves 

I created this section just to remind myself, that what i could like one day, i could hate the next LOL.

The Monster Duchess and Contract Princess - I know this is wildly popular. but i lost interest in it once she grew up. i dont think she’s particularly lovable. soz.

Survive as the Hero's Wife - another popular choice. I find the plot kinda boring now. MC and ML are cute though. 

Sincerely: I Became a Duke's Maid - another popular one. again, boring plot. like cant it end yet? oh you mean we need to wait for the real female lead to show up? dont need luh.

I Am a Child of This House - wow. the plot is shit now. and i do not support the MC and her guard. soz. she’s OVERPOWERED tbh. 

This Is an Obvious Fraudulent Marriage - idk what happened but my enthusiasm for this died.

Charlotte and Her 5 Disciples - i don’t get it. i dont get their obsession for her. 

#manhwa #fav manhwa #ebony #bring the love #a stepmother's marchen #lady baby #death is the only ending for the villainess #beware of the villainess #who made me a princess #the flower that was bloomed by a cloud #solo leveling #the reason why raeliana ended up at the duke's mansion

[pleasereadmeok]

Matthew Scene by Scene - A Discovery of Witches Season 2 - Episode 6  # 4 - Haybarn.

Spoilers if you haven’t seen ADOW season 2 episode 6

Well I have to say that a vampire leaping over fruit is a new twist on a sword fight.  

They’re fighting in the hay barn now and Matthew is getting out of control. It’s so frantic that at one stage he even turns into someone else completely.  I mean - who is that bloke?  

Phew - he’s back again and flat on his back 

Again,  Philippe plays dirty and Matthew narrowly avoids being decapitated by a crate of apples.  

And there he is - predator is back again.  The growl is back.   But this time there is something more.  I think another one of Matthew’s huge secrets is about to be revealed.  

Matthew is a beast.  He’s feral, snarling and having a really bad day.   We’ve seen him angry and growling before but this is a whole new level.  

Matthew lunges at Philippe and manages to growl out one word through his clenched teeth - STOP!  

But Philippe pushes his son even further - he’s not finished yet.  Seriously, how far can he push this without Matthew killing him? 

They fall onto the floor below and Matthew lands on a handy table that is neatly strewn with a still life of fruit.   Philippe has a knife at Matthew’s throat.  God this family is seriously messed up!  

The Matthew that belongs in Philippe’s times is a ruthless killer.  Daddy reckons Matthew’s new conscience has made him weak.  Philippe is taking advantage of Matthew’s heightened state to get some answers about his death...

TELL ME!    Yep - daddy wants to know how he dies and he’s not taking no for an answer!

Diana arrives - what have you done to him?  

This is what we call a blood rage. Philippe explains that it is a sickness that overwhelms Matthew so he becomes a pure predator.  

Tell me how I die! 

I cannot ...  

Oh Matthew.  Oh god your heart breaks for him coz you know he’s hiding yet another secret about daddy’s death.  

Je suis désolée   [I am sorry.]

Philippe seems to understand (even tho’ we don’t - yet.) The way Philippe caresses his sons head is so tender ...  I just cant.....  [Stopping to have a little sob]

Philippe sheaths his weapon .

... and with a Huh - it is over.  

I’m gonna split this scene into two coz I need to dry my pathetic tears before the next bit.  

That gives us time to appreciate how well Matthew Goode portrays blood rage. He’s astonishingly goode.  Our adorable goofball Goodey has really nailed it. 

[Pics - mix of edits and screenshots from ADOW S2:06]

#matthew goode #a discovery of witches #adow #adows2 #adow spoilers

[angelthefirst1]

Home sweet home...infinity

This episode is huge for team Beth is alive!

I'm not going to go through every scene but, I will point out the most important parts of Home sweet home and how Maggie and Daryl are on the path back to finding out Beth is alive. Everyone has obviously picked up on the fact Beth's name FINALLY came out of Maggie's mouth, and in front of Daryl no less, this is HUGE!

Rick mentioned Beth by name to Glenn four times in 509.

And Glenn to Rick twice, but ever since then she's only been alluded to, never mentioned by name.

This show moves in infinity going forward and backwards, upright and inverted at the same time.

For example the story went forward without Beth, became inverted (Alpha and Beta are inverted Beth and Daryl) and eventually we will get back to the where we left off, with Beth's missing upright story going forward again. None of us thought it would take this long, but she's close... Rick and Glenn mentioned her name right after her so called death in 509, so her name has to be mentioned again right before her return....

The clue from the above scene in 509, is that Negan (Glenn holding the baseball bat) and Little Glenn (Hershel) will be in play just before she comes back.

We are heading back to a repeat of 508.

Quite a few things have me looking at 1022 as a possible episode for a coda at the end, revealing Beth is alive. I will do a predictions post at some point to explain why.

But for now we got Beth’s name, mentioned twice in this episode, and we may end up getting a few more mentions of her name before she shows up.

*Small edit here:

The lovely @craziigamerchick​ reminded me that Father Gab also mentioned Beth’s death in 510, which happens before the music box plays. Both accounts representing Beth coming back!  

I'm not saying she will show up next episode, although Leah seems to be an inverted Beth shadow from Alone, so... she kinda is showing up next episode.

And all these repeats are showing how close we are... Now I want to point out the intro or previously on clip, because its beginning and end are MASSIVE symbolically.... HUGE!!! HUGE!!! HUGE!!! The very first scene begins by focusing on Henry (Beth) and his death.

And the very last scene shows the soldiers surrounding Eugene's group at the train yard (Eugene is also a major Beth proxy) as they point their guns at Eugene they say "This is your LAST CHANCE".

HMM...

WHERE HAVE I HEARD THAT BEFORE???

Emily wrote this about Bethyl, and it was a clue as to when the Bethyl story would start again. Negan also says this phrase when he is first introduced in season 6. 

Emily released this just after Beth's death, which was very deliberate. She knew that key phrase ‘Last Chance’ would be used just before her return. Infinity = beginning and end. First and last. So the first and last scenes here sum up the beginning and ending of this overall coming arc, however long that my be, but i have a feeling it is these 6 episodes. The intro beginning with Henry's (Beth's) death is reinforced by Maggie in the very first episode saying "After Bethy died" so it should end in Beth's and Bethyl's Last Chance. Her showing up alive... As i said above I'm hopeful we might see something of her in a 1022 coda or if not 1101 which is reverse 1011 Morning Star. Overall Home sweet home is repeating Maggie's story from season 4.

It shows her mindset after the prison where she was only focused on looking for Glenn and not Beth...

Through Elijah-it shows Maggie as post Beth's death in "Them". With Kelly, we see Beth's perspective after the prison-she is the hopeful one, certain her sister is alive. The episode opens with Maggie killing a walker and Judith (Beth) is with her. Showing the end of this story will eventually be Maggie and Beth together again. Judith is talking about how "She's out there, underneath the same sky"

Beth is the Morning Star (Sirius) in the sky, so while they are talking about Michonne directly they are indirectly talking about Beth too. Judith (wearing the sheriffs hat) says "she is". The Episode is Home sweet home and that's what the Star in the sky will eventually do. Come home. The Maggie/Negan situation is an inverted Maggie/Tara/Governor situation after the prison.

In that, someone responsible for killing a family member, also ends up saving other members of her family.

Tara saved Glenn. Negan killed Glenn.

Tara helped the Governor which killed Hershel, Negan helped Carol which potentially saves Hershel???

Possibly at some point, but either way, he saved her other family members. But...he also helped destroyed her home (Hilltop).

Can you see the prison story on repeat here? With Tara it was easy for Maggie to live with and forgive because she wasn't directly involved in the killing of Hershel.

She says to Tara "You're with us now". With Negan she doesn't want Hershel to have to deal with seeing/knowing Negan, so she leaves, and won't accept he is one of them. We see Hilltop burned...

Hilltop has now become a prison repeat, we are starting with a representation of Maggie losing her home and Glenn (in this episode she now starts looking for little Glenn, Hershel) After the prison fell in season 4, Maggie says she knows which way Glenn went and sets off to find him.

She keeps pushing Sasha and Bob to keep going and she doesn't want to stop or rest on her mission to find Glenn. The same thing happens here with her search for Hershel.

Eventually her search ends in her finding little Glenn alive, she smiles at him, repeating her finding Glenn after the prison but... they also whistle to each other, a nod to Negan's saviors whistling just before Glenn's death.

We have come full circle with Maggie's story season 4/5/6 in just one episode. A nod to Glenn's end-became Hershel's beginning-or introduction... During this episode, we see repeating and inverted events from around the time Maggie's group was looking for Glenn in season 4, and what Daryl and Beth were doing at the same time.

We also see post Beth death events from ‘Them’ 510 They have combined the three story lines.

And are taking them forward and backwards. Which is why there is so much focus on sisters and looking for/ losing sisters. Kelly wants to look for her sister with Daryl and he accepts very willingly, inverting Beth wanting to search for Maggie and asking him to track, but he didn't want to.

Maggie just has one thing on her mind-finding little Glenn. Maggie keeps pushing on she doesn't want to stop. But we then see her refuse water from Elijah, which is a repeat of her refusing water from Glenn in 510.

She says to Glenn "I never thought she was alive" referring to Beth and giving the reason why she didn't bother looking for her after the prison. It was because she never thought Beth was alive. Elijah has also just lost his sister (it seems she actually is dead from how upset he is)

So between the 3 siblings, we have a representation of Beth and Maggie before Beth's "death" and a repeat of Maggie after Beth's death with Elijah. Kelly (Beth after the prison) is hopeful and sure her sister is alive and wants to look with Daryl. Maggie is only interested in finding little Glenn and says "Bethy died" which was her mentality after the prison and even before Beth actually died. And Elijah who's sister (it appears) is dead (510 Them, Maggie) Elijah's sister might really be dead, but they could also have her show up alive at some stage, repeating Beth still being alive. We will see with that one...

The group clears the shipping containers and we have another repeat of 510 "Them".

In that they all have to run to the barn door to stop the walkers getting in.

This time they stop the walkers getting out.

Elijah, Maggie and Daryl all repeating 510. In 510, Daryl is the first to run to the barn door, with Maggie second.

Here it's reversed, and we have Elijah join them.

Because the story is going in infinity (both ways) Maggie gets to the door first (reverse story to the barn) meaning she is heading back to a place of finding out Beth is alive. Daryl to the door next (reverse, also going back to a place of finding out Beth is alive) because he gets to the door second here.

The story is still going forward too, and this is represented by Elijah joining them. Elijah represents Maggie post Beth's death, so he runs to the door after Daryl, repeating Maggie doing the same in the barn.  This is how the story moves the whole way through, and this small scenes was a really good way to illustrate it because it takes WAY to long to explain every scene this way.

But it’s going forwards and backwards at the same time.

The yellow shipping container becomes a repeat a few locations.

First, Beth and Daryl talking on the porch in Still...

Which happened when Maggie was looking for Glenn/Hershel

The car Daryl and Rick talk about Beth in front of...

The train car where we see a conversation between Maggie and Daryl at Terminus about Beth being alive, this is repeated by Kelly saying you will meet Connie to Maggie, in other words “She’s alive”

And also the Barn in 510 when Maggie and Daryl exchange the music box and Maggie talks with Sasha (who just lost a sibling) Elijah/Sasha are inverted Ty/Sasha. Not long after that the music box plays... Daryl and Beth talk about missing Maggie and how she was bossy.

While Maggie and Kelly talk. Kelly guesses Maggie is a big sister, because it seems like she had been in charge of people her whole life.

Repeating Beth's comments about her being bossy.

Maggie talks with Daryl about Shaun and Hershel's Grandfather, same as Beth. And them going on a detour to the beach is Beth's version of "I thought Maggie and Glenn would have a baby, we'd have birthday's, HOLIDAYS. etc..

When they leave the shipping containers Cole says he actually got some shut eye in that rust coffin.

Hinting at Daryl's coffin from Alone, so the shipping container also has become a funeral home repeat. Phew so many repeats... my head is spinning...

Kelly has gone off early in the morning looking for her sister, which is Beth saying to Daryl she would track Maggie if he won't before the sun comes up.

She also knocks on the truck she finds in the same way Daryl does at the funeral home

We see the place Maggie's people were supposed to be, on fire-repeating the cabin burning from Still and the Grove.

And the charcoal walkers to go with it...

Daryl ends up looking at footprints for a child (Hershel) and asks Maggie if there are more kids in her group. So, he effectively searches for kids and a sister, repeating the same things Beth had him track right after the prison.

We have multiple mentions of a sister/s being just gone, and coming home. Which is obviously huge... 

The top left pic says BUT, it’s meant to say some.

And a lot of talk about "Them" referring to this new group The Reapers.... 

Them is the title of 510 and it's at the end of "Them" that the music box starts playing again. So we might have to wait until the Reapers (Them) story is almost at it's end before we see Beth. Or it could be we see her at the introduction of Them.

And that might be sooner than we think. The shooter in the woods... We are now in Alone territory. He sets a trap which Maggie steps in and says "Pope marked you" just before blowing himself up.

This scene is awesome, why? Because it's all about Beth and setting up what's coming. This is a combination of Beth stepping in the trap just before the funeral home and also what we didn't see outside (after) the funeral home as Beth gets knocked out and taken to Grady. The trap Maggie steps in is inverted Beth stepping in her trap in Alone. In Alone, the walker looked like a cop (had a badge and a gun), which for Beth was pointing to the Grady cops. Beth on approaching the walker says to Daryl "it has a gun". Now we seen this soldier-in a camo uniform (uniform seems to point to an organized powerful group, which will probably become the next big bad group in season 11) He has a gun-although he abandoned it, which is fulfillment of Beth taking it off the walker in Alone. With Maggie's foot stuck in the trap, Daryl shoots the soldier with a crossbow but it doesn't kill him, he then runs in and tries to kill the soldier but gets knocked out instead.

Maggie gets her own foot out of the trap... So-it's opposite to what happened in Alone, where Beth shot and arrow at the walker, which didn’t kill it, Daryl  runs in and knocks the walker out and got Beth’s foot out the trap.

This solider then gets shot by another arrow (because the story is going both ways) neither arrow kill him repeating Beth not being able to kill the walker with the arrow she shoots.

The funeral home was a trap, either laid by the Grady cops or a individual third party and this scene shows it. Side note: Notice dog isn't in this episode, it's because the whole episode is based on events from Alone and prior to, the dog showing up. Next episode with Leah is more focused on repeating events from inside the funeral home and he does have dog.

But dog seems to comes and go, as we go back and forth in the story.

Dog will appear when it's repeating the times in Alone where we saw a dog, and also it will most likely repeat the dogs from 510 at some stage.

Back to the trap scene...

Daryl (repeating Beth) gets knocked out by the man who set the trap, which is Beth being knocked out by the Grady cops outside the funeral home. And it was because "Pope marked you" as this soldier says to Maggie. This is the same theme Noah confirms about the Grady cops and how they pick people, they mark the weak one's and leave the strong behind.

They’re marked...

Daryl’s vision is blurred, repeating Beth superficial head wound and what happened to her, but it's now representing him being left behind, because Maggie is the marked one that stepped in the trap.  Two sides to every coin. Maggie and Daryl here switch in and out of places as Beth and Daryl. The only clue about the story to come with these people is the explosion. Most likely hinting at a large, destructive, gory fight to come. It's a fascinating scene... It could be that this man is connected to the Reapers like Maggie thinks, but I have a feeling quite a few different groups will come into at play for the end of 10 and 11, to repeat season 4/5 story. In season 4 we saw the Alone house get inundated with walkers after the dog comes to the door, which could have been a trap laid by someone that we never got to see... After Alone we saw the claimers who will need to be repeated at some point (They might be repeated by the men Gab and Aaron are with, or they could be part of the Reapers)

Daryl also has a this repeat Claimer moment along the way in this episode...

Then there is Terminus (Daryl and Kelly see a praying mantis in this episode, they are known for being cannibals)

Leah might also fit in to this scenario, because the female praying mantis will eat the head of it’s mate.

And the Grady cops, so we could have 3 to 4 different groups in play, which will be interesting.   So after the trap scene... We next see Hershel sleeping like Carl did in truck after the claimers were killed.

And it's then Maggie and Kelly talk about Kelly's missing sister.

Daryl comes in and says...

So we have a reference to the claimers when Len says to Daryl "You know, I bet there's a chic got you all messed up, got you walking around like a dead man, you lost yourself a piece of tail.

We then have Maggie's group arrive at Alexandria, repeating the groups original arrival at Alexandria, as the song plays "You want it darker"

Which is a repeat of what Maggie says to Glenn after losing Beth but while holding the music box in 510. She says "Before it was just the dark part, I don't know if I want to fight it anymore" Glenn says "YOU do" essentially you don't want it darker. The song talks about being sanctified, holy, crucified, love that never came... all of which can be attributed to Beth as Christ Beth was also often referred to as Daryl's little flame in the dark, that went out. If they are referring to the flame being killed here, that means the opposite will eventually be shown...The flame alive.  Cole says “Home sweet home”

He is Daryl going in reverse, this becomes his Still cabin

He may well have eyes for Beth at some point if he survives, when she gets back. Daryl doesn't seem to be very keen on his younger reverse self lol

One last point since the end is the beginning and the beginning is the end. Maggie starts and ends this episode with Negan/Governor, Hershel/Glenn and her sister (Judith) who is little Beth at the beginning and Carol older Beth in the end. 💕☺💕 Which means BETH IS COMING!

#team delusional #team defiance #bethyl #beth greene #team beth lives #beth is alive

[theuniversitychallengereview]

UC 51.14  Birmingham vs Sussex

After work on Monday I felt like absolute shit. I was going to go for a run but went to bed instead and pretty much stayed there in varying states of feverish half-sleeping half-awakeness until the next morning. I took the day off work and got a PCR test, which turned out to be negative, fortunately, but I suspect this is a situation that will happen a lot this winter, as the normal seasonal illnesses start doing the rounds on top of the Big One. Luckily there are systems in place to incentivise the taking of tests and fiscal support for those who have to self-isolate which should… hang on, what? 

Ugh, sorry. I didn’t mean to start this off on such a damp tone. Ignore all that. Lets just say that I went for a swim today for the first time in years and the fastest 100m I did was more than 30 seconds slower than my old PB. It was absolutely brilliant though, totally loved it.

Anyway, thats enough despair and joy for one intro; here’s your first starter for ten.

Brighton (I only noticed that I had written this as Brighton when I was about to publish, which says bad things about me and good things about editing?) and Sussex faced off on Monday in the final first round match - how has this all happened so fast? Brighton have never won the competition, but Sussex won it twice in the 60s, in 67 and 69. Sidney Sussex, of Cambridge, won in 1971, which is midly interesting too.

Sussex are mascotted by a small goose standing in front of a teddy bear in a graduation outfit, the same formation often adopted by tall/short heterosexual couples at gigs. Birmingham appear to have some sort of Hello Kitty figure performing the same role for them. A good pair to end the first round on.

The right-hand players on both teams, Harcourt and Sajit, are both wearing turtlenecks and low hanging necklaces, which is surely a sign of something. I just don’t know what it is.

Birmingham take the first starter, and nab a full set of bonuses on Shakespearean corvidae. The next ten pointer is missed by both teams, before Brummie captain Bartelle comes in very early to increase their lead. They lose their perfect record on the bonuses, including missing one on the word turgid, which readers of this blog will recognise from its definition by Paxman as being commonly used to describe inflated, grandiloquent, pompous and bombastic prose.

Robinson gets another for Birmingham (for it was he who took the first) and the Midlanders stretched their lead beyond half a century going into the first picture round, on Spanish descriptions of animals.

The half century quickly turned into a full century, as Birmingham continued their dominance on the buzzer. Sussex had thus far only attempted to buzz on two questions. Oops, looks like I jinxed them, because no sooner than five seconds after I typed that they tried another one, and lost five points for their troubles. At this point I really am fearing for Sussex in terms of getting an infamously low score. They look out of ideas and Birmingham look remarkably at ease. Hopefully this anti-jinxes them into getting some points. Its 130 to -5 going into the music round. 

Bartelle comes in very early on the starter, but he’s wrong, and Sussex have the whole segment to listen to to try and get the answer, so naturally they get it wrong. BUT NEVER MIND (!!), because Harcourt comes up with the goods on the next starter question, and Paxman congratulates them for storming up to a mighty five points. They even manage a bonus to make it ten. Don’t get too excited though, because Khan-White soon drops them back down to five with another neg. 

Phew! Harcourt is single-handedly keeping Sussex afloat here, and drags them up to their peak of fifteen with the second picture starter. He pronounces the ‘wilder’ in Hunt for the Wilderpeople like the ‘wilder’ in Gene Wilder, but I’ll have to let him off because they’re having such a torrid time.

Often in the first round, if the match itself isn’t that close, we’ll have a bit of excitement going into the final few minutes as the losing team aims to get a high enough score to come back in the play-offs. In this match we have the added thrill of seeing whether Sussex post the lowest ever score in the history of the show. 

Asri helps them on their way with another neg, bringing them down to ten. He tries pretty hard for another minus five on the next starter, but gives his answer mere moments after Paxman had finished the question. No matter, because oof. There is the gong. 

According to Blanchflower.org, the lowest score of the Bamber Gascoigne era of the Challenge was ten points, from the 1971/72 series, and was achieved by a team from Sussex University. The lowest score of the Paxman Era was fifteen points. Until tonight.

Final Score: Birmingham 245 - 10 Sussex

Ouch.

#university challenge #bbc2 #birmingham #sussex #quizzy mondays #jeremy paxman

[narcissasdaffodil]

I’ve been tagged in a lot of these, I don’t usually write them due to fear of missing people. I do have a tendency to ramble, but if you’re following me, you probably know that already. This is going to get long, warning in advance here. These paragraphs will definitely vary in length, it depends on how much I have to say about people. Side note: I’m working on leaving more comments on people’s work in general and getting over my comment anxiety. I try to spread love via asks to people, everyone in this fandom has so many things which makes them individual and a wonderful part of this fandom. In addition, these might get super lovey dovey, but that’s just me in a nutshell here.

In no particular order, without further ado:

@kiki-the-creator is a very talented writer. I especially love their Marisol related fic, headcanon related posts, both their Lottie fics and their Priya fic. They are a very kind person, and have showed love and appreciation for my fics in general. I was inspired to write by multiple people and KC was definitely one of those people. Marisol is my favourite character and LI, and they definitely do her justice in their fics. I regularly reread their Marisol oneshots in particular along with a lot of their fics, I don’t reread much fic in general. I love the way they write, they’re one of my favourite writers.

@lucas-koh is really talented. Whiskey on Your Lips is one of my favourite fics, (I have a lot of favourites) and she’s really kind. She’s an amazing beta reader and really great with giving me honest opinions on my content in general. I definitely see her as a friend. Stitches is also pretty awesome, I still need to catch up when I get the chance!

@ariendiel is amazing. Her Noah fics were part of the reason I ended up converted to a Noah stan, and both Rosehill House and The Triumph of Time are amazing,and some of my favourite Noah fics. Also she writes amazing short stories. Her content in general is wonderful, the analysis she did with @garyandhisnan about Noah stands out in particular. Being able to explore possible reasons for Noah’s behaviour in LITG was definitely interesting to me, especially as someone who relates to Noah. Also she’s been very supportive in terms of my fics and oneshots.

@codename-mango is a really talented artist, and I love their art. I also regularly see them in my notifications and they’re really active in general. Their LITG characters as Pokémon series was so original and definitely interested me, being a Pokémon fan myself.

@nerdferatum is another talented artist and I really love her art. She’s also very supportive and has an amazing blog. I love her LITG related drawings and her art in general.

@bellarxse is an amazing writer. The Motion of Heavenly Bodies is my favourite S3 related fic and I really love her writing. She writes a lot of Marisol related content and I love the stuff she writes for Marisol and Maeve. She’s also really supportive too, she’s been really helpful in terms of fic help.

@voile-de-lune has made some wonderful moodboards recently, which I really love. They’re pretty new, but super talented.

@garyandhisnan has a lot of headcanons and memes which are amazing. I love to see their opinions on things, I love their blog.

@cloveroctobers writes detailed headcanon lists with gorgeous moodboards to go with them. They’re really interesting to read and are super in depth.

@ravenadottir is a really talented writer. Their Priya and Lottie fics are some of my favourites for f/f. They also have excellent headcanons and their fics are so great. They’re also really kind, and their fics are part of the reason I was inspired to start writing. They were one of the first people I talked to about LCBC, and one of my first friends in the fandom.

@mrsgaryrennell is an amazing writer and part of the Blue and Hazel duo. Blue and Hazel is my favourite Gary related fic. It’s also nice to see some Gary love, she has really great opinions.

@kingkassam has amazing moodboards and social media AUs and is super original. They were one of the first people I showed LCBC to. We don’t talk as much anymore, but I love the content they create. They’re an iconic part of the fandom and really amazing.

@americangrunge is really amazing. Nothing Gold Can Stay is amazing, I regularly reread it. It’s one of my favourite oneshots and it’s so cathartic to see Bobby actually getting some of the blame for Operation Nope. Things Like Chemistry is also amazing, I love Marzipan! I love AU fics, and that one is also one of my faves. She’s also super cool in general.

@daisybarks is so kind. I love her fic Coming Home so much, it literally makes my Sundays great. She’s really amazing and has written wonderful headcanons for Marisol and Priya.

@another-lottie-simp is amazing and super supportive and creates a lot of Lottie content. As a fellow Lottie fan, it’s great to see her getting some love. Love the islanders in different seasons series.

@crvsh-culture the headcanons and oneshots are really great. I love the Lucas and Marisol content in particular.

@bubblybabynailpolish is super funny and really supportive. Her blog is amazing and one of my favourites. I love her edits, headcanons and her writing. Her Marisol fics are awesome, and she’s part of the reason I’ve been converted into a Noah stan. I love her writing in general, it really draws my attention. She’s also amazing for putting up with my ramblings and super weird questions. She’s also been so helpful regarding fic and edit opinions.

@venueska has amazing edits and fic. One of my favourites of hers is her Hannah/Lottie oneshot and her Blake oneshot, but it’s so difficult to pick favourites. I’ve reread her oneshots multiple times, I adore her writing style, and she’s really great in general.

@deuchess is an amazing artist who has a lot of gorgeous art. She also has a lot of amazing headcanons and is really great.

@ajs-wife has been super supportive regarding LCBC and my writing in general. They’re awesome and give me really detailed and helpful feedback. They’re also super supportive and really great to talk to. They’re an amazing friend and super kind.

@lilithlibrxa has amazing icons and I love her blog. I was always interested in astrology but her blog has helped me learn more. She’s super supportive and always reblogs my content.

@bobbyboops is amazing and super kind. She isn’t that active anymore but is someone I see as a friend. Her fic Cheers Darlin’ is amazing and I love her writing.

@amelia-w is really supportive and I love her moodboards.

@noahssidechick is super supportive and I love her Noah related content, along with headcanons and original content.

@mountainmanxoxo I love the Henrik content so much, you might’ve even converted me to a Henrik stan too, and I love a lot of characters. I love Powder Days so much. The chaoticness of the writers Discord in general always keeps me entertained for sure.

@longbobmckenzie I love Whiskey and Scotch so much! Yet another fic I’m yet to comment on, but I’ve been reading for quite a while. I love Josie as a MC.

@loveislandff As a fellow Slytherin myself, that’s super cool. Anyway, I love her art and My Everything. The originality of her fic in general is awesome, and I also love Face the Music, her musical AU. I’m a serious sucker for AUs, it’s interesting to see how people change things up.

@thenshe--appeared is really supportive and has a Marisol oneshot I’ve reread multiple times which is pretty great.

@mchamster has amazing memes and I love the TV/film match content, it’s super original and so cool.

@chichiguitarist123 is really supportive and has a really pretty blog. In particular, I love the Lottie/Hannah oneshot.

-Phew. Fingers crossed I haven’t forgotten anyone, that took a while to type out, but any excuse to send out my personal sunshiny energy to people I’ll definitely take, I love making people happy in general. There’s never such thing as too much kindness,anyway. If you somehow read all that, wow! I’m so impressed.

#tag games #positivity

[sweetbunnykook]

Q&A WITH 🐰: OY JK

A/N: Thank you to everyone who submitted a question for my first ever Q&A session with a character. Enjoy!

Bunny: Welcome to the first ever Q&A marathon starring my first yandere that I created on my blog, OY Jungkook! We have many readers send in questions they want him to answer and they have all been amazing; thank you for participating. Anything said in this interview will not be held against Jungkook whether it is from the readers or from him. This interview is a law-free zone, considering the context of his…activities in the story. Now, please give a round of applause for our cute but scary guest!

OY JK, beaming and bowing: I’m happy to be here, thank you for inviting me. I’m excited to talk about noona and I.

Bunny: Even if it’s NSFW?

OY JK: Especially if it’s NSFW.

Bunny, laughing: Let’s get started shall we? First question! Reader gucieguciekook said: “Hmm, oy!jk. What if Noona leaves you because of your unhealthy clinginess and constant need for intimacy and validation? OMG I LOVE U BUNNY”. Hahaha, I love you too!

OY JK: Phew, that’s a heavy one right off the bat. I think noona always appreciates me asking her for love and attention. Sure she gets a little annoyed sometimes when I’m upset that she’s more into her work than me, but I know when to back off a little bit so she comes after me for a change. I wouldn’t say my clinginess is unhealthy, just unordinary. So leaving is out of the question and I’ll do anything to stop that from happening. I’m a lucky man to be able to say we’re both equally obsessed with each other.

Bunny: I see…relationships are hard but as long as you love each other, it’ll be okay. Right?

OY JK, nodding: That’s right.

Bunny: Next question. From anonymous: “jk how do you picture your wedding with noona?”

OY JK, grinning: How much time do we have on this show?

Bunny: Plenty.

OY JK: Okay, to start off with, I want a small, intimate wedding with a limited number of guests so noona won’t be overwhelmed and it won’t bring back memories of her old wedding that shouldn’t have happened. Seokjin would be banned of course because he’ll just bring bad luck. As for decorations…she really likes peonies and orchids so I want the tables, the aisle, and the bouquet to be matching although the bouquet would be more beautiful because noona deserves the best. I want chandeliers and fairy lights too but nothing too bright and flashy. I’ll have a white suit on and she can pick a soft cloudy dress with a long tail, maybe something with chiffon and silk. No lace on anything except the veil. She might be pregnant by then so there must be a carpet and no dangerous areas like fountains and cliffs…actually, it might be a church wedding because she grew up religious and mother-in-law might like me better for that idea. For our rings, we’re getting them engraved and I’ll get a plain band and she’ll have the prettiest diamond from Cartier. We’ll serve cocktails and savory dinner items like roasted duck and lobster salad…but it depends on the season so I’ll have to wait until then.

Bunny: It seems you’ve thought about the wedding in detail.

OY JK, blushing: S-sorry, I tried to keep it brief.

Bunny: Oh it’s okay, I love the engraved wedding bands and flowers. Do you think noona would be thrilled?

OY JK: More than thrilled. I think she’d appreciate how much attention I’m putting into the smaller details. Noona is enthusiastic about beauty and I wanted to live up to her standards.

Bunny: That’s so sweet of you. Okay…next eyebrow-raising question from anonymous: “i see nsfw so i ask - koo what’s your favorite position with noona?”

OY JK: “I-I um…I like it when I’m sitting up and she’s on top so I can look at her face and play with her nipples. I can also hold onto her waist and control how fast or slow she wants it. B-But I also like missionary because noona gets to relax a-and I’m grateful that I can worship her body from head to toe in that position. It’s hard to pick a favorite when I’m just happy I get to touch her.”

Bunny: Is it hot in here or is it just me? Next question from stressedinmedschool257: “OY JK: will noona ever go with you to a shoot and will you ever ask to take pictures of her?? I’ve been seeing a lot of cute couple pictures like this and I think it’d be so cute to see you two doing it.”

OY JK, relieved his semi-boner is given a break: She’s been my muse since before we were in a relationship and it’s common for noona to model for me. I just keep the photos for myself. When she leaves work early or her vacation days coincide with my shooting days, I like to take her with me too. I gave her one of my cameras to use and she’s already taking pictures on her own hahaha, I think she’ll surpass my skills one day. We take a lot of photos on our dates too and the fridge in my studio has a few of our polaroid photos stuck onto it with magnets.

Bunny: That’s so cute! I’d love to see the couple photos another time. The same person is wondering about Taehyung and his girlfriend: “OY JK: have you ever met Tae’s assistant before?? If so, what did you think of her?? If not, do you want to or does Tae tell you enough about her???”

OY JK: Thank you, swing by my studio and I can give you a peek. No pictures please, for the sake of noona’s privacy. For Tae…I actually haven’t met his assistant before but we’ve talked on the phone and I’ve seen a photo of her. She seems very nice and genuine and I think Tae would appreciate someone who can keep up with him, you know he’s always traveling and it’s hard to get him to sit still. She’s head over heels for him and I think she’s great although I won’t hold my breath if she chooses to leave. Tae can be…difficult so I hope the best for her. I don’t tell them everything about noona so I only listen to what they want to tell me. Relationships are hard.

Bunny: Maybe one day I’ll have Taehyung join us in a Q&A.

OY JK, giggling: It’d take a miracle for him to do anything fun but I’d like to see you try.

Bunny: Okay, now back to noona. Anonymous asked: “Dear oy Jungkook, what’s your favorite physical attribute about noona and your favorite non physical attribute about noona?”

OY JK: Ah, it’s so hard to pick one but I’ll do my best. My favorite physical attribute would have to be her hair. She uses a honey hair mask that makes her hair smell so comforting that I fall asleep immediately when I spoon her and her hair is in my face. It’s so soft and long too. She has wavy hair so when she straightens it, it’s even longer and I just love combing through it. As for a non-physical attribute, I would say…her generosity. When we eat together she gives me the bigger portion and if she sees that I’m tired she always lets me nap on her lap and reassure me that everything is okay. She…she puts up a lot with me, I know. I love her so much for loving someone like me.

Bunny, choking up: Ah, Jungkook, you’re killing me. Please introduce me to any friends you have, I’d like a boyfriend as adorable as you.

OY JK: I’ll call Jimin and see if he’s interested but his cat steals all his attention these days.

Bunny: A cat as my love rival? I’d never win. Okay! Let’s end this on a fun note. Final question from anonymous: “what jk do if noona wont dress as a cat girl for him?”

OY JK: …

Bunny: …

OY JK: …C-can I please borrow a pillow?

Bunny, handing him a pillow to cover the very obvious tent in his pants: I’ll make sure to edit this out before airing.

OY JK: T-thank you and sorry…um…uh if noona won’t dress as a cat girl I…I’ll just have to accept this reality but she can’t resist me putting cat ears on her if I win a bet. That’s the rules.

Bunny: Why do I have a feeling from your reaction that you already have a plan to trap her into wearing cat ears?

OY JK, suppressing a smile: My lips are sealed.

Bunny: Well, this ends today’s Q&A session. Thank you once more to Jungkook for entertaining the readers and extra thank you to the readers for sending in questions. In case I don’t see you all next time, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight.  

#bunny:drabble #bunny:Q&A #interview with OY JK

[kaiowut99]

Phew, finally finished re-finalizing my finalized GX stuff so far!

Over the last few weeks well I guess months--initially while I waited for some potential editing help for 65, then [once I canned the last fix I’d planned; sorry to those I may have slightly annoyed with my casual reblogs about it] just to get it all done while in Rome before double-releasing 65 and 66--I’ve been giving my scripts one final look-through to fix any consistency or formatting issues with my newer stuff (things like my starting to use “Fusion Undone” as De-Fusion’s translated name before accidentally going back to “Fusion Cancel” or turning “Miss Asuka” back to “Asuka-san” since I’d meant to use that whenever “Asuka-sama” was used, or the way I’d italicize contractions or capitalize things), and also to sort of go and do things I should’ve done initially (like translating Daitokuji’s nyas into meows, the logic being that it’s what we’d hear in English anyway; hopefully this is one that goes over well?).  Basically just to cross them off my list so I don’t go back to them at all.  The plan is also to work on new finalized MKV softsubs that I’ll release on NAC for those who’d like ‘em, since Zeratul (who’d provided them before) hasn’t in a long while, and once I do them for 1-66, they’ll be a thing going forward.

While I was at it, I applied some other animation/footage fixes to things I hadn’t picked up on in my initial finalizing run-through as I started doing them, or polished a couple that I did.  Some might wonder “why put in the effort for quick shots or at all no one cares,” but as I’ve mentioned before, as someone who loves GX with some [I think good?] skills using Photoshop/video editing and an eye for detail, I figured if I have time to improve it for people (especially those who might notice the same errors I did) where the staff didn’t take the chance to do so on the DVDs (where they usually would), then why not? (I was actually inspired to do it by KaiserNeko doing the same for DBZ during DBZ Abridged.) The fixes I work on are done for both my hardsubs and the DVDRips I release with the scripts over on NAC, and there’s a thread there with the original DVDRips I work off of as well, in case anyone doesn’t like them (most/all of my finalized Season 1 scripts were re-timed for them by someone there, but I’ll take some time out to do it myself too now that I’ve re-finalized them), along with the CR subs which I’ve said should be shown love too.  I’ll list these new fixes out below by each episode, for anyone super curious about the details; some are kind of interesting, lol. (Did my best to format it so it’s readable, too, lol.)

So, yeah--keep an eye out for the links to actually-final 1-64 on my stream masterpost to be updated along with 65 and 66 once I post them (probably tomorrow), I’ll be updating the links in my NAC thread to the hardsubs and scripts I’ve re-finalized along with any DVDRips updated with the fixes below, and as I get work going on 67+ (which I’ve started a bit of) I’ll work on batches of the softsub MKVs for folks.  For people looking forward to my 65 and 66, really appreciate the patience the past couple of months; hoping to work on some double-releases to make up some time.

Extra-Final Fixes!

Episode 4 (Since I didn’t include a list of the previous fixes I’d worked on in the original release post, I’ll include those here in italics; the new ones here were mainly noticed as I worked on 66 given the flashback to Judai and Manjoume’s duel here--the edits were applied there first, then I went back and applied them here. The fixes I’d already done were applied to the flashback in 66 as needed.)

As Judai takes damage from Clayman’s destruction by VW-Tiger Catapult, Judai’s LP start counting down from 3808 and not 4000; I fixed it in Sony Vegas by masking in a LP counter starting from 4000 for a few frames.

As Judai prods Manjoume into choosing a card from his hand for A Hero Appears’s effect, Manjoume’s part of a split-screen has part of his blazer semi-faded for a frame; I corrected it by just duplicating a later frame.

As Judai’s LP take a hit from V-to-Z destroying Burstlady, there are four frames where the upper part of his Disk is missing the bottom part that extends out--but it shows up in the next frame, which also causes Judai’s Disk wrist grip to vanish for the rest of the shot before Shou’s split-screen comes on, as the parts of his arm for it are colored like his jacket sleeve.  To fix the first issue, I used Photoshop to draw on that bottom part in that first frame, then masked it into the shot in Sony Vegas for the other three frames.  The second issue I fixed by recoloring his sleeve to account for the wrist grip, then masking the edit into the shot while masking the little destroyed Solid Vision bits above the edit.

Had a few things going on here.  First, after Manjoume mocks Judai being wide open just after the above, we have one of many recycled shots through the episode where Judai insists that he’s still got fight in him--the initial frame has Judai in the same position as edit #3 ends with his wrist grip missing, but it reappears as he moves to stand firm while the shading on the lefthand side of his Disk’s Cemetery slot is wonky for a couple of frames.  Second, as Judai moves back into his initial position, that shading is normal but the wrist grip again disappears into his sleeve, and this time that bottom bit of his Disk’s upper part is colored as part of Judai’s sleeve, making his arm shorter.  Third, as Judai moves to draw, the wrist grip reappears and that bottom part is now colored properly, but Judai’s arm isn’t extended like it was at the start of the shot. Finally, as Judai draws, the wrist grip is there but that whole part of his wrist is colored like it (no red noting the end of his jacket sleeve).  I fixed the first issue by copying the wrist grip edit from #3 and copying the moving Cemetery slot shading from the second part here.  The second issue was fixed once I again copied the wrist grip edit from #3, along with using the initial frame to mask in the correct Disk/forearm coloring.  Then, I fixed the third issue by copying the rest of the area below the Disk’s bottom bit from the later shot in edit #7 below where it was colored correctly.  I fixed the last issue by recoloring the first wrist grip curve into red for the end of Judai’s jacket sleeve for five frames.

As Manjoume’s V-to-Z aims directly at Judai, as he discards two to activate Evolutionary/Transcendant Wings, the Winged Kuriboh on his Disk is in Attack Mode when it’s in Defense on the field; I blanked its Monster Zone in Photoshop and then added a Winged Kuriboh proxy in AfterEffects correctly in Defense Mode.

As Judai swings his arm around telling Winged Kuriboh LV10 to “send all that energy right back” at Manjoume, the spot on his Disk where Winged Kuriboh LV10 appears for a few frames is colored like the Monster Zone it’s on; I just applied a Winged Kuriboh LV10 proxy above it for those frames.

Again, a few things here as we recycle the Judai shot in edit #4 (but he’s smiling so it’s different~). First, after Manjoume mocks Judai’s idea of him drawing a 1000-ATK-or-higher Monster to finish him, the initial frame of this shot is pulled from just before Judai moves to draw in edit #4 because the wrist grip is missing along with the bottom bit of his Disk being colored like his jacket.  Then, as Judai moves to draw and grabs a card from his deck, as his Disk arm swings upward for a few frames, the wrist grip area is first 90% colored like his sleeve, with half of the first curve of it on his sleeve colored like the grip, before it’s fully colored like his sleeve for the other frames.  Finally, as Judai fully draws and his Disk swings back to the bottom of the shot (recycling Judai’s position post-draw in edit #4), the wrist grip is gone, but also Judai’s undershirt is miscolored, part of the folds on Judai’s jacket sleeve near his elbow are colored like his Disk, and his Disk is miscolored or missing a few details compared to the earlier shot (like the bottom side of the blue LP orb being colored blue as well and not the Disk’s gray as before).  I fixed the first issue by copying the fixed initial frame from edit #4, masking it in Vegas to just use the Disk/wrist grip area.  The second issue was fixed as I recolored the wrist grip area such that the first curve was fully red and the rest was wrist-grip-colored for the three frames of Judai’s Disk arm going upward.  I fixed the third issue by just masking in Judai’s Disk and arm (up to the edge of his wrist) from the earlier correctly-colored shot, while also masking in his correctly-colored undershirt.

As Judai summons Featherman--to Shou and Chronos’s surprise--and has him lunge at Manjoume for the finisher, the black faraway box that is Featherman on his Disk disappears as Shou and Chronos slide in on a split-screen, and it’s still gone as they slide back out.  I fixed this in Vegas by just masking that black box on to stay longer, masking in Shou’s split-screen over it before and after it slides in.

Episode 8 (Original release post; as with episode 4′s, these new errors were mainly noticed as I worked on 66 given the flashback to Judai and Ryou’s duel here--the edits were applied there first, then I went back and applied them here.  The fixes I made before were applied to the flashback in 66, as well.)

After Judai thinks about how well Ryou played his first move, he draws Fusion for his turn, but as he draws it, it’s a dark-orange rectangle in his hand; I added a Fusion proxy over it in AfterEffects for the quick 2-3 frames it’s in.

After Judai’s first hit on him, Ryou draws and Special-Summons another Cyber Dragon, but visually he’s playing a Monster in face-down Defense Mode on his second Monster Zone--we see this Cyber Dragon in Zone 3 a few shots later as he uses Revival of the Dead to bring back his first Cyber Dragon.  The dub fixed this by making his Disk arm move such that Ryou’s hand lands on Zone 3, with the card in his hand a dubified Cyber Dragon, and I opted to work that into the footage here by masking their moving Disk over the original shot in Vegas, redoing the sky background behind it and masking in parts of Ryou and his hand to make it blend well while also adding some detail to the Disk in Photoshop to compensate for the slightly lower quality.  Then, I replaced the dubified card with a Japanese Cyber Dragon proxy in AE.  I worked on this in 66 first (as highlighted here), but I unfortunately couldn’t just copy that edit completely here, since the footage in 66 has a bit more brightness/contrast to it that I couldn’t dial down accurately to make it blend in to the darker footage here; this is definitely the kind of error that would normally be fixed on the Japanese DVDs, so why it wasn’t is a mystery.

As the screen zooms in on Judai after Ryou declares Cyber Twin’s attack, he’s missing Thunder Giant on his Disk’s third Monster Zone; I added a proxy onto it in AE and masked the red bulb on his Disk over it in Vegas.  It’s tiny and a quick shot, but for consistency’s sake and all. (I’d previously only added that missing Thunder Giant as it zooms out while he activates A Hero Appears).

As Judai thinks about how Evolutionary Wings would evolve his Winged Kuriboh and the screen fades and zooms out to Bubbleman on his field, he’s missing Bubbleman on his Disk in his third Monster Zone.  I added it in AE, then keyframed this zoom-out for it accordingly in Vegas.

Right after #4 above, as Judai notes that he can’t Normal-Summon again this turn, we see Mudballman--which he hasn’t summoned yet--in Defense Mode on his Disk.  When I first fixed this, I put Bubbleman in its place, but accidentally in Defense Mode (given that he’s in Attack Mode right now), so I fixed my own correction by blanking the third Monster Zone Mudballman was on and slapping Bubbleman on in Attack Mode in AE, moving it along with Judai’s Disk. (Still not sure why the dub decided Mudballman = VW Catapult or something apparently lol)

Episode 10 (Original release post listing the original two fixes that were done)

After Mei draws out his Sanga thanks to Kyuu’s Dark Designator card, during the panning shot as Mei adds it to his hand (before they tell Judai and Shou they’ll enlighten them about Tag Dueling), the Defense-Mode Burstlady on Judai’s Disk is shown reversed; I just applied a proxy in AfterEffects on top of it so it was correctly shown with the name box facing left.

After summoning Steam Gyroid, as Shou notes that summoning Hyuga left Kyuu without a defending Monster, the above shot is recycled--this time, reversed so it pans from Shou to Judai, but also has Judai react to what Shou’s saying--and so is the error with Burstlady on his Disk.  Again, just applied a proxy in AE to fix it, moving it as Judai moves his Disk.

As Shou looks down in disappointment after his Steam Gyroid’s attack ran into Hyuga’s effect, Judai turns to give him some words of encouragement, but as his Disk moves with him, we see the Defense-Mode Burstlady on his Disk again facing the wrong way.  Just slapped a proxy on in AE and moved it as Burstlady’s Zone came into view.

After Gate Guardian destroys Shou’s Steam Gyroid, as Chronos watches on and notes Shou’s timidity vs Judai’s stubbornness while the two look on at the Meikyuu Brothers, we see the Defense-Mode Burstlady on Judai’s Disk facing the wrong way again.  Fixed it by placing the proxy again in AE, then zooming it out accordingly as the shot zooms out.

After Mei sets a card and Judai prepares to draw for his turn, there’s a yellow rectangle where his Defense-Mode Burstlady should be.  Applied a proxy in AE over it to fix the issue.

Episode 11  (Original release post listing the original fixes that were done)

As Kyuu draws once Judai sets a card to end his turn using Spark Gun on Gate Guardian, the spot on his Disk where Defense Wall in Defense Mode would be has an Attack-Mode-shaped hole where you can see the blue of the stands behind him! I fixed it by making a Defense Wall proxy that I slapped on in Defense Mode in AfterEffects, moving it with his Disk.  For the tail end of the shot where the Zone is fully visible, I also filled in the hole with the Zone color in Photoshop and then applied the proxy.

As Shou declares Gate Guardian the target of his Shield Crush, the card back for the one card in his hand is miscolored.  I fixed it by redrawing the usual card back in Photoshop for the frames it’s in, Gaussian Blurring it so it blends in, before he turns and they’re out of the shot.

After Mei ends his turn having attacked Drillroid with Dark Guardian amused at Shou’s standing back up thanks to Judai, as Judai draws for his turn, his face-down card is miscolored. I recolored it in Photoshop for the few frames it’s in, working it into the footage in Vegas.

After Judai draws from Pot of Greed after the above, he goes on to activate Fusion Gate, but Sparkman on his Disk is reversed; I applied a proxy in AE facing upright, then keyframed it to the zoom-out here in Vegas.

As Judai realizes he’ll need to give up Skyscraper so Tempester can survive Dark Guardian’s attack, the Tempester card on his Disk is reversed; I applied a proxy in AE facing upright, then keyframed it to the zoom-out here in Vegas.

As Judai and Shou reel from the above attack once Kyuu ends his turn, Shou has a Normal Monster card where Drillroid would be on his Disk.  I fixed it by slapping on a proxy in AE for the couple of frames it’s visible in before Shou moves his Disk so it’s not onscreen.

I polished my edit to Misawa to keep his sideburns still in episode 12 and added it to the equivalent shot in the preview here.

Episode 12 (Original release post listing the original fixes that were done)

As noted in 11′s #7, I polished my original fix to Misawa’s moving sideburns as a buffed-up Hell Soldier took out his Hydroggedon so it blended in more with the smoke and everything going on in the shot; looks better now.

As Manjoume declares Hell Burner’s attack on Misawa, there are two quick frames where it’s a yellow rectangle on his Disk; I applied a Hell Burner proxy in AE accordingly.

Episode 18 (Original release post listing the original fixes that were done)

After Kagurazaka brings back Berfomet to take the hit from Thunder Giant and he starts his turn, as he activates Reincarnation of the Dead, there’s a quick frame where it shrinks in his hand as the shot zooms out--I fixed this by just duplicating the frame just before where it’s normal.

After Kagurazaka summons the Gazelle he added to his hand above, he then activates Swords of Sealing Light, but there’s a quick frame where it’s just a yellow shape in his hand.  Easy fix by slapping a proxy in AE.

Episode 30 (Original release post listing the original fixes that were done)

As Shou and Hayato realize they’re no longer being boiled alive, Hayato audibly asks, “Huh? Where are we?”, but his lips only move for the “Huh?” part of that as he lifts his head.  To fix this, I used the couple of flaps as he lifts his head and tweaked/resized them so they would work after his head’s lifted, adjusted to fit his line.

Episode 31 (Original release post listing the original fixes that were done)

As Chronos sets a card down after Camula brings out another Immortal Werewolf, Antique Gear Soldier on his Disk is shown as a Normal Monster Card; I originally fixed this by slapping on a proxy in AfterEffects while the shot was still, then keyframe-zooming it out in Vegas, but at the time, I didn’t account for Chronos’s swinging arm, so the card was superimposed over his hand for a frame or two as it swung over that Zone.  I’ve masked his hand over my edit now, so that’s fixed.

Episode 38 (Original release post listing the original fixes that were done)

After Judai summons Wildman in Defense Mode to start the duel and the lights suddenly go out (prompting the “duel of darkness/duel in the seas” mixup...), we see Wildman’s in Attack Mode on the field despite its Defense posture.  I fixed it by applying a proxy there, then masking Wildman’s lower body and the shadow coming from his sheathed sword on top of it.

Episode 46 (Original release post listing the original fixes that were done)

As Judai reminisces about the past year, he flashes back to his duel with Ryou in episode 8 and his Featherman being vaporized by Cyber Dragon; I added back the fix I did to Judai’s Disk in removing his destroyed Featherman for the few frames it’s onscreen.  Because the flashback fades to white right then too, I also added a quick mostly-transparent layer of white over the blanked zone to replicate the start of the fade to white so it blended in.

As Judai then looks over at Shou and Hayato and he remembers his first encounters with them (a bit reanimated, too), there’s a quick frame where Hayato’s gritted-teeth mouth disappears before it closes into a line for his mouth.  Fixed by just reusing a frame of his mouth in the same position and moved it into place in the panning shot.

Episode 51 (Original release post listing the original fixes that were done)

As Ryou notes that Judai’s studied up on him by choosing to go second, Judai slides in on a split-screen, but the top of his hair’s miscolored.  Fixed by recoloring it in Photoshop, then working it into the footage in Vegas by moving it into place as he slides in.

As Ryou uses Time Capsule to hide away his Fusion Undone/De-Fusion for later and Judai thinks back to his move in episode 8 leading to his activating Power Bond, I added back my fix to Ryou’s Disk to add on his missing two Cyber Dragons and the one Cyber Dragon in his hand, grayscaling it and adding visual noise to it to blend with the flashback.

Episode 54 (Original release post listing the original fixes that were done)

After Chronos pins his hopes on Manjoume, as Gokaido draws for his turn, we see an error where his Disk apparently partially vanishes for two movement frames--it seems the animation staff forgot to put the background layer behind his Disk there or something, lol.  I fixed this by actually filling in the rest of his Disk in Photoshop for those two frames, first by filling in the Disk itself and then painting on the rest of the Monster Zone at the edge of the frame, and then just added them to the video in Vegas.

Episode 59 (Original release post listing the original fixes that were done)

After Shining Flare Wingman returns while Ed explains Misfortune’s effect, of the D-Heroes on his Duel Disk, we see Diamondguy and Diehardguy reversed.  I originally slapped on proxies for them positioned correctly in AfterEffects on the frame after the slow zoom-out stops, then in Vegas I used that frame to re-do the initial zoom-out, but while I usually add a slight blur to the proxies, I noticed that they were a bit too blurry as the zoom-out started.  So I redid it and lightened the blur, while also touching up the bit as Misfortune’s light envelops Ed and his Disk so the light over them blends in more.

Episode 62 (Original release post, though I didn’t do any fixes before)

As Judai uses Dandylion’s effect to summon his two Fluff Tokens, Cocoon Dolphina--visually in Defense Mode on the field--is in Attack Mode on Judai’s Disk in the panning shot to them.  I fixed it by first blanking the Zone in Photoshop, then placing a proxy in the Zone for one frame in AfterEffects before I re-panned that frame for the shot.

#subbing rambling #good to have gotten all that done #thought it'd be good to get that re-finalizing out of the way now #but yeah #main reason why i'd been away for most of the past few weeks #[along with work being a bit stressful as i caught up on stuff] #[you go on vacation for *one* week...] #anyway thanks for bearing with me lol

[leverage-ot3]

notable moments from The Reunion Job

leverage 3.02

Madavhi: All my work, erased, and I was only days away from cracking Manticore.

Nate: What's "Manticore"?

Madavhi: It's an electronic surveillance system. The Iranian government uses it to track protesters over cell phones, social networks, even e-mail.

Hardison: Yeah, hacker underground's flipping out about it. They use GPS to pinpoint a dissident, and then they swoop in and make the arrest.

Madavhi: The Internet made this protest possible, but now it's just a –

Nate: A liability? The government uses the people's weapon against them

- - - - -

Nate: "Cyrus"? It's "Mr. Madavhi." You can't get that attached.

Hardison: Fine. "Mr. Madavhi." He could go make a fortune working for Google or Microsoft. No, instead he risks his life fighting the bad guys. This is so our game.

Eliot (at the table behind them): He wasn't hit by the Vezarat. (comes around to sit with Hardison and Nate)

Nate: What, are you lurking?

Eliot: Yeah. I'm a lurker. It's my thing

- - - - -

eliot’s smile and raised eyebrows (x2) at hardison tho

+ he’s also wearing a red flannel with his leather jacket

- - - - -

Hardison: What's the Vezarat?

Eliot: That's the Iranian secret police. And trust me, if they wanted Cyrus, he wouldn't be sitting here talking to us.

Nate: But the Vezarat is still our logical target. So we should check our sources and see if there's a safe house in the area.

Hardison: So we're on this?

Nate: Yeah, well, we were always on this. I just wanted you to explain to me why. (gets up and heads for the Poker Room)

Hardison: You know how I feel about Mind games, Nate. Negatively. What are you looking at, lurker?

ELIOTS SMILE

- - - - -

Sophie: Eliot. Eliot, get rid of it. Ugh!

Eliot: (chuckling) I think he likes you.

Sophie (stands): You're gonna pay for this

eliot: mocks her

sophie: imma get back at you SO HARD and you’re never gonna see it coming

- - - - -

“That’s gonna cost ya” “I gotta dock ya”- hardison and eliot like a million times in this episode

- - - - -

Parker: At the East corner. (pushes vent out and enters the room) For a den of evil spies, this place smells delicious. Hardison, confiscate some pastries. (sits down at computer) Okay, no sign of Cyrus' hardware.

we love seeing parker in vents in her element + CONFISCATE PASTRIES FOR HER

- - - - -

Nate: Any of you ever trimmed a bonsai?

Eliot: Well, you know, I did. I was in Osaka, and I met this Japanese policewoman at a geisha bar....

- - - - -

Parker (to Sophie): Why is Eliot pouring your tea? Hmm? Did you brainwash him again?

Sophie: Mm, neurolinguistic programming. It's amazing what you can do with the power of suggestion. "Sugar." "Squeezed." a few strategic pats on the arm.

(Sophie pats Eliot on the arm and he pours her more tea, then realizes what Sophie has done)

Eliot: Damn it!

Sophie: You owe me for that roach business!

Eliot: Sophie, not again. (walks away)

okay but SHES DONE THIS TO HIM BEFORE LMFAO + a bonus parker and hardison laughing

also parker was eating a plate of pastries so that means thE BOYS GOT SOME FOR HER I LOVE IT

- - - - -

parker and hardison go into the office and be like 👀👀👀 wow he’s lonely

- - - - -

Eliot: Nobody else thinks it's weird that you can just buy anybody's yearbook online?

Hardison: You know, it's real cute, man, how you still believe in privacy

- - - - -

Nate: Here we go. Uh, Mrs. Zavransky, math teacher. Now, I bet if we turn to the cheerleaders... (turns page) Yes. Oh, Mandy. Mandy Babson.

Parker: What does the "DD" Mean?

Eliot: Yeah, right...

Nate: Seriously?

Hardison: Yeah, right. Two scoops of ice cream, just perfect.

she’s baby leave her alone

also bless hardison for not wanting to tarnish her

- - - - -

Parker: Aw, I feel bad for the nerd.

Eliot: Don't feel bad for this guy. Getting bullied in high school Is still no excuse for propping up dictators. He got bulled his whole high-school career. He's not criminal.

Sophie: Um...

Parker: Yeah, he is.

Sophie: Don't think about that.

Eliot: Not a bad criminal.

Hardison: Hey, what makes you think I got bullied in high school?

Eliot: Well, "A," You got a green hornet doll.

Hardison: Well, first of all, it's a limited-edition action figure. Second, it is green lantern. Educate yourself.

Eliot: Wow.

Hardison: Now pay attention. Get it right.

eliot “not a bad criminal” spencer knows that hardison is a good person with solid morals

also, eliot to some extent knows about hardison’s action figues which means that he has either seen them or hardison has told him specifically that he had them. this means that they have had, even if eliot seemed annoyed, some sort of conversations/hardison-talking-at-him-conversations and eliot LISTENED to a certain extend that he was able to recall this

- - - - -

Nate: Guys, wait, wait. Listen, listen. We got a locker combination, we have a teacher's name, and we have a crush. So, Duberman, he has made his old high school his Roman room.

Parker: Of course.

Nate: "Of course"? What's a Roman room? You have no idea, right? You know—

Parker: Nn.

Nate: You don't have any idea? It's a, it's a memory technique. Each of his passwords corresponds to an object in a space that he's intimately familiar with. In his case, the hallway of his old high school where he kept his locker. Now, if I were to make this bar my Roman room, everything I need to remember is right here. For instance, This, uh... My bank password would be "Balmoor." And my e- mail password would be Fitzy, here.

- - - - -

Parker: Hey. Nate just gave us his passwords.

Hardison: No, but I got all his passwords. You want to see his Netflix queue? He's got, like, every season of "Rockford files" every season of "Sex and the city," That show "Psych”.

chaotic children

- - - - -

Parker: You want to break into the high school? I could do that blindfolded. Yeah let's do it blindfolded.

HER HER HAVE FUN

- - - - -

Hardison: What do you know? Class of '85 has a reunion coming up in 8 months.

Nate: Hmm.

they all smile conspiratorially and eliot’s smile in specific gave me serotonin

- - - - -

(Parker sets up a video camera and walks past a board of photos)

Parker: So many awkward people in so many ugly outfits.

[Interior Van]

Hardison: Yeah, you're lucky you never went to high school. Nothing but heartbreak and homework.

[High School Gym]

Parker: Didn't you go to your prom?

[Interior Van]

Hardison: Uh...I was kind of busy.

[Flashback]

(a teenaged Hardison is sitting at a computer making a transfer from the Bank of Iceland)

Hardison: Looks like the Bank of Iceland's paying off Nana's medical bills. That's dope!

[Interior Van]

Hardison: Good times

- - - - -

Hardison: Besides, I'm sure you already had your high- school fun. Big man on campus. What, quarterback?

[Flashback]

Kid: Come on, Eliot. This is so lame. Quarterbacks do not take Home Ec.

Eliot: I got my reasons.

Kid: Phew! Let's get out of here.

Girl: Eliot, like this. (leans over Eliot, showing her cleavage) Knives are like people. It's all about the context.

[Exterior Dubertech]

Eliot: I had many interests

- - - - -

hardison getting too into the high school drama lmao

- - - - -

Hardison: Not exactly. (looking at information on monitors) She's a hired gun.

[Hallway]

Sophie: An assassin? Nikki’s an assassin?

[Interior Van]

Hardison: Yeah, I guess we weren't the only ones with the bright idea to pose as alumni. This chick's connected to wet work jobs All up and down the East coast. Russian mob, Italian mob. There's a New Zealand mob?

her name is miranda miles *squints at the file on hardison’s computer* bruh no way she’s only 25 ??? they even give her height and weight but I guess that’s how all wanted files go

also in one of the commentaries didn’t they say that she was married to that other assassin ???

- - - - -

(a piece of door falls in and the Vezarat leader looks in)

Vezarat Leader: The health inspector?

Eliot: I'm gonna have to dock you again

LMFAO

also he’s wearing a grey flannel under his jacket

- - - - -

(Eliot knees the leader in the face, then pulls him up and punches him in the head. He turns to duck a blow from the other man and hits him in the head with one of Duberman’s chess trophies)

Eliot: Checkmate.

(Eliot throws the trophy down on the man. Behind him the leader stands up and cracks his neck)

Eliot: Or not.

he did the lil flip thing with the trophy

- - - - -

(Sophie hits Nikki in the head with the extinguisher and takes off her shoes)

Sophie: I always hated cheerleaders.

(Nikki swings several times and Sophie blocks each blow with the extinguisher, hurting Nikki’s wrist)

Sophie: It's mean girls like you that always ruined high school for the rest of us!

Nikki: What the hell are you talking about?

(Nikki kicks but Sophie moves to one side. Nikki tries to punch but Sophie blocks with the extinguisher. Sophie dodges a kick and hits Nikki in the head, then pushes her down and runs away. Nikki grabs her gun and fires after Sophie, missing her)

Nikki: Damn it

- - - - -

Nikki: Now, why would I do that?

(Parker walks forward and tasers Nikki in the neck)

Nikki: Ohh!

Nate: That's why.

(Nikki falls to the ground, convulsing. Parker grabs her legs and starts to pull her away)

Parker: Catering, what a business

we love to see parker tasering people

- - - - -

on today’s edition of things that aren’t weapons that eliot uses as weapons, our guy literally used one of the goons’ bodies to hit another goon and send them both down

what a king

- - - - -

Mandy: Your votes are in for the king and queen of the reunion! And the lucky winner is, Grace Peltz and Drake McIntyre!

Schmitty: Mac attack! Yeah!

(the crowd escorts Nate and Sophie forward)

Nate: Uh, very funny, Hardison.

Hardison: Oh, you think I did this? Naw, man, I don't rig elections. I mean, I could, but...

Sophie: Parker, Was this you?

Parker: (hanging upside down) I didn't even know they had kings and queens in high school

- - - - -

Hardison (looks up): May I have this dance, miss?

(Parker lowers herself on her line and they begin dancing)

Parker: So this is what high school was like, huh?

Hardison: Ah...Pretty much.

Eliot: Hello?

[Exterior Dubertech]

(Eliot walks out of the building as Sloane gets to his feet)

Eliot: Everybody having a good time at the dance? Anybody wonder if Eliot made it out?

(Eliot punches Sloan, who falls back into the bushes)

Eliot: Does anybody wonder if Eliot's alive? Hello?!

[High School Gym]

(the two couples continue to dance as the music plays)

🥰 parker’s feet not touching the floor 🥰

also aww poor eliot someone care about him pls

#leverage #leverage 3.02 #leverage 3x02 #the reunion job #leverage season 3 #season 3 #notable moments #mine

[mermaidcashton]

i hate to admit it

author: claire (@mermaidcashton) ship: michael clifford/reader prompt/AU: this is a gift for the wonderful @h0tsos who wanted soft, subby Michael in an enemies to lovers capacity (and i snuck some coffee shop!au in there as well, and some weebness because, well, it’s Steff and Michael) wordcount: 4k+ warnings: swearing, alcohol mentions, explicit sexual content a/n: • written for @maluminspace & @h0tsos ‘s 5sos fic writers collab (which was a gift exchange this time around) • i do not give permission for this (or any of my writing) to be reposted, by anyone, on this or any other website. please don’t do it! • title from ‘this means war’ by mariana’s trench • ‘my hero academia’ is a manga/anime series. there are references to it and a few of the characters in this but you don’t need to know anything about it to understand what’s going on.

i hate to admit it *** “So, they’re like...superheroes?” 

Luke sipped on his glass of rosé, nodding like he understood whilst making a face that showed he absolutely did not.

“Yeah, dude, pretty much!” Michael nodded along with your co-worker with so much enthusiasm he looked like one of those dogs people put on their dashboards. Except less cute. Wait, no - not cute. Definitely not cute at all. Good save, you. Couldn’t have your own internal monologue thinking you felt anything for the moron you were forced to work with 3 times a week was anything more than an annoyance you had to endure. With a butt that wouldn’t quit. Dammit, self! 

Michael took advantage of Luke showing an interest in his (and yours) favourite anime, and began bombarding him with half baked theories, predictable favourite scenes and shitty character analysis. He nearly knocked his own hat off as he flailed his hands around in an attempt at explaining the dynamics of a battle from the second season. Luke smiled politely. 

You snorted into your drink as you drained the last of it; you were definitely going to need another. If Michael started fanboying over Deku again, you were going to scream.

As you placed the empty bottle onto the wood of the coffee table, you took another glance around the apartment you were in. You’d never been up here before, despite spending a minimum of 20 hours a week in the coffee shop downstairs. But after this evening’s staff meeting tackling such issues as ‘who forgot that milk needs to be kept in the fridge overnight’ (Luke), ‘who is putting too much whipped cream on hot chocolates’ (Michael), and ‘who wrote ‘THIS COFFEE IS HOT, BUT U R HOTTER ❤ ) on a customers caramel macchiato’ (Luke again), Ashton had invited you all upstairs for a ‘employee chill’. You had been surprised a week or so into your employment when you had found out that the manager was also the owner who lived in the apartment above Screamin’ Beans; he was only in his mid twenties, but the more you’d experienced his drive and determination, the more your surprise had dwindled. Ashton really was a great guy, with one big flaw; Michael. They had been best friends for years, hence him moving into the apartment when he came back into town and the job Ashton had given him; which in your humble opinion was the equivalent of setting a monkey loose on the milk frother.   

Michael had sealed his fate with you the same day he’d started work. He arrived 10 minutes late (from upstairs), sleepy eyed and shy smiled. His fluffy blonde hair was spilling out of his beanie, and he kept biting his very pink lip bottom with sharp little teeth. The way he pronounced your name was adorable. You’d burned your hand on the espresso machine. Strike one. Things unravelled quickly after that. He was ‘too shy’ to take orders and work the register so you were stuck there all day talking to goddamn customers about why it wasn’t a good idea to have 3 pumps of every syrup while he hid behind silver machinery and dirtied way more jugs than you deemed necessary. Strike two. And then he’d dropped a latté into that ladies bag - sorry, very expensive bag. Michael had let out a ‘uuuhhh’ sound like a malfunctioning robot without moving for so long that the furious customer had stopped trying to yell at him and focused her rage on you instead. When he had eventually come to whatever passed for his senses, Michael had power walked into the employee bathroom and didn’t return until Calum arrived to join the shift and assured him the woman had left, twenty minute later. You were beyond strikes. You’d been so sure you could talk Ashton into scheduling you together as little as possible. There was no reason to put you down to work nearly every shift together, especially shifts where only two staff were on! Except, apparently there was because he kept fucking doing it. Every time you pressed Ashton on it, he’d say something about how he needed Michael ‘trained by the best’, or ‘matching availabilities’, or he thought their ‘energies combined well; auras are meshing, y’know?’ The one might have been on you for catching him as he was returning from his Vibe Check Yoga class at the studio down the street. 

He’d also emphasised that Michael needed more friends now he was back in the city, and you two had loads in common! You both liked pop punk! You’d rolled your eyes. And Italian food! A ‘tch noise. And anime! Okay, you’d bite. 

The next time you’d gone into work, you’d engaged Michael in a conversation about ‘Tokyo Ghoul’ and recommended ‘Demon Slayer’; things started to pick up. You didn’t fantasise about locking Michael in the walk-in fridge the whole shift. And then…

“You watch ‘My Hero Academia’, right?” “Uh, yeah! I love it.” “Me too! I just ordered a Todoroki tee yesterday. And another Deku one, of course; gotta rep my main man!” “Oh..cool! He’s your favourite?” Of course Michael was a basic bitch. But hey, that’s fine. Deku was fine. He was the main character, after all. And he’s a little less whiny in the recent manga issues, you guess. And the way Michael’s face was right now - open, comfortable, lit up like the 4th of July? That was good, too. His eyes were so green.  “Yeah! Who’s your favourite character?” “Well, I would die for a bunch of ‘em, but I’m a Bakugou girl at heart.” You laid a palm flat on your chest, choosing to ignore the feel of your heart beating faster than it had been five minutes ago beneath it.  Michael wrinkled his nose. “Bakugou? But he’s like...he’s so mean! And angry!”

Oh no. You’d had this conversation before. You locked eyes with Michael, hoping he could see the warning in your eyes. Don’t do it, ho.

“Like, he’d probably make a better villain than hero!”

“You okay, boo?” Calum slid into the space on the couch beside you, holding out a fresh beer for you to take. “You look deep in thought.”

You hummed and accepted the bottle from him, letting go of your train of thought as you caught sight of Luke trying to prove he could get his overly long leg behind his head. Michael and Ashley F. were both actively trying to avoid getting kicked in the face with a sparkly boot, whilst Ashton was just monitoring the situation very intently; you’re not entirely sure when he last blinked. 

You snorted again as Luke’s foot slotted into place in a position you were 85% sure he would not be able to get out of again without assistance, possibly from the emergency services.

“I’m fine. Gotta be one of us capable of thinking here, y’know.” You teased, looking sidelong at Calum. He laughed, rubbing a hand over his freshly shaved hair; he’d always been as easy to get along with as he was obnoxiously handsome. “Hey! You’re lucky I know you’re talking about the human pretzel over there! And I guess, your boyf-” Big brown eyes glittered at you over the hand you’d slapped over his mouth. “-fwendth.” Narrowing your own eyes at your friend, you hissed. “Shut up! I would rather die.” Calum waggled his eyebrows incessantly at you until you relented and dropped your hand. “You knew who I was talking about, though.” Ugh. Smug was not a good look on Calum. “You know, smug is not a good lo-oh fuck, is that the time?” The clock behind Calum’s head showed 8:58; your auction ended at 9:00. You fumbled into your bag for your phone, unlocking it and flicking straight to the app you needed. Phew - still the top bid. “Whatcha doin’?” Calum hooked his chin over your shoulder, blowing your hair out of his face before settling down. 

“Bidded on a really cool, limited edition figure. One of my all time favourite anime characters. The auction is about to end.” You explained,  making sure Calum could hear you other the cacophony of sounds associated with Luke trying to get his other leg behind his head. You both watched the seconds tick down, your username sitting securely by the words ‘Winning Bid’. At two seconds to nine, the page refreshed, then refreshed again; it was over.

‘Winning Bid: BIGRED69’ “Uh...what happened? That’s not you, right?” Calum asked, tilting his head to look at your face, and the rage it contained. BIGRED69. He’d done it again. 

“Uh oh, Y/N - what’s wrong?” Ashton’s voice pulled you out of your internal screaming, and you looked up at him. 

“She’s losing her weeb shit at a heavy eBay loss” Calum answered for you, nodding solemnly as he pulled away from you, giving you room to bonk him with a cushion. “Oh! That’s too bad, but that’s another thing you and Mikey have in common!” Ashton beamed. “Mikey!” Oh no. Oh no, no.

“Yeah?” Michael sloped over, getting his black boot caught on the corner of the leopard print rug as he did. Ashton caught him with an ease you suspected (knew) came from practice. “Why don’t you take Y/N to see your anime dolls? She collects them, too!” Ashton looked so pleased with himself and his suggestion for further ‘bonding’ for you and Michael, and Michael looked like he’d been force fed raw lemon at the phrase ‘anime dolls’, so you let it go on your own behalf. Except now Michael was waiting expectantly for you to follow him to his room and Calum was shoving you off of the couch to get you moving. Fuck your life. You sighed as you got up and started walking. “Fine, let’s go; you can show me your Todoroki body pillow and then we can get on with our lives.” Michael let out a small hiss like an angry kitten, his cheeks colouring a pretty pink. He spared a glance at everyone left in your wake. “I, um, don’t have a body pillow, you guys.” “Suuuuure!” You rolled your eyes, waiting for Michael to enter his bedroom so you could follow. The blonde flicked the light on and moved slightly further in so you could pass him, before shutting the door with a small ‘click’. You decided not to comment on this action, looking around at the posters on the walls and figurines on the shelves instead. You were undecided on whether or not you were going to comment on how cool a lot of Michael’s shit was. A ‘Full Metal Alchemist’ poster over his bed, a full shelf of Funko Pops from movies you loved, framed prints of album artwork by Waterparks and The Maine. Fuck. You were really aware of Michael staring at you with an almost hopeful (?) look on his face as you let your eyes travel around his room before he could show you his ‘anime dolls’. Fuck. Your stomach felt fluttery, and you thought you might have a serious problem here, before you caught sight of a very different problem on Michael’s desk. 

A rare Kirishima Eijirou statue - box signed by the voice actor - you’d been outbid on last month. By BIGRED69. What were the chances a different one was sitting by Michael’s laptop?

“So,” You said, trying to keep your voice neutral and non-murderous. “Where do you get your collectibles from?” “Forbidden Planet, Tokyo Toys, eBay…” Michael rattled off, until you interrupted him. “Where did you get that one? Looks rare - it must have been difficult!” 

“Oh! eBay! It was, but I have an app for it, so…” Michael grinned, looking pleased with himself. An app? “An automatic bidding app? You sniped me?! That’s cheating!” You squeaked; you could not believe this. It was unbelievable.

Michael blinked at you, head empty. “BIGRED69?!” You managed to make the world’s stupidest screen name sound like a terrible accusation. Which it was.

Comprehension dawned on his stupid, beautiful face all at once. “Oh my God! That was you that I’ve been fighting for this stuff? No way! But you didn’t know it was me?”

“Why the hell would I know it was you!” You threw your hands up, and Michael just stared dopily back at you.

“‘Bigred69?! Obviously I assumed you were 12!” Michael let out a squawk of protest, before folding his arms defensively across his chest.

“Clifford!” “What?” Michael’s tone became more insistent. “My last name! Clifford!” You pulled an exaggerated ‘so?!’ face, throwing your hand in the air again. 

Michael had the unmitigated gall to huff, like you were the biggest idiot in the room; like he wasn’t always the biggest idiot in every room, all rooms, ever, in the history of rooms. “Clifford the Big Red Dog!” He said, insistence heavy in the words.

You often swore you could almost hear the old internet dial up tone trilling inside Michael’s brain when customers at the coffee shop asked him such difficult questions as “What dairy alternative milks do you carry?”, “Where is the bathroom?”, and even once - you swear - “What’s your name?”. In Michael’s defence, that last one had been asked in more flirtatious-than-not tone by a brunette who clearly had some kind of vision problem (he’d been dressed more horrendously than usual that day beneath his uniform apron; was that a utility vest?!), but had fluttered her eyelashes at your idiot colleague so hard, for so long, you’d been concerned she’d be leaving without what little vision she’d arrived with. But still. Idiot. Michael, not you. And yet, now it was you with your brain puttering through the information you had with the shrill electronic sound of the 90’s in your head. “Clifford the- are you for fucking real?” This could not be real life.

“It’s totally clever!” Michael asserted, continuing in earnest once you scoffed in reply. “No, listen! Because of Clifford, and also, I had red hair when I made it, and 69 is funny - it is! - and, well-” His face flushed slightly before he puffed his chest out a little, apparently deciding to commit to his defence of his screen name. “I’m big, so it works on like, loads of levels!” 

This could not be happening to you. You were decidedly not standing in the bedroom of a coworker you simultaneously couldn’t stand and also couldn’t stop thinking about kissing as you restocked the counter fridges in the evenings, as he explained that his auction site handle was a combination of a previous dye job, an insinuation about his dick and a massive fucking dog. You could not let Michael have the upper hand here, but you were floundering. So you fell into more familiar, more pathetic territory. 

“If you were called something like ‘deku-loving-loser’, then, sure - I would have known it was you!” “Who’s 12 now?!” “Uh, still you!” Okay, so this wasn’t your finest moment, but you were in it now. And you’d really wanted the Kaminari figure tonight. Michael didn’t even like him that much!

“The point is, you totally sniped me! And you get stuff about basic canon wrong! And your understanding of the characters is one dimensional! And, and...your hat is stupid!” Well, shit. In your defence, Michael’s hat was stupid. You could feel how hot your face was, and Michael’s eyes looking right at it was only making it worse. You couldn’t read his expression at all; he looked like he was searching for something, and you didn’t know what it was, or if he’d find it. You could only assume he had when he took the most decisive steps you’d ever seen him take, reaching you in two huge steps and cupping your face with both hands. Michael kissed in a way he didn’t do anything else; he felt sure and certain as he pressed his lips to yours, moving them with intent. Your brain became overtaken with television static almost immediately as you moved your mouth in time with his, opening your mouth immediately at the questioning press of his tongue. You had enough of yourself left aware to yank his stupid fucking hat off his head as you tangled your fingers in his blonde hair, Michael’s hands sliding down to clutch at your waist as you swayed with the kiss. As Michael pulled back ever so slightly, you took the opportunity to press your teeth into his plush bottom lip, the way you’d thought of doing in afternoon slumps on shift. The whine that came from deep in Michael’s throat made a split second decision for you. 

You pulled back further from Michael, yanking your top off in one go and starting in on the buttons of his black shirt before he fully registered the sight of your bra and the top of your full breasts.  

“Shit, Y/N, are you…” Michael trailed off as you pulled his sleeves down his arms, and the shirt off this body. Your eyes met his as you popped the button on his black jeans and placed your hand on his zipper. “Do you really want me to overthink this, Michael?” A moment’s pause, then he shook his head vigorously, leaning down to pull his boots off once you’d yanked his jeans to his knees. By the time he was left in his (funnily enough, black) boxer briefs, you’d discarded your own jeans and were knelt at the foot of his bed in your soft, lilac underwear. Michael’s breath hitched as his gaze drifted down your body, taking it all in under the artificial light of the room. “Get over here, Clifford…” You teased, trying not to second guess what was happening. Michael broke out of his trance and more or less threw himself onto the bed, settling his head on the pillows and pulling you on top of him for another kiss, and then another, and another. By the time you pulled back to catch your breath, your head was spinning. You braced yourself on your forearms on the bed, taking the time to admire Michael’s body beneath you. 

You’d seen the tattoos on his pale, strong arms before, but they looked different in this context; the contrast between the milky skin and dark ink made your stomach swoop. The blonde hair on his head is also a contradiction; to the dark hair on his chest and the hair trailing down his stomach and disappearing under his waistband. Your mouth felt very dry as you let your gaze continue downward, to the straining bulge beneath the fabric.

You flicked your eyes back to meet Michael’s in question, your fingers suddenly resting on the waistband of his underwear. Michael swallowed thickly, and then nodded once before fixing you with a gaze of pure anticipation. 

No use waiting around. You propped yourself up onto your knees over him and pulled on the fabric decisively, not stopping your motion until his underwear bunched up at his ankles. Holy shit.

You always knew Michael had to have at least one redeeming quality, and you’d finally found it. His cock was huge, hanging heavy and hard between his fuzzy thighs. The head was flushed the darkest pink you could ever remember seeing, and the slit was already shiny with precum. 

If a voice in your head that sounded unfortunately like Calum pressed that Michael had lots of qualities you secretly found redeeming, you ignored it in favour of getting straight to business.

“FUCK! FUCKIN-” 

Apparently, Michael hadn’t been prepared for you to take half of his impressive length into your mouth in one go. You sucked with intent, casting your eyes up to take in the sight of him. His pupils were already starting to blow, and you’d barely done anything. God, that was so sweet.

But then Michael threaded his fingers through your hair, his hand pressing ever so slightly into your scalp. The blonde wasn’t pushing down, but his grip was firm. You could feel the weight of his hand on the top of your head as you held his cock in your mouth, and that shit? Would not stand.

You grab the wrist brushing your hair a second before your other hand finds his idle one, fingers twisted loosely in the sheets. Once you’ve captured both wrists, you guide both to the same point above Michael’s hips, before slamming both into the mattress with purpose. 

If you’d had time to think about it, you’re not sure how you would have expected Michael to react. He didn’t really put out the energy of a man who’d properly fight you for control, either in a domineering way or with more of an air of fragile masculinity. Perhaps a bit of questioning but ultimately compliant as long as he got his dick sucked. But the wanton moan that kicked out of Michael’s chest as you settled into a tight grip on his wrists where you had them pinned on the sheets with intent? That was unexpected. That was interesting.   

Your mouth had remained still on his cock whilst you got his wrists pinned down, more cockwarming him than blowing him. But now you had him so pliant and under your control, it was go time. You pulled back up his cock, wrapping your lips tightly around the head of Michael’s cock, and sucked with gusto. Another groan from above you. You worked your tongue all the way around the head before pulling back enough to flick it into Michael’s sensitive slit. “Oh my fuuu- Y/N, God, I-” Michael was starting to writhe, his hairy legs rubbing into the sheets beneath you. You could feel his wrists moving along with the rest of his body, but you knew you’d made it clear you’d wanted him pinned, and he made no move to get his hand free. Good boy. You sank steadily back down Michael’s length, at least to the six inch mark, before pulling back up, hollowing your cheeks as you went. Back down a little further, then up, back to teasing the head, using your tongue. Michael couldn’t predict what you were going to do next, and it was clearly pushing all of his buttons. You could taste the precum that his cock kept kicking out into your mouth and throat, and see the flush spreading down his neck. By the time you’d pulled, drool beginning to build at the sides of your mouth, Michael was a mess, moaning as much as he was breathing. This could get addictive, you thought to yourself as you let your mouth drop to his balls, and your thumbs press into the pulse points on his wrists. You hummed before you released his left ball from your mouth with a wet pop, and that’s when Michael started begging. “Please, please, Y/N, I wanna-” he panted, cutting himself off over and over. “You’re so beautiful, lemme- God, fuck, it feels so amazing, you’re- I’ve been good, I’ll do anything, please…”

You pretend to consider his pleas as you dragged your tongue over his right ball, dipping into all the creases and leaving them wet behind you. Drawing back up onto your knees, you released one of his wrists so you could push his sweaty blonde bangs back from where it was plastered to his forehead, drinking in the vision before you. His green eyes were nearly completely black, blown out with arousal. The sheen on the skin of his face and body made him glow. His lips were chapped from his teeth tugging on them, and the pink of the matched the flush spread from his cheeks down his chest. And the wrist you were no longer restraining hadn’t moved a centimeter, still pressed firmly to the mattress. Michael was a good boy. And you knew how to treat good boys. With no preamble, you took Michael back into the wet heat of your mouth, relaxing your throat and not stopping until your nose was buried in the soft thatch of trimmed hair on his crotch. You took a moment to situate yourself and enjoy the deep whines bursting out of Michael’s throat into the quiet of his bedroom, before you began to move again, swallowing around his cock. You saw his thighs begin to tremble to the side of you before you heard him speak. “Fuck, fuck, Y/N, please, I’m gonna-” You hummed as hard as you could, pushing Michael’s wrists with that little bit more force into the bed as you did. Michael let out his loudest whine yet - bordering on a sob- as he came, shooting down your throat as he writhed beneath you. 

You swallowed everything he gave you, and when you were sure he was finished, you pulled off slowly, and gently, releasing his wrists as you stood back up on your knees.

Michael looked blissed out, staring dreamily up at you with bright, adoring eyes. He still was yet to move his hands. “Hey.” “Hi.” You smirked down at him. “I believe I heard something about you’d ‘do anything’?” You shot a quick glance at the figurine on his desk, and down at yourself. “I had some ideas…” 

collab masterlist • my masterlist

#5sos writing collab #my writing #mermaidcashton #5sos fic #5 seconds of summer fic #5sos #5 seconds of summer #michael clifford #michael 5sos #michael clifford x reader #michael 5 sos x reader #5sos x reader #michael clifford fic #michael 5sos fic

[alyblacklist]

Hi Aly! I really liked your previous post and your devotion to the ship, so I was wondering if you had, by any chance, a list of Keenler scenes/episodes? I know it is a lot to ask, but considering the situation we are in, I wanted to start rewatching the series focusing fully on Keenler! Another thing. Do you know where I can find the comic that you uploaded in the post with your thoughts about Ressler being Liz’s source of light? Thank you for everything!! ❤️

Hi there and thank you!  Sorry it’s taken me a day or two to respond to this - I recently posted a list of fav Ressler/Keenler eps off the top of my head in the Keenler group chat here on Tumblr so this list will be very similar to that with some additions.

For the comic book - I know the books are available as graphic novels for purchase through Amazon. I still have my original digital editions through the Comixology app back from when I got the new issues live and I think they still sell them both as individual issues and as graphic novels.  I also feel like I saw a post somewhere (Reddit maybe?) recently that said they are available somewhere else online but I’m not sure where and I can’t find it easily. If anyone knows, please chime in for anon.  They were last published as individual issues during S3.

Anyway, the non-exhaustive list because I’m sure I’ve missed something:

Season 1: Stewmaker (the hug of course!), The Courier (when she listens to him talk about how the job is all he has left), General Ludd (his sympathy for her pain when she loses her dad), Anslo Garrick (giving up the code once he sees Liz’s face), Mako Tanida (moments throughout but especially her talking him down from shooting Jonica), Kingmaker (the bridge talk plus the “I didn’t know where else to go” at the end), Berlin (him with her in the wreckage of her apartment)

Season 2: Lord Baltimore (Ressler rolling his eyes at the rinse & repeat of failed relationships plus her concern for him not seeing the psychiatrist); Monarch Douglas (lots of moments, but especially her hand on his shoulder at the end), Mombasa Cartel (ambulance scene at the end when she confronts him about the drugs), The Scimitar (the great fake hospital scene where she saves them both and shirtless Ressler!); The Decembrist (near fist fight with Tom with the whole “what are you, her boyfriend? line); Luther Braxton Conclusion (where he confronts Red at the end of the memory manipulation and sweeps Liz off in the blue blanket); Ruslan Denisov (where she confesses about the Harbor Master); The Deer Hunter (he stops her from killing the woman and then confronts her outside about not turning herself in over the harbormaster); The Longevity Initiative (birthday dinner!); Tom Connolly (letting her go!)

Season 3: The Troll Farmer (she was my partner and the scene with the trap door in the bar, chasing her to the Embassy), Marvin Gerard (Embassy car chase and rescue! diner door scene), Eli Matchett (first phone calls, “good person” talks), Arioch Cain (his testimony; fear that she was dead and the Aram hug), Kings of the Highway (the chase) The Director 1 & 2 (multiple jail scenes, car scene, saving her from the bullet, I’ll keep you safe I promise, etc.)., if you can stomach the wedding in 3.17,  their talk before her wedding &. him showing up at the church, The Artax Network (Ressler only), reaction to her office being cleaned out, taking her foot massager; Alexander Kirk Conclusion (Ressler only) willing to let Red kill Kirk and learning Liz is alive.

Season 4: Esteban (willing to risk himself to rescue her; Cuba restaurant scenes), Mato (rescue at the summer palace and the second hug!), The Forecaster (first time they’re back together in the field), The Harem (those lovely park bench scenes), Isabella Stone (another ambulance scene at the end), Dr. Bodgan Krilov (Liz attacking Krilov and talking Ressler down from shooting Hitchen), The Debt Collector (Samar telling Ressler he needs to be there for Liz despite his suspension; shootout at the cabin).

Season 5: Greyson Blaise (not really a Keenler ep but just fun all around with Ressler in jeans); Miss Rebecca Thrall (Ressler making excuses for phone calls with Prescott), The Kilgannon Corp (horror at her engagement ring; working together on the case); Ian Garvey (another clingy hug (hug #3!) and all the scenes at the hospital), The Informant (Ressler only but very important for his mindset), The Capricorn Killer (his arm around her talking about silver linings), Sutton Ross (the interrogation scenes and Liz’s escape)

Season 6: Dr. Hans Koehler (the “I know you” in the parking garage), The Corsican (all the scenes at the UN), Alter Ego (banter over his cousin’s wedding and the idea of hiring a date), Marko Jankowicz (the entire episode), Minister D (Liz’s concern for Ressler testifying and her reaction when he does), Robert Vesco (library scene, scene with Red and Dembe), Robert Diaz (matching outfits, arrested)

Season 7: Louis Steinhil Conclusion (talk about “we,”); Norman Devane (teasing Aram and talk about seeing her happy), Hannah Hayes (the talk about a year or seven), Victoria Fenberg (the ballet discussions), Cornelius Ruck (the ballet scene at the end), Twamie Ullulaq (discussions in Alaska), Brothers (all of their scenes together but especially the final one), Roy Cain (conversation in the car about Red’s health), The Kazanjian Brothers (the conversation in their office)

Phew.  Hope that helps anon!

#anon #keenler