#seriously considering drawing a kiss for a kiss into a comic

[fullsaviourshalt]

Me writing another huge comment as soon as the chapter gets released:

Me stopping and thinking about what if the author thinks im annoying for doing that:

Me seeing everyone on tumblr saying people like me are awesome and they love it when people do what I do:

#i love giving fanfic writers love #i giggle and kick my feet when writing the comments #i giggle and kick my feet when reading the replies #Fanartists supporting fanfic writers #seriously considering drawing a kiss for a kiss into a comic #like #seriously #its.... unsafe how much i want to

[pucksandpower]

Ice Queen: Fire Meets Ice

Max Verstappen x Räikkönen!Reader

Summary: how you and Max went from playing together in the paddock while your fathers raced to being the ones racing

Series Masterlist

First Meetings

“Who’s that, Papa?” You ask, pointing to a slightly older boy playing with toy cars a few feet away.

“That’s Max,” Kimi replies, glancing down at you with an amused expression. “Wanna go play?”

You consider it for a moment, your two-year-old face taking on a comically serious expression. “Will he share his cars?”

Your father chuckles, “Only one way to find out.”

As you toddle over, Max looks up, his blue eyes curious. “Hi. I’m Max.”

You stare at him, sizing him up with all the intensity a two-year-old can muster. “I want that one,” you declare, pointing to a red toy car.

Max raises an eyebrow, a hint of a challenge in his gaze. “That’s my favorite.”

You mimic the same deadpan expression you've seen Kimi wear countless times. “Mine now.”

Max seems taken aback for a second but then bursts out laughing. “Okay, okay! We can share.”

For the rest of the day, the two of you are inseparable. Racing toy cars, building makeshift tracks, and causing minor chaos in the paddock.

At one point, you both decide to “race.” Max, being older, naturally has the advantage but that doesn’t deter you. You’re determined to keep up.

“Papa says I’m fast,” you tell Max confidently as you both line up for the big race.

Max smirks, “My vader says I’m faster.”

You frown, looking genuinely offended. “No way.”

The two of you race, or more accurately, engage in a hilarious toddler trot. It’s less about speed and more about who can go the longest without tripping over their own feet.

As the day draws to an end, Max’s father approaches. He doesn’t seem as warm as your father but he nods in acknowledgment, “Looks like you two got on well.”

Kimi ruffles your hair, looking down at you with a smirk, “She has a way with people.”

You and Max exchange a final high-five, both of you making a pact to race again someday but next time in real cars.

“Pwomise?” You ask Max, holding out your pinky.

He nods solemnly, linking his pinky with yours. “Promise.”

As you leave the paddock, your father leans down, “I think you’ve made a friend for life there.”

You nod, clutching one of the toy cars Max let you keep. “He’s alwight. But I’m still faster.”

Kimi chuckles, lifting you into his arms. “No doubt about it.”

Until We Meet Again

“Papa,” you begin, tugging at Kimi’s leg, “why is Max packing all his cars?”

Kimi crouches down to your level. “His papa is leaving F1, so they won’t be around next season.”

You frown, not fully understanding the implications but sensing the seriousness of the situation. “But ... I want to play with Max.”

The boy in question walks over, his toy cars clutched tightly in his hand. “It’s not fair,” he says, stomping his foot with a little scowl.

Your lip starts to wobble. “Very not fair.”

Max’s shoulders slump. “I’m going to miss this. And ... and I guess I’ll miss you.”

“You’re leaving? Like ... fowever?”

He nods, looking down. “Yeah. But we can still be friends, right?”

You think it over for a moment then smile, a plan forming in your mind. “We can write letters!”

Max seems to consider this. “That sounds cool. Let’s do it!”

The two of you spend the rest of the day drawing letters to each other seated on the rough tarmac, complete with scribbles and doodles. The content might be indecipherable to any adult but to you and Max, they’re precious messages.

As the final race of the season ends, and it’s time for Max and Jos to leave, you give Max a tight hug, your small arms wrapping around him. “Don’t forget, okay? Letters!”

He hugs you back. “I promise.”

You watch as they walk away, Max turning back every few steps to wave. Kimi, sensing your sadness, lifts you into his arms. “You okay?”

You nod, clutching the red toy car — Max’s favorite — that he gave you as a parting gift. “I’ll miss him, Papa.”

Your father presses a kiss to your forehead. “I know. But hey, you have a pen pal now.”

You giggle, the idea bringing some comfort. “Yeah. And when we’re older, we’ll race together!”

Kimi chuckles, “No doubt about it.”

Reunited and It Feels So Good

“Who’s that guy over there?” You ask, pointing to a young driver in a Toro Rosso race suit chatting with his team.

Your father squints in the direction you’re pointing and smirks. “That’s Max Verstappen.”

You blink in surprise, studying the taller figure with a more chiseled face. “Max? As in my Max?”

Kimi nods, eyes crinkling in amusement. “One and the same.”

“He’s … changed. I mean, he kind of looks like Sid the Sloth from that Ice Age movie.”

Your father chokes on his drink. “You always did have a way with words.”

Without any hesitation, you start walking over to Max, Kimi trailing behind. As you approach, Max looks up and for a moment, there’s no recognition in his eyes. But then something clicks.

“Is that ...” His eyes get even wider.

You smirk and cross your arms. “Last time I checked, Sid the Sloth wasn’t a Formula 1 driver.”

Max bursts out laughing, the sound echoing around the garage. “You haven’t changed a bit!”

You raise an eyebrow, “Can’t say the same for you. You used to be so cute. What happened?”

He grins, a hint of the mischievous boy you used to play with still shining through. “It’s good to see you again. Been too long.”

Your father walks up, throwing an arm around your shoulder, “She’s just here to make sure I don’t slack off.”

Max chuckles and shoots a wink, “Knowing you, I’m sure she has her work cut out for her.”

You nod sagely, “Full-time job, really.”

As the day winds down after free practice, Max finds you outside the Ferrari motorhome. “We should hang out more. Catch up properly.”

You tap your chin exaggeratingly, “Hmm ... I guess I could spare some time for an old friend.”

Max nudges you playfully, “It’s like Kimi copy and pasted his personality to make you.”

“Someone’s got to keep you on your toes.”

With a promise to meet up soon, the two of you part ways but not before your father adds, “Stay out of trouble, you two.”

You and Max exchange amused looks. “No promises.”

A Nudge in the Right Direction

“Remind why exactly we are watching an F2 race again?” Christian Horner asks, adjusting his sunglasses as he tries to blend into the crowd.

Max grins sheepishly, “Just thought it would be fun to watch some up-and-coming talent, you know? Besides, there’s someone racing today you might find ... interesting.”

Franz Tost, who has also been “accidentally” dragged along, narrows his eyes, “This isn’t one of your schemes, is it?”

Max looks offended, “Me? Scheme? Never.”

Christian chuckles, “Alright, Max. Who are we looking at?”

Max points to a car getting ready on the front row. “That one. Trust me.”

As the feature race begins, it’s clear who Max is talking about. Your driving style stands out with precision, aggression, and an undeniable talent reminiscent of a certain Finn of few words.

“Hmm,” Christian murmurs, watching intently as you expertly navigate the track. “Who is that?”

Max smirks, “Someone who’s used to the world of F1, thanks to her father.”

Franz raises an eyebrow, “Kimi’s daughter?”

Max nods, “Impressive, right?”

The two team principals watch with sharp eyes as you overtake competitors with ease and display skills beyond your years. It’s clear you’re a natural.

As the checkered flag waves and you cross the finish line in P1, Max turns to Christian and Franz with anticipation. “What do you think?”

“She’s certainly got the talent.”

“And the lineage. Räikkönen skill is clearly in her DNA.”

Max smiles widely, “So ... Red Bull or AlphaTauri?”

Christian chuckles, “You’re quite the talent scout.”

Franz sighs, shaking his head but smiling, “We’ll have to discuss it of course. But I think either team would be lucky to have her.”

“I just have one question,” Christian interjects. “How is she not part of a development program already?”

Max shrugs, “Kimi didn’t want her to limit her options and have to wait around to break into Formula 1 by binding herself to a team that might not have any seats open for a while. Just thought you guys should see her in action.”

Christian pats Max on the back, “Good call. We’ll be in touch.”

As they walk away, Max sends a thumbs-up in your direction. You, still high on adrenaline and not yet aware of the high-profile spectators, simply return the gesture, wondering what the mischievous grin on Max’s face is all about and whether it should worry you.

I’m Coming Up

“Guess what?” You blurt out as soon as Max picks up the phone.

“You ate my hidden stash of stroopwafels?”

You roll your eyes even though he can’t see. “No, although that sounds tempting. I just signed with Red Bull to race for AlphaTauri next season!”

There’s a moment of silence before Max erupts, “I knew it! That is brilliant!”

Your smile widens at his enthusiasm. “Thanks. Thought you’d like to know.”

Max snickers, “You’ll be driving for Red Bull in no time, watch.”

You laugh through the speaker, “Oh? Ready for some actual competition?”

The seriousness with which he responds makes you pause for a second, “Absolutely. I’ve been bored without you to race against.”

“Careful what you wish for.”

He feigns offense, “You think I can’t handle the heat?”

“I’m just saying,” you tease, “that once I’m there, you better get used to the sight of my rear wing.”

Max laughs again, “I’ve missed your comebacks.”

“And I’ve missed using them against you,” you shoot back.

“Seriously though, congrats. I’m so excited to see where this takes you.”

You nibble your lip, “Thanks, Maxie. That means a lot coming from you.”

“Just don’t forget us little people when you’re taking F1 by storm, okay?”

You snort, “Little people? Last I checked, you’re taller than me. And probably the best driver of his generation.”

“Probably?”

“Well,” you draw out, “Charles Leclerc exists …”

“Y/N …” Max whines.

“Oh, don’t get your panties in a twist. It’s not like he’ll do much damage to you if Ferrari keeps up this pattern.”

You can almost hear Max’s pout through the phone. “Fine.”

“But,” you grin, “that doesn’t mean I won’t.”

“May the best driver win. Just promise not to leave me in the dust.”

You laugh, “No promises.”

Easy Choices

“All right, drivers, ready for some quick-fire questions?” The Red Bull social media coordinator asks, camera poised.

Max nods, “Born ready.”

You tighten your ponytail, “Let’s do this.”

Sergio and Pierre exchange amused glances, clearly anticipating the shenanigans ahead.

“First question,” the coordinator starts, “Which driver would you want to be stuck on a deserted island with?”

Without hesitation, you and Max respond in unison.

“Max.”

“Y/N.”

“Always so predictable,” Pierre laughs.

Sergio grins, “Afraid of a little competition?”

You raise an eyebrow with a smirk, “From you? Not particularly.”

The group erupts in laughter and Max adds, “It’s just logic. We’ve known each other the longest.”

The coordinator smiles, clearly enjoying the banter, “Okay, okay, next question. Who is most likely to get lost in a new city?”

Again, without missing a beat, both you and Max point to each other.

Sergio chuckles, “Clearly, there’s a pattern here.”

Pierre nods in mock seriousness, “And if you two ever do get stranded on that island, please send us a postcard.”

You laugh, “Deal.”

“Last question,” the coordinator announces, “Which driver do you think has the best taste in music?”

“Definitely not Max,” you shake your head.

“Excuse me? My playlist is legendary!”

Pierre chimes in, “If by legendary you mean questionable ...”

Sergio retorts, “At least it’s better than your love for French pop.”

“It’s cultured!”

As the session wraps up, the coordinator grins, “You two are a match made in racing heaven.”

You and Max laugh but both of you can’t help the way your cheeks warm at the comment or how you avoid meeting each other’s eyes on the way out of the studio.

The social media coordinator must spend so much time online that fans’ ships are getting to her too.

That’s clearly the only reason she would say that.

Nothing else.

Nope.

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[ohtobemare]

OKay, cause I'm literally obsessed. Can I also request Tom Kazansky and the prompt 1. Remove before flight. (You decide what gets removed 😏). Where you're removing your panties and sticking them in the pocket of his flight suit as a reminder for what is waiting for him on the ground?

- XOXO Star

Annnnd here's Ice. Again. He's just too much fun. Moodboard by the lovely @your-local-crzy-lady

Remove Before Flight

“You’re serious aren’t you?” 

“Am I ever anything but?” 

You giggle as you watch Tom Kazansky manage into some compression shorts and a t-shirt that habitually seem to live at the end of the bed. Smoothing his sex-tufted hair with a hand as he’s scanning the floor for compression socks, you’re propped up on an elbow in the California King, tangled in sheets and the duvet. 

Doing your best to seriously pout despite the Chesire grin pulling at the corner of your mouth, you watch him pull socks on one at a time. He’s a stander, switching between balancing on one foot like some kind of flamingo. You giggle when he switches feet, his gaze snapping up to you with a wrinkled forehead. 

“What’s funny?” 

“Nothin’,” you shake your head, then glance over your shoulder to check the bedside clock, “the wedding’s at  four. You think you can be back and showered and changed by then?” You tick off a few fingers, head lolling as you run the schedule through your brain, “I’m gonna be to the church by noon. Penny’s sisters are dropping her off at twelve thirty, that gives me time to get her hair and makeup done and then get back here to get ready. You can drive us, right?”

Nodding, Ice moves to the flight duffle sat in your vanity’s chair, rummaging through it briefly to withdraw the perfectly-folded and familiar lines of the signature, Naval aviator of the United States flight suit. Unfolding it with a snap, he unzips the suit and slides into it easily, bringing it up around his shoulders. 

Brushing off the duvet and sheets, you swing out of bed, reaching for the robe you’d discarded over the foot of the bed to wrangle into it, slowly. Your toes are cold on the hardwood floor of the bedroom, and you wiggle them awake, trying to stimulate bloodflow. Moving to vanity, you dip to check your appearance, angling your head to check your neck. 

Eyes widening comically at the absolutely bright red hickey emblazoned on your neck, you run your fingers over it before frowning severely, gripping the back of the vanity’s chair for stability. Resting your foot on top of the other, you angle to consider Ice, who’s currently working a comb and gel through his hair, his stereotypical unreadable expression in place. 

“You really had to give me a hickey before this wedding, didn’t you?” You chastise him less-than-seriously, and when his eyes cut to you, you point to the red spot beaming on the flesh of your neck, “only everybody in their mother is going to be looking at me, Ice. And Penny wants our hair pulled back.” 

He chuckles, shrugging a shoulder before tossing the comb back to the counter in the on suite, “If you’re trying to say thank you, you suck ass at it, honey.” He stops, presses a kiss to the corner of your mouth, and gently smacks a hand to your ass in an effort to jumpstart you out of the way. 

He’s about to move away, then steps back, takes your chin between his fingers and angles your head for a better look at the mark. Face contorting into a wickedly pleased grin, his light eyes flash to you briefly, before his brow pops pleasurably before he smooths a thumb over the mark. 

“It isn’t that bad,” he tries to argue.

“It’ll be purple by tonight,” 

“I mean, I can always—” he angles his head as if he’s going to re engage with the spot, but you swat at him and push his head down and away, blowing an exasperated raspberry as he laughs at your expense. 

“Oh stop it!” Chiding him, you skip away from his touch, drawing your robe closer around you. “Just what I need, Tom,” rolling your eyes, he’s leaning over the back of your chair, brows wagging at you in the mirror as you drop his duffle to the floor.

Plunking  into the vanity’s chair, you’re about to reach for cover up when he brushes your hair over your shoulder, fingers slow and deliberate to skip beneath your robe to your warm skin. Ice had the most delightful hands—thick, rough, purposeful in all the right ways, for a man of his stature and size they are the most gentile, skilled hands you’ve ever encountered. 

He holds you the right ways, touches you with calculated risk and reward. Looks at you like you’re the most valuable commodity known to the universe. He can see you and right through you in ways you aren’t even sure about. Makes you feel things you never imagined feeling. And maybe, maybe that’s why he’s so different—you feel different, like yourself, after a lifetime of trying to be someone else. 

Thinking about him in the air unravels you in precious ways that send a flare of heat to your core. Guts twisting delightfully in the base of your abdomen, your toes curl against the cool wooden floor beneath you. Ice is never sexier than when he’s in his flight suit, a fact you tell him often. And, it being more than unzipped? Heat pounces down your spine like a bolt of electricity.

He holds your gaze in the mirror, smiling softly at you. “I’ll see you at four?” 

You nod, then angle to tip your head back to stare up at him. Looking down at you, you lift your hand to slip in the front of the suit, your finger carefully tracing the t-shirt he’d thrown on just moments before. Wishing he wasn’t wearing it, your eyes drop to half mast and you chuckle. 

“Damn right you will, flyboy,” grabbing the suit, you nudge him down a little for a kiss. “Be safe in the air, Iceman. Don’t die or nothin’,” you wink at him, “I need someone to drive me home tonight when I get shitfaced as a bridesmaid.” 

“That right?” Chortling, he kisses you softly, “what’s in it for the DD?” Voice that dangerous, husky low, you swallow the thick breath hanging out in the back of your throat. Slipping out of the chair, Ice kicks it aside with his now-booted foot, and snakes his arms around your waist snugly. 

“There’s gotta be something in it for you?” You challenge, brow popped and head tipped to the side. 

He shrugs, nose wrinkling in that teasing way of his. “Well,” he lets the thought trail off, a single finger sliding beneath the hem of your robe, pushing it aside gently, “I would expect some kind of token of your appreciation, short stack.” 

The reference to your height makes you giggle, and you bite your bottom lip temptingly, unable to break your gaze from his mouth. You really don’t have time for this. He doesn’t have time for this, but that's half the fun of the game. Arms sliding home around the back of his neck, you tip your head to the side and rise up on your toes to kiss him softly, deeper than probably necessary for ass o’clock in the morning, but he moans a little in a way that sends you nearly reeling. 

“I gotta go,” he enunciates between kissing you, “can’t be late. Metcalf will, in fact, have a calf,” 

Head dropping back, you giggle relentlessly. “Metcalf having a calf is the funniest damn thing I think you’ve ever said,” righting your head to kiss him one last time, you break from him and watch Ice retrieve his flight bag, retrieving his keys from the front pocket. 

Spinning them on his finger, he doesn’t even see you slip out of the thong that has been cradling your hips all night—the thong you’d stopped him from nearly ripping off your body last night. It’s your favorite lingerie piece—holds you all the right ways, comfortable, and is sexy as sin—and it just so happens to be one he bought for you when you’d honeymooned in Fiji. 

His boots are heavy on the floor as he heads to the door, shades sliding into place when you call his name for him to hold up. He stops, hand on the door, peering over his shades at you. Decimated, wholly wrecked and suddenly far wetter than you want to be with him leaving, you playfully overhand the panties toward him, them arching through the air. 

Catching them like a pro, his brow pops up curiously as you’re giggling incessantly. “A token,” your own brow raises as you smile brightly at him, “of my appreciation, Iceman. Remove before flight rules, all that,” 

“You are so bad, sweet girl,” he winks at you over the aviators, before slipping them into the inside pocket of the flight suit. “I’ll see you at four.” 

#100 followers #100 followers celebration #blurb requests #top gun fanfic #top gun maverick fanfic #top gun maverick fanfiction #top gun fanfiction #controlled chaos squad #call sign meerkat #tom iceman kazansky #iceman top gun #answered asks #tom iceman kazanksy x reader #tom kazanksy x reader #iceman x reader #iceman x you

[packet-of-staples]

Hey hey hey! I've said this on twitter but I'll explain my rules regarding how people can use my Art here. I can go into a little more detail.

Alright so this is mainly in regards to like comic dubs and profile pictures and the like so here we go.

What you can do!! And I also encourage :]:

- Make comic dubs of my works! So long as you clearly credit and link me that's absolutely fine!! Also make sure to tag me in some way so I can watch it too!!! I would love to see them.

- Use my Artwork as your profile picture! Seeing my Art in people's pfps literally makes me squeal and kick my legs with joy. As long as you credit me in your bio you are free to do so! (I suppose this also extends to banners? Go ahead! Same rules apply)

- Now this is the only time I'll say this, and this is the only context I'll allow it. You may edit my work ONLY if it is to be used for a profile picture. You can add hearts or flags or text to my work ONLY if you use it as your pfp, that's it. Otherwise just the pfp rules apply.

- Oh!! I thought of something else! If you want to use my art in edits or.. are they called fancams now? Whatever, you can! So long as you credit me in someway in the video itself.

- Oh yes! If you want to draw my designs for anything go right ahead! This could be my Outertale Mew Mew, DR Asriel, Knight Papyrus etc. I would love to see your silly drawings! Make sure to tag me so I can see :]!!

Alright so now onto the things I dont want done with my art:

- Reposting it to other social media sites. You know those instagram accounts that mass repost artwork? Yeah, I hate those and I dont want my work reposted. I seriously believe those accounts do not help artists and if I see my Art reposted I will ask you to take it down.

- Editing my work. With the exclusion of the pfp rule or if I have explicitly said it can be edited, do not edit my work in any way. Especially if it's being changed to be nsfw or offensive in anyway. Idk if people do this but I thought I'd cover my bases. Dont do this.

- I think this should go without saying, and I doubt there are any actual techbros on here but again, covering my bases. Do not use my work for NFTs or AI Art. Just don't do it. Nuff said.

Alright I think that's it. Please consider these boundaries if you're going to use my work 🙏. Thank you and I give you all a little kiss.

#I'll pin this so people can find it easily #I've made this post cause a hand full of people asked about dubbing and I thought I'd make a blanket statement so people didn't need to ask #Anyways have fun!!! #i may add more if there are any other boundries I think are important

[profanepurity]

So Lucifer's favorite is Primo. Terzo is Asmodeus' favorite. Do other Demon Lords consider Secondo or Copia their favorite?

Oh, very good question! You guys are going to get more design peaks and small name changes for the Lords with this one! (and a lore dump oops)

Secondo and Beelzebub actually see eye to eye on quite a few things. You would think two very similar, powerful men- stubborn, cold, and bitter powerful men I might add- would clash. However, they actually get along quite well. Secondo always provides exceptional offerings and has proven himself to be a worthy devotee and prophet, so much so that Beelzebub has even invited Secondo out to drink with him on several occasions. (They both made a freind you guys this a big accomplishment for both them.)

Beelzebub even offered to personally oversee Bellamy's education when she is older. To the church he may be a bishop, or a terrifying king of Hell, but in some circles he is known as "Reverend Professor Avarice". Many of the siblings, like Sister Natalie, can attest to how good of a teacher he is.

Copia on the other hand is a bit of a special case, since he gets baby privileges with the fact that many of the demons want to be close to him for one reason or another. But Saltarian and Imperator have Copia so locked down that Satanas even has to "put effort" into reaching out to him. This has deterred a lot of demons from working with our rat boy unfortunately...

except for Belial...

Belial is a wicked and cruel king. There are very few members within the church that are willing to work with him, simply because of how dark his energy is. (Something to note, Belial is very good at spotting witches, keep that in mind for later). His name roughly translates to "Godless", "worthless", "evil" and you feel that when you are in the presence of Lucifer's second. "Father Null" on the other hand is a very sweet young man, but is simply a lowly priest, often over looked and often dismissed. As Copia gets older, that is perhaps what draws him to Father Null and the darkness of Belial. Copia just wants companionship in the shadows from someone who's like him, over looked and dismissible.

If you look back at my post about Copia's "dedication", you can see a very old sketch of Belial in the background. Many of you caught on to how pissed he looked lol. Lilith actually ended up telling the other Lords what the church had done a few years after Copia had been born. Many of the Lords had been "out" for one reason or another, so when they'd returned they had done so excitedly, expecting to come back to two of their partners and a baby. Instead, Lilith looked more pale and ill than the day they had found her in that cave. She could barely describe what had happened without breaking into sobs. Lucifer was like a wounded animal being forced to perform as "Bishop Stell", giving sermon after sermon for the church while Saltarian practically held him at "gun point" to do so. It would not matter how many people spontaneously combusted into fire in the pews, how black the water became, how many swarms of locusts and toads covered the church, Lucifer could do nothing for Copia. He could only drag his bloody claws against Imperator's door at night, whispering all the things he as going to do to her in Hell (Oh I have a comic idea for that later hehe).

So you can imagine just how livid Belial was to come back to this. He only regretted not spending more time comforting Lilith initially. After she told him where Copia was, Belial took Lilith's head in both of his slightly shaking claws and kissed her in silence. He only broke it once her breathing had evened, and he watched her until she looked up at him. Belial was a sadistic fucker that rarely took anything seriously. His humor is a reflection of just how black his heart is.

But he has never looked more concerned and angry than in that moment in quite a long time. He looked at Lilith's face, which Belial adored, even as it was stricken by grief and anxiety. He had pressed his forehead to hers.

"Baby, can I leave you alone for a little bit?"

The Unholy Mother said yes, but she wanted him to come back with Lucifer. She was scared for him, terrified of Lucifer tearing himself apart trying to get them to release Copia.

Of course, Belial promised her everything would be fine.

He killed 36 monks who were under Nihil on his way to the nursery, one for each month Copia had been kept from his mother at that point. He left their bodies piled in the hall of Imperator's office, practically trapping her inside with corpses draped in red, cotton robes and sparkling grucifixes in front of her door.

When "Father Null" entered the nursery, he saw Copia playing on the ground, alone, with a couple rats who he was sharing his food with. In that moment, all the vile, sick intentions of the wicked king dissolved. All he saw when he looked at Copia was two of the loves of his life. He saw Lilith's eyes and Lucifer's smile in little Copia, who barely even noticed the priest had walked in. Null sat with Copia for a little while as a gentle priest, watching Copia play with his tail that he decided to unmask. Copia thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Before Belial returned to Lilith, he came into Bishop Stell's office to do as he promised. He approached Lucifer slowly and knelt before his king at his chair. Belial pulled both his beloved's hands away from his work, and kissed each of his damaged fingers. Lucifer didn't say a word as he looked at his lover, covered in the blood of traitors. Then he saw Belial smile at him. The evil demon, with such pure and warm affection, told Lucifer that their child was beautiful. He promised he would remain in the church for the entirety of Copia's childhood to ensure their child would be looked after in the shadows. Belial was seen as worthless and wicked in heaven and on earth, but Lucifer, the perfect being, has always looked at him with weakness and adoration. For that, Belial would be eternally devoted.

"I know you're angry, but you're scaring her."

Belial had whispered that against his head, and that was all it took for Lucifer to finally break down into sobs- that he'd been suppressing for three years- into Belial's arms.

Lilith felt like she could breath again when she saw Lucifer walk in behind Belial, hardly hearing him apologize to her as she pulled both the fallen angels closer to her and the other kings.

Copia has no idea how loved he is.

#idk what made salty and seestor thing that stealing the antichrist from a bunch of demon kings was a good idea #Lilith's boyfriends are very gay for each other and this is just one example #the band ghost #the band ghost au #the band ghost fanfiction #the band ghost fanart #praeteritum au #papa secondo #papa emeritus ii #papa ii #papa emeritus secondo #cardinal copia #papa iv #papa copia #copia #young copia #secondo #Beelzebub #belial #Lucifer #Lilith #the band ghost oc #tw blood #tw death mention

[zahri-melitor]

New(ish) Comics:

Batman #138: I’m reading this again as this is just such a great comic. Seriously Zdarsky, well done. So many different fight details here. I particularly noticed Bruce is demonstrating super-strength on this read for some reason – he breaks both Dick’s escrima stick and Tim’s bo staff, he rips the door off a car (??!!). There are so many neat details of ‘something is seriously wrong with Bruce’ here.

Blue Beetle #2: I like the note here that Booster is taking Ted away to heal somewhere else in time. I also enjoyed that all the JLI folk instantly nominated Tora to go comfort Jaime. And finally, I am delighted to see characters finally suspicious of Victoria Kord because! I have been so sus on her! Since her first appearance in Graduation Day! Her vibes are indeed off! (And it’s not just the clear autism – I do not get nearly these levels of ‘when do you turn out to be an evil plant’ from say Dani Garrett, who is also intensely female autistic about the scarab and her grandfather)

Birds of Prey #2: The art in this comic remains immaculate. I love the x-ray, out of panel drawings for passing between the ‘real’ world and the magical world. In terms of the plot – I’m still not 100% in here trust wise, but Thompson is winning me over, issue by issue, by reassuring me she understands the characters and is making considered decisions to justify why this lineup. I really really think they screwed themselves a bit with the way they announced the lineup – the vibes in the comic itself are far more clear on who’s a long term choice (Cass, Barda) and who are more likely ‘this storyline only’ choices (Harley, Zealot).

Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #2: This continues to make me so happy in its level of fun and metacommentary. I love the collection of villains, because there’s one existing rogue in each line (Beefeater, Maxie Zeus, Gentleman Ghost) and the six new ones, though admittedly Linka and King of Cats are somewhat linked to existing characters/mantles. The goof levels are off the charts (I lost it at the “Guns don’t kill people. I kill people” line) Anyway come for Bea and Tora remaining extremely ‘on a break’ as they definitely don’t date…uh…siblings, stay for the shenanigans. Maybe Bea and Tora will finally get to kiss in issue #6 (the kiss will obviously be a cheek peck or an accident during a fight scene or something)

Shazam! #4: Garguax the Distressing, Emperor of the MOON! I love him. He’s so silly. Chew on the scenery a bit more, Garguax! Also Billy manages to avoid mind control by realising he’s about to have his first ever kiss with a bee supervillain and deciding he’s not cool with that. Go you, Billy. This comic remains deeply committed to serious silliness and Silver Age vibes (Mark Waid. Dan Mora. Do we need to enforce the ‘one gorilla a month’ rule from the 1970s on you?) which is exactly what I want from the Shazamily. Also Darla appeared, my beloved.

Warlord #22: this week in Skartaris Travis was fighting a werewolf! I would pretend this was a surprise revelation on the very last page, but given someone turned up and shot a silver arrow during the very first fight scene, let’s just say this revelation was signalled.

In addition to the amusement I always get when archery occurs in this title, Grell enjoyed two full pages of serpent bondage scenes. Enjoy some assorted scenes.

Oh Mike Grell. Never change.

#newish comics #z canon read throughs #next I'll get to the last issue of gotham war

[painted-piggy-ships-archive]

Hotel California

Wade Wilson x Keaton Clownlord

Word Count: 1153

Tag List: @canongf @ghostlyvenus-selfships @sweettoothselfships @captainscyarika

Summary: X-Force has to stay in a hotel in California for a mission, just some interactions between Wade and my self insert tbh.

Warnings: Killing/torture mentions, suggestive material but nothing incredibly spicy (comments & a make-out scene), bed bugs mention (Not sure if that would count as an unsanitary mention?? There are no actual bed bugs in the fic but Wade checks just in case.)

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed, please consider reblogging or leaving a nice comment!

Wade inhaled exaggeratedly as the X-Force entered their California hotel, stretching out his arms to take it all in.

“I love the smell of ocean and lotion in the morning,” he grinned under his sunglasses and a baseball cap that simply had the word “Fork” on it in comic sans.

“That makes two of us, hey-oh,” Keaton chimed in, bumping his shoulder against his husband’s.

“Try not to draw too much attention to yourselves, we are here for a reason,” Cable reminded the couple gruffly, “this isn’t some honeymoon suck-and-fuck just for you two.”

“Don’t you think that’ll be a little hard with pizza-face over here?” Keaton responded.

“Hey!”

“I was referring to myself, relax,”

“Awh, babe, your acne’s not that bad…”

Wade touched Keaton’s cheek in a disgustingly tender manner while he continued, “and besides, you take these things far too seriously, surely it’s doing incredulous things for your health. We’re here to free some enslaved mutants and blow some brains, it’s a storyline we’ve played out before, honestly I’m getting tired of it. When do I get to torture some cops for once?!”

Cable rolled his eyes (eye?) but decided it was better not to respond, and was saved from even needing to by Piotr handing everyone their room keys.

“Our bags should already be in our rooms,” he informed the team.

“Good work, shiny.” Wade lightly pat Piotr’s arm before the members went their separate ways. While all the rooms were on the same floor, they opted to spread out to seem less suspicious, though Keaton’s comment wasn’t exactly incorrect; how were they to ever blend in when they had the self-proclaimed sentient tumor and a Big Metal Guy in their entourage?

“How’re you feeling? Jetlag kicking your ass yet?” Wade asked in the elevator, lowering his sunglasses to get a proper look at his husband.

“I’m sure it will. I think it’s having a cockfight with my adrenaline right now, though,” Keaton laughed, “you know how I love to travel.”

Wade nodded, wrapping his arm around his shoulders and kissing his husband’s cheek, though it was more like mostly him smooshing his own cheek and nose against Keaton’s soft and rosy skin.

“That’s what makes this job so good for you.”

“Yeah, probably the only thing. It certainly isn’t good for my heart.”

“You knew that was a risk when you started dating me.”

Keaton sighed, turning to take Wade’s face in his hands. “It’s worth it, for all this.”

Wade smiled shyly, a blush creeping over his craggy skin as he raised his hands to meet his.

When they reached their room, the first thing the couple noticed was the fact it had two beds instead of one.

“Those fuckers are trying to cockblock me!” Wade exclaimed dramatically, making Keaton snort.

“We can just push the beds together but wait,” Keaton grabbed his husband by the belt loops of his khaki cargo shorts to keep him from immediately leaping onto one of the beds like a sugar-high child. “I know this place is high class but we should check for bed bugs.”

“Right, right…”

“Good. You can do that while I check out the view,” Keaton grinned and playfully swatted at his husband’s rear before heading for the balcony.

“No fair, why do I have to do the heavy lifting?!”

“Because you have the muscles!”

“You’re a shapeshifter- oh forget it,” Wade trailed off into a chuckle, setting to checking the sheets and mattresses for signs of unwanted critters while Keaton parted the glass doors to the room’s balcony.

He sighed contentedly as he leaned on the railing, looking out at the sea not far beyond before closing his eyes as a slight breeze caressed his face.

“We are officially bug-free,” Wade announced as he approached, his hat and sunglasses discarded inside.

“Good.”

“Well… what do you think?”

Keaton looked from the horizon to his husband, smirking. “It’s no Oslo, but I can make it work for, well, work.”

“Of course it’s not Oslo, fuck, do you think there’s anywhere in the states that’s as scenic as Oslo??? As the whole of Norway???”

“I like Colorado’s views.”

Wade briefly chewed on his lip, savoring a memory as he responded in a husky tone, “I liked Colorado’s views, too.~”

The two devolved into knowing giggles before Wade took Keaton’s hands to make him face him.

“Kiss kiss,” Wade hummed, puckering his lips.

“Kiss kiss,” Keaton responded before standing on tip-toe to connect his chapped lips with his husband’s. It of course got out of hand quickly, their mouths open and breaths hot and labored, Keaton’s back uncomfortably pressed against the metal railing of the balcony but his mind too focused on Wade to care. Keaton’s fingers found Wade’s wedding ring, tracing it in a memorized manner as Wade moved his mouth down to his neck, drawing soft sounds out of him as lips and teeth collided with pale flesh.

“You left your door open,” Weasel’s familiar voice broke the spell just as Wade bit down hard enough to make his husband groan, eyes closed and head lolling back.

“Weasel, you motherfucker-!” Wade snapped, turning on his heel, “can’t you see we’re trying to have an intimate moment?!”

“We just landed barely an hour and a half ago. Chill out. And nobody wants to see a rotten tomato fucking a marshmallow on a balcony, er, no offense, Keats.”

“Full offense,” Keaton responded, deadpan and not really meaning anything, “just because we’re married doesn’t mean the sexual escapades stop, my dear rodent. Your virgin eyes and ears should just be happy we haven’t tried to join the mile-high club yet.”

The man sighed, trying not to make eye contact with either of his, begrudgingly, friends. “Yeah, whatever…”

“Begone, pervert!” Wade concluded before shooing his friend away from the door and closing it. As soon as the couple made eye contact they burst into more giggling.

“He really should be used to this by now,” Keaton sighed, cheeks flushed.

“I think the only person who has and will ever get used to it is you, pumpkin, Hell, I can’t believe we’ve kept it together this long… I mean, I’ve woken up every day since the wedding, stared at that ring and thought, ‘shit… I’m married to someone who really gets me. I didn’t even think that was possible. A rare score for Wade Wilson.’ Then I usually visualize some confetti, y’know, for added effect. Why’re you looking at me like that?”

“Because I love it when you smile like a doof when you ramble.”

“I’m not smiling! You’re smiling!” Wade attempted to make himself frown but found it nearly impossible, especially when his stomach began to growl. “Sounds like the black hole tank is empty again.”

“Let’s go see what there is to eat around here,” Keaton grabbed his husband’s hat and placed it on his head before kissing his nose, “stud.~”

#piggy writes #self shipping #self shipping community #self insert #self insert x canon #marvel self ship #💣Bulletproof Boys💣

[koilarist]

4, 8, and 17 for artist asks? :3

4 - Favourite things to draw?

Specifically? My interests bounce around a LOT so it changes from one week to the next. I like to have fun with the process as well as the results. - But in a more vague sense, anything with a story behind it. Which I suppose explains why I'm steering towards comic work now.

8 - What do you like most about your own work?

This answer might be a little too mushy but for me it's seeing the work I put into the skillset paying off. I'm finally able to draw the things I always wanted in the way I imagined them in my head. I've drawn all my life in some capacity, but I never took it seriously until about three years ago, and when I picked it up again I was changing literally everything about my process. The methods, the tools, and the style itself was so vastly different it felt like I'd never drawn a day in my life when I picked it back up. The struggle was that I knew I was severely lacking in the know-how and was unhappy with most of the results I got for the first year or two. Staying motivated through that was so difficult. I wasn't able to attend any formal education (For many reasons, including compatibility. I've spoken to enough artists to know that I wouldn't have gained much from attending. Uni is certainly not the best avenue for everybody.) - So I pretty much had to learn how to teach myself without getting discouraged or becoming stagnant. So. When I look at my work, what I see is everything i had to do to get to this point, and just how much passion I have for what I'm doing here. A bit deep considering the things I typically draw, maybe, but the long term goal was always comics with a little more narrative substance to them and I'm close enough to reaching it where I'm gonna have to come up with a new goal soon, haha

17 - What inspires you? My friends and fellow artists. I've been lucky enough to get to know some brilliant people over the past couple of years, and I'm endlessly inspired by them in so many ways. Especially now that we get to kick the door in on eachother's DMs and start yowling about art ideas/cheering eachother on LMAO. Also, stories. Stories inspire me SO much. I have a LOT of characters (I counted something like 70 recently. I've been at this for too damn long) - But yeah, a lot of the scenarios I draw them in either stem from their situation/story/setting, or from me and friends mashing barbies together to find out if they'll either kiss or kill eachother. I was primarily a writer before I got into art, so it's no surprise that I'm slowly veering back towards the story aspect of what I have to offer. (And getting back into writing again at long last! My word docs have never looked so healthy.)

#ask meme #not art #manager speaking

[fairykery]

If not canon, then why flashy?

Eyesex and a smile?

The guy that hates physical contact is smiling as kohaku hugged him? Not only that but he also looked into her eyes tenderly? LIKE? The other girl going "it wasn't that type of hug" was just referring to the fact that they aren't gf and bf because technically THEY AREN'T and the one girl still assumed that they were. So when they got touch- feely and the girl covered her eyes thinking they were a couple(thanks to the kiss situation) the other girl calmed her down saying they weren't really a couple sharing a hug; but two people that care about each other hugging. While Senku did not return the hug because he is never/and has never been forward about that type of situation, Kohaku is the first he's smiles at, lets hug, and has had people wonder the state of their relationship when being hugged by. She is also the only girl he is close with, that has been hinted at having feelings for him.

The KISS

Sorry, No I get it. It was too soon for this to be a romantic moment. I get it. It was for the sake of comic relief. But if you pay attention. The context of the scene didn't necessarily have to be written romantically, NOT EVEN for the sake of the plot. Cause them kissing had nothing to do with the situation; BUT the mangaka STILL specifically chose to go THAT route with the scene. He, HIMSELF, chose to use a romantic excuse(even if a comical one) as a plot device to move the story forward. And on top of that made them kiss(even if they were both uncomfortable by it still at this point in the manga). With that, making Kohaku the girl he's closest to who he has had the most physical contact with and even shared a kiss with(even if it was just a chin kiss and they both were practically uncomfortable for being forced to do.). No but seriously, the mangaka using SenHaku as a plot device to move the story forward WHEN it is NOT needed should provide some insight of what he thinks of the pairing. Which is that: "it is fun to write about" and "he likes to write about it".

NO TIME?

I like how he reponds with something that implies. "Maybe i'll blush later....not rn we gotta find a way out of here". Can we also take a moment to realize the mangaka/writter interrupted this moment before Senku could respond to the: "and the way i see it that is so very-" from kohaku? Subtle behavior on his part. Is there something on Senku's mind he doesn't want fans to know for the sake of avoiding ship wars? I wouldn't be surprised if this was what was stopping him from making the ship more explicit. Cause shippers get kind of crazy with the wars and MOST mangakas KNOW this and dont want that to affect the sales.

BRIDE STYLE?

He specifically chose one of the most romantic tropes to draw them In? Sorry no. This has nothing to do with their dynamic; but he still drew them like this? In THIS pose? Mangaka definitely shipped them.

Nah; but like never have i ever seen him so touchy feeling with anyone?

idk idk they remain sus. Especially with all of his guy friends hoping him to experince romantic love.

SenHaku also kinda parallel His adoptive dad and his lover(maybe not in the sense of dynamic; but in color aesthetic and how they are portrayed in the covers)

[also look at them being bride style like the senhaku cover lol]

I don't know why people say this ship is impossible because Senku says he isn't interested in romance. Like he also hinted at the fact that he has sex drive, just not a crazy active one where he would attack a female for, especially one stronger than him.

And if you ACTUALLY pay attention every time that topic of romance comes up is not that he COMPLETELY dismisses it. It is more because he does not prioritize it or care to look for it, especially considering that he is so goal-driven. At the same time, it is already revealed that not everything he says(especially when it comes to relationships/bonds)does he mean. He only, like i said, likes to remain goal-oriented and doesn't want anything to distract him.

He also acted pretty detached towards his own father and rejected his overly affections of love. So much so, that Byakuya tried to adapt to his own love language of science. But at the end of the day,it is not that Senku is 100% against those concepts(of romanticized bonds) it is just that he finds them to be waste of time. But despite that, he is still human. He still feels despite how much he doesn't allow himself to do so:

And Riri herself pointed how Senku only acts tough and detached when it comes to relationships/bonds(when talking about his care for the village) but a part of him does care. This is because she is the only one whose seen him cry at his father grave, despite how detached he acted about his father dying at the beginning. But again, he remembered that he had a goal, and wiped his tears; because for him "there's no time for that". It's all about prioritizing his goals, especially when about science.

And there's ALOT of emphasis on THAT.

Even so, so many characters in shounen have ended up marrying/having feelings despite saying/or there being no indicator that they are interested in romance. It is a common trope of it. So even if it were because Senku is not into romance it wouldn't sink the ship. I mean look at Sasuke(another goal-oritented character) said that romance had no place in his revolution; but at the end of the day married sakura and even gave her a ring to ward off insects

[note: is important to note that sasuke was not rejecting sakura here. More like trying to convince kakashi that romance had no place in his revolution. Because he was goal oriented, like Senku(that and the fact that he was still struggling with his darkness). In fact Sakura said that she wanted things to go back to the way they used to be and he assumed that was romance, without anyone saying anything of that sort. And Sakura had already left it clear that she wanted team 7 back; but then sasuke mentioned romance lol]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something else worth mentioning is the fact that Senku hates clingy overly-romantic girls or the girls that fall in love too fast with him, as we've seen him cringe or act annoyed with those type of acts. But still, he was able to manage to say something about a type, despite his dismissive behavior. Even tho it was just to brush the conversation off, the fact that he answered his type of girl with "someone that could bring him materials" and then calls Kohaku a lioness, and him as a scientist knows that usually a lioness is one to provide their mates with food from hunting. I don't know. It seemed like a sweet nickname to give her. Especially when in his time period, that type of nickname is considered flirtatious. What is more, is that he initially brought Taiju back because of his usefulness in strength(and the fact he knew he could trust him) & Senku himself noticed the exact same quality in Kohaku.

So someone that could fit his description of his type would definitely be kohaku and seeing that she is the girl who he is the closest, and HAS brought him materials before so i dont see why not. I mean he was already pretty impressed with her first meeting her. Even after having worked with her, he was still impressed by her strength, and doesn't stop talking about it:

There's also people who always dismiss Kohaku's feelings. I mean i think it's already pretty clear

His physical aspect she seems pleased with

And well he already fits the EXACT description of her EXACT type. So it is 100% safe to say that she has feelings for him. It may not be explicitly stated but it was just the right amount of sublte. Similar to Mikasa Ackerman/Touka Kirishima, whose feelings were never explicitly stated; but were always quite obvious. That was the type of subtlety the mangaka was aiming at. And i think there's a reason for that.

Because Senku hates fast paced relationships/love at first sight/mushy girls. Building Kohaku's feelings in a slowburn manner makes Kohaku stand out from all the other girls that have feelings for him/have flirted with him/felt attracted to him. Because, as i said, he doesn't like that kind of stuff. And since he is still sciency I don't think he would ever fall for a romantic type of girl; but rather a useful one that can serve as his partner. The way I see them happening would be by Kohaku being accepting of his anti-romantic nature, and Senku seeing her as worthy Mate that he could reproduce with so that the sciene can live on and keep developing. While he did teach Chrome alot, Chrome also says he wants Senku to live. I think he also meant it in a metaphorical way. Chrome, next to his other male friends kept pushing for or looking for an indicator of him feeling attraction for a girl/or at least want him to understand romantic love so that he doesn't keep downplaying the feelings that they have towards their crushes. Even Gen seemed pretty excited at the thought of him kissing a girl lol. So it's safe to say that the mangaka writing this was him rooting for the same thing for Senku; but not in the way that we exepect.

Again, if he ever did develop a relationsip with kohaku to another level. I dont think he would confess/or admit his physical attraction to her, if he did feel any. I think he would find himself content that he has found a useful girl, that can bring him materials, and doesn't ask much of him(in a romantic light). This would push Senku to allow Kohaku as his partner. I don't think Kohaku would mind it either as long as she knows Senku is willing to reciprocate in terms of just the right amount of romantic gestures/or sexual entanglement(when senku finds the time for her)

Because as he has stated he does not NOT have a sex drive(just not active) nor is he COMPLETELY against chivalry (which is rooted in romance).

So i think if he did develop feelings for Kohaku he will not do much to figure out the why and would instead only try to rationalize it by saying Kohaku is the perfect partner. He would agree to a wedding for the sake of his friends and act like he was peer pressured to doing it, and would probably ONLY compliment Kohaku's looks by saying something like "You know, according to the symmetrical proportions of your face, you'd be considered to be living up to the beauty standards of my time" and Kohaku would be fine with that thanks to the reassurance of her sister about how "he is not the type of guy to be completely against the tradition of bonds/feelings. He just doesn't prioritize them". So kohaku would be fine with that. Especially because she herself has been swayed by his way of living.

As long as she knows that Senku considers her his mate, partner, and important person, I think she'd be okay with that. Especially since Senku is logical enough to understand that he needs to put effort into the relationship with his mate. So he'd do soft gestures for her that will keep her happy in order to maintain their relationship, even if she doesn't ask for it. And that will be enough because by the end of the day that's what most relationships are, Senku just doesn't feel the need to romanticize them, unless it's for the sake of following through with a logical situation. And well him maintaining his relationship with Kohaku would be logical as it would avoid conflict and prevent him from seeking a mate elsewhere. We all know Senku doesn't like to bother with those things. He just goes with the flow of whatever is convenient.

I also think that even though he doesn't like physical contact he'd probably do soft things like touch her hand in reassurance,(he's held her hand), smile at her(as he has done so before), look tenderly at her with pride(has looked and felt proud of her) and lean on her when he is tired(they have leaned on each other metaphorically). Those would be indicators.of him caring for her, but he won't ever stop to think about them, even if his heart rate actually does start to raise he will only rationalize it with talks about "dopamine/serotonin" and Kohaku being his chosen partner; but overall, he'd be most ecstatic about having a partner by his side, and the fact that he cares for such partner. Kohaku won't ask for more and will come to understand that she has what any other girl has(when it comes to romantic relationships), and she SIMPLY has a partner that tends to rationalize everything and dislikes romance; but is willing to do it for the sake of logic.

#senhaku #my post #personal #senku x kohaku #kohaku x senku #senkoha #sasusaku #tagging ssasusaku for the filtering #dr. stone #dr stone

[impalementation]

spike, angel, buffy & romanticism: part 4

part 1: “When you kiss me I want to die”: Angel and the high school seasons

part 2: “Love isn’t brains, children”: Enter Spike as the id

part 3: “Something effulgent”: Season five and the construction of Spike the romantic

* 

“But I can’t fool myself. Or Spike, for some reason.”: Buffy and Spike as a blended self

Before I get into seasons six and seven, it’s worth asking: why would the show do all of this? Why would it spend all of this time developing a supporting villain and joke id character? Why would it give him a romantic arc? I see people say that the writers only gave Spike these storylines because he was popular or they wanted to keep him around, but even that being the case, there was no need to give him the specific arc that they did. It’s more than possible to read meaning into the story that they chose from the array of possible options. 

Here is the thing about the id. It’s not actually something separate from you. It’s not a ravenous monster you can blame your weaknesses on while remaining pure and dignified. The id is part of you. The immediate and enduring appeal of Spike is, I suspect, strongly influenced by the fact that the things the id wants are so very human and sympathetic. His foibles and mistakes are often painfully familiar, even exaggerated through vampirism as they are. In fact, it’s precisely because Spike is allowed to show a full range of reactions to love, because the writing is under less pressure for him to do the “right” or dignified thing, that he can at times be compelling in ways other characters can’t. If Spike just did nasty things, his appeal wouldn’t be much more complicated than the appeal of Angelus, who people tend to like as a villain or storyline rather than as a relatable character. But Spike doesn’t want to dismember nuns or construct elaborate murder tableaux. He wants familiar things like love, identity and meaning, even if the ways he goes about getting them can reflect people’s worst impulses. 

Which brings us to Buffy, and Buffy’s story about growing up. Buffy is Buffy’s show, which means that every writing choice tends to revolve around her arc in one way or another. And this goes for Spike’s storyline even more than most. In the final three seasons of the show, the writing finally engages with how inextricable the id--and all of its impulsive, inarticulate romantic desires--really is from a person’s self. So instead of keeping Spike at a comfortable distance, both Buffy and the writing begin to take him seriously. They begin to invite him in.

Starting in season five, it’s telling how frequently Buffy herself projects on Spike, rather than just the writing setting them up as mirrors. She tells him that he’s the “only one strong enough” to protect her family, and later assigns Dawn specifically to his protection. In “Spiral” she describes him as “the only one besides me that has any chance of protecting Dawn.” This is a very intimate role that she otherwise only assigns to herself (and which is not really based on pure practicality, considering that she’ll later describe Willow as her “big gun”--yet never gives Willow the task of protecting Dawn). She tells him that he cannot love, which is the thing she fears most about herself. Her protests that Spike is a vampire, and thus cannot express or want human things like love, mirror her lamentations that as the Slayer, she cannot have a normal life.

From the Gilliland Gothic double essay:

More than any of her other lovers, Buffy and Spike overlap one another so often that at times their character arcs become nearly indistinguishable. With Angel, Buffy traveled a parallel path in attempting to master self-control. With Riley, her journey ultimately took her in the opposite direction. With Spike, Buffy’s journey is most closely shadowed, in that her interactions with him in many ways can be seen as metaphors for her feelings about herself.

So now Spike is multiple things. On the one hand, he’s the soulless id he’s been since season two. His vampiric behavior represents a morally uninhibited way of reacting to romantic frustrations, among other things. But on the other hand, his vampirism now also marks him as like Buffy, not merely her opposite.* Nor is he only her mirror in the realm of romantic love. The part of him that is a vampire is the part of him that is supernatural (ie, Romantically larger-than-life), that sets him apart from regular people, and dictates how he can and cannot behave. Just like Buffy’s slayerness. His vampirism is what makes him capable of protecting Dawn, while also making him (supposedly, according to Buffy) incapable of human feeling--again, just like Buffy’s slayerness. Instead of Buffy’s Slayer side being aligned with Angelus, who was an unmitigated evil, it becomes aligned with Spike, who is something more complicated. 

*(Though it must be noted that this was a process that began in season four, with the show aligning Spike with the Scoobies by making him a victim of the Initiative. Spike being supernatural suddenly marks him as non-normative, just like the Scoobies, in contrast to the institutional conformity that the Initiative represents. The evolution towards treating the Romantic supernatural as something positive and associated with identity plays a key role in transitioning the show to the more complicated attitudes of the last three seasons.)

This shift in the show’s attitudes towards the id affects how Spike is used. In “Blood Ties” for example, Spike assists Dawn in breaking into the Magic Shop and in “Forever” he helps Dawn resurrect her and Buffy’s mother. In both cases, Spike could be read as embodying impulsive behavior that Buffy is supposed to be better than. Yet both cases specifically involve Spike helping Dawn, who is repeatedly portrayed as Buffy’s human side. As Buffy says in “The Gift”: “[Dawn]’s more than [my sister]. She’s me. The monks made her out of me. [...] Dawn is a part of me. The only part that I--”. In other words, Buffy’s id becomes closely tied to her humanity, even going so far as to become its safeguard. “Blood Ties” ends with Buffy affirming her connection to Dawn, which Spike’s rule-breaking directly enabled, and “Forever” ends with Buffy acknowledging how desperately she wants her mother back too, and becoming closer to Dawn as a result. (Compare to “Lovers Walk”, where Buffy acknowledging her id results in her breaking away from Angel, not drawing closer to anyone). Or in “Intervention”, Spike building the Buffybot directly parallels Buffy’s own anxieties about what she thinks she should be. She thinks she’s losing her ability to love, and that effusive fakery is her only recourse (as she said in “I Was Made to Love You”: “Maybe I could change. [...] I could spend less time slaying, I could laugh at his jokes. I mean men like that right? The joke laughing at?”), a fear that even has some merit, given that her friends cannot tell her and the bot apart. Instead of Buffy and Spike having separate arcs in the episode, Spike learning the difference between real and fake dovetails with Buffy’s own relationship to her realness and fakeness. It turns out that neither of them want a bot version of Buffy. They want real emotion, things like sacrifice and heartfelt gratitude. If even Buffy’s id would let itself be killed for Dawn, then maybe she has nothing to fear from herself. Maybe there is some beauty in the emotional part of her nature that she thinks she must repress.

In other words, part of the writing (and Buffy) fully engaging with romanticism and the id, means engaging with the ways they can be bad and good. There’s this weird thing that happens with Spike as soon as he falls in love with Buffy, where suddenly his actions are more uncomfortable, and to many, off-putting, because their object is Buffy (instead of another vampire like Harmony or Drusilla, who either enjoy the same vampiric things he does, or the audience might be inclined to see as a moral nonentity regardless). His comic id quality becomes somewhat darker and more serious, almost like the way Angel’s early season two darkness becomes more serious after he loses his soul. But at the same time, Spike’s actions are also more intriguing, sympathetic, and even noble...because their object is Buffy. It makes no sense that a soulless vampire should not only fall in love with the Slayer, but genuinely attempt to transform himself into someone worthy of her love. And yet that’s exactly what Buffy inspires him to do. By loving Buffy Spike’s dual nature, and the dual nature of his romanticism, is thrown into relief: it’s something that can be selfish and creepy, yes, but also something that hints at the idea that real romanticism does exist. Something worth feeling romantically about does exist. Thus the writing can at once criticize, say, the way the chivalric mindset conflates love and suffering, while also suggesting that there are kinds of love it’s worth being transformed by. (Meanwhile, Spike’s fumbling bewilderment over how to love Buffy, and what the rules of loving people correctly even are, creates a human middle ground between monstrousness and heroism). By leaning into the way that Buffy and Spike have been used as mirrors for three seasons, and introducing the mythology-bending idea of Spike being in love with Buffy, the writing is able to fully engage with this complicated, contradictory nature of love and romance.

All of which is to say. Spike becomes a potential love interest, and is given a convoluted inner conflict between monstrousness, humanity and heroism, in precisely the season in which Buffy begins to reckon with her own inner conflict between her darker impulses, her human reality, and her supernatural role. It’s no coincidence that season five opens with Dracula, an icon of romantic vampire mythology, tempting Buffy with darkness and promising her insight into her nature. Or that a vampire kidnaps Dawn--again, her human half--in the next episode. Or that the season’s antagonist is a super-strong blonde woman who wants to destroy Dawn instead of protect her. Or that she says goodbye to Riley, the boyfriend who embodied her hopes for a more normative way of being (notice how Riley is progressively destabilized by everything non-normative about Buffy’s life, and provokes those anxieties Buffy expresses in “I Was Made to Love You”). Over and over in season five, Buffy fears that her Slayer half is cold, destructive, and otherwise dangerous. That these Romantic things like gods and vampires have it in for Buffy’s vulnerable humanity. Yet Buffy’s vampire id simultaneously gives lie to these fears by proving itself capable of heroism and genuine human feeling.

In other words, Spike becomes a potential love interest in a season that treats the Romantic--ie the grand and mythical--as something more than just an attractive lie to be disabused of. Rather, the question that season five seems to posit to me, and which will not be fully answered until the end of season seven, is this: once you do clear away the attractive lies, once you accept the hard realities, once you’ve seen the darkest underbellies, what are the things that are left that are truly grand and beautiful? What are the stories that are really worth telling, and the heroes that are really worth having?

And the show asks and answers these questions on both a very personal level, and a more meta, systemic level. On the personal level, Buffy and Spike are forced to confront their illusions not just about the world, but about themselves. They are made to ask themselves what constitutes a heroic role or a demonic weakness, versus basic, unromantic humanity. And on the meta level, the show asks questions about our expectations for how both love stories and chosen hero stories are supposed to go.

part 5: “Everything used to be so clear”: Season six and the agony of the real

#romanticism series #gen #s5 #buffy #spike #riley #btvs

[whentheynameyoujoy]

Hey:) have you read the ATLA comic Love is a Battlefield? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it !

The comic makes me seriously wonder what the person who okayed it was drinking.

For one, it’s the single best demonstration anyone might need that the conflict the ship is based on isn’t one you want to have in your romance under any circumstances—that between a girl who’s just not that into a guy and said guy who won’t take no for an answer.

It single-handedly validates every anti-cataanger out there—Aang’s portrayed as entitled, selfish, and utterly delusional about his relationship with Katara who is supposed to have no voice in it and quietly conform to his idea of her and their bond instead of functioning as a separate being with her own wants and notions.

But let’s bring the receipts, shall we?

So the story begins innocuously enough, with Aang drawing the air and water symbols in the sand and adding a heart around them. Cute and innocent so far, I like. Katara appears, acting as though she wants to talk to him, and Aang concludes it’s about the invasion kiss. Why would he think that is beyond me but let’s roll with it. But instead of delving into that particular can of worms, Katara splashes Aang with some water in an attempt to get him to practice.

He doesn’t take it well.

Notice the bold “finally”. What this says to me is that in Aang’s mind, it’s Katara’s job to come to him and report as his girlfriend, just by virtue of being kissed, and it’s been mighty upsetting to him that she “failed” to do so.

After all, consider The Ember Island Players:

“We kissed at the Invasion, and I thought we were gonna be together.”

Aang doing a thing means that Aang & Katara did a thing mutually.

In his view, he isn’t supposed to be the one who approaches her and explains why he saw fit to plant one on her; who opens up about his feelings and initiates a frank conversation. No, that was a claiming kiss at the invasion and Katara can only acknowledge it as such and reciprocate.

Our Every RomCom Guy Ever doesn’t realize that Katara not talking to him about it is the answer to where they stand.

This is the third time in as many pages, btw, that Katara tries to get Aang to practice. And for a good reason because we’re a short while removed from The Western Air Temple where he yet again refused to face up to an unpleasant truth and instead had to be literally chased around like an unruly child. Katara’s fully in a sifu mode here, not even perceiving the opportunity to talk about their relationship. And if an assertive fourteen-year old doesn’t think to talk about her second ever kiss with the guy who gave it to her, that should tell you all you need to know about how much she appreciated it.

Aand that’s fourth time. Katara really seems to think that taking down this Fire Lord dude is important or something and that Aang is once again failing to prepare for it. Look, she even has a nickname for it at this point. Yet for some reason, Nice Guy Aang reframes the situation—WHILE HIDING IN A LITERAL ROCK—as a role reversal where it’s Katara running away from confrontation and having to face the truth, even though he revealed in this very scene that he didn’t think it was his job to be open about his feelings with the girl he believes he loves.

At last, Katara realizes Aang’s hinting at the invasion kiss and reacts like any girl who’s harbouring a secret crush would—by visibly cringing and pretending she doesn’t know what he’s talking about and the wind’s really strong for her to hear what he’s saying anyway so maybe it’d be a good idea for Aang to come out and practice? (fifth time)

Finally, supreme gentleman Aang does the one thing he’s not supposed to do—he loses control and depending on how charitable you are either puts Katara in harm’s way (by firebending, weird how that keeps happening), or outright assaults her in blind rage.

Luckily, Katara’s just glad that Zuko’s training is yielding results and maybe the world won’t end in an Ozai-induced inferno by the end of the summer.

Scorned LoverBoi couldn’t give less of a shit, though.

And there you have it, explicitly in the text. Katara, despite showing no signs of attraction and not encouraging Aang’s advances in any way, is perceived by him as someone who’s cruelly toying with his feelings—simply because her reactions don’t conform to what he wants them to be. The relationship is utterly about him and it’s so mean of Katara that she doesn’t feel like playing the demure cut-out in his hero-gets-the-girl routine.

Let’s not mince words, this is some prime incel logic Aang’s operating on.

And the creators don’t seem to realize this. Which is why they never challenge him on his behaviour in the show, reward it in the finale, and go on reaffirming it in every single post-canon material there is.

And I find it sort of infuriatingly hilarious that someone not only conceived of the ship this way, but thought it was a good idea to present it to the world as a basic vanilla romance.

Which makes me wonder.

Because as strange as this might sound, there is a universe where this story is not only perfectly okay, but absolutely crucial to the overall narrative.

That is if the show actually followed up on The Guru and culminated in Aang letting go of Katara to unlock the Avatar state.

From start to finish, the comic proves Pathik completely and utterly right—what Aang feels for Katara isn’t selfless love, it’s selfish attachment. But instead of it being cloaked in vague religious language, we see it manifest in a painfully tangible way. The story’s kinda unintentionally brilliant if you read it like this—it’s show to Pathik’s tell. Aang is too wrapped up in what he feels to see the signs and runs away from having to acknowledge the painful reality that’s clearly evident, i.e. that Katara doesn’t love him. And because he’s so invested in his delusions, he blows up whenever challenged on them, acting on entitlement and baseless expectations and going so far as to slowly kill the beautiful relationship they actually do have—a lifelong bromance.

If this story foreshadowed that Aang needed to let go of his attachment not only to save the world, but to even keep Katara in his life, I’d be fully on board.

But for that to happen, the creators would have to take a step back, start considering perspectives beyond Aang’s, and stop treating him like an infallible bringer of truths who deserves human prizes just for doing his job.

And if they were able to do that then we wouldn’t be here in the first place.

#aang critical #ask #love is a battlefield #anti-aang #anti-kataang

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" from The Owl House

Wow. They are really pushing it for that secret message, huh?

Anywho--Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

I think it goes without saying at this point that Season Two of The Owl House is setting itself up as a season without filler. Now, filler episodes aren't always bad. Yes, it hurts when a series turns away from the main plot for a week. But at best, they're utilized as a chance for the writers to play around with the characters and developing said characters without it relating to the overarching story. So, some people who see that consider it a bad thing that a series doesn't have that many filler episodes.

I like to call those people: F**king morons.

Don't get me wrong, I see where some of you are coming from. And I'd be willing to agree...if The Owl House was a plot-driven series. Which it's not. It is a character-driven series. Because for every plot thread and narrative that the show presents, they always relate to the characters and develop them further each time these threads get brought up. For example, look at "Knock Knock Knockin’ on Hooty's Door" (It pains me just to write that). Several narratives move forward, and it’s all done to make the characters grow. And to explain how requires going into spoilers. So keep that in mind as you continue reading.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Hooty: Might as well start with the character that this episode is about.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't a huge fan when I found out we're getting a Hooty-centered episode. I've grown to love him over time, but he is a comedic character that's best used in small doses. Primarily due to how his voice is grating to me (My ears are still bleeding...). With that said, I do really love his contributions in "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (Seriously, there couldn't have been a less awkward title?). Hooty's antics when trying to help everyone are as hilarious as they are heartwarming. He deeply cares for his friends but just doesn't understand how his plans could do some unintended harm, which is pretty lovable if you ask me. We also get some surprisingly great insight into his character, as he feels insecure about basically being the comic relief who doesn't really do that much other than being funny. Rarely do you get that level of dimension from a comedic character, and it's even more uncommon for that to work out as well as it does here. It once again proves just how competent the writing is in this series to the point where we get an episode about Hooty, and it's funny and heartwarming instead of being annoying. And whoever is responsible for that, you're the best.

Lilith’s Letter to Hooty: I mean it when I say that I love how Lilith kept her word about her and Hooty becoming penpals. Their friendship was something I would have never expected to love, and I'm still shocked that it works so well, so seeing it continue like this just warms me to the bone. Plus, it is pretty sweet that Lilith's kind words are what inspired Hooty to do what he's done in this episode...meaning it's Lilith we should thank here--SON OF A WITCH! Even when she's gone, she's still working her way into my heart!

King going through Puberty: What?! KING IS EVOLVING!

(There, I made a Pokemon reference. Do I get my cookie now?)

Eda Keeping Herself Awake to Train Herself: I'm willing to bet a large sum of money that this has everything to with Raine getting captured last week. If Eda was still the most powerful witch in the Isles, she might have actually saved them. But she isn't, and now the love of her life is in the clutches of a tyrant planning something that could potentially be the end of everything. So I can understand Eda pushing herself to her limit to get back on top again, as I would probably do the same. It's not healthy in any way, and Eda would be doing more harm than good. But when it comes to the people you love, logic doesn't always win out in the end.

Luz Wanting to Make her Way into Amity’s Heart by Making the Echo Mouse Happy: ...That's it. I Just...I just love everything about it, ok?

This was also when I knew that I was wrong to doubt that there would be zero Lumity in this episode. I realize my follies now, and I humbly apologize.

Hooty Teaching King About Demons: This was so funny. So, so funny. Probably doesn't come as a surprise, especially since The Owl House proves itself as a comedy before, but the jokes have never hit as frequently and as hard as they did here. From Hooty getting offended by King's dance to him and Dana's insert wanting a "DNA sample," everything managed to successfully make me lose my s**t. It does come at the expense of King suffering, but I can stomach that much more than if it were Eda or Luz. And, as a bonus, we get lore about how demons work, added with another great joke of King getting in trouble with Hooty for saying he already knows this stuff. Humor isn't always the show's strong suit, but when it works, it f**king works.

King Wanting to Know What he Is: But despite how funny King's vignette was, we still get to see more of his character grow. We learn that he's frustrated now that there's this big question mark over his life now, feeling extra angry that his father "abandoned" him to leave such a present mystery. It shows the hidden resentment he has that Lilith inadvertently brought out, made even worse when King's father hasn't responded to the video yet. King hasn't really gotten that much development until "Echoes of the Past," so it's pretty cool that the writers haven't really slowed down on it. Especially when it leads to these great moments of King venting his frustrations.

King’s Shouting Powers: KING learned FUS RO DAH!

(And now that's a Pokemon reference AND a Skyrim reference. WHERE'S MY GOSH DANG COOKIE!?)

Eda’s Nightmare: If King's vignette hits you hard with the laughs, Eda's will absolutely hit you harder with the feels (never make me say "feels" unironically again). Knowing that Eda's life got thoroughly screwed over by the curse is something we could figure out on her own. But seeing just how much the curse ruined her life and tore apart relationships that mean the world to her really does a swell job at ripping apart the soul. What's even more tragic is, technically speaking, it's all sort of Eda's fault too. She kept hiding the curse, refusing to be a burden to others who would do all they could to help. If she had only been open and honest, things probably wouldn't have changed much, but they most likely would have been better than they are now.

Eda Attacked her Father as the Owl Beast: ...I don't know what I was expecting when "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" hinted that there was some possible tension between Eda and her father...but it definitely wasn't this.

The fact that we see blood where his eye used to be doesn't make things any happier, either.

Raine Broke Up with Eda: Before we get into anything else, let's celebrate the fact that it's now confirmed that Eda and Raine really did use to date in the past. Because this show is just f**king phenomenal with its LGBTQA+ representation!

But, seriously, this is a fantastic reveal that goes far beyond just shipping...well, sort of. It shines a new light on Eda and Raine's interactions from last week, revealing that while they're not a couple anymore, they still very much love each other. It helps make their last interaction especially tragic, as they were both on the same page now and could very well be together again. Only for them to be forced apart for the second time in a way that's much worse than the first. And I frickin' adore that this series changes the impact of one episode one week later. Again, it shows just how competent these writers are, and kudos to them for making something so...perfect.

The Moon Person: WHO THE FU--Nope. Nope! We have more than enough mystery bulls**t to deal with through CreepyLuz and Philip Wittebane, so I am PUTTING YOU ON THE BACKBURNER FOR NOW!

(They're probably nothing more than a one-off character, anyway)

The Owl Beast and Eda are Connected: Through visuals alone, we, the audience, can clue into what the curse really means. The Owl Beast doesn't want to be a part of Eda as much as she doesn't want it to be a part of her. Whether they like it or not, and they very much don't, they're stuck together. The thing is, and this is what I love the most, they still decide to make the best of their situation rather than let it ruin their lives even more. This might be the best possible turn Eda's curse could have made. It'll still affect her, and there are probably more negatives than positives, but at least now, it's not the worst thing in the world. And I feel like that's all anyone can ask when in a position like her own.

Eda's “Pretty Dream”: I don't know what emotions are toiling inside me more with this moment. Awe and wonder over how beautiful Eda's dream is, or heartbreak over the implication that she has only had nightmares since getting cursed...I'm gonna say both. Yeah, it's definitely both.

Eda’s Harpie Form: Well, fan artists are gonna have a field day with this...especially the freaks.

(You know who you are. And you're weird!)

Luz Calling Amity a “Cotton-Candy Haired Goddess”: ...Have I ever mentioned how much I love this show?

Hooty Kidnapped Amity: ...Hooty, if your stupidity wasn't charming, I would be more than willing to call the authorities over how you kidnapped a girl in your version of a knapsack and locked her in the basement. For that is going to ring SO MANY alarm bells in people's heads.

Amity and Luz Stuck in a Tunnel of Love: *Smacks lips* Mmm. The adorable awkwardness of this moment is just *chef's kiss* magnifique!

Luz being afraid of getting made fun of:

Amity’s look of hope: I mean...just...f**king--LOOK AT HER:

That is the look of a girl who, while embarrassed as hell, still is ecstatic to learn for a brief moment, everything that she is hoping for has a high chance of being real. Who, in their right mind, wouldn't go "Aw!" at something so pure and innocent?!

Luz Destroying the Tunnel of Love: This is how to effectively utilize dramatic irony. The audience can understand why Luz is tearing the place apart because she explicitly states that she's afraid of Amity rejecting her in the end. They also know that's bogus, thus making it extra painful to watch Amity's heart break more and more with each second (which is perfectly represented through Amity's expressions). You feel bad for both of them, and even worse when you know that it can easily be prevented by the simple art of communication. That's what makes it great dramatic irony. Knowing the point of view of each character results in a scene that evokes emotions in two different ways.

Hooty’s Breakdown: This was...genuinely hard to watch. Not that it was badly written, far from it. It just...hurt seeing how destroyed Hooty was when he realized he failed the people he has such an admiration for. On the upside, a wholesome moment follows soon after as the Owl House gang tries to reassure Hooty that he's done a lot of good that night. It's a pure action that shows even though Hooty gets on their nerves all the time, they still care about him...damn it. I think I'm gonna cry.

Eda’s Advice for Luz: ...Eda...You're the best.

You found out that your surrogate daughter wants to ask a girl out, and not only were you quick to deliver the best possible advice ("Just go for it!"), but you also quickly reassure her that it doesn't need to be perfect.

And you know what? That's it. Eda is the best cartoon mom! She might not technically be Luz's mom, but I don't give a s**t because she is the best!

Luz and Amity Ask Each Other Out: Shh-sh-sh-sh...

Do you hear that?

...

...

...It's the sound of dozens of Lumity fans collectively losing their s**t...and I'm one of them.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!

IT!

IS!

CANON!

AH-HAHAHAHAHA!

HOLY S**T! Holy s**t! Holy s**t...might just be the best way I could possibly describe this! Finally, after all the waiting, speculating, and praying, THESE TWO IDIOTS FINALLY GOT TOGETHER! AND IT WAS PERFECT! I mean, it was awkward as s**t, but that's what makes it perfect! You know why? You wanna--Hey! *snaps fingers*. You want to know why? It's because they're teenagers. Of f**king course, it's going to be awkward! This is their first relationship, so there will be a lot of missteps along the way. And that, in itself, brings me to the best (second best part?) thing about it happening in episode eight of the new seasons. Most endgame couples get together in the climax or even at the end of the series. But to have them get together this early on, means there will be quite a few episodes dedicated to showing them grow as a couple.

And better than that--EVEN F**KING BETTER THAN THAT--dozens of kids are going to see these two, a realistic depiction of young love that just so happens to involve two girls, and are going to learn once and for all that there is nothing wrong with being who they are. That fact alone is f**king incredible. Yes, it sucks that season three got cut short, and we'll have even less time with Luz and Amity, but knowing how many kids have felt seen today almost makes it worth it in the end.

And if I see one mother f**ker saying this was poorly paced, I might just hunt them down for SPORT...Sorry if that was an overreaction. I'M JUST SO HAPPY! Because they're happy! Look at them. Listen to them! It's so...GAH-HAHAHA!

“They’re adorable! And deserve all the happiness!”: You're darn right, Hooty! You're darn right.

King’s Father(?) Shows Up: What the--WHAT?! They're doing this now?! Here?! After everything else?

Oh, man. What could this mean? What dynamic changes will this cause in the main cast? How could the writers fit this in during the next two episodes? And what--

Hooty Eats the Letter: ...Pfffft--HAHAHAHA!

Oh, man...I should be mad, and I wouldn't blame others if they are...but that is too much of a brilliant f**k you that I can't help but appreciate it. Bravo writers. Bravo.

WHAT I DISLIKED

...Dislikes? Dislikes? You would honestly believe that after everything I witnessed in this episode, that I would have the gull to list anything wrong with it?!

HOW DARE YOU ASSUME THAT I WOULD BE SO CALLUS TO--Actually, I do kind of have an issue with the episode's title. It's just too much of an awkward mouthful for me to get behind. I understand that the writers wanted to sneak the K into the secret message, but were there really no other titles starting with K that they couldn't come up with?

But that's just a personal issue, and in no way do I think anybody else would feel the same way. Especially with how well-written everything else is anyway.

IN CONCLUSION

"Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (title aside) is another A+ episode. It was hilarious, heart-wrenching, and downright adorable while keeping me entertained with every minute. I'm sure there are some issues I was willing to ignore due to how expertly written everything else was, but why bother looking for the chinks in the armor when I could just enjoy a perfect episode for being so...perfect! Some of you might be willing to disagree with me, but to that, I say: Don't knock it till you've tried it.

(Now, if you don't excuse me, I'm going to go lie down. It's...It's been a day.)

#the owl house #the owl house season 2 #the owl house reviews #the owl house spoilers #toh spoilers #toh hooty #king clawthorne #eda clawthorne #raeda #luz noceda #amity blight #lumity #lumity is canon #what i thought about

[beevean]

SEGA and its most recent Sonamy side – more canon than ever

[Translator’s note: this article was originally written in Spanish by @latin-dr-robotnik​]

Hello again! Today we’d like to discuss about something that’s been happening recently, and probably taking Sonic fans by surprise: what is going on with SEGA and its stance about Sonamy?

At the beginning of this year, to celebrate the 200 articles on Seaside Hill Paradise, I finished what I call “the Sonamy trilogy” of articles that I started in 2018 and which cover different themes, such as:

SEGA and the eternal issue of the Sonic-Amy dynamic

“I love you” – Forbidden words in Sonic

SEGA and the eternal issue of “Sonic’s girlfriend”

The idea was to offer a more-or-less complete analysis about the many facets of their dynamic in the last 27 years; a dynamic that, you may have noticed, is not that easy to pin down, and that we’ve been updating almost regularly (although I also intended to investigate on other dynamics, like Knuckles and Rouge’s for example, and write about them). Generally speaking, in these articles I don’t draw objective conclusions about the status of the ship in canon (despite the fact that the available information tends to confirm it in various occasions). I also like to repeat myself and say that shipping is supposed to be for fun, not for tearing each other’s hair in that black hole of misery that is Twitter, but recent events left us slightly perplexed, and this is why we’re here once again.

We left the status of the Sonamy canonicity with these two peculiar instances back in August: Sonic mentioning his “girlfriend” in the Japanese version of Sonic Battle, and the Twitter account of SEGA of Europe saying Sonamy is their “favorite videogame romance”. Now, let’s recap a bit…

Sonamy in Sonic IDW... Round 3

[SPOILERS ALERT FOR IDW SONIC #14-#35]

In 2018, when IDW just started, I decided to study a little how the Sonamy dynamic worked in this new universe. To our surprise, the comic didn’t waste time in dropping its biggest bomb, in one of the cutest scenes we had seen in ages. Since the very beginning, IDW proved that it didn’t intend to deceive those fans that looked for a bit of development of both characters.

I wrote an article about it in June 2019, and it coincided with the beginning of one of the most infamous arc I’ve seen in a Sonic comic for a long time: the Metal Virus Saga. The question is, what has happened since then?

Well, in 2019, with the same accuracy of an aimbot, I said “We’ll probably see some new interactions between Sonic and Amy sometime around IDW #20”. And wouldn’t you know, as misery and tragedy settled in that arc, it was exactly around IDW #20 that we saw some Sonamy interactions: both exhausted, to their limit, with a Sonic that couldn’t even touch Amy to soothe her pain, due to him being infected with the virus.

The arc developed like this in what felt like an eternity, to finally conclude in one the most absurd ways in Sonic history. But it wasn’t a complete disappointment, as, after months and months of asking and discussing on the internet about how much Sonic and Amy deserved a hug at the end of the arc… it actually happened.

Since that moment in IDW #32, we shippers thought that it was what both of them deserved after so much time spent separated and pushed to their limit to survive, but also that after the end of the arc everything would go back to normal. However, what we didn’t know was that the Sonamy train had no intention of stopping, not in IDW, nor anywhere else.

A recurring detail in IDW Sonic is that Amy’s tail starts wagging every time she sees Sonic, as if she was a happy dog. I swear, it happens every time.

Come IDW #35, once again we have some hugs and bits of dialogue between our hedgehogs. For sure, the question here isn’t their relationship itself, as it was for IDW #2, but rather the issues this arc is slowly dealing with. But it’s really nice to see them again, sharing that closeness that they’ve had in the comic since the beginning– be it with some gestures of affection, a wink, a gesture, a private joke.

My favorite image is the first one, Belle’s reaction to seeing Amy hugging Sonic. It’s like she’s thinking “oh, is she his girlfriend?”, and she wouldn’t even be wrong in thinking that.

It can’t be denied that IDW Sonic provided us the conversations and the emotions that the games seldom do. Certainly, the comic has its share of issues and it’s not really a story that I personally follow for its own merits (it’s more because it’s still Sonic, for my interest for things like this, and Belle’s existence… whom I already ship with Tails, sorry not sorry), but what it does well it does really well.

For now, we have to see how IDW Sonic will follow the development of the characters, especially in view of the closure of the current story and beyond. And we may be done with this part of the article, but there is still a lot left.

Sonamy in merchandise

Taking us completely by surprise, recently SEGA launched, in collaboration with Hot Topic, a series of Sonamy-themed t-shirts. No, seriously.

So many people told me this as soon as the voice spread (you know who you are, thank you guys for thinking about me <3), and I can’t help being still surprised that this is actually a thing. T-shirts with lines like “You’re my favorite”, “Love in the fast lane”, and my personal favorite, “S&A Forever”, with drawings of Classic Sonic and Amy… in SEGA-approved products. I don’t know if you realize how much of a big deal this is, even more than “Celebrate the 25 years of Sonic’s girlfriend” from 2018.

One of the things that surprised me the most (aside from how explicit they are in officializing the relationship, and the fact that there are still 2 months left before Valentine’s Day 2021), was the decision to use Classic Sonic and Classic Amy. I tried to understand this decision by analyzing the simplicity and easiness with which the Classic designs convey a message (let’s not forget that Classic Sonic was so iconic because it was specifically designed to convey his expressions without words), besides the fact that they’re inherently cuter than their modern designs. There’s also the controversial aspect of post-Adventure Sonamy, with all the dubbing and weird interpretations that the fandom made over the years… By comparison, the Classic design are a much simpler choice.

What is actually going on?

Well, let’s take a step back and think about what we just saw. The way SEGA has been recently trying to push Sonic and Amy in front view (and for the entirety of 2020, based on the articles I mentioned in the beginning) tells us the harsh truth we all have to accept sooner or later: Sonamy sells, and it sells a lot.

From a strictly business point of view, the ship is so iconic and popular, with fans and detractors alike, that it would be absurd for SEGA to ignore the chance to print these two characters and get a load of money. As I said in my 2018 article, despite the fact that in Japan Sonic isn’t as big of an icon as it is elsewhere, they know pretty well that Sonic + Amy = love, and they have huge amounts of merchandise to back it up. It’s in the West that because of different cultural values, of which we’ve already talked about, along with some internal resistance, left this aspect of the franchise a little on the side. But they’ve been trying to fix it… and how…

Let’s not forget that a decade and a half ago Sonic Team seriously favored Sonamy. They officially said it, Sonic X was their purest view of Sonic they had at the time.

Outside of the business perspective, I believe we’re facing the moment that we’ve been waiting for: it’s time they’ll establish once and for all the dynamic of these two characters, following more closely the original Japanese vision of Sonic. I said many times that, in trying to change canon, the West, especially SEGA of America, did nothing but confuse fans and generate more discussions than needed, by introducing different data and portrayals that contradict the canon established by Sonic Team.

We’ve talked about Unleashed and emotional support, about Sonic X, about the major moments that opened the door to interpreting this dynamic as something more. We don’t threaten at gunpoint those who would rather stay away, but we respond to those declarations that still try to violently discredit the simple fact that Sonic and Amy, who are most of all close friends, form in some measure a couple that, even with its imposed limitations, manages to captivate fans and not fans everywhere in the world. Even the Simpsons used it as a joke, and that says a lot.

What the future has in store for us.

Unless something else happens in this last month of 2020, this is the most complete compilation I can offer at the moment about the status of Sonamy in the fandom and in the official canon. Yes, canon.

It’s impossible to ignore the signals. As you may have noticed, I’ve been considering Sonic and Amy as an official couple, with its clarifications (for example, that at the end it’s more of a friendship, that it’s not a romantic relationship in the most explicit way, that it’s more of a personal perspective to justify a more mature vision of the relationship in the future, not right now), but nowadays I think that SEGA has spoken loud and clear. I think canon is ready to negotiate the idea that Sonic and Amy, apart from being excellent friends who would risk their lives for each other in a heartbeat, have something else on their hands (probably the other’s hand). This won’t automatically translate into a kiss, or a complete love declaration (although Sonic X came close…), or a commitment to a formal relationship like we know them in real life. SEGA canon affirms that Amy is “Sonic’s girlfriend” and nothing more. Outside of that detail, they still pretty much function as friends interacting with a little flirting here, and a little Sonic running away there. It’s the basis of their dynamic, now enhanced by the fact that SEGA is giving us a clearer message.

I think that this all may culminate in a game or an animated series, but I wouldn’t completely count on that. It is good to recognize how far the official position goes on this issue, but at the same time I want to reaffirm that there are things that are better left in the hands of the fandom, and in the meantime that IDW or any other continuity gives us hugs, winks, gestures and words of encouragement, we as the fandom will take care of exploring other avenues and hypothetical scenarios.

This is all I have to say on the matter for now, and I hope you’re happy with this wonderful Sonamy experience we’re going through – I certainly am. See you next time!

#sonic the hedgehog #sonamy #amy rose #translation #long post #whew #this one was a doozy #but super interesting #thanks again latin for writing these long ass sonamy posts

[fourangers]

Hi Fourangers,

First of all, I love your blog so much. It's like going through a history back when Naruto Manga chapters were released weekly and your reviews were so Golden, Hilarious and spot-on. Am a new fan though (especially an SNS fan), I just got into this fandom only this year. I don't know if you'll answer my ask, but I just wanted to try and ask you few questions and I pray that you might answer me....

1. Since you've written in a post that you were active in the eastern part of the fandom, How was chapter 698 received in Japan? Because this is the chapter I inherently realized they both love each other. Yeah, I was too late but somehow whenever they interact with each other in previous chapters I always find them to be 'Weird' for just to be friends. Chapter 698 is just blatantly obvious that they love each other. Considering Homophobia and Shounen genre, I have no idea how it was perceived over there back then in 2014.

2. Which scene made you to ship SNS?

3. As an SNS'er how do you feel about the ending, where everyone was married off when they were just 19 just to make some shitty sequel??? As a new fan, I felt betrayed and It would've been perfect if they had stopped at chapter 699, leaving an open ending.

4. How do you face with the accusation about Naruto and Sasuke as brothers and we, SNS'ers are Incest shippers??? I don't care about that Indra and Ashura thing. But Naruto himself told he considers Sasuke as his Brother couple of times. And in Chapter 699, Sasuke acknowledged, 'He finally understood what it meant'.... It's the only thing that confuses me and I don't even have an answer!!! Plus, Kishi himself gave an interview that he based Sasuke on his Brother... I really wonder how he gave such an interview when he literally made them wear necklaces with each other's faces.

5. How was Naruto and Sasuke's sexuality perceived in the fandom back then??? Man!! Kishimoto just made lot of comic reliefs on their sexuality by making Sasuke on Sai jutsu, Naruto not interested in Icha Icha but making Reverse Harem no Jutsu, Naruto was angry when Konohamaru made Boy on Boy jutsu whereas he had no problem with him doing it. LOL. And all those homoerotic posters. What do you think about their sexuality, personally??

6. Why did Kishi had to develop their bond as Soulmates with some unintentional or intentional romantic undertones, if he was eventually going to pair them up with girls??? He easily could've gave many such romantic tropes to other girls and keep the bond between N and S as purely friendship or brothers. It still would've made sense.

7. Final one, Was Naruto really Nosebleeding when Kurama made a joke about Sasuke's kiss in Chapter 572???? We had a lot of heated discussion with other shippers where they claim that it was just a splotch of snot.

Sorry for the lengthy ask....... I am so eager to know your answers and I don't want to spam your ask box by sending multiple asks.

Thanks 😊😊😊

Hey yo! Welcome new SNS fan! I'm so glad that you joined us and I'll try to answer as best as I can. I'm not very active here on tumblr (except browsing lol) but your ask was such a delight to read.

1. I honestly don't remember. I think I didn't follow the japanese boards until the eventual 699-700 disaster. People were craving for reactions and I was curious about it too lol. And well...it's been years, I doubt I'll be able to find the reactions from that time. Imo, most readers don't care much about pairings, they just wanted to read about power-ups and abilities and the basic Naruto Vs Sasuke. Though there are some backhanded jokes about how gay Naruto is for Sasuke.

2. Hah. It's going to be very anti-climatic but it was when Naruto and Sakura were eating in Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto just used Rasenshuriken against Kakuzu and he busted his arm. Sakura was healing his arm and her attention was focused on Naruto. I used to be a NaruSaku shipper so I thought "Oh hey! This is the moment that Naruto would have a candid romantic moment!" But nope. He talked about Sasuke. And I was already getting suspicious about Sasuke's feelings towards Naruto ya know? And the whole "SASUKE IS MIINEEEEEE" in Orochimaru's lair. It was that moment I thought "you only have Sasuke in your head don't you, Naruto?" and started shipping SNS.

3. Hooo boy was I surprised when it was suddenly revealed that they had the basic heteronormative, boring marriage with bunch of clones of themselves. Everyone thought that it was almost like a bad fanfiction come true and some thought that it was fake. It was a pandemonium lolololol. I also thought that it was too lame to be true and lo and behold, when it came true I was floored. And then whenever Kishimoto threw new material, I got insanely pissed off because S*arada and B*ruto becoming pairing material is ok because they are a girl and a boy, and then they paralleled with Naruto and Sasuke which are only FRIENDS because they are both men. ARGH. Open ending was what Kishimoto planned from the very beginning but wrote a sequel to earn more money.

In that aspect, I made peace with it because of the whole anime/manga industry. I learned that, as a mangaka, you don't earn a lot of money with selling books, but rather with merchandise and profiting with sales right. And that guy have a family to raise, have two kids (which is hilarious about how B*ruto movie is his self-insert story), he needs a steady income. Also, I read reports about how anime studios are so poor and animators don't receive a decent income not to mention they are overstaffed and tired, and B*ruto is a good money cow for them to earn money so they can invest later on other anime they have more passion about it. So even though I hate this story with a strength of thousands suns, they are putting meal on people's tables and making them pay rents. I'm ok.

4. Lemme roll my eyes because in the Last movie they said that Hinata is related to Kaguya and so is the Uzumaki and Uchiha clan so they are all related woo hoo. But in the aspect of brothers because reincarnations bla bla bla, didn't Naruto himself said that he's no longer that brother, he's himself? Hmm...I gotta re-read it. One day. Maybe. lol. But I'm sure that he said "Sasuke is not my brother but I'm sure we'll understand well as friends" so there. Honestly, there are a lot of interviews out there and a lot of them are fake, so I'd always take the interviews with a grain of salt lololol. I do know from artbooks that Kishimoto wanted to create Sasuke as a rival-esque character and that was it. As he was developing Sasuke and Naruto's relationship, since he liked the whole yin-yang concept, whenever he wrote Naruto's story, Sasuke's was developed at the same time as his shadow.

5. I can tell from Naruto Forums (I used to participate back in that day) MOST of the non-shippers thought it was gay as hell, but you know...it was a relic of that time. While they thought it was gay, they didn't put too much thought about you know? Because it was shounen, and we knew that it was a joke that it couldn't be taken seriously. Of course, in the SNS fandom, we did make more analysis and there were a lot of instance when Naruto and Sasuke's sexuality was questioned. Some other non-shippers also thought that Naruto was totes gay for Sasuke (including a IRL friend).

Imo, Naruto is definitely bisexual in my view. Sasuke I think he's asexual or gay. He's attracted to Naruto, but mostly because of his connection to him, not because of his physical attributes, so yeah...asexual. Or Pansexual. Sasuke is more complicated lmao. Imo, Naruto could be pansexual too, come to think about it. Yeah, I guess both being pansexual can be valid.

6. He developed Naruto and Sasuke being soulmates from the very beginning, that was proven in his comments in artbooks and in the manga. He probably created with the intention of making it purely platonic, going beyond physical ties. Then he shot himself on the foot by drawing Naruto thinking about Sasuke on bed, talking about how Sasuke is cool, meanwhile Sasuke waxing poetic about how Naruto saved him. What gives? Lol. Yeah, I think he got too enamored writing their relationship that he didn't have time to write romantic ones. What I noticed that Sakura's popularity never was really high, so I could see some editors putting their fingers all over it and making her less relevant. Also, Kishimoto didn't know how to handle her, so when she got her time to shine was the whole fake confession disaster. Coupled with Kishimoto sexism and, in his words (Kurenai's flashback), women are useful to spout more babies, women was never really relevant in his story, unfortunately. Even Kaguya who was technically the big bad boss, was never really fleshed out in comparison to Madara. So the null het romantic moments it's not because he wanted to elevate SNS moments, it's more about how he's incompetent about it. It's either Hinata slowly elevating to a relevant status because forced interaction (Pain's sacrifice and Neji's death) or Sakura being obligated to be pining over Sasuke because she's a girl. It's even more painful to see that, if we ignore B*ruto, both girls are shown to be just talking with their kids and dusting shelves, basically being housewives, even though thorough the story (especially Sakura) it was implied that both of them have much more potential than being their husband accessories.

7. It was a splotch of snot. I can confirm myself lol. Whenever the chapter is out and fans would scan it to scanlate it, the editor usually would amp up contrast to max. So usually the lines get much more thicker than usual, when you read the official release which gets straight from the source, you can notice how the lines are more delicate.

Oh lol...but then we also have a lot of controversy about translating style. THAT one is a whole new can of worms to open.

Man I had fun answering your questions! Please send more :P

[puckmeupfam]

Sap | Jeff Skinner

Word Count: 2287

Note: My autumnal aesthetic piece that I started in July. Title is based on the fact that this is entirely fluff without plot, and because it takes place in the Northeast with references to maple syrup, cider donuts, and leaf-peeping. 

Zipping your newly packed suitcase and pulling it off the bed, you heard the front door open signaling that Jeff arrived home from practice. It was a rare time when he had the weekend off. No games, no practices after the one he just finished, just free time which he chose to devote to spending with you. The two of you loved going on short trips whenever possible to escape the monotony of work and grocery shopping and Buffalo. Honestly, you could spend the weekend in Lackawanna and be happy as long as you were with Jeff. This particular weekend was special because it was now solidly fall. The temperatures were dropping. The leaves were changing. Swimsuits were being swapped out for sweaters. And golf was being replaced by hockey.

You had spent most of the summer in Markham. Coming from a smaller family, you were always enamored by Jeff’s. At this point, you honestly considered them to be your family, too. You loved talking to Jillian about her time in law school or asking Ben about his hockey career in Germany. It was also hilarious to watch the five siblings tease Jeff about his competitiveness or on-ice gaffs, but he was always a good sport about it and just laughed with bright red cheeks. You knew how much it meant to Jeff when he got to spend time with his family and experience that warmth and joy. The both of you were incredibly lucky that Buffalo isn’t too far away, but with his schedule, the uninterrupted summer was extra special.

As you were lost in your thoughts, you missed Jeff coming up the stairs and into your shared bedroom. His arms wrapped around your waist and his face found its way into the crook of your neck. The action brought an unconscious smile to your face as you leaned back into him.

“Whatcha thinking about?” he asked you, voice muffled against your skin as he lightly swayed. You shrugged in response, “We should probably get Andrea a birthday gift while we’re gone, something nice you know? Show we were thinking about her.” Jeff hummed in response. He rocked the two of you a bit before speaking, “Are you ready to leave?” You took a deep breath, inhaling his cologne. Turning your body to look him in the eye you smiled softly, “Almost,” you whispered, “we should probably get going before they decide they need you to individually kiss each fan.” This elicited a booming laugh from Jeff that you felt throughout your body, “The only person I’m kissing is you.”

After another minute of contentment, you shuffled him away from you to grab some chargers and last-minute necessities. He chuckled as he started pulling your suitcase down to the car, he knew how much you were looking forward to this trip. You had spent the last week researching and talking about all the spots you wanted to visit while you were away. Grabbing your purse and hoisting it over your shoulder you did a last-minute sweep of the house to make sure that everything was unplugged and you weren’t leaving candles lit or stovetops on. After your anxieties were quelled you went outside and joined Jeff in the car. He had already put your B&B into the GPS and he flashed you a large grin which you eagerly matched as he pulled out of the driveway.

This trip the two of you were going to Western Massachusetts. It was about a five and a half hour drive, probably longer since you knew you would be stopping for lunch and every state park that came your way. You synched your phone and started playing music, knowing that you had a playlist with the perfect ambiance. Jeff always teased you for making playlists for every mood, weather pattern, task, or aesthetic that came in your head. But when the soft chords came through the speakers and his fingers started a gentle tap against the steering wheel to the beat, you knew that it was appreciated.

In Buffalo, the weather was just cool enough that the seat warmers got turned on but not yet so cold that you were shivering. You were cruising down the highway, close to crossing city lines. When you glanced over at Jeff he had a small smile, like he wasn’t even thinking about it. Just watching the road with an underlying well of happiness. You took a minute to look at him, to take him in. His smile turned out to be infectious and you knew your face was probably spread with a dopey grin.

“You’re staring,” Jeff said, breaking the silence.

“You didn’t even look over. How would you know?” you complained.

“I could feel your stare,” he responded, looking over at you with a grin that took over his whole face. His statement made you burst out laughing. While the whole thing was funny and, you were sure that he really did get that weird feeling you get when someone’s looking at you, it made you think about how you were always so aware of each other. The two of you could be in a crowd of people at some Sabres bruncheon and someway somehow you could always glance up and see him already looking at you. Or when you would go to some team party, you always had a tendency to reach for each other’s hands at the same time.

“You would stare at you too,” was your response after you had realized that you went a few beats too long just staring into space.

It was Jeff’s turn to laugh, “what does that even mean?”

“It means,” you started, drawing out the word, “that you’re cute and potentially the embodiment of sunshine and everyone would stare at you if they could and I will simply not defend myself further.”

Jeff rolled his eyes at your dramatic tone and faux-seriousness. He swung his arm out over to you, holding it in the air until you grabbed his hand in both of yours. You pulled his hand into your lap and leaned further back into the passenger seat. Turning your head to the side to watch the city escape, your eyes unfocused and your brain turned to elevator music as your temple rested against the window. After a few minutes of contented silence, Jeff’s hand made its way to your thigh and squeezed, drawing your attention.

“Look at the leaves, babe,” he told you. The passing trees were dotted with warm-colored leaves of crimson, tangerine, marigold, and honey. It was absolutely gorgeous and seemed like a sign that your trip was only going to get better. You stared in awe for about a mile before you looked back at Jeff. His eyes flickered from the road to your face and the look he gave you, full of love and peace, made you feel so warm.

“They’re so pretty,” you said softly. You moved your hand to twine your fingers together and you watched his dimples come out in full force as he forced his eyes to stay on the road. After a few moments of contentment, you spoke again, “do you want me to tell you about the plant pigments that make these colors possible?”

Jeff chuckled, but you knew that your joke didn’t ruin the moment or anything else that you might think if you were talking to someone else. Because Jeff knew you, he loved you. He loved your bad jokes, your stories that you’ve already told him multiple times but just like telling again and again, the way you go into lectures to explain things that he had never thought twice about, your urge to talk during movies to comment on the scene or the actor’s personal life. He loved the best parts of you and he loved the worst parts of you. And this moment? Where you feel the light beaming out of your heart. It isn’t the moment. It’s just a moment in a string of hundreds of thousands of moments that you’ll experience with your favorite person.

--

After about two hours in the car, you were close to Syracuse and decided to stop for lunch. The two of you decided on a cute, local diner. Jeff parked the car and as you stepped out, you stretched your legs to rid yourself of the wobbly feeling from being in a car too long. The sidewalks were made of a red brick and there was a quiet hustle with people walking their dogs and couples going in and out of shops. The two of you walked side-by-side, but right when you were about to reach the door Jeff stepped ahead to hold it open for you. Stepping through you smiled at him and he followed you in. There seemed to be a typical lunch rush, but the restaurant wasn’t crowded. A waitress pointed you towards a booth and you slumped into it as Jeff sat across from you.

You both ordered coffees before cracking the menu open to see what they had. The pages were lined with different sandwiches, egg dishes, pancakes, and all the typical diner food that you loved. You settled on your order fairly quickly but Jeff scanned the pages until the coffees were brought out and the waitress was asking for your order. Handing her your menu, you explained what you wanted before both of you turned your attention towards your boyfriend.

“Could I have the brownie french toast?”

At that you raised your eyebrows at him incredulously. As the waitress walked away, scribbling your orders down as she went, Jeff looked back at you and laughed at your expression. “Cheat weekend,” was his explanation. He shrugged with an expression on his face like he was being forced to order what was likely the sugariest option on the menu. You threw your hands up to say you weren’t judging. Jeff quickly launched into a story about something Jack did at practice and that filled your wait until the food was brought to your table. Your boyfriend’s eyes widened comically when his food came out. It looked like there had been a blizzard of powdered sugar. It was topped with a whopping pile of whipped cream and a generous amount of rainbow sprinkles, just in case the brownie batter wasn't sweet enough.

Neither of you wasted any time in diving into your food and when you glanced up at Jeff after a few minutes you giggled when you saw that some of that whipped cream had ended up on his nose. You stealthily pulled out your phone to snap a picture of him. Once he heard the click of your camera he looked up at you which reignited your laughter.

“What?” he asked, chuckling lightly with you even without knowing the reason.

Without explaining yourself, you just reached out and swiped the sweet substance off his face before licking it off your finger. His response was just a sharp laugh with rolled eyes, head thrown back a bit at your antics. He knew full well that you were going to tease him for a long time for his choice of ridiculously confectionary lunch. You returned to your food with a shake of your head, but when you turned to take a sip of your coffee you noticed that Jeff had absolutely demolished his plate of french toast and was now trying to collect the remnant of whipped cream with his fork.

“It’s not going to be my fault when you crash from all that sugar,” you told him. He watched you dig your teeth into your lip to try and conceal the smile that was threatening to break through.

“Honestly, (Y/N), I’ve never felt better in my life. The sprinkles fuel me. I think I’ll make this my pre-game meal,” Jeff said with an air of seriousness. Sadly for him, but luckily for you, he had a genetic inability to suppress his smiles. You leaned back in the booth until your head hit the pleather upholstery and kicked your feet up to rest in his lap underneath the table.

“Don’t overwhelm yourself, I’m taking you to the Sugar Shack tomorrow and we’re getting the cider donuts.”

Jeff pulled a shocked and aghast face in response, “How dare you insinuate that I would ever be anything other than thrilled at the very prospect of cider donuts? You know, just because you said that I’m going to get two orders and we’ll see what you say when I eat those and yours too.”

You rolled your eyes so dramatically that you knew, if your mom were there, she would be telling you that they’d get stuck like that. Under the table, you kicked your legs up to rest in Jeff’s lap as he waved his arm to flag down the waitress for the bill. You sat quietly, just watching as he went through the monotony of thanking the waitress and putting his card in the sleeve of the bill. When he looked back at you, he smiled knowing that he caught you staring for the second time that day.

“You ready?” He asked you. A simple question, given that you were on a roadtrip with a predetermined destination. But with the opportunity to just appreciate him and your relationship, without the stress of your schedules or outside influences, it just felt meaningful. There was no one you would rather be with, during the happiest moments of your life or the worst. You felt a little misty with the joy of having him by your side.

“With you? Always.”

Pulling yourself out of the booth, you extended your hand for him to grasp and continued onwards.

#Jeff skinner #Jeff skinner imagine #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #hockey imagine #hockey fanfiction #nhl fic #buffalo sabres imagine #j.skinner #based in the fall started in the summer posting in the winter #not proofread #tw food

[avengerscompound]

Running to a Standstill - 18

Running to a Standstill: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count:  2893

Rating:  E

Warnings: Smut (mmf bisexual threesome, oral sex, vaginal sex, anal sex)

Synopsis: While on the run from an unknown organization trying to take your son, you meet two super-soldiers.  While they try to help you get to the bottom of who is hunting you and your son, feelings come out and admissions are made that make your personal life even more tricky.

Epilogue

Your feet hurt a little and you were hungry to the point that you were considering just tearing a piece off the sourdough loaf you’d bought, and eating it plain before you even finished your ride up in the elevator.  Even with these minor discomforts, you felt really good.  You had just ventured out to the nearest bodega alone for the first time since moving to the Tower.

It had been eight months since the raid on Madripoor and while everyone had doubts that HYDRA was gone for good the new rightful ruler of Madripoor was pretty thorough with cleaning the NAZI organization out of their nation.  Not for any particular need to clear out all criminal organizations mind you, just to clear out the one creating the most competition.  Madripoor was for all accounts, still lawless.

All the people involved in the production and distribution of the super-soldier drug had been arrested.  You had hopes that the drug might end up virtually extinct the way the Quaalude was now.  However, you logically knew someone who still had them would try and replicate them.  Given the fact that the drugs existed in the first place because someone was trying to replicate what they’d done to Steve way back in 1943.

What you’d stopped being worried about was them bothering you anymore.  The Avengers, thanks to Tony, Vision, FRIDAY, and with a little help from Geo, had managed to remove any details regarding the names of people who were experimented on.  Which meant there was no one left to know that Geo had powers and no one left to hunt you.  You were safe and you could finally have some semblance of a normal life.

It had taken you a while for any of you to trust that.  For a month you still didn’t want to go out at all just in case there was some kind of retaliation or last-ditch effort to grab you.  When you finally did it was with Bucky and a group of guards.  Gradually the guards dropped in number.   When all the HYDRA members were convicted you started to go out with just Bucky and every time you went out, there was no one watching you that shouldn’t be.  No one followed you or made you feel unsafe.  Sure, Bucky would get looks but you could tell the difference between Avengers groupies and the people who had been trying to kidnap your son.

Today was the first time you’d ventured out alone.  It was only down the street and you still weren’t brave enough to take Geo out without at least Bucky or Steve with you, but it was a start. You’d only looked over your shoulder a few times.  You’d done this alone for years, you knew what to look out for and it wasn’t there.  You were safe.

More than safe, you were happy.  With all that weight off your shoulders, you were able to just enjoy life again.  Every part of it.  Being a mother wasn’t just a case of protection and high alert twenty-four/seven.  You played with Geo more.  You let your guard down and let him get on with the job of being a kid.  You started to look back into the things you had studied in college and were seriously beginning to consider studying again so you might be able to have an actual career and not just a cash-under-the-table job that paid your bills but kept you off the books.  You were looking at schools for Geo.  You were letting yourself be a girlfriend and opening yourself up to the fact that this could be it.  You might have actually found two people that were your people the same way your husband had been.

The apartment was alive with sound and smells as you stepped in.  Bucky was cooking, he’d just started when you’d ducked down to the bodega for a couple of missing ingredients and now the whole place was full of the scent of garlic, herbs, and cooking tomato.  Music was playing over the speaker and Geo seemed to be talking animatedly with the AI as the two of them played some digital version of snap using his tablet.  Steve sat with a sketchbook on his knee.  There were crayons scattered over the table from when he’d been drawing with Geo but now he was just sitting with his pencil poised but not actually drawing anything.

“He looked up when you came in and smiled.  “Hey, sweetheart.  How did you go?”

“Good,” you said, as Bucky abandoned whatever it was he was stirring and rushed over to you.  “Got a little jumpy at the alleys but there was nothing to worry about.”

“Did you get what I needed?” Bucky asked, digging around your fabric bag while it still hung from your elbow and fishing out items as he found them.

“Yes, honey,” you said, pushing the whole bag into his hands.  “Here take it.”

Bucky took the bag and you went to sit down with Steve and Geo.  Steve took your hand as you went to pass him, and you let him pull you down into his lap.  “I’m proud of you,” he whispered.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” you said.  “I used to go out on my own all the time when I was on the run.  I didn’t have a lot of other choices.”

Steve’s arm circled your waist and he nosed at the side of your neck.  “I know.  Still.  I’m glad you're starting to feel safe.”

You relaxed in his lap and Geo climbed up onto you.  You did feel safe.  And loved.  And all the things you had missed for three years.  Despite the fact you had been trying to go slow for Geo’s sake, it was hard when you felt like this with them.  It was clear that Geo was feeling just as safe and at home as you were.

When he was very upset he was still the mommy’s boy he’d always been, but more and more he was turning to Steve and Bucky.  Not just when he wanted to be comforted.  He did it when he was excited about something, or wanted to play a game, or have a story told to him.  He’d ask them to take him out or take him up to the pool.  As scary as it was for you to see Geo starting to treat these two men the way he would have his own father, as melancholy as that hit, it was still happening.  Geo now had two father figures where he once had none.

Even though neither had said anything about it, you could tell they were seeing Geo as a son too.  This was your family now and some moments terrified you, but mostly you couldn’t believe how lucky you were.  There were days where you thanked whatever force it was that had led you to not only apply for a lease in Clint Barton’s apartment block but to begin dog sitting for him so that you just happened to be dropping Lucky off at the same time Steve and Bucky were there.

Bucky called you all for dinner and you ate around a table sharing stories about your day and making plans for the following day.  Just like a family on an old sitcom, only with extra dads and you all genuinely liked each other.

After dinner you gave Geo his bath and took him to bed, reading to him from a comic about Figment the dragon from that old Disney ride at Epcot.  It was a comic that Bucky owned for some reason which was odd because he would have been in cryo freeze during the entire time that ride even existed, yet he had it none-the-less.  Geo spent a lot of time looking at each picture so that the thin comic that would normally only take five minutes to get through was being dragged out so it was closer to twenty.

“Bug-key sayed dat dis dwagons was a robod,” Geo said, tapping the cover when you were done reading.

You chuckled.  “It was, and it’s weird he even knows that,” you confirmed.  “The robot dragon is gone now.  We can take you to Disney World some time, then you can see all the different robots.  I don’t think any of them will be as smart as FRIDAY though.”

“No…”  Geo said, shaking his head.  “FWIDAY is da smartest.”

“Thank you, Geo,” FRIDAY replied, the fondness of the little boy evident in her voice.

“Alright, you,” you said, putting the comic away.  “Lie down.  Time to sleep.”

He flopped back onto the pillow and you kissed his forehead. “Good night, I love you,” you said.

“Wuv you too, mommy,” he replied.  “Have sweed dreams.”

“You too, little one.”

“Mommy,” he said as you got up.  “I dotta say goodnight to Bug-key and Steeb.”

You chuckled.  “I’ll send them in.”

You stepped out of the bedroom to find Bucky and Steve sharing the recliner as they watched the news.  “He wants to say goodnight to both of you too.”

“We can manage that,” Steve said as they both got up.

Bucky and Steve went into Geo’s room as you went and got ready for bed too.  It was still early but you figured whatever the plans were for tonight, they’d be more enjoyable in your pajamas.  When you came out into the bedroom you shared with Bucky and Steve, they were there getting undressed.

“He didn’t cause you any trouble?”  You asked.

“No.  He just said goodnight and had FRIDAY turn out the lights,” Steve answered.

“I like when I’m here to say goodnight to him,” Bucky added.  “He’s so funny how he wishes you sweet dreams too.”

“Yeah, we can use them,” Steve added.

“Speaking of,” you said and looked over at Steve.  Lately, when you and Steve had been alone, you’d started talking about Bucky moving in.  He was here a lot anyway and the times he wasn’t it felt like he was missing.  The three of you still took time to enjoy each other one-on-one, but now you were all happier and more relaxed when it was the three of you.

Bucky froze in the process of stepping out of his jeans and stared at you like a deer in headlights.  “What?  What did I do?”

“Nothing, Buck,” Steve chuckled.  “We were wondering… hoping really, that you’d move in here with us.”

“What?  Really?”  Bucky said, standing up straight and looking between the two of you.

“Yeah.  You don’t have to decide right now…” Steve said.

“No, I want to,” Bucky said, lurching forward, completely forgetting he was still in his jeans and falling flat on his face.

“Bucky!” You yelped, rushing to his side and helping him back up, while Steve watched on with a slightly bemused look on his face.

“I’m okay.  I’m good,” Bucky assured you as he got back up and kicked off his pants.  “I want to move in.  When?”

“Whenever you like,” Steve said.  “We can bring your stuff down tomorrow if you like.”

“I do like,” Bucky said.  He pulled you close and cradled your face.  “Yes, I want to.”  He leaned in and kissed you deeply.  As the two of you kissed, Bucky reached out to Steve, pulling him closer, so when Bucky pulled back from you, he moved straight to kissing him.   You ran your hands down Steve’s chest and nuzzled at Bucky’s neck, nipping at his throat gently.

Bucky pulled back and smirked at you.  “You tryin’ to start up some celebrations, huh?”

“Maybe?”  You giggled, tugging on his boxers.

“I think that might be something that can be arranged,” Steve teased.  He picked you up like you weighed nothing and tossed you onto the bed.  You squealed and quickly spread your legs and opened your arms to Bucky as he crawled up your body.  He began to unbutton your flannel pajama top and kissed your skin along each new part that became exposed to him.  His fingers brushed over your breasts as he pulled the fabric apart and your right nipple, puckered and hardened under the cool metal of his left hand.

Steve took off his boxers and moved up beside you.  He leaned in and kissed you.  His lips moved slowly against yours and his tongue teased the corner of your mouth.  You reached down and massaged his cock.  He was already semi-hard and as your palm moved up and down his length and you curled your fingers around his shaft, the blood rushed to it.

Bucky began to grind down against your cunt.  You could feel the press of his cock through the fabric of your pants, the thick shaft pushing between your folds and rubbing up and down against your pussy, making your whole body tingle and your cunt start to drip.  He leaned down and pulled one of your nipples into his mouth.  His teeth pressed against it and you moaned, breaking the kiss with Steve and arching your back so you pushed your breast up into Bucky’s greedy mouth.

Steve moved to his knees, pumping his cock as he looked down at you.  You leaned up and lapped over the head as it disappeared and reappeared under the foreskin with each pump of Steve’s hand.  He teased the head over your lips and you opened your mouth, letting him guide his cock into your mouth.

As you sucked hard up and down Steve’s shaft, Bucky moved from one breast to the other.  His hand slipped down into your pajama pants and he quickly fingered your clit in small circles as he ground his cock against you.

Your whole body buzzed like an electric current was swirling through your veins, making your body thrum.  You moaned into Steve’s cock as a hot pit pressed down inside you and your fluids slicked your folds.  Bucky pulled back and pulled your pajama pants off.  You released Steve’s cock and no sooner had you sat up that Steve was up beside you and pulling you into his lap.

“Mmm… did you want something?”  You asked as you straddled his lap and started to grind down on his cock.

Steve cradled your jaw.  “I think you know,” he teased.  You smirked and leaned in and kissed him deeply.  As you dipped your tongue into his mouth, you guided him inside of you.

You both moaned into the kiss and you slowly rolled your hips with his, appreciating the way he stretched and filled you.  Bucky got up and grabbed the lube.  He moved behind you and kissed your shoulder as he put his hand on Steve’s chest and pushed him back on the bed.  You lay down with him, pressing your body against his chest and continuing to bounce on his cock as Bucky lifted Steve’s legs and pushing them up against your sides.  He began to apply lube to Steve’s ass, sinking a finger into Steve’s ass.

Steve gasped and bucked up under you.  You broke the kiss with Steve and you looked down into his blue eyes.  “Feel good, Steve?” You purred.

He groaned and closed his eyes.  “Yes.  Oh god, yes.”

“You want my cock, Stevie?”  Bucky teased.

“Please,” Steve groaned arching his back and forcing his cock up into you deeper.

Bucky took his hand away and slicked his cock.  Steve raised his hips needily and as Bucky sunk in Steve groaned and dug his fingers into your hips.  You started kissing Steve again and moved with Bucky as he started to thrust.  Bucky’s stomach pushed your forward with every snap of his hips, pushing you up and down on Steve’s cock.  Steve was breathless and moaning under you both.  He reached up and grabbed Bucky’s hand, holding it against your back as the two of you fucked him.

A sheen of sweat began to cling to your skin and your skin prickled.  A dull ache built in your cunt, making your walls clench and spasm around Steve’s thick shaft.  Steve groaned and his hands opened and closed on your back.   You slipped your hand between the two of you and began to finger your clit.

It brought you over.  Your orgasm shuddered through you and you moaned loudly.  Steve gasped and jerked up under you, coming deep inside your pussy.  Bucky kept thrusting.  His hand tightened in Steve’s and his hips began to stutter.  You kept being bounced forward on Steve’s now softening cock with each thrust of Bucky’s hips.  With a groan and a hard thrust, Bucky came.

The three of you slithered into a pile, your breathing coming much more labored than theirs.  Bucky rolled on his side and ran his metal fingers down your stomach.  “We break you?”

“Mm-hmm…”  You hummed.  “In the best way.”

“Well we can now do that any time,” he said.

You laughed and pushed him.  “Did you forget I have a toddler?”

Bucky hummed and kissed your shoulder.

“Big changes,” Steve said.  “It’ll be good though.  Us together.”

You smiled and cuddled in between us.  He was right.  It was a big change. You had been through a lot of change in the last five years, but this was the first one since Geo was born that you felt truly excited about one.

To be continued in Until the End of the World...

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