#Helena doing what she does best... well one of the things

[widebrimmedhatsblog]

ONYX STORM ⚡️⚡️⚡️

My thoughts below the cut! Spoilers galore. This is all from my first read through, so we’ll see what changes by the time I finish my second read. I’m still pretty jumbled up about the book (I am physically incapable of opening up goodreads and giving it a rating) and, frankly, I think my notes are going to reflect this! Also, this is thoughts for the WHOLE BOOK, so please don’t open the full post if you’re not done with the WHOLE BOOK.

I’m pasting my notes directly from the doc I took them on while reading , and adding extra post-read commentary when I feel the urge! Also this is your warning that I swear quite a bit in these! For they are candid.

ch1-10:

- i will say i thought the ch 2 epigraph was an inntinnsic clue but now im not so sure bc it’s not that rare it’s just that they kill everyone who has it ??? (commentary from future helena: this is about lilith…right?)

- tell me something, violence. why is it always you? 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

- what IS a soul. how can you take a soul apart piecemeal. why do you think he gave up part of his soul. who told you that. (CFFH: i stand by this. none of this makes any sense to me.)

- hmmmm no red post fingering! curious…very curious (CFFH: i still don’t know about this one dawg)

- the kiss beneath her ear after he helps her get dressed somebody sedate me

- god DOES garrick like imogen because mans does NOT act like it poor im (CFFH: I seriously cannot stop wondering when the hell Rebecca decided to make immrick canon because i LIKE the ship, but on my fw and if re reads it does not read like Garrick likes her, and I would say that holds true till the very end of the damn book)

- VIOLETTTTTTTT I LOVE HER she’s so fucking back (CFFH: violets characterization was my favorite thing about this book. i was really scared about xaden leaving because frankly rebecca writes violet best with him, but she held her own so much better than she has in the other two books. i always love her, but she was incredible here.)

- the bits about vi being a good duchess i Knew that was him saying he wanted to marry her (CFFH: this is an example of what i like to call RY’s “gotcha ass foreshadowing”)

- also i have always characterized fen in my head as loving the movement more than xaden i know what’s up

- i’m soooo excited about him being the duke this is so embarassing im pumping my fists

- did NOT see the samara field trip coming what the fuck

- EVEN HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY HES STILL TSKING CARE OF EMD EKDNRNRNRN (CFFH: yeah.)

- hey guys what the fuck was that dream? did RY see the cat/violet shippers and get ideas

- WHAT THE FUCK. i saw NONE of this coming

- GARRICKS A WIND WIELDER ???? (CFFH: obviously did not age super well…however garrick was acting so sus here and his dialogue felt so off that i genuinely thought he was the traitor for a fat minute)

11-20

- WHETS RNRJRNRNRNRNRNRJEKEKKRRN

- IS THIS THE MARKED ONES SECOND SIGNET TNEORY (CFFH: can you tell i was a big fan of the marked ones second signet theory. also what’s xadens third signet then? also i feel like if EVERYONE has 2 vi will have 3! i have a theory explaining it below somewhere)

- WLSO DID XADEN FHCKINF KNOW (CFFH: they actually handled this really well i was so nervous they’d have the fight again)

- dude im like short circuiting sick to my stomach HES SOOOOOOO BOYFRIEND ? (CFFH: what on EARTH was this about?)

- well the fuck aware!!!!!!!!!

- i can’t breathe

- i need my inhaler

- LIAM WIELDINF ICE (CFFH: again, can you tell i was a big fan of the marked ones second signet theory? fun fact, i actually wanted to write it into ITHOIA but then i realized a. how much work it would be to concoct that many signets and b. i’d have to give xaden THREE, and decided to pick my battles. however i did brainstorm what signets had xaden energy for giving him a third one and immmmmm immmm having ideasssssss)

- YOURS X

- why do i agree with JFBs venin logic man

- god halden is her traumatic ex relationship goddddd (CFFH: i edited out most of my complaining, but i was super against the halden idea (per my predictions). this might get me cancelled, but it did feel fan service-y? to me? which is fine! fans deserve to be serviced! there are moments of this book in which i am the fan being serviced! but when it become clear RY was going in the halden direction, i was super stressed about how she’d handle it, and im thrilled she made him toxic. THRILLED.)

- SECOND KROVLAN UPRISING

- knowing miss yarros and her gotcha ass foreshadowing ridoc is going on that quest lmdao

- PRFOEOEKEENDJEJEN PROFESSOR RIORSON PROFESSOR RIOROSN (CFFH: not only do i stand by this, but i actually wanted to write teacher roleplay for kinktober and i didn’t bc i didn’t think the fandom would take a liking to it, but CLEARLY rebecca didn’t have those concerns)

- i am going to commit crimes against humanity your relationship did not just END SJEJEJEJENR R (CFFH: i’ve noticed miss yarros has begun to really lean on chapter cliffhangers, and frankly, it pisses me off. i understand she needs to get her bag with kindle unlimited and all, but it makes for a stressful reading experience imo. however, this one got me. this one got me SO bad i had to take a walk to calm down. i have been looking forward to professor riorson for MONTHS and i was convinced it was crashing and burning before my eyes. maybe this is why i shouldn’t read past 1 am. i know rebecca has given interviews and has said she needs there to be constant tension in their relationship or else there’s no story, and while i know what she means, THIS tension felt so manufactured to me. i also think she could pull off a war story with them just like …together. i believe in her. the story needs tension, but it doesn’t need to be between them like this, imho.)

- we live by the codex/i live by you 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫I AM YOURS AND YOU ARE MINE AND THERE’S NO LAW OR RULE IN THIS WORLD OR THE NEXT THAT CAN CHANGE THAT

- you know what we might get shadow sex in this book. we might. (CFFH: we do! and i think we can get more with asim!xaden)

- fun fact about me it took till my THIRD RE READ to see that xaden controls the shadows with his hands.

- there’s been like 3 indirect marriage references if my fucking empire of storms prediction was correct im going to scream (CFFH: so i actually didn’t get to scream because i was too busy MOURNING the lack of a RIORGAIL WEDDING.)

- PAPA SORRENGAIL HAS NAME AND ITS ASHER ?????

- ridocs blow job joke was funny i cackled

- papa sorrengail (im going to deadname him) i do love you man

- SHADOW HANDCUFFS OH MY GOS i had a seizure in my reading hammock

- he is my choice. that got me. that felt good.

- DRAAAAAAAAKE (CFFH: i may say this later, but alli (no tag bc she’s not done reading yet) made drake so sexy to me (and amy! also no tag) and i was kind of disappointed lmfao)

- vi rlly out here playing cousins or dating

21-30

- i loooooove him calling her love all the time

- it’s so crazy to me that he’s relaxed without magic but im glad! since i do think this is his ending over all

- helena bets time: the deal the krovlan rebels didn’t uphold was smth to do with the irids or the feather tails

- “xaden riorson is a lot of things, but happy usually isn’t one of them” hey man what the fuck

- this feels like a fever dream this is the dragon show christmas episode that isn’t relevant to the plot what do you mean they’re bonding over horses

- hey guys is this…capitalism?

- i can’t get over the isle kingdoms being kerch (CFFH: if you haven’t read six of crows this won’t make any sense, but if you have….)

- ARETIA IS THE SECOND MOST BEAUTIFUL THING I MVE EVER SEEN AND MY HOME IS THE FIRST (CFFH: he was ON ONE in this)

- maybe im toxic but he’s being so nice im so anxious about something going wrong 💀 like he stays in the isles or something jesus

- “even if we did, we can’t be in two places at once” + xaden acting weird ….. (CFFH: i want to say third signet but i don’t know)

- what the FUCK is going on with him like it’s really hot but it’s freaking me out

- IM GIVING DIPLOMACY A TRY NOT SURE ITS FOR ME THOUGH (CFFH: dare i say lilith parallel)

- HE WOULD HAVE IF HE’D MET HIM. knocked me on my ass.

- i have an idea i just dont like being wrong baby violet i need to give you a forehead kiss

- why is violets dad the grandpa from the inheritance games

- im going to bed fr fr now but my last minute prediction is that he marries vi to make her an aristocrat (this is wishful thinking) (also we don’t HAVE to rescue halden) (like it’s fine if we don’t)

- MY CONSORTTTTTTTT

- WHEN WOULD BE. can he propose for real. please. (CFFH: this is hurting my feelings)

- bro his LINES IN THIS ???? who do you swear fealty to/VIOLET

- he’s acting less sus…i did NOT like that epigraph abt “returning to his true nature” (CFFH: maybe im on something but idk if this was meant to reflecrt him draining the alloy or whatever it was orrrr if it was abt vi channeling somehow!)

- im almost worried he’s trying to marry her before he kills himself or something but he keeps telling her how selfish he is so maybe not (CFFH: close!)

- her EDS is also a lot better done this time around (CFFH: from a layman’s point of view, obviously, but her injuries were much more graphic, and her other symptoms were actually on page. i really appreciated this)

- oh my godddd sloane and dain.

- i feel like the bond fuckery is vi’s second signet ???? i ALSO feel like it’s sexy

- DAXTON

- PAPA SORRENGAIL HAS A MAIDEN NAME

- also bodhi TOTALLY has a second signet that little LIAR i wonder if he’s an inntinnsic too or smth.

- god imagine bodhi has resurrection

- im trying to be normal but i feel like its insane we’re just now learning where violets family is from idk!!!

- why is dain sweet in this idk also this happened earlier but vi’s dad teaching him languages FOR violet makes me want to cry

- im so fucking proud of violet holy crap

- is violet ??? unnbrian????

31-40

- FOREHEAD TAT LIKE THEOPHANIE!!!!

- violet absolutely can wield there im calling it rn shawty is MAGICAL (CFFH: i guess maybe it’s her touched by dunne ??? thing ??? and she’s somehow ??? half god ????)

- god xaden and dain love her so much

- why does rebecca never let me see xaden do her wraps for her i want to seeeeee

- they’re all in couple pairs so obviously dain and garrick are fucking next (CFFH: this was a joke but tbh…i could be convinced idk)

- god so timing wise DID papa sorrengail meet xaden’s mom !/!:!3&3’ejd (CFFH: i don’t think so ??? but maybe ???)

- not sure my thoughts on the name talia (CFFH: this is bc i picture my bestie Thalia Grace)

- the mommy issues are churning my stomach

- i loooooove aaric holy

- dude i totally thought ridoc was dead

- babe! this isn’t you!

- oh my god ?????? i was NOT expecting violet to give them the old kazzledazzle (CFFH: this is another six of crows reference in which Kaz uses someone’s child as leverage by implying that he’ll kill them, basically, except Kaz is on page morally gray. in THIS book violet is, but i don’t think she had been before now)

- this is genuinely honest to god NOT how i thought their relationship would go and it’s freaking me out

41-50

- you’re my soul JESUS what is he ON

- god poor andarna

- I KNEW HE WAS AN ARIES AND NOT A PICSES I KNEWWWW ITTTT

- she wrote him a letter 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

- i will say i’ve been wondering if the venin effects xaden experiences are more of a ptsd metaphor than anything

- is cuir trans bc i totes thought she was a woman

- ….it would be a shame to kill my last living relative….

- god the adaptations to the running landing mean so much to me im so proud of her

- violet baby i love you to pieces

- you do some of your best work on that throne 😭😭😭😭 (CFFH: the amount of callbacks in this book was very intriguing to me)

- WERE HOME VI ACT LIKE IT

- i was actually rlly against xaden telling anyone he was venin but it’s all gone surprisingly well

- if lindell and lewellen are xaden and liam’s gay foster dads….dont call don’t text

- shadow handcuffs………………..

- im a fan!

- god i did NOT expect that to be the route they took? with the sex ? (CFFH: i thought they were gonna handcuff XADEN. )

- she is absolutely having xaddys dreams but idk what the FUCK the cat one was

- IS XADENS THIRD SIGNET PROPHETIC DREAMS. (CFFH: im leaning towards venin mindfuckery but who knows)

51-end

- i am actually really enjoying tairn and adarna this read although id like a dragon punnet square

- violet is so venin. xaden IS power she says while she says SHE IS power mmmmm rebecca i know your secrets (CFFH: see yall after book 4 idk)

- hi who the fuck was the high priestess and why does it matter im so confused i can see the puzzle pieces and i am flipping the table

- also crack pot theory entered my head. if xaddy gets 3 signets then vi has to get 3 signets. tairn never says naolin he always says “the one who came before” what if…hear me out…somehow it was papa sorrengail???? and not naolin ??? at least not naolin the whole time so then she’s getting a third signet from tairn

- why the fuck did vi not listen to aaric in the first place mans clearly knows what he’s talking about (CFFH: #drama)

- okay is violet a demigod. is that what’s going on

- IS HER HAIR NOT ACTUALLY SILVER (CFFH: i feel like it has to be ????)

- okay wait im thinking about the dedication thing they said earlier -> lilith is sick -> they think fetus vi is going to die -> they ??? dedicate ??? her ??? to dunne ??? (CFFH: i still don’t know actually except she’s two and not a fetus? and it was just papa sorrengail. also i think they rode tairn there LMAO but maybe im insane)

- i cant get over garrick being a distance wielder i need to check on the immrick girlies (CFFH: immrick girlies i hope you’re well!!)

- god how are the irids involved in rsc ???

- i exist for tairn, but i live for xaden okay girl okayyyy

- god does she get to keep being an inntinnsic now ?????

- THRILLED about her sleeping in xadens clothes

- were past the break up stage he’s sooooo real i love him

- core. memory. (CFFH: this is the biggest sin rebecca’s committed anachronism wise my god)

- god DID they get secret married ????

- god when they said bring your brother and i thought she meant liam was being resurrected i actually started to enter cardiac arrest (CFFH: am i the only one 😔)

- is bodhi actually his secret brother and garrick knows and we don’t because what the fuck (CFFH: i guess it could just be vibes?)

- my heart is not in my chest cavity after the liam business

- COLONEL DAXTONS GUIDE TO EXCELLING IN THE SCRIBE QUADRANT!!!!!

- i knew that was how it was going to go purely from alli’s take the second they said they had mira i was like reciting the sitq ending (CFFH: obviously i was slightly wrong but still! this is controversial but the fact that she let everyone were close to (mira/ridoc) live and only killed off tertiary characters kind of undercut the experience for me idk!)

- oh my god dain and sloane 🥹

- come back to me/only ever you

- DUKE OF ANGST

- is garrick’s distance wielding how they dealt with the fuck ass trips to aretia that didn’t work with the timeline bc that’s brilliant actually god damnit

- the bullshit about being everywhere at once means something i can feel it

- RHIANNON?????

- cannot believe that line is feirge

- hi so fun fact i don’t think jm meant to read for this many hours straight i feel like im locked in a trance

- THE ONLY PERSON I TRULY LOVE ???? ABOUT QUINN??? IMOGEN ???

- what on earth is imogen’s second signet bc i don’t think that’s how fire wielding works ????

- i cannot believe the marked ones all have second signets what the ever loving fuck

- i feel like quinn’s death was just not that impactful however imogen saying her mom and sister will know who she is made me tear up jesus

This is where I stopped taking notes!! I’m SO confused about the ending. To be quite honest, I think I’ll reblog this with my thoughts on the ending after I’ve re read it, because I’m LOST. What did Xaden show Sgaeyl ???? Who turned venin with him, because I thought Bodhi but maybe Garrick but maybe both??? how DARE rebecca now show me the riorgail wedding ?/??2?3?3$33&:! WHO does he have a DEAL with???

misc thought that didn’t make it up there:

- i LOVE how she handled Sawyer’s amputation and rehab.

[felassan]

David Gaider on Morrigan, under a cut for length:

"Morrigan began, waaaay back, as a bit of Morgan le Fey (hence the Dark Ritual) mixed with Delirium from Sandman. The Delirium elements subsided into more of a weird cadence of speech as my idea of Morrigan solidified - more cynical, wanting to connect but unable to. Originally, we were looking for a Middle Eastern actress to play her, as Shoreh Aghdashloo was slated to play Flemeth and we wanted a similar sounding voice -- but it was a real struggle, and then Shoreh unfortunately had to drop out to do a movie. So suddenly we had nobody for either character! Then, one day, Caroline (our VO Director) comes in with a recording sent by a rep for Claudia Black - who hadn't done game VO back then but wanted to get into it. And it was Claudia doing a slow *beat poet* rendition of Baby Got Back. I kid you not. I was already a fan, so I lost my goddamn mind. (Yes, I still have the recording. No, you cannot have it.) Naturally, we jumped on that immediately. As I recall, this was met with resistance from higher up - they had this image of Morrigan as young, like 18 years old (no idea where this came from) and complained that Claudia sounded "too old". Them: "She sounds like she smokes three packs a day!" Me: "That's what I like about her!" Caroline and I were determined, so we pushed ahead. We had to agree to get Claudia to sound "younger", which I was dubious about. The first two sessions we asked her to pitch her voice up and it was AWFUL. Claudia had to focus on sounding "right" instead of acting. So Caroline and I did the sneaky thing, and on the third session we asked her to just... act. Use her natural voice. We loved her performance so much we had the feeling that the team would love it too and forget their nonsense. They did. My best memory of Claudia was when we first met. I'd been flown down to LA for the initial sessions to help the major DAO actors find the character "voice" and, boy, was I nervous. It didn't help that I was a huge fanboy of Claudia's and she was going to be the *first* of all the actors I'd talk to. Caroline gave me a list of rules for "how to talk to a celebrity" - top of the list: DO NOT COMPARE THEM TO OTHER ACTORS. So I meet Claudia, and I'm sweating. I think: I'll start from the beginning, right? "Well, when I started writing Morrigan, the voice in my head was Helena Bonham Carter..." Claudia gives me a look and tilts her head. "So what you're saying is... I'm a very cheap version of Helena Bonham Carter." I'm mortified. I melt. I gasp and stutter and she lets me implode for maybe 30 seconds before she throws her head back and LAUGHS. So wicked. I love her instantly and forever. For the next several days, whenever she's in the booth and I make a comment to Caroline - which she can't hear, because the booth is sound-proof - she'd say "Oh, does he want it more like Helena?" And I'd melt into the desk in renewed mortification and she'd LAUGH. This is Claudia in a nutshell. Morrigan became a real touchstone for me, the heart of DAO. Way beyond her initial inspirations. Some said "she's just an ice queen" like some I'd written (Viconia, Bastila, etc.) but such categories are very reductive, I find. She had a voice I could instantly slip into, every time, without fail. The problem, after DAO was said and done, was with how we were going to honour the Dark Ritual going forward... or, more to the point, how we *weren't* going to honour it. I wasn't willing to let her go, however, so I had to figure it out. BUT... that's a story for another day. CORRECTION: A friend reminds me that the beat poet recording Claudia did was "Smack That" and NOT "Baby Got Back", and now I need to go give it another listen just because I can."

[source thread]

David Gaider: "Actually, when Shoreh's movie wrapped she came back and asked if the role was still available - her grandkids were VERY excited for her to be in a game. It wasn't, but as I recall Caroline was all "well, we have this role in ANOTHER game we're making..." Hence why she ended up in ME2." [source]

David Gaider: "Tali's accent was purely created by the actress - which made it a bit of an Issue when the time came to have more Quarians in ME2. "Do we get the actors to all try and mimic... whatever she's doing?" I'm certain Caroline could write a book about how THAT all went down." [source]

User: "I also never knew that Delerium was part of the inspiration for her (atleast in the beginning)." David Gaider: "It'd be difficult to see that now. The very first drafts were a lot more eccentric - more like Flemeth, I'd say, but times ten. The feedback I got was that she's a bit too LALALULU and I had to agree (and my idea of her was changing anyhow). So that slowly got weeded out." [source]

User: "What had you seen Claudia in that made you such a big fan already? (was it pitch black?)" David Gaider: "Originally? Farscape. Then Pitch Black, yes. I tried watching Stargate just for her, but coming in so late I kinda bounced off it." [source]

User: "My only complaint is, and has always been, why is she the straight romance when everything about her screams lesbian?" David Gaider: "I would have written it, if it’d been allowed (remember this was VERY new back then), but after all was said and done I’m kind of glad I didn’t. The friendship path I wrote for Morrigan with a female Warden is perhaps my favourite but of writing I did from back then." [source]

User: "Morrigant to me was such a fantastic character because of the way she sounded! Her introduction in DAO is iconic to me "Well, Well, what have we here?"" David Gaider: "You have NO IDEA how many takes that took. 😳" [source]

User: "Claudia Black did an amazing job with every line in every game." David Gaider: "She absolutely did. It took some time for her to get her bearings, but by the end of our first few sessions I actually went back and re-wrote a bunch of lines to match Claudia's voice. She informed so much of who Morrigan became." [source]

User: "are YOU the reason we see so much morrigan after dao? (positively, she is one of my all time favourite characters)" David Gaider: "Yes and no. She was always considered, by both me and the team, to be a "face" of Dragon Age. I'd have put her in DA2 if there'd been room, but thankfully that limitation is what allowed Flemeth to grow into her own." [source]

User: "were Morrigan and Flemeth always supposed to be Chasind, and/or did the Chasind have any ties to northern Thedas in earlier drafts of the character? The Chasind are universally depicted with dark skin except for Morrigan and Flemeth." David Gaider: "I don't think we had a very clear idea of the Chasind in general back then - they kind of got abandoned as a concept once we cut the Human Barbarian origin for DAO, and were only picked up again later." [source]

[julesnichols]

Okay bear with me here because I've got brain fog and tend to word salad but I'm gonna try my fucking best--

Everyone who insists that shipping/romance isn't the point of Severance and that anyone who ships is missing the REAL point about what capitalism does is also missing the fucking point, because it's BOTH

Because yes, it's about what capitalism does and the evils of giant corporations. But it's also about love, and specifically two things about love:

1. That falling in love when you're not supposed to, when you're trapped in hell, is one of the most revolutionary things you can do in a system that wants to crush you into dust. In a system that wants you to obey, loving somebody instead of giving in or giving up IS the most revolutionary choice you can make. This corporation can tell you that you're less than human, they can torture you, but you can still carve out a life and a family and find romantic love, too

and

2. That you cannot create a version of yourself that exists solely to do labor for his entire life so that you can cease to exist for forty hours of the week to escape your grief, and not face the consequences of that action

I think I've made my point about the first one enough as is, so let me just get into the second a bit more:

Mark Scout was choking on his grief over losing Gemma. He drowned himself in alcohol to cope, and either lost or left his job that he loved. He took a job that involved brain surgery to split his consciousness in half rather than confront his grief head on; he can choose not to exist for forty hours of his week, and spend the other hours either drunk out of his mind or asleep (the consequences of drinking being something that bleed into his innie as well).

I think that anyone who's dealt with a traumatic and painful loss can relate to why he would do such a thing. Isn't it understandable, if you had a way to not exist for a while, that you would take it without hesitation? That if you were drowning and confronting it would mean more pain before it got better, you'd run from it if you could?

But what Severance wants us to do is go beyond sympathizing with Mark Scout: it asks us to consider the consequences. Because in severing himself for a reason people can sympathize with him for, he created a version of himself that exists solely to work for his entire life, with no breaks, no rest, and torture tactics when he fucks up-- no matter how small the fuck up may be.

A version of himself without his memories, who has trickles of his grief but none of the love to go with it. Who falls in love with someone he meets down there, because Mark S. was created so that Mark Scout could avoid his grief and his love for Gemma. And thus, Mark S. moved on, because he never knew anything else.

Then Mark Scout finds out that Gemma is alive. He reintegrates without his innie's consent, because he views Mark S. as inferior to him and entitled to his memories. Their relationship is inherently exploitative.

Mark S. and Helly's relationship progresses further. Helena Eagan stalks Mark Scout. And here's something that gets me: you have to have your head buried six feet deep in the fucking sand to not see that they were flirting.

A sane person would've run when Helena awkwardly bragged about who she was and offered to bring Mark Scout to her father. But Mark Scout escalates it, turning it into a flirtatious joke about her taking him home to dad. And yes, he does ultimately go for more brain surgery because he feels guilty and spooked that he was flirting with Helena. Because he escalated the flirting.

Again, you have to be deep in denial to not see that. It relates back to the point about how he feels entitled to his innie's memories and experiences: he feels guilty and unsettled, so he tries to absorb more of them in hopes of more glimpses of Gemma to help him find and save her.

Again, can't you sympathize with that?

And again, the show asks you to consider the ramifications beyond that.

(note: I am on the side that innies and outies aren't cut and dry separate people as they are the same base people with different memories and lived experiences, akin to amnesia)

The first thing that Mark Scout remembers is Mark S. having sex with Helly, specifically as he watches her orgasm for the first time while he's inside of her. An extremely intimate moment, and it's intentional that it's that and not another flash of Gemma. Because the show, once again, is asking the audience to consider the consequences of Mark Scout's actions in severing himself.

And Mark S. recognizes that Mark Scout is exploiting him at the end! Mark Scout demands he find Gemma, save her, and be willing to die (because even if he reintegrates, NEITHER of them will be the same-- I'll come back to this in a sec). He belittles what Mark S. has with Helly and the life he's made for himself. He dehumanizes him. Because Mark Scout created Mark S. to escape, to do labor for him, and again-- he wanted to use him to get Gemma and then cast him aside, furthering how he dehumanizes and exploits him... and there are consequences to that action.

Back to the thing about reintegration I said I'd get back to: the characters within show, and quite frankly a large swath of the audience, thinks that it's Mark Scout absorbing Mark S.'s memories, and just still being Mark Scout with those memories. And yet, the show has shown us that this isn't the case. Petey says his earliest memories of the severed floor feel as far back as his childhood! What I think reintegration does, is create a new version of innie and outie, with both their memories. And that it's probably reliant more on harmony of goals and desires than forcing it; but again, the outies view the innies as inferior. Even the people in the show who claim to advocate against severance don't consider the innies human enough to consider what'll happen to them.

And so of course Mark S. chooses himself for the first time in his life at the end of the season. Because once again, the show asks you to look beyond the surface and consider the consequences.

And yet, too much of the audience also subconsciously (or consciously sometimes tbh) thinks of innies as subhuman, and miss the entire fucking point. Yes, there are obnoxious shippers; there always fucking are in large fandoms, use the block button as God intended. But you are being equally obnoxious and obtuse if you insist that the show does not want us to consider love and romance, too. Because again, it's about both the evils of capitalism and how revolutionary love can be, and how you cannot escape your actions. You cannot separate those two themes, because the show uses the romances in the show as vehicles to explore the evils and consequences of capitalism.

So stop fucking saying everybody who ships things doesn't understand the show, and actually watch it yourself, because clearly you don't either.

[thewitchblue]

Cass found you healing. There was something about you that healed a part of her that nobody else ever could. Maybe it was her mummy issues, or maybe it was genuinely your loving personality; either way, it didn't matter. You were soothing and patient with her. You even taught her how to speak, read, and write.

She came to the startling realisation she loved you at her family Christmas gathering. You weren't just a friend. You had stopped being a friend in her mind long ago, but she never addressed those feelings. It was safer to keep it all bottled up. She would come back to it another day, like rejecting a phone update until it finally automatically updates. She'll deal with it eventually.

Well, eventually happened.

It started when Steph and Babs both made a joke about the two of you being a lesbian couple. Cass and you both froze in place. Neither of you knew what to do, but your gay panic barrelled through you like a gun to your head.

You had quickly signed something Cass couldn't catch to Steph, who paled and also began to slightly panic. What started as an innocent joke suddenly became a massive plot twist between the two.

Steph. Was. Mortified. She would later brag she is the reason you two got together and that she saw it all along (falsely, as well), but that moment had her horrified. She did not anticipate that she would ever have to deal with this being a possibility. Girls are always close. Why would you two be any different?

She had to wheel Babs far, far away, and have a panicked conversation, which Helena joined in as well with wide eyes.

Barbara was on the gay train immediately and was coming up with plans and bouncing ideas off of the other girls. What do they do? Does Cass know? Is Cass gay? Their heads were spinning. She hadn't considered that any of them could be gay. Well, except Tim, but his relationship with Kon has been so well-established that they don't feel like a gay couple anymore.

Helena "what do you mean she's gay" Wayne was floored. Now she was invested. She needed to study you both before deciding if this was an actual thing yet or not.

The girls all watched you two carefully. Tim joined in quickly as he understood and also became invested. He dragged Kon into it, too, but told him to let the detectives work after Kon complained and told them to leave you two alone.

You tried to act oblivious to their obvious growing group staring you both down. Not cool, Steph.

You glared at Steph, who looked away but looked back again once your gaze was back on Cass. Your gaze softened as you looked at Cass. Your sweet, beautiful, best friend. You'd give anything for her.

Cass was incredibly confused, but she was happy. She wanted to cuddle on the coach, and you laughed your agreement. This was the moment she knew she had feelings for you: cuddling on the coach, watching a terrible Christmas movie, and having hushed conversations with you. You both had content smiles on your faces.

She had blushed hard when you kissed her forehead, but she looked at you like Cupid just hit her with an arrow, and you looked at her like she held your heart in her hands.

The girls (plus Tim and an uninterested Kon) needed to strike. How? Mistletoe? There was no guarantee you wouldn't cop-out and kiss her cheek. They didn't know. They asked Tim how he managed to date Kon, and he shrugged,

"I decided we're dating one day, and then we started dating. I suspect M'gann did something, but I don't know."

Kon shook his head, but he didn't know either, so he let Tim's explanation go by without comment. Tim gave a thoughtful expression. He didn't know what they should do. Kon said plainly,

"We could tell Jason to force them to kiss."

Jason narrowed his eyes at the group. He heard his name amongst the growing group of siblings despite being on the other side of the room.

"What are you idiots scheming?"

He actively had to walk past you and Cass to join the group, but as he passed, he, too, noticed the cuddling duo. He stared for a moment before you tell him to fuck off and he heads back to his scheming siblings.

"We're trying to get these two together. Can you help us?"

Jason crossed his arms while casting his gaze back to you both. He took note how at peace Cass seemed in your arms. She seemed serene and the way she looked at you... Well, it looks like she's in love.

Jason gave a resigned sigh. Even he can see the clear love and devotion.

"What do you need me to do?"

He tried to look disgruntled, but he couldn't hide how curious he was. He watched his siblings carefully. What are they thinking?

"It's not a good idea. Kon wanted to make you force them to kiss. He doesn't trust his superstrength."

Kon shrugged. He's not the brains when it comes to human interactions. Tim and him are both awkward and he struggles with what's normal still.

They watched Cass giggle as you rolled her on top of you for her to sleep. You smiled fondly and gave her a quick forehead kiss. She blushed with a grin on her face. Friends kiss, right? You run your hands along her back and whisper to her,

"I got you."

The evening was surprisingly quiet. Suspiciously quiet. Your eyes landed on the group gathering and narrowed in suspicion. Almost everyone was gathered now and whispering with quick glances your way.

Cass felt so at ease. It was like her heart beat your name. She did consider that you might be more than a friend, but she didn't know how you felt. Sure, you kissed her and cuddled her whenever she asked and you were always respectful by asking before touching her, but you were so close that it makes sense how you'd act. She said in a small voice,

"I have a question."

She took a deep breath to steady her voice, burying her face in your neck. She doesn't want to see your face when you end the friendship.

"Are we... more than friends?"

The silence she received concerned her. She pulled away and looked at you anxiously. After another pause, you asked,

"Would you want to be more than friends?"

Cass nodded. She isn't sure she'd ever survive without your soft forehead kisses and cuddling feels so right. You smiled at her and said in a cheeky tone,

"I guess we're dating then, Miss Cain."

Cass immediately kissed you. You were her salvation and her inner peace. It felt amazing to kiss you like girlfriends. It felt like she could fully relax now that the uncertainty was removed.

The kiss was long and full of love. It spoke all the words she never said and all the pining you both had for each other.

When you pulled back, you both giggled. Your hushed confession of love was for only her ears, but that didn't stop the rest of them trying to listen.

Cass was equally quiet as she whispered to you,

"I love you. You're my saviour."

You kissed her again and raised your middle finger to the group you knew were watching. You love this woman with everything in your heart.

Dick had no clue. He came out from the kitchen with Alfred and both men stopped as they saw the scene. You and Cass kissing, a large group trying (and failing) to pretend they aren't watching. You gave them the middle finger after a while of staring and a couple of photos taken.

Alfred looked relieved, but Dick felt betrayed. Cass never told him she's gay. He's the first one everyone goes to for their problems and secrets. He knew Tim was bisexual long before everybody else, he knows Jason reads fanfiction (he snooped on his phone and found Wattpad downloaded), he knows Damian has hidden a pet fox in his room, he knows everything about everyone except Cass. Cass never went to him, and she rarely caused trouble (that she gets caught doing). Why didn't she want to tell him she's gay? Did she not know until you?

Bruce came down the stairs and also took in the scene. He had a feeling he had more gay kids. He wasn't sure who it was, but it makes sense that it would be Cass. She kept all her cards to her chest, only revealing things as needed. He should have seen it sooner.

Neither of you cared what the family thought. It was only putting a label on mutual feelings that were ignored for far too long.

[tripleburger]

Three of my favorite things are when a show’s opening sequence tells the audience outright what’s going to happen, when sweeping thematic parallels exist between characters, and when mythological and etymological references abound. Many spoilers up to S2E6 and crack theories below because Severance does it all best.

Like many Severance theorists, I believe Gemma is in a coma or is otherwise completely brain dead. She is the Eurydice to Mark’s Orpheus. Mark is special because Gemma is special because her body and brain were well preserved. Unlike Lumon claimed, the title sequence implies that in the accident her car sunk into frozen water, a cold harbor. Because of this, her file is called Cold Harbor and she has more time than most before her body, brain, and file expire. Lumon staged her totaled car beneath the tree, burning it to hide the evidence and the removal of her actual body. Her husband, who loved her so much he choked on her ghost, consented to or was coerced by the company into splitting his own consciousness to escape her memory. Then his Innie somehow managed to make enough progress on her file to have her semi-dead body and partially reconstructed brain actively work on the Severed Floor as an almost normal wellness counselor. The opening sequence shows a car sinking under the ice of a frozen lake, and I believe it’s Gemma’s, not Cobel’s. Mark’s new focus on taking down Lumon will distract him from finishing her file, Cold Harbor, and it will expire. She will expire. Eurydice won’t walk out of the underworld because Orpheus looked back.

Then there’s Helly, the second drowning woman, a more tangible and present Eurydice who may still be lost in the end, a parallel to Gemma. The season 2 title sequence shows Helly R and Ms. Casey beneath Mark and under the water, running away from him in opposite directions. He can only follow one at a time. Helly is depicted under water in the pineapple bobbing sequence of the Lumon propaganda video and again when Irving waterboards Helena/Helly during the ORTBO. In one title sequence basement elevator shot, Gemma literally becomes Helly, all blurred into one person from Mark’s partially reintegrated perspective, just like how he sees Gemma’s face when he has sex with Helly and Helena. Their fates are tied.

The S2 opening sequence is full of babies and Helly/Helena is certainly pregnant. The last baby in the opening sequence has a Kier head, another Eagan for the family dynasty, courtesy of Mark. In the opening, Mark’s own reintegrated head morphs into a portrait of the Malice Ram typically associated with Helly, symbolizing their union in the form of a baby, and Mark watches the painting being carried away. Then the camera pans over to Gemma’s car half-sunk in the water. He can follow the Malice goat (Helly and their child) or follow his Bride of Woe (Gemma) into the lake. He can’t do both.

In S2E5 there is a faceless character (Petey? Fields?), apparently a Lumon doctor, who travels to the sub basement while whistling Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” a song about a real shipwreck with no survivors and how Lake Superior never gives up her dead. The Lumon painting “Kier Invites You to Drink of His Water” depicts Eagan looking out over what appears to be the Great Lakes as if he owns them. Superior—Kier—will never give up his dead. Gemma will sink under the cold water, too deep to retrieve.

But aspects of Gemma may live on. Ms. Huang, the only child in the show with a major role, is not depicted directly in the opening sequence. Other than Cobel, no Lumon employee is (unless you count Helly/Helena as one person, which should be illegal). I think Ms. Huang is likely not Mark and Gemma’s lost child, as some theories speculate. She may be a clone of Gemma, given the apparent goat cloning happening in Mammalians Nurturable, though that’s a stretch with the timeline and her age. This would be more likely if Gemma had been working for Lumon for years prior, much like Burt seems to have been involved with Lumon as early as 20 years ago despite the Severance procedure only being 12 years old. I don’t have a grand, unifying theory of Ms. Huang except to say that her surname translates from Chinese to mean yellow, gold, bright, shining, or phoenix, which is interesting when tied to Gemma. Lumon doctors could potentially take Gemma’s finished Cold Harbor file, which is stored on her Severance chip, and implant it in Ms. Huang’s brain, a true resurrection of both body and mind, exactly what Lumon needs to restore its founder, Kier Eagan.

Another interesting breadcrumb is Ms. Huang’s handheld water toy of Kier swimming with rings. It has green rings (Woe, the Bride), blue rings (Malice, the Ram), and red rings (Dread, the Crone), but no yellow rings (Frolic, the Jester). Milchick tells Ms. Huang, “You must eradicate from your essence childish folly” before truncating this statement to simply “Grow” while punishing himself for failure following his performance review. If the Gemma clone theory is true, Lumon may want Ms. Huang to mature faster (removing folly and frolic) to ensure Gemma’s adult consciousness can successfully integrate with Ms. Huang’s preteen brain. Gemma is the closest they’ve ever come to fulfilling Kier’s wishes. The phoenix has to rise again.

Now for Devon, absolute queen that she is. Mark outright calls her “Persephone” when she asks him to name her. She’s the Queen of the Underworld, the wife of Hades (Ricken, who I hope isn’t actually evil), splitting her time between the living surface and the dead world below. Devon’s a mother, she’s associated with life giving and pregnancy and caring for her little brother at the lowest point in his life. In the myth, Persephone is so moved by Orpheus’ music and plight that she convinces Hades to give him a chance to save Eurydice, as long as Orpheus doesn’t look back. I think she’ll convince Ricken to use their new “in” with Natalie, the Board, and Lumon to help Mark, however tragically it ends.

Last but never least, Harmony Cobel. The blank, glowing face staring down at a book of the grassy goat field, watching Mark and Helly heads roll around the pasture. Innie Mark carries Outie Mark into this field, illuminated by Cobel. She’s not done watching them and, quite literally, has Mark on the brain. The sequence then follows the Mark in her head to the basement elevator. I believe that Cobel is Apollo, god of light, prophecy, and music (she sings!), in the Orpheus and Eurydice analogy, a parent of Orpheus himself. This is not to say that Cobel is literally Mark and Devon’s mother, though I’d love to see that madness, but that she views Mark as her son, often mentioning her own mother when they chat. She wants Mark to thrive like Apollo wants Orpheus to thrive. Extending this comparison to the Greek gods of the Orpheus myth, you have Milchick as Hermes, the messenger god so fond of his big words, the god who travels the world (on his motorcycle), and leads souls to the Underworld. Hermes takes Eurydice back to hell when Orpheus turns around to see her one last time.

[pruneunfair]

Rating FL's part 3

Shuri

12/10: I just started reading A step mothers marchen (and it's probably gonna take a while to finish it since Bato doesn't have a full English translation) but from the few chapters I read I agreed with fans of the book that Shuri is without a doubt one of the best FL's. There's actual development between her and the step-children and she succeeds at being relatable without making her too overpowered.

Athanasia

7/10: Okay while I don't really care too much about WMMAP, I still think that for one of the first most popular otome isekais Athy was a pretty good protagonist and most of my complaints about her are mostly just ant hills. I don't have much to say on Athy other then she's a good start for OI protagonists but could be a little better.

Aisha

9/10: Is she generic? Yes, does that make her a bad protagonist? No. I don't understand what people mean when they say Marianne overshadows her unless they're talking about the fandom specifically because as someone who also really loves Marianne, she barely shows up on screen so to say that she overshadows Aisha just because Aisha is a typical sweet saintess heroine is stupid. Sometimes ITLA can be a little on the nose with how nice she is but I still find Aisha pretty well made.

Sienna

9/10: Okay I officially love manhwa where the maid is the protagonist instead of a noblewoman and as short as the manhwa she's from is, I still think she's a sweetheart. My only complaint is that the story keeps randomly inserting sad backstory memories so you feel bad for her, like one minute she'll be doing something ordinary and then next she's basically just like "This reminds me of when my step-mom hit me with jumper cables after I spilled one drop of tea." And then it goes back to the present within one panel.

Hae Soo

6.5/10: I'm sorry but people meat ride her WAY too much. She's not a terrible FL but there is so much better and she's really not all that because you can kinda tell by the way that she's the only female character thats likable and with that bodytype that she's just a self insert character.

Ruby

8/10: For once we have a piece that actually looks into the typical white lotuses point of view, Like Helena except way darker when it comes to backstories. I like that Ruby is shown to be more emotional cause I never liked how a lot of manhwa imply that emotions=crybaby FL, it all depends on how it's handled and I think thr author was very respectful when it came to her abuse and ED. However like Sienna there are times when the author is trying too hard and ends up forgetting certain parts of Ruby's trauma. For example they mentioned early in the chapters that Ruby's beloved older sister had died but it's barely mentioned in the future on how it affected her, so it ends up feeling like it was just a way to feel bad for her even more.

Aria

6/10: so on one hand I'm really glad that Aria is actually evil instead of the comic just saying " Oh no! She's not evil! She's too nice for that" because if villainess is gonna be in the title then she should keep some of her villainous traits, but I really don't know if I should see her as super smart if all her enemies are too stupid to combat her, it makes Aria look really stupid when she got killed in the first timeline if they're so bad at crimes.

Eris

10/10, Love my girl Eris! Kill the villainess was great for a lot of things, a knight for the ML instead of the prince, the ogfl not being a white lotus out to ruin Eris's life, and morally corrupt villains that felt like obstacles, but what they did the best was the FL because Eris actually retains her goal on going back to her world instead of shrugging it off and going to sleep because you know most people would be freaking out if they woke up as a historical woman in a time period where women had no rights and it was easy to die after getting sick once.

Roxana

9.5/10: She's overrated but that doesn't make a character bad by default. When I finally read Roxana after seeing the hype I could understand why they loved Roxana so much. Now as much as I don't like evil protagonists who don't suffer consequences, the story makes up for it by being self aware that the Agriche family are a bunch of lunatics with the exception of Roxanas mom and her late brother. Being chaotic is simply part of the plot so I don't think it's fair for me to fault it. That being said as much as I loved her I do think that her takeover during the end chapters shouldn't have been done and done so easily and quickly.

Verta

7/10: similar to Roxana, Depths of malice is self aware that Verta is a terrible person even though she has a tragic backstory, it's only an explanation for why she's like this not an excuse. If you know me, you know I love the white lotus women so seeing one as a protagonist was something extraordinary since I thought everyone but me and a select few hated two faced women. She only really earns a 7 because as good as she is, there are better ones.

[sugarbombs-n-stuff]

Companions as Parents because of a Science Experiment

Sorry ive been gone for so long, life’s a bitch but may I offer this up? No ada or strong, I’m sorry! Also synth shaun is mentioned at a few points. ENJOY!

Cait: She was confused at first, of course she was! It was supposed to be a routine check up and sole being a lovely partner, joined. She didn’t expect for the doctor to comeback with a baby made from Sole and her’s DNA, LIKE WHAT THE FUCK DUDE. After double and triple checking the infant was in fact, both hers and sole’s, panic and paranoia seeped into her bones like old friends. She was terrified that she would turn out like her parents that she asked sole if they could put the baby up for adoption, surely anyone would do better than her? Sole had said to feel it out for a couple of weeks so she did, she kind of felt bad seeing as the baby girl didn’t even have a name. One night when Cait had sat in the living room feeding the wee bastard, the baby looked up to her with the same green eyes Cait had herself and it was like something clicked in her head. She put the bottle down and brought her closer to her face and she gave her a small kiss. When Sole came out of their shared room an hour or so later, they saw Cait with their baby girl in one arm and a book in another. Cait looked up at her and asked “Which do you like better, Helena or Aoife?”

•They chose Helena

•If they had,had a boy it would have been Tadhg

•She’s cautious and a bit mean at times but she does her best to explain to Helena as she’s growing up

•When her and Sole talked after agreeing to keep her they also made some joint rules for how they would want to raise her

•She’ll point out cute fabrics to make clothes with or cute toys

•Piggy backing on my own headcanon, Cait made her crib and toys through woodworking

•As Helena grew up, she had a biting problem whenever she got angry and while Cait found it a bit funny, after Sole would tell her to stop encouraging her she would do her best to correct Helena’s behavior

Codsworth: Codsworth was overjoyed! He’d always wanted a little boy of his own and sole had made him one! A mini Mr. Handy, a custom made model. Part of him always felt like he failed Sole with Shaun, like he had lost a boy too. He was comforted by the fact Sole would do this for him and he couldn’t wait to show his son the wonders of the commonwealth.

•He named his son Adam, seeing as Sole made him he thought it fitting

•He’d fuss over Adam always, freaking out if even a chip of his paint had come off

•He would start considering transferring himself into a synth body after awhile, same with Adam but for right now he was content

•Adam had a nasty habit of leaking oil and heating up his metal so hot that no one could touch him, poor baby couldn’t control it but Codsworth would give him some coolant and have him sit outside for a little. However if there was nothing he could do and it happened to be winter, he’d walk with his boy around which ever settlement they were at and offer heat

Curie: She did the experiment on herself. She wanted to see what it was like and she could only interview so many pregnant people that she did it herself with the help of Sole. She sliced up the DNA herself and injected herself with it. Sole had made sure that she was alright and had regular brought up that she couldn’t get rid of the baby once it was born and she was fine with that. She knew what childbirth had entailed and she was alright with it, she loved kids after all. She finally gave birth to a baby girl during the summer time, they chose the name Dominique.

•Dominique was born prematurely by a month

•Curie worked with Sole and Sturges to help her as well as regular check ups by her self or Doc Carrington from the railroad

•Dominique ended up being allergic to a dew commonwealth things like hubflower and tarberry but besides that she was a perfectly normal, healthy baby.

•Curie liked to dress her daughter in the cutest outfits. Sole has many pictures of their baby girl in a cute outfit that they had made with a matching hat and fashion glasses when curie was doing field research

•Curie monitors how she moves and what food she does and doesn’t like, if she obtains anymore allergies, what toys she likes playing with etc

•Curie is overjoyed when Dominique starts getting into science toys

•Loves being a mom but also makes sure to remember that she’s not just a mom

Danse: Listen, it’s not that Danse didn’t want a kid, it’s just what would he do with it?! He left the brotherhood and is a minuteman now but what if that puts their child in more danger?! His worries clear up when Sole and the doctor come back with their baby, a little boy who looks like the perfect mix of Danse and Sole. Sole hands him the baby and while the fear is still there, it’s overcome by joy. This is their little boy, and he’ll do anything to protect him.

•They name him James but they call him Jamie

•If they had a girl, her name would have been May

•Danse is overprotective, full on helicopter parent but Sole helps calm him down

•The first time Jamie got sick he started hyperventilating cause he was so nervous but eventually calmed down when he was informed that it was a cold and he’ll be okay.

•Was happy to teach Jamie how to hunt when he expressed that he wanted to learn

•Does classic dad stuff, like stereotypical

•Starts drinking concerning amounts of coffee after Jamie is born to the point that sole had to put a limit on him

Deacon:He didn’t deserve this. Babies were too pure and he felt like he was going to taint this kid. But eventually he thought about it and he had always wanted kids, he was good with them he’d say. He was still a little hesitant but then fully leaned into being a dad and was happy to do it with Sole. Especially when he saw their little science baby. And she was beautiful, she had his red hair but her eyes were like Sole’s except for the fact that they were far apart and he had only seen that distance and face shape on one person. He guessed maybe Barbara made her own claim on the baby in some way.

•They named their daughter Lily, he had wanted to name her Mazikeen after a book character but Sole swiftly vetoed that

•Like he is as a person, as a dad he puts on a care free attitude but is truthfully very paranoid

•He cuts her nails often so she doesn’t scratch herself because when she was starting to grow them , she scratched at her face so badly she bled

•He will take goofy pictures with her like her chewing on his glasses or her covered in food and her with the worse case of bed head

•With friends, he is absolutely the type of dad to show off these pictures to them

• “You can’t say you don’t like it if you haven’t tried it”

•When Lily was a baby, in winter he would put her bassinet outside after it snowed to take a nap in so it could build her immune system

•100% has eaten baby food and will again “It’s not that bad, wanderer , you’re just pre-war and picky”

•HATES the smell of the baby formula so they either feed her brahmin milk or donated breast milk from one of the minuteman charities

•Will often take her to Carrington for checkups

Hancock: Listen, Hancock got around. He’s surprised that he doesn’t have more “ooopsie babies” besides Fahrenheit. What he wasn’t expecting was to settle down and have a freaking magic baby!? Ok maybe not magic but with how near-dead his swimmers are, may as well be. But now he was sitting with his partner holding their blonde-headed baby boy.

•They named him Felix

•If they had a girl, her name would have been Lola

•Hancock was anxious that the baby would come out weird looking but the only ghoul trait Felix has is that he’s immune to radiation which is a pretty damn good trait

•He kind of fucked up with Fahrenheit so after Felix was born he wanted to make amends for the sake of both of his kids.

•He is genuinely care free but protective of Felix

•He tries his best to clean up Goodneighbor some, both literally and physically

• “Dad, there’s like whore’s here and stuff.” “How many times have i told you to not say ‘and stuff’, just say ‘Dad, there are whore’s here’”

•Felix is sarcastic to the max and Sole and Hancock find it so entertaining

•Gets antsy when Sole takes Felix to Diamond City for a number of reasons

•Felix is terrified of Mirelurks so they rarely take him near the beach, mostly Salem and Quincy

•Cleans up his act for the most part too, doesn’t want his son to turn out like him and get into drugs

MacCready: Oh boy, another one. He was excited the moment Sole brought it up and they were happy to tell Duncan. Like with deacon, the baby had Lucy’s eyes and their shape. Both Sole and Mac thought their baby girl was just darling.

•They named her Annette

•Like Mac and Duncan, she was allergic to dust

•MacCready and Sole take the kids on walks just to make sure they both get enough sunshine

•He panics bad when Annette gets sick. He reminds himself that what happened to Duncan won’t happen to Annette. Though it takes awhile for him to believe it

•Annette ends up being the polar opposite of Duncan, she likes reading and coloring and she likes to be on the swings but she doesn’t want to be out there two long

•The swear jar continues, he got swindled out of 10 caps once cause he went on a tirade in front of Duncan and Annette. Duncan stopped showing Annette his comic books and leveled Mac with a stare that he swear bore into his soul. His loving spouse Sole, couldn’t stop laughing for a hot minute afterwards.

Nick: When sole had brought it up he was hesitant. Making a synth like shaun, who could grow has they aged? Eventually he got around to the idea and thats how he ended up with their son Carlo.

•Loves singing to him

•Invites Ellie over to meet him “Nick, OMG HES ADORABLE”

•Wouldn’t really know what to do about changing them but would learn quickly, he’s not just dumping that on sole

•As Carlo grows up he does his best to instill a good moral code in him.

•He isn’t quick to anger but he’s not going to coddle him either

•He’ll make sure Carlo knows that he’s loved more than anything though

Piper: Hell yeah she wants a baby! She liked raising nat so she thinks she’ll like raising this baby girl.

•She names her Mina, she didn’t let Sole pick the name

•Sole made her attend parenting classes with them because they didn’t like how she left nat alone

•She slows down on journaling, doesn’t stop but she wants to spend more time with her family

•Mina needed glasses from a very early age which caused Piper to star calling her Bug cause her glasses made her eyes huge

•Mina runs into everything, just like Piper, both very accident prone

Preston: Since his mental health had gotten better he loved the idea of having kids and loved shaun more than anything else. Naturally when Sole brought up having one through science, he was cautious but excited. Somehow he ended up with twins, a little boy and girl and he loved them more than anything.

•His kids names are Loucilla and Ben

•He was surprised that there were two but they immediately became his pride and joy

•Yall know jack from This is Us, that’s Preston as a dad.

•Loucilla got the nick name “Silly-Lou” early on because she would try to chew on ben’s hands, Preston’s nose ,Sole’s hair, and Shaun’s Ear. The first time she did it she immediately rolled forward

•Ben’s nick name is Bean/Beanie cause thats what Shaun had thought you said at first

•Shaun was the one to give both babies their nicknames

•Preston always tells people that he has three kids “That one doesn’t look much like you” “Huh, Weird, you must be seeing things”

•Like many fathers before him, he had kids and immediately became the master of the grill

X6-88: It took awhile and a lot of therapy but X6 is a person and he can admit that now. As a person he really wants a kid, he brings it up to Sole first. Sole agrees and nine months later he’s having skin to skin with his daughter.

•They named her Corrine

•X6 acted quite mechanically towards her at first, even sing to her in a monotone voice

•Corrine was a coneheaded baby and it freaked X6 out though Sole did their best to convince him that she was alright and not an alien

•Sole commonly finds X6 standing in the door of her nursery just staring at her

•He’ll change her diapers and sole deals with the spit up

•Will NOT let anyone but him and sole kiss her, if his baby girl gets sick, all of Sanctuary will have hell to pay

•Definitely taught Corrine how to swim by chucking her in the lake behind Sanctuary, she didn’t talk to him for the rest of the week

Gage: Settled down for some fucken ankle biter? What the hell,sure.

•Surprisingly really good with kids, or his and sole’s son, Monty

•He sews Monty 1, count it 1, stuffed animal. Its a baby deathclaw

•Refuses to change a diaper, you can not force him to do it

•Despite looking like he hasn’t bathed in 10 years, he makes sure Monty gets his bath every other day.

•Would rather gut himself than show Monty to the gangs

•He won’t sing to him however humming isn’t singing

•He’s rough with teaching Monty as he gets older. Strike first and strike hard

•Sole calls him cruel at times and he just stares at them like “yeah, no fucking shit”

•Cares about his kid but there may be a few years where they only talk to each other once a day in passing

[ranticore]

inspired by a post by @/serpentface of a concept that captivated me, i'm going to present the much anticipated, much requested, "what cars my characters would drive, bearing in mind their economic status and assuming the year is 2024" post

we can start reallyyyy easy because for Bowman there's no other option:

An ep3 Honda Civic. Is it a type-R? nope but it's got vtec bro!!!! it's surprisingly practical and the wheels are kerbed to shit. there's fluffy dice. there's an aftermarket spoiler on the back and a halfords special front splitter. He's of the opinion that girls don't know the difference between a hot hatch and a grandma's car so this works as well as the expensive one. i think his driving style is best described as 'life changing'. for better or worse.

Senca:

unflinchingly practical. the car that can do it all. a 2010 1.6 TDI Skoda Octavia with roof rails. it's not about speed or looks and it's not even about transport, really, it's about looking superior because nobody else's car can fit the contents of an entire house inside. and then looking less smug when someone pulls up in a Volvo V50. the type of driver who can't fucking stand it when other people break the rules of the road but when she does it, it's fine. because she's a "good" driver.

Léa:

2004 Hyundai Coupe 2L. Yes bitch it looks fast!!!! IS it fast? No, but the better coupes from the same era did not depreciate so much in value and aren't affordable. in Léa's hands it's like a rocket ship. The indicators must be broken though because nobody has ever seen them in use. She spray-painted the wheels herself.

Islin:

a step-through road bike WITH panniers. cars damage the environment and the thought of contributing to that is unconscionable. doesn't wear a helmet anyway. dichotomy of ocd

Helena:

Porche Cayenne. Mostly someone else would drive her around but every so often she wants to get behind the wheel and start tailgating aggressively, just for the thrill of it. She replaced the stock lights with retina blaster 9000s and is always about 1 inch behind your back bumper, full beam on. Red lights are for other people. She ran over a child once because she wasn't looking and blamed the parents.

Jean-Baptiste:

Caterham 7. The one made up to look much older than it is, and he ordered it in kit car form and built it in his garage. I've always insisted that Jean would be massively into motor sport if he happened to have been born when that was a thing. He didn't follow the manufacturer's instructions because he felt that he knew best so his car is very unsafe but makes far more power than stock. It's not road legal but you will find it on the road nonetheless.

Erica:

Oh? You've never heard of it? You've never seen a man look so smug in your life. He shuts the silent-close door and explains that he traded in his Tesla model 3 for a BYD Seal because Tesla was becoming "too mainstream" and there were too many of them on the road.

Félix:

1998 Mercedes Benz E Class. Yeah it cost him £700 on Autotrader, but what's important is that it cost £60,000 when new. This is a good car. This is a luxurious car. It has heated seats - they don't work, but if he wanted to fix them he could. It has an overflowing ashtray from the previous owner and there's not a single thing that goes right on it but it makes him look adjacently wealthy, and isn't that the point? The poppy helps him look more sympathetic to elderly people (scam victims). Number One Most Likely To Attempt Murder-Suicide By Automobile. You've never seen a man look so divorced.

Carmen:

For her i just sorted price low -> high and picked the cheapest running car. And it's a Fiat Bravo! Notorious for earning a zero star euro ncap safety score and exploding into scrap if it hits a kerb. Carmen can't rely on her parents buying her a first car or paying insurance so she has no choice but to scrape the bottom of the barrel. She thinks it looks nice though.

Pascal:

was there any doubt.

Nico:

Beat up 1999 Discovery permanently attached to a horsebox. It is always filthy and somehow filled with straw and dog hair even though he doesn't own a dog, that's just what seems to happen to these cars. The heating doesn't work anymore but other than that it's fine, does the job. Drives with what can only be described as malicious compliance to all rules of the road.

Cain:

a Lada Niva. Why the hell would you ever need more than this. Electronics? No thanks. You're lucky it has gears. Cars peaked in the 1970s and anything built after that is just a piece of ridiculous frivolity, a toy for children. Here is a real workhorse. It costs 20 grand. Probably the only truly good driver here.

---

Sir Heaven:

Please for the love of god stop making him drive the Revuelto he doesn't want to do it anymore it's too scary

Sir Victory:

2003 Seat Leon Cupra R, with decals that make it seem very impressive and like it might actually be a racecar, but it isn't. It's made of rust and the engine sounds sick. It's battered and broken and the subframe is bent from a side-on collision. One day it might crumble away entirely but until then Sir Victory will drive it like he's at Goodwood. A very aggressive driver, mostly due to impatience, and he always wins the red light drag race.

Mercury:

It's a normal Ford Crown Victoria with a tank engine strapped to it. What? His holy calling is building and designing engines, of course this is safe and sane. Kind of a lackadaisical driver, obeys the rules when the mood strikes.

---

And just for fun, random other characters:

Qedivar:

1999 Audi A4. I just tried to imagine the most boring history professor tier car I could think of. It's in good condition for its age but it's never brought anyone a single scrap of joy in its entire life. Nobody smiles seeing this car and to this day Qedivar often fails to pick it out in a car park.

Huarvaa:

The legendary Renault Scenic RX4. It's big, it's 4-wheel drive, and it's a practical MPV. and it looks like it's constantly dipped in some kind of algae or perhaps sludge. Modified with a snorkel so it can drive through deep water. Still really rusty despite the plastic cladding.

Holly:

Rover Metro. It's incredibly spacious!!! Wow! He can't see over the wheel.

Finbarr Ó Casaide:

A Lupo. Literally the perfect car for his needs and he knows he must be conservative in how he goes about things. Yellow colour for the Ó Casaide clan, to show that he really does belong there, promise. A devastatingly precise driver; guns for the tiniest gaps and somehow makes it every single time, without putting others at risk or being particularly reckless. He will get you to your destination 20% faster than anyone else.

Olivier Tanet:

Ford F150, specifically an imported one from the US, specifically driven in a normal-sized place that is not built for stupid american cars (as in the photo). It is gigantic and it's in your rear view mirror 24/7. Helena might be a maliciously careless driver, but Olivier is just malicious. He wants you dead. His truck is part of an elaborate dick measuring contest that he intends to win. Plus side is that it's not a pavement princess, it goes offroad (it does doughnuts in your front garden)

[animalpetcel]

Okay after a few hours to sit on it

Okay I read Gretchen Felker-Martin's Beast World story and it was like...fine lol. Honestly probably the only way to interpret Jason's character in a way that still gives it bite without running into the problem that DC will never let him permanently kill anyone who matters. Idk why some feel so strongly about disliking it?

It, and the fact that Felker-Martin cut her teeth in regular book does make me more optimistic tho. Not like..a whole lot optimistic bc there's a lot of writers who I think are amazing who's Jason stories...are not their finest work...but like having an ongoing heavily featuring Jason that isn't from Lobdell will be so nice for once, so I'm holding out hope for at least that.

I also know that some said that Jason/Helena might be solicit bait but I really feel like given how kinda desperate DC is about Jason being the only "Forever Single" batboy, and that they're probably reluctant to have another robin be LGBT+, that they could be trying to cook something quick. They probably don't want to do previous relationships (so Artemis and Rose are out), viewing them as "failed", but I also feel bad for the Helena fans (esp if this goes poorly), and I dislike that like the worst Nightwing fans are (like with Kory, Roy, Rose, Kyle, Donna, Eddie, Danny....all of them are better associated with a different batboy so it's best to keep it that way) obviously going to use it as a continued permanent mark against him (when really I feel like it would be better to just try to isolate yourself from something like this. Like when I tried to read Nightwing's pre-New52/Rebirth comics and didn't like how he treated his friends, I just stopped reading them and choose to live in blissful ignorance). I know some would go "Oh what about Rena/Isabel" and like....Rena is a deep cut that you would basically have to remake her from scratch (in a climate where civilians support systems and non-previously established civilian love interest are getting phased out/harder to implement in a way that doesn't see them erased) esp given that she wouldn't have seen Jason from since they were kids, and Isabel is tainted by Lobdell. I would prefer Strike/Dana Harlowe but now we're asking comic fans & writers to find a black woman to be both a suitable love interest and character long enough that it becomes cemented and that would be an uphill battle... There could also be a new new women but that still runs into the Rena's problems.

So basically we need good-longterm writing before we fix any of the stuff I just said about the possibility of Jason and love. Which I've been saying for years but alas no one thinks about the logistics of anything they ask for anymore....

I feel like some of the negative, knee-jerk reaction a lot of Batfam stans is that things have gotten so...bad when it comes to Jason...in the terms of a lack of direction (making people more split on what should happen to him) that his current stories just make everyone argue at the slightest hint of failure . And that's before the stories that are just flat out bad (Why does Hush 2 exist? A lesser seen character could have gotten a mini instead of creating a terrible sequel for a terrible storyline about a terrible villain)

Anyways I'm done rambling for now. I have realized that it might take longer then September for us to get a feel on whether his new ongoing might bring new life and a clear, not immediately ignored direction that he's been needing since UTRH, as well as tell us if our worried about Helena are unfounded or not....and September is already so far away.

Fun.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️💔💔💔💔💔💔💔🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩📷📷📷📷📷📷📷📷

Feel free to omit some if u feel like it ✨

Thank you!!

21 for ☠️:

---

As they pile into the engine, Chim notices a crow sitting on the front hood. 

Admittedly, it would be easy to dismiss it as just another coincidence. The chances of it being the same crow as yesterday are minimal. Crows are common birds. The bay doors were open. It is what it is. 

Except that Chim does feel this means someone on this call is going to die. If he wasn’t captain, if this was just him and Hen talking shit in the ambulance, he’d say as much. But he can’t voice his concern now. It would freak out Ravi and Buck, who are both in the engine while Eddie takes the ambulance. He keeps it to himself. He has a horrible tight feeling in his chest, and he keeps it to himself. 

When they arrive at the house, it’s clearer that something beyond just rich people taking drugs and acting stupid is to blame for what’s happening. There’s a collection of very sober-looking adults, all dressed in black, like it’s a funeral, trying to coax the woman out of the sauna - which has been barred from the inside - having left what looks like a charcuterie board and wine at the dining room table. 

“What happened here?” Chim asks. 

“We were doing a reading,” one of the black-clad house guests says. “Madame Mollard was just getting started and Charlise lost her mind! Ran into the sauna, locked herself in, and started hitting her head against the wall!” 

“Madame Mollard?” Chim asks.

---

21 for 💔

---

Buck avoids the intense looks she then throws in his direction.

Yeah, yeah. He gets it. He’s the scum of the earth and all that. He knows. He knows it better than she does, in fact. 

“Okay,” Chim nods. “If everyone is on the same page, we can begin our day normally. Sound good?”

“Yep,” Buck says tightly. “All good.”

“Uh huh,” Eddie replies drolly. 

Ravi raises a hand, face tight with anxiety.

“What’s up, Rav?” Chim asks. “You don’t have to raise your hand.”

“No, just…” Ravi frowns. “Did I do something to piss someone off? Is that why we’re having this talk?”

Oh for the love of…

“No,” Chim assures him.

---

21 for🥩

---

She’s the exact same sweet little kid Eddie remembers. Which means one thing. Eddie’s plan is working. 

He tries not to feel too cocky about that as they leave the museum. But, really, there is a sense of triumph. Everyone told him to leave it alone, let it blow over, and not do anything. Everyone meaning Chim and Buck. But whatever! They were wrong. Obviously all Eddie needed to do was make an effort. A spend money. No big deal. 

“Can my shark go in the water?” Jee asks as they walk back to the car.

“That might break it,” Eddie informs her. “I’d keep him on dry land to be safe.”

“Okay!” She chirps. “Thank you, Eddie!”

Thank you, Eddie. 

Eddie grins smugly at Buck.

---

21 for 📷

---

The thing is, Eddie isn’t ashamed. When he walks down the street with Buck, he’s no longer thinking about who might be looking at them. There’s nothing embarrassing or wrong or bad about being with Buck. About loving him. Even though that conclusion would have certainly felt less scary to reach in Los Angeles. 

Does any of that mean he wants to tell his parents that he’s in a relationship with a man? Especially so soon after getting his son back from them?

No. Not particularly.

“Uh…” Eddie struggles. 

Isn’t there some saying out there? The best lies contain some truth?

“Chris had a career day type thing, where he had to go to work with an adult in his life and learn more about the job they do,” Eddie says. “He didn’t want to come to the fire station, because he knows he won’t be a firefighter. Penny, the little girl, her dad is a pretty accomplished photographer. He took Chris to a photoshoot, so I watched Penny.”

He waits for his mother to process this.

“Christopher likes photography? That’s not even a university degree, is it?” 

Wow. Classic Helena Diaz.

“Well, he’s fifteen, so we’re not too worried about what kind of letters he’ll have behind his name quite yet. Keeping in mind, I have none.”

---

[blakeswritingimagines]

Love Languages

Aegon: His love language is physical touch. He shows his love to those close to him through physical contact, which is a big part of who he is. When he is in love with someone, he likes to be close to you, to touch and hold you, and to express his affection for you through hugs, kisses, or just being close. He feels most loved when he is physically close to someone, and touch, to him, is the ultimate form of connection.

Aemond: His love language is Acts of Service, and he appreciates it when his partner goes out of your way to show him that he is important to you. He feels most loved when you take care of practical tasks such as running errands, doing household chores, or picking up food for him when he's busy. He also appreciates when you show him your appreciation through words, gifts, and quality time together.

Jacaerys: His love languages are physical touch and words of affirmation. He seeks physical intimacy to know that he is cared for and desired, and words of affirmation to reaffirm his value in the eyes of his beloved. But perhaps the most important thing in a relationship for him is quality time, where he can spend time one-on-one with his partner and really get to know each other on a deep level.

Lucerys: His love language is words of affirmation. He appreciates it when someone takes the time to tell him how you feel and what you think about him, as well as giving him compliments and expressing admiration. He likes it when people show that you appreciate and value him.

Rhaenyra: Her love language is physical touch. She loves to cuddle, hug, and kiss her loved ones and show her affection through touch. She enjoys spending quality time with those who matter to her, as well as making you feel seen and appreciated. She's a very passionate person and she loves to express it through touch.

Daemon: His love language is violence. He is not big on flowers or compliments. He does best in situations that require a strong hand and a swift blade. He is always on his guard, and he tends to lash out in anger when he feels threatened. He does, however, have an affinity for animals, and he does appreciate kind gestures from them.

Alicent: Her love language is a combination of physical touch and acts of service. She enjoys receiving hugs, kisses, and other physical forms of affection from her partner. When it comes to offering affection, she often does so through acts of service such as doing chores or tasks for you. She believes that showing someone you care about them through action is a key component of any healthy relationship.

Helena: Her love language is physical touch. She enjoys cuddling and being close to her loved ones. She finds it comforting and soothing to hold you in her arms and give you little kisses on your forehead or cheeks. It helps her express her feelings towards you and convey what you mean to her. It also helps to ease her stress and makes her feel safe and loved.

Harwin: His love language is acts of service. He appreciates it when his partner takes time out of your day to do small favors or complete tasks that benefit both of you. He also values receiving gifts, as they are thoughtful tokens that show him that someone was thinking of him and going out of your way to do something special for him.

Cregan: His love language is acts of service since he's not much for flowery words or romantic gestures. He shows his love through his actions - he does what he can in order to protect and honor you, both in word and in deed. But he's not above a good compliment from time to time. He can also appreciate the art of a good burn or a cutting remark.

[lilolilyr]

For today's @duckprintspress May Trope Mayhem prompt, and for @septemberbells who prompted 'body swap' for Bering and Wells (Warehouse 13), another ficlet in my fake dating on an artifact hunt series!

I'm cross-posting this series to Ao3 with bonus material: more connecting scenes info about the artifact, and an epilogue. You can read it here: Fake Married in May! 10k words, rated T, no warnings apply.

3k shorts on tumblr: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4:

"...well, that explains why none of the whammied people came forward and explained what exactly happened to them," Myka muses, her voice sounding strange to her ears; "they probably thought we'd think they've gone insane."

"Or they thought they actually had gone insane." Through the Farnsworth, Myka's voice answers in Helena's British accent. "Well, I daresay we are on the right track to find this artifact!"

Nodding, Myka looks around the room, finding the book she had just put back on the shelf. She bags it, and the customary sparks fly, but apart from that nothing happens - she is still stuck in H.G.'s body.

"Helena? You're up - it must be a two part thing, and the second half is more likely to be something you touched."

"Lovely." Helena sighs. "That could be anything!"

"If the artifacts activate whenever someone new touches each half, it can be anything you touched since the last people got whammied - and from the scene I saw at the bakery this morning, that limits it to the afternoon at least."

"Something in this house, then. Well, I just have to go through everything in here."

Myka laughs at Helena's disgruntled tone, and them quickly quiets - her laugh sounds eery in Helena's voice, wrong somehow. "Well, I'll settle in to wait, or do you want help?"

After Helena assures her that she will be fine and Myka should go and secure the first part of the artifact, Myka-as-Helena goes 'home', awkwardly trying to walk like Helena does, and gladly hides indoors.

~

Having locked the artifact in their safe, Myka is at lose ends. She could go and find Helena, but while it might speed up the process of finding the artifact, it might also attract undue attention…

Sitting down, Myka curses when something digs into her backside - why does Helena have to keep her phone in her back pocket? That's the best way to get it stolen! Well, maybe not in the middle of nowhere in a suburb in Maine, but still.

Taking out the phone, Myka is surprised when it unlocks in her hands. Right, fingerprint activated… security measures never take possible artifact induced body swaps into account. Oh, it opened to Helena's photo gallery! Holy fuck, how many pictures did she take alone yesterday? Helena's seemingly incurable need to take a snapshot of anything she considers beautiful is turning her into some kind of data hoarder!

Scrolling incredulously through the hundreds of pictures of Kazul the iguana, the flowers on their front porch, and their breakfast spread, Myka is startled to see her own face a surprising number of times as well. She lingers on one of herself on their porch swing, smiling with her eyes closed, having fallen asleep with a book in her hands. It has definitely been taken to capture Myka, not anything else in the background. 'Beautiful things', indeed…

Myka feels a flutter in her chest. If Helena is secretly photographing her, does that mean…?

Before Myka can really contemplate whether her feelings for the other woman might be returned, there's a disorienting sensation and she suddenly finds herself in front of a moving box filled with books and journals, one of them in a plastic bag, she must have dropped it when she switched back into her own body.

"Well, that's that…" she feels a bit disappointed about having already found the artifact after a mere week of her and Helena's fake married life. On the other hand - maybe, if she can find the courage to ask Helena out, and if she is reading Helena's picture gallery correctly, she will be able to be with her for real?

~

Part 4 of 4 • more Warehouse 13 by me • my Ao3

[yeetus-feetus]

Okay but what about Bruce ends up taking all the little kids to a gala with him because none of his kids want to go and they'll only escape anyway if he drags them there.

He's got baby Helena on his hip and Lizzie clinging to his side even dropping on adult conversations. Lian and Mar'i are sucking up to the older ladies so they can con sweet treats and hard candy from them. Jake and Ellie (Stephanie's daughter whom I named Elizabeth way before I knew about Diana's daughter) are colouring at a table together quietly.

And Bruce can't stop talking about his babies and grandbabies. And he's showing all the other rich socialites cute little photos and everyone's just gushing over how cute they are.

And they all look so adorable in their little outfits too!! Dressing them all up and taking photos at the gala and just gloating over how these kids are the best kids, even better than all the other socialites kids/grandkids.

And obviously this won't last long, soon the little ones will be whining about how boring the galas are and Bruce will have to find new people to drag along with him. But I definitely think Lian and Mar'i will keep coming for as long as they can milk the adorable little girl acts to fill their pockets with treats.

Dick is probably a little disappointed at Mar'i but it's not like he didn't do the exact same thing himself so he'd be a hypocrite for telling her off. Jason and Roy just high five Lian with a laugh and ask her to share the goods she collected with them.

Also like Bruce going to their school or sports things whenever he can get the time to do so. He's one of those mom types that are convinced their kids are the best in the play or on the soccer field and he gets really bitchy about other mums who do the exact same thing.

And obviously Bruce pays for all there school fees to get them into good education. He spoils the little ones absolutely rotten.

Like the kids at school will be like "oh yeah my grandparents gave me $500 for Christmas so I could choose whatever I wanted". And Jake is like "yeah well my grandpop got me a real motorbike and a phone!"

Holy hell does Dick parental lock the shit out of that phone btw. He also knows Bruce has a tracker on it because he's paranoid about the little ones getting hurt or something. Which is contradictory to the fact he got the kid an actual kid-sized motorcycle. Dick is not happy. Kori thinks it's awesome.

Also like, of you wanted you can also add Tim's baby clones in here too. A little Bart clone and a little Kon clone causing chaos everywhere they go. Bruce loves his grandbabies despite everything but damn those little boys really wear him out running circles around him.

[lemotmo]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh another week another episode of 911 and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

The bad (for me) The Hen everyone forgot her birthday. This is where I feel the Taylor Wong needs to stop being allowed to write for the characters comes into play. Because she always makes them seem off. Like everyone forgot her birthday? Her own kids? Her Wife? Her mother? And then like we didn’t even see Chim really do anything to try and make up for it? Outside of a random small little balloon delivery. Like that’s her best friend and that’s all we get as a reaction to him forgetting her birthday? Also Taylor was responsible for the ooc Karen moment during Halloween with Karen suddenly freaking out over Hen missing the holiday. So this just feels even weirder.

The good: I love how they had such a good balance of calls and personal stories this episode. It was nice to see the episode split so well. I actually felt for Artie.

The great: where to start.

EDDIE GOT HIS SON BACK 😭😭😭😭😭 we have finally got them fully reunited and living together again. Their scenes were so good and loved seeing it. And them peeling away from the Diaz parents house, laughing together at the end? Just 😭😭😭😭. Now to get them back to LA.

The Diaz parents. Their (the actors)performances were so good. I truly truly despised them more and more as the episode went on. Especially Helena with all her little remarks. About Eddie cooking. Only one parent can attend. The groceries Eddie was delivering. The guilting him out of going to the chess tournament. Implying they like to spend time with Chris more than Eddie does. Ramon apparently telling people or allowing them to think he is Chris’s dad. Helena and her your just going to disrupt his life again and her ever need for control. Just 😡 but so well acted.

Eddie: 👏 👏 👏 him regaining his confidence. Bravo. The you’ll be my dad again? I’ve always been your dad. It’s time I start acting like it again. The I was gonna ask you to move back in with me but I’ve changed my mind. Now I’m telling you. You’re my kid and your moving back in with me 😭😭. And the way he handled his parents.

Leaving Ramon to take the bus back 😂😂😂

Telling Helena she is not Chris’s mother. Ramon is not Chris’s father. He is not disrupting Chris’s life he is his life. Telling her thanks for watching him but he doesn’t need you he needs me. Like get her Eddie. Get. Her. And all while never raising his voice. Which you just know how to annoy her because she was SO gunning for a fight any way she could and he just didn’t give it to her. Because he didn’t need to. He got his kid back. Period. Just every thing about that Eddie Helena confrontation was what I wanted.

Buddie: oh look at that. Once again the Buddie B plot was loud as hell. Multiple FaceTimes again. Both of them cooking together? Straight out of ao3. Eddie winking at Buck?? Like what?? We now have in canon buddie cooking together and Eddie winking at Buck. That is a thing that happened in canon. Buck yet again being exactly the co parent Eddie needs and giving him advice on Chris. And i especially loved the way we got to see Eddie actively happy to listen and get that advice from Buck but then get weird with chim hearing/being involved. Which is just…interesting considering chim has a kid and another on the way and Buck… does not. Makes you go hmmm. But back to the advice. Buck telling Eddie to Dad Up. And Eddie listening and doing just that and look what happened. He got his confidence back. He got his kid back. I’m so curious to see if we get more FaceTimes before Eddie’s back, what they are about now that Chris is back. Also the whole flirty exchange over forgetting hens birthday and Facebook 😂 they are such a married couple.

AND EDDIES CONTACT PHOTO FOR BUCK WHEN HE FACETIMED.

It being from the Maddie Buck talk in 8.11 when he’s baking in the kitchen while they discuss things. Like Buck being in love with Eddie. Like 911 I see your game. And I applaud it.

OH Nonny! YES! You have such great thoughts about this episode.

I didn't even notice the contact photo! I'm going to rewatch the episode after I've answered a few more asks, because I need to see this.

I didn't mind the Hen storyline all that much though. I mean... there are times when I even forget my own birthday. Two years ago I went through my day and it was only in the evening that I realised it was my birthday. 🤣

Also, the Hen storyline tied in nicely with Archie's story. That's probably the whole reason they did this story in the first place.

But I do understand where you are coming from. It was a bit forced in a way to fit the Archie narrative.

As for Helena Diaz? OOOH! I wanted to strangle her with her dumb remarks about Eddie's cooking. Who brings take-out when the host told you they were cooking. And Buck had given him so much confidence that he was making a great meal.

I love how Buck just keeps boosting up Eddie's confidence. He did it last episode and he did it again in 13. I love that so much!

As for the Buddie narrative as a whole? It is so obvious now that Buddie is on the way. It's such a great feeling!

[snowberriesromanoff]

ghosthunt thoughts for @dchuntress

• Helena genuinely doesn't care about Khoa's Face Thing. If his mask slips, she doesn't comment on it. He's honestly a little miffed at first that she *doesn't* appreciate the dramatic mystique of it all but eventually he decides it's kinda nice not having to worry about it.

• There are no feelings involved. Or well, there *are*, but they're not romantic love feelings and never will be. There's mutual respect, there's camaraderie, but this isn't a love story and they're both okay with that.

• Post-mission stress relief sex. So much of post-mission stress relief sex. It's fun, it frequently involves showers, it's no strings attached and then one string attached but the string is friendship.

• Helena tutoring Khoa's kids, especially when they're traveling the world doing crime fighting and can't regularly make it to school. Helena getting a best teacher mug from Bao and putting it in a place of honor. Bao crashing at Helena's place even when Khoa and Helena aren't seeing each other regularly. Bao and Tim developing a cousins-type relationship because sometimes Bao is there when Tim comes over to see his sister.

• Bruce does not know they're a thing until Barbara tells him. He may or may not be having a crisis about it. He grits out "I'm happy for you" to Helena one day out of the blue and she doesn't know what he's talking about.

• Ghosthunt have weekly bitching sessions about what Bruce has done lately. Bruce gets a new bat suit with more muscle definition and Khoa takes up an entire session analyzing it (Helena barely noticed the new suit).

• Khoa starts showing up on Birds of Prey missions to assist. The vibes are very "cat leaving presents." Dinah thinks it's hilarious. This somehow leads to a DinahShiva and Ghosthunt "double date" mission that gives Barbara multiple aneurysms.

• HelReneeKhoa anyone? It doesn't even have to be a poly ship I just want the three of them on a team up. I think it would be fun.

• Helena goes along on Batman Inc missions sometimes. Bruce does not approve. Khoa swears he's only inviting her to piss Bruce off (false). Also, Bilal Alsselah is there because he's the best.

• They're very competitive with each other. It's good for both of them. This whole relationship is surprisingly good for both of them.

[saveahorserideaneddie]

okay no bc i actually need to see abuela having a meaningful talk with christopher about how shannon wasn’t a good mother and that he’s old enough to know the truth rather than eddie just over-romanticizing the whole thing

christopher does not need to be shamed for being upset at his mom leaving. the whole “she didn’t leave, she died 🥺” argument is just factually untrue when she fully intended to leave again before she had her accident

he does not need to be coddled and told about how hard it was for her when she was actively being just as ableist as ramon and helena. he is 13 years old; if he can make a decision on where he lives, he can hear the truth of how awful his mother was so that maybe he can actually provide sufficient context to the actions his dad has taken

yes, she was very young when christopher was born, and no eddie was not a perfect husband/father in the beginning; but the point is she didn’t even give him a chance to even begin processing his PTSD when he cane back, immediately vilifying him for everything before doing the same exact thing as what… petty revenge? giving him a taste of his own medicine? you’re an adult woman with a son who needed you and you walked out on him because you didn’t want the stress. okay, that’s fine, that’s your choice

but don’t show up once he’s older demanding to see him because “he’s my son too” and then proceeding to shame eddie, the one who HAS been there for him after you left, for something he already has made clear he regrets, and has also atoned for by stepping up and actually taking responsibility rather than shirking them the moment it got ‘too hard’ when his parents would have been more than willing to let him do

and then to try and manipulate him with the whole “he’s my son” “we can be a family again” bullshit as a way to get back into his pants— only to dip as soon as things start to get serious again?

and on top of that, the “she was just a girl” argument doesn’t even hold up because yeah, she WAS just a girl. she’s not just a girl anymore. she’s a grown adult woman shirking her responsibility because she doesn’t want to be a mother. That’s all well and good; she doesn’t have to be a mother. But once you make that decision, don’t go crawling back acting like you weren’t the one to actively decide to leave. You’re an adult, making adult decisions, and you need to handle the adult consequences of those adult decisions.

sorry no one will ever be able to convince me to like shannon and im sick of the writers trying to force rose tinted glasses on her existence bc of tim’s obsession with bringing devin back out of nowhere every two seconds

anyway sorry for the shannon rant i saw thay post i reblogged and it just reminded me how much anger i hold towards her for everything she did and how i hate it when people are like “oh she changed she wanted to try again 🥺” when she quite literally didn’t, as is evident by the way she immediately tried to run away again the moment she had to be an adult.

also there is no way buck would EVER look at the way she treated chris and eddie and then actively be friends with her. friend-ly maybe, civil at best, but he would never look at the lasting hurt she caused those two and actively chose to persue a friendship with her.

anyway getting off my anti-shannon soap box and i just needed to get that off my chest lamo