#I NEED TO SEE ALL THE COOL FUTURE CASEY DESIGNS

[samskaterguy]

I think there should be more Future Casey and Casey Jr stuff out there, like come on, that's his MOM!

[somerandomdudelmao]

But what's Casey using to cloak himself?

From what we see in the show, cloaking brooches are normally activated by touch but can be turned on/off without it (eg. big mama's hotel staff). This makes it pretty hard to tell what it is, and normally when theorizing about something like this, you need to go through and reread EVERYTHING but I'm too lazy for that so lets assume I actually did. Firstly lets get the mask and hockey stick out of the way, because he doesn't even have those on him afterward Draxum gave him the cloaking "pin". He doesn't actually seem to have anything that could be identified as a brooch or pin as far as we can tell in the first few panels of the "Commander O'Neil arc", which narrows it down from anything that could be blatantly obvious. He could, however, be hiding it somewhere on his body (chest, shin, shoulder, or boots are most likely in order) There's also the chance of the magic just being infused into him because Draxum is Draxum and magic shenanigan's, which could mean this search is futile and I'm just ranting about useless sh*t. Anyways, since Casey usually has one or two outfits per arc, weather it be different from the previous or not, I'm gonna compile all the first (good) shots of him here somewhat in order (from after the turt casey saga):

The images above seem to be his more casual outfit worn around the base, with short sleeves and long, loose pants tucked into what looks like boots and/or ankle wraps (similar to what Raph has on his arms in the show).

The classic battle/outdoor outfit that we see him wear in the movie, consisting of armor that vaguely resembles a turtle on his chest, a cape that goes over his shoulders and covers his neck as well as the top of his torso, pants with kneepads, shoes akin to sneakers, possible arm wraps that go under the gloves, the cool ass mask, and his hockey stick.

back into the shirt and pants when in the past lair, but is in a different shirt as there is no longer a rip on the left sleeve. He isn't wearing any shoes, scratching the boots/shoes theory, as well as his pants going up past his ankles and almost past his shins, meaning it's probably not there either.

going onto the surface, Casey wears a hoodie supposedly on top of the shirt and pants he wears around the lair, gathering his stick and mask to go with it. He is also seen wearing this hood in the lair on part 10 of "You are in the past, your thoughts are in the future".

The shirt and pants are definitely his lair outfit at this point, the photo above is from "Donatello".

the hoodie returns for a magic spell, only to be replaced with the free Hamato possesion make over

This lovely upgrade keeps his hoodie, but he now has a design similar to the Hamato outfits for the turtles in the episode "Insane in the Mama Train", with wraps on his arms, legs, and around his waist. Donnie's logo now sits on his heart (awww), and he looks pretty damn cool. I wasn't sure if he had socks or shoes on, but looking at that piece of fanart on Cass' page, it's shoes. There is a symbol on his back, possibly being that of the Hamato clan (hard to tell though, as it looks more like some kind of wheel in most panels you can see it)

The turtle version seems to be pretty much the same, the only difference being the wraps changing for his now 3 fingered hands and 3 toed feet, as well as the hoodie likely becoming a bit looser/bigger to better fit his shell. A little something I noticed about the transformation scene is that it starts from his ankles/shins/feet, which is cool and all for the posing, but is a bit controversial because it is, in fact, not in any of those areas. IN CONCLUSION,

The brooch (if there is one) is not on his arms due to him wearing short sleeves around the lair, it is not put in his shoes, and it does not need to be activated by touch. It is not anywhere near his feet, as there isn't anything we can see despite the transformation thingies coming from that general area. If we take the previous sentence into account, it is not on his chest either, crossing out pretty much all of the options we have. The last thing I can think of is Draxum somehow just... injecting the stuff into him as a controllable power. That could be flimsy, though, as Casey could've struggled with that of course. But then again, plot convenience.

TL;DR

The brooch is probably non-existent and Draxum just did some mystic shit to the kid.

THE A M O U N T of research HOLY SHIT??!¿¿¿

Why is it that every time I read an essay with theories, I feel like I'm not the author???Ahahah but for real?? I strait up just sit there like...

like...oh my god, how interesting, there are so many mysteries in this comic, unravel them for me please

[paytato435]

Chapter 4: Spider's Web

Inspiration

Donnie agreed to go with Casey and Leo if Casey agreed to help him work on the Turtle Tank. Since it had nearly been crushed in the subway tunnels, Donnie hadn’t been able to decide how to “improve” it. To be perfectly honest, it would have still run just fine; the only things that really needed repairing were the shields, but simply fixing the machine didn’t seem to interest the soft shell. Instead, he had completely deconstructed the vehicle and put it back together again- thrice.

Casey had no idea what Donnie was going for with this obsession, or how he had time to work on it at all with his college applications, scholarship essays, etc, etc… but perhaps that was why he had asked for help.

“We’re taking it apart again,” Donnie told Casey when they walked into the garage.

“Again? It’s not going to be done in time before dinner,” Casey groaned.

“Not with that attitude it won’t!” Donnie cackled, tossing him a drill. “But in all seriousness, it doesn’t have to all be done tonight. I just can’t stand looking at her right now.”

“She looks great though,” Casey pointed out. And he was right. The tank had never looked better. Donnie had gone all out on the tank’s design too. Each exterior piece had been repainted, waxed, and buffed. There wasn’t a scratch on her.

“But it’s just… the same!” Donnie growled.

“You say that everytime and then you put it back in the exact same way,” Casey reminded him, looking at his reflection in the tire rims. “Do you want to redesign it?”

Donnie looked stumped.

“Maybe you should plan out what you want before you actually, you know, make the tank unusable? What if we need to take it somewhere?”

“That…" Donnie looked around the garage for the answer to his problem. Seeing nothing to help him, he slouched.

"I am completely stumped, Junior," he admitted, dropping his head.

"You're stumped?" Casey had never seen him so defeated.

"Yes, stumped. Don't go bragging to the others, but I have no idea what I'm doing," Donnie grumbled, tapping his foot in frustration.

"Now that is a first."

"Wow, that must mean a lot, coming from the future boy."

Casey pinched his lips together. He needed to really keep his walls up around Donnie. Out of everyone here, he was always asking the most questions. He was infinitely curious, and didn't seem to know when to stop asking.

"I'm sure you'll come up with something cool," Casey encouraged. "Maybe you need to work on something new. Set this aside for a bit until inspiration hits."

"Inspiration… that's it!" Donnie grabbed Casey by the shoulders.

"You gotta tell me what I build in the future!"

"You told me not to do that," Casey pinched his eyebrows together in confusion.

"Past Donnie didn't know what he was talking about," Donnie turned up his nose. "But future Donnie is a genius! It would be foolish not to learn from the best!"

Sometimes Casey forgot that Donnie's ego was just as great (if not greater) as Leo's.

Donnie looked at Casey expectantly.

"You want me to just, what? Tell you everything you did over the course of twenty years?"

"If you had a list in chronological order that would be best."

Casey sighed. Oh boy he did not want to have this conversation.

"Donnie… I can't just give you everything. First of all, if you had a list it's long gone. I didn't exactly bring everything here with me."

"You didn't? Why not?"

"I don't know, maybe because I didn't plan to come here in the first place!" Casey burst out, frustrated. "You don't need help from your future self, Donnie, you are literally him! You're smart and can figure your way out of whatever rut you're in."

Donnie sank back a little, looking a bit hurt.

"I'm sorry, I'm not here to solve your problems, I'm just… stuck here."

The statement sat in the air like a rain cloud, its ominous presence daring Donnie to try and argue against rain. Sometimes, not often, but sometimes Donnie made Casey feel like an exotic creature or prophet- if he could just pick him apart in the right way maybe the secrets of the universe would just come spilling out. But Casey wasn't that; he was just Casey. He just wanted to keep the little bit of life before to himself; nobody could understand it the same way he could. He was put off that it would be anything different to someone else. The future had not been kind, but Donnie seemed to see it as a gold mine of opportunities. 

Donnie took a deep breath.

"You don't think me having access to my future self's technology would be a boon to us in any capacity?"

"That's not my point," Casey told him. "I don't know what it would do."

"It seems straightforward to me!"

"Our circumstances are different now. If I gave you the information for this stuff, which is limited at best, by the way, you'd just have more questions because there'd be no context for what anything would be made for. Sure, giving you a design for a new tech bo could be useful, but you don't need one that specializes in taking out only the Krang."

"So you do have some information?" Donnie's eyes sparkled.

"I have had enough," Casey answered.

"I'm sorry I can't help you with the Turtle Tank. I'm going to get ready for dinner."

"Hey wait-"

Casey put the drill down and turned to face Donnie.

"What?"

The softshell shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry."

"Okay."

Casey felt a little bad leaving the conversation there, but he didn't know what else to do. It wasn't as if he could help Donnie get out of his block. If there was some tech they really needed that Casey just so happened to know Donatello had in the future, he'd let them know about it, but not before. He wouldn't give that up just because Donnie was having a bad day.

Or maybe a few bad days. It did take awhile to disassemble the tank, after all.

Casey found himself directionless again. Leo was still watching tv, and even though Raph had come out to join him, Casey kind of wanted some time to himself. If he were in a movie, this is where the script would cut to the next scene.

But Casey's life wasn't a movie, no matter how fucked it was, so he decided to do the thing anyone would do when they were waiting for something to happen:

He went to his room to doomscroll on his phone.

-

Tamanegi

Raph knew from the jump this was a bad idea. He didn't even just have a feeling. He couldn't believe Leo had just decided to go to Big Mama's for help and expect everything to go fine. Not only that, but he was probably going to end up dragging Hueso into it too if something did go down at Run of the Mill. What was Leo thinking?

Of course Raph was going along. Just because Leo was the leader now didn't mean Raph wasn't the oldest anymore; he still had a responsibility to look after his family.

He just hoped this Synth guy was worth the trouble.

When they showed up to Run of the Mill, it was bustling just as usual. Ok, that was a good sign. Nothing seemed to be suspicious yet. But Raph wore his no nonsense face anyway. He wasn't about to let his guard down.

"Wait, I just realized, this is the first time Casey can actually eat the pizza here!" Leo pointed out as they sat down.

"You've adjusted?" Raph asked CJ. He had noticed the kid had started branching out from plain sandwiches and oatmeal, but he was afraid CJ might still have hang ups about pizza. Not liking pizza seemed like a fate worse than death. 

To his surprise, the kid gave a small smile and nodded in response. "That's awesome! Wait until you try the armadillo meat pizza!"

Casey's smile fell into a look off horror to show that maybe he wasn't that adventurous yet, but Raph let it slide. He would appreciate it soon enough.

Synth was five minutes late, Raph knew because Raph counted.

The bobcat that Leo had described clopped in with an unusual gait, like he didn't quite know how to walk right; even for a person with cloven feet. He looked around the place cautiously, more like a snake than a feline, before his eyes found the massive snapper.

Raph was a little glad he seemed more uneasy seeing an extra turtle at the table. He didn't want the yokai to think he had all the cards, even if he was sincere.

Leo waved the blademaster over, and he clopped his way across the room and into the booth beside Casey. Leo and Raph sat across from them. The yokai was lucky to be sitting as far as possible from him.

"Okay… on a scale of 1 to 10, how well do you think that grindstone actually kept Big Mama from listening in on our conversation?" Leo opened after Hueso had taken their orders.

The bobcat immediately squirmed in discomfort, which Raph did not take as a convincing reassurance.

"Is that why you brought the big guy?" Synth asked, flitting his eyes quickly over to Raph and back to Leo.

"Maybe," Raph propped his elbows on the table and leaned in a bit, demanding the attention back to himself.

"Synth, this my brother Raph," Leo introduced. "Raph, this is Synth."

"Nice to meetcha," Raph grumbled. "But if anything funny happens tonight, you'll be lucky if you walk out of here on both of your legs."

Leo gave him a concerned look, but didn't say anything. He was probably wondering where the big softie had gone.

Raph wished he could loosen up a bit too, but his perspective had changed a little since he'd been kidnapped by giant pink aliens. Or maybe it was when Casey had first appeared. Or maybe he just wasn't used to Leo calling the shots yet. Either way, his role was to act as the gatekeeper; he was not going to let anyone near his family that shouldn't be.

The message came through crystal clear; Synth looked like he was about to try and leave while he still had his legs.

Leo sighed.

"Don't mind him. He's just very protective. A big sweetheart, I promise."

Leo batted his eyes at Raph and made a stupid face, but Raph didn't let that break him down. If anything, he scowled harder.

"Right," Casey stepped in. "Where we left off, you all but admitted you're not happy with your current employment. Would you like to elaborate on that?"

Raph was surprised to hear Casey speak up, and so confidently too. He kind of sounded a bit like Leo.

Synth turned to face Casey, and seemed to relax a little at the prospect of having something different to talk about.

"Y-yes. Well, I wouldn't say I'm unhappy… or perhaps it'd be better to say I'm just uninspired. The money's too good for me to consider workin' anywhere else. But I'm an artist. If I'm making the same shit everyday I start to lose it. But Mama's got ears everywhere; if she heard I was moonlighting or doing anythin' off task she'd put me in a cell or worse."

Worse needed no further explanation. Even the people Big Mama claimed to have a good relationship with seemed to end up in her arena at some point.

"So you want to help us?" Leo asked hopefully.

"In a manner of speaking, I do. But there are a lot of steps to consider if you're going to get me to make anythin' for you."

"Like what?" Leo crossed his arms.

"Firstly, if I make you swords, Big Mama'll be pissed."

"That kind of seems like a big issue," Casey noted. "How are we supposed to help with that?"

"I did some thinking, some research, and I've come up with a solution to many problems in the Hidden City," Synth explained. "So while it is a big ask, I think you'll find the reward worth everyone's while."

Everyone waited for him to say what he thought, but he held back. Raph thought he looked unsure.

"You're asking strangers for help with something that could get you into serious trouble, and there is a very high chance Big Mama knows exactly what you are up to," Raph pointed out. He did not like where this was going.

Synth looked up to the ceiling as if he could find an answer there. When he looked back down, he seemed to find his answer on Leo's face, because it was only then he had the courage to speak.

"The second problem I have, has somehow, ironically blessed me with a solution. You see… I'm kind of cursed."

"Great, you're cursed too. Leo, Casey,have we heard enough? I think we've heard enough we should probably go."

"But we ordered pizza already!" Leo complained.

"I nearly forgot about the curse," Casey mumbled.

"You know about my curse?" Synth turned to Casey, surprised.

"Aha," Casey made that 'oh shit I said too much again about that future' face. "Yeah, about that…" the kid ran his fingers through his hair and gave a nervous smile.

Leo made a gesture for Casey to knock it off, but Casey put his fist over his lips.

"So, Synth has a curse that enables him to tell when anyone is lying," Casey squeaked.

"And how do you know that?" Synth bristled.

"Other than by the fact that your question is an attempt to test my honesty?" Casey asked back.

"You don't have to lie to him," Leo pointed out. "You just don't have to tell him!"

Casey frowned.

"I'm not afraid of telling people I'm from the future Leo, I'm afraid they'll think I'm crazy for saying so."

Synth's ears twitched.

"There it is again, your ears are twitching!" Leo pointed.

"I'm just surprised," Synth rolled his eyes. "That is twice now that what you've said is unbelievable," he gave Casey a suspicious look. "It's why I wanted to have this conversation in the first place."

"What do you mean?" Casey asked, clearly dumbfounded.

"You told me that he-" Synth pointed over to Leo. "Was the greatest ninja the world has ever seen. I could use the greatest ninja the world has ever seen… or two," he added on, glancing over at Raph.

"For the record, Casey's a ninja too," Leo smiled. Raph couldn't help but notice Casey's eyes sparkle at that. Raph didn't want to ruin the moment for Casey, but he wondered just how exactly he was supposed to be a good ninja with a chainsaw as his primary weapon. It wasn't exactly… subtle.

"Whatever. You know he's the greatest ninja ever, and that was a true statement."

"Well yeah, but it's just an opinion right? Even if I believe it, doesn't mean it's true for everyone right?" Raph asked. Facts and opinions were easily confused.

"That's true," Synth nodded. "Leo himself was lying when he said he was the greatest ninja ever."

"Hey! That's not true! I am the greatest ninja ever."

This time Synth's ears flicked to lay flat against his head.

"You really need more confidence in yourself, my friend," Synth chastised him before taking a drink of water. "That lie really hurt to hear."

"So what's up with this curse? It doesn't seem related, or even like a problem at all," Raph asked, redirecting the conversation.

Synth sighed. "Yes, it seems rather useful at first, but the world is not so black and white. Ironically, it seems some lies are meant to be told. There are things I wished I'd never known because of this power. And when people know I have it, they want to use me to their advantage."

Synth turned to give Casey a grave look.

"For you to know about my secret makes me wary of the future. Should I be concerned?"

Casey shook his head. "In the future we were close allies. I don't want to risk saying more, but your secret is safe with me. I don't know anyone else who would dare share it."

Casey gave a pointed look at Leo.

"What, me? No no no, I would never!" Leo turned and bowed his head to Synth. "Your secret is safe with me."

Synth turned to Raph next.

"You admitted this in a public space where anyone could hear you," Raph pointed out. "I don't know how useful my word is, but you have it anyway."

Synth looked like he wanted to die as that realization washed over him. Raph didn't get the impression he was very smart. And this was coming from the 'smash first, ask questions later' guy.

"And then there is the matter of how the curse works itself. Are you familiar with it?" Synth looked over to Casey.

Casey shook his head.

"Swords talk to me… well, any blade actually. Swords are straightforward. They don't care much for nuance, they take sides one way or the other. It's a simple way of thinking, but they are always decisive. They are also tremendously awful gossips."

"Wait, so swords gossip? They tell you whether or not someone is lying?" Casey asked.

Synth nodded.

"I've yet to hear them steer me wrong. And they have told me all about your situation, Leonardo," the bobcat looked at Raph's brother with… unease? Irritation? It was hard to tell."

"My situation? What's my situation?" Leo already looked upset, like he knew he was in trouble.

"That kitchen knife you call a katana-" Synth pointed to the blade on the back of Leo's carapace. "It's quite the tattle-tale. And word's getting around. If you keep treating blades that way it will end very badly for you."

"You mean they'll keep breaking?"

Synth shook his head. "Worse. They'll bite back."

"Bite back? That's silly. It's a tool-"

Synth slammed his paw on the table.

"Don't be so arrogant!" the whole restaurant turned to look at him. Suddenly self-aware, he sank back into the booth quietly.

"A ninja's weapon is more than a tool…" Casey spoke up. "It is your closest ally, literally."

Synth nodded. "It seems you've learned a bit from me."

"I must have," Casey agreed, but he was looking at Leo when he said it.

"The long and short of it is- you take care of your blades, and they will take care of you."

Synth pointed at Leo. "You have not been holdin' up your end of the deal, and for that the steel is sufferin'."

"Well yeah, that's why I want actual swords, this is clearly not working!" Leo rolled his eyes.

"It's not about you!" Synth snapped. "The damage is already done. It's not so simple as I make you new swords. For one, they would probably scream at me until I went deaf if I intentionally made a sword for you. They are pissed. The same would go for any premade swords I give you. Same for teaching you anything. They hate you. Your first step is to win their trust back."

"How do I win their trust back?"

Synth pulled something out from his bag; a small sheathed paring knife. He set it on the table.

"While I was working earlier, I had some conversations with my swords about our situation. While they may hate you, they are willin' to reconcile this matter for their own benefit too. We'll get into that in a moment."

Synth unsheathed the paring knife and immediately winced, as if the action pained him. He turned the blade over in his hand until the reflective surface caught Leo.

"This is Tamanegi. He has somewhat reluctantly agreed to help us."

Synth resheathed the knife and slid it over to, of all people, Raph. Raph lookedndown at it, but did not move to pick it up. They had not agreed to anything yet.

"Like I said before, I can't give you the knife, Leonardo. You shouldn't just expect it to work for you either. Give that to your youngest brother, Michelangelo, and help him where you can. When Tamanegi trusts you, then we can talk about your swords again."

"Wait, how do you know Mikey's name?" Raph asked.

"The gossiping, Raphael. They tell me everything."

"That's suspicious as hell. We don't have privacy in our own home?" Raph growled.

"Not as long as your brother continues to treat knives this way."

Raph glared down at the knife on the table. It was the fanciest paring knife he'd ever seen; not that he'd been keeping track.

The ones Mikey had at home had plastic handles, but this one was a part of the blade itself. It was heavier too. Mikey would probably get a kick out of it, at least.

"But speaking of privacy, we need to revisit the first problem. Many years ago, when my father was young, the Battle Nexus was an honorable place. The champions were brave warriors from all over the world, not just playthings of Big Mama's design. The swords of my forge and I have been laboring without honor all my life. My second ask is that you help me restore the Battle Nexus to its former glory."

"That's quite the ask," Raph pointed out. "Do you even know what that would mean?"

"It would mean destroying Big Mama completely," Synth said,  leaning in and speaking quietly. "As long as she is in charge, everyone in the Hidden City suffers."

"She is the majority shareholder of yokai suffering," Leo pointed out.

"This is ridiculous Leo, we can't take out Big Mama! She hasn't even done anything to hurt us… lately," Raph argued. "We'd just be causing trouble."

"Hasn't done anything to hurt you? Are you ignorant? The woman has her spindly hooks in everything she can. She hurts thousands of people either by her deals, imprisonment, her own whimsy…" Synth trailed off.

"We're heroes, Raph." Leo reminded him. "I don't think our responsibility ends at topside New York."

"This is more trouble than it's worth," Raph insisted. Saving all of the Hidden City of the largest and most influential crime boss for a pair of katanas? This was ridiculous.

"How would Leo even fight Big Mama without his swords anyway? This isn't a fair trade."

Synth nodded wisely.

"I will make you a pair of katanas before then, if you promise to help me. I can risk the time and effort to make them if I know my future outside of Mama's influence is secure."

"You would be putting a lot of trust in us," Raph warned.

"It has nothing to do with trust. The swords will hear your conviction themselves," Synth shrugged casually.

"I need your word that you will help me," he faced Leo, his face serious. "My family has made weapons for the Battle Nexus for centuries. It is my responsibility to restore their traditions. I have looked for many ways to do so, but it isn't until now that I've been able to come up with a solution. This means everythin' to me."

"Sure, we'll help you," Leo agreed too quickly.

"What? Leo! This is dangerous-"

"Then don't go," Leo shrugged.

"You know I can't let you do this alone!"

"Then come with me!"

"Leo!"

Leo scowled.

"Let's at least think this through some more."

"There is no hurry," Synth assured them, raising his hands defensively. "Just take your time with Tamanegi for now. Discipline is often its own reward."

That was the first thing out of Synth's mouth tonight that Raph didn't hate.

"What do you think Casey?" Raph asked curiously. "You're supposed to know this guy."

"Wha- me?" Casey kind of jumped. "I don't know if it's my place to say what we should do-"

"But this was your idea," Raph reasoned.

"Well yeah," Casey rubbed the back of his neck. "I think that principally, it's the right thing to help him. But it would take a considerable amount of risk. In the end, I think it's up to Leo."

"Do you think it's worth it?" Leo asked him.

"Synth makes the greatest swords in the world. It's a great deal in the long run," Casey nodded.

Synth's ears twitched again, and when he looked at Casey, Raph could tell he was amazed by the kid's sincerity.

"I make the greatest swords in the world?" he asked, nervously.

Casey gave him a huge smile. "Of course you do! Without your help-" but he cut himself off. He looked back at Synth with that ghost face. The facade had been cracked for just a moment.

Needless to say, the silence following was agonizingly awkward.

"Well," Synth finally sighed. "It's a pleasure to hear such praises from you, Casey. But I suppose I would be better off not knowing whatever you're holding back from me."

Casey gave a sad nod. As much as it could be helpful, the kid had told them over and over how dangerous his foreknowledge could be. It was a bit frustrating sometimes, hearing all his cliffhanger inducing thoughts. It eventually wore out all the curiosity Raph had of the future. It wasn't worth bugging him over.

"I'm not asking this because I want an answer," the bobcat explained in advance. "But you must know that I wonder what became of the Battle Nexus in the future. Are we working toward the future you are from?"

"Well actually…" Leo started to say, but Raph kicked him under the seat.

"Do what you want," Casey answered. "The future is made by what we do today."

Synth seemed satisfied with that answer.

-

Dinner came and went. Phone numbers were exchanged, and once they had gotten through the serious bog, the conversation lightened.

As it turned out, Synth was another one of Liu Jitsu's many fans, and he was eager to hear all about what had happened to him after his disappearance from the Nexus all those years ago. Raph almost forgot about Casey’s warning hours ago: that Big Mama might have heard them. That she could already know everything. In his head this wasn’t a good idea at all, and he’d remind everyone later when they got home.

But then something perfectly normal happened: Sunita came in to visit her dad at work. She waved at the boys as she came in, and it looked like she had brought some flowers with her. Her dad came out from the back of the restaurant and he took the flowers from her happily. It was cute; Raph wondered what the occasion was. On her way out, she took a moment to stop by and say hello.

“Sunita! It’s been a minute!” Leo smiled at her. “You still hanging out with April?”

“Hi guys! Yes! We’re going to the library tomorrow. One of our professors has already assigned us reading.” She made a gagging face. Their term didn’t start until next Monday.

Sunita’s eyes moved over to Synth and Casey, and Leo caught her look too.

“Sunita, this is Casey and Synth. We just met Synth today, but April’s told you about Casey, right?”

Sunita’s eyes lit up in recognition.

“Oh yeah! Hi Casey, nice to meet you!” she held out a slimy green hand and Casey shook it without hesitation. He smiled like… ok he probably already knew her already. Time travel was weird. Raph tried not to think about it.

“I heard you and Mikey are starting high school this week?” Sunita asked, raising a gooey eyebrow. “That should be interesting. I’m still going to college classes in disguise.”

“We’re going to try it out,” Leo shrugged. “I’m sure we’ve dealt with worse.”

“My dad’s real nervous about it,” Sunita admitted. “Even though I’m going as a human, he’s worried someone’s going to rat me out, and he’s all like: ‘humans are evil! Don’t trust them!’ and all that.” Sunita glanced over at Casey and bit her lip. “Sorry, he’s not… he doesn’t think…”

“Oh it’s fine!” Casey waved his hands. “I’m sure he’s just worried about you.”

Sunita nodded. “Well, I hope it all goes well for you,” she encouraged Leo.

Leo put his hand over his heart and smiled.  “Aw, thanks.”

“You guys have a good night!” And then she was gone.

Soon after, it was time to go home. Raph had eaten enough pizza that he felt like he was approaching a food coma; he was very ready to get some well-deserved shut eye. The party walked out and said good night to Synth, who quickly disappeared into the shadows of the overworld. Leo drew his sword, and a portal was soon shimmering and urging Raph onward. Pizza supreme he was glad nothing bad had happened.

He stepped through the portal, with Leo immediately behind him, and started to walk to his room, when he noticed Leo hadn’t closed the gateway. He turned, and saw that CJ had not followed them through. Leo looked through the portal, but the kid was nowhere in sight.

“What the hell?” Leo stepped back through the portal. He poked his head back in, concerned. “He was just with us, where did he go?”

Raph pulled out his phone and dialed CJ’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. Where had he gone?

“Donnie!” Raph called up toward the lab. Donnie poked his head out, looking tired and frustrated.

“Raph!” he yelled back.

“Do you have one of those tracker thingies in CJ?”

Donnie jumped down to the main floor and looked at Leo, who was still on the other side of his portal, walking up and down the street and peering back into Run of the Mill.

“You lost him?”

“He just disappeared! We had eyes on him not three seconds ago!”

Donnie groaned.

“He was very adamant that I not track him. He told me so like… a million times.”

“But let me guess, you did it anyway.”

“Scoff. I do believe in some levels of privacy Raphala. (Though maybe not anymore.) I do have his vitals though.” Donnie tapped at his wrist tech. “He’s fine.”

“Oh good," Raph's expression lightened.

“But unconscious.”

“Nevermind," his expression darkened again.

Leo popped back into the lair. “Guys I can’t find him anywhere!”

“Given the fact that he’s already unconscious, I’d wager he’s been kidnapped.” Donnie theorized.

“What!” Leo started to panic. “How does that even happen! He was just here!” He grabbed Donnie’s hand and dragged him through the portal. Raph followed them closely behind.

“We have to find him!”

-

Spider's Web

Casey was about to follow Leo through the portal when he felt something itch at the back of his neck. Ok, maybe not like an itch, but like something gooey had just crawled up on him. It was a horrible feeling really. Instinctively he went to scratch it off, but it wouldn’t let go.

It only took a second, he didn't even have time to react. He was suddenly yanked by his free arm and more of that ooze crept over his face- he couldn't even scream. He struggled as best he could, but it crawled up over his body as if he were sinking into jelly.

“I’m really sorry this was how we had to meet, Casey,” came Sunita’s voice. Where had she come from? Casey remembered when they had shaken hands. Had she… hidden herself on him?

Ew.

“I’m really, really sorry.”

To her credit, Casey did think she sounded sincere. But he was also rapidly losing consciousness so he wasn’t really in any place to forgive her.

-

The first thing Casey noticed when he came to was the kick of carpet under his shoes. Then the pressure of clawed hands gripping tightly to his arms. He was being dragged somewhere. When his eyes opened, he saw a familiar pattern pass him by in the runner beneath him. His eyes darted to either side and confirmed he was back in the Grand Nexus Hotel. Well, he wasn’t exactly surprised.

The bellhops pulling him hadn’t yet noticed he was awake. If he could twist out and take them by surprise, he might have a chance to break free. But just as he was about to pick up his feet, double doors swung open in front of him and he was carelessly thrown into a large room.

He heard Big Mama shout in surprise and disgust. “Idiots! What do you think you’re doing throwing our guest?” Casey looked up and watched as the bellhops stepped back into his space to pick him back up, but Casey scrambled away and to his feet.

Glancing around quickly, it looked as if he had been brought into Big Mama’s office. The woman herself was seated behind a massive, black lacquer desk. The double doors he had come through were swung shut and bolted behind him. He was trapped. As he continued to take in his surroundings, Big Mama continued to wring out her staff.

“And look at his arms! Honestly, I’m going to have you on probation if you can’t behave properly. We’re civilized yokai. I expected much more from you.” She turned to face Casey. “I’m really sorry for the way they treated you sweetie. Please, have a seat.”

“I’m good, thanks.” He didn’t know how he’d said that, honestly. His brain had gone from zero to one hundred when he’d scrambled to his feet, and now he couldn’t rest on any one thing. His adrenaline had kicked in and he was just waiting for the first opportunity to get out. One of the yokai standing by the door had his hockey stick. If he could somehow get that from him…

“I brought you in to talk, Casey. I’m not here to hurt you,” Big Mama’s voice made him jump. “I heard everything, I have friends all over. But believe me, I’m not the eensiest upset.”

Casey did not believe her.

Big Mama stood up from her desk and approached him. Casey took a careful step back.

“More than anything, I’m curious about you,” she cooed. “A child from the future; you’re very valuable. I’m sure the psychics in Witchtown would lose their minds over you.” She gave him a mischievous grin. “But why would I sell you to them when I could have all your little secrets myself?”

Why couldn’t he keep his damn mouth shut? Ever??? Raph had been right. They probably should not have met up in a public pizza parlor.

“I’m not telling you anything.”

“Of course not; what’s in it for you, anyway?" Big Mama giggled. "Your freedom? Your friends? Your… identity?”

“That’s not a deal, that’s blackmail!”

Big Mama smiled mischievously in response, spinning away and leaning against her desk.

“Why are you so upset?” she teased. “You all seemed far too eager to dispose of me. If anything, I’m being generous.”

“I’d rather die.” He meant it. Truthfully, he didn’t see himself knowing anything particularly useful to her personal situation, but the things she could learn about his friends, his family- she would never have that.

Big Mama rolled her eyes. “You’re no fun. You’re just as stubborn as that red turtle.” She gave him a quick glance over from head to toe. “But you aren’t just keeping these secrets from me, are you? Unfortunately for you, it’s much harder to hide mystic energy from me than it is from your friends.”

Shit. Had she really…?

"I… I don't know what you're talking about."

"Ooo… you are not a very convincing liar, are you honey? That's not going to work out for you in the long term, is it?"

Big Mama snapped her fingers and two more yokai appeared at Casey's side. 

"It's on his right ankle," she sneered.

The yokai grabbed him.

"Hey! Stop-"

Big Mama just smiled.

While one of the yokai held him still, the other pulled his pant leg up, his sock down, and Casey felt his stomach drop.

"Please don't," he choked.

"Take it off."

The yokai unstrung a small black ribbon that was tightly tied around Casey's ankle. As soon as they did, Casey's skin turned a scaly emerald green.

The yokai handed the ribbon to Big Mama, who inspected it carefully.

"Give it back!" Casey snapped.

"Not yet, darling," she giggled. "Not until you tell me why a handsome little turtle such as yourself is hiding from his own family."

________

Previous Masterpost Next

Notes: Oops he a turtle! This will be expanded upon next week eeeeeheeheheheheheheheeee

So this was my plan all along muahaha. Cass Apocalyptic Series got me by the throat and I had to put a different spin on turtle Casey. I saw this sweet boy and I thought "let's fuck him up a little bit. Let's make his life miserable, and this time there's no peepaw coming to make him feel whole again." Casey is alone and his story is finding meaning in the new life he has on his own terms. And he a turtle. turtle turtle turtle turtle...

[rainyraisin]

2023 YEAR IN REVIEW!!!

My artstyle changed a lot this year, especially after my shift from ibis paint to procreate after getting my iPad (drawing on an iPad is the BEST btw 100% recommend I love it way more than a phone and it didn’t die after a month like my old wacom 💀💀). I’m relatively happy with where my art is atm and I hope to continue to improve in 2024!

Explanation of all the silly art down below! (Mostly so I can tell y’all who the fanart is for but also cause I like rambling)

January: A drawing of my Rise Leo human design I did to test out a pixel brush I found for Ibis Paint. He’s very fun to draw hehe I need to draw him more-

February: I wanted to learn how to draw the future designs of Leo and Mikey along with CJ so I planned to draw them all together! I struggled with Leo though so I just got rid of him. Sorry Peepaw 😞😞💔💔💔

March: Fanart for @beannary ‘s TLP au! I love it so much so I had to draw smth for it hehe 😈😈💥💥💥 which reminds me I need to draw more at some point- might redraw it at some point cause I’m not super happy with how it turned out but I do like the idea a lot

April: The month I created Reticent! April’s Fools was the first episode I came up with so I drew a chapter poster! It ended up being very different to the chapter cover I drew a couple months later but it’s still cool :D Leo is being weirdly affectionate to Mikey though what the heck that isn’t like him smh. Although I guess it was meant to be purposefully exaggerated sooooo 🥰

May: Reticent Casey!!! I don’t have much to say it’s just Reticent Casey HDKSGXKSHD this wasnt a very good art month

June: Krangified Donnie is literally my favourite concept ever thats it that’s all I have to say dbskdbwkh I adore Krangified Donnie and if the Rise brainrot takes over the Reticent brainrot for a while then I will probably be drawing Krangified Donnie during that time sorry not sorry

July: Reticent Chapter 3’s cover yippee!!! Still my favourite Reticent cover although Chapter 8’s is a close second (I can’t wait to post it once it’s been betaread yippee!!!). The scribble over Leo’s eyes is literally just because I was struggling to draw his eyes and i was getting annoyed dbskdbskdb it’s actually a very common issue with him (common Ret!Leo L). Also Mikey being reflected in the mirror is a reference to Mirror Man by Jack Stauber which I’ve basically considered his theme song since @aaronymous999 introduced it to me ebwjcbkwhd thank you Mr. Aaronymous! Also somebody said he was in the barbie box and I still need to draw that to this day because Mikey would’ve killed to go see Barbie.

August: RET DONNIE WOOOOO he’s being bullied again!!! I drew that piece for a colour palette challenge request and realised I got the prompt wrong so I just made it into its own thing 💥💥💥 it’s usually a flickering light gif but I chose to just use the version with the light on for this post. The photos in the background were really fun to draw hehe either April’s or Mikey’s is my favourite.

September: MY 500 FOLLOWER DTIYS YIPPEE (/my 150 follower DTIYS for tumblr). This one took me. Forever to draw and I love it to pieces hehe it was really fun to design Mikey’s room and figure out outfits for the sillies and idk the concept of a sleepover just seemed really fun to me dbskbdkdb- and all the entries I got were so so awesome I loved them all to pieces!!! I still look at them all the time hehe

October: FANART OF @endlesslogo ‘S HUMAN RISE LEO DESIGN WOOOOOO!!! This was the piece I started rendering on hehe it was so much fun to draw!!!! Although I did have a fight with rendering the hair for over an hour svsjegksbdk HOW DO PEOPLE DO IT FR!!!

November: Me and my friends were working on a crossover between our TMNT iterations so I drew all of our Karai’s together!!! Confluence Karai is on the left, created by Salem and Marine, New Stars Karai is in the middle created by Starla, and Reticent Karai is on the right created by me! All our Karais have such cool designs AHHHHH literally dead over them constantly/pos

December: Most of December I spent drawing Christmas presents so this was my present for Salem!!! Confluence!Jonatello my beloved….

[tmnt-tychou]

Hi again!!! 😄 congrats on reaching your milestone!! That’s so cool!

This has been a question I’ve been wanting to ask, mostly cuz I’m curious! If you had to rank your personal favorite iterations of the TMNT based on characters and story, which would rank higher in your opinion? Bayverse turtles can also count!! 😁

Thanks again, and congrats!!! 🎉

I had to marinate on this. It's very hard to pick favorites when there's so many good versions to choose from. And these are just personal favorites, not a hard line on which show/movie is the best ever. No need to tell me what's what if anyone sees this list and disagrees. This is just my personal list.

I think my absolute top tier is still the 2003 version. This is largely due to the fact that this series was allowed to cover all the story lines that it wanted. Granted, not every episode is gold, but it really took advantage of all the things you can do in a TMNT universe and very much set a precedent of other versions to follow. (I do not count Fast Forward and Back to the Sewers in this.)

Rise of the TMNT is second. I think it had the capacity to surpass 2003, but it wasn't afforded the opportunity. With how much world-building and new ground it covered with only a season and a half, I can't even imagine what we would have had with a full five seasons or so if it had been allowed to continue.

Bayverse is my third favorite. Not necessarily because I think it's the "best", but because it's a lot of fun to play in. Some fans take Bayverse very seriously. I just can't. It's my anything-goes universe. I reserve a bit of respect for the other universes, but with Bayverse, I can do whatever dumb shit I want. I can make the dialog as crass as I want, I can explore more mature themes that I otherwise wouldn't put in a TMNT universe. I dunno, it's just stupid and fun. Also, very big turtles. I can't get enough.

Next is the 90's movies trilogy. The 2nd and 3rd are just stupid fun and very enjoyable. The first one, I think is still the best movie script to date and it too set a precedent for future TMNT iterations, including 2003.

I'll sneak in some comics here. "The Last Ronin" is a great read, if sad. Though not as rough of a read as I anticipated. And I really adored the TMNT/Power Rangers second crossover. (I have not read the first.) Of course, the art is AMAZING, but the script was great, too. I don't know a lot about PRs, but I could mostly follow along. And the Raphael/Casey bromance in this was SO GOOD.

Next, I would put the first 5 episodes of the 80's cartoon here. Yes, the show got dumb. They were on for like 10 seasons. But the first five episodes are pretty solid and a really good story. If you haven't seen the 80's cartoon and are overwhelmed with the sheer amount of episodes there are, just watch the first five. That's all you need.

I guess 2012 will go here. It's not my favorite series, though I know it's some fans' absolute true love TMNT iteration. I thought the first season was (mostly) pretty solid and I was really into it when it first came out, but by the end it was just the hottest of messes. Are there some fantastic episodes? Yes. Is this one of the best Splinters we've ever had? Also yes. Are the turtles' designs absolutely freaking adorable? Of course. Is that enough to carry this series for me? Unfortunately, no. This show is one big garbage fire and I didn't even watch most of the last season. Though I did catch that incredibly off-putting last episode.

Turtles Forever goes here. It was a great idea for a movie and I would have put it higher up, but I just watched it recently. It's actually kind of mean-spirited to other iterations, specifically the 80's version. So it goes lower on the scale for me.

The 2007 movie is next. Terrible script. So-so character designs. Some fantastic scenes. Probably one of the best Raphaels we've had.

Bottom tier stuff: Fast Forward, Back to the Sewers, a lot of the 80's show. The Next Mutation.

[minor-dot-inconvenience]

Casey Jones Family Roles:

(2003 = Casey

1987 = Case

2007 = Jay

2012 = CJ

2018 = Cass

2022 = Junior or Casey Junior)

2003 Casey Jones:

-6’1

-The father

Yknow that one meme?

“Vandalism is wrong Marcy” “Okay”

Yeah that’s basically his parenting skills in a nutshell

-Adopted the teenage Casey Jones on the spot

-Tries to give them life lessons even though he should really be following them himself

-Try messing with any of them and Casey will crack your skull open

-Always there for the Rise!Caseys when they need emotional support (Trauma</3)

-Loves the teenage Caseys like they are his real kids

-Don’t tell anyone but he favorites the rise Caseys

-Gives hugs and noogies on the daily

-Usually the designated driver

1987 Casey Jones/‘Case’:

-6’0

-Fresh out of jail uncle

-Absolute menace

-The other Caseys have to stop him from beating up people who jaywalk

-Is an actually pretty cool guy, just insane

-Not the best at comforting, pat on the back is all he knows

-Breaks stuff with Cassandra

-The two are honestly inseparable

-Just like 2003 will murder you if you mess with the teenage Caseys just a lot more violent

-Gets ticked off by 2007 Casey constantly causing them to get into an argument or fight

-2003 and future Casey are usually the ones to break it up

2007 Casey Jones/‘Jay’:

-5’9 (Headcanoned since I could not find his height)

-That one cool older cousin who is most likely a stoner

-Ticks off Case on purpose

-Really chilled out person

-Not nearly as much of a menace as his family

-Purposely act like a dick to everyone to mess with them

-Except Casey Jones Jr

-He always treats him like a little brother (imagine somewhat of a Rise! Donnie and Mikey dynamic for the two)

-Loves pissing off Cass and Case the most

-Kinda sleep deprived from staying up on his phone all night (and being a vigilante like the others)

-Will also break bones if you mess with the teenage Caseys

2012 Casey Jones/‘CJ’:

-5’11

-Annoying older brother

-A little shit

-Messes with Cass and then gets rocked

-Talks a lot with Casey

-Makes cup noodles a lot and every time the water spills all over the microwave and he doesn’t clean it up and it infuriates everyone

-Will poke Casey Juniors face to annoy him

-Piggy backs on Casey and Case’s shoulders a lot

-The person he messes with the least though is Junior

-Will still mess with him

-Will try to show off to the others and ultimately fail immediately

-Hurt Junior and he will bend your legs in half

2018 Casey Jones/‘Cass’:

-4’10 (Estimated)

-Bossy older sister

-Most violent tied with Case

-Has a soft spot for Junior as does everyone else in the family

-Folds CJ on the daily

-Gets so close to folding Jay but usually gets stopped by Junior

-Also rides on Casey’s shoulders a lot

-Will do the most petty things to CJ

-Y’all know the drill she’ll murder you if you touch Junior

-Can be pretty nice

2022 Casey Jones/‘Casey Junior’:

-5’4 (estimated)

-The youngest child

-Pretty mellow, yknow minus the anxiety

-Gets along with everyone in the family

-Second closest with Jay (no one can beat Cass)

-Likes hanging out with Jay since he lets him play on his Nintendo DS

-Just because he’s usually fine doesn’t mean he doesnt have the trademark Casey Jones’s rage

-Hurt anyone in his family and he will only see red, especially if you hurt Cass or Jay

-Someone did and Junior left them in that alleyway with broken legs and a bloody nose

-Gift giver! Always give the other Casey’s things he finds cool and the always cherish them (2k3 Casey may or may not have cried once)

-Loves their family moments

General Family Headcanons:

-They jumped someone who messed with Cass as a family

-They though he was dead afterwards so they ran

-He wasn’t, though is paralyzed now

-They have a lot of family hockey games

-Everytime they are in the car it’s chaos and Junior fears for his life

-Once they found out Junior mostly ate rats (and was Puerto Rican) they immediately made him some food that was Puerto Rican, Mexican, Columbian, Argentinian, and Ecudorian (yeah I Headcanon over half of the Casey Jones as Hispanic what you boutta do fight me?)

-I say they but it was mostly CJ with some help from the others

-Only half of them can drive

-Junior is the favorite, everyone agrees on this and everyone accepts it

-CJ is the family idiot

-The 2007-Future ride on Case & Casey’s shoulders a lot

-They may mess with and beat up each other a lot but at the end of the day they love each other to bits and pieces

(My TikTok is @m1nor.inconven1ence)

[temunitu]

please share your thoughts on the movie after you've seen it!

head empty, no thoughts, just vibes (i. did see it. there were many tears involved in the making of this review)

my main thought is just WOW, they did such a good job????

[obviously - spoilers below!!]

ok so first off... SWEARS AND BLOOD IN THE FIRST FOUR MINUTES??? i think i'm in love with this movie. we need more gruesome tmnt content and this movie delivered. first with the blood, then with "badass," then with all the Kraang body horror. we need more PG-13/TV-14 rated content. also Let Mikey Say Fuck

MYSTIC FUTURE MIKEY IS SO EPIC?? HELL YEA if i could float i'd float everywhere too. but HOW DARE THEY KILL HIM OFF I DIDN'T WANNA SOB THIS MUCH SO EARLY IN THE MOVIE NOW MY VISION IS BLURRED

also the future is so goddamn scary. like, shit. the lighting and soundtrack wove a gorgeous terrifying narrative. thank you rise i won't sleep for a week

investigative journalist april???? it's so good it hurts, i love how Rise is such a love letter to the franchise. they manage to meld a bunch of previous concepts into this glorious story

leo is such a little shit. thank you ben schwartz for some top tier voice acting. i was SO MAD at leo when they lost the key. i'm a sucker for trauma induced character development and leo got it. oh, did he get it.

RAPH??? TAKING??????? A FUCKIN TENTACLE(?) TO THE SHOULDER???? TO SAVE??????????? LEO????????????? I THOUGHT HE DIED I THOUGHT HE WAS A GONER

CASEY CALLING LEO OUT WAS SO GOOD. it was what leo needed to hear. also please get this kid some therapy?

i love how April got to use the herbicide stuff on the Kraang but i was honestly expecting it to be part of the master plan(?), still cool

THE GODDAMN. TECHNODROME. IS TECHNO-ORGANIC JUST LIKE IN 2003. I WAS WATCHING IT WITH AWE THE WHOLE TIME LIKE HOLY SHIT. THAT IS ONE BADASS SPACESHIP

also the Kraang and the infected monster designs were GOD tier. love me some freaky alien cheese cubes and their horrifyingly fleshy minions. and their exosuits??? hell yea

ok uh

when leo. went through the portal. and it CLOSED? i thought that was it. i don't know why, i was like "welp. there's gonna be an awful lot of fanfics where leo's trapped in the Kraang realm fighting for his life as he tries to find a way home." the narrative was so convincing (or maybe i'm just gullible lol) but i was sobbing so hard

BISHOP CAMEO BISHOP CAMEO HELL YEA

-

so, praising aside! i did have a few thoughts that are mostly directed toward nickelodeon/viacom for cutting the show short and only allowing 1.5 hours for the movie

the storyboards for casey saying goodbye really got me - like i wish the time constraints weren’t a thing cuz it was such a bittersweet conversation (both casey and leo, and leo and raph). it’s canon in my book (if you haven’t seen it, here) 

also, as i mentioned before. i thought the herbicide was gonna play a bigger role in the end battle(?). maybe it’s the way it was framed, maybe it’s just my brain. idk 

i am. a raph and a mikey stan, especially in rise. they were both amazing in the movie and i know it was supposed to be about leo, but they felt like they took such a backseat. raph was being controlled for majority and mikey was playing hype man/sidekick mostly. where is my feral gremlin son??? hello?? i did enjoy when mikey opened the portal (both times) and when he chucked a skyscraper at the Kraang lol

the pacing was SO FAST. kinda like the finale - i know the writers did the best with what they had and i'm in awe of how well it still turned out. but like,,, nick/viacom sucks so bad for the limits they gave the writers.

[davids-cartoon-corkboard]

Here’s the final part of the “Raph is a system” theory compilation post! It’s the last of what I can scrape up from canon; while I still have ideas on how it might loop back into character interactions and plot and so on, they’re much more speculative in nature. (Part 1 is here) (Part 2 is here) (You’re reading Part 3)

---

"Red” is the alter with the least screen time, so it took a while for me to connect the dots on when and why he formed.

His shadowed face, the dramatic background music when he speaks, and his seriousness are reminiscent of the “brooding on rooftops in the rain while gloomily staring off into the distance” thing that Raphs throughout the franchise will do sometimes. That’s easy to poke fun at on a superficial level because most of us look back on our edgy phases with self-deprecation, but it’s a lot less funny in the context of the life he lives. Being a normal human teenager in normal human society is a fucking nightmare; being a mutant teenager who has no idea what to expect in terms of development or lifespan, only five people he can safely interact with ever, and a very limited future hiding from everyone else for as long as he lives has got to be just awful.

RR’s few lines in “Pizza Puffs” tell us a lot. “It’s the only way they’ll learn” and “this is for their own good” suggest that he formed when the turtles started exploring more of the sewers and going aboveground, and Being The Leader became more of a responsibility. A thousand new ways for them to get in trouble meant a thousand new ways Raph would have to bail them out, and that got old fast- especially since they didn’t have April’s knowledge to help them in the beginning. I doubt they met her the very first time they left the sewers. The wiki says April knew the boys for five years as of “Mystic Mayhem”, so they would have been nearly eight at the time, perhaps the mental equivalent of a ten- or eleven-year-old human.

A while back I sifted through all the eps with Raph in them in the vague hopes that “Pizza Puffs” wasn’t the only episode featuring RR... and lo and behold, I found something! The shadowed face and dramatic background music are also present in “Minotaur Maze”!

“I can’t do it. I got no mystic mojo. I’m useless.”

“Hey, that’s not true, brother. You just gotta believe in yourself, and know this: If I die in this maze, I will haunt you for the rest of your life.”

(I know that’s only two data points, but y’all canonically cannot scoff at me.) RR shows up when HR is no longer able to tolerate the bullshit at hand. “I’m not going to baby you Leo, get your shit together before your ego kills us all” was a reasonable response to nearly being shish-kebab’d.

“Pizza Puffs”, on the other hand... LDM pulled through in the end, but that RR got HR to stay behind added an unnecessary level of risk. Getting his brothers to learn a lesson should have waited until after the giant mutant cannibal had been dealt with and they were no longer poisoned.

This hands-off “figure it out on your own” approach probably came from Splinter. I swear to Pizza Supreme In The Sky I’m not trying to shit-talk him, but his lack of involvement with his sons was a major flaw. Before all that character development he was terrible at things like “emotional support” and “life lessons”, leaving Raph without the blueprints to deal with a lot of problems. HR would respond by rushing in and figuring things out as he went, but sometimes RR would have to say “No, we’re maxed out and can’t deal with this, we’ve gotta step back”. As we’ve seen in other iterations, when Raph is maxed out and doesn’t step back...

...he goes too far. Plenty of folks have commented on how rarely the Rise turtles smack each other around compared to other versions; it’s telling that RR spoke up just a moment after HR smacked Mikey in “Pizza Puffs”.

Raph is much bigger and stronger than his brothers this time around, meaning such an outburst would have a much higher risk of Genuine Grievous Injury. And while his size and strength also mean a measure of gentleness has been baked into him since day one, there would still be times HR would feel himself boiling over and RR would head off somewhere quiet for fear of the above situation; which was potentially alluded to in “Hot Soup: The Game”.

“You went out on your own when you were his age.”

The context of “Man vs. Sewer” suggests Raph isn’t going to go off on his own without very good reason- such as cooling down before he does something he regrets. That this detail shows up in Casey’s debut episode suggests it is how they will properly meet and bond, since befriending Casey and doing vigilante shit with him is what usually gives Raph a way to blow off steam while having someone nearby to keep him in check. But that probably won’t happen until partway through season 3, since I doubt we can cram the rest of Casey’s redemption arc into the movie alongside the invasion and time travel trauma shenanigans and leader drama. So in the meantime RR will continue to brood on rooftops in bad weather and listen to Ephemerality songs and monologue to himself because he knows nobody’s going to hear him over the incessant background noise that makes up the cities above and below.

I was a bit stumped about how that meeting would take place- the events of the finale (and possibly also the movie) would no doubt have both the human and yokai populations on high alert, making it dangerous for RR to slip away for some peace and quiet. But the events of the finale also gave us some insight on Raph’s powers; he has a way to leave without actually leaving!

Hardlight Clone Jutsu, baby!

So whenever HR finds himself in a particularly sour mood, a wisp of power winds its way up through the open-air portion of the lair and forms into a clone aboveground. HR doesn’t have to leave for a while to cool down before coming back and dealing with the situation calmly, because RR is already on a rooftop somewhere dissipating those bad feelings by listening to the rain and/or yeeting trash cans.

But mutants can’t freely walk the streets of New York, and the Hidden City Police probably still have it out for Raph. And someone, hero or villain, will eventually realize that Raph has a gloomy stray clone running around and ask questions that can’t be answered without cracking open the can of worms that is This Whole Situation. RR needs to get creative. That we’ve seen clones have both full color and the basic red/white palette suggests their color could be altered in other ways; and that the holo-form grew extra arms in the lair fight vs. the Shredder suggests their shape could also be changed further.

So what will he choose to look like, if not his body?

Obviously he’ll use a red and black color palette because it slaps, leaning more towards black since I compared him to Batman back in Part 1. A low-detail design makes it hard to identify him, giving onlookers the impression that they just couldn't see him well in the dark. Mentally filing down his spikes and decreasing the curve of his shell are easy enough, but it takes him a while to figure out five fingers instead of three, and there’s not much he can do about his voice other than lowering the pitch so he just opts to not talk much within earshot of others. A cape further disguises his silhouette and again, it slaps. The impression of a mask means he doesn’t need a face and it lets peoples’ assumptions work for him. Humans are more likely to think he’s human than a Very Human-Shaped Mutant, and yokai come in so many shapes as is that he could be anything from a witch to a dehydrated googlyschmootz.

(You know how it is with franchises. Old patterns repeating in new ways.)

New York City never sleeps, and I doubt the Hidden City does either. He’ll run into Casey eventually, but in the interim he stumbles across and intervenes in some attempted purse-snatchings and kidnappings and the like. Most of the would-be victims use his arrival as their chance to escape, but one of them is too frozen with fear to move until their attackers are chased off into the dark. He escorts them home, and it’s only once they’re at their doorstep that they work up the courage to ask him who he is.

It’s... a difficult question, in more ways than one. “Raph” is out of the question. “Red” isn’t quite right, and neither is “Angel”- they’re a tad too identifying still, and the R.A.P.H. thing was HR’s idea anyway. So he shrugs, and melts away into the shadows.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m Nobody.”

[lokigodofaces]

thoughts on loki ep 2: the variant (spoilers)

under cut to not disturb your scrolling

Overall I enjoyed so that's good

Uh frick my mind blanked so sorry if things are completely out of order

I don't know, I expected the renaissance fair to be 2012 or 2021 or 2024 (Loki's time, our time, current time in the "sacred timeline"). So I was genuinely surprised when it was in 1985.

Ok, i really like the title card thing. And how the year scrolls around. It's a nice aesthetic touch there.

I wonder why the female Loki variant chooses her locations? Does she have a thing for renaissance fairs, French cathedrals, and Oklahoma?

1985 is when Back to the Future came out. And it's y'know, one of the most popular time travel movies ever. So I think they chose that year as a reference.

Again, not liking that the minutemen only have numbers, not names. It is giving me lots of Clone Wars vibes. If you don't know anything about Clone Wars, the clones are given number identifiers by the Kaminoans. Things like CT-7567. The clones would give themselves names (CT-7567, for example, names himself Rex). A really good sign throughout the series that someone is a sketchy person is if they call the clones by their numbers. The clones don't want to be known as numbers. They are people too, they deserve names, so they come up with all sorts of creative names (Rex, Fives, Cody, Tup, Hevy, Hardcase, Echo, Waxer, Boil, Wolffe, Jesse, Kix, Fox, Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, Omega, Tech, Matchstick, etc). The jedi respect this, and the only jedi that i can think of that called clones by their numbers is Krell, who fell to the dark side. the Kaminoans and other sketchy people all call them by their numbers and the clones don't like it. A big focus of the show is on the clone's agency (at the end, they all have brain chips that take away their agency and force them to kill jedi), and how the clones need to be respected. So for me to see in another series that people are only given numbers is bad. What's worse is that the minutemen are fine with this. They don't see it as dehumanizing or belittling. They are brainwashed into being okay with it. Which says a thing or two about the Time Keepers.

did. did the renaissance fair really have Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" for their renaissance themed fight? Is this normal? Was it normal in the '80's? We saw later that the female Loki can do electronic stuff. Did she rig it to play it? For the vibes?

Also the stuff before the song was about fighting for a princess, and in the end she kidnaps C-20.

Okay, btw, I'm just gonna say Lady Loki for a while because no one has explicitly said Sylvie yet, so I'm going to refer to di Martino as Loki until she or another calls her Sylvie. Cool? Cool.

I was thinking the "Holding Out for a Hero" fight would be the roomba fight or something. It is such a good song that has huge potential for this genre. Why did they use it in a lame fight as that one?

When Lady Loki did the spell on C-20, it looked similar to what Wanda and Agatha can do. As in, it had similar visuals.

Loki reading a random magazine he finds while sitting with his feet on the desk bored out of his mind because he has to learn sh*t is a MOOD.

What is Miss Minutes? She can jump around anywhere, and pop into computers. But she can't be just a projection. She took the effort to dodge Loki swatting at her, so that may mean she was corporeal. She also could be something similar to the Kree's Supreme Intelligence?

So, did Mobius give Loki the shirt, tie, and slacks, but really didn't give him the jacket until they had to call him in? What? That makes no sense? Did the TVA not have any jackets with the variant label? Did someone have to custom design a jacket for Loki?

What is up with this show giving me things I wanted to see only in holographic form? First we saw Coulson's death, and now Loki in his Jotun form in a holograph of another variant.

Okay, Loki being someone the TVA has to constantly deal with is very on brand. Loki is a creature of chaos, of course he's going to unknowingly rebel against the sacred timeline.

Also, headcanon that the Jotun Loki we see is king of Jotunheim because that would be epic.

Also, for personal reasons I choose to believe there is a Loki variant that defeated the Avengers and immediately went queer rights.

Loki's reaction to there being many Loki variants. He's seen what his life is supposed to be. I think he is even more upset that the TVA often deals with him, that there are so many things that could have been instead if it weren't for the TVA and the "sacred timeline."

Also, I totally think Mobius was waiting for another Loki to show up to help him defeat Lady Loki. They get them so often, it makes sense.

Loki explaining the difference between illusion projection and duplication was great. And very helpful to me personally understanding lore. Also, Mobius, get your crap together. If you're a Loki expert, figure this stuff out.

Loki calling the TVA out on propaganda, we love that.

The wolf quote is actually very nice, I quite like it.

Okay, the TVA doesn't even bury or cremate or do any sort of ritual for their fallen minutemen, they just reset the timeline. Which to me seems like another way to show how little the TVA actually care for their workers.

There are statues of the Time Keepers in Ravonna's office. The camera pays extra attention to it. Keep reading for more about Time Keepers and cinematography choices.

What. What sort of relationship does Ravonna and Mobius have? What is going on there? I am really confused.

Who is this "analyst on the side?" What is going on there?

Ravonna is MEGA SUS. Along with that, the Time Keepers are mega sus.

She signs R. Slayer. Yeah. Slayer. Not at all subtle, Marvel. Letting us know that she'll do the deed if needed.

Mobius you are sending me mixed signals. What do you want?

Okay, Mobius saying Loki was a "cold, scared boy" and an "ice runt" and stuff was totally a jab at Loki being Jotun.

Mobius saying Loki is insecure because of Lady Loki is...probably true.

With the elevator, the camera stops and focuses on the Time Keepers.

The Creation of the TVA, the beginning of time, the end of time, all classified. That is sus.

Loki almost crying over Ragnarok was good. Let him cry over the destruction of his home.

Loki being the one to discover something the TVA had no idea about after a day is on brand for Loki. And it shows how the TVA really are vulnerable.

Mobius: Really? In front of my salad?

No but the object lesson was well done and actually did help me understand what Loki was talking about.

Casey! Casey drinks grape juice! Imagine how confusing this is for Casey though. Loki is captured, threatens to gut you like a fish (whatever that means), and now he's dressed like an analysist, stealing your juice box. Does Loki get Casey more juice?

Honestly, Loki looking at everything logically and scientifically is fantastic. Adds to the science = magic thing Marvel's got going on, since Loki is a sorcerer.

Loki saying volcanoes are cool is fun. I agree. Volcanoes mean the planet is geologically active, which means we won't die. Also, there is a volcano named Loki on one of Jupiter's moons. I wonder if the creators knew that and put Loki in Pompeii because he is already linked with volcanoes.

Mobius telling Loki to start off small and Loki completely disregarding that felt very personal to me.

Loki being absolutely chaotic and telling everyone they were going to die while speaking perfect Latin was iconic. I want more of that content. Let the man be buckwild.

Again, Loki finding something out after a day that the TVA never knew about is on brand.

"Be free, my horned friends, be free!" I love that way too much.

Mobius being obsessed with jet skis wasn't something I expected, but I'm down for it. Heck, even Loki admitted they were cool.

The discussion on beliefs is going to lead to saying the Time Keepers are bullcrap. Hopefully.

Grapes and nuts are "candy" on Asgard. So, when Loki was eating grapes in Ragnarok, we can interpret that as him eating M&Ms. Second, this might add to something I've seen around here. I've seen things about a book somewhere with Loki saying chocolate fountains are mythical (which is really funny to me). So, I guess Asgard really doesn't have chocolate.

Oh my gosh, so many apocalypses between 2047 and 2051...hopefully none of those happen in real life.

Roxxcart is probably part of Roxxon, something that has been around in Iron Man movies.

Lady Loki got the shovel thing from Roxxcart that she left in Oklahoma! The minutemen said it was from the early third millenia, which is where we are now! 2050 also fits that category!

I saw something about the file saying Class 8 hurricane...there are only 5 classes...which means this is a crazy storm.

Does B-15 want Loki dead? This is a legitimate question, because I think she does. Dead or pruned.

Loki looking around at the storm, I love it. This could be him loving science, or him missing Thor, since Thor creates storms. Also, at this point Loki probably things Thor dies shortly after him in the sacred timeline, so Loki would be particularly sentimental about Thor.

I love Loki drying himself off and not anyone else. And B-15 yelling about his magic. And Loki's motions are so fluid, it's so aesthetically pleasing, I love it.

Dudes, I thought B-15 was going to try to prune Loki when they were alone.

Okay, was Lady Loki bsing about the azalea sale, or does Roxxcart actually do that? I want to know.

Wunmi Mosaku did a really good job as Lady Loki, I loved it.

Loki being annoyed at Lady Loki and saying he understood how Thor felt, does that insinuate Loki can do what Lady Loki was doing?

B-15 and C-20 were both very shaken after being possessed by Lady Loki. I wonder how that felt for them? We've had different explanations of mind control/brainwashing/similar from Clint, Bucky, Daisy, Mack, Fitz, and Monica in the MCU (including AoS). I wonder what is specific to Lady Loki's possession.

C-20 kept going on about something being real. What was that about?

C-20 revealed the location of the Time Keepers to Lady Loki!

Lady Loki not wanting to be called Loki could be a sign she is Sylvie.

There's something weird where Loki's voice echoed around while the camera focused on Lady Loki. Maybe she's telepathic?

Someone needs to keep a tracker on people telling Loki this isn't his story in a show literally about him.

But, that does add to themes for his life, and how everything was always about someone else in his life. He was always a supporting character for Thor, for Odin, for Thanos. Now, even in his own story, everyone insists he doesn't matter.

I was wondering what the reset charges would be used for. I wasn't expecting a massive bombing of the sacred timeline! Wow! That was unexpected and I loved it!

Okay, this isn't from me, this is from New Rockstars. But to list all the places mentioned on chronomonitors, either bombed or not: Knowhere, Barcelona, Niflheim, Dartford, Phong Nha, Lisbon, Vormir, Thorton, Cookeville, Asgard, Rome, Sakaar, Barichara, Porvoo, Ego, Titan, New York City, Tokyo, Hala, Kingsport, Xandar, Beijing, Madrid, Portland, Jotunheim. Bolded are other planets. Those are almost all the planets visited in the MCU. So fun easter eggs there!

I like Lady Loki's aesthetic. The fingerless gloves, the cloak, I love it. And YES SHE ISN'T SEXUALIZED. So many genderbent characters are excuses to sexualize women. But Lady Loki is just as covered as the male Lokis.

Lady Loki just...left the time door open for Loki to follow...for a really long time...I'm worried he's running into a trap.

What is Loki going to do now?

Theory time y'alls: Lady Loki bombed the sacred timeline to flush the minutemen out of the TVA, leaving it defenseless. And she's gonna go after the Time Keepers themselves. We know she gets into the TVA from trailer footage, and that's what I think we're gonna see next episode. I think she (like the Loki we are following) is upset over the lack of free will, and she plans to change that. That's why she wasn't interested in helping Loki "take over" the TVA, because she doesn't want to become the leader of a new TVA, she wants it destroyed.

Alright, back to the Time Keepers stuff. They keep focusing on the middle Time Keeper. Even in the end credits they have a weird cut to focus directly on his face. I'm not 100% on this, but I like this theory. That face is similar to Jonathan Major's, the actor confirmed to be Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Kang is a well known time travelling villain in Marvel. Maybe he is Kang, and is using variant versions of himself (that's a Kang thing in the comics) to mess with the timeline, and no one expects that from him. Also, Renslayer was his S/O for a bit in the comics, and they keep framing her in front of that one Time Keeper's face. I feel like this would be a good way to set up Quantumania and to show how sus the Time Keepers are.

Also, Loki was absolutely adorable the entire episode. And he got to sleep! Yay for him!

Again, I enjoyed, and can't wait for next week!

[kindrednerdspirit]

Sometimes a Thing Feels so Right: Part 5

Excerpt: A slow smile spreads across Izzie’s face. “This time, I’m ready to broadcast our business.” “Oh yeah?” Casey murmurs. “Pretty sure we’ve already done that.” The curve of Izzie’s lips makes it hard for Casey to think about anything else, so she inches closer until their foreheads touch. The two giggle as they re-live the forehead promise from their not-so-distant past. To draw out the moment, Casey gently rocks her temples against Izzie’s, enjoying how tantalizingly close their lips are.

One Block Later. The Library.

When Izzie walks into the library for the student council meeting, she’s pleased to see Mel is early, too.

Mel looks up from her notebook. “Hey. I know we already have the safe space posters printed and ready to hang up, but I have some ideas for future designs. And ideas for other ways we can make Clayton Prep an LGBTQ+ friendly place.” 

“Great! Hold that thought.” Izzie quickly texts Jason to check up on him.

Hi Jase. Did mum help you and Alysha get ready for school?

The two girls jump into it. They’re about 15 minutes into their work when Harmony and Scarlet show up.

“Wow, you’re early!” Scarlet exclaims, looking at the girls. Izzie shrugs and keeps working. Scarlet scrutinizes her as she makes her way over to the table. Her eyes burn into Izzie, making it hard for her to concentrate.

“What?” She asks, her voice a bit too sharp.

“Your energy feels different, that’s all.” Scarlet ignores Izzie’s tone, continuing her visual inspection. “Did you hear anything else from Brad?”

The pen in Izzie’s hand stops in its tracks. The last people she wants to hear about are Brad or Nate or some other guy she cannot care less about. In the past, she’s repeatedly made this clear, but these two are relentless. Izzie sighs, because she knows It’s time to go public. Before she can change her mind, she looks directly at Harmony and Scarlet and straightens her back, so she’s not slouching in her chair.  “You know that I think Nate and Brad are assholes and I’m tired of repeating myself… so, I’m hoping you’ll listen to this--I’m gay.”

Harmony’s eyes widen and repeatedly blink. Scarlet doesn’t look much different than Harmony, but she’s able to form some words.

“Oh, shit, Izzie. I--we didn’t know.” A long silence fills the library. “Sorry.”

To her right, Mel shifts in her seat, but despite everything, Izzie feels fine. Actually, she feels an odd sense of relief. She realizes she rarely sees Scarlet uncomfortable, so she decides to enjoy the moment.

“Damn, you two, nobody died. I like girls, it’s cool.” Izzie looks over at Mel and the two burst out laughing. “We have to go ladies, but no hard feelings. Really.”

The two girls take their LGBTQ+ posters and leave, so they can start hanging them up in the hallways. Meanwhile, Harmony and Scarlet find themselves alone and digesting the news.

“Do you think her and Casey--” asks Harmony.

“Yes,” replies Scarlet with a firm nod.

“So, we probably shouldn’t have written ‘slut’ and ‘ho’ on her shoes then--”

“No, we shouldn’t have,” she says with a firm head shake.

Harmony inches her hand toward Scarlet’s. “Should we--”

The warmth of Harmony’s hand startles her, making her quickly pull away. “No.”

Concern clouds over Harmony’s face. “Should I--”

“Yes.” Scarlet replies a bit too quickly. She forces herself to look at the wall, anywhere but her friend. In a flash, Harmony grabs her notebook and pencil case, then scurries out of the library.

Break Between Classes. In the Hallway.

“I can’t reach any higher.” Izzie protests while on her tippy toes. She’s holding a stapler with an outstretched arm.

Mel is holding the safe space poster with ease against the bulletin board. “Would you like me to find you a box?”

“Haha. Very funny.” Iz rolls her eyes. “But, yes, a box would help.”

With a grin Mel takes the stapler from Izzie. “Or, you know, I can do this and you can hold the posters.” She proceeds to staple the top right-hand edge of the poster. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots Casey walking down the hallway.

“Yo, Izzie. Casey 4 o’clock.”

At the sight of Newton, Izzie sucks in a quick breath. This is her chance. “Here, Mel. Hold these or something.” Izzie drops the small stack of posters on the ground and whirls around to face Casey’s direction. Her body is shaking as she tries to find the right words.

“Hey. Can we talk?” Izzie’s voice quavers.

“Nope,” Casey replies firmly.

“I’m sorry.” Iz follows Newton to her locker, while Newton aggressively puts in the lock combination.

“I'm sick of you apologizing. You led me on, you're jerking me around. I hate it.”

“I really like you.”

Her pleading and stating the obvious irks Casey even more. “Yeah, in this moment, but in ten minutes, you might be embarrassed by me or kissing some random guy. Just leave me alone.” She slams the locker door, then abruptly turns and starts marching down the hallway.

“Newton!” Izzie is on Casey’s heels. “Will you stop for two seconds so I can explain?” 

It’s as if Casey is seeing red. She’s exhausted from avoiding Izzie at track this morning, nevermind what is currently happening. Needless to say, when she turns to face Izzie, she is done with this conversation.

“What?” Her brow is furrowed, but when she notices Izzie’s close proximity, her eyes soften.

They are close enough for their bare legs to touch. One of the few perks of a Clayton Prep skirt. Izzie hovers close before dipping her chin up. “I’m done being weird,” she murmurs. Casey’s heart is practically bursting as she watches Izzie’s lips part. It’s deja vu of the dance. The two of them in the exact same position with their lips close, but it’s different this time. This time, Izzie initiates. But like before, time slows as the two enjoy one another’s presence and touch. Their legs gently bump together as their arms intertwine.

Her lips taste delicious, like soft, warm vanilla beans. Exactly how Casey remembers. She brushes away a strand of Izzie’s hair after pulling away. Their eyes are locked on one another, a happy glow emitting from the couple. 

Izzie hasn’t felt this good in weeks, not since the dance. She figured she’d feel self-conscious after kissing Casey in front of everyone in the hallway, instead she feels fine. More than fine, even. There��s a strange sense of pride. She’s happy to show off what she has with Newton to Clayton Prep.

“That was pretty weird.” A dumbstruck grin spreads across Casey’s face. This is not what she imagined happening during her walk from Biology to English. She’s still wondering whether the last few minutes actually happened.

Doubt sets in at Newton’s response. Izzie feels her inexperience showing. Was the kiss okay? Did Newton feel the same?

“Bad weird?” She tentatively asks.

Casey just chuckles and throws an arm around Izzie’s shoulders, leading her toward their next class.

“I have so much to tell you!” 

Iz giggles, ecstatic to have her girlfriend holding her close, to have her favourite person back.

“First of all, I told my dad that I love you.” Casey feels her body being pulled back, as Izzie’s feet stop moving. Her eyebrows shoot up as she struggles to find the words.

“Wow, Newton, I--”

“But he thought I meant as a friend.” The two girls laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. “I would’ve corrected him but.. I wasn’t sure about us.” There’s an uncomfortable silence for a few beats. Iz presses her hand firmly against Newton’s. 

“You can be sure about us.”

A Few Weeks Later. Getting Ready for the School Dance. Gardner’s House.

When Casey walks down the stairs in her 1980s-style yellow and black patterned button-up shirt with black suspenders, Elsa feels a surge of pride in her daughter. She cannot restrain herself, she has to throw her arms around her girl and squeeze tight.

“I’m so proud of you!” Casey’s outfit matches the 1980s theme of Clayton Prep’s dance, and it’s reminding Elsa of her first high school dance with its overabundance of neon, big hair, and hormones.

“Mum!” Casey protests with an eye roll. “It’s not like it’s prom or grad, it’s just a dance. Or what you kids used to call it, sock hops.” She’s waiting in the living room, so she can make a quick escape with Izzie when she shows up.

Elsa is now leaning on Doug, enjoying the moment, ignoring her daughter’s teasing. “Can you believe that our youngest is going to her first dance with her first girlfriend?” Her eyes are starting to water. Doug pulls Elsa in with one arm, so her chin is resting on his shoulders. 

“They grow up fast.” He says quietly enough so only Elsa hears.

By this point, Casey has noticed the water works are starting, so she wanders over to Sam who’s sitting on the couch sketching. She gets all up in his personal space by resting her chin on his shoulders. There’s no hesitation or pause in the pencil’s movements. It’s as if Casey isn’t even there.

Ding-dong.

Within seconds, Casey is flinging open the door. She needs a quick exit to escape from the Elsa paparazzi. Except that as soon as she sees Izzie, the quick exit gets scratched. Izzie is wearing a denim jumper, somewhat similar to her own, but more stylized with buttons and rolled up sleeves. Her ears are adorned with her usual hoop earrings, but she’s paired them with a Boy George inspired hat.

A sheepish smile spreads across her face. “Hey, Newton.” She peers around her girlfriend to look at the Gardner family. “Hi Gardners!”

There’s a flurry as Elsa ushers Izzie and Casey inside. “You girls look so cute! Come in, I just want to take a few pictures.”

Casey gives Izzie an apologetic look, but of course, Izzie doesn’t mind. It’s kind-of nice seeing Casey’s family wanting to document and remember this moment. There are pictures taken of them as a couple, then they move on to taking some pictures of the Gardner family.

Sam pauses while Elsa is taking one of him and Casey.

“Are you and Izzie more serious than you and Evan?” His question is genuine.

“Dude, what the hell?” Casey exclaims before glancing over at Izzie. Izzie laughs, not bothered by his question.

“I need another person to go to for advice, like Evan, but I don’t know if I should expect your relationship status to change.”

Casey playfully punches her brother’s shoulder.

“Ow!” His face is scrunched up. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I’m your sister. It’s basically my duty to communicate with you in annoying ways.” Casey walks over to Izzie, wraps her arm around her, then pulls her in for a kiss on the cheek. “I can’t say she’ll give you advice, weirdo, but she’ll be around for awhile.”

***

Synthesizers and dreamy British, New Wave sounds fill the gymnasium. There is a lot of neon, big hair, hormones, and bright lights on the polished gym floor. Izzie stretches out her arm, holding up an inviting palm to Newton. A slow, confident smile spreads across Casey’s face before she takes Izzie’s hand.

“You look…” Her brain is at a sudden loss for words.

“You too.” Izzie finishes her sentence, then promptly blushes before looking at her feet.

“C’mon, let’s show these Clayton Prep losers how to dance.” Casey proceeds to reach into her pocket and pull out fingerless gloves. Izzie’s eyebrows shoot up. 

“I got them from Elsa’s closet.” 

“My girlfriend is unbelievably cool.” Iz says with a wink before placing Newton’s fingerless-gloved hands around her waist. “Hold Me” by Fleetwood Mac begins playing from the speakers. In response, Casey pumps a fist in excitement and carefully but skillfully dips Izzie with her other arm. 

“The power of the fingerless gloves.” She giggles.

“And you think Sam’s a weirdo?” Iz smirks.

The two begin Snoopy dancing to the upbeat piano and guitar licks. Elsewhere, Harmony and Scarlet are dancing suspiciously close, while Mel is talking up some girls at the punch bar. Despite the entire student body surrounding her, Iz doesn’t feel self-conscious at all. She’s just happy she’s no longer hiding anything.

“Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper begins playing, so the girls ditch the Peanuts-inspired dancing. Izzie cannot help but think of the hotel party as the familiar electricity between them pulls their bodies together. Her hands slip around the small of Newton’s back as their bodies rhythmically sway together.

A slow smile spreads across Izzie’s face. “This time, I’m ready to broadcast our business.” 

“Oh yeah?” Casey murmurs. “Pretty sure we’ve already done that.” The curve of Izzie’s lips makes it hard for Casey to think about anything else, so she inches closer until their foreheads touch. The two giggle as they re-live the forehead promise from their not-so-distant past. To draw out the moment, Casey gently rocks her temples against Izzie’s, enjoying how tantalizingly close their lips are.

Iz bites her lip. She wants to resist the urge to taste Newton, but her deliciously warm lips are too inviting. Goosebumps appear on her goosebumps. She feels the familiar tingly feeling that only Newton has ever given her. She could get used to this. This whole being happy at school, time away from her home responsibilities, being comfortable with her identity. Iz feels the remaining tension in her body loosen and the warmth of Newton’s arms around her. She feels safe in her embrace. Neither wants to let go, so they continue moving back and forth, as one, with their foreheads pressed together well after the song ends.

The End

[prettylittlebrownskingyal]

Anime recs (some of my personal faves, not the public opinion, obviously):

About sports:

-Haikyuu (I am caught all the way up to season 4 and I have never been more passionate about volleyball in my life, not even when I played it)

-Run the Wind (it's about running but also...friendship? and motivation to follow your dreams?? I mostly just recall relating to some of the lazier characters and sensing the brotherhood vibes. It feels slow at first, but if you get invested you realize that you've binged the whole thing.)

-Free! & Free! Eternal Summer (you wanna get emotional attached to a bunch of teenage swimmers? I don't know why all these sports animes are about guy groups, but here's one about some divas -I mean swimmers. Quite the lil quaint group of nuggets, I gotta tell ya.)

About magic/supernatural

-Sailor Moon (need I say more? She's our queen and we are never too old to watch her steadily turn from crybaby to warrior of the people. If you know, you know. FIGHTING EVEIL BY MOONLIGHT-!!)

-Avatar: the Last Airbender (technically counts as an anime. Holds my entire childhood, every personality trait I have...for sure came from characters in this show. Iconic. Never loses its charms. Lots of magical realism that is centered on the natural elements of the planet, some spiritualism too. Appa is reason enough to watch this show.)

-Legend of Korra (technically a sequel storyline to Avatar: the Last Airbender, but...it's SO DIFFE R E NT. I was at first put off by my lack of OG characters, but there are so many references embedded in there, and you get to meet everybody's kids and grandkids. Also Korra? The embodiment of female pride and power, nothing will forsake her for long. Kinda STRESSFUL how many obstacles the writers create in a single season...let alone 4.)

-Inuyasha (on oldie but a goodie. Technically the first anime I ever saw...*sigh* ah youth...Anyway, it'sset in feudal Japan, but there's time travel so you won't feel too out of place. There are of course demons and magical priestesses and demon hunters and cranky, frankly exhausted, old women. Has a quality plot line and great characters. There is a new sequel show airing about the future of the characters and their bloodlines, I've only seen an episode or two but the nostalgia alone made me want to weep.)

-Fairy Tail (a CLASSIC. It has magic and dragons and FAERIES and found family and is so loveably chaotic, also: hype af fight scenes)

-Soul Eater (another chaotic group of teens that fight impossible battles, the intro music always hits hard for nO rEASON, a little more blood and angst but not like not enough to cancel out the immense joy/annoyance that is Excalibur)

-Noragami (a new take on the concept of how gods are created, sad boi hours have started, wholesome main characters, the graphics are beautiful, some of the monsters can be a tad creepy - but I'm a wimp so it could just be me)

-Bungou Stray Dogs (I HAVE ADOPTED ATSUSHI. HE IS MY SON NOW, THANK YOU FOR COMING. The art style is one I enjoy, very crisp lines and a good variation in character designs. The protagonist is named Atsushi and he is a golden child who must be protected yet allowed to flourish at all times. There is detective work, some great fights, lots of random character flaws, OH and honey the story line is TWISTY!!)

-My Hero Academia/Boko no Hero Academia (this is the show where my broccoli son goes THROUGH IT literally the WHOLE TIME. A great story of the underdog, and the variety of characters and powers are...*chef's kiss*, makes me want to lowkey live in this universe but the amount of villians... gurl it'stoo much for my weak heart smh)

- Cannon Busters (okay, so I know people have mixed opinions on this one. Lemme say this: the intro and outro SLAP, point blank periodtt. The characters are diverse in color and abilities, it's like wild west meets technofuture meets medieval magic war times. The plotline is very all over the place, but hey it's the journey right. If you don't love SAM and Casey by the end of episode 1 you're doing it wrong.)

-BNA: Brand New Animal (the art style is so freaking cool yet cute we luv to see it. The world building is pretty good, basically it'slike Zootopia, but there are way more issues with this island o animals that have a human form half the time. Our main character is determined and just a tad naive, there is a wolf man with a pet crow and we're all okay with that)

-Sirius the Jaegar (straight up, I have no idea how my sister and I binged the whole show in like 2 days, but we did. Great fight scenes, the is blood but... that's because there are vampire-esque creatures also. The main character's childhood got done dirty, but go off on your origin story I guess.)

About slice of life:

- My Little Monster/Tonari no Kaibustu-kun (a wholesome high school romance with oddballs left and right, but you just wanna root for 'em y'know? A good wind down show. There's a chicken in it.)

- (Kaichou wa) Maid-Sama (an unconventional and lowkey erratic main heroine, the love interest seems weird but you'll adore him by the end, just simple high school shenanigans with ridiculously dramatic conflicts)

Phew, that was kinda long 😓 but those are just some animes that I have watched thoroughly off the top off my head to give you a good variety of options. Let me know if you already have seem any of these. Hope this helps you fight off boredom and repetition. Please tell me your faves, I love hearing about new shows!! 🤩 (And btw, my sleep patterns wrecked, I've been going to sleep at like 3AM 😅 Hahaha, send help.)

love love LOVE THIS!! Thank you for sharing babe ❤️❤️❤️ i actually haven’t watched that much anime so i’m glad to get a rundown on some good recs!

also!! i feel u!! team no sleep ftw

[tiffgeorgina]

what did you think of the new episode???

OH LORD i had a lotttt of thoughts on this episode, understandably. CONTENT WARNING FOR DISCUSSIONS OF SUICIDE AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THIS POST (it’s a long paragraph). also obviously spoiler warning for 2x08.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255

please reach out to somebody if you’re feeling distressed after this episode, or if you or a loved one is considering self harm or suicide. im always here if you need somebody to vent or talk to. i love you all and i would be devastated if anything happened to any of you. 

anyways, episode discussion below:

-first of all, the corgina scene at the very beginning was PRICELESS. tiff and corkie had it DOWN until tiff lost her cool. i was DYING. casey wilson invented the word “fuck.”

-marcus/dawn and connie/mo double date. this whole scene had me CACKLING. marcus being such a comrade was not at all what i expected. the three-on-one connie smackdown i could not BREATHE. also includes classic moments such as “we’re doing black shit right now keith” and regina stealing every scene she’s in. also WOMEN xosha roquemore (connie) in dark lipstick is the best part of s2 prove me wrong

-also kind of out of order but dawn calling mo her best friend did not sit right... like in my soul. it’s like inherently wrong. so STRANGE to hear her say that.

-but connie sucks at being subtle lmfao dawn was not having any of that 

-“i can’t vote. im a felon” just out of nowhere GOD. and the fact that that’s the first time dawn’s learning that mo went to prison is fucked up. i’ve never seen a woman want a man to shut up so badly, and i’ve never been so glad that said man did not shut up lmfao

-tiff and blair’s apartment looks so good yes god!! also this season keeps referencing blair’s parents and it’s kind of putting me on edge. especially since next episode is “blair [being] forced to revisit his past.” on another note, andrew’s voice in this scene is SO FUNNY. you can tell he’s a voice actor i think

-also like we knew blair was into older men but now we like know lmfao. the richard gere jokes had LAYERS these writers outsold

-ok blair&tiff’s relationship... yikes. i cannot tell what the writers want their relationship to be. are they unhealthy and toxic and bad to each other? or are they platonic soulmates and life partners? make up your MIND, showtime.

-DON’T INFANTILIZE THE CUP BYE KJDFHGDFKJ

-first blarris scene was TENSE. acting good

-the confirmation that roger has kids... i mean i suspected it from the moment tuc’s character was announced in september but it makes the ending so much more painful. i KNOW that’s the only reason why they pushed the fact that the harrises are parents in this episode, bc it was never confirmed earlier.

-i hate how funny michael hitchcock is. im trying to hate newell but im laughing. why are his lines so funny who wrote this. 

-the sound design in this episode was a lot to take in. the music was intense asf and it stays intense throughout the whole ep

-keith cracking onto blair and trying to reconcile with him bc he’s feeling empathetic but blair shutting him down... can’t say keith doesn’t deserve it but i would’ve loved to have seen keith and blair just talk about being closeted and having affairs and shit.

-THE TRUMP CHILDREN LMFAOOOO they all look so smug the casting was great this ep

-mo shit talking connie TO HER FACE bc he knows connie can’t give up the act... fucking priceless i love to see it acab

-dawnroe physical contact hhhhh can you tell im rewatching this ep as i type this

-the wording on the “you’re with the FBI?” line is so perfect. bc it makes it totally sound like dawn’s onto mo and connie when really she’s just like “you’re siding with the FBI bitch?” highkey genius line

-posted this too early by accident oops. im still editing im not done yet lmfao

-MARCUS MO AND DAWN SAID ACAB FUCK YES

-ROGER GRABBING BLAIR’S HAND I AM ASCENDING. i knew about the hand holding scene there but i didn’t think roger would initiate it <3

-roger nearly kissing blair :’/

-LORD the trump children are little shits god

-daddy says it makes me look hot. you mean cute? ...no.

-oh GOD not this blarris scene. i like to believe that a gay person generally wouldn’t threaten to out another gay person on principle, but blair has shown how shitty of a person he's become all season. i hate it and it’s still ooc but i’ve seen worse on this show tbh.

-roger’s got a point, if he supports his campaign fund manager right off the bat, he’ll look like a total fraud and his career will be over. the fact that blair barely gives a shit really speaks to what his character has become. “fuck them” what a classic line

-ANDREW’S ACTING!!! his voice when he says “you use me” ugh i felt that in my chest. plus roger looking away after he says that... i mean god this cast is so talented

-blair snapping god. he’s got a point, he and roger have been dysfunctional asf all season. doesn’t justify threatening to out somebody AT ALL but finally hearing some emotion out of blair, a little bit of anger and frustration, it’s refreshing.

-does “who are you, blair?” count as a parallel to “who are you, pfaff?” from 1x01?

-blair outing roger to newell... yikes. again ooc and bad. blair’s a shitty guy but we’ve seen him have empathy before, even in s2. why would they make him do this i don’t get it.

-keith finding out about lenny is good. maybe something will finally come of this arc?

-parallel to 2x02 with blair mentioning his mom’s phrase, cool. probably gearing us up for more references to his parents next ep, culminating in a flashback to his childhood in 2x10.

-this scene where the trump kids are destroying everything is classic. you can genuinely tell that everybody there was having so much fun shooting that. idk, it’s nice.

-trump reveal HA what a great end to that scene

-keith coming by and fucking everything up... i mean i guess everybody KNOWS now. dawn/marcus is over (good) and dawn is probably right pissed at mo rn. but hey, fuck em all resurgence!!! ive been waiting for it and now it’s here!

-im scared, what’s connie gonna do? fuck cops

-“that’s a long way to go just to get a dig in” “it was a stretch but-” see what happens when you’re a narc? you lose your wit :/ sad! nice exit line from connie tho

-CW SUICIDE MENTION. ok time to talk about what definitely needs to be talked about. god this has had my chest hurting all day yesterday. i knew blarris would be outed eventually bc sho likes to milk every plot point for every bit of drama they can get out of it, but i did not expect roger to take his life. and blair finding him is just devastating. i said this on twt, but the fact that somebody could be so overwhelmed with internalized homophobia that being outed could cause them to commit suicide is so incredibly and deeply sad to me. i’ve been crying for a while over that fact. 

im just. im really sad. i’ve connected so much with these characters over the past two-ish years and this is such a devastating turn of events. i have no words. it isn’t bad writing or ooc by any means, it’s just so extremely and incredibly sad. there are probably thousands of people who have been in roger’s exact position before, and the realism really hits me hard. i can’t put into words how overwhelming sad this makes me. 

also pretty upset that this came as a COMPLETE shock to me and all my friends. we all watched on the sho streaming service, which did not have the “viewer discretion advised” card before the ep. the premier did, but the episode on the app did not. i really REALLY wish they had added that before i had seen the episode so i could prepare myself, even if just slightly. also wish they had added a suicide hotline number at the end. 

seeing blair grieve his loss is going to hurt but it’s probably going to give us closure too. i think about this show all the time, and now thinking about it makes me so overwhelmingly sad. i sound dramatic but this show has been with me for so long. not being able to see much of blair’s reaction beside the initial shock has been haunting me. im so scared for what the future episodes are going to bring.

thank you for reading, i love you all <3

[jackdawyt]

Following Jason Schreier's continued BioWare story, we have direct insight from many BioWare employees regarding the initial Dragon Age 4 BioWare were going to create code named 'Joplin' and envisioned by Mike Laidlaw, against the now in production Dragon Age project that has been code named 'Morrison'.  

Last time we talked about both projects - Joplin and Morrison, equally named after their respected music artists who died at the age of 27, but were both known for revolutionizing their respected industry.

This latest report examines everything that Joplin was going to be regarding the future of the next Dragon Age title.

Let's now delve into the potential game that Dragon Age 4 initially was going to be, before it was rebooted for Anthem and Andromeda's developments.

As I quote:

The plan for Joplin was exciting, say people who worked on it. First and foremost, they already had many tools and production pipelines in place after Inquisition, ones that they hoped to improve and continue using for this new project.

They committed to prototyping ideas early and often, testing as quickly as possible rather than waiting until everything was on fire, as they had done the last time thanks to the glut of people and Frostbite’s difficulties.

“Everyone in project leadership agreed that we couldn’t do that again, and worked to avoid the kind of things that had led to problems,” said one person who worked on the project, explaining that some of the big changes included:

1) Laying down a clear vision as early as possible.

2) Maintaining regular on-boarding documents and procedures so new team members could get up to speed fast; and

3) A decision-making mentality where “we acknowledged that making the second-best choice was far, far better than not deciding and letting ambiguity stick around while people waited for a decision.”

(That person, like all of the sources for this story, spoke under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about their experiences.)

Prepare the tears for this next quote guys....

Another former BioWare developer who worked on Joplin called it “some of the best work experiences” they’d ever had. “We were working towards something very cool, a hugely reactive game, smaller in scope than Dragon Age: Inquisition but much larger in player choice, followers, reactivity, and depth,” they said. “I’m sad that game will never get made.”

You’d play as a group of spies in Tevinter Imperium, a wizard-ruled country on the north end of Dragon Age’s main continent, Thedas. The goal was to focus as much as possible on choice and consequence, with smaller areas and fewer fetch quests than Dragon Age: Inquisition.

(In other words, they wanted Joplin to be the opposite of the Hinterlands.) There was an emphasis on “repeat play,” one developer said, noting that they wanted to make areas that changed over time and missions that branched in interesting ways based on your decisions, to the point where you could even get “non-standard game overs” if you followed certain paths.

A large chunk of Joplin would center on heists. The developers talked about building systemic narrative mechanics, allowing the player to perform actions like persuading or extorting guards without the writers having to hand-craft every scene.

It was all very ambitious and very early, and would have no doubt changed drastically once Joplin entered production, but members of the team say they were thrilled about the possibilities.

The first big hiccup came in late 2016, when BioWare put Joplin on hold and moved the entire team onto the troubled Mass Effect: Andromeda, which needed as many hands as possible during its final months of development.

The Joplin team expanded with people who were rolling off Andromeda and kept working, prototyping, and designing the game. After spending months of their lives helping finish a Mass Effect that didn’t excite a ton of people, it was nice to return to Dragon Age.

One thing that wasn’t discussed much on Joplin was multiplayer, according to a few people who worked on the project, which is perhaps why the project couldn’t last.

By the latter half of 2017, Anthem was in real trouble, and there was concern that it might never be finished unless the studio did something drastic.

In October of 2017, not long after veteran Mass Effect director Casey Hudson returned to the studio to take over as general manager, EA and BioWare took that drastic action, canceling Joplin and moving the bulk of its staff, including executive producer Mark Darrah, onto Anthem.

A tiny team stuck around to work on a brand new Dragon Age 4, code-named Morrison, that would be built on Anthem’s tools and code base. It’s the game being made now. Unlike Joplin, this new version of the fourth Dragon Age is planned with a live service component, built for long-term gameplay and revenue.

One promise from management, according to a developer, was that in EA’s balance sheet, they’d be starting from scratch and not burdened with the two years of money that Joplin had already spent. Question was, how many of those ideas and prototypes would they use?

It’s not clear how much of Joplin’s vision will shape Morrison (at least some of it will, says one person on the game), but shortly after the reboot, creative director Mike Laidlaw left, as did some other veteran Dragon Agestaff.

Matt Goldman, art director on Dragon Age: Inquisition and then Joplin, took over as creative director for Morrison, while Darrah remained executive producer on both that project and Anthem.

In early 2018, when I first reported that BioWare had rebooted the next Dragon Age and that its replacement would be a live service game, studio GM Casey Hudson responded on Twitter.

“Reading lots of feedback regarding Dragon Age, and I think you’ll be relieved to see what the team is working on. Story & character focused. Too early to talk details, but when we talk about ‘live’ it just means designing a game for continued storytelling after the main story.”

The game is still very early in development and could evolve based on the negative reception to Anthem. Rumor among BioWare circles for the past year has been that Morrison is “Anthem with dragons”—a snarky label conveyed to me by several people—but a couple of current BioWare employees have waved me off that description.

“The idea was that Anthem would be the online game and that Dragon Age and Mass Effect, while they may experiment with online portions, that’s not what defines them as franchises,” said one. “I don’t think you’ll see us completely change those franchises.”

When asked, a few BioWare developers agreed that it’d be technically possible for a game built on Anthem’s codebase to also have an offline branch, but it’s not yet clear whether Morrison will take that approach. If it does turn out to be an online game, which seems likely, it would be shocking if you couldn’t play the bulk of it by yourself.

(Diablo III, for example, is online-only on PC yet can be played entirely solo.)

One person close to the game told me this week that Morrison’s critical path, or main story, would be designed for single-player and that goal of the multiplayer elements would be to keep people engaged so that they would actually stick with post-launch content.

Single-player downloadable content like Dragon Age: Inquisition’s Trespasser, while often excellent, typically sells only a fraction of the main game, according to developers from BioWare and elsewhere across the industry.

Yet this wouldn’t be a “live service” game if it was a repeat of Dragon Age: Inquisition, which compartmentalized its single- and multiplayer modes.

Fans in the past have grown outraged at the idea of BioWare putting a lot of emphasis on multiplayer gaming, but there are ways in which a service-heavy Dragon Age 4 could be ambitious and impressive.

For example, some ideas I’ve heard floated for Morrison’s multiplayer include companions that can be controlled by multiple players via drop-in/drop-out co-op, similar to old-school BioWare RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, and quests that could change based not just on one player’s decisions, but on the choices of players across the globe.

Maybe in two or three years, Morrison will look completely different. It’s not like Dragon Age hasn’t changed drastically in the past. In the office, BioWare developers often refer to Mark Darrah’s Dragon Age team as a pirate ship, one that will eventually wind up at its destination, but not before meandering from port to port, drinking as much rum as possible along the way.

His is a team that, in the past, has iterated and changed direction constantly—something that they hoped to cut down for Joplin, but has always been part of their DNA (and, it should be noted, heavy iteration is common in all game development).

One BioWare employee summed it up well as we talked about the future of BioWare’s fantasy franchise. “Keep in mind,” they said, “Dragon Age games shift more than other games.

”Said another current BioWare employee about Morrison: “They have a lot of unanswered questions. Plus I know it’s going to change like five times in the next two years.”

There are other questions remaining, too: With BioWare’s Austin office gradually taking over Anthem going forward, when will the bulk of employees at the company’s Edmonton HQ move to the Morrison team?

Will Morrison be able to avoid following the lead of Dragon Age: Inquisition, which took on too many people too early and wound up suffering as a result?

And, most important, will BioWare work to prevent the burnout that has led to dozens of developers leaving over the past two years, with so many citing stress, depression, and anxiety?

End of article, so my thoughts on this, of course, I have my worries especially regarding the multiplayer part, it was to my knowledge that there is a separate Dragon Age team working on the multiplayer component completely estranged from the core team.

I hope that this is still the case, however, it's EA that're the ones who plaque BioWare to incorporate multiplayer and live-service.  

Honestly the biggest concern here is how much of Joplin's original vision and resources are going to be put into Morrison's production, because the description of Joplin is everything I've wanted in a Dragon Age game following from Inquisition.

To hear that this initial game has been canned is heart-wrenching, any signs of Joplin's ashes in Morrison is all I can hope for.

Hope is all we really have right now regarding the future of Dragon Age, and don't forget Mass Effect, which is also going to affected by this too.

Of course, I have my worries. But I am hopeful for what the Dragon Age team can do, and I feel to fear when we still haven't seen the game yet is a little blind-sighted. Who knows when we will see or hear anything, I imagine we may see something on EA Play's live-streams next June, just before E3, but honestly, I'm not sure!

The next Dragon Age project is expected to release within 2-3 years from now, all we can hope for next is a reveal of some-sorts, like a title or development update.

It would be incredible if BioWare could come out and share some insight on what the heck is going on with the next Dragon Age, like a development diary which they did with Mass Effect: Andromeda.

To get a glimpse of this next game and the vision for it is what we in the BioWare fandom all need right now. To know what is going on with the next Dragon Age and how true it will stick to Joplin's original vision.

But until we do hear something, like always, you're already in the right place...

[hopefulfestivaltastemaker]

September 6, 2020

My weekly view of things I am up to and thinking about. Topics include the future of Earth, housing in California, the national debt, carbon pricing, and software complexity.

Earth’s Future

The funder is interested in developing a timeline of Earth’s past and future and placing human history in the geologic context. It’s a bit off the beaten path for us, but a fun project, and I spent some time this week on it. It got me thinking about Earth’s long term future.

We all know, in at least a vague sense, that Earth’s days are numbered. I think most of us know that we expect the Sun to go nova some billions of years from now (about 7.6 billion I think is the best estimate), and barring intervention from a future advanced civilization, no life will be able to survive that.

I found this paper by O’Malley-James et al. to be an interesting read. It discusses the future of life from an astrobiological perspective, asking what biosignatures a distant civilization might observe from Earth in the distant future. Plant life that depends on C3 photosynthesis, and by extension most animal life, has maybe 500-600 million years left, beyond which point carbon dioxide is too depleted. Plant life based on C4 photosynthesis might make it 900 million years. From then on it’s only microbes. Eukaryotic life might last 1.2 billion years before the oxygen is depleted. Prokaryotic life was here first, and it will probably be here last. The paper estimates 2.8 billion years as an upper bound for any microbes at all to survive in caves or underground. For the remainder of its existence, Earth is a sterile, lifeless world without oceans, an atmosphere, or geological activity.

Before all that, Earth’s biosphere may go into an irreversible decline after the formation of Pangaea Ultima, about 250 million years from now. At that time, the combination of merging of continents, cooling of the Earth’s core, and increasing of solar luminosity will result in a falling of carbon dioxide to the point where today’s biological productivity cannot be sustained. Earth is now 95% of the age it will be when this happens.

It is an unspoken and open question of how this general picture might be altered by a civilization that is capable of effecting meaningful change over geological timelines. Human civilization is not at this level presently, and it is unclear if we will attain it.

I wonder too how contemplation of the biosphere’s mortality influences how we think of environmentalism and sustainability. Perhaps 250+ million years is so vast a time that it cannot be distinguished from infinity in our minds. For my part, I can admit that the prospect genuinely bothers me.

Housing in California

California’s legislative session expired at the end of August, and with it, another opportunity for statewide zoning reform. Scott Wiener’s SB1120 would have allowed duplexes on single family lots. It is a modest but valuable proposal which had majority legislative support, but some last minute parliamentary shenanigans from the party leadership ran out the clock.

I continue to think that the housing issue in California is intractable, and that with its current strategy, the YIMBY movement will not be able to attain any but the most marginal victories. The Bay Area needs to increase its housing supply by at least 50%, maybe 100%, to really solve the problem. To achieve those kinds of numbers, allowing duplexes and ADUs is not going to cut it. The region needs to be open to horizontal as well as vertical expansion. Something must be done to break the dysfunction in the construction industries that prevents buildings and infrastructure from being delivered at a reasonable time and speed. The movement should also stop diddling around with measures that feel good but will backfire, like rent control and vacancy taxes.

Meanwhile, the tech industry is continuing to make tentative moves toward remote work. I continue to be hopeful but skeptical that widespread adoption of remote work can finally get housing costs under control.

My suspicion is that the YIMBY movement has succumbed to the Shirky Principle, which posits that “Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.” An ever-growing share of its energy is devoted to playing the Reds vs. Blues game, which is more than redundant in California. They have no vision of what an affordable California or Bay Area look like, no credible plan for getting there, and ideological blinkers that foreclose many important aspects of the solution.

As I’ve done several times before, I go back to Citizens Climate Lobby, which I see as the gold standard for political advocacy done right. They have a clear vision of passing a federal carbon fee and dividend plan. They don’t dilute their efforts on ancillary priorities or play partisan games. They have commissioned detailed economic modeling of the plan and have made every effort to insure it works from both a technical perspective and from a range of value systems. I don’t know if CCL will succeed, but at least they can succeed, unlike most activists, and CCL is one of the few major organizations I feel good supporting.

Red Ink

The Congressional Budget Office released an unsurprising but grim report on the national debt. The debt-to-GDP ratio stands at 98%, the highest ever except for a brief time at the end of World War II. It should cross the 100% mark next year and reach 109% by 2030.

Deficits are a classic gnarly problem. They are harmful but not catastrophic, and the harms are mostly at some indeterminate point in the future and are not clearly visible. This makes them easy to ignore, and ignoring the debt, or at best using it as a partisan talking point, is now an established bipartisan tradition.

Japan somehow continues to function with a debt-to-GDP ratio exceeding 230%. I don’t know how high the US can go on this metric and hope not to find out. We’ve seen debt crisis in Europe and Argentina recently. What I think is more likely is that debt service will be another ball and chain, along with population aging, stagnant productivity, and broken housing, health care, and education markets, on the American economy.

Carbon Pricing

Resources for the Future has a new carbon pricing calculator tool out, evaluating several proposals from the current Congress.

At the $52/ton level, four of the eight proposals stand out as having a positive benefit/cost analysis when economic costs are weighed against CO2 reduction alone. In all eight cases, “secondary” health benefits exceed the CO2 benefit as well as economic costs. As economic intuition would suggest, benefit/cost ratio goes down the higher the carbon price goes, since as the price goes up, we move down the ladder from most cost-effective emissions reductions to less cost-effective.

For my own part, I’ve generally been using a social cost of carbon of $50/ton. A few years ago, that seemed like a reasonable median estimate. At some point I want to review the literature again to see if I should be using a different figure.

The large health benefits are good for making the case for carbon pricing, but they raise some questions. The numbers strongly suggest that we should be thinking about air pollution reduction as the primary goal with CO2 reduction as a secondary goal. But if we do that, is carbon pricing really the most effective policy on air pollution?

Software and the Collapse of Civilization

I found this talk from last year by the game developer Jonathan Blow. He details ways in which the software industry is unable to deliver fast, reliable products and analogizes to historical failures of technological reproduction that are associated with past civilizational collapses. The talk is about an hour. I have to say it is a bit odd, but I found it worth watching.

Several time throughout my life, I have made attempts to get into the software industry, and at other times such as now I have programmed on a hobbyist basis. While I don’t see bad software as a major existential risk to civilization, there are clearly problems. Blow identifies what could also be called the bloatware problem: programmers tend to reach for libraries and abstractions in their code, needlessly inflating size, complexity, runtime, and bugs. He worries that abstraction has become so pervasive that the industry is not even capable of delivering reliable software at this point, and the knowledge of machine code programming has been largely lost.

Blow’s argument is reminiscent of the success problem, as described by Samo Burja, or the notion of social reproduction.

I’ve toyed with the idea of trying to develop the analogy between software bloatware and policy bloatware, a term to describe the phenomenon of public policy being designed in ever more complex manners. An overly complex policy environment increases the difficulty of coordinating the entities required for a solution, and it causes solutions to look more like patches and kludges over problems rather than actual solutions. An example is the attempt to address housing affordability problems by developing complex, multi-government affordable housing subsidies. Kludgeocracy is the best term I’ve seen for this phenomenon so far.

Casey Muratori identifies the same problem, which he called the 30 million line problem, so named because he estimates that to write the most basic “Hello World” web app requires, between the server and the client, at least 30 million lines of code and probably far more, with present technology. He proposes a solution based on a universal CPU instruction set and restoring root access to developers. Ironically, the talk (excluding Q&A) is over an hour when I think 10 minutes would have been sufficient to convey the key points without loss of essential detail.

[lovelyirony]

Natsharon assigned to take care of a baby

Natasha blinks as she looks at the tiny little thing. She’s not even sure why they have this, or why Fury handed it to her. 

“The usual is out. You have two days.” 

“I’ve never even held a baby.” 

“Then get Thirteen to help. God knows she would.” Fury says. He levels her with a gaze that lets her know that she’s not being as discreet as she thinks she is when Sharon’s around. 

The thing is, Sharon would help. She has so many babies on her side of the family that it’s second nature for her to be handed one as soon as she walks in the door. 

Nat’s not...she’s never been like that. She remembers the whispers of who they made her become. 

“None of you will be a mother,” their instructor had said. “You are too monstrous to be a mother, and it is not worth the trouble. So stop caring now.” 

Natasha Romanova had looked around the room. Her next assignment was to kill her roommate. 

Black Widow was Black Widow for a reason. 

So she calls Sharon, who immediately wants to come over to the apartment and see the baby, who starts crying as soon as Natasha gets in the elevator. 

“Sh,” Natasha says, lightly panicking. “No, no, you can’t cry. I don’t know what to do about that because I’ve only held one of you once and then Sharon took you away for something. Like a diaper change, or bottle formula.” 

The baby’s wails get louder. 

She’s rushing to get her keys into the door, setting the carrier on the kitchen table as she carefully lifts the baby out and into her arms. So far, so good. Still crying. 

Natasha frantically texts Sharon to please hurry. 

try rocking the kid or feeding it comes the text from Sharon. 

Natasha has to read the instructions on the formula container, get out the bottle from the child-proof (and adult-proof, what the hell was up with that) packaging, all while holding a tiny child. 

“You’re stupidly small,” Natasha tells the crying child. There is no response but reddened cheeks and a face scrunched up. 

The microwave seems to take forever, but that’s just how it is. Natasha frantically gets the bottle out, waits for it to cool down a little, and hums a little bit of what sounds suspiciously like Shostakovitch. 

The baby wants the formula. This is good, Natasha can do this. She hums as she feeds the baby, who has yet to have a name. 

Sharon opens the door--Nat doesn’t remember giving her a key--and plops down on the couch. Nat makes a move to hand the baby over, but Sharon shakes her head. 

“Nope, you got this. My family wants you to hold new babies at the next party, so this is your practice so you don’t panic and tell the baby weird developmental facts about humans.” 

“It’s not my fault that they should know they’re born without kneecaps!” Nat whisper-shouts. 

“Did Fury give you a name?” 

“Just a case file number.” 

“Of course he did,” Sharon says. She looks at the baby. “I’m naming her Casey.” 

“Wow, you’re so creative,” Natasha says. “I wonder where you got that from.” 

“The recesses of my dark and tortured yet creative mind,” Sharon teases. “She’s beautiful. Has a great nose.” 

“I know,” Natasha murmurs. Holding a baby is not so bad. At least this one--Casey--is looking like she’s going to fall asleep. “Mind setting up the crib for me?” 

“No problem babe,” Sharon says, dropping a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll set it up in the office space.” 

“Too many windows. That’s dangerous for this one.” 

“What, you think she’s going to scale a wall? Get real.” 

“I’m the Black Widow for a reason,” Nat deadpans. 

“Like Tony didn’t do his weird thing where you have to get through forty-seven different layers of security,” Sharon snorts. “Believe me, she’ll be fine. I can call Tony and have him walk you through--” 

“No,” Natasha says. “Nope, that’s completely fine. I trust you.” 

Laying down a baby seems hard. Natasha has steady hands, but still. 

“She’ll probably wake up in about an hour or two,” Sharon says. “Which means we can prepare.” 

They get a makeshift changing station, a bath-time spot, and Sharon orders clothes. 

“We can’t just keep her in the boring white jumpsuit thing. That’s so...ugh. I’m not surprised that SHIELD doesn’t have taste.” 

“It’s not their job to have taste.” 

“By god I wish it was,” Sharon says wistfully. “Imagine having good training designs on shirts.” 

“A girl can dream.” 

Sharon and Natasha are watching some weird documentary on TV when the cries begin to pick up. Sharon gets up, which lets Natasha breathe a sigh of relief. 

She sways, almost moving from one foot to the other. 

“Oh I know,” Sharon says. “You have no idea where you are, and things are scary. You also probably need to be changed, don’t you? Nat, get over here.” 

Natasha has decided that changing diapers is worse than getting shot in the stomach. 

“It’s so gross,” Natasha says. “How is it so nasty and still a biological function?” 

“You get used to it,” Sharon says with a shrug. “Looks like Casey’s actually pretty healthy!” 

Having a baby in the house is...weird. But it’s nice seeing Sharon look so casual as she holds Casey, or sings a soft tune that her dad used to sing to her. 

It makes Natasha think about the future. 

Then she has a dream that they have a baby and that’s just--that’s too much. 

She sits with the baby in the office, watching the horizon start to lighten. 

“I don’t know what she thinks she’s doing, dating someone like me,” Natasha says quietly. “She could have anyone in the world, but she’s chosen me. And her family likes me, and they know who I am. That’s weird. Usually, people don’t like me that much. And I’ve gotten to hold you. I shouldn’t...I can’t do that.” 

“Who says?” Natasha turns, seeing her girlfriend leaning against the doorway. “If it’s just yourself, then I call bullshit.” 

“Don’t curse in front of Casey.” 

“Her brain isn’t developed, there’s no way in hell she’s remembering this,” Sharon says with a snort. 

Things get on a more serious note when Sharon sits next to Natasha. 

“You deserve everything in life,” Sharon says. “All the good things. Including getting a family that you love, getting people in your life that you love. You’re amazing, Natasha. And I’m so lucky to get to love you the way I do.” 

Natasha doesn’t say anything, but the tears that occasionally darken some parts of her leggings are the proof of emotion. She hugs Sharon tightly, squeezing even tighter when Casey gets up and sees them over the crib. 

“How long until they find a home?” Sharon asks. 

“Not sure,” Natasha says. “I’ve been emailing Coulson. He thinks he’s found a good one, but we’re staking it out for a week. It’s in South Dakota.” 

“We can make roadtrips up there,” Sharon says with a smile. “See how Casey’s growing up, maybe.” Natasha nods, taking Casey into her arms. 

“Maybe.” 

Casey leaves for the family in South Dakota on Tuesday night. Natasha and Sharon give her cheek-kisses before sending her off, packing extras of the cute clothing that no doubt will make very adorable pictures. 

The two dads are thrilled to have their baby girl, loving the name Casey. She grows up almost too quickly, and takes great joy in softball and cheerleading. 

Sharon and Natasha get married two years later, and they smile at each other as Natasha is handed the newest hellion of the Carter Clan, a troublemaker who no doubt will have Aunt Nat’s help with shenanigans when he gets older. 

“Wanna have a baby?” Natasha asks once, an early morning for both of them. Sharon grins at her. 

“It would be an honor.” 

It’s not an easy road, but their first baby’s name is Noah. He has bright brown eyes, likes to giggle when Mama burns pancakes, and enjoys fall the best. He’s the best thing to happen to them, and they remember it throughout the years. 

[poisxnyouth]

neighbors. chapter 1. (d.d)

A/N: There are 3 shows that inspire this: Sex and the City, Gossip Girl, and Mad Men. 3 of my favorite shows ever. I haven’t written anything in a really long time and this is (essentially) my first David fic! Enjoy! If you feel like something isn’t in character or notice any inconsistencies or just plain don’t like it, don’t be afraid to let me know! I appreciate all criticism. <3 Thank you to @alrightinbed-betterwithapen for getting me into writing again!! Endless love to her.

Warnings: Drinking, implied underage drinking, and cursing. Nothing too crazy!

You had lived your entire life in classic Manhattan wealth. You were never groomed with the trivial perfect grades, perfect outfits, and Ivy League expectations that the kids in your school had to deal with. Your parents put you in a private school with uniforms, allowing you to choose what you wanted in life. This nonchalant parenting pushed you to meet the expectations your peers had set. It had, luckily, worked out for you. You maintained a 5.0 GPA throughout high school and did anything you could to meet Ivy League alumni through Manhattan’s elite. You breezed your way through Yale Admissions, just as your parents had, and majored in Psychology in conjunction with a minor in French. Your parents were very proud of you, of course, and you quickly got a job in Los Angeles fresh off the graduation stage. You were an intern at an advertising firm on Madison Avenue in high school, allowing you to gain interest and experience in the copywriting world. With a full book of advertising copy, your knowledge of psychology aided you in producing better work. You were now the youngest creative director in the entirety of Los Angeles at a top-notch advertising firm. You made good money and it came in fast, so fast that you had managed to go from a studio apartment in Downtown LA to putting a down payment on a $2 million-dollar house in the Hills (with some help from your parents). Everything had worked out as you had planned. You had (mostly) worked for everything you got, and you were proud of it.

Your friends had followed a similar path with varying backgrounds. Francine, from a poor family in Brooklyn, had been put in your school so she could have a promising future. She used it to her advantage. Tessa had come from an even richer family than yours, her father a real estate mogul; mother, an immigration lawyer. Sienna moved to Manhattan freshman year of high school, from a middle-class family with ultimately no connections in the Big Apple. It was fine, she quickly adjusted and met many people through you and your friends’ parents. All 4 of you had worked hard throughout the 4 years you had spent together, rotating sleepovers in you and Tessa’s penthouses, Sienna’s apartment, and Francine’s loft. You had, way too often, fallen asleep together with your heads stuffed in AP textbooks. You had all earned an Ivy League admission: You, Yale; Francine, Dartmouth; Tessa, Harvard; and Sienna, Princeton. You stayed in touch all of university, meeting up in the heart of Manhattan every Saturday to go shopping on Fifth Avenue. You made the distance work.  Francine is now a graphic designer; Tessa is an intern at Vogue, hoping to soon be an editor; and Sienna is an archivist at the Met. You didn’t have time to keep up with social situations outside of those 3 women.

++

“We miss you in New York, Y/N! You need to visit! How’s that neighbor of yours coming along?” Your best friends are screaming into the tiny speaker on Francine’s phone. You can practically see the group of girls huddled together on a street in the Upper East Side, arms filled with shopping bags as they listen intently to your voice.  

“I don’t know, guys. He’s cute. Like, really cute. I just wish I knew who he was. He’s so young! Like, our age at the most. What could he possibly do for a living? There’s always something going on at his house. I swear, yesterday I saw at least 30 people over there holding a bunch of balloons and fireworks went off.”

“Maybe he’s one of those Youtuber people?” Tessa suggested.

“Hmm…,” you’re flipping through your mail, phone balanced between your shoulder and ear. “He could be. He always has a camera in his hand. God, he’s hot.”

“Oh my god, Y/N, how are you so smart but so stupid? He’s a Youtuber!” Tessa chimed in once more.

“Is that supposed to be a big deal? Like, do they make a lot of money?”

“Uh, yeah. If they’re really big, they make bank. There are a few in New York. I think Casey Neistat is the biggest one on the East Coast, but most of the Youtubers live in LA. So, if he lives in your neighborhood, he probably is pretty huge.”

“I mean I don’t really care who he is – fuck, you guys!” you groan exasperatedly.

“What happened?” they questioned in unison.

“I got his mail on accident! I have to go over there! Oh my gosh, his name is David.”

“Oooo, Daaaavviiiidd!” they mocked. You separate your mail from his and huff in response.

“Y/N, are you seriously neighbors with David Dobrik?”

“I don’t know who that is, Francine. It only says David Smith on all the labels. I’m not going to worry about it, guys. He’s just eye candy. He’s too annoying as a neighbor.” Francine immediately reprimands you for not knowing who he is.

“Yeah, okay, Y/N. You’re gonna go over there, give him his mail, and go home and write about your wet dream of him. Imagine this on the headlines: Y/N Writes Fanfiction About Famous Youtuber?!” Sienna is laughing into the shared speaker.

“You guys are bitches!” you giggled, “I have to go do this. Pray for me! I love you!” They respond with I love you’s and making kissy noises into the phone.

 ++

 You rang the doorbell nervously and smooth your hair down in the reflection of his glass door, fiddling with the corner of your neighbor’s envelopes in your hands. You can feel the corners going soft from your sweaty fingertips. You hear a throaty voice yell, “NATALIE! DOOR!” If that’s David, he already sounds like a dick. A pretty girl in her pajamas rounds the corner, smiling when she sees you. You’re slightly disappointed. This Natalie must be his girlfriend.

“Hey! What’s up?” she says as she opens the door.

“Um, I’m your neighbor, Y/N! I, um, I think I got your mail? But you don’t really look like a David Smith, so maybe not?”

“Oh, no! That’s us. It’s for my boss, David Dobrik. It’s his cover name.” “Boss?” you question, feeling a little nosy. She doesn’t seem bothered, it seems like she must explain this often. You hear his name and clock it, knowing full well you’ll most likely forget it.

“Yeah,” she admits sheepishly. “David’s my boss – I’m his assistant.”

“Oh! Cool,” you kind of want to keep the conversation going; she’s nice! “There’s always something going on here!” you laugh a little.

“Yeah, but you know David…”

“I actually don’t! What does he do?” She seems surprised.

“He’s a Youtuber! I’ve been his friend since we were little, so it’s really awesome to see him grow like this.”

“Oh, sweet! Is he single?” The question flies out before you can think twice. Your eyes widen a little bit, breaking eye contact.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. That just came out-“

“It’s fine! Yes, he’s single. You wanna meet him? He’s a little busy right now, but-“

“Oh my gosh, no! I mean, I just see him sometimes and he’s really cute. I was just curious.”

As soon as you say this, the man comes from a side hallway in the house. He walks to the door as Natalie nods understandingly.

“Hey! Who’s this?” He recognizes you as his neighbor, but he doesn’t say it. He just wants to know your name.

“This is Y/N, she’s our neighbor,” Natalie says. His eyes widen a little bit as he’s shaking your hand.

“David. Nice to meet you,” he’s leaning into the door frame now; arms crossed, chapped lips, messy hair, sweatpants, and all. It’s nice to get a closer look at him. He watches your eyes as you scan him up and down, causing him to smirk and look away.

“You wanna come in?” he offers. Your heart almost stops.

“Oh, it’s okay – I don’t want to intrude, and I have to get back to work anyways,” you attempt to rattle off excuses. He cocks his head and looks at you again.

“What do you do?”

“I’m in advertising,” you say, playing with your hands nervously. His eyes catch it.

“How’d you get that gig?”

“Um, I grew up and went to school in Manhattan, got admitted into Yale and graduated with a degree in psychology. I interned with an agency in high school and I really loved it, so I used psychology to help me write better copy,” the words tumble out too quickly and you almost feel stupid to spill so much. You try to push it out of your mind; you worked for what you achieved, you’re allowed to brag. He almost seems impressed.

“You live alone?”

You nod, almost feeling like you’re being interrogated.

“David, just let her go home,” Natalie gives you an apologizing look. She wants to snicker at how flustered you became when he showed up.

“Yeah, yeah, of course. Have a nice day, Y/N. You can come over whenever you want!” He’s almost shutting the door before Natalie stops him.

“Hey, can I get your number? We should hang out sometime.” You say of course and David’s watching as you type your number into her phone.

“Thanks! I’ll see you later, Y/N.” The door closes as you bid them goodbye and you almost want to die from humiliation.  You facepalm as you walk out of their driveway.

++

You can’t stop yourself from speed dialing Francine’s number as soon as you walk through your front door. She picks up on the third ring.

“Hey, girl! How’d it go?”

“Are you still with the girls?”

“Yeah, I’ll put you on speaker,” she replies before you hear all the girls individually say their hello’s.

“You guys…I met him. Oh my god, he’s so hot, I think I’m going to cry. He’s a stunner.”

“What’s his name? Is he who I said he is? David Dobrik?” Francine asks, desperate to be correct.

“Um...His assistant said his name…I think that was it?”

“You’re going to gush about how hot he is, but you don’t even remember his name?” Sienna questions.

“I was too busy freaking out! When he introduced himself, all he said was David!”

“Wait, wait, wait, Y/N! Walk us through what happened,” Tessa says coolly.

I launch myself onto my couch with a big sigh before I begin explaining.

 ++

 “So, Y/N seemed to be into you…” Natalie blurts later that night as David edits. He shrugs.

“David! You need to date somebody! She’s pretty!”

“You know I don’t have time! I don’t even get the vlogs up when I should.”

“Okay, and? All you do since Liza broke up with you is work! You know you deserve better.”

“Natalie, she’s probably not even into me, like, pretty sure she just has anxiety. She was fidgeting the whole time.”

“What do you mean, ‘She’s probably not even into me?’ She asked me if you were single!”  Natalie mocks his voice, going deeper than she needs to. He rolls his eyes in response, wanting the conversation to be finished.

“Just think about it, Dave. She’s smart, she went to Yale for God’s sake! Obviously, she cares about her job, juuuust like you do! I think you should ask her on a date.”

“She has a different dude over like, every night,” he grumbles.

“Oh, so you pay attention? And so what? They could be coworkers. Don’t be stupid, Dave.”

“I’m not asking her out on a date,” he affirms.

“Fine, I’m inviting her over.”  He rolls his eyes again, making it a point to force his eyes to go as far back as possible while telling Natalie to go ahead.

 ++

 “Hey Y/N! It’s Natalie. You wanna come over and have a few drinks?” The text shows up on your phone as you’re about to go to bed. You can’t push yourself to decline the invitation. A few drinks sound nice, anyway. You had learned how to hold your liquor your sophomore year of college, going through a partying phase, spending nearly every possible free night at a frat house.

You get dressed (again) and make your way to David’s house, ringing the doorbell. You see David’s head on the couch as Natalie rises from her spot to come to the door.

“Hey! Come in!” you step in, recognizing it’s a shoe off house. You wordlessly oblige as Natalie makes small talk with you.

“So, how’d you end up in LA from New York?” She leads you to the kitchen, taking out a stout glass of the dark cabinets for the each of you.

“I kept copywriting through college, so as soon as I graduated, I sent my portfolio to as many advertising agencies as I could. The agency I work for now is actually an extension of the New York office I interned for in high school, so I guess someone in New York saw my book in the stack and pulled some strings.” Natalie has now worked her way over to the stocked bar of liquor, responding with multiple mmhmm’s.

“What do you drink?”

“Vodka.” She nods and nearly makes your glass overflow.

“You seem like you need it,” she says pathetically, handing you the cup.

“Oh, believe me, I do,” you admit, ingesting half the glass in one swallow. You wince a little bit at the taste.

Your eyes scan around the room for David, but it seems he must’ve left to go somewhere else in the house.

“So, you think David is cute!” She breaks the silence, knowing what you’re thinking, “I can hook you guys up. He needs somebody.” You blush and tap your fingers on the glass.

“Oh, I mean…Yeah, he’s cute. But I don’t really have time for anyone, I’m working a lot.” She leads you to the sectional couch, pulling a blanket over her lap. You sit a few cushions away from her.

“You sound like him!” It makes you laugh slightly. “I’m serious! That’s exactly what he would say.”

“What’s he doing?”

“He’s editing right now. It usually takes him all night.”

“Honestly, Natalie, I’ve never watched a YouTuber before or anything, so I don’t really know anything about this. Like, how big is he? And what is ‘big’ on YouTube?”

“He has 11 million subscribers, so that’s pretty big. I mean there are bigger people, of course, like Shane Dawson, but he’s good at what he does, and he works hard. He deserves everything he has.”

“Good for him,” you reply, finishing the rest of your drink. She nods her head, agreeing with you. You can’t help considering the similarities it seems like you two share. You’re both hard workers, earning (mostly) everything you have, and you’re both proud of what you do.

“Do you have any friends in LA?” Natalie questions. You shrug your shoulders, getting up to make yourself another drink and feel at home. You quickly pour yourself more vodka and return to your seat.

“Most of my friends I left back in New York. I miss them so much. I told them about David,” you admit in a whisper as she gasps, a smile spreading across her face.

“You did not! Oh my god, I really need to set you guys up now!” She’s laughing, smacking your arm jokingly.

“Shut uuuup!” You giggle, “I couldn’t help it! What would you do if you lived in another city, alone, and all of a sudden you got a cute, young, obviously successful neighbor? Whew! I couldn’t not spill it!” You’re starting to feel more comfortable in the conversation and as you continue chatting with her, the more you like her.

“What are their names?”

“Okay, so. I went to high school with all of them. There’s Francine, she went to Dartmouth and is a graphic designer. There’s Tessa, she went to Harvard and she’s an intern at Vogue. And then there’s Sienna, she went to Princeton and she’s an archivist at The Met.”

“Wow! All Ivy League.”

“We all did it together! I couldn’t have done it without them. I love them. Besides them, though, don’t really have any friends out here! I’ve never really needed more than those 3. I miss them so much.”

“Well, now you have me! I’m getting you a boyfriend, even if it’s the last thing I do,” she laughs.

“Are you and David from LA?”

She laughs into her drink, “God, no! Chicago. David and I were neighbors and went to school together since elementary school.”

“That’s so cute!”

“You haven’t known David Dobrik for almost 15 years! I swear, it’s like taking care of a baby,” she rolls her eyes.

“I HEARD THAT!” You hear a voice yell from a bedroom as you make a nervous face. What else had he heard?

“Fuck you, David!” He doesn’t respond as Natalie resumes your conversation.

“My friend, Francine, kept insisting that he was David Dobrik,” you whispered, “I don’t know how the hell she knew that. I swear, she has ESP or something. She’s just as busy as me, so it’s beyond me how she has time to watch YouTubers.”

“I mean, Y/N, he is pretty big. Like, are you sure you don’t just live under a rock?” You gasp mockingly.

“Yeah, probably. I’m a workaholic.”

“So, are you strictly a copywriter?” You shake your head no as you gulp down some of your drink.

“No, I’m a creative director. Basically, that means I give the creative presentations to the heads of businesses we represent. I also oversee all of the regular copywriters at the firm and approve everything.”

“Wait, who do you represent?”

“Um, I mean…Apple, Clearasil, Jaguar, Tesla, Maybelline, a few department stores, it really depends.”

“So, you’re the reason why David owns a Tesla?” You laugh at that.

“I mean, I could be. I don’t know. I’m just starting in the industry.”

“Holy shit. That’s so crazy!” You shrug your shoulders.

“It’s alright. I love what I do.”

“How does all of that work?”

“What? Like, the whole advertising thing?” She nods.

“So, basically,” you clear your throat, “if a firm drops an account, which is a company slash brand, or the account decides to leave a firm, then account men or women are trying their best to get a presentation for the company. Agencies are always trying to get bigger than others. The job of the account man is to have good relations with the account’s leaders, meaning they just go out on dinners or for drinks with them. They keep up appearances. It sounds easy, but I’ve seen account men cry when it doesn’t go well. While this is happening, copywriters are practically scrambling to come up with something to present. It’s chaos, but it’s so good. It’s the best feeling in the world, especially when you do win the account.”

“Don’t you get tired?”

“I mean, the hours can get pretty long, but it’s fine. I get paid well. I also get pretty much unlimited vacation and sick days, no one thinks twice about it as long as I’m not gone for weeks at a time. It’s great.”

“You’re so fucking lucky!”

You wave her off, “I don’t think so. I worked for it.” She nods again as David emerges from a bedroom.

“Hey,” he says, walking to the kitchen to grab a water bottle. Natalie looks at you, waggling her eyebrows with a giant smile on her face. You snicker a little bit and David notices.

“What’s up with the giggling? You guys talking about me?”

“No, David. Not everything is about you,” Natalie says as he throws his hands up in defense.

“I’m just saying, you guys went quiet as soon as I walked in.”

“Maybe it’s because you interrupted us,” you say, meeting his eyes. He stares blankly at you.

“I can go,” He says, smiling his stupid smile.

“We’re fucking with you, Dave. Sit down,” Natalie rolls her eyes.

“What are you guys talking about?” He plops himself down on the couch pretty far away from you and Natalie.

“Y/N’s job. She’s in advertising,” Natalie seems to be bragging for you.

“Uh, yeah, I know, Nat. She said that earlier.”

“Ugh, still, Dave! I’m impressed.” David doesn’t know what to say, he doesn’t know enough about you.

“So, you went to Yale?” he asks. You nod. It’s quiet for a few moments.

“Y/N, we should go to New York!” Your eyes widen at Natalie’s suggestion. You had only met this girl a few hours ago, and she’s suggesting going to New York with you? You’re surprisingly open to it, not allowing yourself to say no.

“I mean, do you want to? ‘Cause I can call in tomorrow morning and we can totally spend the weekend there! You can meet the girls!”

“Uh, Natalie, you forget I’m your boss-“

“I’m also your fucking friend! Just come with!” Natalie says exasperatedly.

“Okay,” David throws his hands in the air, “Fine. Get us some flights, Natalie.”

“I don’t have my debit card on me-“

“It’s fine, Y/N, I’ve got it,” David insists.

“What? No! I can afford it!”

“I didn’t ask if you could afford it! I’m paying,” he persists. It’s kind of hot. You reluctantly mutter an okay as Natalie grabs her computer.

You ended up going home, hurriedly packing a suitcase before returning to David’s 30 minutes later. While at home, you group Facetimed all of the girls.

“Girls, I’m coming to NYC! One small catch, though…David’s coming with.”