#I am really getting into this series

[0perfectimperfections0]

The Grass on the Other Side: Part 3

"I hate everything about this idea."

Lucky stayed quiet, silently agreeing with Lou on that regard as he looked up worriedly. Moxy was on Babo's shoulders, holding her arms out to balance them as they wobbled closer to the cliffside.

"Bah, you're just being a stick in the mud! C'mon, got any better ideas?" Moxy challenged.

The blond rolled his eyes. "Multiple. Let's see," he held out a finger for each idea as he listed them off, "Lefty, the weird flying thing-"

"His name's Peggy!"

She was promptly ignored. "A ladder, literally anything else..." Lou rolled his eyes back up to Moxy. "Need I go on?"

"Lefty and Peggy won't help us, okay? I know they won't. So no point in asking."

"Why not? You're all friends here, right?"

Moxy pursed her lips, looking up at the flower as she held onto Babo's shoulders. It was still a ways up there. "We are...But this is different. They don't believe the Big World exists." Lou opened his mouth to question her further on that, but she interrupted him. "Come on, you wanna get up there or not?"

Lou sighed, arms crossed as he looked up at Moxy. She was urging him to climb up onto her shoulders in some sort of balancing act, but Lou didn't know how well that would work out. He'd already fallen on the ground once today. He looked down at Lucky, who was standing beside him observantly. "Can't you fly?"

Lucky went a little sheepish at that, quirking a smile as he averted his gaze to the ground. "Ah...I'm...working on it..."

The Pretty Doll rolled his eyes and begrudgingly walked toward the Tower of Dolls. "This better work..." he mumbled under his breath. Babo interlaced his hands and boosted Lou up. Moxy grabbed his arms and pushed him the rest of the way, holding onto his feet as he precariously flailed in the air. Babo had to side-step a few paces to keep his balance as they swayed. Lucky grit his teeth together just watching it.

"Afraid of heights?" Moxy sneered up at him as he froze, trying to steady them, arms held out stiffly.

Lou grounded his teeth together, glaring down at her. "No, I'm just allergic to dying."

Moxy huffed, squinting one eye as Lou finally situated himself on her shoulders. She held tightly onto his ankles and Babo carefully walked closer to the pipe. "Is everyone a drama queen where you're from?"

Lou didn't dignify that question with an answer. He looked up at they teetered beneath the pipe...which was still a good ten feet above them. "I still can't reach it."

Moxy hummed. "We need more dolls."

The blond refrained from face-palming, lest they lose their balance. "Seriously? That's your plan? Why can't we just use a ladder? Don't you have any of those around here? Or build something?"

"We can't do that. We'll get in trouble." Moxy said, surprisingly serious in her tone and expression.

"Why would you get in trouble?"

"Because-"

"Lou?" Someone spoke up below them.

They all froze, Lucky included, and turned to see Ox staring at them with a wide eye. Lou, most of all, was struck speechless as he and Ox made eye contact. Babo finally lost his balance from whipping his head around so fast and the three of them came crashing down in a fit of yelps and screams.

Lou found himself on his back for the second time that day. And, again, a shadow blocked his vision. Except this time it was green. "Ox? What-"

"You must be Lou," Ox quickly interrupted him. "I saw you in the newspaper. Word travels fast around here." The bunny held out a hand to Lou once he sat up from the ground. "Name's Ox."

Lou blinked at the bunny, looking between his face and the outstretched hand. "I know who you are."

This caught Moxy's attention. She dusted herself off from her own fall. "You do? How?"

Ox interrupted before he could answer. "We've never met before. I'd remember you. You musta hit your head pretty hard landin' here."

What in the world was going on? Did Ox seriously not remember him? But he had said his name... "What are you talking about?" Lou swatted the outstretched hand away and stood up. "You know me, Ox. We met at-"

"Lucky, can you go back to your place and get your aid kit? Fella's hit his head pretty bad on that landin'. He's a little delusional." Lucky looked curiously between the two of them, but nodded and hurried off. Ox gave Lou a gentle pat on the arm, which was brushed off just as fast by Lou. "Don't worry, we'll get ya fixed up and better in no time."

Ox then turned his attention to Moxy and Babo. "And don't think I forgot what ya'll just tried to pull off. That little stunt coulda hurt someone, ya hear? Go on to the boat race, you two. No more messin' around the flower."

Babo took a step back to comply, but Moxy wasn't having it. "Ox, he said he's from a different place! He said the Big World is real!"

"Yeah? Well, it ain't. You thought the Big World was real, too. Still do, and you ain't got no proof. He don't either."

"But Ox-"

"Go on, Moxy, I ain't gonna repeat myself."

She still looked incredibly frustrated and determined, but closed her mouth and huffed before walking off. Babo sent a worried look between Lou and Ox before following her.

The second they were gone, Lou shot a glare down at the bunny. "What the heck? You leave for 7 years and suddenly pretend to not know me?"

Ox would have been touched that Lou knew exactly how long it had been, if not for the circumstances. He fixed Lou with a steady look. "You shouldn't be here."

Lou blinked at the cold tone. "That's all you have to say to me after all these years?"

"That's all you had to say to me before you led me toward the recycle?"

Lou's eyes hardened, hands clenching into fists. "I was trying to save you-"

"Good job," Ox bit back sarcastically.

"You've been alive all these years and never told me? Never came back through the pipes?" If Ox didn't know any better, he'd say that Lou actually sounded hurt. "I thought you were dead."

"I wasn't wanted in that Institute. Least I could do was stay outta your hair. 'Sides, didn't think you'd wanna see me, anyway."

Lou has a million things to say to this rabbit, but his eyes glance behind Ox to where Moxy and Babo had vanished off to. "Why does this whole town think the Big World isn't real? Why have you been lying to them?"

"I did what I had to." Ox kept his voice low, as if even admitting the truth out loud was too risky even with no one around. "If they thought there was somethin' better than this out there, they'd up in my situation; tossed out. I don't want them knowin' they're rejects."

"So you blocked the way to recycle, built a whole town right next door, and convinced all your little rejects that the Big World doesn't exist? Do you understand how crazy and ridiculous that sounds?"

Ox glared up at Lou, speaking through clenched teeth. "We ain't bothered y'all in seven years. Don't act like your little perfect agenda is ruined just 'cause you know about us."

Lou scoffed at that, eyes rolling. "It's going to be if you don't get a handle on some of your sock puppets. Moxy doesn't seem to believe your little story."

"Well, now that ya told her about the Big World what am I supposed to do?" Ox was growing increasingly frustrated now. Everything was going so smoothly to keep the dolls in the dark about life outside of Uglyville and then this blond comes stumbling back into the picture and ruining everything. Moxy would never let him hear the end of it now.

"Tell her the truth."

Ox scoffed this time, shaking his head. "That's funny."

"I wasn't joking." Lou crossed his arms, nodding in the general direction of the town. "Tell all of them the truth. Tell them they're rejects and that the Big World is real, but they'll never be able to go. I think Moxy would stop trying so hard if she knew she would be wasting her time."

"And how would that make me look, huh? If they suddenly find out, after all these years, that I'd been lyin' to them?"

"Maybe you should've thought about that before lying to them." Lou was dead serious about this and Ox could tell that he was in a rock and a hard place now. Lou had to leave.

"Go back to the Institute. I'll have Lefty hoist ya up there." Ox made to turn around to do that, but Lou gave an incredulous laugh.

"Oh, no, Bunny." Lou smirked, unfolding his arms and squinting at Ox in wry amusement. "If you won't tell them then I will. My Institute is on the line with this little fib of yours."

Ox bristled, whipping around fast to glare at Lou. "You ain't tellin' them anything. Now stay put. You're goin' back where you belong."

Lou straightened at the challenge, a dangerous look in his eyes that made Ox stiffen. The blond clenched his jaw and walked past Ox. "Try and stop me."

"Lou, don't you even think about it! I'm serious!" Ox started to hurry after Lou. Stupid long-legged Pretty Doll.

Lou didn't bother looking behind him. "Maybe I just want to see more of your town. Is that so wrong?" When Ox finally fell into step beside him, he gave the bunny an innocent look.

"That's a lie and we both know it," Ox grumbled.

Lou raised an eyebrow down at him, arms folding behind his back. "Maybe not. But I know what is a lie...and this whole town is gonna know about it. You said word travels fast, right?"

Ox's eye widened and he slowed to a stop as Lou kept walking. He swallowed nervously. If the town found out about his secret...would they turn on him? Would they get mad and revolt? He had to do something to stop Lou. Anything. Would bribery even work?

Ox's mind ran a mile a minute to try and figure out a solution.

"Wait."

Lou stopped, not turning to look at Ox just yet. He tilted his head slightly to the side, seeing the blurry image of the bunny from the corner of his eye. He raised a brow, waiting for Ox to continue.

Ox took in a shaky breath, mind spinning. "Let's make a deal."

[mienar]

the wandering painter, part one

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[wwillywonka]

☆GET TO KNOW ME♡: [11/?] Favorite Characters

LOKI - Marvel Cinematic Universe (2011-2023)

- I don't enjoy hurting people. I... I don't enjoy it. I do it because I have to- because I've had to. -Okay, explain that to me. -Because it's part of the illusion. It's the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear. -A desperate play for control. You do know yourself. -A villain. -That's not how I see it.

[benevolenterrancy]

"Heavens, he doesn't understand again." "Every time he says 'I don't understand', Lui-shixiong grabs someone to demonstrate until he understands..." Ji Jue quietly complained to Shang Qinghua. No wonder the injuries at Bai Zhan Peak had only increased!

so this is obviously Liu Qingge's entire love language, right?

[tea-cat-arts]

Shen Yuan getting transported into pidw isn't "the system punishing him for being a lazy internet hater," but instead representative of "step 1 of the creative process: getting so mad at something you decide to go write your own fucking book" in this essay I will

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Do you like sci-fi and indie animation? Check out Monkey Wrench!

[thatstoomanysausages]

Does anyone ever think really hard about Grian's inability to team? To stick with the same people he'd allied with at first after it shows the slightest hint of going downhill? Or about everyone's knowledge to be weary with teaming with Grian as he's notoriously disloyal with his teammates?

Cause the gutting thing is, he isn't. He isn't disloyal. He doesn't have an inability. In fact, I'd argue he is one of the few people who are tragically loyal to a fault, at least in most cases.

In Last Life, although he killed both Jimmy and Mumbo, he still felt the need to return to his allies after he'd turned red, feeling betrayed when they threw him out for being red. After that, he stuck with Joel and didn't dare betray him.

In Double Life, although he cheated on Scar and constantly complained, he stuck by Scar almost obsessively. His aim to protect him, even if he said it was for his own benefit, was painful. He didn't try to leave Scar behind like Cleo or Scott, he didn't try to sever the bond between him and Scar, nothing. It was almost like he was desperate.

In Limited Life, he was beyond loyal to his boys. He was loyal until the very end. And although he immediately switched to join the Nosy Neighbours, he didn't try to team with anyone permanently until Jimmy and Joel were dead. His silence when he realised he was truly the last Bad Boy was deafening. He hid his grief by saying that he had a backup team, just to save face, even though he built a gravestone for both boys and grieved them meaningfully.

In Secret Life, it wasn't as if he was fine with having no allied, like someone would be if they truly didn't care for loyalty, he was desperate once again. Having no teammates later in the game would hurt him, yes, but his desperation felt lonely, not power hungry. He didn't dare betray Etho nor Cleo, and stuck by them until the end. He was losing his mind on his hill before he teamed with the two, he needed to have close allies to depend on.

Now, in Wild Life, Mumbo is out of the series and Grian goes to say he needs to find some more friends, even with Skizz still around. Now, I don't think this is a power play thing, it's a desperation thing. He's hiding his grief by pretending everything is fine because if it wasn't he'd be vulnerable. For the past couple sessions, he had been working tirelessly to help get Skizz a kill so he could get off of being a red life, even to his own detriment.

Grian doesn't half ass teams. He will not team with everyone. However, he gets vulnerable when the ones that he connects to die.

Because that's how it went about in 3rd Life. He allied with Scar throughout the whole game, it starting simply because Grian felt guilty about what he'd done to Scar. He felt guilty. He stuck with him the whole game, undying loyalty, and all it ended in was him standing at the top with his best friend's blood drying on his hands.

To him, being loyal to someone like he was in 3rd Life ended badly. So, to avoid that, he found a way to still stay teamed with people, but not be left at the top of that mountain again, alone, even if his teammates die.

But so far, the curse keeps following him. He will always outlive his teammates. And this season is following the pattern, again, Mumbo dying right in front of his eyes, so close, yet so far. Always in a distance where he could've done something different, and he'd still have a teammate.

He may move from person to person, but only when they are dead or reject him. He is the forever Widow, cursed to always face his consequences, over and over and over again.

[doverstar]

can't express accurately how happy it makes me that c.s. lewis did not leave room for many interpretations in narnia. it's christian and you can't get around it. susan chose to care more about worldly things than what matters and he said what he said. the lion is Jesus. evil is evil and good is good and people have to choose. and that makes some readers angry because it's nearly impossible to ignore and they want to ignore it. they want it to be something else and they can't make it something else without making it not narnia. love that. that is doing it right

[boatem-probler]

been chewing on this conversation between pearl and gem this week:

Gem: I know you didn't kill me!

Pearl: So what are you cranky about?

...

Gem: I'm just- you know, I wanted some drama! So, this is the drama, you're welcome.

Pearl: "This is the drama". You're telling me we could've been friends this whole time but you're just like "yoohoohoohoohoohoohoo... I hate you!"

Gem: Yeah, I mean, why not!

and i'm connecting it to gem in empires season 2, where like. in the context of the fiction everyone else had been living in that world their whole lives and that's their reality, like, it's real to them.

and meanwhile gem is just roleplaying. like, she was a being from another world who just came there because she wanted to play at being a human princess for a while. and then when she's called away she's just like. anyway i was never actually a princess or a mortal being from this dimension and we're never gonna see each other again, sorry for the existential crisis, bye!

and anyway i think she has a similar deal in the life series. like, everyone else is there because they're trapped in the Torment Nexus, gem is there because she wants to be.

[answermywearyquery]

the theerapanyakul kids: how close are you with each other?

loan’s kinnporsche 2nd anniversary: favourite familial relationship: the theerapanyakul kids (insp: ½+½)

[axoqiii]

i got really strangely invested in parkourciv because of that One guy who reminds me of goro akechi

[pokimoko]

If you’re doing pride animals still do you think you could make a pan tiger maybe? If not that’s ok ofc :)

I can absolutely do that for you, my friend. Here you are!

[shima-draws]

Me? Drawing Tododeku for the first time since *checks calendar* APRIL of LAST YEAR???

[deoidesign]

Idk who needs to hear this but time and time again isn't over!!!

Webtoon removed the "time and time again will return!!!" Banner and I don't know why, but it's not over!!! There's still another 1/3 of the comic to go! There's a lot more stuff that I'm working on and it'll be coming back soon!

Please be patient with me, I know it's been a long time... But the stuff I'm making is really good and there's a lot of reasons it's taken this long. I promise I want it back more than anyone.

I'm trying to come back around the end of October. I'm doing my best to get everything ready in time, so no promises, but I'm on track to do so! I'm just one person writing and drawing everything, and my editor was fired so I'm not even getting any notes anymore. It's literally just me. I'm doing my best I promise!

[moongothic]

Madoka is the promise you won't turn from a child, full of hopes and dreams and the wish to save the world, into a bitter adult who just wants to hurt others and ruin people's lives

Madoka promised to be there for you to remind you of the person you wanted to be and to stop you from becoming what you sought to destroy

Madoka made that promise and became the very embodiment of it

[ghouly-boiiiii]

Does Max give anyone else major twist villain vibes???

Okay I haven't talked about Max much yet, but I think it's kinda wild to see people talking about him like he's just this sweet innocent cinnamon roll when my read on his character was the COMPLETE opposite.

I mean yes, he does seem very sweet. He's very soft spoken. Naive in a way like Lucy, but not as much. Kinda vulnerable. Got a killer smile. And some of the moments with him and Lucy are super cute and adorable. But damn if he doesn't have a DARK side!

Like I've heard people say that Max is stupid or that Aaron Moten's acting is bad, but hell no. Aaron Moten sold me on his acting during the interrogation scene. Max was scared shitless and I FELT that. I think Max was meant to be played as a character who lacks understanding about certain things and seems disconnected from people due to both being brought up in basically a cult and having an inherent lack of empathy.

You think about the fact that he admitted he wanted Dane to get hurt, someone who's supposed to be his best friend. How he coldly sat there and watched Titus die. And before that stood there and watched him get mauled by a bear, almost like he was fascinated by it and wanted to see what was gonna happen. The fact that he tried to kill Thaddeus the moment he became a threat, even though the two of them had appeared to have bonded and developed a genuine friendship. And let's not forget he was willing to let all of Vault 4 get plunged into darkness just so he could keep playing with his power armor.

Max wants to be a knight, he wants to be a hero. And I think he tells himself he wants it for the right reasons, but I think what he REALLY wants is power and recognition. Which is really what every (okay maybe not every, but a lot) good villain wants, right? Because at the end of the day Max wants what Max wants. He's selfish, even though he doesn't think he is.

And sure, he's nice to Lucy. And he went balls to the wall to save her when he thought Vault 4 was gonna execute her. But she's a pretty girl who helped him and offered him a safe home. When she gave him the proposition that if she helped him bring back the head, he would have the Brotherhood lend her some knights to save her dad, he KNEW he couldn't make that promise. But he made the deal anyway. So he doesn't REALLY care about her or what she wants.

And that blank stare he gets when he gets mad? ACTUALLY terrifying. The guy's got serious psychopath vibes. Literal anti-social personality disorder, if you ask me. In fact the first thing I thought about when Max let Titus die is this kids going to end up going to the dark side lol.

And I think that would work really well thematically if they plan on giving The Ghoul a redemption arc beside it. There are so many parallels between Lucy and The Ghoul, and they have such a strong connection to the beginning when the bombs dropped. I get that Max is there to represent the Brotherhood and he's from Shady Sands, the town Hank destroyed, but it felt weird that he didn't seem to be AS important in the grand scheme of things compared to Cooper and Lucy.

But if Max turned out to be a badass twist villain to thematically contrast Cooper's redemption arc, while Lucy remains steadfast to her commitment to goodness and the golden rule I feel like that would really round it out. It would make sense if you consider a lot of people have pointed out that Lucy, Cooper and Max all seem to represent different play styles and different moral alignments. And I think it'd be pretty crazy if the writers of the show set out to make it seem like Ghoul is a bad guy and Max is a good guy, but then it ended up being the opposite.

I mean, there are definitely hints all over the show that The Ghoul isn't as bad as he may seem. And Max has already done some pretty messed up stuff, so I'd say the possibility is totally there, and I'd be here for it!

Who's with me???