#I know that things are likely going to Escalate

[beardedmrbean]

Charlotte stood on the train tracks ready for a train to come sweeping down the rails and end it all.

However the driver of that train, 47-year-old Dave Lay, had other plans.

Slamming the brakes after receiving notice of a pedestrian on the tracks, Lay brought the train to a halt and got down to talk with the suicidal woman for nearly half an hour before eventually getting her safely to the next platform.

Local police met the pair, and helped Charlotte get in contact with local mental health support workers then and there. Shaken but feeling good about what he was able to do, Dave departed, imagining the episode had finished.

But Charlotte had other plans.

Looking him up on Facebook the following day, she sent a message thanking him for the kindness he showed her on the rails at Crossflatts Station in West Yorkshire, England.

“I walked down the tracks and sat down, waiting,” Charlotte told the British media service SWNS. “I’m unsure who raised the alarm about my presence but when the next train came, it slowed and stopped far from me. I’m so grateful to Dave for stopping that day and being so patient and understanding.”

After Dave returned Charlotte’s text telling her he was available whenever she needed to speak to someone, they began exchanging messages on a daily basis. They met for a coffee after chatting for two months.

Fast forward three years, and they tied the knot when Charlotte was 22 weeks pregnant with their first child.

Charlotte, a nurse at the British National Health Service, was previously diagnosed with major depressive disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and emotionally unstable personality disorder.

Recalling her decision-making process from that fateful day in 2019, she said that she was on the train to work in her scrubs, but nothing felt right. Dave’s arrival had all the hallmarks, she remembered, of a person trained to de-escalate mental health crises.

“I once asked him if he’d ever had any de-escalation training, because he was brilliant that day,” she said. “The conversation from what I can remember was just about mundane things and about both our lives, but it was enough to break the crisis.”

“Life didn’t feel as heavy anymore. The next day I made it my mission to find the man who had been so kind to me.”

DE-ESCALATING DANGER: Surveillance Shows Jon Bon Jovi Stopping Woman From Jumping Off Bridge in Nashville

Dave told the BBC he simply “said all the things he wished he could’ve said” to other people who have committed suicide, and for his part was desperately happy to hear from Charlotte, as he had no way of knowing if she ever approached mental health services, or if she made another attempt to enter the House of Hades.

“I needed to know she was all right. I’d contacted police to try to find out what happened to her and just wanted to make sure she was safe,” he told the BBC. “I felt like I had a duty to make sure she was all right. We’d had that rapport built by the side of the track.”

Charlotte says she hopes that by sharing her story, people will realize that, although it would be ideal if we all had specialist training to deal with a mental health crisis, we are all nevertheless capable of helping by being empathic and present.

[soaked4mk]

What it’s like dating the Keeper of Time. (Liu Kang x reader Head Cannons.)

👽: I come with…head cannons :3 (not proof read)

Sfw 👉🏼👈🏼

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷

★ Liu Kang. The God of Fire, Keeper of Time. And your golden retriever boyfriend.

★ He is a very patient, kind and considerate man. He worships you in every way possible.

★ Doesn’t escalate things or give the silent treatment. He’d much rather talk it out and fix the issue

★ A very busy man, considering his occupation. But that never deters him from bonding with you.

★ He may have to leave you alone occasionally, and he feels awful about it every time. Almost as if he’s neglecting you.

★ But he always makes up for it. “I apologize for not being home sooner, my love.” “I hope I did not keep you waiting too long…”

★ The classic Liu Kang move is to massage you into relaxation, laying you down and telling you sweet little nothings.

★ “I am so grateful for waking up every morning, with you by my side.” “My pretty girl.” “You’re my everything, the center of my universe”

★ Peppering your face with kisses, nuzzling your neck and kneading out any tension you’re feeling while the two of you simply talk and enjoy each others company.

★ He definitely likes to play with your hair, or adjust your glasses if you wear them. Holding you and just genuinely admiring you.

★ Mindlessly doing acts of service for you because that’s his love language.

★ Liu Kang will make you breakfast, lunch and dinner. Coffee, tea, whatever snacks you like he’ll make or get. Insists on doing the chores, watering your plants, whatever you need he wants to be the one to lift it off your shoulders.

★ Surprising you with homemade dinner, remembers tiny details about your day, always bringing things up that make you feel seen

★ He loves you, and he cares deeply for you. Always making sure you’re safe—but respects your independence and trusts you wholeheartedly. Protective but not possessive.

★ An honest man, who expresses how he feels and values listening to you. Making sure you both feel understood in the relationship

★ Supportive of your goals. Not only does he believe in you, but he’s going to help you make those dreams come true any way he can.

★ Always feels at home with you, his warmth, his loyalty and genuine kindness make you feel loved and of course, comfortable. He’s your safe space in many ways.

★ Genuinely happy to hear about your interests. Even if he doesn’t know much about them, he’ll ask questions and just adores listening to you yap about whatever makes you happy

★ Liu Kang is empathetic and understanding. He can sense when you’re stressed out, and always listens without judgement. Supporting you through whatever you’re going through.

★ He finds your quirks and unique habits endearing. Like how you need extra pillows but still end up using him as your only one.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶︶꒦꒷

NSFW 🫠

★ Bro is an absolute munch.

★ Will eat you out until you’re a quivering, mewling, pathetic mess. and then some.

★ And then some because he’s also really into over stimulation.

★ Talking about nuzzling his nose onto your clit, pistoning his digits in and out of you while working your dripping cunt with his tongue. Long after you’ve already came.

★ Groaning softly as he trails kisses along your hips up to your ribs. Hovering above you as he strokes your slick folds. His free hand gently coming up to cup your tit, squeezing gently as you continue to tremble in his arms.

★ “There you go...that's it." “That’s right, you’re doing so good~” “Just like that, love.” “You can handle a little more, can’t you?” “Such a good little slut~” He’ll purr, his glowing eyes never leaving your face as it contorts in pleasure.

★ Pulling his fingers out of you with a soft pop, his mouth curling into a smirk as he watches you shudder in pleasure. Relishing in the aftermath of your orgasm.

★ He’s a soft dom, quick to praise, slow to punish. But that doesn’t mean he’s afraid to put you in your place, so don’t mistake his patience for anything but.

★ “On your knees for me, now.” He’ll point down, knowing you won’t argue. And if you do, he’ll simply collar you and tug at your leash until you listen like the good slut you are.

★ Yeah…he’ll probably collar you regardless. He likes treating you as his pet.

★ Prefers giving rewards over punishments.

★ if you’re being good for him, expect an intimate massage, kneading out all the tension in your entire body. Making you putty in his strong hands.

★ He’ll have his face be your personal throne.

★ Allow you to touch yourself, and depending on how good you are, you can use your favorite toy.

★ Right, okay okay. But let’s say you’re being a brat. An absolute menace. Like intentionally…because you feel like it.

★ Rolling your eyes, huffing and puffing or even invading his space when he’s obviously focused. That will catch him off guard but not irk him.

★ Interrupting him, pretending you don’t understand certain boundaries, trying to embarrass him…now we’re asking for actual punishment.

★ “I’ll hush that disrespectful mouth of yours.” He’ll hiss. Gripping your face with one hand before shoving you down to your knees.

★ “Go on, put your tongue to better use than trying to provoke me.”

★ Liu Kang will tie you up to the bed and leave you there without his company as a punishment. For real for real.

★ self pleasure is absolutely revoked for bad girls.

★ If you’ve managed to piss him off in a rather public setting, he’ll call you degrading nicknames (slut, whore, pet) in said setting. In front of others with the utmost nonchalance too.

★ You wanna make him look bad in front of others? He’ll simply make you apologize on your knees right then and there if you’re going all out.

★ After care/pampering comes very natural to Liu Kang. Spooning you while rubbing your back, telling you how good you were/are.

★ Liu Kang likes to light incense or candles to freshen the air while he fluffs the blankets and pillows for you. Grabbing you water and a small snack if needed.

[taeyongdoyoung]

point of view

summary: you sneak into your ex-boyfriend's ship with the desperate hope to save your Jedi friends. but you discover more than you bargained for... pairing: seonghwa x reader x chan genre: space opera, romance (?), science fiction, fantasy warnings: morally grey characters, mentions of past crimes (unspecified but we're talking Anakin Skywalker level of crimes), betrayal, cheating (?), kissing, crying, just overall Star Wars setting with no clear-cut boundaries between good and evil author's note: the events are loosely based on certain scenes in Revenge of the Sith and the title is inspired by Ariana Grande's pov word count: 2.3k

The lightsaber glows brighter as you near your destination. All along, you knew it was a bad idea to infiltrate Darth Mars's ship all by yourself. But you have no choice. If you do not confront him yourself, you are afraid that your Jedi friends will be in danger.

Considering your history with Darth Mars, a small part of you still believes that you hold some kind of power over him. He is the one who taught you everything you know now about being a Jedi. He is the one who taught you how to fight, how to defend yourself and how to look after the ones you care about.

So, when he turned to the Dark Side, it was not only your heart that was broken, but also your trust. In him and in everything he stood for. He was the chosen one, for Force's sake...You have to admit, you miss him more than anything. You miss the man he used to be. You even miss your past self. The one who was not haunted by the consequences of his betrayal. The one who still had hopes for a better future for the Galaxy.

"Very foolish of you to come alone," Darth Mars, or should you say, Seonghwa, says, appearing from the shadows.

Bravely, you point the lightsaber at him.

"I taught you better than that," he scoffs.

"Have you?" you attempt to taunt him, because you know your fighting skills are nowhere near his supreme excellency. You can only use your mind and your tongue as a weapon.

"Did you come here to kill me?" Seonghwa chuckles lightly. "Go ahead, then. I don't intend to fight you, of all people."

"I have no intention of killing you."

"Pity. I was beginning to grow tired of it all. Even so, it wouldn't be in your style to kill me while I was defenseless. It wouldn't be honourable," Seonghwa spits the last word out as if it's dirty.

"What do you know about honour? You betrayed us, turning to the Dark Side. And for what? More power? What did you do that for? You left us, Hwa!"

"That's not my name," Seonghwa shakes his head in denial, still hiding beneath that mask. You feel so sad. You wish you could make him see...See how much he hurt you. See you.

You let go of your lightsaber, pulling his mask off.

Oh. His face is not like you remember. Filled with scars and burns and so much pain, as if reflecting the way he changed. Not just on the inside but on the outside, as well. No, you refuse to believe that. Some part of him is still your Seonghwa, the one you fell in love with. The one, that despite everything, you still love.

"Who did this to you?" you ask softly.

"Who do you think? My Master..."

"No, Chan would never...He loved you," you argue.

Chan is the Jedi who taught Seonghwa everything. Just like how Seonghwa taught you, the relationship between Master and Padawan is so special and sacred. But you cannot imagine that Chan would do something like that to Seonghwa.

"Fine, I did it to myself," Seonghwa shrugs. "We had a fight over our...differences. Things escalated and...well, let's just say a planet filled with lava is not a good place for exchanging blows."

You shake your head, still in desbelief. How could this go so far? How did you let it?

"Don't beat yourself up," Seonghwa grins darkly. "This would have happened with or without you."

"I never looked at Chan that way, you know? Not while I was with you, anyway."

"But you do now," Seonghwa states. Not really blaming you, just stating a fact.

"I do," you admit. "But I never stopped thinking about you."

"Not even after everything I did?" Seonghwa murmurs and is that...regret in his voice? You are unsure if he's still capable of that. Or any feeling for that matter.

"Not even then," you sigh.

"Why did you come here, Y/N?" Seonghwa needs to know.

"I came to beg you not to kill my Jedi friends. Leave Chan and the others alone. I would do anything you want. Just let them be."

"Would you stay with me?" Seonghwa tilts his head and in that moment, it's like you're back to when it all started. Deep down, he's still just a boy, desperate to be loved.

"I said anything, didn't I?" you insist. If this means never seeing your Jedi friends again, so be it. At least, they would be safe...Or that's how you delude yourself.

"Very well, then. I won't touch them provided that you don't go back on your word," Seonghwa promises.

You cannot believe it worked. You cannot believe he still cares about you enough to accept this. You never found out why he turned to the Dark Side. Seonghwa was never one to be blindly tempted by power. No, there must have been something else.

"If you wanted to be with me so badly, why did you betray us, then?" you can't go another second without knowing.

"What's the use in telling you?" Seonghwa replies sadly, turning away from you. No, no, he's shutting himself off again. Just as he was beginning to open up...

You grab his wrist as if possessed, forcing him to face you again.

"Please, tell me. I want to understand you," you plead with him.

"You died. You died in my arms and accepting the Sith way was the only way to bring you back to life. If there was another solution, I wouldn't have done this, I wouldn't have left."

"W-what?" you are shaking, not capable of accepting the truth. "I was d-dead?! How did I not know that? How did nobody know?"

"Chan knew," Seonghwa grunts angrily and puts on his mask again. "He insisted on hiding the truth from you. He was certain that if you found out, you'd follow me to the Dark Side...And he couldn't let that happen. Said you have too much potential as a Jedi."

No, no, this can't be right. Truths and lies become blurred in your head as you struggle to decide what to think. Who to trust? Seonghwa? Chan? Yourself? You cannot tell what is real and what is false anymore.

"You don't believe me," Seonghwa guesses correctly. "That's alright. You can ask Chan yourself," Seonghwa tilts his chin forward, as if pointing to something, someone behind you.

In that moment, a bunch of Stormtroopers lead Chan into the room.

"What should we do with this intruder, Lord Mars?" the Stormtroopers ask.

"Leave him here with my other prisoner. I shall question them myself," Seonghwa replies, appearing disinterested. Oh, so you're a prisoner now? Even though you voluntarily offered to stay with him provided that your Jedi friends are safe. You feel so foolish all of a sudden.

The Stormtroopers accept Seonghwa's orders rightaway, leaving the the three of you alone.

"I'll give you two a moment," Seonghwa shrugs carelessly, locking you in the same room with Chan.

For a brief second, you wonder if he did the wise thing. But then you remember, getting on his ship was easy. Getting out? Sounds like an impossible ordeal.

"Chan, what are you doing here?" you ask furiously.

"What does it look like?" Chan replies. "I'm here to rescue you."

"Yeah, and how is that working out for you?" you hiss bitterly. "Now, we're both stuck here instead of just me."

"Did you seriously think I'd let you face him alone?"

"I told you I can handle myself!" you argue passionately. "You always do this. You don't trust me, do you?"

"It's not you I don't trust, it's him around you," Chan cries out in pain.

"Well, I'm not sure I can trust you anymore," you confess.

Chan shrieks back, as if stricken by your words.

"Is it true that I died? Is it true that you knew I died and you kept it a secret from me?" you want to know.

"Listen, I don't know what lies Seonghwa told you but he would have turned to the Dark Side with or without you."

"Funny, I never mentioned that's the reason he went all Sith. You just confirmed it yourself."

Chan gulps nervously, realizing his own mistake.

"How could you, Chan?" you shake your head in disappointment. "I thought you'd never lie to me."

"I just wanted to protect you."

"Protect me?" your eyes widen in disbelief. "From what exactly? 'Cause it seems to me that Seonghwa was the one protecting me."

"And it was wrong! He committed all these terrible crimes just to bring you back. He turned on all his Jedi friends. He turned on me!"

"So, you're saying you'd rather I stayed dead? Is that it?"

"Don't twist my words," Chan closes his eyes, pained to have this conversation.

"You did that yourself," you murmur, feeling tired all of a sudden and go to the door, knocking as loudly as you can. "I can't stay in the same room with the other prisoner!"

Expecting the Stormtroopers to show up and move you somewhere else, you are taken aback when Seonghwa...well, he's currently looking more Darth Mars, opens the door himself.

"And here I thought I was doing you two lovebirds a favour," he jokes.

"Get me out of here," you respond angrily.

"You're in no position to be giving me orders, sweetheart," Seonghwa chuckles gently. You want to kill him. Or kiss him. You don't know anymore. Everything is so confusing. It hurts so much...

"Get me out of here, please?" you try again, knowing it will infuriate Chan. Oh, how he wishes it was him you were begging. To run away with him suddenly sounds even more imprudent than staying with a Sith Lord.

"Much better," Seonghwa acquiesces, takes you by the arm and leads you somewhere else.

"You'll regret this," Chan warns.

"You'll regret me more," you whisper.

To your further shock, Seonghwa takes you to his chambers. You are uncertain whether he trusts you that much or he's simply confident enough that you won't be able to try anything funny. To be completely honest with yourself, even if you did try something, you would never be able to defeat Seonghwa by yourself. Then again, examples of Padawans beating their Masters are not unheard of...But you are definitely not ready for such a confrontation. Not yet, anyhow.

Not only did you learn that Seonghwa turned to the Dark Side in order to save your life, but you also just discovered that Chan kept that a secret from you. And if Chan knew, then there was a huge chance other Jedi also found out the truth. Chan was never good at keeping secrets from the Jedi. But he seems to be great at lying to you. Thus, everything you ever believed in is put into question. What is right or wrong? What is true or false? What is good or bad? These notions seem so ridiculous to you now that you have no clue what you intend to do next. You can only hope that Seonghwa's sacrifice wasn't in vain. You can only hope to live long enough to find answers for yourself.

"He told you the truth, didn't he?" Seonghwa makes yet another correct guess.

"I tricked him into it," you smirk, somewhat proud of yourself.

"That's my girl," Seonghwa nudges your shoulder playfully.

"What do I do now?" you burst into tears, burying your head in his chest. "Everything I believed in is in shambles. I don't even know if I wanna be a Jedi anymore."

"That's alright. You can always join me."

"Join the Dark Side?" you eye him suspiciously.

"Dark, Light...isn't it all the same?" Seonghwa tilts his head to the side. You hate it, but he has a point.

"Do I even have a choice? You said I'm your prisoner..."

"There's always a choice," Seonghwa insists. "And maybe I'm your prisoner. Did you ever think about that?"

You take off his mask again. He looks away, as if embarrassed.

"Don't hide from me," you beg, placing a hand on his scarred cheek, making him look at you.

"I know I'm not as pretty I used to be..."

"Well, then it's a good thing I didn't fall for your pretty. I like your ugly, too. Wish you could see yourself from my point of view," you insist and kiss him, trying to convey all the mixed up feelings you're experiencing.

Maybe he saved you. Maybe he destroyed himself in the process. Maybe he has the power to destroy you, too. You don't care. Right or wrong, this is where you belong now.

"What do you want me to do with Chan?" Seonghwa asks after a while.

"Are you seriously saying you'd do whatever I asked of you?" you are still shocked to learn how much power you have over him...He may have full control of the Force, but right now, you have full control of him.

"Within limits," Seonghwa replies vaguely.

"Let him live," you reply cleverly. Despite everything that went down, you still care about Chan. Just as how you care about Seonghwa. Your feelings might be irrational. But they're yours. "He might be useful to you one day. Who knows? He might learn to see things from where we stand."

"We? And where would that be?"

"Like you said, Dark, Light...What difference does it make?" you smile at him.

"Hm. I knew you'd get it," Seonghwa embraces you, thinking you're joining his so-called Dark Side.

But there is no such thing. You're on your own side now. And after being lied to and betrayed to by those you considered your closest people, you realize the most important thing. In this Galaxy, you can only trust yourself.

And one day, just like how Seonghwa became stronger than his Master Chan, you are certain you will become stronger than Seonghwa. They both underestimate your power.

It will be their final mistake.

The End

[randomthefox]

No matter how you look at it, there's no way to interpret Lanolin's current portrayal as anything other than a violent dictator or an abusive parent.

Her teammates are scared of getting beat by her. Whisper has been extra mopey ever since Lanolin smacked her onto the ground. Tangle saw Lanolin using a punching bag and then laments how she's scared of the sheep.

She prioritizes bossing people around more than saving people who are about to die. Clutch was revealed as an eco terrorist MERE SECONDS AGO and Lanolin is too busy bitching about Sonic to react to this new information.

She only listens to people that she personally deems as tolerable. There's no reason for Lanolin to trust "duo" more than her teammates and the heroes who've saved the world. She just arbitrarily decided that he's "better" than the others.

She NEVER EVER listens to anyone else's perspective or argument. Lanolin will endlessly move the goalpost so that she can end the discussion by mocking or smacking someone.

Lanolin is a contemptible wretched cunt.

It's so frustrating because it's just another case of this comic gaslighting me because I am tearing my hair out trying to figure out how the comic is trying to portray the character. The comics copium huffing ass fans seem convinced that Lanolin is being written as a flawed and combative presence who has friction with the other characters on purpose, but that doesn't really pan out because as I keep emphasizing: NOBODY EVER CALLS HER OUT FOR HER BEHAVIOR. She just runs roughshot over everybody completely unchallenged, allowed to have the last word in every single conflict she's a part of (and usually instigates) even though she IS (always) objectively wrong.

But that's the thing. She IS objectively wrong. Like, I will never not go back to this page.

Tangle is 100% correct. Lanolin COULD have just said something first. She SHOULD have. Even if it would have been stern and snappy because of her foul mood, shouting at Tangle something like "would you KNOCK that off, I'm trying to THINK here!" would have conveyed the same thing, that Lanolin is feeling high strung and stressed out and is frustrated at Tangle's immature behavior, while still being a completely reasonable way to handle the conflict. And it would have made this follow up actually MAKE SENSE and honestly be funny.

Lanolin seeing Tangle reaching back out for the paddle ball after she firmly told her to knock that shit off earlier and smacking the paddle ball away without verbally acknowledging what happened would have been a perfectly reasonable and amusing escalation of the conflict. Lanolin USED HER WORDS like an ADULT to tell Tangle to stop, Tangle initially acquiesces, but then gives into the devil on her shoulder to try going back to doing it and Lanolin lashes out. It would have been a pretty simple set up and pay off that would have effectively communicated Lanolin is experiencing some growing pains in this leadership role she's taken into but IS trying her best.

But as it is in the comic as written, Lanolin was annoyed by Tangle's paddle balling and IMMEDIATELY RESORTED TO VIOLENCE by SMACKING the toy out of Tangles hand WITHOUT COMMUNICATING THAT IT WAS BOTHERING HER. You could ARGUE that she was making her feelings known nonverbally and Tangle is at fault for not picking up on the social ques of Lanolin's body language, but that's bullshit. Tangle is fucking autistic and everybody knows it. Tangle SINCERELY did not understand that she was doing anything wrong or that Lanolin was upset by it. She couldn't possibly have known, and Lanolin did absolutely nothing to COMMUNICATE that fact to her. Instead Lanolin ROUGHLY SNATCHES THE TOY OUT OF HER HANDS in a way that was clearly very aggressive and distressing for Tangle. And she's left muttering under her breath that Lanolin COULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING.

And yeah. She should have said something. She is OBJECTIVELY being a cunt and nobody in their right mind could possibly think she was anything but in the wrong for that behavior. Frankly if I was Whisper I would have gotten pissed the fuck off and started mad dogging sheep girl for laying hands on my boo, but I guess Whisper is still kinda pissed at Tangle for the "diamond cutters" thing.

Not to mention the whole Duo confrontation where Lanolin immediately starts sucking this fucking random newguy off and treats everyone else like shit for no fucking reason. And this panel.

I don't care what the INTENTION of this panel is. Look at their fucking expressions. There is no other way to interpret this besides that Tangle is AFRAID of Lanolin, who is TRANSPARENTLY threatening violence in retribution against Tangle if she doesn't back up Lanolin's side of things. This is 100% an "abusive parent silently ordering their child to tell the nice police man that the cigarette burns were an accident or else they're gonna get whipped" panel. ESPECIALLY considering the previous interaction as I detailed above where Lanolin has already displayed a history of violent aggression towards Tangle. Tangle is AFRAID of Lanolin, which is only further emphasized in the current storyline.

"I'm scared of what she'll do."

This..... CAN'T be an accident, right? This is not subtext, this is text. Lanolin is abusive towards Tangle, and Tangle has developed a trauma response to Lanolin's aggressive and violent behavior.

If this were any other comic I'd say this is open and shut black and white - Lanolin is a BAD PERSON, and we as the audience are meant to see her as a bully and a tyrant. That the comic wants us as the audience to dislike Lanolin because she's objectively terrible.

But it's impossible to know for sure because like I said: NOBODY EVER CALLS LANOLIN OUT! The video game characters of Sonic Tails and Amy DO NOT UTTER A SINGLE WORD IN THEIR OWN DEFENSE when Lanolin starts reading them the riot act.

Seriously, look at this. Seriously read these panels. SONIC TAILS AND AMY DO NOT SAY A FUCKING WORD. They might as well be UNCONSCIOUS for all the difference it makes.

isn't that COMPLETELY NONSENSICAL? Shouldn't SONIC THE HEDGEHOG be telling Lanolin to blow it out her ass because he's all about freedom? Shouldn't Tails be trying to defend his tech and plead for a chance to have it inspected? Shouldn't Amy be calling Lanolin heartless for not expressing an ounce of concern about her well being or praising Sonic for rescuing her?

And then later at the diner, Sonic Tails and Amy don't have a single negative word to say against Lanolin for DQing them! They're all just spitballing about Clean Sweep! None of them resent Lanolin AT ALL.

And then later when Lanolin is being CLINICALLY FUCKING INSANE and trying to arrest Sonic while the sky is falling down, he just says this

Not "hey, crazy bitch, lay your fucking hands on me when I'm trying to save my friends and watch what happens"? Not "NOW IS SERIOUSLY NOT THE TIME"? Not "why do you even fucking care I didn't even do anything bad anyway"?

No, he treats her umbrage with him as VALID. He is DEESCALATING the confrontation by taking culpability.

THAT'S. DERANGED.

Lanolin is NEVER challenged or confronted BY THE VIDEO GAME CAST (except for Silver, who is beaten down like a dog because Evan Stanley thinks Silver needs to be an uwu soft boy bean instead of depicting him authentically to his video game self as someone who would have absolutely fucking strangled Lanolin to death with his psychic powers for getting in his way when attacking Duo). Lanolin is never CALLED OUT for BEING WRONG by ANYBODY IN THE STORY. Not by her boss Jewel. Not by the people who SHOULD have seniority over her, the games cast. Not by her peers. Only her subordinates (who SHOULDN'T be subordinate to her) Tangle and Whisper grumble and complain about her actions only to be stomped down into compliance and have to resort to hushed behind closed doors schemes against her interest.

I'M FUCKING GOING INSANE, WHICH IS IT YOU STUPID FUCKING COMIC? IS LANOLIN SUPPOSED TO BE A BITCH OR NOT? IF SHE IS, THEN WHY ISN'T ANYBODY TREATING HER LIKE A BITCH? IF SHE'S NOT, THEN WHY IS SHE OBJECTIVELY FUCKING EVIL?

This comic is SO GOD DAMN INCOMPETENT you can't even figure out if you're SUPPOSED to hate a character or not. So instead of hating Lanolin, I just hate the writers instead.

[pikxelbit]

A/N: Really cheesy but idk, I wrote it because someone gave me a prompt, (not specifically for Turbo, just a simple prompt for a story).

Sway With Me

Turbo x Reader | One shot | 1,225 words

Warnings: None

Prompt: You and him get stuck in a garage as you both wait for the rain to stop. While waiting, you find a radio and get the idea of dancing.

Cold winds start to blow harder through the game as the racetracks started to darken along with it's landscape. It was strange to have weather here, althought the game did have a low budget when in the making, it seems the developers added a bit of an easter egg to this digital world. Although they could have saved the money and effort for better graphics, this was still something to cherish. As useless and pointless to have weather change in this game, it is still quite an interesting phenomenon.

Both you and Turbo were wrapped up in a friendly banter after the arcade closed. Standing around, his grin would continue to persist as you continue to reply.

"Hey, come on it was fun wasn't it?" Turbo spoke, a grin widening slightly on his face.

"You told me you wouldn't go too fast!" Pointing your finger at him, you try to fix your hair. It was messy and tangled up, all because Turbo chose to speed up the pace when driving both of you here. With your lack of helmet, you ended up with shuffled up locks.

"What'd you expect, I'm 'Turbo'. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?" He commented back, snickering slightly as he replied.

"Turb-" as you were about to reply, a sudden shift in the air managed to get your attention. With one single drop of water front the sky, Turbo quickly knew what was going to happen.

"Well, I think we should go..." Turbo murmured, looking up at the clouds quickly forming in the sky.

Getting back into his racecar, he urges you to sit beside him, "Come on, or do you want to get wet?"

"You won't go too fast again right?" You asked, taking a seat beside him.

Without a moment left to lose, Turbo didn't answer. Starting up the engine, he only gave you a smirk before the car accelerated quickly towards the garage.

Surprised at the sudden pace, you try to get a grip on anything that would help you stay in your seat. Gripping on Turbo's shoulder and a part of his car, you managed to remain seated in the car as both of you quickly arrive at the garage.

"Geez, didn't know you were that clingy," Turbo teased lightly towards you.

Rolling your eyes playfully, you take your hand off him and his car before removing yourself from Turbo's vehicle. After only a few drops of rain pitter pattered, the storm would quickly escalate. Quickly opening the door, both of you took shelter in the garage.

This was normal, well at least for Turbo. The quick exange in his games' weather was an astonishing view but not a good experience to get in. As it rained, dark grey clouds would continue to appear from nowhere, making it look like both of you are going to be stuck here for a while.

"Jeez..." You mutter under your breath as you silently watched the rain get a bit stronger from inside of the garage. Having all the doors and windows closed, you were left with a feeling of bordome. Looking around though, you managed to get yourself entertained.

You did get inside this garage a few times in the past. Although you never really did get to inspect it fully. Now feeling a sense of boredome starting to sprout, you find yourself a bit more focused on certain details you've missed in the past. Looking around now, you notice a dusty as well as toolboxes neatly placed on the desk. There seemed to be the usual things a mechanic should have when tasked to fix a car. Moving onwards though, as your eyes continue to wander, it suddenly stops once your vision sees a few dirty boxes in the shelves. Noticing, Turbo takes it upon himself to guess what you're thinking of.

"What, hoping to find something?" he asked, his gaze redirected to the boxes as well.

"Not really," you replied stepping forward the shelves, "just curious..."

"What, curious of a few dusty boxes probably filled with junk?" Turbo joked as he took one box from the shelf.

"Well you never really know what could be inside," you replied as you stepped forward to inspect the box Turbo placed down.

The box was of course dirty, on top was a thick layer of dust, enough to make you sneeze. Although a bit old, the box stood mighty and stable to hold certain objects.

Opening the box, you both looked inside and see...

"Whoa, a radio..?" You asked, curiosity sparkling in your eyes.

"Heh, haven't seen this in years," Turbo exclaimed in wonder as he took out the old radio from the box, placing it on top of a desk nearby. The radio was shaped like an oval when looking at it from the front and from the top, on the side though, it's appearance was half of an oval. Plopping it down slowly on the desk, you both exchange looks before proceeding to search through the box.

Tinkering slightly with the radio's antennas you asked Turbo, "How did you even get a radio?"

"Ehh, Flash (one of his bros), managed to find it somewhere in the Game Central Station. I don't really know but he did sort of tinker with it before putting it away for some reason," Turbo explained, pulling out a cassette tape from the box.

"Let's see if it still works yeah?" You comment, before plugging the radio somewhere. Agreeing, to your idea, Turbo inserts the cassette tape into the radio.

A nice, playful tune starts to play, although not really clear, the sounds emenating from the player was enough to make you want to dance.

"May I have this dance?" you ask, raising your hand for him to hold. He hesitates for a second, he didn't really know how to dance...

"I'll teach you a few tricks I know, it'll be fun I promise," a smile stretching on your face, you continue to keep your hand in place for him to reach. A few seconds pass by and he doesn't answer for a while. But as you continue to gaze at him, he couldn't help but say yes.

"Fine..." He mutters under his breath.

Surprised, you suddenly pull him close to you, "Let's have some fun yeah?" Still holding his hand, you try to guide him through a dance. Although a bit wonky at the start he manages to get the hang of it after only a couple of tries, which was quite impressive.

"You're doing really good," you spoke, swaying your hips as you follow the rythm of the song.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it," Turbo replies, following suit as he tries to complement your moves with his own.

Still holding hands, as you twirl and twist, Turbo's hold on you tightens slightly a few times as you're moves would sometimes need support from him. Still having fun altogether though, you both dance with each other, a smile stretched on both of your faces.

Smiling and laughing, both of you enjoy your time together under the shelter of this garage. Although the weather may be in a bad mood, you both find yourselves uplifted in each other's arms as the tune of each song guides both of you through sweet moments of happiness.

[thessaliah]

You know, I feel you. Some of kids of the new fandom sound like entitled morons. The code-nonsense I just read made me barf.

By kids I mean you. A 22 years old trying to pass themselves as an old fan. Lmao. I couldn't hide my shock when someone linked me to read your arrogant post attempting to pass yourself into a BNF of old yore. No babe, back off. All you address is old, good or bad, you're not a ship police, you are a nobody. A regular fan the same as everyone else. But let me introduce myself, also a fellow fan.

Hello there. I'm Thess, former administrator of all the livejournal Hellsing communities, former ringleader of all the Hellsing roleplayer community in yahoo (oooold shit), former writer with more than 100 fic under my belt (which got awarded and voted by the community and won prizes), former mod and part escalator of the Band of Hawks and other forums, and an original member of the FIRST Hellsing forum in English (formerly localed in hellsing.nu). All those shiny Young King Ours magazines? Were scanned by us, one of my friends, Taylor, owned them and shared them. I was friends with Erin of Shine too. We used to make cooperative Round Robins among all fanfic writers, we used to give giftship, we used to cooperate with artists to do mutual art-fic project frequently too.

You don't know shit. You weren't there waiting the new manga release, speculating, arguing, gushing month by month, all these ten years Hellsing run. We left once it was over. Then you came I guess.

I come from a pre-pixiv era, if you didn't know, most japanese Hellsing fanart was made in personal websites, collected in webshrines. And it was always AlucardxIntegra >>>>>>> PipxSeras >> AlucardxSeras >>>>>>>>>>> other ships popularity wise. Something incredibly novel because seinen manga and works of the era (Trigun and Trinity Blood later) had more yaoi domination. Alucard and Integra was just so amazing that all yaoi fans liked it better than the boring BL options of Hellsing. Also a phenomena noted in the Hellsing guidebook, officially published by YKO. ;)

I am The Original Integra Hellsing fangirl. Claimed her all around social media back in the day which was before Hellsing finished. Hells, my handle was SIR HELLSING lol. The person who guessed Alucard was coming back and was going straight to Integra's bedroom when he does when nobody thought so and later bowed to my actual literacy skills. Because I knew Hellsing was a tribute to Dracula, not just as novel, but as a franchise. I recognize the cliches Hirano was subverting to give the Count his happy ending.

If you call yourself a "cop", I was the Fandom Mafia Donna who literally ran a community to criticize and help fanfiction with challenges and scores (targeting those who bashed Integra because she was "in the way" of their Alucard ship). We had a good system back then, we were bitchy and ate our own. You wouldn't have survived as soon as you spouted that you shipped IntegraxSeras and AlucardxAndersen and tried to tout it as a canon sticker (no issue with those pairings, my friend Jade/DreadNot was and still is the biggest and best writer of AxAA but she knew it was a fanship; and I've written gift fic). You would have gotten laughed at and made a laughing stock.

Let's see... you are against AlucardxIntegra and AlucardxSeras? Oh shit. I might be against the later as notp, but that's bullshit to pretend is some new fan thing (even with the kissy mushy aspect, it's an old tradition, while the other pairings? Newer). This fixation with yuri and yaoi, on the other hand? Clearly a product of this new fandom. AxI vs AxS are the original SHIP WAR. The one that burned and dedicated threads of Hellsing.nu forums to argue against one or the other and you, a literal who fledgling is trying to speak about them? For real? Of course, AlucardxSeras has family-element, but so is your precious IntegraxSeras. Integra acts like her mother surrogate and is even clear in Romancia where she scolds her as she does with a child. Seras' arc, in the manga, is to follow her father figure steps (Alucard), and protect her mother figure (Integra) because she failed to do so in her childhood trauma. That's basically it. She got adopted now by Hellsing. She's the daughteru. You're just taking out of context a lame scene by otaku to titillate them as something that supports a ship. It's ok, but you're using ammo against AxS while ignoring that interaction you ship (with Integra) is also found family to Seras.

Her love interest, the couple "everyone is envious of", is Pip Bernadotte. You can't even write Seras after his "death" without Pip because he's part of her and cannot part at all as a "Combination". And there is still Gonzo show AlucardxSeras which is as canon and part of a "love triangle" officially with AlucardxIntegra even if it's in the loser side.

Hirano, in the Hellsing guide, already declared AlucardxIntegra and SerasxPip are the ships his manga stuck with from the beginning, dismissing the possibility of AlucardxSeras. But see that? It's always those three considered and addressed when they speak on pairings. No AlucardxYour guy of choice, or IntegraxSeras, because they are fanships without real authorial intent or substance that simply aren't even considered in the first place when he began to write the thing. He did choose to not go the AxS direction. If you want to play canon sicker and ship police as you do, you need to acknowledge that your preferences (sans HeinkelxYumie) are beneath AxS in the canon scale.

Don't even make me start on the bullcrap with Integra you brought up. Integra isn't meant to be androgynous (neither is Rip!). She's written straight out Hirano's fetishes and he gets mad when people assume she's androgynous or manly. He just finds girls in suits and with glasses and long hair hot. Rip and Integra are his taste, rather than Seras. You can say that to you she is, but framing it as authorial intent is bullshit. He has no problem to admit Alucard's not male (yes! he said so! Alucard was originally male but after his transformation he/they lose that grip of gender) and Heinkel is intersex, but the idea of anyone trying to pass Integra, his beloved waifu, as manly or androgynous makes Hirano angry. He even chose the VA of the Gundam character he has a crush on as Integra's VA. And declared her as his waifu. And won't even touch your mischaracterization of her and why she stabbed herself in the anime. The ending of both anime and manga are meant to be ambiguous of her choice because it could go either way. All old Integra fans know this if you properly have a grip of her character and notice what she wants (both in anime and manga, that are different things). But you do not have that, huh?

Tone down your arrogance and know your place. It's fine to like a fanship, and you can do it without shitting on canon ships (and try to literally pull "canon" on these while not thinking yours are absolutely outside the canon interpretation - SerasxAnyone is no go after she drinks Pip's blood because she's Pip and Seras, it'll always be a threesome unless you AU it. Period). It's fine to have the "Integra won't become a vampire" interpretation as long as you know she also can become a vampire and is as valid. Be self aware please! When your interpretation (and that "coded" new fan nonsense lmao) clashes with authorial intent, propping it as totally canon-follower is ick. No issue if it's our preference.

Also stop being so full of yourself and call yourself an "old" fan because us, the real old fans, don't claim you.

Buh-bye.

Hey op just curious what makes you hate the new Hellsing fanbase. As a fellow Hellsing fan I was wondering if I’ve completely missed something strange going on lately.

The new Hellsing fandom honestly irks me because of the surface level probing of the source material*. Yes, to most it's a hard core, dark, violent, mad and bad-ass anime but, like I've said so often, for so long on this dumb blog, it has the BEST female characters I've ever seen, recently rivaled by Arcane. Incredible depiction of platonic relationships and morally grey characters. To me, it's primarily a found family story, among other things.

The side characters are incredible, Yumi and Heinkel are the most underrated of the show. I mean come on priest and nun lesbians (lesbian used liberally). Heinkel is confirmed by the author to be an INTERSEX HUMAN. Alucard shapeshifts into a female (which, looking at the Devilman fandom, everyone took for an obvious trans metaphor, why not here?). The source material is as homoerotic as it can get between a lot of the characters (the tension between Sir Integra and Seras during the blood scene). Let's not forget Rip van Winkle, Pip, Walter, and Alexander. Alucard's teasing, Seras' naivety and subsequent maturity, Pip's endurance and playful wittiness. These characters and relationships are stuck in my head forever, they're all incredibly unique, fleshed out and worth remembering, no matter how short a time they spent on screen. And the character designs? As a long-time vampyr and catholic guilt fan, can I just say. Rawr. This show shaped how I dress like irl and my own shitty characters, as well.

Sir Integra is my favorite character of the show and one of all time. Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. Like, an actually good depiction of a no-nonsense, androgynous as hell, unabashedly commanding (dare I say) woman? And it's played completely straight? No "Whaaa that's a woman?" every 2 seconds or "heh, you will listen to me despite my womanhood" from her. Powerful in her own right despite being the few "magic"-less humans of the series. 0 sexualized Ultimate scenes (sorry Seras and the "hot down there" comment doesn't count, that was banter). She was fucking knighted by the Queen of England before she was even 25, hence Sir Integra. Canonically bi-racial and South-Asian. I'm not even going to go into her character's willpower and values but. Hellloooo??? 

Not to mention, something noteworthy about the series, but Hellsing works because Hirano made time for silly moments. I mean, hell, one of the scenes I remember most vivdly was the gag of Heinkel lighting Sir Integra's cigar and being mega-pissed about it during the final battle, it's funny yet in character, despite many fans saying the humor throws you out of the "reality" of the show.

Oh no, but what do the new fandom gremlins talk about? "Alufart rails Y/A" "OMG VLADCARD'S BARA HAIRY TIDDIES I WANNA RUB MY FACE AGAINST THEM" (you know who you are) “I drew the most fucked up version of Alucard I could think of in my twisted mind”

and my personal "favorite":

"omg 🥺 what if intewa and alucard kisswdd", it's almost as bad as Seras x Alucard.

Unfortunately, I am a part of the ship police, so I'm gonna say right now that these two are my most hated ships:

1) Sir Integra and Alucard's relationship goes beyond romance to me. Since none of the new fans know the lore, Sir Integra is and will die a virgin (canon), it's literally plot relevant because by having sex, if she gets bit she will become a zombie slave (obvious but apparently needed to be said) and, taking a note from the 2001 anime, gone is any chance to continue the Hellsing mission. If she was bitten, plot armor aside, she'd have to off herself instead of becoming a vampire. (and for you freaks out there/pos, dare I say… ace representation? you can argue about desire and subtext later)

2) Seras and Alucard's relationship was specifically noted by the author to be a father/daughter dynamic, which is kind of obvious in the show. Like I said, fundamentally a found family series. Yeah, you don't need to treat found family like family family but I gen can't stand this ship.

I know that people will ship characters who've never been in a room together before. I can't stop people from shipping them and these two ships have ALWAYS been popular in the fandom. I typically ignore this and, yes, "don't like, don't interact" is my main rule. However, new fans ONLY talk about this stuff. None of the rest of the show seems to matter, just Alucard's hairy mustached tig bitties and him fucking one of the two women in the main cast. Or someone's self insert.

((tangent but personally my favorite ships are Alexander x Alucard (obviously in an enemies to enemies way), Heinkel x Yumi, and a romance only Seras x s.Integra. Like, you want old women yuri??? There ya go! They were in a mansion for like 30 years (I forgot) together, probably going missions alone and sharing their grief over Alucard and their unique experience/history. Like I said, I can't help who people ship, I'm not trying to say the source material is in favor of my ships or "how dare people interpret these obviously gay characters as straight". like no, that's not why I'm upset and ik alucard and alexander weren't yaoi-ing it up but like. alucard and s.integra shippers dni /j))

Not to mention, I couldn't help but notice, despite this information being readily available to my middle school self, no one knows the fckn lore or background of this show?? I honest to god saw someone comment that Hellsing Ultimate™ was a bad “remake” because it diverged from the original anime.

Here's SOME fun facts:

-the 2001 version of the show has a different ending than the manga because it wasn't finished yet (duh). Hellsing Ultimate is "soooo short" because production took almost a decade and it was trying to be a faithful, well-animated (that takes time bruv) adaptation. Oh, and a bunch of directional changes that I won't get into.

-there are multiple OVAs following Walter's youth in WW2 (Hellsing: The Dawn). Young Walter's design honestly was one of my favorites from the series so. Walter enjoyers. Check it out.

-there is a bonus book explaining a lot about the characters and process of creating Hellsing written by Hirano himself. whenever I got a hold of it, though (8+ years ago) there was no English translation.

-Alucard didn't just transform into a girl that one time, he was in his girl form the entire time during WW2 (hence why when people mention his possible affair with the Queen it might've been a sapphic thing but I think that mostly stems from the abridged series. the queen thing not the girl thing)

-Hirano used to be a Hentai mangaka and actually designed many of Hellsing's characters in said hentai or in short stories (such as Crossfire, it's basically extra, non-canonical Hellsing content) beforehand. Which, this used to be the most popular "fun fact" but has been lost to the sands of time now, so prepare for a lot of people rediscovering this.

-personal lore is I almost named myself Rip van Winkle bc of this show (quirked up Portal, Grell Sutcliff, queer-coded, rifle-wielding shawty)

Anyway, to sum it up, I hate when people don't interpret characters in the same way I do. Yes, I am a bad “fandom elder”, idgaf I am fundamentally a hater.

*I keep seeing this happen with old shows that resurface. Unlike newer or more popular shows where every scene gets scoured, characters who showed up for one scene get analyzed, and endless cafe AUs are made- older shows mostly get fan art of the main charas and the ships of the two hottest characters and that's it. Discussion of lore and themes are completely off the table. So I'm not surprised, just disappointed.

[ohitslen]

They would be so insufferable once they got together I’m telling you right now

Request by @molten-rainbows!💖✨✨

Uni-fying the requests because.

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Sapling Cage

YA fantasy, start of a trilogy

a trans girl and her friend swap places so she can join the coven of witches who wander the land instead of becoming a knight

as they travel and she starts to learn from them, while hoping she’s not found out , they uncover a corrupt magical blight that threatens to become a civil war

bi demi MC

[canisalbus]

i like think about machete's death as a culmination of his paranoia and eventual cruelty and vasco as the single ray of light loving him up through the end. even through as terrible as he becomes, the thought of vasco's heart being with him even as he chokes on his own blood as the one thing that he could hold on to. what is it to love something you know is vile, and to mourn their loss regardless. i could drink the tragedy like wine

.

[isfjmel-phleg]

(I tried to put this in the tags but it wouldn't let me. Thank you for this latest chapter! I look forward to the completed story whenever you're able to get to it. And I'm sorry that writing this has to take you to such a difficult place, and I understand completely if you choose not to proceed with the next part, but please know that this story has meant a lot to me, and I'm very grateful that you are writing it.)

49: The Party

part one | previous | next | masterlist | ao3 version

instead of the first few paragraphs of this chapter going before the readmore button, I'm going to put a longer author's note. I hope you'll forgive the break from habit.

So, Strange Redemption matters to me a lot. I'm sorry about the often months-long breaks between chapters and grateful that many of you who've been here since updates were weekly have kept coming back. <333

In regards to future plans, I've noticed that it's easier to write Strange Redemption when I'm at low points personally. Easier to tap into Thad's headspace that way. Concern about that plus a healthier headspace plus the increased workload of my final year of college was what caused me to slow way down on writing and posting the story. Now that I have some breathing room in my life again, I've made the decision that I'm definitely going to finish at least the first half of my planned two halves of Strange Redemption. We're so close to the end of Thad's solo run!! We're almost there with him! I can hang in there until the end of this next story arc, which will conclude most of the story pretty well, in my opinion.

The second half of Strange Redemption I had all planned out to explore more original characters (some of you will know what I'm talking about—my darling clones Three through Ten). I honestly don't know if I'll write that half soon or at all, so I guess we'll find that out together! I have some great ideas for the hypothetical second half, if I do say so myself, but I'm restraining myself firmly from making ANY promises about it.

Thanks again! Back to the story!

Thad went to bed yesterday with vague fear lashing around in his head like wrestling metahumans, and he wakes up with the bones of that fear nestled in a lump in the back of his brain. He feels a plan forming. He lets it rest, that little lump of inspiration born of fear. Thaddeus knows how this goes.

He makes plans, because he’s a clone, because he was made to make plans. He ruins things because he was made to ruin things. He recognizes his own pattern.

In about a day, it’ll come to him. The Plan. The new Perfect Plan to dissect with CRAYDL.

Only this time, Thaddeus isn’t sure what the plan will be for. 

It’s something about what he realized yesterday: that he should be afraid, and he isn’t. Something about that thing he found out on the computer at the library weeks ago: that being struck by lightning can change your personality. Something about how terrifying it was to forget his new name when he was talking to the maid, and to realize how flimsy, how fake it sounded in his mouth, Sophos Thaddeus Anacletus Free. It felt like nothing. Less than nothing, less than calling himself Bart.

Something… about that. Thad stares at himself brushing his teeth in the mirror and lets the lump of soon-to-be-Plan grow, shift. The imaginary form of the Plan feels more real than his body.

Thad puts on a green plaid shirt with hands that don’t feel anything. It’s reassuringly familiar, this sense of removal. It’s a relief not to feel like a person for a while. He can sense victory in the distance, and with victory so close, secondary things like his physical body don’t actually matter.

Joseph comments on Thad’s preoccupation at breakfast. He points at Thad and raises his eyebrows—a question without content, just what’s with you?

And if Thad was with CRAYDL, he would have smiled wickedly and said Wait and see… and CRAYDL would have said aww, Boss! And Thad would have laughed and ignored it and CRAYDL would have cajoled until Thad divulged Yes, I'm thinking up a new plan. I’m not telling you yet… I’m still working on it… I think it’ll be good, though… really good…

He comes back to the present moment and shrugs. “Just something.”

Joseph looks at him, waiting. Takes another bite of pancake.

It would be so easy to tell him. Just like CRAYDL. But—

But Joseph isn’t CRAYDL, and why does Thad feel so safe, anyway? A lightning strike can change your personality. The lump of fear twists, and Thad swallows and shrugs again.

“Clone… stuff, I think,” he lies. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

The instant compassion on Joseph’s face is too much. Thad drops his fork and buries his face in his hands, suddenly overwhelmed.

He hates using “clone issues” as an excuse, he decides. It brings too much to the surface—things he’d rather stay down in the depths of him. His face is hot behind his hands, long lashes just like Bart’s brushing the palms of his Thawne hands.

Yeah, no. He’s not doing that again unless he has to.

Mortified for no good reason, he picks up the fork in his fist and starts eating again, avoiding looking straight at Joseph.

They finish breakfast in silence. Thad wishes Joseph would ask him again. Then he remembers he absolutely should not feel this safe around Joseph. Then he wishes it again, childish, selfish. He wants to be understood.

But they have ground rules, and one of Thad’s ground rules for Joseph was not to make Thad talk about being a clone. So Joseph doesn’t ask Thad anything else, although Thad sees his sea-green eyes tracking Thad anxiously.

Thad gulps down the rest of his breakfast and dumps his dishes in the sink with numb hands.

Thad spends the afternoon in his Plum room, drawing, unhurriedly putting his thoughts together into the beginning of a plan, and spacing out. He’s not sure how much he’s dissociating, but he thinks it’s a lot. The sun moves on the floor when he’s not looking and he finds himself stiff and sore from laying in the same position and has to move, wincing, to wake up his muscles and ease the pressed points of his bones.

In the evening, the guests arrive in ones and twos to Joseph’s party. Some fly, some are carried, others drive up the driveway. Changeling—or Beast Boy, Thad doesn’t know how the timeline has progressed this time—arrives as a cheetah. Thad watches from his tower window, scoping out the situation. His brain kicks into gear again, and he’s grateful for it. He needs not to be spacing out and losing time quite so much right now.

A little later, Joseph comes to get him. Thad pushes the scraps of plans even further back into his mind and smiles and nods and follows him downstairs.

Before they enter the study, Joseph stops Thad walking with a gesture. Thad stops and waits, looking at Joseph’s fuzzy green velvet vest instead of his face.

But Joseph’s hands don’t move in speech. The man clasps his hands against his chest, a strangely nervous gesture. Surprised, Thad looks at Joseph’s face. He looks worried.

Thad flinches. Worried—Joseph is worried about introducing Thad to his friends? Oh. Thad breaks eye contact, looks at the wall for a moment, then forces his eyes back to Joseph’s hands with all his strength.

Joseph signs, “Are you nervous?”

Thad shakes his head.

Joseph tilts his head at him, but Thad is already committed to the lie.

“OK,” Joseph signs. Then he puts his hands to his heart and smiles at Thad, crinkling up his eyes. “They’ll love you.”

Thad doubts it, but whatever. He finds himself smiling back at Joseph, charmed and amused by the hyperbole.

Quietly, so as not to be heard inside the room, Thad asks, “You introduce a lot of supervillains to your friends?”

“Lots and lots,” Joseph signs, grinning.

Thad rolls his eyes, making Joseph huff out a soft amused breath. “Whatever. Fine, let’s go.”

Thad slows time as he steps around the corner of the propped-open door to the study. It looks like the people here are comfortable, for the most part. Wonder Woman is standing at the window with her husband and the Gotham vigilante Nightwing. Nightwing is nothing to worry about for a speedster who knows what he’s doing, but Wonder Woman is a bigger threat. Danny Chase is cross-legged in an armchair, talking to Starfire, who’s sitting in midair in front of him. Neither of them is a threat, although Danny Chase’s intellect might be annoying to deal with. Cyborg is currently wrestling playfully with Changeling. Changeling is below Thad’s notice, no threat at all; Cyborg’s sonic capacities are to be steered clear from, even for Inertia. Raven—

Raven. Thad’s attention narrows immediately as he spots her, leaning comfortably on the back of an armchair. She’s already looking in his direction.

He pulls time to as near a halt as he can.

What will Raven think of him? What will she say? She reads minds, she’ll know about the Plan, she’ll know he’s lying to Joseph. The only possible hope here is that Thaddeus himself doesn’t fully know what he’s planning. Despite the immediate idea of pretending the Plan is something entirely innocent, an immediate image of Joseph bleeding out jumps to the front of Thad’s mind. No—no! He has to get a hold of himself. He’s not planning anything like that. Never. He’d never hurt Joseph Wilson. No more than he’d hurt Max, or Helen.

Maybe Thad is more nervous to meet Joseph’s friends than he thought.

Well, Thad wasn’t Inertia for nothing. He’s smart. He can do this. All he has to do is survive the introductions.

He lets time speed up again and steps into the room. Raven says nothing, just raises her hand and waves at him and Joseph.

Nightwing notices them enter a moment after Raven waves. He calls, “Joey!”

Everyone pauses their activities and looks over. Thad freezes, but none of them are looking at him in this instant. Every face in the room beams to see Joseph Wilson. They love him, Thad realizes with a shock.

They really love their “Joey”.

The old jealous void in Thad’s chest roars to life. He wishes he was like Joseph. He wishes he could step into a room and have everyone love him immediately.

Joseph’s hand comes down on Thad’s shoulder. It’s warm and settling. The void clutches at the sensation of physical touch, then settles down again. Thad feels it thrumming in him, a current of safety and surety tied to Joseph that the speed force put into him like pouring electricity into a wire.

Joseph lifts his hand. Thad clings to the memory of the touch.

“This is my kid, Thad,” Joseph signs.

Thad looks quickly out at the room to see their reactions.

Joseph’s friends nod and smile. A few of them—Starfire, Nightwing, Changeling—say “Hello” in cheerful tones of voice. Danny Chase raises an eyebrow. Raven smiles.

Thad doesn’t know what to say in this situation. The urge to chirp “Hi!” like Bart would occurs to him and he squashes that impulse with extreme prejudice. Instead, he adds some more identifying information.

“I used to be Inertia,” he says.

“Yeah, we heard,” Danny Chase says, bluntly but not unkindly.

Thad shrugs at him. “Redundant information never hurts.”

“It does if it’s boring.”

“Oh, stop, Danny,” Starfire laughs. “Just because you’re bored doesn’t mean the rest of us are.”

Danny snaps back, and conversation starts again all over the study. That’s it, then? That was the introduction?

Joseph gestures Thad to go further into the room. Thad takes a few steps forward and stops, unsure where to go. Raven, watching him, makes a come here gesture.

Thad obeys, because not going will just make this worse. At least Raven is alone, and at least he’s familiar with her, more familiar than with the other people here, anyway. “Better the devil you know”, as they say in this century.

Joseph’s quiet, bright presence behind him soothes Thad’s worst fears. It’s like having CRAYDL looming there. Support. Someone here who likes him. Trusts him.

“I’m sorry you’re afraid of me,” Raven says softly.

Thad grits his teeth. He hates interacting with a mind reader. He can’t argue with that.

“I’m fine.”

“I know,” Raven says. “Don’t worry about me, Thaddeus. I’m not going to say anything about you.”

Really? What about the Plan?

“Really?”

“Nothing at all. I promise,” Raven says. She unfurls herself from the back of the armchair and holds out a long, black-nailed hand.

Thaddeus shakes her hand firmly before she can take it back.

Then he smiles. Maybe this party will be survivable, after all.

[batsplat]

OT3: casey stoner/his neuroses/the concept of valentino rossi that mostly exists in casey’s head

y'know I have this casey stoner... idk what it is. thematic mind map (literal), let's say, that I like fiddling with and adding things to when the mood hits me. and it does always strike me just how many of his struggles during his careers and issues with the sport can in some way be linked back to the valentino rivalry

casey's sense of isolation? super valentino related. casey's feelings of cultural alienation in a paddock dominated by europeans? even when it's not really related to valentino, casey is the one linking those two things together. casey's issues with other riders not being respectful enough on track? very obviously repeatedly about valentino. casey's discomfort with the performance and entertainment-related aspects of the sport? more valentino. casey feeling treated unfairly by the manufacturers, the media, the marshals, the fans.... keeps coming back to valentino. casey's mystery illness really shouldn't be as relevant to the rivalry as it is, but somehow through this combination of public discourse and whatever comparisons casey's brain is cooking up at any moment in time... there valentino is again

one of the most charming things about valentino's feuds is that in each and every single one, both participants end up being deeply weird about each other? just keep knocking off these banger quotes about the other where you read them and go. hm. what's going on there then. I don't want to make it sound like I think casey is the worst offender with this (not when marc and valentino have their whole thing going on, bidirectionally)... but I do think he's the most susceptible to conflating his valentino issues with like... everything else that was going on in his career. to the extent where his alienation with the sport as a whole, his extreme disillusionment from everything related to motogp, really cannot be meaningfully disentangled from the valentino rivalry. at times it feels like, to casey, valentino literally is the sport. and that's the thing casey dedicated his whole life to!! which means you do inevitably end up regularly going 'wow there's a lot to unpack'. add in a dash of neuroticism...

and yeah you're so right anon!! the neuroses are what end up creating the version of valentino that mostly exists in casey's head, a version that casey is just a touch obsessed with. I always think it's interesting how aware casey is that he doesn't know valentino as a person - and to the extent casey does know him, he gets on pretty well with him... but valentino the person isn't all that relevant to him. it's valentino the character who matters - and can you even really know a character? in the end, all casey can do is rely on his own understanding of that character, as imperfect as it is. and, well, in a way casey is trapped with that character forevermore. if one man comes to embody a sport to such an extent and if that sport has been your life's work, how can you not be a little bit trapped? as he tries to make his peace with the sport and his experiences within it, so too has casey settled on a narrative of valentino that helps him make sense of it all... a very specific understanding of his rival that casey has shaped in his mind and still trots out now when he sells his own version of events to the media. casey learned from valentino, casey learned to be a little more like valentino, casey learned to fight valentino with his own tools, casey tells himself a story of that fight. he still continues to do so - and in the end he will never be entirely free of valentino

[loopdile]

transcription under the cut!

The worst ship chart ever.

Ship name: Loopdile

[insert very tiny math] Ages: 43 and 31? Age difference: 8?

Portrait of Odile with an eyebrow raised saying "I'm not telling." Name: Odile. Gender: trans woman (maybe nb but idrc rn). Sexuality: Aro lesbian.

Portrait of Loop with a finger raised saying "I'm not telling~" Name: Loop. Gender: Nonbinary (??? what is identity). Sexuality: Ace bi

General sliders. "Relationship starts quickly vs the slowest burn you can possibly imagine" is marked fairly close to slowly and trails off towards slow burn. "They'll be together forever vs They'll break up after 2 months tops" has two marks, one at 2 months and one really close to forever. "Cute couple vs dear god they're ugly" is marked a quarter slider away from cute. "Reasonably healthy and normal relationship vs They're dying and getting killed and hurt man" has a wide mark all the way from the halfway point to a quarter away from healthy. "Extremely popular ship vs literally no one ships this but me" is marked fairly close to no one.

Specific sliders. "Giddy and happy to be in love vs they just killed themselves 40 times in their head at the idea of being in love" has loop at died and odile fairly close to died. "The madoka vs the homura" has loop at homura and odile a third of the slider away. "Telling anyone who will listen about their partner vs rarely brings up that they're in a relationship" has loop a quarter away from telling anyone and odile fairly close to rarely. "eats and/or encourages a healthy diet vs eats dry instant noodles only" has loop at noodles and odile a third away from healthy. "crazy ass vs truck freak" has loop at crazy ass and odile fairly close to truck freak.

Tell me why your ship is interesting... go!

What draws them together? Odile is the only motherfucker that can handle them; Loop is weird and intriguing.

What stands in the way? Poor communication skills; Loop is clingy but Odile often needs space; Loop lashes out and self-isolates.

What are their good traits? They're both hilarious and dedicated to the bit; they're both devoted to their loved ones.

What makes them hopeless at romance? Odile is aro-spec and uninterested in romance; Loop both hates/fears and craves romance; Luckily they can just be something stranger!

Describe them with one trope: found family, deadpan x emotional, secret third thing, I'll protect you from yourself.

[taegularities]

some men are textbook villains fr

[mercutiotakethewheel]

rereading fablehaven is actually so sad rn bc like fuck im not eleven anymore wtf? i keep reading expecting to relate to kendra and seth like i used to but i just dont? like i can still feel the beating heart of love i have for this story underneath but its like different now. like this fun story is deeply sad to me now like what???

these kids joined the magical world and in doing so had to sever every connection they have to the outside world from before. they only have friends their age for like a ch of book 2, and after that they basically have no peer group. how awful is that for a couple of kids?

and they dont get to be kids anymore. seth’s mischief gathers consequences until he seems to lose it in the latter half of dragonwatch. kendra gains self confidence in some ways but then also becomes more and more burdened with responsibilities she didnt ask for and shouldnt have at the ripe age of 13-16.

like i dont even know

i might be projecting here and its def not this deep but i desperately need these bitches to re-enter the public school system and make some fucking friends their own age. please. magical or non-magical.

[flythesail]

I finished writing Qimir's backstory

[lord-squiggletits]

I think my favorite part about the Luna-1 hotdog-style Ambulon incident is the "fuck around and find out moment" of Ratchet taunting Pharma with his insecurities only to be surprised/fearful when Pharma brought in Ambulon and First Aid to be bisected.

Like, aside from the fact that I love Pharma and think he deserves some murder as a treat

It's actually kind of a really good character moment for Ratchet where he super fucked up, like it's extremely rare in the whole of IDW for Ratchet to have made a mistake that bad and it's a fun addition to his character imo. He clearly thought he was in control of the situation and felt some kind of arrogant/clever about thinking he'd successfully manipulated, only for it to turn out "oops you just ended up escalating the situation and putting your friends in danger instead." Arrogance/recklessness aren't something you typically associate with Ratchet so I think the situation is really cool if only bc we got to see an aspect of Ratchet's personality that doesn't really come out otherwise.

Also it means that Ratchet 🤝 Rung -> Making a really stupid decision to provoke/taunt someone emotionally unstable in the middle of a hostage situation and just making it worse