#The kids costumes would be age appropriate for sure

[lilliancdoodles]

This post gave me an idea.

So we know that Missa's mc skin is based off of Skeletor from the 80's show He-Man (and also the recent "reboot" but i'm not counting that). What if for Halloween one year the Death Family went as Skeletor (Missa), Hordak (Phil), He-Man (Chayanne), and She-Ra (Lullah).

Because in the original 80's shows He-Man and She-Ra are twin brother and sister. idk I think it could be a cute family costume idea.

[lovelytsunoda]

you've got me under your spell | eddie brock and venom

summary: the then's and now's of halloween in the brock household

pairing: eddie brock x wife!reader (and their son!) x venom

warnings: i've turned eddie brock from a swagless loser to a dilf, venom is loaned to a child as a halloween costume, venom is almost like a second child tbh, implied smut, brief mentions of mental illness and pregnancy-related mental health issues. not to spoil anything at the end but the final section is pretty fucking funny if i do say so myself.

author's note: i have a very delayed last minute addition to my halloween fics for 2024! after flying through all three venom movies in about two days (as someone who doesn't watch marvel movies, might i add), i am pleased (and a little concerned) to annoucne that eddie brock is now my favourite marvel character.

yes, dylan brock is a canon character in the venom comics (or so i have been told) but all this dylan had in common with the canon version is his name.

2010.

she watched fondly from the doorway as eddie picked up the infant, who was currently trying to crawl towards the white pumpkin in the bay window. dylan laughed in his father's arms as eddie spun around before cradling the infant against his chest. he caught his wife's eyes from the doorway, a cheeky grin on his face as he looked down at dylan.

"hey kiddo, i think mommy's looking at us."

dylan smiled, wide and toothless, letting out the baby equivalent of a cheer as he looked over at his mother.

"are you guys ready to make the rounds? i promised mrs. chen some baby time." y/n laughed, reaching out to hold her son's small hand in hers.

the streets outside were lit up with fog machines and smiling skeletons, filled with the sounds of kids milling about. it was baby brock's first halloween, and he was dressed appropriately for it in his little pumpkin costume. after attempting to suck on y/n's finger, dylan dropped her hand and busied himself with attempting to trace the tattoos visible on eddie's forearm.

eddie beamed, kissing his wife softly before answering. "we're ready if you are. lead the way, mamas."

y/n had never pictured herself as a mother. in her twenties, when it seemed like settling down was the only thing people her age wanted to do, she was paralyzed with fear, insecurity and a little bit of self-loathing. being inside of her head was a nightmare, and she wasn't even sure she'd make it to thirty.

things had started to change when she met eddie brock.

slowly, she came alive again. she started to want things that she had thought were out of reach. she wanted to get married, have that house and that family and the white picket fence. to know that everything she had done had added up to this moment, and that everything had been worth it.

but she hated being pregnant. for her, growing another human being had been an arduous, terrifying experience. the eight hours of labour she had gone through on the day dylan was born was enough for her to decide that she didn't want more kids, and that she could still have the family she dreamed of with only one child.

she kissed dylan's forehead softly, brushing back his thin baby hair before tucking the small pumpkin hat onto his little head, and over his small ears.

the couple walked down the front steps of their bungalow, one of eddies arms around his wife, and the other holding his son (which was quite the feat, considering that the infant so desperately wanted out of his father's arms. dylan was an active baby, but he was allowed to crawl down the residential street, he would do so at such a pace that the brocks would never get him back.)

at every house they went to there was someone to coo over the littlest brock. eventually, eddie had to drop that arm around his wife so that he could use both hands to hold his son. dylan smiled that wide, gummy smile and laughed and babbled at all of the people that they passed, y/n clutching an almost-full orange bag of candy (she was convinced that some of their neighbours gave out extra candy to the couple, simply to reward them with the hit of caffeine found in chocolate that the new parents would so crave).

as they walked towards mrs. chen's house, dylan finally settled in his fathers arms, eddie looked over at his wife with nothing but reverence and love in his eyes. even carrying a little bit of extra weight around her hips and stomach, her breasts a little fuller and her arms a little chubbier, she was as radiant as she was the day that they got married. he would do anything for her, for his son. his little family.

"eddie, darling." she laughed, turning to face him. "you're staring."

eddie blushed, the rose in his cheeks barely visible in the dark. "uh, no i'm not."

"yes you are." she giggled. "i love you, eddie brock."

"i love you more." eddie beamed, leaning over to kiss her. "i think the little guy is worn out." he spoke softly, nodding towards the baby in his arms. "he's asleep."

"awe." y/n cooed, gently stroking her son's arm with her pointer finger. the sight of eddie holding their son in his arms would never grow old. she was starting a folder of pictures on her laptop of this very thing, as she knew dylan would soon be too big for his father to hold. "he's just like his father. he can go to sleep any time, any where and in any condition."

eddie laughed. "i feel like there was an insult buried in there somewhere."

"i still married you, didn't i?"

2024.

"dylan, if you want to get to eric's on time, you've gotta get going now! his mom's on the way!"

y/n knocked on her son's door, waiting until she heard the disgruntled teenage groan from the other side. satisfied that dylan had been served enough warning, she headed back out into the living room.

she had put eddie in charge of moving the halloween candy from the massive carboard costco boxes to the festive plastic bowls, and he was doing a surprisingly okay job at it.

their life had changed drastically in the years since her husband had begun to share his body with a symbiote. the symbiote had once given dylan nightmares, and she had fielded one too many concerned calls from the school after he had gone around and told all of the other kids that his father was an alien and would eat anybody who was mean to him (although, once eddie and venom had bonded, venom was steadfast in his commitment to eating any bullies that dylan may face) it had taken time, and a lot of home repairs to get used to, but alas, venom now felt like one of the family.

well, more like the cousin you don't want any of your friends to meet. or the alien that your husband is in a strangely homeorotic relationship with.

"i thought venom would have eaten half of those by now." she remarked, leaning over the back of the sofa to rest her head on her husband's shoulder, hands on his chest.

"i made him promise to behave today. i don't want him scaring the little kids." eddie shrugged, turning his had to kiss his wife softly.

"what did you have to give him?"

eddie paused, waiting a beat in order to formulate an answer that wouldn't send his wife into a spiral. in the distance, he heard dylan's bedroom door open and close, and then the fourteen-year-old came bounding into the living room.

"eric's mom is like five minutes away. is it okay if i wait outside?"

keeping her hands on eddie shoulders, y/n straightened, looking over at her son. "no costume?'

she didn't miss the way that eddie's muscles tensed up under her hands, or the way dylan's pinkie finger twitched. neither of them said a word, and when her eyes zeroed in on the full boxes of nestle chocolates, she got her answer.

"edward brock, please tell me that you did not lend your symbiote to our son as a halloween costume!"

dylan's shoulder rippled black over the top of his hunter-green sweatshirt, venom's inky head materializing next to a defeated looking dylan.

"okay, we won't tell you." the symbiote said , turning to face eddie. "you told me that this was okay with mrs. b."

eddie got up from the couch, pointing a finger at the symbiote. "i said no such thing. i said we were never supposed to tell y/n under any circumstances."

"mom, it's only for the night. you let dad have venom year-round!" dylan protested, stuffing his hands in his sweater pockets. "how is this any different?"

y/n stopped and counted to twenty, eyes closed before she breathed deeply and opened them again.

"that's because your father is the one who brought venom into this house in the first place, and i didn't get a say in the matter. also, your father is an adult, and venom actually listens to him."

"i listen to nobody!"

eddie coughed. "actually, he doesn't listen to me at all. he does what he wants half of the time."

"not the point, eddie! hosting venom almost killed you."

"actually- "

"not now vee!" eddie and y/n shouted together.

eddie reached for his wife's hand, knowing that she needed something to ground her, something tangible that she could hold on to. his hand was warm and calloused, comforting. she ran her thumb over eddie's knuckles as he stepped closer, dropping his voice in the hopes that dylan and venom wouldn't be able to eavesdrop.

"y/n, you know that i wouldn't let dylan take venom out if i didn't think he could handle it. its just one night."

"eddie, venom eats people. i don't want to get calls from parents stating that their sons hung out with my son, and then they came back headless."

"he has sworn to be on his best behavior tonight." eddie insisted. "and besides, when was the last time we had a night that was just the two of us? no dylan, no venom."

she paused, trying to think, the calm was starting to ease back into her body, the initial panic subsiding. her husband was right, she knew. while nights without dylan had become more common the older he got, with the boy staying over at friend's houses or going out late with his buddies, having a husband who hosted an alien sometimes put a damper on date night.

for the past five years, she had felt like she was in a never-ending threesome. don't get her wrong, the sex was absolutely phenomenal, but she missed her husband. she missed the days when it was just the two of them, curled up in bed on a sunday afternoon, with reruns of a bad sitcom playing in the background as they made love without a care in the world.

she realized that she was excited at the idea of having sex with her husband without an alien tentacle trying to slip into her ass (which felt absolutely incredible, by the way. after the first time venom did that, she downloaded all the monsterfucking books she could find on kindle unlimited. trying to explain the plot of ice planet barbarians to eddie had been quite the spectacle).

a honk in the front driveway snapped her out of her thoughts. dylan was looking at her expectantly, venom's head still hovering in the air next to him. if it were possible for symbiotes to give puppy dog eyes, she was sure that venom would be doing so. she looked at eddie, and then back at dylan, weighing her options.

"fine. dylan, you can take venom with you."

venom and dylan gave a cheer, the teen high-fiving one of venom's slinky tentacles.

"i promise not to eat any of the children, mrs. b. only gourmet chocolate. dylan says tonight is the best night for it."

"go on." y/n laughed. "don't keep eric waiting. and be careful!"

eddie and y/n stood by the front window, eddie's hand in her back pocket as they watched dylan run down the driveway and jump into the back of eric's mom's nissan. he had grown up so fast. it felt like just yesterday he was an infant in a pumpkin costume, cradled in eddie's strong arms. now he was almost as tall as his father.

y/n let out a small yelp as she felt herself become weightless, her husband's strong, beefy arms wrapped around her thighs.

"baby, be careful! you aren't as strong without venom! i don't want you to hurt your back!"

"i'll be fine! we have a heating pad for a reason!"

the headed down the hallway in a cloud of giggles, eddie kicking the bedroom door closed behind them with a cheeky grin on his face.

oh yeah, they were going to enjoy every second of having the house to themselves.

____

it was nearing midnight when dylan brock came home, shocked to find his father in the living room, sitting on the sofa in the dark and wincing every time he moved.

"dad? what are you doing? where's mom?"

eddie groaned, trying not to move too much. the heating pad rested against his lower back, and any movement sent a sharp pain up his spine. "she's asleep. tired out."

dylan made a face, dropping his backpack next to the couch. "god damn it, dad! i don't need to know that!"

eddie chuckled. "not like that." well, sort of like that. "this week has been hard on her. between you, me and venom, she's got her hands full."

"what's the heating pad for?" dylan crossed his arms over his chest, staring his father down.

"i hurt my back. it's nothing, not important."

"oh my god! you hurt your back banging mom!"

"dylan, keep your voice down! your mother is sleeping!" eddie scolded, screwing his eyes shut. "and she doesn't know. there is nothing less sexy than pinching something in your back while-"

"stop. please. i don't want to know."

"anyways, i waited until she fell asleep to put some muscle spray on it, and that didn't help, so here i am with the heating pad. how was your night?"

"it was good. venom's fun. we went trick-or-treating around eric's neigbourhood, where all the fancy houses are. also, i think i know what possum brain tastes like." dylan scrunched up his face. "venom decided he'd eaten enough snickers bars."

"snickers are for the weak." venom grunted. "real men eat brains."

eddie laughed. "now you know what the inside of my head is like. at least venom didn't try to eat any people. i wish i never knew what grey matter tasted like."

dylan extended his hand. "it's been fun, but i think he wants his host back."

eddie took dylan's hand in his, inhaling as he felt venom fill his veins once more, the familiar voice he'd come to tolerate returning to the back of his mind. slowly, the stinging pain in his lower back started to subside, the symbiote healing him from the inside out.

"thanks buddy. i needed that." he sighed. "and thanks for looking after dylan."

"no problem, eddie. you know, you'd get hurt less around the house if you stopped doing silly things when i'm not here."

"hey dylan, do you want the symbiote back?"

dylan laughed, heading to his room. "not a chance, dad. you're the only person in the world who could handle him."

[starrysomnia]

Headcanon idea:

Teenage Damian feeling insecure when someone (Jon or his classmates or someone whose opinion he'd actually care about idk) makes fun of him for him dressing like a mini salary man slash corporate worker slash professional golfer whenever he's out of uniform

(considering Bruce Wayne is his main role model, and Alfred buys him clothes that are exactly like what Bruce used to wear at his age... that tracks)

So he decides, for total secret identity blending reasons (and not because he's just a kid who is going to want to fit in, at some point, whether that's at school or with his friends) he's going to dress differently.

He's sure as hell not gonna emulate Dick's fashion sense (man dresses like the 70s/80s/90s never died... Discowing)

Jason wears the same ugly ass leather jacket till it falls apart and/or has to be burned bc of all the blood stains on it

That leaves... Tim.

Tim, who Damian has begrudgingly begun to respect over the years (in suit and out of it) — the man who can dress appropriately as CEO, at galas as the Drake-Wayne Heir... Tim, who is the Bristol born and raised nepo baby Damian secretly wishes he was. Of course whatever brand Drake deems appropriate when it comes to clothing is suitable for him, as the rightful Wayne Heir

What this manifests as is Damian raiding Tim's closet at the manor for inspiration (because Tim really hasn't grown much and is the closest in size to Damian, who is growing)

Tim doesn't notice at first — because he really only touches his closet at the Manor when he's there to work a case/forced to sleep, and also because he doesn't really see Damian outside of costume that much — so Damian gets away with it for literally months

Then one day in the kitchen, sleep deprived and on a caffeine high, Tim does a double take.

"Are those my Vans?" Tim asks in disbelief, staring at a pair of skateboarding sneakers he hasn't worn in years. Since when was Damian the same shoe size as him?

"Don't be ridiculous, Drake," Damian sniffs, pulling on a leather jacket that also looks strangely familiar. "As if I would stoop to wearing your cast offs."

"..." Tim watches in disbelief as the kid lies through his teeth, staring at the faint Sharpie initials T.D that are written on the midsole of the right shoe. "Sure."

[thezombieprostitute]

Tech Tuesday: Jake Jensen

Summary: Jake knows he's the luckiest man in the world and it's all because of you.

Warnings: None at this time. Please let me know if I missed any!

A/N: Reader is female. No physical descriptors used.

Part 3

Tech Tuesdays Masterlist

On a lot of levels, Jake knows he looks ridiculous. Part of him will always be that awkward kid who tried to hide his interests and hobbies out of fear of being bullied. Yet here he is, wearing a Tygra costume, complete with face paint, and he couldn't be happier.

He was skeptical when you first came up with the idea. Not that he didn't have faith in your abilities. It was more he wasn't sure in himself. But he wanted to do right by you, make you happy, and show the twins it's ok to be a geek, to love your interests. So he agreed to the costumes.

It also meant a lot to him that his department was willing to to do a mini trick or treat for the twins. They're too young, too little, to really go out for more than an hour or so. Plus it's great socialization for them, and Syverson even used it as an excuse to help his dog, Lily, get some needed experience with being around little ones.

After talking to some of the guys and giving them the candy for the twins, he was surprised to find out how many of them were excited for this as well. It had actually helped encourage some of them to dress up a little this year. Johnny even wore a superhero costume underneath his regular clothes in the hopes the twins would think he's an actual superhero.

The only hiccup was with the Double G's. They objected to giving the kids candy saying it was bad for their teeth and the like. Instead, they asked if they could give them a couple toys.

"Of course," Jake nods. "That's a great alternative! I'll see about running out and getting some real quick."

"No need," Geralt stops him.

"We already got the tykes something in case you agreed," G adds.

"Awww, thank you both so much! Can I see what you got them?"

The G's look at each other briefly before Geralt pulls the pack off his Monster Hunter costume and pulls out a couple of daggers, showing them to Jake.

Jake's eyes go wide. "Are those...are they smaller versions of Narsil before it was reforged?!"

G turns to Geralt, "I told you he'd recognize them."

Geralt nods at G before turning to Jake. "Obviously they're still small for a full blade so dagger based on Narsil made sense."

"Metaphorically as well since children take the shards of the past and reforge them for the sake of their future," G adds.

"Please tell me they're not actually sharp," Jake frets.

"Of course not!" Geralt snarls.

"What kind of idiots do you think we are?" G growls.

Jake holds up his hands in an attempt to placate, "you're right, you're right. I'm sorry. It's just...daggers, even blunted ones, aren't appropriate for toddlers. Maybe if they were plastic or something not so heavy and clearly well made---"

"Plastic?!" G scoffs.

"I swear I'm not trying to insult you and your exquisite tastes!" Jake interjects before Geralt can add his piece. "This is just a super big thing for a Halloween Treat! When you said 'toy' I thought you meant, like the rubber duck on your desk." The Double G's start giving him their scary look before he adds, "not that you have to give them that one. That's your rubber duckie to do with as you wish. I just meant, something small, something fun like that. The daggers you want to give them would be better as...maybe a birthday or Christmas gift. But not for trick or treating. I'd hate to build up their expectations like that."

"Hmmm." is Geralt's only reply before signalling G to join him in a huddle on the other side of their cubicle. After several minutes of silent communication they return to Jake. "We agree that it would be setting the twins' expectations too high for Halloween. Neither of us celebrates Christmas so we will hold onto the daggers until their next birthday."

"And we will return with some toys you deem 'more appropriate' for their age group," G concedes as he grabs his car keys.

"You...you don't need to do this," Jake reiterates. "I'm more than happy to go get something."

"No," Geralt asserts.

"This is our hunt," G scowls.

Jake backs out of their way but Geralt stops, "when is their birthday?"

"Late April," Jake confesses.

Jake holds you close as you both guide the twins along their journey through the cubicles. True to their word the G's got the twins some adorable squishy toys instead. You hear an odd comment about "building up strength to wield a blade" but figure Geralt is just in character as a monster hunter. Jake had made sure to warn you to not ask if he was dressed as a Skyrim character. The armor was incredibly detailed and well made so you had to ask him about it.

Geralt smiles, a little smugly, "I made it myself."

"It's incredible!" you exclaim. "If I didn't have to worry about the chemicals affecting the twins I'd love to learn how to work with leather."

"Hmm. Let me know if you need some pieces made up. Your own skills are quite admirable."

Heat rushes to your face, "oh, that's so kind of you!"

You'd stick around but Leah's run off to Johnny's cubicle, saying something about, "gotta ask."

You run over to her, trying to apologize to Johnny but he isn't hearing it. He's grinning even more than usual as he play whispers, "you'll keep my secret, right?" Leah nods and giggles in your arms.

Meanwhile, over at Ransom's cubicle, Jake is watching the scene, holding a sleepy Luke, and smiling.

Ransom stands next to him, "you know you look like an idiot, right?" Jake's smile falters a little. "Not that your wife doesn't do great work," he continues. "It's just...why would you dress up like this?"

Jake turns to him, still smiling, "because it's fun. Fun for me, fun for my family. If teenage me could see how loved and accepted my geekiness is, he'd cry with relief." Jake turns back to you and Leah, his smile growing again. "Plus, I'm doing my part to show the ones I love that I will always love them, always encourage their interests, and am fully willing to make an idiot of myself for them."

If Ransom has a reply, Jake doesn't hear it because your and Leah's laughs are all that matter right now.

Part 3

Tech Tuesdays Masterlist

Tagging: @alicedopey; @delicatebarness; @ellethespaceunicorn; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory;

@late-to-the-party-81; @lokislady82; @ronearoundblindly

[fictionalwh0ree]

trick or treat- billie eilish

summary: you and billie adopt a four-year-old and get to watch her experience her first halloween.

word count: 900

warnings: none

a/n: happy halloween!!!

the minute the leaves in los angeles has gone from green to red and orange, the anticipation for halloween began. decorations adorned the front of your shared home, hot chocolates became a daily thing, and baking had taken over your lives. but this year was different. after years of being with billie, you two decided it was time to take a big step, so you adopted a kid. this fall, your activities were accompanied by a wide-eyed four-year-old, who had never experienced anything like this. every day she was excited about something, you would pay to see her reaction to the fully red, orange, and brown trees again.

by far, she was the most excited for halloween. in between baking and decorating, you and billie crammed as many age-appropriate halloween movies into your free time. she woke up every morning asking you how many days were left until halloween and you had to practically pry her away from her costume once it had arrived. with her excitement, it was hard for you and billie not to be excited as well. you had a little countdown on your magnetic whiteboard that hung on the fridge, both for you two and your daughter.

finally, the day had arrived. with each hour that passed, your daughter would ask you how long until you could go trick or treating. as evening arrived, the house got more hectic. at around four, both of billie’s parents arrived, excited to participate in the festivities. now the five of you rushed around the house, making sure everything was ready. you made sure you had enough candy for maggie to hand out while you were out and then had to worry about everyone’s costumes. your daughter had begged you and billie to dress up similarly to her, so while she was boo, billie was sully, and you were mike. thankfully, neither of your costumes required any makeup as you both had onesies to wear. time went flying and before you knew it, it was 6 o’clock. everyone had eaten and was dressed, and after fifteen minutes of non-stop pictures, you left the house. maggie waved y/d/n off teary-eyed as she shut the door behind you.

you and billie walked hand-in-hand while y/d/n walked ahead of you, her body bobbing up and down with each step, the purple monster costume impeding her walking a little bit. as she got to the end of the driveway, she turned around.

“walk faster,” she urged, smiling ear to ear.

you laughed as you sped up, catching up to her before beginning to walk down the streets. it was peak trick or treating time as the sun was setting. it still shone brightly, casting a much needed warmth upon you, and a golden light that made everything look beautiful. multiple kids ran across the streets, different costumes everywhere and an air of excitement was clear. as you approached your first house, your daughter stopped abruptly.

“go up, baby,” billie said, pointing at the old couple that was sat on the porch with a bowl of candy in hand.

she turned around and looked up at her, puppy dog eyes on full display.

“come with me mama,” she pleaded.

billie grabbed her hand with her free one and dragged the two of you forward.

“say trick or treat y/d/n,” you said to her as she stood securely in front of billie, her head just reaching billie’s hips.

she looked back up at you, her eyes begging for some sort of help. the couple stared at her with kind smiles, pushing the bowl out towards her to urge her forward.

“it’s her first time,” you explained to them.

“come on hun,” the lady said sweetly.

she looked up at you and billie, searching for approval. you both nodded encouragingly and she stepped forward.

“trick or treat,” she said shyly, holding her bucket up to them.

they placed a handful of candy in it and once they were done, y/d/n ran back to you two, holding her bucket up proudly.

“look mama’s,” she said.

“i see,” you smiled before bending down to her level and giving her a kiss on the cheek, “good job, baby.”

“now let’s go, look how many more houses there are,” billie said.

“we’re going to all of them?” y/d/n asked in amazement, a large smile on her face.

“every last one,” you said.

by the end of the night y/d/n had mastered trick or treating. she would go up alone and then come back to show you what she’d gotten. she had filled her bucket three times, leaving you and billie with a large bag to carry home. all the trick or treating had drained her, however, and by the time you were done, you were four blocks from home with a beyond exhausted four-year-old, so you were left to carry her. the streets were still live with kids and parents excitedly chatting about their experiences as they all headed home, but your daughter had fallen asleep on your shoulder. as you walked home hand in hand with billie, you couldn’t hold back a smile.

“bil,” you called.

“yes?” she responded.

“is it too soon to for another kid?”

--

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[artbyblastweave]

Something I find interesting about the Lizard League is that these guys are supervillain supervillains, costumed in the classic mold- Salamander with the impossibly-skintight patterned-cloth costume, Iguana with the tight-tights-and-animal-headpiece combo, Komodo with that 70s-style strongman cowl-and-jersey, King Lizard with the Baron Strucker-style double-breasted greatcoat. These guys are unrepentant in their design. And in the comics, where the Sequid arc didn't happen till around issue 40, these guys were part of this established stable of villains who'd show up as fodder for montages and one-off fights where they needed to have a hero beating up someone who's clearly a supervillain, never mind who. That meant that their eventual escalation to nuclear terrorism after 30+ issues of low-rent stuff, and the ensuing clusterfuck, actually parsed as a meaningful escalation from the established status quo. These guys are breaking the rules. Supervillains do stuff like this sometimes, sure, but not this kind of supervillain- these guys are doing MCU-style unmarked-Kevlar terroristic supervillainy when they should be doing lizard-themed gimmick crimes or Super-friends stuff!

Well, no, that's not quite true. It feels true, but honestly there are plenty of examples of campy big-two villains doing flat-out nuclear terrorism pretty early on, actually. Just to pick some examples from X-Men, Magento did it in his first appearance, and the ANAD lineup's first real outing was to stop Count Nefaria from hijacking NORAD. Screwing around with the military's world-ending shit is downright commonplace for supervillains, once you start tallying it up. But between the goofy kid-gloves approach of a lot of early silver-age comics and the sheer volume of Stuff that's happened in the Marvel and DC continuities, the impact of attempted nuclear terrorism inevitably gets sanded down, it just becomes one more data point in the endless ebb and flow- hell, it can result in actual nuclear detonations, and eventually it's going to get sanded over. In the nineties, Vandal Savage actually nuked Montevideo using depreciated USSR stock. Is that salient, these days? This event that would have reshaped geopolitics had it happened in our world? So yeah, supervillains make a run on the nukes all the time- but it doesn't count if you do it in a onesie with your initials stenciled on it.

But Invincible, as a self-contained continuity, actually has the ability to maintain perspective and appropriately weigh a grab at the nuclear arsenal - it's very much not business as usual, it's not part of the typical cops-and-robbers runaround. It's not stealing a priceless diamond, it's not a bank job, it's not even rampaging through the city center with a giant robot. It's a credible attempt to end the world, it's a challenge to government power that they won't let stand, costumes or no. It's the government sponsored super team coming in guns blazing trying their damnedest to kill you from the word go, and its you trying to kill them equally hard because there's really no coming back from this if you lose. And it ends up that treating this situation with a commonsense level of gravity acts as a deconstructive backhand against every similar situation in the comics that ends with the villain shaking their fist and escaping at the last minute.

[where-the-giants-are]

Big Brother Beast Protection (Older Brothers / Monsterfication / G/t / SFW)

(This was initially posted on my patreon. If you want to support, feel free to at the link at the bottom, just be aware the material on the page is not always appropriate)

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“Trick or treat!”

The chorus of children’s voices grew louder across the street as a trio of brothers approached the house of Old Woman Jolene. Watching the other group of kids leave before them, the two elder brothers, James and Marcus, couldn’t help but glance at each other with a hint of nostalgia. This was the same house they had visited every Halloween since they could remember, the one with the homemade cookies and the stories Miss Jolene would ramble on about. Though the older brothers were too old to be trick-or-treating, dressed in simple graphic t-shirts and jeans. They were only back in town on break from their studies, though the older brothers couldn’t say no when they’re little brother Timmy wanted to go.

Old Woman Jolene’s house remained unchanged over the years, a beacon of familiarity amidst the ever-evolving street. Its once vibrant paint had faded into a comforting pastel, the garden that surrounded it had grown wild with age, though it remained a charming spectacle of ghosts, goblins, and glowing pumpkins. Walking up to the porch, the creaking of the wooden boards beneath their feet seemed to echo the anticipation in Timmy’s eyes. The skeleton costume boy practically vibrated as James and Marcus made sure he didn’t fall over, holding onto their little brother’s hands.

“Trick or treat!” Timmy’s voice muffled by his skull mask, holding his pumpkin shaped pale to Miss Jolene.

“Oh, what a sweet skeleton.” Old Woman Jolene said with a smile from where she stood in her doorway. The old lady’s spectacles sparkling as she took in the costumed boy, handing over a small bag filled with the homemade treats the neighbourhood talked about throughout the year.

“What do we say Timmy?” James guided, crouching down and watching the younger brother bounce on the balls of his feet as he looked into his bag.

“Thank you, Old Lady Jolene,” Timmy said, the young boy unaware of the startled cough both James and Marcus let out at their brother’s lack of filter. Though Marcus coughed to hide a laugh that forced out of him, James was more shocked before turning back to Miss Jolene.

“I’m so sorry Miss Jolene,” The flushed James said, his apologies cut off as Jolene laughed and shook her head.

“Oh it’s okay. I know the nicknames the kids give me. In fact, I remember when you two were kids and whispered how I had to be a witch,” the older woman said, almost cackling when the college aged students blushed at the comment, “besides, I am an old lady.”

“Are you a witch?” Timmy asked, much to James’ chagrin and Markus’ amusement. Old Woman Jolene didn’t seem upset at all, smiling sweetly at the young boy.

“Oh I’m not some scary monster. Just an old lady who makes good cookies and tea, you should ask my bridge partners,” Jolene said, giving a cheeky wink at Timmy before looking back to Markus and James. “And what have you boys been up to? Haven’t seen you both for months.”

“Just back from college. Ma and Pa had to go to some party so we got saddled with babysitting,” Marcus said, laughing when Timmy turned at him, claiming he was a big boy now, “You're still our baby brother.”

“So sweet you two help keep your brother safe,” Jolene smiled, leaving Marcus and Timmy to keep talking as she turned to James. “With how times are, it's always best to be safe than sorry.”

“Yeah, never realised before just how dangerous the street can be at night.” James said, wincing a bit when he recalled the speeding cars the brothers saw earlier, all the more reason the older brothers kept a close watch on Timmy.

“Well, you and Marcus deserve a reward for your hard work,” Jolene said before, turning briefly to grab something from within the open doorway. Pulling her hand back, she presented it to James. Resting in her palm were two perfectly crafted sugar cookies, the treats expertly decorated and carved to look like monsters from a kids story book. “Just for you two strong boys.”

James took the cookies, smiling gratefully. “Thanks, Miss Jolene. These will help keep us going,” He said, passing one to Marcus who took it with a grin and his own thanks.

“You’re welcome. Remember to watch out for each other and enjoy the night,” she said, her eyes lingering on the older brothers for a moment before she turned back to Timmy, “And you make sure to have fun little one.”

“Okay, thank you.” Timmy said, a smile clearly heard in his voice. He turned towards his brothers, “Can we go to another house now?”

“Sure thing you little gremlin.” Marcus laughed, helping Timmy down as the two made their way off. “Thanks again Jolene,” Marcus called back, taking a bit of the gifted cookie.

“Thank you Miss Jolene, have a good night.” James said, following after his brothers as he waved back to the elderly staple of the neighbourhood. Taking his own bite of the cookie, a purple horned demon like monster, James couldn’t help but let out a relaxed breath through his nose. The familiar taste of citrus and almond reminded the college student of the cookies he would always get from the old woman, though the nostalgic taste had something different. Not enough to completely change his memory, but just a slight nagging of a difference. Shaking his head, James moved to catch up with his brothers.

The street grew quieter as the trio walked on, moving apart from the clustered groups of trick-or-treaters, the siblings walking at a comfortable pace as Timmy chatted away about the treats he was getting, occasionally saying he might share some with the older brothers. Marcus took the lead, his taller height making it easy to spot any potential dangers on their path. James himself brought up the rear of the group, his eyes always looking over the little skeleton that was his brother. Going along the pavement, James and Marcus didn’t notice the slight changes occurring over their bodies, even as the occasional passerby did a double take at the older brother’s forms, though writing it off as some impressive costumes.

Coming up the next house, Marcus paused as he felt something off. It was like he did a full body stretch, his clothes feeling tighter than usual as he shifted in his too tight shoes. Glancing down at his arms, Markus saw his sleeves now pulled back over his enlarged biceps, which had bulged significantly with new size as the oddly longer limbs seemed to be sprouting new hairs. Turning over to his brothers, Markus glanced over the oblivious Timmy before looking at James. The twin brother was also looking back at him with wide eyes, seeming to have experienced his own change with his lanky body thickened out more, his graphic shirt and jeans tightened over his thickening limbs and torso. Whilst both brother’s bodies were changing to grow larger, Markus’ body seemed to be sprouting dark hair whilst James’ had spreading patches of scales across his exposed limbs. Their mouths open in shock showed their teeth had begun to sharpen, James’ taking on a fang like look, whilst Markus’ pushed out from his bottom lip like the beginning of tusks.

“Come on,” The mentally panicking brothers were pulled from their thoughts. The transforming brothers looked down, noticing how they had gotten taller too as Timmy called out and tugged on their trousers. The young boy seemed unaware of the transformation that occurred to his brothers. “Can we go to the door now?”

“O-oh,” James smiled, wincing with how forced it felt and how deep his voice sounded as he crouched down. Still towering over as his broadened body stretched his shirt more, feeling two slight bumps sprouting along his upper back. The seat of his pants audible creaking against his thickened form. “Why don’t you try going up to the door by yourself?”

“Really?” Timmy’s eyes sparkled behind his mask in excitement before turning to Markus. The other brother’s broadened form looked even larger compared to Timmy, with his furry form growing out as his stretched shirt showed along with the layer of muscles and fat, but two growing mounds coming out under his arms.

“Y-Yeah, we’ll be right over here and keep an eye out,” Markus said, his own voice cracking a bit with the deepening tone. Coughing into a now clawed fist as he tried to clear his throat. “And if you get scared, just come right back to us, okay?”

Timmy nodded eagerly, practically bouncing before he rushed off along the path to the front door, leaving his transforming brothers behind.

“And no pushing!” James called out, visibly wincing at his louder and deep voice as a few passing groups side-eyed him before they kept on going. Though the people around them didn’t seem so shocked by the towering juggernaut beasts, James waited till he made sure Timmy was talking with some other kids before focusing back on Markus. “What the Fuck is happening?!”

“I-I don’t know!” Markus replied, his eyes wide with shock as he felt his body expand, the heavy limbs both tired like he just did an intense workout, and yet filled with untold energy. Mark bit back a grunt as the changes seemed to accelerate, the mounds pushing out from his thickening lats tore through his tightened shirt, growing into an additional set of arms. The new limbs mirrored his muscular upper arms, all four were covered in thick, brown fur that matched the spreading patches across his body. Markus blinked as his vision briefly seemed to double, feeling as a second set of eyes began to form just above his cheeks. A glance downwards showing his shirt was gone, leaving the fur covered mass of his chest and rounded gut on display, his lower half out of sight, though he knew his now hand-like feet had torn through the sneakers he wore. Looking back up to James, Markus saw that whilst his transformation took him into a mutated King Kong look, James had gone a seeming draconic appearance.

James’s body looked like a mix of a powerlifter and something straight out of a fantasy novel. The patches of scales had spread across his entire body, a mix of green hues that glistened under the street lights. James' jeans had torn along the back as the itch of his tailbone was the only signal he got before the enlarged tail burst through the fabric. The new limb whipped back and forth behind him, knocking over some garden decorations whilst passersby walked around the limb. James’ shoes tore open with a loud screech as his clawed feet stretched out, carving into the concrete that cracked under their immense weight.. His ragged shirt fluttering off his impressive torso, exposing his impressive form as two powerful wings emerged from his back, stretching out wide with a mighty flap that almost took out some laughing teens. Two bumps began to sprout from the dragon-like James’ temples, growing into small horns, curving upwards slightly along with smaller ones popping along his squaring jaw to give a beard-like effect, only adding to the beastly look of his new form.

The brothers stared at each other, their eyes wide with shock and confusion as though in a matter of minutes they had become veritable monsters, their clothing now in tatters around them save for shorts neither brother remembered purchasing, let alone putting on. Yet, even as the muscular beast men stood tall, most adults in the neighbourhood barely coming up to their stomachs, no one was shocked at the sight of the large monsters.

“Mr Lancer was giving out large chocolate bars,” Timmy called out as he rushed back to his brothers, too busy rummaging through his treat bag to notice his brothers had transformed into creatures that had stepped out of a blockbuster movie. Timmy’s light voice was the only sound that pierced the awkward silence that had descended upon James and Markus. The two enlarged brothers looked around, noticing how no one was screaming nor running at the sight of the monstrous college students. Instead, they were met with polite smiles and the occasional grumble for taking up space on the pavement. The transformation had gone unnoticed by everyone except the transformed brothers themselves. Both beastly brother’s had to lean to look over their barrel-like chests and stomachs to see Timmy looking back up at them. The already small boy was now barely clearing his older brother’s shins, “Can we go to another house?”

“Uh, sure. Yeah, sure Timmy,” Marcus managed to reply, his voice now a deep, guttural rumble, his additional arms awkwardly resting by his sides. Looking over, he watched James take a tentative step, his clawed toes digging into the sidewalk with a dull thud whilst his tail swished nervously behind him. Seeing the usually composed James flinch from his own heavy step, especially since Markus himself wasn’t comfortable walking with Timmy out of sight , Markus crouched down low to get closer to Timmy. “How about I carry you for the last few houses, okay?”

“But I’m not a baby. I can keep walking.” Timmy said, the same thing he’d always say whenever the older siblings offer to carry him. Though the want of the little brother’s independence was outweighed heavily with Markus’ and James’ worry of accidentally stepping on him.

“W-Well, don’t you want to see over the trees?” James suggested, coughing as his deep voice came with a slight crack, the taste of smoke just lingering in the back of his throat. “And besides, if we carry you, we can get to more houses faster.”

“Really?” Timmy looked up at the monstrous behemoths that were his brothers, earning nods before the youngest brother seemed to think it over. Of course, James and Markus already knew Timmy’s decision since their brother always played up thinking things over. “Okay.”

“Alright then little guy, now - Whoa, hold on!” Markus began to say, initially trying to figure out the best way to grab his younger brother as he and James didn’t want to risk testing their new strength. Only for the caution and plan to be thrown out as Timmy jumped and grabbed onto one of Markus’ lower hands. The multiarmed brother wincing at the pull of his fur before he helped Timmy up into his palm. Standing back to his full height, Markus sighed, he and James watched as Timmy took his seat within Markus’s palm, holding onto the claw tipped fingers that held him in place.

“Come on. We gotta go before they stop giving out candy!” Timmy said, slapping Markus’ fingers as he pointed down the straight. “Oh, Please.” He added, catching the sight of James’ raised eyebrow.

“At least he said please,” Markus chuckled out, a deep rumble before he made his way along the street. Earning a shaking head from James as the draconic brother followed, remind Markus to watch his step as the titanic brothers' march shook their tiny neighbourhood. And though James and Markus didn’t know how they became huge behemoths, nor what they were going to do tomorrow. Albeit, James mentally reminded himself to speak with Jolene again when he spotted the older woman’s house, and his improved eyesight catching the sight of Old Woman Jolene waving to him from her window.

But for now, the gigantic men were just happy to help their small brother out. Especially since having two giant monsters at your door really encouraged the owners to give their best treats to the skeleton clad Timmy.

[moononmyfloor]

In the 3rd Quarter of 2024 Cdramaland...

1st Quarter, 2nd Quarter, 4th Quarter

(Aka the review post where I speak like I'm a hyping announcer at a presidential debate 😆)

.

16. Favorite Parents/Parent figures of the year

Papa Gu (Zhang Fengyi) from A Lonely Hero's Journey, Master Li (Qiu Xinzhi & Zhang Chenxiao) from Dashing Youth

Usually the uber principled, patriotic, larger-than-life parents are stereotyped as negligent and ruthless towards their children or incapable of expressing their true affections. Not Gu Xixing. He was a strict father but for all the right reasons, and never hesitated to throw his prestige and life aside for his children any second and he made sure his children knew that, which was the most important part. The kids knew their father wasn't someone to be trifled with, but also that they were so incredibly loved and protected. Having him as the father was a big part of why the ML grew upto be such a stable and well-adjusted young man who would never sway no matter what catastrophe befell him.

Li Changsheng was, hm, admirable in the COMPLETE opposite way. One of the most convincing character designs for an immortal I've seen, he was often insensitive to the mortal struggles his students went through, and came across as snobbish and heartless at times, but that behaviour made sense and was understandable for once. Plus, when he did decide show that he cares, he went big. Earth shatteringly, Dynasty-topplingly, Heaven-shakingly big. Quite literally. He always had life advise and cultivation tips to give, if you were able to tolerate his cryptic speech and dark humor resulting from having lived for too long. I was both disturbed and fascinated by him, I even wrote character analysis for him here and here, lol.

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17. Favorite historical drama of the year

A Lonely Hero's Journey

Set in Suzhou during 1940' Japanese Occupation era, this drama is by no means the most perfect espionage/spy/war show that China has to offer, but I REALLY enjoyed it because it had so much heart despite all the bloodshed and devastation going around.

It didn't have the most accurate-to-history depictions of this specific time period, the costumes weren't necessarily period appropriate etc, BUT THAT'S OK, because even still it did such a GORGEOUS job of its wardrobe, and it's not like didn't do some research (3 meta pics from official weibo posted above), delivered heaps upon heaps of world-famous Suzhou architecture and landscaping aesthetics (3 collages from weibo below) and used this mesmerising old gramophone track 【Teach Me How Not to Think of Her (教我如何不想她) by 赵元任 (Zhao Yuanren)】 in its bgm and also did a modern cover for it, all of which made for a very atmospheric viewing experience.

And most importantly, it depicted almost all the characters with empathy no matter they were a main character, a villain, a traitor, a Chinese or Japanese. If you see people spouting that Cdramas always have clear cut black and white censored portrayals of stories that take place in sensitive historical time periods, that they bend over their back to ensure the audience wouldn't root for the characters on the wrong side, just slap a show like this in their face.

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18. A drama that was a pleasant surprise

Snowfall

When the premise said "Republican era Vampire Cdrama with an age gap relationship" I didn't really expect it to be anything more than a cheaply produced light fantasy thriller with the said age gap couple being portrayed by two same age actors where one character simply happens to be labelled as immortal.

Snowfall was anything but. Excellent cinematic visuals, sets, styling and costumes from Director Li Muge, who is like China's second God of Colors after Dir. Zhang Yimou, veteran actor Vengo Gao (Age: 42) as the immortal half of the pair and Ouyang Nana (Age: 24) as the younger half, who actually do share a very visually age-gap dynamic that was so masterfully explored so it was 100% about mutual respect, adoration and sexual tension without being creepy, and the show never let you forget that the main lead was a vampire who could unleash some serious, gory violence if he wanted. Yes, his vampirism was still explained as the fault of alien meteorites (as always 😂) but they compensated with delivering an immaculate antagonist who was 10x unhinged than any paranormal disease could ever be. He had a competency kink, abandonment issues, he was emitting the desire to be held by throat and be topped wherever he went like a jumbotron, he loved to torture AND be tortured... the list is endless. Watching this drama was absolutely delightful.

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19. Favorite adaptation of the year

Adventure Behind the Bronze Door/Tibetan Sea Flower

The DMBJ fandom was waiting for this for what felt like a decade but OH MAN IT DELIVERED. Not only that it was faithful to the book in ALL the ways that mattered, it fixed up a lot of not-so-good parts in the original material, fixed continuity issues and became the DMBJ show with the most cohesive, well-paced narrative. It was about time.

From the super-well thought out opening credits animations, to the casting, book references, props designs, CGI, bgm and the to the freaking ENGLISH of all things, it was perfection. 9.5/10 Stars No Drama.

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20. Screenstealer of the year

Ye Dingzhi (He Yu) from Dashing Youth

Tumblr user @fortycumber said it all, couldn't have said it better😂. Despite the promising start, Dashing Youth fell apart by the end (though I did enjoy that drama a fair amount, I made an edit too for Dingzhi and his poor wife Wenjun) with the scriptwriting failing almost all characters including Dingzhi himself, but He Yu's soulful acting did SO much to singlehandedly keep the show worth watching to the end.

It is especially amazing considering how He Yu is still a new actor, he had studied Architecture and started pursuing acting only recently, other than the gorgeous face he had little in common with the gazillions of his peers in the same show, yet he was the one who hit it out of the ballpark. An orphan in the Jianghu whose family was brutally murdered in his childhood, brought up by a just as loner Dark Cultivation Master, a prodigy who is admired but never understood and therefore feared by everyone, an ardent, loyal lover, a struggling young father.... he nailed it all with the perfect amount of gravitas.

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21. A drama that made me cry

Adventure Behind the Bronze Door/Tibetan Sea Flower

When I tell you just how much ZHH got the vibes right, I was impatient for the subs and randomly clicked here and there on ep 30 already, without subs. I saw glimpses of certain scenes that were happing in the ep and I just

stared at the screen

scared at the screen

A shudder passed through me and I instantly started bawling like a baby.

That hadn't happened to me in a long time. 😭

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22. A drama that made me laugh

The Flower of Lust

A low-budget simple comedy with copious GL undertones, this drama didn't offer much meat to bite on, but it was unexpectedly some good fun. Fast and easy to follow, there was lots of turned-around gender expectations going on for the roles.

For example, this laobanniang played by Word of Honor's Beauty Ghost is the main lead, there's no Male Lead, but a clutzy female assassin who's going to kill the Lady and they develop a classic wuxia sworn-sisterhood relationship where they share energy (😏) and sacrifice for each other. It has two side male characters played by hot young actors (Huang Junjie and Li Zhuoyang), but they are simply himbos who were saved by the boss lady and now work as her bodyguards! At most, they only have hots for each other.

Also it has a theme song that sounds TOO good for the production quality. Plus each ep is only 15 mins long, you won't lose out if you give this show a chance. The full version is only 3.5 hours.

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23. An old drama I watched this year

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (2017)

On paper-

"An otaku wants to order a love bot in the form of the girl he has a crush on, but accidentally orders a male bot who is programmed to love him forever, and the otaku re-purchases the girl bot but she accidentally gets programmed to love the guy bot, and the Otaku suffers. A lighthearted comedy with some gay jokes."

What it actually was-

Polyamory negotiation, feelings realisation, coming out, internalised homophobia, learning to love yourself, multiple thorough discussions on how a relationship arrangement doesn't have to be this predefined textbook thing and how it's sometimes as simple as just staying with people who make you happy, the biggest gathering of explicitly-acknowledged queer people I've seen in a Cdrama including the ML himself, a butch, a crossdresser, a BL writer, a girl who believes everyone is in love with her...... who are shunned by the rest of the campus for being "weirdos" so they create this space for themselves that is so full of love and acceptance and *literally* decorated in rainbows, and there was a scene of a gay bar with a married gay couple...... I can go on and on.

Is it a perfect show? No. But I would give it even more than 10/10 if possible, simply for existing. It's not a masterpiece and is full of silliness sometimes but it is so painfully clear that this show was made by people who knew what they were doing.

The Before-2018 Cdramaland was a RIOT. Highly rec that everyone watch this, especially if you are interested in seeing what queer portrayals in recent Cdrama scene used to be before censorship rules tightened.

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More posts by me

[dceuheadcanons]

I've been asked to talk more about my "Bruce Wayne has OSDD-1B" post, so I will be doing just that!! I will elaborate on further details about each headmate in the future. Feel free to see my last post on this if you have not already.

So far I've noticed that there are at least five headmates. Batman, B, Brucie, Bruce Wayne, and Mr Wayne.

Batman started forming the night his parents were shot, and his memory also starts there. He cannot remember his childhood pre-ten. He's a protector of sorts, but he also holds the rage. He's the most intelligent of the bunch, what with being the "World's Greatest Detective" and all. He is slow to trust people, but he believes that there is good in everyone. That is why he does not kill. Though that wasn't originally the case, he saw the worst in everyone for a decade or so, his viewpoint changed when he took in Nightwing. Every part of him has patrolled as Batman, the cowl belonging to them all partially because of his obliviousness towards his disorder, but he is the one made to be Batman.

B is the father. He formed for the singular purpose of being a parent. None of the others were prepared for such a task. He has great care for his children, despite failing in places due to the awful example his own father set. He would kill for any one of them. He was the one that endeavoured to kill The Joker when Red Hood was murdered. He doesn't take kindly to anyone he loves being harmed.

Brucie is the playboy. Everyone knows that. He doesn't take much seriously, he flirts with everyone (of appropriate age) that he meets, he does drugs, and he's an alcoholic. But he's the one that's been around the "longest". He remembers his entire childhood. He deals with his grief and trauma with hypersexuality and substance abuse. He's the least honest of the bunch and absolutely hates people seeing him as sad or weak. But he commonly accompanies Batman on patrols. He's good with words and good with people, able to manipulate and redirect effortlessly. He's the one that goes on out-of-costume intel missions. He's the one fucking all his rogues! He has the lowest iq of the bunch, but he's still considered a genius by his score.

Bruce Wayne is the child. The child that "died in the alleyway with his parents". In systems, these are commonly called littles. They're used to cope with high stress situations, but he is never usually left alone. If left alone he's quiet, flinches at loud noises, distrusts adults, and will be willing to beat the shit out of anyone that disrespects his father's name. If you do manage to get him to trust you, he will talk about things that he liked in childhood. Pokémon, Sonic Underground, classical literature, etc. He was born in the 90s in my AU, similar to the newest movie. I will roughly outline my timeline in another post.

Mr Wayne is the business man. He does not respond to Bruce, as he both sees himself as above others and ISN'T Bruce. He's the only introject, and he's an introject of Thomas Wayne. He isn't mean or entirely self centered. He makes sure the employees of his company and all of the companies he owns are treated well. He pays for employees' family's education, rent, food, whatever they need. He has a LOT of money and he knows that as long as he keeps his businessess going and his employees happy, he won't ever go bankrupt. He uses that to help whoever he can, he donates large sums to charities, etc. He's commonly around at the same time Brucie is. He isn't allowed to be around at the same time Bruce Wayne (the little/child) is, though, due to the fact that their real father was abusive. He'd scare the kid.

[shadow-dragon-agere]

Hi hi :3 Halloween ask for ya!

Makoto Naegi 🎃

Aw yeah! One of the best protags of the games!

☘️ I feel like Makoto would love to match costumes and hand out candy among all of the classes at hope’s peak

☘️ He would definitely match his sister so if she’s a vampire he’s one as well

☘️ If he’s not matching he would definitely be like a zombie butler or something like that

☘️ If we think more so the party aspect he would definitely be the one who brings a bunch of store bought snacks and a banger playlist

☘️ His favorite part of the spooky season would be the atmosphere, all of the inflatables, costumes and advertisements for scary treats and everything sweet potato (which is actually Japan’s fall food)

☘️ He would definitely decorate his dorm door (despite Taka’s wishes) with streamers and spooky stickers and inside is decorated from corner to corner

☘️ Despite his love for the spooky season, spooky movies aren’t his thing he perfers the more kid-friendly Halloween films or specials

☘️ He’s the only be who gets the entire class up in the spooky spirit and makes things for everyone, regardless of class to participate in

☘️ Overall he’s the main rusher of Halloween for hope’s peak

☘️ When it comes to the regressors he gushes over the costumes they’ve either picked themselves or have been picked for them

☘️ He always makes (or at least tries) treats for them and makes kid safe spooky activities for them

☘️ He’s painted pumpkins, and hung up all of the coloring sheets they’ve done all over his dorm

☘️ For the older ones he helps gut pumpkins, cut out spooky shapes and add in the candles to make some of the best jack o’ lanterns

☘️ He makes sure that anything the tinies want to watch are too spooky for any of them regardless of age

☘️ He also makes some goody bags with spooky (and age appropriate) toys for them, he helps the tiniest make the bags he puts them in under a guise of making paper decorations

☘️ The older kids regard him the spooky king due to all of the special things and activities he makes for them

☘️ He truly enjoys his time making all of these activities and treat for the kids

Thank you for being my first Halloween as moot! I appreciate ya!

[wqintraining]

NEW X-MEN: THE ANIMATED SERIES - SEASON 3, EPISODE 4

We open in the past in The Facility, where a four year-old Laura is being cattle prodded. The woman doing this to her, her handler, Kimura is cackling as she does this to her. Laura is cringing with grit teeth. 

KIMURA, pulling the prod away: “This isn’t a punishment, X-23. This is just training. But if you do make a sound or shed a tear, then I will have to punish you. And we don’t want that, do we?” 

Laura clearly wants to cry and scream, but she holds herself together. Kimura calls her a good girl, and says she actually has a present for her for all her hard work. 

RUFF! 

Laura’s eyes widen as a Facility agent walks in a puppy. It leaps into Laura’s arms. The toddler is shocked by its warmth and affection as it licks her, and she can’t help but hug it. 

KIMURA: “Meet your new best friend X-23. We care about him as we do you. So let’s not let anything happen to him.” 

Laura, body shaking, nods as she continues to hold the puppy. Kimura grins evily. 

12 years later, a much older Kimura is sneering, still in the Facility, as she watches news footage of Wolverine, Surge, and Hellion fighting against Sauron and a small army of dinosaurs in the streets of New York. Among the dinosaurs are clearly the adult members of the X-Men who’ve been transformed. There’s an ice pachycephalosaurus, a partially transparent velociraptor, and a black triceratops surrounded by sun particles. 

While the others do crowd control on the dinos, Wolverine fights Sauron head on, as he shouts that this is only the beginning, and soon all of humanity will be turned into dinosaurs. The dinosaur man puts up a fight, but Laura soon puts him down for the count. With their victory secured and the rest of the dinosaurs KOd and restored to normal thanks to a compound developed by Danger, the kids celebrate among themselves. Hellion high-fives Wolverine before making out with Surge. Laura shakes her head at them both, while they both flip her off. Laura can’t help but laugh. 

KIMURA, her sneer becoming a grin: “X-23, you are more impressive than ever. I think it’s time for you to come home.” 

Sometime later, we cut to the indoor set of a music video, where dancers are rehearsing to the Washingtons’ latest single. Among the dancers, and in not entirely age-appropriate costumes, are Mercury and Bling!. They’re both doing just as well as the adult dancers and looking like they’re having a great time. 

Among all the personnel involved in production, Laura stands by watching this. She’s stoic, only tapping her foot. A man comes up to her, assuming she’s a PA, and asks her to go fetch something for him. Laura growls and scares him off. 

The song finishes, the director calls cut, and tells the girls to all take two before they run it again. 

Cessily squeals as she bounces over to Roxy to take her hand. She can NOT believe this is just her life now. 

ROXY, kissing Cessily’s neck: “Believe it, girl. This is it for as long as you want it to be.” 

Cessily squeals even louder as she makes out with Roxy, briefly, before the two walk up to Laura, who has water bottles waiting for them. Cess and Roxy thank Laura.

LAURA: “Based on the choreography the director showed, I noticed seven errors between the two of you. Would you like me to list them?” 

Cessily, used to this kind of thing from Laura by now, laughs it off and says they’ll leave that to the director himself. 

LAURA: “OK. So…why am I here?” 

Cessily explains that there’s no ulterior motive; she just wanted to hang out! It’s been a while since they did so without the rest of the group, she wanted to fix that, and she thought this would be fun. 

Laura’s not sure this is her idea of fun. All these people, all these lights…it’s giving her a headache. 

Roxy’s sorry about that, she thought she’d spent enough time in the real world to be able to handle it. Unlike Cess, she actually did have another motive here: she kinda thought she might wanna try showing off HER moves. 

LAURA, surprised: “What?” 

Roxy laughs and points out that Laura’s got the physique and finesse most dancers would kill for, not to mention how quickly she picks things up. She figured she might want to try joining them here. There’s only a year and a half left till graduation; does she still JUST want to be an X-Man? 

ROXY, seeing Laura get flustered: “Hey, hey, don’t worry about it. I was just thinking, that all that pain you went through…could be to make something beautiful. That’s what art is.” 

Laura is unsure what to make of this, but Cess tells her she has plenty of time to think. She has to get back to work, but Laura should really go check out the craft services table. 

The director calls the girls back over, Cess and Roxy leaving Laura alone. Laura turns to the craft services tables. 

LAURA: “Mmm. Shrimp.” 

At the school, Brian and Quentin are playing video games together in the latter's room. Along with them is Sooraya, who looks extremely bored as the two boys play their game, sitting awkwardly in between them. 

Sooraya questions if they maybe can't do something, anything, else. She has no work left to do for the day, and everyone else is busy.

BRIAN: "I'm still not sure how Nori thinks it's a good idea to join Julian in his Sofia hunt. I mean, they're dating now!"

QUENTIN AND SOO: "Disgusting."

BRIAN: "Exactly! And if they do find her, do they think she won't be pissed?" 

Sooraya isn't worried there. Sofia has a temper, but she's still one of the sweetest people she's ever met; it's been over eight months and she'd understand. 

Quentin's thoughts are far less positive. With his "Magneto was Right" poster in frame, he says that however sweet she may be, she's still the girl who spent two months pushing the narrative to millions that their supremacy was something to be cured and not respected. Brian jumps in to defend her, but Quentin isn't interested in debating this with biased parties. 

Pausing the game, Quentin turns to Soo and tells her that, in regards to her original question, he actually could use her help with something. Soo tells him she may be willing to make a deal, and asks him what he needs. 

Quentin scratches his neck, admitting he knows how this will sound based on…everything, but he means it: He has a crush on Sophie. 

BRIAN AND SOORAYA: “WHAT?!” 

And yes, yes, like he said, he knows. The Cuckoos have only ever been mean-spirited rivals or bullies, but he’s been seeing a therapist Iceman recommended to him, and, for a baseline, he’s really quite good. Dr. Garrison believes that he’s always pushed people away, not out of ego, but out of fear of being lied to; he suspects that Quentin’s telepathy may have always let him know that he was adopted, and he’s been carrying that anxiety with him. He said he’d seen that kind of thing before. 

BRIAN: “And how does this tie back to you crushing on the girl who’d pour on gasoline if you were on fire?” 

Quentin explains that he figured, if Garrison is right, perhaps that is the root cause of his less favorable views on women rather than what he believed to be intellectualism. So, last night, he performed telepathic surgery on himself, cutting those views out of his brain. 

Brian and Soo are shocked and concerned by this, but Quentin assures them it’s fine; he’s a genius and it was totally safe. Even kind of fun. And by doing so, he’s realized that he doesn’t hate Sophie; he really, really likes her.

QUENTIN: “Hot, well-educated, my equal in telepathy…” 

Quentin thinks that, among the girls in the group, Dust has the most common sense. The others may have more experience with romance, but he’d appreciate her help asking Sophie out since, well, he’s never even been close friends with a girl, let alone asked one out. 

Dust isn’t sure this is a good idea. Brian also seems uneasy about this, but when Soo asks him what he thinks, Tag says, with a forced smile and Quentin looking eagerly at him, that friends help friends. 

BRIAN: “But also, man, I trust you, but we need to stay close and make sure you didn’t break your brain.” 

Quentin snort laughs and admits that’s fair. 

Sooraya reluctantly agrees, swearing under her breath in Arabic; she knows this is going to backfire, but it beats more video games. 

Outside the studio, Cessily and Roxy go out the back, on another break and making out. 

ROXY, pressing Cess against a wall: “Have I ever told you I loved it when I’d get sick as a kid and everything would taste metallic?” 

CESSILY, giggling: “No way.” 

ROXY: “Can’t prove I’m lying.” 

The two refocus on making out, Cess’s body becoming more liquid and Roxy sticking her hands inside. 

CESSILY: “What did I do to deserve you?” 

ROXY: “Be yourself.” Roxy boops Cessily’s nose. “My future X-Man.” 

CESSILY: “You’re on the X-Men track too, now.” 

ROXY: “But I’m nowhere near ready for, like, an actual fight. You so are.” 

Cessily smiles with excitement. She’d love a real chance at that. 

Suddenly, Mercury and Bling! are shot with tazer rounds. The girls are knocked out, as inconspicuous men in suits approach. 

Not long later, Laura comes out, looking to find her friends. 

LAURA: “The director is shouting like he’s going to kill someone. Based on his smell, he just might.” 

However, there’s no sign of Cess or Roxy. Instead, all that’s left is a burner phone. It rings. Laura, suspicious, but needing to play along, picks it up and answers. 

LAURA: “If you have hurt my friends, you are already dead.” 

“X-23!” 

The voice of Kimura makes Laura freeze and her eyes fill with terror. 

KIMURA: “So nice to hear you still have that killer instinct. Everyone at the Facility was worried sick the X-Men had declawed you. Perhaps all the lies they’ve told you about being a person haven’t made you a less effective weapon. A pity. I was looking forward to re-training you from scratch.” 

Laura cringes, as she thinks back to horrific moments from her childhood. 

LAURA, composing herself the best she can: “Where are they?” 

KIMURA: “Where they can be is safe back home at school…if you hand yourself back over to us.” 

Laura, sounding terrified, tells Kimura she isn’t the little girl she used to torture anymore. She has friends. A team. Emma Frost, Magneto, or Iceman alone could bring the whole Facility down. Kimura is sure they could. But that’s what hostages are for! Not to mention the extra firepower they’ve received from their newest partner. 

KIMURA: “I believe you know her as…War.” 

Laura cringes, mumbling as she questions why the Horsemen are involved here. Kimura doesn’t love working with Mutants, but they sure are powerful. Famine has a mental lock on X-23; if she tries contacting the X-Men, or anyone, before coming to the meetup spot, Mercury and Bling! are dead. 

Laura seethes, but she’s left with no choice. 

LAURA: “Where?” 

At the school, Emma is teaching the Cuckoos how to operate Cerebro, with Sophie presently sitting in the chair and wearing the helmet. 

Emma gives a refresher on Cerebro, explaining how it's the X-Men's most valuable tool. Designed by Xavier, it's how they keep track of the Mutant population, find new ones in need or who could be potential allies, and stay alert of potential threats. And it can only be operated by exceptionally powerful telepaths. And with Xavier and Jean gone, and Betsy, Rachel, and Cable never around, she's presently the only X-Man trained to use it. In the unfortunate event anything ever happens to her, they need a backup. 

Esme questions if this doesn't just make her expendable. 

ESME: "If Mr. Summers ever cheats on you like all his other girlfriends and dumps you, the rest of the team will have no reason to keep you around."

Sophie tells her to not be so disrespectful, but Emma assures her it's fine; a little bite back isn't an issue. And yes, the team has wished her ousted multiple times, with Cerebro being a major reason she hasn't been, but look at the team now: Besides Ms. Pryde, all those who hated her are gone. 

MINDEE, counting on her fingers, mumbling Warpath, Jean, and Storm's names: "Didn't you have something to do with all three of those departures?" 

Emma smugly shrugs. 

PHOEBE, smirking: "I guess Ms. Pryde should be afraid."

Sophie: "Phoebe, shut up. I need to focus."

Sophie closes her eyes and takes a deep breath as she's prompted by Emma to find her old student, Husk. 

Her face squirms as she struggles to find her. She sees lots of grass. She can feel the sun of the heat. There's corn. So much corn. Why is there so much corn?! 

Sophie: "Wait. I think I've got her. I think she's –"

QUENTIN, telepathically: "Hey Sophie!"

Sophie shrieks. 

SOPHIE: "What are you doing in my head, geek?!"

The other Cuckoos' eyes glow as their lips curl in disgust. "Quentin."

QUENTIN, sounding casual and unusually upbeat: “I thought we were trying to be friends. And I’m not in your head; this is how telepaths should communicate, the way others wish they could.”

While the other Cuckoos mime vomiting or are otherwise grossed out, Sophie is mildly amused and she can’t deny he has a point. What does he want? Quentin explains that, now that they aren’t enemies, he’s come to appreciate Sophie, not just for her magnificent telepathic ability, but the confidence with which she leads her sisters, and, of course, her beauty. He knows he has steps he needs to take, but surely she can see some of his own greatness. 

QUENTIN, as a telepathic projection in front of Sophie: “Would you want to go out with me sometime?” 

Sophie appears stunned. The other Cuckoos slowly but surely break out into laughter, with Sophie eventually joining them. Quentin’s projection is heartbroken and, as it fades away, we transition to the real Quentin, who’s tearing up in his room, Brian and Soo at his side. 

QUENTIN: “They’re laughing. They’re all laughing at me.” 

SOORAYA: “I told you not to praise yourself.” 

QUENTIN: “As if that was it! It doesn’t matter what I say, what I do, or what I can do. As long as I’m…this, girls like Sophie will never take me seriously.” 

Brian tells him to try and calm down. It was just one rejection from one girl. And it’s Sophie. No one should want to date a Cuckoo unless they enjoy being walked on. Quentin snaps at Brian that he can’t be so dumb as to think this is the first time this has happened. The first time a hot girl has laughed at him. This is just the first time he got far enough to actually ask before it happened! 

QUENTIN: “Thanks for nothing, Dust.” 

SOORAYA, pissed and not about to take this: “I was helping you for nothing! Attempting to connect with her as a fellow telepath was your best bet.” 

QUENTIN, eyes growing more intense “And what do you know? I don’t know why I even asked for your help when you’re barely a girl!” 

Soo is about snap on him, her hands turning to sand, but Brian steps in to defend her first, shoving him and telling him to take that back and apologize immediately. And then they’re going to see Emma and the Cuckoos in person. Whatever he did to his brain, he is clearly so not okay. 

Quentin insists he’s fine. He just clearly needs to figure things out on his own. Like always. 

Quentin angrily storms out and slams the door. Checking to see if no one is looking, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bottle of pills. He downs several of them before stuffing the bottle away. 

Laura races through the studio, shoving and parkouring around everyone in her way. They’re freaked out and shriek. 

Laura arrives in the dancers’ dressing room, where Laura grabs her duffel bag. She may not be able to contact the others, but she can still get her gear. Inside the bag is her Wolverine costume. Laura stares at it intently. 

LAURA: “I am not X-23.” 

Laura zips the bag back up and gets ready to go, but freezes as she sees who’s standing in the doorway: the Washingtons. 

Roy appears mad, while Angel is worried. 

ROY: “Something happened Roxanne, didn’t it? Cessily too?” 

LAURA: “How did you know?” 

ROY: “I have eyes. Roxanne never runs off without telling us. And if she did, she’d answer her phone.” 

Further, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. 

ANGEL: “She was…kidnapped once when she was little. For ransom.” 

ROY: “Only I know my baby girl can more than defend herself now from some two-bit thug.” He gets even more mad. “Do you know who took them? Is this an “X-Man” thing?” 

LAURA, hanging her head: “I’m sorry. I’ll bring them back safe. I promise.” 

Laura starts to walk out, but Roy gets in her way, sneering at her. 

ROY: “If you don’t, I’ll do everything in my power to see that damn school shut down. You got that?!” 

Angel holds him as he seethes in her soothing arms. It calms him a little. Laura doesn’t have anything else to say, only blankly staring at the married couple before dashing away. 

 At the school, Brian and Sooraya head to the cafeteria together. Soo is frustrated. She’s trying here, she doesn’t want to be mean, but Quentin is not making a good case for himself. He may not deserve to be picked on, but that doesn’t mean he fits as part of the gang. Brian counters that they used to be enemies with the Cuckoos; they just need to give him time. 

Sooraya just doesn’t get it though. Why does Brian like him so much? She’s seen the softer side of the Cuckoos. She hasn’t seen that in Quentin. 

SOORAYA: “What is he like in private?” 

BRIAN: “Pretty much the same. Smiles more, I guess.” 

SOORAYA: “I see. Not to be rude, but…why do you like him then?” 

BRIAN: “I dunno. He’s cool. And he really is smart. We like a lot of the same stuff and…” 

Brian trails as he smiles into the distance. Sooraya cringes in annoyance. The two get their food and sit down. 

SOORAYA: “You like him.” 

Brian stammers in denial, but he can’t hide it long. He laughs and admits that, yeah, he thinks Quentin is pretty damn cute. 

BRIAN: “I know “I can fix him” isn’t something you should say about a guy you wanna hook up with but…” He shrugs. 

SOORAYA, with judgmental eyes: “I must ask, Brian: Why do you keep falling for obnoxious rich white boys with psychic powers?” 

BRIAN: “Guess I’ve got a type. That so wrong?” 

Sooraya supposes not. And she is happy he’s over Julian. But then why is he helping Quentin with Sophie? Brian answers that he doesn’t think he’s got a shot; Quentin is definitely straight. 

Brian asks Soo to keep his secret. He knows pretty much everyone but her would laugh at him for this. Soo agrees, but does encourage him to tell Quentin how he feels. Brian shakes his head at that, but thanks her anyway. 

BRIAN: “I’ll find someone. One of these days, we need to find you a nice Muslim guy.” 

SOORAYA: “That isn’t necessary.”

BRIAN: “Oh come on. You really don’t want a boyfriend?” 

Soo flicks her wrist and coats Brian’s food in sand. 

BRIAN: “Message received.” 

Flying over New York City surrounded in a purple aura, Quentin is on the phone with his therapist, Dr. Garrison. He aggressively tells the doctor he’s sorry for calling without notice, but he just needs to talk right now. Fortunately, Dr. Garrison doesn’t mind. 

DR. GARRISON: “I’m always available to my patients. Especially for my young, Mutant patients.” He takes on a more jovial tone. “Especially, especially, my young Mutant patients paying out of pocket.” 

He gets a laugh out of Quentin. 

We get our first look at Garrison during this exchange, the doctor a well-groomed Caucasian man in a suit, in the middle of pruning some flowers in his office. 

Shaking, Quentin vents to Garrison that he’s just so angry…and scared. The pills he gave him sometimes do what he said they would - boosting confidence and lowering inhibitions - but it isn’t consistent, he’s still an annoying, ugly dork who lashes out, and his head feels so weird. 

QUENTIN: “Please, Doctor. Help me.” 

As Garrison sits down at his desk, he tells Quentin to try and breathe. Everything is okay. He told him these pills are still experimental. It may take some time for the effects to stabalize, but if he feels or thinks anything especially out of the ordinary, he should come to him immediately. 

GARRISON: “To confirm, you haven’t told anyone else about Kick yet, right?” 

QUENTIN: “No, sir. I made up some story about psychic surgery. My friends brought it.” Quentin weakly smiles. “Well, I think Dust and I are friends now.” 

Garrison is happy to hear that. As for Quentin’s other concern, he recommends more than medication. He sees himself as an “ugly dork”? Quentin has the money and means to look and be and do whoevever and whatever he wants, “for the next year, at least”. 

GARRISON: “If you wish to win the fair Cuckoo’s heart, become the man she wants.” 

Quentin is not just put at ease, but excited by this recommendation. He thanks Dr. Garrison, who of course assures him it’s his pleasure, and wishes Quentin luck. They hang up. 

Quentin grins as he stares down at his phone…until his face falls. 

QUENTIN: “No.” 

Quentin flies off at super speed. 

QUENTIN: “NO!” 

Wolverine, now in costume, races up the steps of a skyscraper. She stops only to sniff a familiar scent. She’s shaken and momentarily freezes up, but she can’t be afraid. 

WOLVERINE: “She’s just a woman. You are Wolverine. Not a weapon.” 

Laura races up the remaining steps and reaches the sunset lit rooftop, where Kimura is waiting, along with multiple armed soldiers. A helicopter is in the air above them. 

KIMURA: “X-23! So glad you came without any fuss. You always were good at following orders.” 

Laura snarls. 

LAURA: “Where are they?” 

Kimura gestures with her head up at the helicopter. If X-23 wants them freed, she’ll surrender without a fight. Wolverine demands Kimura let her friends go first, but Kimura sees no reason why she should. 

KIMURA: “Even if you could beat me, Famine can crush your brain at any moment.” 

Laura questions what the facility is even doing working with the Horsemen; they want to kill ALL baselines. The thing is, Kimura doesn’t really care if they do. Especially not when she and Lady Akkaba have something in common. 

KIMURA: “I don’t know what you did to earn her wrath, but she wants you to suffer as much as I do.” 

Kimura cackles. Why is she so tense? She should be thrilled to be going home so she can come get back to doing what she does best. 

Laura takes note of all her enemies and surroundings. She breathes. 

WOLVERINE: “I am not your weapon. I am Wolverine.” 

Wolverine dashes around the rooftop, effortlessly disabling all of Kimura’s men with precise stabbing before dashing toward Kimura. Kimura grins with excitement and takes Laura on, glad she’s resisting. 

KIMURA: “Do you really think the Halloween costume makes you seem like more of a person? It only shows how desperate you are to be something you never can be.” 

Kimura actually proves to be something of a match for the snarling, non-vocal Laura, with Kimura asking X-23 if she likes the enhancements she’s gotten, granting her super strength to complement her martial ability and shield her from harm. 

Wolverine answers by slashing her across the face, leaving bloody marks. 

WOLVERINE: “Not a great shield.” 

Kimura angrily kicks Laura away, pulling a gun on her with one hand, and raising her hand to her earpiece with her other, her manic grin not fading. 

KIMURA: “One more move and the girls die!” 

WOLVERINE: “Coward.” 

KIMURA: “No. Just above this.” 

Laura narrows her eyes. 

WOLVERINE, retracting her claws: “Let them go.” 

Kimura shoots a net at Laura, ensnaring and electrocuting her. 

KIMURA: “No. I think I’d rather torture all of you.” 

Kimura laughs as Laura screams. 

In Cerebro, Mindee is getting her turn on the device and not doing such a good job, as she keeps getting distracted by other minds near her targets that she finds interesting. Emma sighs in disappointment, as while Esme has yet to get her turn, Celeste and Phoebe also failed to impress. So far, barring some initial difficulty, only Sophie has excelled.  

Sophie smugly pumps her shoulders. Esme rolls her eyes at her. 

ESME: “Mindee, get up! It’s my turn!” 

MINDEE: “Not yet! I still need to locate–” 

“MS. FROST!” 

Quentin bursts in, covered in sweat. The Cuckoos wrinkle their noses in disgust. Emma, less rudely, questions Quentin if everything is alright.  

QUENTIN: “Of…of course it isn’t. I tried finding Magneto and Cyclops, but they’re not here!” Quentin holds up his phone. “Look!” 

Emma and the Cuckoos all appear distraught as they see what he shows them: Mutant fashion designer Jumbo Carnation has been found murdered. 

Emma offers genuine condolences, a fan of the man’s work herself and aware that Quentin was as well, and promises that the X-Men will get justice for him, but Quentin slaps her hand away as she reaches out to him. He doesn’t want condolences! 

QUENTIN: “This keeps happening! Over and over again! What is “justice”? Getting Purifiers and U-Men safely locked away so they can get out and put more little girls’ brains in jars? Storm humiliating another pig? How is it justice if it never ends?!” 

Emma, sensing how sensitive this moment has become, takes on a more stoic demeanor. The Cuckoos, meanwhile, now actually appear intrigued by and interested in Quentin’s shift in attitude. 

Emma tells Quentin that they’re aware the climate remains horrid, but she and the other headmasters are doing everything in their power to change that. 

QUENTIN: “Everything in your power? Spare me.I know what Apocalypse was doing a few weeks ago, and I know it was you three who stopped him.” With heavy breath, he hangs his head. Emma squints her eyes at Quentin citing knowledge he shouldn’t have. “Magneto wouldn’t have done that before coming here.” 

EMMA: “Nor would I have. But we are better than we were.”

QUENTIN: “Better at failing Mutants! Would you have made the same choice if it was all monkeys who were going to die?!” 

Emma tells him that’s enough. She understands his grief, but this type of language is unacceptable. She knows Dr. Garrison and respects his work, but clearly that isn’t enough. And from the way he’s sweating, she’d also like him to see Danger for a medical examination. 

QUENTIN: “You mean the machine that murdered one of my classmates?” 

EMMA: “Danger did not kill Wind Dancer.” 

QUENTIN: “If she’d had her powers, she wouldn’t have been picked off by War!” Emma and the Cuckoos react with shock and horror. Quentin laughs. “You didn’t know, did you?” He shoots a dirty look at Sophie. “Whatever.” Her turns around and walks off with a sneer on his face. “I see who the problem is here.” 

Emma is concerned, but the Cuckoos are entranced. 

In the past, four year-old Laura is in her room, playing with her puppy. Petting him, getting licked by him, and wrestling a little. 

Suddenly, her eyes sharpen. 

Kimura is sure to be walking by as Laura screams in horror. Arriving on the scene, Kimura and the audience see that Laura’s claws are out, tears are running down her face, and the puppy has been gruesomely torn apart. 

KIMURA: “Now look at the mess you’ve made, X-23. I ordered you to take good care of him.” She draws a gun and shoots Laura repeatedly. “I suppose I should blame myself. A beast cannot be trusted with friends.” 

Laura lies on the ground, riddled with bullets, crying over what a monster she is. 

In the present, Laura wakes up…stripped of her costume and back in her old cell. She rages out and claws at the walls, but it’s no use. Over a speaker Kimura laughs at her. She tells X-23 she should relax. She’s home safe, and she’s never letting her out of her sight again. 

LAURA: “Let them go! Let me go!” 

Kimura isn’t about to go against what’s best for her weapon, but, as a consolation, she will let her see Mercury and Bling. 

A screen on the wall turns on, and shows Mercury and Bling! in tubes. The girls are being tortured, as Cessily is being streteched out and torn apart, and Roxy is having her diamond skin forcibly ripped and peeled off. 

Laura, hysterically, demands that Kimura stop this. This has nothing to do with them. If she doesn’t let them go, she’ll kill her and everyone else here! 

KIMURA: “I’m afraid it’s your own fault for trying to be something you aren’t, X-23. If these poor girls must suffer to make you understand your place, then so be it.” 

Laura continued to claw away at the walls, but to no effect. 

Over a guardrail, Kimura grins down at the laboratory where men in labcoats are torturing the girls, and collecting their mercury and diamonds. In the corner, Death idly stands by, uninterestied in the proceedings as he sharpens his katana. 

Back in his room, Quentin’s sweating and heavy breathing have only gotten worse. He’s jittering and bikning rapidly as he looks all around him. 

He pulls out his bottle of Kick from his pocket and downs more pills. When he hears Brian knocking, he it back in his jacket’s pocket. 

From the other side of the door, Brian asks Quentin if he’s okay. 

BRIAN: “You stormed off earlier, and some of the guys said they saw you not looking too good. Do you want to talk?” Brian waits for an answer as Quentin buries his head in his knees. “I heard about Jumbo too. I’m sorry.” 

Still no response from Quentin. 

BRIAN: Listen, man…I know today’s pretty bad. Things aren’t going your way. But I wanna help you. If you just open up, everyone will want to help you. You gotta let us in though. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” No response. Brian bangs his fist on the wall. “Whenever you’re ready.” 

Brian slumps away. Quentin screams and destroys half his room with a telekinetic wave. 

 In the Facility, Laura refuses to relent, even as escape from her room seems impossible, so no matter how she claws at the walls around her. 

The screen turns off. 

Laura freaks out, ceasing her attack and demanding to know what’s happening. A trapdoor opens underneath her, dropping Laura into a pit in the laboratory. Laura immediately attempts to leap out, but hits her head on a one-way invisible forcefield. The uncaring and amused scientists stare down at her. 

Laura demands to know if the others are still alive. Kimura confirms to her that they are…and thanks to them, they have some fun new toys they’d like X-23 to play with. 

Laura stands alert, unsure of what’s happening as a whole pens up in the wall of the other side of the pit, and she hears a loud rumbling. From the hole emerges a massive, artificial beast covered in mercury and purple diamond. 

KIMURA: “Allow me to introduce, the Predator X. Made from Mutants to kill Mutants.” 

Along with its metal skin and diamond projectiles, it also possesses Laura’s stregnth, durability, and healing factor. They had oodles of her DNA they didn’t want to go to waste. 

KIMURA: “I’d like you to test my new pet. If it kills you, then you’ve been rendered obsolete. If you kill it, then maybe, just maybe, I’ll be sporting and let your friends go home.” 

Laura silently nods, turning to face the Predator and clanging her claws. There’s no fear in her eyes, only determination. 

The sub five foot tall girl and the several ton behemoth race toward each other and clash. 

In a bathroom at the school, Quentin looks himself in the mirror, a complete mess. Garrison’s words about him having the means to be whoever and whatever he wants ring in his head. He’s ready. 

In a montage, Quentin shaves his head, toss in some purple dye, trades out his glasses for less dorky ones, and goes on a shopping spree to switch up his wardrobe, drawing his button down, sweater vest, slacks, and ugly shoes. In the end, looking at himself in a mirror at an expensive clothing store, he now sports a purple mohawk, an oversized graphic t, a blazer, shorts, exposed socks, and doc martens. He’s exceedingly proud of himself. 

Out on the streets of New York in the middle of the night, a group of men exit a bar, laughing a little drunk, and talking about the movie they saw earlier. Their eyes flash purple as they’re compelled to walk into a nearby alley. They regain alertness as they’re greeted by the young man who brought them here. 

QUENTIN: “It must be nice. To be able to wash the blood off your hands, catch a flick, and a drink with the boys. It’s satisfying, itsn’t it? Knowing you’ll never be punished.” 

The men laugh at him. Who is this dork? One of the others’ heads feels weird. Is this dork some mutie messing with them?! 

QUENTIN: “I am not a dork. Not anymore. I am Mutant. And proud.” 

The men’s noses all start bleeding. They freak out, questioning what Quentin is doing. 

QUENTIN: “Although you’ll find I’m not like the Mutant you brutally murdererd. The police may not care to look into this, but I can see inside the heads of this entire city.” The men fall to their knees and cough up blood. “Jumbo Carnation had four arms and plastic skin. He couldn’t hurt anyone. I could hurt all those heads with a thought.” The men’s necks begin to twist as they beg for mercy. “He was a lover. An artist.” The three necks are snapped and the men killed. “I’m gonna be an X-Man.” 

Quentin stands over the dead bodies. For a moment, everything is quiet. 

Quentin vomits, collapsing to ground. His eyes panic, his body shakes, all his confidence abandons him, and all he can think is…

QUENTIN: “What have I done?” 

Back in the Facilty, Laura fights the Predator X. Despite its size, the beast is equally as fast as Laura, putting her on the run, dodging not only its claws and giant teeth, but projectile diamond shards. 

KIMURA: “Since when do you run away, X-23? Have the X-Men taught you that’s something you’re allowed to do?” 

Laura keeps leaping around the pit until she finds her opening, gouging out the monster’s eyes with her claws, and pulling herself up to kick her foot-claws through its nostrils. She leaps off and, not wasting a second, stabs its ears. 

Jumping back, all of the Predator’s senses temporarily disabled, Laura smirks up Kimura. 

LAURA: “Should have gone for adamantium.” 

Laura jumps back at the Predator at tears it apart until regeneration isn’t an option for it. 

Laura pants, covered in blood, gust, and mercury. 

LAURA: “Nothing you say can hurt me. Nothing you throw at me can beat me. I was the best you were ever getting. Now…let them go.” 

Kimura and Laura stare each other down. Until…

KIMURA: “Very well. Your friends, as well as you, are free to go.” 

Laura is deeply confused. Kimura tells Laura to at least try to use that animal brain of hers. She never planned on keeping her! That’d be ridiculous! Laura had it right; Magneto could kill her and all her associates without breaking a sweat, and holding his students it just asking for it. 

KIMURA: “I just wanted to advance and test my little project, and see you again for old time’s sake. I hope you had as much fun as I did.” 

Laura squints her eyes, not trusting this for a second, but without other options but to play along. 

We cut to outside the fence of this normal looking government building in the middle of nowhere. Laura, Cessily, and Roxy are all walking away, the latter two shaken to their core. The girlfriends are clinging to each other with haunted looks in their eyes, pieces of Roxy missing and Cessily unable to go fully solid. They walk in silence for a bit. 

CESSILY: “Thank you, Laura. For saving us. Again.” 

ROXY: “Yeah. I wasn’t fully conscious for all that, but you killed that thing like it was nothing. 

Laura tells them not to worry about it. She’s an X-Man. Keeping them safe if her job. She’s just relieved that they–

Laura is cut off as a visible to the audience aroma surrounds Laura’s nose. She sniffs. 

We cut back to the past, and see that this same aroma surrounded Laura’s nose before she killed her puppy. 

In the present, Laura freezes and her eyes sharpen. 

CESSILY: “Laura? Are you okay?” 

Laura spins around and slashes through Cessily. Cessily screams and Roxy panics, as Laura pops out her claws, ready to kill. 

Inside the building, Kimura laughs at what’s happening that’s being livestreamed to her on a screen. 

KIMURA: “Poor X-23. Forgot her old trigger scent.” 

In the alley, Quentin in on his knees as rain has started pouring down. On his phone, leaves a voice message for Dr. Garrison. He did something bad, something he knows he shouldn’t have done, but he had to take his advice, and be who he wanted to be. He couldn’t pretend to be powerless anymore. He couldn’t spend his whole life a victim. He’s sorry. 

Sitting at his desk with the lights off, Dr. Garrison listens to the voice message as it’s coming in, but he doesn’t pick up. He curls his lip and taps his finger on his desk. 

Back in the alley, Quentin tosses his phone away, and apologizes to the dead bodies. Off in the distance, someone calls his name. Quentin tries and fails to put himself together as the voice becomes clearly Brian and, moments later, Tag arrives on the scene. 

TAG: “I got your message! What’s going on?! Are you–?” 

Brian freezes as he arrives in the alley, horrified by the sight in front of him. 

BRIAN: “What did you do?” 

Quentin uses telekinesis to help him stand. 

QUENTIN, still hysterical: “I…I found the men who killed Jumbo. I…oh god, Brian, please help me.” 

Brian is still in shock, but he’s been trained for this kind of thing. He promises Quentin it’s gonna be okay and reaches out a hand to him. Quentin takes it. Brian assures him he isn’t mad. These racist murderers deserved it. He just didn’t expect this. But it’s okay.  Two of their headmasters have killed people. Soo and Laura have killed people.

BRIAN: “This doesn’t make you bad or a monster or whatever you’re thinking. Okay?” 

Quentin nods furiously and quietly thanks him. Brian assures him it’s gonna be okay. They just need to call Ms. Frost and– 

QUENTIN: “No!’ He pulls away. “No one can know about this. They all already hate me. This…this is all I have left.” He grips Brian by the collar of his raincoat. “I’ve been blocking the minds of everyone around us. We’re invisible. But I don’t…I don’t trust myself right now. Make everyone run away. And keep making them run until we find a place get rid of the bodies.” 

BRIAN: “I can’t do that, man. We have to tell the teachers and let them sort this out.” 

QUENTIN, sneering: “You said you want to help me. So help me. Aren’t you supposed to be my friend?” 

There’s a dramatic pause as Brian thinks. And he decides that he can’t say no. 

BRIAN: “Yeah.” He hugs Quentin.”I’m your friend.” 

Quentin hugs him back. 

Outside the Facility, base, Cessily and Roxy are terrified as Laura stares them down with an animalistic look in her eyes. Roxy holds the further injured Cessily. 

CESSILY: “Laura…Laura, whatever they did to you…you don’t need to–” 

Laura silently moves to attack again, but Bling! And Mercury leap out of her way. Laura jumps at them again, but Cessily grows a shield out of herself around them, one which self-regenerates and which the frenzied Laura isn’t capable of thinking a way around. 

Roxy is panicking. She can barely move or think straight right now. How is she supposed to fight? Even if she could, this is LAURA. They can’t stop her! 

ROXY: “I don’t want to die! I don’t wanna die, I don’t want my parents to bury me. But I can’t do this!” 

Cessily is just as scared, she’s still incapable of going solid, and she’s only bring hurt more and more by Laura’s attacks. But Laura needs help, Roxy needs to be kept safe, and she’s the only one here. 

CESSILY: “Don’t worry, baby.” Cessily’s face fills with determination. “I can.” 

Laura’s assault on the girls is finally halted as a spike thrusts out of Mercury’s shield and skewers her. And before Laura can recover, Cessily, screaming with tears in her eyes, takes down her shield and uppercuts Laura with her fist shapeshifted into an anvil, sending her back flying. 

Mercury stands. 

MERCURY: “I’m finishing what you started, Laura. I’m getting us all home. Even if I have to get through you to do it.” 

In the common area of the school, Brian sits alone, jittering and drinking hot chocolate. He’s silently mortified by what he’s done, and the possibility of people finding out. 

“It’s past curfew, Mr. Cruz.” 

Emma, in her nightgown, gets the attention of Brian, who jumps in shock. 

BRIAN, still shaken: “You scared me, Ms. Frost. Sorry. I lost track of time.” 

Emma looks at him curiously as she sits down next to him. 

EMMA: “It’s rare to see you without one of your squadmates. Is something bothering you?” 

BRIAN, smiling: “You know one advantage of not having a power to train?” He taps his head. “Plenty of time to train up here. Can’t make myself smarter than I am, but I bet I could keep even you from getting in without a fight.” 

Emma takes a moment to think over that response. She tells him that they’ve never really spent any time outside of class together, and that’s fine, they don’t have a thing in common and Iceman suits him as a role model, but he’s still her advisee; she’d like to help if she can. 

EMMA: “Did something happen with Quentin?” 

Brian hangs his head and twiddles his thumbs. 

BRIAN: “How do you know when a bad thing is worth doing?” 

EMMA, after a moment to think: “Not an encouraging question. Nor one Iceman would have been suited to answer.”

Emma tells him that the line between good and evil is not a steady nor clear one. Even now, Cyclops would probably disagree there, but to her, the line is faded and ever-moving, and holding yourself to it in a single spot and pretending you can see it clearly is an easy way to drive yourself mad. And each person also has their own line. 

EMMA: “If you feel what you did was right, if you can lay in your bed and fall asleep with ease, and if you haven’t harmed those who are innocent…you shouldn’t worry yourself.” 

BRIAN: “Even if it’s against school rules?” 

EMMA: “Even if it’s against the law.” 

Emma rests a hand on his shoulder before standing up. 

EMMA: “You were wrong by the way. It wasn’t hard to get inside your head.” Brian bangs his fist against his forehead. Emma smiles. “But you’re getting there.” Brian smiles. “Loyalty is a valuable asset, Tag. Do not undersell that part of you. Mum’s the word on your inappropriate heroism, provided it doesn’t happen again. I may not disagree with it, but it’s still a mess I have to clean up. And in the morning, let Quentin know he will no longer be seeing Dr. Garrison. It was a good idea on Robert’s part, but clearly, he needs a…Mutant touch.” 

Brian, still confused, manages to widen his smile. 

BRIAN: “Thank you, Ms. Frost.” 

Emma orders him to his room, wishes him good night, and tells him, if this does ever happen again, to please find an incinerator. 

Brian laughs…but as she exits the room, he sneers and backhands his mug off the table, shattering it. 

Back at the facility, Mercury fights Laura with blades for arms. Mercury’s movements are sloppy, but against a foe in a berzerker rage, that isn’t an automatic death sentence. Still, in speed, she’s just barely able to keep up with her. 

Mercury juts a pillar out of her chest to send Laura flying back and immediately stretches out her arms to grab her, pick her up high into the air, and slam her back down into the ground. 

Bling! Is in awe of what her girlfriend is managing to do. Cessily giggles, proud of herself, before grunting in deep pain as she jiggles, her form still unstable. 

CESSILY: “Ahh!” 

Laura rushes her once more, with Cessily embracing her instability and turning into a puddle for Laura to slip on. With Laura lying on top of her, Cessily locks her down with metal restraints. 

ROXY, in disbelief: “Babe! You know I always believed in you, but when did you learn to do this?!” 

CESSILY, as a face in the puddle: “You think I wasn’t training while you were busy over break?” 

They can’t celebrate yet though. They have to figure out a way to fix Laura. Cessily can’t hold her for much longer, and she doesn’t think she can knock her out. 

Roxy, still in pain, tries to figure out what could have been done to her. Maybe some implant in her brain, or brainwashing or…

ROXY: “Do you smell that?” 

Cessily isn’t sure what she’s talking about. She doesn’t smell anything. Roxy points out that’s just it. Cess has drawn blood from Laura. She should be able to smell that. But she can’t. 

ROXY: “Dr. McCoy taught me all about different kinds of mind control. All theoretical, of course. He mentioned once that people could hypothetically be conditioned to be controlled by certain scents.” 

CESSILY, Laura breaking free: “Worth checking! Oh this is gonna be gross.” 

Cessily shapeshifts her entire body into liquid and goes right up Laura’s nostrils to clog her nose. 

Laura is disoriented, but with Cessily in her nose, she turns her attention toward Roxy. Laura rushes her, unphased as a terrified Bling! riddles her with diamond shares. Roxy can only shield her face with her arms as Laura comes in for the kill…but Laura passes out before she can make a move. 

Cessily exits Laura’s nostrils and, repeating “Eww” on repeat takes the most humanoid form she can. Roxy breathes heavily with relief as she holds Cessily. 

CESSILY, weakly: “We…We did it.” 

ROXY: “Damn right we did.” 

CESSILY: “Is it wrong if I say that going up her nose was worse than the torture?” 

ROXY: “Oh, baby girl. Yes.” 

In his room, Quentin is fast asleep in bed. He’s awoken by a quintet of identical voices. 

“Quentin, wake up.” 

“We want to talk.” 

“Come on.” 

“Get up.” 

“Now!”

Quentin jolts awake. He sneers. What do the Cuckoos want now? For him to not even have peace in his sleep? 

The Cuckoos giggle and tell him to meet them in Cerebro.

Although skeptical of the girls, Quentin goes to the desired location, where the Cuckoos are waiting for him. Apart from Sophie, the Cuckoos appear either excited by his new look, or downright horny, biting their fingers and undressing him with their eyes. 

Quentin demands they tell him what’s going on. 

SOPHIE: “We heard what you said.” 

PHOEBE: “We know what you did.” 

ESME: “And we like it.” 

The Cuckoos aren’t sure what’s gotten into Quentin, but this is a version of him they’d definitely like to get to know better. 

Quentin snorts. He supposes he should be grateful they’re not going to rat him out, but still, what, get to know him better as a friend. 

SOPHIE: “The five date as one. And our guru has us all working on ourselves.” 

CELESTE: “So the five aren’t dating any one.” 

MINDEE: “But we are interested.” 

SOPHIE: “And we do support what you did. Even if the rest of our friends may not, we want you to know…” 

ESME: “...you aren’t alone.” 

Quentin turns around to see a group of other Mutants filing into Cerebro. There are three familiar characters, Glob, Martha, and Ernst, and three background characters comic fans will recognize: Radian, Tattoo, and Redneck. 

Quentin smirks and menacingly adjusts his glasses. 

Outside the front door of Roxy’s penthouse, Roy and Angel hold Roxy and Cessily tight, so relieved the girls are okay. 

ROY: “You stay strong?” 

ROXY, grunting in pain a little: “Of course, dad.” 

ANGEL, kissing Cessily’s forehead: “Thank you for protecting our baby, Cessily. You are family. You know that, right?” 

ROY, with a smirk: “She will be when she puts a ring on it.” 

ROXY, embarrassed: “Dad! 16!” 

Everyone laughs, as Cessily blushes. 

The Washingtons try to get the girls inside for some tea, but they have to take care of one more thing; they’ll be right back. 

Outside the building, Laura is standing in the rain. Cessily and Roxy come out, telling her to come inside; they can all head back to the institute tomorrow. 

Laura glares at the two. 

LAURA: “You were kidnapped because of me. You were tortured because of me. And I almost killed you both…because that’s all I can do.” 

Cess steps forward telling her that’s not true, but Laura shouts at Cess to not take another step. She’s sorry, but Kimura was right. She’s not a person. And she’ll only ever hurt the people she gets close. 

LAURA: “Julian…Sofia…and now you.” 

She tells them to tell Soo and the others she’s sorry she isn’t saying goodbye, but she can’t go back to the X-Men; she quits. 

They both shout at her to stop, running after her as she walks away, but Laura shuts them both down. 

LAURA: “Don’t follow me. You won’t get lucky again while I’m in control.” 

Cessily and Roxy can’t do anything but hold each other as Laura runs off into the night, tears in her eyes. 

In the Facility laboratory, Kimura is pleased with how things have turned out. She was hoping using the trigger scent to make X-23 kill her friends would break her emotionally, make the X-Men turn on her, and make her easy to take back for good, but even if she does wish the other Mutie girls were dead, she still got valuable material and data for improving the Predator X, and X-23 has still broken herself off from the X-Men. 

KIMURA: “There’s nothing stopping me now from retrieving her and keeping her here forever. Then, I will make her regret the day she ever crossed me. I’ll scratch her eyeballs out as many times as I need to until she begs to be blinded, and then I’ll–” 

Kimura is cut off. She gasps as blood spits out of her mouth. Looking down, she sees she’s been run through with a katana. All around her, she sees the scientists have all either been cut down in an instant, or reduced to piles of ash. 

Death leans in next to Kimura’s shocked face. 

DEATH: “Lady Akabba sends her regards.” 

Death rips his sword out of her and kicks her to the floor. 

DEATH: “She thanks you for your efforts, but she has her own plans for Wolverine. For what it’s worth, I enjoyed watching her squirm.” 

Death sheathes his katana and pulls out his lighter. Lighting it up, he tosses it at the computers to set them aflame. If Kimura is truly stronger than most humans, she shouldn’t have a problem escaping a burning building with a hold in her esophagus. 

Kimura swears at him that this isn’t over, that he doesn’t know who he’s dealing with, and that the horsemen will all pay. Death pays her no mind. 

Instead, Death takes out his phone and sends a text to Lady Akabba, informing her the job is done. 

On her throne in Egypt, Lady Akabba is pleased with his report. 

LADY AKABBA: “Apologies. I was dealing with another matter.” 

“No apologies necessary…” Knelt before her, we see Dr. Garrison in one of the cult robes. “...my lady.”

[ltwharfy]

Rewatching "I Love You, Man" and Overthinking Rudy's Iconic Halloween Costume

One night this week, when I was feeling particularly tired after work, I noticed that the 2009 movie “I Love You, Man” starring Paul Rudd, Rashida Jones, and Jason Segel, had just started on one of the commercial-free movie channels, so I decided to watch it. I had seen it a long time ago and thought it was pretty entertaining (I pretty much always find all three of the movie’s leads entertaining in anything, so…_). But I’m pretty sure I hadn’t seen it since “Nightmare on Ocean Avenue Street” came out, and certainly not since I became a person who writes “Bob’s Burgers’ fanfic and posts stuff about the show on this silly website. So, some thoughts on “I Love You, Man” specifically as the source of Rudy’s iconic Halloween costume:

-Man, this movie is R-rated! I had looked that up a while back, and it amused me because Louise also makes reference to R or TV-MA rated stuff (No Country for Old Men, Pan’s Labyrinth, Game of Thrones, just off the top of my head). But, I couldn’t exactly remember why it was Rated R, and if that rating made sense. Rewatching it reminded me that there is a lot of sex-related dialogue in the movie. It could not be cut out or toned down that much. It is actually pretty central to the plot (I’m not going to go into details, since I don’t want to put a content warning on this post, or spoil a 14 year old movie for anyone). It’s not a movie I would feel okay about watching with a  9 year-old that I was responsible for.

-So, did Rudy actually see the movie? There are definitely other times on the show where it is pretty clear the kids haven’t actually seen the more adult entertainment they make reference to (“what’s Caligua?”) It’s quite possible that Rudy may have just been familiar with Paul Rudd from more age appropriate fare (Ant-Man or something) and seen the poster for “I Love You, Man” somewhere and thought Rudd’s outfit looked cool (I mean, it’s a sweater and jeans, but this is Rudy we’re talking about).

-But I think it’s more fun to imagine he actually saw the movie. It’s implied that Rudy has a number of older cousins (we meet Mandy, and he wants her to tell the others about his attempt to sled backwards) so I can imagine him seeing the movie at a family thing with a bunch of his older cousins and just being so excited to watch a grown-up movie with the older kids that he thinks it’s the best thing ever despite a ton of the jokes going completely over his head. (There are a lot of movies I saw with my older sister as a kid then when I revisited them as an adult I realized I had completely missed some pretty racy stuff in them.)

-Also, I then imagine Rudy later innocently asking one of his parents about some term he heard in the movie that he didn’t understand, which leads to the older cousins getting in trouble for letting him see it.

-There are definitely parts of the movie I could see Rudy understanding enjoying. The first conversation between Rudd and Segel’s characters is Segel pointing out how another guy is clearly holding in a fart because he is trying to impress a woman he just started dating. This seems to very much be on the level of humor of most of the Bob’s Burgers kids.

-And it’s pretty easy to see Rudy enjoying Paul Rudd’s character in the movie, because it’s basically just Paul Rudd playing a nice kind of dorky guy in a pretty typically Paul Ruddy manner. His character is into fencing, which I can easily see Rudy thinking is a pretty cool hobby. (I can totally see Rudy and Louise trying fencing when they get older).

-Rudd’s character also plays the bass, and there is a running gag of him saying “I slap the bass” in a bad attempt at a Jamaican accent. I can see Rudy enjoying this and repeating the line to the point of annoying people (“You don’t even play the bass, Rudy, you play the drums!”) I may be projecting because that’s certainly what I would’ve done as a kid.

-If you managed to read this far without knowing the plot of the movie, Rudd and Jones’ characters get engaged and it is pointed out to them that Rudd has always been a “girlfriend guy” who doesn’t really have close male friends. It’s kind of interesting to think about that in the context of Rudy, since it seems pretty clear that Louise is his best friend, and I find it interesting to think about who Rudy’s best male friend is. I have this headcanon that it’s Jeremy just because he is at Rudy’s birthday and his appearance seems kind of random if he’s not actually good friends with Rudy. (It’s easy to see Harley going to that party because she’s super friendly and seems up for anything, and Rudy could’ve gotten to know the Pesto twins through Louise, but why is Jeremy there?!)

-That said, the male characters Rudy has the most friendly interaction with on-screen are probably Zeke and Gene (or as I like to think of them, the World’s Best Future Brothers-in-Law). Of course, Rudy is a minor character who is only in 10% or so of the episodes and we basically only see him when he’s with the Belcher kids. It’s possible he has a really meaningful friendship with Hogarth Haber that is never seen or referred to on-camera.

-So, be on the lookout for my Roudise “I Love You, Man” AU Fic, coming soon! (That’s probably not actually going to be a thing. Honestly, I think I’ve explored this joke as far as I can. Well beyond the point of reason, in fact.)

-I had forgotten what a fun cast “I Love You, Man” has! In addition to Rudd, other “Bob’s Burgers” guest stars in the movie include Aziz Ansari, Andy Samberg, Rob Huebel, Nick Kroll, and Joe Lo Truglio.

[quarter-life-crisis2]

~tag game~

list eight shows for your followers to get to know you

thanks @btscontentenjoyer for the tag, this is coming ages later cause I wanted to properly reply because I love this shit so much, I watch so many media video essays it's borderline unhealthy

I have a hard time maintaining favourites and always get a recency bias but anyway, in no particular order, some of my favourites/ most impactful shows with my thoughts that no one asked for under the cut

No pressure, but if you wanna get involved, gonna tag @moni-logues, @gimmethatagustd, @jjkeverlast, @magicshopaholic & @sailoryooons, @simp47koreancrackheads, @yoongiphoria cause I am curious :)

White lotus - a recent favourite for sureeeeeeeee. I devoured this show and absolutely loved it. When it was finished, I watched about 10 hours of youtube content about it, from set breakdown, additional details missed, interviews, costume design, psychoanalysis of the characters etc

Fleabag - all time classic, should be required viewing for everyone, so so so good, and I love that it didn't get extended past what the story needed. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is an amazing actress and creator

I may destroy you - watched it around the same time as Fleabag. Another great show, with such complex characters and discussion around intense topics, once again Michaela Coel is an amazing actress and creator. Watched a few long talks from her after this show regarding her life, career and this show

Death Note (the final one to steal from @btscontentenjoyer while I am brainstorming for these) - the anime that first got me into anime, and for sure one of the most memorable. So much room for discussion. Would love to sit and drink a glass of wine while philosophising on the nature of good and evil, power and who gets to decide the appropriate level of punishment. I've read some of the manga but need to go back and finish it

Attack on titan - (I am NOT up to date on this, I'm about 1-2 years behind. I know some of the twists towards the end but not the full picture) Another great one for conversation, so so many topics to cover, pretty controversial at times as well, so I would love to debate it with someone equally interested in chatting shit with endless pauses during watching

The good place - it's been a while since I watched this so I hope it stood the test of time, but what I will say is certain aspects of it really stuck with me and I reference it often. I think the premise and some of the conversation were very interesting and thought-provoking once again, and the way they presented the repercussions of our actions or what it means to be/do good was very intriguing

Game of Thrones - I mean, it's problematic and it ended... well it ended... let's leave it at that, BUT I watched it religiously for years, I used to go to my friend's house after high school and we'd all gather to watch it which was lots of fun (also maybe not age appropriate?). I did enjoy most of it for the insane plots and completely unhinged and fucked up characters, it was so meaty and could really get into character motivations and psychology which is my jam

Arcane - I devoured this when it came out. This led me to look into the animation style and watch breakdowns of it because it was so amazing. But even without it, the story is amazing and very well delivered, even for someone not interested in LoL. Another one filled with grey characters, impossible decisions, societal analysis and dystopian settings. I really hope they continue in the same style and quality for the following season.

I have so many shows I love. Love, sex and robots, Hearstopper (haven't seen the recent season), Sex Education, Skins UK - watched as a kid, for sure problematic but fucking loved it at the time, Misfits, The Boys, OMG THE BOYS, Black Mirror, still.... though not all of it, which is to be expected, Thirty Nine OMG Thirty Nine, Hospital Playlist!!!!! these last two are my favourite kdramas for sureeeeee, Tokyo Ghoul, Stranger Things, Scarlet Heart - my gateway drug into Korean entertainment, aaand I'm gonna stop but I very obviously like a lot of shit and have minimal editing and summarising abilities.....

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Got some more questions

1: I know you said Lois and dick definitely would say no to tattoos but what about those stick on tattoos that disappears after a couple of days or goes away when underneath water?

2: let’s say you were writing a manga/comic series about the duo, how would the series end? Happy ending, bittersweet?

3: besides comic books, do they read other types of books?, like goosebumps, diary of a wimpy kid, maybe captain underpants, etc…

4: does the duo create an in-universe comic about them and share it to the world?

5: is the comic series, war of the Superman/new krypton canon to your universe? Like Chris getting aged up and down, thara sacrifices herself to stop a red sun, etc…

1. Now those tattoos are acceptable. Here’s where also Dick and Lois differ in their approaches; Dick will allow Jake those tattoos along as the image is relatively appropriate for the public as he doesn’t want his boy to get into trouble with his school teachers and staff. Lois meanwhile is fairly lenient with whatever of those tattoos Chris wears since she can admit to having less “appropriate” ones she wore herself back in the day.

2. A happy enough sort of ending that implies future adventures to come for the two, whether it be a mere few in universe days later or probably picking up their story years later with them grown up. They remain friends and allies no matter what, any character development arcs and directions being fulfilled through the story having merit for both future expansion and as reference for any sort of sequel series. I can see also any of the more sympathetic or at least compelling antagonists the two faced in this series having been changed by their various encounters with our heroes, leading to them returning in a sequel series, possibly as allies, either genuine or of convenience.

3. Oh for sure when they were younger, Captain Underpants was one of their go to book series. As they grew older, the Duo diversified their reading levels and portfolios though in differing directions. For example, Chris found himself draw to nonfiction almanacs, factbooks and other encyclopedias about various subjects he’s into ranging from the modern history of countries around the world to the eras of prehistoric life. By contrast, Jake looks up old classic fictional literature that are usually considered ‘grown up’ for his age but nonetheless he can enjoy. As of this writing, he’s currently midway through Charles Dickens’ ‘Oliver Twist’ after just finished with Ouida’s ‘A Dog of Flanders’

4. I can see them giving that a try given Jake being inspired by the aforementioned literary classics and Chris also having some impressive art skills of his own despite a lack of true training. They’d mostly based the stories they draw based on their own daily lives, both in and out of the costume, even basing some characters especially super villains based on their cranky, kill joy school teachers. They just pray to God, Rao and X’hal that those villains don’t become a reality because otherwise, it’ll just be plain freaky and scary

5. Only tiny elements from that arc are adapted into this canon continuity, mainly the existence of New Krypton and Thara Ak Var being present albeit being a preteen more or less about Chris’ age. Aside from Chris and Thara being younger and attending school together, the main divergence comes from the fact both New Krypton and Earth in general have more stable and warm relations between their peoples and ruling classes. It’s just Kryptonians rather prefer keeping to themselves from most Earth affairs unless it’s a crisis that affect both worlds, i.e. invasions from the likes of the Gordanians, Yellow Lanterns or even most likely Darksied and his army of Apokoliptan New Gods

(Phew) Took a while to get to these but It’s sure worth it my friend @gothicghost2000

[firecat17]

Moana live-action remake wishes

So recently I found out that a live-action Moana remake is in the works a mere six years after the animated one was released. That being said, and given the nature of Disney’s live-action remakes, there are some expectations I have for it that I hope it meets (which I don’t have much faith in).

Not just expectations, but in fact ideas that would make the story more ideal. BTW, all of the following ideas are based on actual criticisms (and rightfully so) by actual Polynesian reviewers. 

First off, set it in an actual, non-fictional Polynesian location, like Samoa or Tonga (Samoa would be a good choice). By doing this, Disney can avoid making all the Polynesian cultures into a monolith. Monolithing is a racist, damaging practice that refers to taking multiple similar and geographically related cultures and blending them into one, giving the illusion that they are all interchangeable. Moana isn’t the only Disney movie guilty of this (*glares in the direction of Pocahontas, Raya and the Last Dragon*). Sure, it may not represent all the Polynesian cultures this way, but at least by doing so they can avoid making a monolith. Since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is Samoan, I’d (again) suggest setting it in ancient Samoa. Or if not Samoa itself, at least a nearby island directly related to Samoa. That means all the actors would ideally be Samoan. 

Second, hire an all (or nearly all) Polynesian production team; directors (unless one or two have already been chosen), producers, artists, designers, costumers, and more consultants than you can count. The animated movie was directed and made largely by white people.

Third, change Maui’s character. In the original Polynesian myths, Maui is described as a slender youth, whereas the movie made him into a large-figured middle-aged man. This image reinforces the harmful stereotype of Polynesians as obese. Now we know that Dwayne Johnson will be reprising the role, in which case Maui can’t exactly be young, nut at least he won’t be big. And that’s not all that needs to be changed. In the movie, Maui is made into the modern “American jerk” stereotype who relies solely on brute force and egoism (which is due to his tragic beginnings) to get by until he changes later in the movie. The mythological Maui is described as a flawed but well-meaning man who uses his resourcefulness to overcome obstacles and fulfill tasks. He can still have a tragic past and resulting insecurities, but that’s not an excuse for him to be an egotistical brute who doesn’t change for the better until later in the movie. By making both these changes, Maui can be truer to his mythological counterpart. 

Fourth, get rid of Tamatoa. Sorry Tamatoa fans, but he has to go. There are no Polynesian myths whatsoever that tell of a giant, flamboyant David Bowie crab who likes to sing anachronistic pop songs about how shiny he is. Replace him with an actual Polynesian mythological villain of some sort, one who DOESN’T get a modern glitzy David Bowie makeover.

Fifth, make all the songs authentically Polynesian. That means “You’re Welcome” and “Shiny” will have to go; they’re overly modern/American and are not only out of place in ancient Polynesia but also disrespectful. They can have some modern elements, such as being sung in English and having modern instruments, but remain true to Polynesian rhythm. Te Vaka, the famed Polynesian music sensation behind much of the animated movie’s soundtrack, will once again come in handy for such a task.

Sixth, change Te Kā’s character. Te Kā is widely inspired by Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire, lightning and volcanoes. A Polynesian reviewer pointed out how culturally appropriative it was to make Pele into a villain. Te Fiti can still exist, but have her instead turn into something like a giant skeleton to represent death and chaos instead of a lava giant. I know a giant skeleton might be scary for the kids, but at least it won’t appropriate the figure of Pele. 

That’s all for now. Knowing Disney, I have almost zero faith in them to do these things, but it’s worth a shot. Feel free to discuss these ideas with me, and Polynesians are especially welcome to share what they think! 

[canyoubelieveitsmc]

So I'm not a drag queen, but I am a drag artist!

My opinion on this (obviously I don't speak for the whole community just myself), I can only handle performing in front of children once in a while because I do have to make sure everything is family friendly (I normally do 18+ drag nights, aka most of my costumes are a bit revealing). So I have to remake or completely get new costumes, obviously I don't like to do it too often. There also isn't a ton of all ages shows because of drag being so political. If I had the opportunity to do more all ages drag shows on the regular I would have more appropriate costumes on hand, it would be a lot less stressful, and I think I would enjoy it more.

That being said, when I do perform in front of kids, I always love it. They are so silly and fun, and it gives me a chance to break out the performances based around cartoons and videogames!! This summer, I did an all ages show and I did Stronger Than You from Steven Universe. Let me tell you, that is the most hype I have gotten from the crowd in a little while! All of the kids were screaming and had huge smiles on their faces!! I absolutely adored it.

When i was a kid, i was scared that i would grown up and lose all my joy and creativity. So, having the opportunity to show kids that grown-ups have the ability to do something as silly as dressing up and lip syncing to a song from a cartoon is something I will never forget.

I really hope I will have the opportunity to perform for kids again. Not because I'm some creepy weirdo, but because kids bring this genuine joy that you can't find anywhere else

i saw some thread on xitter with some dude asking why drag queens "want to be around children so much" re: story hours and all the replies were either predictably disgusting or very defensive but not a single goddamn one of them answered the question so i will help in case anyone ever asks you this incredibly stupid question: they are clowns!! drag queens are just clowns!! they put on extremely silly makeup and huge wigs and bright clothes and do over-the-top performances that make people laugh and smile and sometimes cry. that is the definition of a clown. they like to perform for children because they are a type of clown and children are great audiences and it is not any deeper than that. god damn.