#Was totally not cause by me seeing a detailed explanation of a mask and thought- hey

[syxvesper]

GL! RANBOO HEADCANON

Cool, so we all know how his mask is like- the way they implant the memories into him right? It’s also made up of wires and stuff, most likely directly connecting to the brain.

They basically can effect his consciousness, and how he perceives stuff (aka the slime turning into blood for a split second)

So the head canon I have is that GL! Ranboo has tics, since a lot of the time tics are cause by a neurological thing. And with all the wires, those could affect him in many ways.

Yes, the foundation and stuff would probably be careful to like- make sure it all works, but don’t forget, for a good while of it, he slowly gained his own memories and consciousness and stuff, only when he was about to be killed, as Ranboo said before, were memories being implanted back in.

But, the people behind all this shit probably aren’t the greatest as well, and could’ve had that accidental side effect. Mostly it would be things like small jolts making him move, though words could be affected, not as much as moving stuff though.

Anyways little headcanon haha

[emmavoid]

In which I go back over episodes 1-5 of Serial Experiments Lain in order to collect my thoughts on them before continuing on to a liveblog proper!

(this was done at butt-o-clock in the morning don't @ me for rambling/misspelling/etc)

Episode 1-

Lain’s shadow, and the shadows near her house, have an intensely weird pattern to them- like there's something hiding deeper within those shadows than any other shadows

The focus on humming powerlines, Lain’s asking them to be quiet- something/someone is trying to communicate with her, even this early on

The steam that comes from Lain’s fingers- at first I thought it was an intense imagination, but it felt similar to the steam coming from her computer in later episodes- another early sign that she’s already in the Wired

“Why did you die?” “God is here.” the first mention of god in the show

As a whole Lain’s family seems off; her parents weirdly robotic, inhuman- almost monstrous in their appearances, and her sister distant; lain did not know them well, and so these simulations of them suffer

When another student dies by jumping in front of the transit train, lain has a strange experience of “viewing” the student’s death while surrounded by fog. I originally thought this was more of her powerful imagination, but having since connected the “fog” or steam to computers, i think this was her simulating the event over again in an attempt to cope with her very human feelings

“Come to the Wired as soon as you can.” More communications from “the universe” to Lain

Episode 2-

the night scene at the beginning of each episode has been, mostly, a repetition of itself, with more communications; however, with Lain not present for most of them, who are they directed towards?

The girl in the nightclub Cyberia- looking at her again on a re-view, she does seem similar to Lain, but wears earrings- something I’ve noticed the “digital” Lain in the opening has that differentiates her from the more innocent, child-like, human Lain.

The explanation of Accel cuts to Lain in class- with the camera specifically focusing on her ear. It seems as if, throughout the show, she’s learning certain information without seeking it out.

The first appearance of the digital ghosts, like what would become of the “fake” version of Lain’s sister in a later episode, plus the figure she “imagined” after the train slow-down.

The man with the gun high on Accel- a test for human-Lain? She freezes, drawing his ire, but when he recognizes her as the Other Lain and points his gun at her, she speaks in a different voice- possibly the Other Lain’s? Possibly… a God-Lain’s voice. The man kills himself as if controlled by an outside force, and Lain appears shocked. I think that God-Lain- the one who has been communicating with Lain all this time- took over to ensure that Lain’s failure of this test wouldn’t lead to her death (or possibly, to interrupting her growth and forcing some kind of reset?)

Episode 3-

After the events of last episode, Lain is shaken- she can barely respond to Arisu. When she returns home, her family is nowhere to be seen- possibly because them existing during all of what happened would be detrimental to her growth? But when she falls asleep at her computer then checks on her family again… their presence or absence isn’t shown.

Another case of information about something strange- this time the Psyche- with a focus on Lain’s ear; again, picking up some kind of information.

“We saw someone die right in front of us yesterday, but we’re acting like it’s something we saw in a movie.” lain's friends are the most fleshed out "people" in the simulation because she knew them the best- and that's why none of them could react properly to the murder in that club, because Lain had never experienced what their reactions would really be like to something traumatic like that.

Lain’s Psyche shows up in her locker- perhaps put there by God-Lain?

The first mention of The Knights, who may have created the Psyche. Are they possibly a front for God-Lain?

Lain’s father attempts to leave immediately when she shows him the Psyche- further evidence that he can only react how he’s “programmed” to? The guy in the club who recognizes Lain- God-Lain has definitely been visiting here regularly.

“I saw you once, in the Wired. You were totally different.” God-Lain doesn’t seem to mind folks knowing about her. Is she leaving hints towards her existence for Lain on purpose?

Lain’s sister is definitely more fleshed out than her parents- when the Agents at the door try to tell her to ignore them she seems properly weirded out

Episode 4-

The origin of my connecting steam/fog to computing power- lain has a fan set up to directly cool part of her computer, releasing steam/condensation

Lain’s parents continue to have strange, robotic responses, but her sister seems genuinely concerned for her.

The main “plot” of this episode- the crossing over of the two net games- seems mostly unrelated to Lain? But it does seem to be causing suicides and murders, showing direct interaction between the Wired and the “real” world

I love the speed with which Lain is acclimating to computers and the Wired- contacting a professional for assistance with the Psyche is a great detail

The more adult-seeming Lain- so, possibly, God-Lain- appears to ask the DJ at the club about the game. But, she’s not there when he looks, and after that scene Lain has suddenly learned about and downloaded the game in question. Was it maybe Human-Lain tapping into her latent god powers to learn this information from him?

A Lain travels through the net game, and seems to try to contact a fleeing player. “I can’t go where you are.” The voice sounds much more like Human-Lain? Then the player encounters a child and kills her- seemingly in-game, but then one or more corpses can be seen wrapped in sheets afterwards as Lain watches. Highly unlikely that this guy had a real gun IRL- especially in Japan- so this seems to be more Wired/IRL fuckery.

“My buddies and I think this might be the work of the Knights too.” A point against my theory of the Knights being God-Lain?

“I’ll be able to enter it soon. … Don’t worry, I’m still me.” “Sometimes, I wonder…” Yeah, there’s no way this is a real reaction her real father would have.

“The Knights do not physically exist. They can be thought of as a religion that is spreading through the Wired.” And then this quote feels like another point towards my God-Lain theory!

the two men who were spying on lain... I think might've been actual outside agents given representation so that human-Lain would have the chance to deal with them- which, she did, by tapping into her god-powers to destroy their spy-glasses (which, when she did, caused her computer's fans to go into overdrive to keep it cooled)

Episode 5-

Lain hears directly from a being calling itself God, before the episode jumps to focusing on her sister for most of the episode.

This episode felt like it was jossing my theory- how could this whole reality be for Lain’s benefit if her sister was experiencing strange stuff?

“There is nothing that you don’t know. I can’t tell you a story that doesn’t exist.” On some level, Lain is both God-Lain and Human-Lain. These conversations with the doll, the mask, then fakes of her parents throughout the episode, seem to be more of Lain learning without personally experiencing- being fed information by her other self.

“The other side is overcrowded. The dead will have nowhere to go.” Isn’t this straight up a quote from one of the Romero zombie flicks?

All the talk of prophecy and “fulfill the prophecy”... Lain seems to be on a set path towards entering the Wired, which is part of why it seems like this is just her reliving an approximation of something that already happened.

A connection between the Knights and The Prophecy. The fake of Lain’s sister isn’t the only one to encounter word of the prophecy, since we hear about it from Lain’s friends as well

Hmm… I hadn’t thought of it before, but, mayhaps the fake of Lain’s sister doesn’t show until the strange holo-effects of her water at dinner? None of the really weird stuff happens to her until after… maybe this was a copy of her then, made during that moment before being pushed into this prophecy-horror scenario?

The Lain’s Sister who enters the house crying then sees herself disappears- or, it seems she does, until Lain sees a digital ghost of her, like she had previously seen in the school… after seeming to see this other self of hers, the real Lain’s sister seems… robotic and nonchalant. Was she a full, real person before this happened?

Theory Overall thus far-

my theory thus far is that lain's already living in the wired, and is, in fact, a god there- she is both Lain and The Knights; but, the more human part of her, Lain, is reliving her pre-wired memories with slight alterations in order to help her get to the point where she can accept her godhood.

the opening of the show ties into my theory too- that god-Lain (portrayed in the intro with earrings) is spread throughout the world, controlling everything, while human-Lain (in her much more childish outfit) is just experiencing and trying to understand the world

Things that were pointed out to me-

Arisu’s name is a romanization of Alice (referencing Alice in Wonderland)

Be inc and Copland being old computer companies

[captainseaweedbrains]

The Hunger Games: Ch. 5

I am finally getting around to writing up thoughts. Life am I right? So I’m not only behind, but starting a bit later on my chapter thoughts. 

Here are my rambling thoughts and emotions on chapter 5: 

"Good news, though. This is the last one. Ready?" I get a grip on the edges of the table I'm seated on and nod. The final swathe of my leg hair is uprooted in a painful jerk.// Girl, I feel you. We’ve all been there. #Noshaveforever

This has included scrubbing down my body with a gritty loam that has removed not only dirt but at least three layers of skin// It’s called exfoliating, Katniss, and I promise, it is good for your skin. If they can do one thing for you, it is this. 

Okay. Like Katniss, I have a soft spot for her prep team. I can’t help it. They feel like they mean well and I’m a sucker for it. Even if they are prepping her for death.  💀

He gives his orange corkscrew locks a shake and applies a fresh coat of purple lipstick to his mouth.// I wonder if SC thought of the most gaudiest looks and just rolled with it. Probably. But some of these outfit choices just seem so out there that I have such a hard time picturing it. Am I alone on this? My fashion sense is that of a bygone era. So maybe that’s why. What is high fashion? Not me. That’s what.

Octavia, a plump woman whose entire body has been dyed a pale shade of pea green // Why would you want to look like a Sim? Why is that in style here? 

"Excellent! You almost look like a human being now!" says Flavius, and they all laugh.

I force my lips up into a smile to show how grateful I am. "Thank you," I say sweetly. "We don't have much cause to look nice in District Twelve."

This wins them over completely. // Katniss!! I love you. Never change. I do love how other worldly each party sees the other. Maybe it’s a comment on colonialism in that sense shut up Terri Your English degree is showing BUT how Katniss views them as strange birds rightly so because one legit probably looks like a Sim and them viewing her as NOT HUMAN even though she definitely looks the more normal in the room and I stand by that Where was I going with this? It just feels a bit Two Worlds colliding. Okay. Moving on. 

Just how filthy was Katniss? Like she definitely bathed before coming. Twice in one day. So what is their standard here? I don’t want it because it’s probably too much effort. #lazy

It's hard to hate my prep team. They're such total idiots.// My thoughts exactly. 

I cannot stress how much I love how blunt SC makes Katniss’ thoughts. It feels so human to me and I don’t always see that in writing. It’s nice. 

Am I alone on wondering if Cinna has that eyeliner tattooed on? I don’t know why that’s always my first thought with the second being “ouch.” 

I do love how Katniss is always thrown when her pre-perceptions of the Capitol are challenged by *the few* people like Cinna. 

I saw someone point out how Katniss remembers a lot of details like the stylists and past years winners and their strategies and I’m wondering if it’s more like how I know stuff on like the Kardashians that I don’t really want to know or care about knowing. Just facts living in her head rent free. But she remembers a lot of details on the Games.

He presses a button on the side of the table. The top splits and from below rises a second tabletop that holds our lunch.// The future 1950s ads promised and Disney Channel’s Smart House made those in my generation fear. That or a super fancy automat. 

Unpopular opinion, but I absolutely hate when Katniss goes on about the food and how to make dishes. I think it’s so boring to read. Even one sentence about what everyone is eating dulls me. 

What must it be like, I wonder, to live in a world where food appears at the press of a button?//Okay, I know we kind of already have this luxury to an extent, but I too want to press a button and my food is magically there, in my home, already made. #queenlazy

My heart saddens when Katniss wonders what people do in their free time. She is a CHILD. *cries*

Okay. So I know Katniss has boasted about concealing her thoughts, but is she REALLY good at it? She gets called out a lot by practical strangers. I will cling to my headcanon that she is truly an open book and just believes she’s sneaky like that and Peeta pretends she’s succeeding at later in life. Is this canon? Maybe? Don’t @ me

SC’s commentary of sexualizing young teens and kiddos is amazing and yes, please keep coming at us like this, Suzanne. 

Also those poor, naked children. Not only were they going to their deaths, but they literally were paraded around on national television buck naked. 

I'll be naked for sure, I think...Naked and covered in black dust, I think.//An example of why I just love her narration. I crack up every time at the clear doom in her “voice”

He sees my expression and grins.//A true madman because I can only assume her face is that of horror.

I am still mad at the scaly-looking outfits the movie gave us and how they made her hair look

It crosses my mind that Cinna's calm and normal demeanor masks a complete madman.//He is a madman. We accept it and move on from here

*Peeta enters* *Cue my glee* 

*He is my favorite and that favoritism will show*

*Listen I am here for the messages on war and our consumer culture SC is providing*

*But I will not hide why I’m really here rereading these books*

*WEEPS* SHE IS RELIEVED TO SEE PEETA 

"What do you think?" I whisper to Peeta. "About the fire?"

"I'll rip off your cape if you'll rip off mine," he says through gritted teeth.//Don’t touch me. The teamwork they already share. 

Haha I just imagine Peeta has that big smile on his face all “Haha I want to die right now”

THEY’RE LAUGHING. Precious beans. 

I guess we're both so nervous about the Games and more pressingly, petrified of being turned into human torches, we're not acting sensibly.// That or you both are talking to your crushes and are feeling giddy about it. Don’t deny it Katniss. We see you

Lmao Katniss’ enthusiasm for D1 cracks me up

Cinna over here just lighting people on fire and relieved it worked properly. This man, I swear

She calls him dazzling. Be still my heart. 

Also I still don’t understand the true purpose of Cinna presenting them as united. Maybe I’ll get a refresher later on. Is it just to make them stand out more because they’re united? I don’t understand this angle at all. So #SameKatnissSame

Lmao or maybe Peeta’s the one who is all “Idk, but *sings* I wanna hold your hand...” 

Or not. But you bet Peeta is pumped. He’s not naked on national television and he’s holding his crush’s hand. Peak day for Peeta Bram Mellark, with all things given.

I do hope they are waving correctly. 

I'm glad now I have Peeta to clutch for balance, he is so steady, solid as a rock.//I’m FINE. Totally FINE that this will be how she views him for the rest of the series. FINE.

Narrator: She was not fine. 

How absolutely sad that she mentions how the Capitolites took the effort to look in the program for their names. How they waste CHILDREN’S LIVES. 

But I shall focus on her gaining confidence and Katniss Everdeen legit getting caught up in the moment where she is blowing kisses at them. The power of a great outfit, amirite? 

Someone throws me a red rose. I catch it, give it a delicate sniff, and blow a kiss back in the general direction of the giver. A hundred hands reach up to catch my kiss, as if it were a real and tangible thing.//Oh my god. So Extra

Everyone wants my kisses.//Peeta wants those kisses 

"No, don't let go of me," he says. The firelight flickers off his blue eyes. "Please.// I am crying as I think about their interaction in the same square in Mockingjay, when she tries to take the nightlock pill and he stops her. “I’ll never let go, Jack”  

SC can describe Snow however she wants, I will forever see Donald Sutherland and only that. Even when Snow is a teenager I picture Donald. The power of Donald Sutherland.

I love that she doesn’t realize she’s still holding his hand. If Portia had enough time to spray them down, she’s been holding on for awhile. Katniss, explanation?  👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

"I'm sure they didn't notice anything but you. You should wear flames more often," he says. "They suit you." And then he gives me a smile that seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me. // AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

SHE FEELS WARMTH RUSH THROUGH HER

THE SHY FLIRTING

PEETA, YOU SHY SLY BEAN OF A FOX

The more likable he is, the more deadly he is.//Yeah, for catching a dangerous thing called FEELINGS. 

Katniss, how does *kissing* him help matters here? You clearly caught wind he was flirting and your first thought was *le kiss* ???????

These two, I swear

And Katniss is just so smol having to stand on her *tiptoes* to kiss his cheek. #teamsmol

Onward to the next chapter! 

[sugargliderowl]

Thoughts About Remus' Playlist

So as usual, this is my first reaction/rant/analysis about the playlist! This time, it’s Remus’ Playlist. I think it’s going to be cursed. But a... good cursed, if that’s a thing. As usual, feel free to add on to this! It’s good to share thoughts and talk about meanings, even making predictions about the future! 

General Overview Before Listening: I love Yugen_sama ‘s artwork; her style makes me happy! Also, Remus doing that? TOTALLY HIM. Just looking at the choice of songs does mirror Roman’s playlist in a way with their own anthems, Tenacious D, maybe an etc. We’ll have to see on that. His explanation with all the emojis is definitely him, and I think that’s all I can say. Just look at it.

Reminder: Before we go on, a little reminder for your safety. The songs can be quite... a handful. If you know about Remus’ personality and interests but still wanna read the overall analysis, go to the TL:DR at the way bottom without reading the specific song analysis. If you remember the TW from the video, that really applies here. Stay safe. 

Song Analysis:

This Devil’s Workday: Genius told me that this is about a criminal going mad. Yeah. The blazing trumpets and the really radio-like voice in the song is kinda creepy, but that goes with Remus as intrusive thoughts! He’s very obtrusive, and he’s everywhere without any filter. It’s a good intro to his character. The poor sack of puppies in this song goes back to his theme’s lyric, “your pet dog stuffed into a sausage” Also, the repetition of “All the people that you know / Floating on the river are logs” is like what he does to Thomas (repetitively reminding him about the bad things). The  “Oh I am my own da[ng] God” goes along with all the biblical references he makes in his theme (and just the dark sides in general). All in all, this song/introduction just is him screeching, “HI, I’M YOUR INTRUSIVE THOUGHT WITHOUT THE UGH.” 

Forbidden Fruit (the Duke’s Theme): If you are a Fander, you definitely are singing/screaming this on top of your lungs as you listen to this. I did that, and I love that. This song itself has a lot of good analysis online, so check them out! It was the intro song of the Duke with all his motives, thoughts, and everything beyond that, so it’s definitely on here. Also, it mirrors A Gay Disney Prince from Roman’s playlist by both being their own “I want” songs as well as their character role songs. The Creativitwins strike here once.

Double Team: Tenacious D! The Creativitwins strike here again! Wonderboy was on Roman’s playlist, which is also a Tenacious D song, so you can definitely say there are some mirroring going on here (also! YES the artist choice seems like a definite factor in choosing these songs). So this song is about having sex. Okay. And having a threesome. Okay, Remus. This song, even though it’s from the same artist as Roman, has a really different theme. If the Tenacious D selection is about the twins, would this mean that Roman wants them to be a really good team who, even though are opposites, can get along, while Remus wants them both to lose the filter and have fun? Overall, it could mean that the twins both want to get along, just in different ways which contradict one another. I’m not going into the lyric details because oof.

Man: I just noticed that Yeah Yeah Yeahs was on Patton’s and Virgil’s playlists. On Remus? I didn’t really expect that, but that’s a pleasant surprise. This song is really interesting because it’s not like the other two. This song, for me, is about someone who is obsessed with a man who would make her do anything, and she’s just hooking up with him or something. Also, the whole, “You're all gonna burn in hell / I said we're all gonna burn in hell” goes back to the biblical references that the Dark Sides make as well as the lyric of “Cause your head's not in the gutter, pal / It's in Hell.” Who is the man? Thomas, probably. This probably directs back to Remus convincing Thomas to drop the filter.

Freeee: “When man becomes possessor of the knowledge of himself, he becomes the master of his environment“ in the beginning of the song is Remus telling Thomas to learn about himself by possibly accepting Remus. The lyrics “One day they hate you / Next day they love you / I'm still yellin' "F[*]ck 'em" / I could never trust—” show how Remus doesn’t trust the society like Janus, and that’s just one of the main core of the dark sides. They don’t trust people that much. This does include Virgil since he is anxiety, so he can’t trust everything immediately. They all have different ways of showing the distrust. For Remus, it’s the layback, “frick it” attitude. “I don’t feel pain anymore” and “nothin’ hurts me anymore” seems to be a potential for Remus angst of being rejected from all the sides and being the “Evil Twin”. Does he care or not care? No one knows yet.

In The Room Where You Sleep: Sleep from the shorts and Virgil will both react really strongly to this song. Why? “There's something in the shadows / In the corner of your room / A dark heart is beating / And waiting for you” (Telltale Heart reference-). Yeah. Remus listening to this would go back to that end card of Remus being creepy (and eating deodorant). Also, it possibly demonstrates Virgil and Remus’ relationship; Remus scared Virgil because of his thoughts and conjectures. The repetition of “You better run / You better hide” would also contribute to this thought, definitely. But then again, that melancholy keyboard... Why that montage at the end?

No Reason Boner: The song is very catchy and funny. But ASDKLFAJSD. This is definitely Remus’ type of song. That means that the sexual information is given control to Remus, and he probably uses the information for his jokes and intrusive thoughts. This song is what Remus' personality is: goofy yet NSFW. This intrusive thought without the ugh is probably lovable in this fandom because of that. Also, I don’t know why, but he can have that naivete even though he’s the one in charge of stuff like that. A nice juxtaposition right there.

I Told You I Was Freaky: This playlist is a RIDE. VERY MUCH A RIDE. Just all the sexual references in this song are just 1000% Remus. The song itself is quite whispery, and I guess that goes with Remus because he whispers the dirty stuff into Thomas’ ears. Well, whisper is very much an understatement. But I have to admit, if you listen to the lyrics, there are some very creative ways that people don’t think of. It’s usually a bed, a car, or in a club or party, but the lyrics are more than that. Then, we can assume how capable and skilled Remus is as the Dark Creativity; he’s as good as Roman, just in a different category. 

Queef: If you don’t know what a queef is, I didn’t too. I just looked it up while I was typing this. Wait, isn’t Awkwafina in like a movie? This, like that last song, is basically him going off on his creativity and wordplay. In future episodes, I would love to see how Remus can go off with his wordplay because if Roman’s good at all the nicknames, and if Remus is basically him but darker, that means he’s good. Like really good. This song is also very, very catchy, and I kinda jammed through it because of the beat.

Manners: According to genius, this song is a "sexually-charged bad b[*]tch anthem on which Ashnikko displays her “IDGAF”-attitude.” Basically, the vine, “I’M A BAD B*TCH YOU CAN’T KILL ME” would equate to Remus as well as the meme, “Aren’t you tired of being nice? Don’t you want to go APESH*T-.” This might connect with his facade in a way because he seems to be naive and goofy at times (although NSFW), but when he drops it, he drops it fast, and he drops it hard. For example, his facade drops when he threatened Logan in DWIT, and his facade can be picked back up quickly, too. This song also has the element of “Frick this world” attitude, which Remus showed in the previous songs, and I stan him. As the fandom did an edit once, he would definitely wear acrylic nails if he wants to. A thing that I did notice though is the lyric “Fight or flight, I’m fighting for my life.” HI VIRGIL!

Ben Bernanke: I don’t know who Spencer is, but a big OOF for him. This song’s structure is really unique because I have no clue where it’s going, and it’s going with Remus’ personality of just randomness and intrusivity (is that a word?). ALSO, the continuing snakes in these songs. So is Spencer Janus in our context? If so, Remus is quite mad at Janus. I do see why though, after that last video implying that he’s the Evil Twin. “Do you think you can mock me, Spencer? / Do you think you can capture my essence / And throw it back at me with / Humor and rhetorical devices?” Gosh, Janus and Remus could have beef with one another. Also, that “Avada Kedavra” and “I’m... a furious magician” could definitely foreshadow something in the future. Additionally, “You're the architect of my dreams, Spencer / You plan them, and build them on blue paper / And hand them to me / And then I dream them, Spencer.” 

Worldwide Torture: “I never come second place / Always been a big disgrace Smell the fear, I know you see / High achiever (Yeah, that's me!)” Welcome to Remus’ angst that we do not know much about yet. It’s great. It’s just like Roman, but in a more “I’m a disappointment” way! However, what’s quite different is that Remus is pissed. Beyond pissed about it, so he acts up unlike Roman who tries to mask it. Because he knows that he’s not regarded nicely with any of the sides, he wants to molest them and destroy the world, shown by the lyrics “A pure violation of God's great creation / It’s an infestation, it’s world domination.” I think this issue might pop up more frequently as more episodes come out, but for now, this is my assumption. Out of context, “The highest score” goes with that last episode, since Remus was present as the 80085. 

Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na): I DIDN’T EXPECT THIS TO BE HERE, BUT I LOVE IT. THANK YOU. WOOOOOO YASSSS. This is actually one of the “pump me up” songs. First, “Eight legs to the wall, hit the gas, kill them all” is, obviously, a spider in the song, but in our context, we can also call it an octopus because Remus’ animal is an octopus, which has 8 tentacles (6 legs and 2 arms). Second, Remus is PISSED. He definitely has a punk aesthetic, shown by all the songs about flipping the world. The lyrics “I’d rather to to Hell / Than be in purgatory” definitely shows his determination of doing so since he’s saying that he won’t sit back. Somehow, for me it’s a growth from the beginning of “I don’t care” to “I actually care, and I’m fighting for that sh*t”. Pissed off Remus is scary Remus.

Trash People: Trash rat boiiiii. But this song is more than that. It’s showing that trash people aren’t really... trash people. “ Art is love and love is sloppy / Nothing is all pure / Nothing is all dirty” really shows the whole duality aspect in the entire series. Everything is gray. And that’s what Roman and Remus need to work on since they were divided by the black and white mentality. If Remus is okay with the gray morality, then who would be the one that he’s directing this song to? Roman. “Wearing a smile and a heart on my sleeve” though. I don’t get this lyric, but then again, tell me what you guys think! Does this mean that Remus is actually trying to be like this, or is he mocking Roman... The “no time to start over” also sounds really ominous.

Tranz: Gorillaz! Same album as Roma-OKAY THIS IS GETTING REAL. The last one with this artist had the lyrics, “I’m the lonely twin, the left hand... I don’t want this isolation.” People were screaming about this because, of course, this refers to Remus, but who knew that this was going to pop up again! That’s why I loved the artist connections during these analysis. Anyways, this goes back to the twin duality, but more of an angry tune. Take a look at this: “Do you look like me? Do you feel like me? / Do you turn into your effigy? / Do you dance like this forever?” Remember Roman’s whole monologue about Remus as someone he sees in the mirror with all the things he doesn’t want to be? This song is Remus asking Roman about that statement. Keep in mind that effigy is a sculpture that is usually used to mock or burn and is used as a negative connotation (thank you my English teacher). Remus doesn’t like that comparison at all, and I’m more concerned for him now than I was ever before after Janus saying that too. 

Death as a Fetish: Wow, this is sad. “And I will never be good enough, quietly / And you will never be good enough, just like me.” If the twins have the time to reconcile, this is probably the first thing they need to help out on each other. Remus knows more about his twin than we all thought, and he knows that both of them have problems about that. On the other hand, this song, when I looked at some of the annotations on genius, has a sad connotation. Life is so short, and it ends, and you know for sure that death is there at all times with that repetition of “death as a fetish” after everything we find positive. For Remus, I guess he knows about this. He’s a deeper character than we credit him as.

Don’t Stop Me Now: TONIIIIGHT IM GONNA HAVE MYSEEEELF A GOOD TIIME- okay. This song is something I scream my lyrics to. I also didn’t expect this, but in a calmer manner (because I wasn’t calm when this was on), yes please. Basically, DON’T STOP ME NOWWW! I don’t know how to explain this in a deeper way. Yeah. I LOVE THIS SONG THOUGH!

Things I Don’t Remember: “Things I don't remember / How the hell'd we get here? / How the hell did we get here?” This can be interpreted in a lot of ways. It could either be how all the sides came to be, how Roman and Remus came to be by both having the role of creativity, or just where Thomas is mentally since they are all Thomas. I think that’s depending on how you want to go about it. The last point is the strongest for me because of this one phrase of  “There were endless conversations / No one's mouths were really moving” maybe referring to the sides’ conversations around Thomas’ dilemmas. They sometimes only make it worse until someone has to kick in to change the viewpoint around, and that’s the reason why it feels like nobody’s mouths were really moving. Also, dressed up alligators? Okay, Remus.

F*ck It!: (Censored by yours truly with her notecard of “note your language”) The album name of taxidermy... fitting. Back to the song. “Why abstain? Why jump in line?” and “They say don't take the risk you're sure to fail... But what's the worst that could happen, end up in a coffin? / Isn't that where we're all headed anyway?” really highlights Remus’ spontaneity, which is a big factor in intrusive thoughts. This is back to the “frick this”, but more a “frick it I’m doing that sh*t, and I don’t care about the consequences” (going back to Na Na Na on that). Also, “'Cause it's easier to lie to yourself than to face reality” reminded me of Janus, but does this also apply to Remus in a way? Or does this apply to all the sides who are lying to themselves, especially Roman? Anyways, Remus’ spontaneity is something to kinda look up to at times. Not... not all the time. 

fReAkY 4 Life: Dorian Electra... the one behind Flamboyant from ROMAN’S PLAYLIST! The Creativitwins music solidarity number I-forgot-to-count. To the lyrics! “They just don't understand me / I'm not like them, I'm freaky” does go to all the other sides and Thomas because Remus really stands out from all the other sides. Silly yet NSFW, weird, and very new. Also, he seems to want some attention from all the sides with “ I like to be in the spotlight / Step on the scene ’cause it feels right / I freakin' scream, baby, all night / I do it, I do it, do it all the time,” but is it a distraction or legitimate attention? I love how this song is the finale because this song is the fireworks that says Remus. All the lyrics really match him, and especially with the “I hear what they call me / I hear what they say / I'm not very cool, yeah / But I'll never change,” it cements how Remus thinks. 

TL:DR: 

Remus is a character deeper than we already know him as. There are a lot of him that hasn’t been introduced to us since he’s pretty new. He has been on for about 2-3 episodes (only 1 with his full participation), and he never really interacted with Roman nor Janus, both who has a history with our little gremlin. Yes, Remus is the Duke of Dark Creativity and intrusive thoughts; there are so many references that are R-rated in this playlist, but in the end, he is another side. He more than the trash boi who gleefully talks about sensitive topics. 

He still has a connection with Roman with all the overlaps in their insecurities and artists, and he’s probably the one who’s more knowledgeable about their relationship as a twin. He could even want to reconcile with his twin, but in a way that Roman would not approve. That doesn’t mean that Remus is kinda mad at Roman. A fun house mirror.

Next, He doesn’t want to change himself in the sake of others although he knows that the others hate him for being him, and he’s actively going against it, not caring about the consequences. That’s what drives him to be really good at his job. He’s as good as Roman on doing his job. Along with that, he wants Thomas to embrace him as one of the sides and come over to the dark side of creativity. It’s one of Remus’ biggest dreams: acceptance. I want to see how this plays out with him and especially him.

Finally, he’s pissed. Very pissed. After all the berating at his back from all the other sides, including Janus, he’s PISSED. He’s ready to throw hands and wreck the world. I’m starting to be worried for how his character would develop. If he goes apesh*t, I’m getting popcorn and coke. Maybe drink every time we see him go feral. Eat a popcorn every time someone is disgusted by Remus. 

Overall, I love him more than I ever did because of this playlist since music is the window to the soul. It’s like knowing a person and learning about them. Also, by doing this, it really develops the character and lets the people look inside the character’s deepest thoughts and desires. I don’t know if there will be any additions to these, but if not, I really want to thank the entire group who made this happen! I found some songs that I really love now, and it’s such a good way for the fanders to have fun! (also, the content inspired from this is going to be very interesting)(the ANGST) 

Thanks for reading if you came til here, and feel free to add on to this! I would love to see how you guys think about this playlist!

[second-chance-stray]

(Split Ends) RP Log: Cravs, Riylli, and Rising revisit Baldur in Limsa Lominsa.

Cravendy Hound - After entrusting Baldur, the ill-fated boy, to the healers based in Limsa Lominsa, the trio decided to head back to the company...at Crav's insistence, really. Every extra second spent in the maritime city was a second too much. And so, after taking the aetheryte home, we find the three on the company lawn.

Riylli Aliapoh lets out a stretch as they arrive, a bit groggy from the teleporting. "It's a shame you missed it Cravs, Rising ran in while I was castin' one of my spells and I knocked her a clean 20 fulms in the air!" She said, grinning with a bit too much pride. She then seemed to remember Rising was still there. "...By the way, you okay?"

Rising Lotus was patched up after their encounter as well, her right arm was coating in bandages, along with some other patches along the exposed skin of her body. She winced with each step, the healers picking all the needles from her form and now leaving her body to do the rest of the healer. She merely grumbled as Riylli spoke to her, putting her weight on her spear to take some of it off her leg.

Cravendy Hound: "Magic and melee don't mix, Riylli. But, er, 'ow are ye 'oldin' up, Risin'? That injury ye got looked somethin' fierce."

Riylli Aliapoh rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, taking that as a 'no'. She turned back to Cravs, deciding to ignore the issue like a mature adult. "So... Y'wanna tell us what that was all about? Why're you goin' so far to help this guy's kid?"

Rising Lotus: "...I'll be fine. Kinda a feel like layin' down." she glanced at Riylli, nodding afterwards "Aye. I'm curious 'bout that too."

Cravendy Hound: "I'm still confused 'ow a cactaur of all things made it to La Noscea. Could be a freak accident, but somethin' about it doesn't sit right with me." She sighs in thought, brow knitted and bothered. "....Ah. Uh. I guess I owe ye all an explanation."

Riylli Aliapoh plopped herself down on the step, ready for a story

Cravendy Hound: "Oi, get up! I-I'm not gonna bore ye with all the details," Cravs stammers. "Look. I made a promise to the kid's father. 'is dyin' wish was to see his son grow strong, with his own strength."

Riylli Aliapoh tilted her head. "...Y'know... It aint really his own strength if we had to step in to help... You sure you should be meddlin' like this? I mean, it was just a little cactus thing"

Rising Lotus "...Someone might not want that. I remember the merchant mentionin' somethin' 'bout some folk not carin' for him or his family or somethin'." she shrugs, wincing in pain afterwards "...also cactuar are from Thanalan, don't know how one would of gotten there."

Cravendy Hound nods to Riylli. "I agree, and originally, I just wanted to see if 'e was doin' okay. But this cactaur business...I think someone /else/ is meddlin' with 'im. And if we meddle to remove the meddler, then it'll cancel out, right?"

Riylli Aliapoh 's ears perked up in interest. "Y'mean someone left that cactus out there to take the kid out? Who exactly was this kid's sire? Why's he got so many enemies that would go so far as to try and kill his kid after he's already gone?"

Cravendy Hound shifts in place, heat under the collar. Unusually, she speaks slowly and thoughtfully, as if the wrong word could set off a mine. "Kid's father was a pirate captain, but one with...'onor, I suppose. Steal from the rich, give to the poor. Which lead 'im to rob from the same, powerful set of targets."

Cravendy Hound: "If ye got raided by Captain Thorne, ye didn't -just- lose yer shite. It was a kind of...a mark. A blow to yer pride, and that didn't sit well the rich."

Riylli Aliapoh thinks about this for a moment. "...So if we know who the targets are, why don't we just hop over an' kick their teeth in? Bet that'd gettem to stop messin' with the kid!"

Rising Lotus huffs, closing her eyes tightly for a few moments before glaring at Cravs. "...So what's gonna happen when these powerful targets  learn we're helpin' the kid? Last thing I need is to be marked like the boy, or if they learn we work for Heartwood an' create problems for the others."

Cravendy Hound: "That's step one. Gotta find who's still got it out for the kid, out of a handful of options." She then turns to Rising. "As long as we don't do anythin' illegal we should be alright. And we can threaten to expose 'ow they torment a kid to keep them from doin' anything to us."

Cravendy Hound: "Nothin' illegal, alright? That means even if they're an ass, we can't just kick their teeth in." Cravs lectures to Riylli.

Riylli Aliapoh frowned. "It aint illegal if they're a bad guy! And ain’t kickin' teeth in how pirates settle their differences anyroad?"

Rising Lotus tried to give Cravs a skeptical look, but just ended up grimacing from the shift of posture, then just looked exhausted. "That ain't how it work if you're rich. Can get away with anythin'."

Cravendy Hound: "That's not 'ow the law works! And while that may be 'ow we settle problems on water, on land...under the Admiral's stink eye, we'd probably cause more trouble doin' that."

Cravendy Hound: "The rich still 'ave their pride. I'm thinkin' if word got out that the bugger pesters a goddamn child for 'is late father's legacy, it'd be enough to twist their arm."

Riylli Aliapoh looked to Rising, then to Cravs, and then up to the sky as she let out an exasperated sigh. "...Y'see? This is exactly why we Miqo'te got our own rules..." She grumbled, before finally looking back down. "Fine! We'll do it your way! But if any of 'em tries to swing at me it's fair game, yeah?"

Rising Lotus grumbled, pretty much done with the day. "Well in the case it does go tits up, we can handle ourselves much better than that boy I 'spose."

Cravendy Hound nods. What an exhausting day. "...well. Ye look like ye could use two days worth of sleep, Risin'. That's all I 'ad to say."

Riylli Aliapoh hops to her feet and dusts off her pants. "Alright! Just gimme a shout whenever you get a lead or whatever. Always happy to lend my skills to a good cause!" She flashes Cravs a grin, and very pointedly tries not to look over to the wounded Rising

Rising Lotus "...Aye. You know how to reach us. Though we ought to expect somethin' worse than a cactuar next time." she sighed and started making her way toward the door.

(Cravendy Hound) seems a good place to timeskip to next scene? any last posts and then :P )) (Rising Lotus) I'm good!)) (Riylli Aliapoh) (Timeskip ready! (Cravendy Hound) AAAHH that outfit!!! )) (Cravendy Hound) the blade harness xD )) (Rising Lotus) Oh yeah I don't think you've seen her in it yet!)) (Riylli Aliapoh) (No fair, its so hard to get glams for Riylli ;-; (Cravendy Hound) it looks extremely good )) (Cravendy Hound) *timeskips in same outfit* xD )) (Cravendy Hound) HERE we can at least start in the company so it doesn't feel like, literally seconds after xD )) (Rising Lotus) Guess we'll have to have a fashion montage for Riylli at some point)) (Riylli Aliapoh) (Yknow what, its totally canon that RIylli only has one set of clothes (Cravendy Hound) ahahaha )) (Riylli Aliapoh) (Oh, I DO actually have a glamour change! (Rising Lotus) so pick out something new then we can figure out how she got it!)) (Riylli Aliapoh) (alakazam (Rising Lotus) mask (Cravendy Hound) fjkdslf just the gloves?! )) (Riylli Aliapoh) (Theyre bandages ^o^ Shes been practicing the fire spell! (Rising Lotus) Damn I thought you were just going to throw that mask on xD))

Cravendy Hound - A week later, Cravs has reached out to Riylli and Rising for company (or maybe help?) again. It's related to the business in Limsa Lominsa, and she's wearing her disguise dress again. Oh boy.

Rising Lotus was eyeing the bandages wrapped around Riylli's hands. "...How's that fire spell going?"

Riylli Aliapoh grins to Rising. "It's goin' well! I got the basic formula down, just gotta work on intensity and duration!" She beams proudly, giving Rising a bandaged thumbs up.

Cravendy Hound: "That...looks painful."

Riylli Aliapoh gives a mock bow. "You gotta suffer for art y'know"

Rising Lotus couldn't help but smirk at Riylli's enthusiasm. "...We'll get it down before you touch anythin' we fish up..or the lava." she turned her attention to Cravs, holding back a snicker at seeing her dolled up again. "You find out more 'bout the boy then?"

Cravendy Hound: "Seems ye got some more sufferin' to do then," Cravs notes in a bright tone.

Cravendy Hound: "Right, the Baldur business - I narrowed it down to a couple of names. But that's as far as I can go gatherin' information out 'ere. Thought it'd be more efficient to ask the kid 'imself. Which means." Cravs gestures to her outfit. "I'll need some escorts to talk for me once we're in Limsa again."

Riylli Aliapoh was clearly enjoying the attention, but quieted down to let Cravs speak. "Why not just talk to the kid as Cravs? If he's lost his sire, it... might be nice for him to know he's still got people close to him out there..."

Rising Lotus "Hmm...'spose maybe she doesn't want him to turn her in for the gil? If he really needs to be supportin' him an' his mom anyway." she shrugged. "Doesn't look like the type to sell out someone who's helpin' him though."

Cravendy Hound went as white as a sheet at the suggestion. "A-ah, that's...Uhh, we've got, um. A misunderstandin' between us. If 'e knew it was me, 'e'd flip out for sure. Trust me, it's easier this way." Cravs clears her throat and then hurries out before Riylli or Rising can ask further.

Cravendy Hound - The trip over is pretty awkward. If the subject was brought up again, Cravs would simply pick up the pace and pretend not to hear. And, once the trio were in Limsa, her lips were sealed, clarification frustratingly out of reach. That said, she was definitely walking somewhere with purpose.

Rising Lotus gave up askin' fairly quick, she knew she wouldn't get anywhere at the moment. She'd pry it out of her later though, one way or another. "So... you know what he'll be up to today? Or you jus' hopin' we run into him?"

Riylli Aliapoh wouldn't bring it up again, at the very least smart enough to see Cravs didn't want to talk about it. Instead, she would offer fun facts of things she had learned so far in her research. "...So, did you guys know that a forge runs hotter than lava?"

Cravendy Hound mimes holding something heavy and swinging it around. And to Riylli's fact, she gives the miqo'te a doubting look. Really?

Riylli Aliapoh nods. "Yeah! Turns out lava is only like... half as hot as your average blacksmith forge! It aint even hot enough to melt iron! Makes my job easier, but it's kinda disappointin' y'know?"

(Riylli Aliapoh) (Thank you for subscribing to Lava Facts)

Cravendy Hound desperately wants to ask if that's how Riylli has been testing her fire shield spell - by dunking her hands in a forge. Cravs moves her hands around as if dipping them in something.

Riylli Aliapoh tilts her head, unable to figure out the mimicry. "Can't you like... at least whisper or somethin' when were alone? Surely they don't got ears everywhere?"

Cravendy Hound looks around and finds it acceptably empty. "Did ye dunk yer 'ands in the forge to test yer spell?!" She whisper-yells.

Rising Lotus narrowed her eyes at Cravs "...So he's... carrying somethin'.. then puttin' it in the oven?" she seemed to be combining the conversations. Then Cravs actually spoke. "Oohh you're talkin' 'bout that. I hope you didn't do that, use a fire or somethin' first Riylli."

Riylli Aliapoh blinks at her. "What? You crazy? What if the spell failed?" She said, shaking her head. "Nah, I've been usin' a campfire! Got a problem with the magic runnin' out too fast though..." She muttered, rubbing her poor cooked hands

Cravendy Hound stifles back laughter, and pats Riylli on the back. There there.

Rising Lotus: "I can get ya some cream for that. Know a gobbie that makes some quality stuff. Don't worry it works too, used it after gettin' a nasty burn from some giant bug sparyin' me with gunk."

Riylli Aliapoh grumbles and glares up at Cravs at the treatment, but lets it slide since she couldn't tell if it was meant to be mocking or not. "...That'd be great, thanks. I don't gotta pay for it, right?"

Cravendy Hound: "Bug....gunk? Bug gunk...That sounds. Hm." Cravs raises a brow at Rising but doesn't say more.

Rising Lotus "Well I ought to considerin' how you made me a pin cushion on our last outin' together." she snickered a bit, the first time she cracked a joke about it. "But nah, he owes me one anyhow. Next time I'm up there I'll grab ya some." she gave Riylli a firm pat on the back.

Riylli Aliapoh grumbled again, but couldn't really argue back. "...Thanks." She muttered, not exactly enthused about all this back-patting she was receiving

Cravendy Hound had earlier given Rising a notepad with names written in it. One of them, hopefully, belonged to the person who was harassing the kid. Her heels clicking on the docks, Cravs would eventually lead the little crew to a dusty corner of Limsa where the kid (B) was presently practicing his form with the ax.

Cravendy Hound - The heavy ax is far too big for the kid. Every swing pulls him comically forward with the weapon. He stops his 'practice' and looks up at the approaching trio with a wide smile. "I remember you two! You helped me with that monster the other day."

(Cravendy Hound) more back pats )) (Cravendy Hound) i demand more )) (Rising Lotus) I feel like Riylli and Rising would have back pats that would eventually devolve into a hitting contest)) (Cravendy Hound) actually cravs and rising would have to squat down to pat Riylli's back ahah - otherwise it'd be a head pat )) (Riylli Aliapoh) (Cravs and Rising know it's too dangerous to headpat Riylli, they'd probably get bit (Cravendy Hound) sometimes my tall friends would use my head as an arm rest.....annoyed me, and yet I can see Cravs doing that to Riylli lmao )) (Rising Lotus) I've done that to my shorter friends before xD))

Riylli Aliapoh perked up as she got recognized by the kid, offering him a friendly wave. "Hey! How are you holdin' up after all them needles?"

Rising Lotus watches the boy fling himself with his strikes, smirking with every swing.  "Aye that was us." she eyed up his weapon for a few moments. "You ought to get somethin' a bit lighter by the way, gonna leave yourself open if you take too long liftin' your weapon."

Cravendy Hound - The kid bashfully itches the tip of his nose. "I'm doing fine, thanks to you all...Woke up on the softest bed I've ever been on in my life, healing expenses all covered." Baldur's eyes drift over to Cravs, and then back to Riylli and Rising. "Oh, I plan to! I'm just using this old thing because it was the only thing I could afford. Once I earn enough, I'll buy a better one...after everything else, haha."

Cravendy Hound turns away, avoiding eye contact. It's overkill given that she's wearing a mask.

Rising Lotus eyed Cravendy, she had to pay for the needle removal out of her pocket. "...well I'm sure them healers were excited for the chance to de-needle someone. Don't see many cactuar over here after all, bit strange." she nodded as he brought up upgrading his armor and weapon. "A good set of armor is jus' as important as a good weapon, smart thinkin'."

Riylli Aliapoh nudged Rising with her foot to try and bring her back to the task at hand, snatching the list out of her hands. "Hey, so... Were kinda lookin' into something, think you might be able to help us out? You know any of the names on this list?"

Cravendy Hound - Baldur nods enthusiastically, dreads bouncing on top of his head. Admiration for Rising and Riylli is practically gushing from every inch of the kid. "So that was a cactaur? I've never seen one before."

Cravendy Hound - Baldur snaps into attention. "Oh, right away! I'd be thrilled to help you two out. Let's see..." He takes the list and scans it. "Only this last one. Mindred Rot. She's who I go to if I need a loan."

Rising Lotus "Aye, I grew up 'round them, used to hit them with sticks then ru-" she glanced at Riylli as she bumped her and had the list snatched away.

(Cravendy Hound) dfsd hit them with sticks and run???? chaos child )) (Rising Lotus) She didn (Rising Lotus) didn't have toys or anything xD Played with bugs and lizards and cactuars))

Riylli Aliapoh raised her eyebrow at the name. "...'Mindred Rot'? Well that's a bad guy name if I've ever heard one." She said, nodding along until she remembered Cravs' full name. "Er... Right, anyroad, what's she like? If she lends you money she can't be that bad, right?"

(Riylli Aliapoh) (Poor riylli about to learn the horrors of capitalism)

Cravendy Hound - Baldur smiles as he hands the list back to Riylli. "Oh, yeah, her name's pretty rotten. But in some ways...she looks after me. No one else'll give my family loans."

Rising Lotus "You need to get out of the woods more..." she shook her head at Riylli's comment. She hummed at Baldur's words about the woman. "Hmm, how generous of her."

Riylli Aliapoh wrinkled her nose. "Honestly I'd rather get out of the woods less... How in the world do you lot handle that salt in the air?"

Cravendy Hound - Baldur's gaze wanders to Rising's axe, and then to Riylli's staff. "So, you two must be adventurers, huh? You think you could teach me a thing or two? Punch better, smarter, harder? Oh, and! I didn't mean to be rude." He turns to Cravs. "Who's your friend?"

Rising Lotus Grinned, giving him a nod. "Aye! Do a lot of guard an' merc work. Takin' me all over, mostly back an' forth between Idyllshire an' places though. This one is still gettin' her footin' for it though." she snickered a bit as she eyed Riylli. "Oh, an' that's Singin' Gull. She's uh...a great singer an' has to save her voice most the time. We're guardin' her on her...singing journey?"

Riylli Aliapoh puffed her chest out. "Yup! Name's Riylli, Warrior of Earth!" she declared proudly, possibly forgetting Cravs and Rising were in earshot. "I'm a master of earth magic, but I'm sure I could give you some tips! Oh, and this is..." She trails off, staring at Cravs as her mind blanks on what her alias was. Thankfully Rising was there to have her back, though the Roegadyn still earned herself a glare from her little comment

Cravendy Hound 's frown twitches slightly. Singing Gull the Singer. Really? But she goes along with it anyway.

Cravendy Hound - Baldur's mouth forms an 'o' in awe. "Idyllshire? Never even heard of the place. Sounds cool though...And magic? How would I even start?" He turns back for a second to rest his rusty axe against a crate, and then hops right back into the conversation. "Like, just think really hard and magic happens? Hrrrghhhh.."

Riylli Aliapoh shook her head at the kid. "Nah, it aint that simple. It's more like... Y'know how you can move your fingers with your mind? You basically do that, but you move your aether about instead, and get THAT aether to move the aether OUTSIDE of you, and... Honestly I might not remember all the lessons, it's kinda just a reflex at this point. But you shouldn't be wastin' your talents on magic anyroad! You're a highlander right? You're gonna have plenty of muscle when you grow up, you should use-

Riylli Aliapoh -that instead!"

Rising Lotus could talk for hours about Idyllshire, but she resisted and tried to steer the conversation back on topic, which of course meant giving Riylli a light smack to the arm to get her to focus up. "Anyway, you know were we could find this Rot lady? Gull here is lookin' for gil for her next performance an' were hopin' to find some donations."

Cravendy Hound - Baldur is trying so hard to follow Riylli's explanation, but it leaves the poor kid's brain all tangled. "Huh, what? Huh? Uhh, oh, you want to meet Miss Rot? She's usually really busy so I have to schedule in advance. But I can ask if she's free to meet you all next time."

Riylli Aliapoh sighs. "Y'mean we gotta come all the way out here again..? Fine, I guess... Not like we can just go kick the doors down and demand to talk to her after all..." She muttered, offering a small glare to Cravs out of the corner of her eye

Rising Lotus cleared her throat, glaring at Riylli as she glared at Cravs "We'd appreciate that, jus' say that..uh..an up an' comin' singer is lookin' for fundin'. " she gave Baldur a nod, hoping that selling Cravs like that would make her the perfect target for a loan shark.

Cravendy Hound looks similarly annoyed, but shakes her head no to Riylli. It's not like they could go in there with wild accusations anyway - seemed worth strategizing over first.

Cravendy Hound - With the night fast approaching, Cravs motions with her hand to signal her intention to head home. Without bothering to wave goodbye to Baldur, she walks on ahead.

Rising Lotus watches Crav hurry away. "Uh sorry..." she put her hand to her mouth to muffle her words "Sort of a diva that one. Good luck out there lad!" she gave him a thumbs up before hurrying after 'Singing Gull'.

Riylli Aliapoh sighed once for not being allowed to rampage mindlessly, then once more as Cravs walked away without saying bye to the kid. She offers Baldur a wave. "You keep practicin' okay? We'll come by and see you again later, and maybe I'll share some of my adventurin' secrets with you!"

Cravendy Hound is a good distance ahead. As she passes by a stranger, there's some kind of odd collision that ends up tripping Cravs. Her mask drops off and rolls a few ilms forward as the stranger awkwardly, but quickly, makes their escape without even a sorry.

Cravendy Hound scrambles to recover the headware and fasten it back on. By the time Riylli and Rising have caught up, she's still kneeled over on the floor, troubled.

Riylli Aliapoh pretty much has to run to keep up with Cravs' long-legged walking, blinking in confusion as she notices her state. "H-Hey, you alright?"

Rising Lotus hurries to catch up to Cravs, quickly stepping in front of her to shield her face as she glanced around. "Aye..did you know that man or somethin'?"

Cravendy Hound: "I'm fine. Rattled is all." She whispers as she wobbles back up and takes a deep breath. ".....no, I didn't recognize them."

Rising Lotus looked around at the few bystanders eyeing the scene. "Maybe it'd be best to get out of here...before there's a chance to cause more of a scene." she said the last part in a whisper. Last thing they needed was the yellow jackets upon them.

Riylli Aliapoh raises her arm up seemingly to try to comfort her, only to hesitate and lower it back down. "...Let's talk outside of the city, all this salt is starting to make me sick..." She says, awkwardly attempting to give Cravs an out

Cravendy Hound: "...Right. No point in worrying about it now. Let's just get out of 'ere." She mutters.

[ohwereusingourmadeupnames]

2/2 and in a relationship with Tony (or Bucky) or B) figuring out his sexuality cause he's in love with his much older mentor so maybe it's better if I let May believe Ned is my boyfriend rather then tell her I wanna call Mr Stark Daddy? ...I mean something alone these lines pretty much, I just love that scene with all my heart

I loved this prompt, actually. I watched the scene a few times and totally understand your love for it. Here’s hoping you enjoy what I came up with! 

warnings: (underage)Peter, mentions of NSFW stuff

Peter still felt a little like jelly as he swung back towards his apartment from Stark Tower – Tony spent an obscene amount of time licking him from head to toe. The thing between them was still pretty new, so the giddiness sitting in his gut added to the tingling feeling coursing through him. When they came up for air, Peter looked at the clock with a bit of panic and hastily put his suit back on – the majority of his clothes were probably still sitting in the heap he left them.

Waiting outside the window until he couldn’t see May in front of the door, Peter quietly got the window open, his foot dragging it back down when he got inside, got his mask off, and started to crawl across the ceiling. A carefully shot piece of web allowed him to get the door closed and any chance of being caught by her narrowed down from slim to none. Turning around, Peter almost shit himself when he noticed Ned sitting on the bed. His hand was quick to hit the release on the front of the suit, the incriminating garment falling to the floor at his feet.

“You’re the Spider-Man… from YouTube!” Ned exclaimed – the initial shock of dropping the Death Star they were building gone, the other’s attention solely on Peter now. “

Peter panicked, his eyes bulging – there was no talking his way out of this, but he tried anyway. “No! No, I’m not! This is just a costume!” Peter babbled, his heart racing as he stepped out of the suit and kicked it away.

“You were on the ceiling!” Ned retorted, his eyebrows quirking. Peter recognized that shit eating grin for what it was, the sinking feeling of being caught out weighing him down even more. Taking a step forward, Peter used the last defense he had.

“I wasn’t! I, wait, what are you doing in my room?” The words were lame coming out of his mouth – he felt his cheeks color a bit at the sound of them. Ned’s eyes widened, the knowing look on his face growing more certain by the second.

“May let me in, you said we were going to finish the Death Star!”

“You can’t just bust into my room – “ Peter started to reply, his heart smacking against his chest even harder when May busted into the room, his body turning completely until he was facing her. He didn’t notice his nakedness until that second, his hands crossing his body to cover the fresh mark on his hip – it wouldn’t do for her to see something like that.

Her muttered explanation about the turkey meatloaf and the fire alarm fell on deaf ears – Peter was still trying to come up with an explanation for Ned and nothing was good enough, her babbling was the last thing on his mind. He did catch the way she looked between the two of them, though – her eyes lingering on his sweaty half nakedness for just a second too long. “Maybe put on some clothes,” May said before leaving his room.

Both boys let out a collective sigh of relief – Peter glad to have his aunt out of the room. At least he wouldn’t have to be subjected to her finding out about his secret and freaking out, too. Ned gave him about a second before he launched into more questions – his friend more excited about what the knowledge he just received might due to his social standing more than anything else. When he eventually left, Peter sunk down against the door, his butt hitting the floor and knees coming up.

What an absolute mess.

The next couple of days, May kept looking at him oddly – her eyes seemingly trying to tell him something, or dig his deepest, darkest secrets from the bottom of his soul; which one, he couldn’t really tell. It didn’t take long for her to break, though – her tongue started to wag about a week later. “You know, Pete – “ she started, a hand patting his own across the small dinner table. “You can talk to me about anything.” Her voice was earnest, the type of tone she took when she was trying to be understanding.

“I know, May. Thanks. You’re always really great about that kind of stuff,” Peter answered simply, his head in so many places, he wasn’t getting the thing she was trying to spell out for him. He patted her hand and tried to get up. Her fingers tightening stopped him, his eyebrows raising.

“If you want to invite Ned over a little more, I don’t mind. I like him – he’s good for you. You’ve seemed a little stressed lately,” May said. She kept his hand in her grip for what seemed like forever before letting it go, the woman standing up and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You deserve to be happy, Pete.”

Completely shaken, Peter got out of the apartment as fast as he possibly could after that. Jamming his earbuds into his ear, he let the sounds of Katy Perry get him to the bus stop and on his way to school before any other weird things could occur. Just for good measure, he avoided Ned for a little while, his brain needing a minute to process May’s assumption. Him and Ned? If she only knew his true tastes.

His aunt’s assumption came in handy a couple of weeks later when Tony asked to see him for more than a couple of hours one Friday. Peter figured that since Ned already knew his biggest secret, it wouldn’t hurt to let him in on his other Tony sized indiscretion. Catching up to him at lunch, Peter sat down beside him, their shoulders bumping.

“I need to tell you something,” Peter muttered, his voice low to avoid any attention being drawn to them. Flash Thompson was a dick and would jump at the first chance to humiliate him by any means necessary. Ned, being the great friend that he was, leaned in a little, his conspiratorial face on almost immediately.

“Your secrets are safe with me, Pete – I haven’t blabbed about the other thing, yet.” He smiled wide; a hint of pride evident in the glow of his eyes.

Peter shook his head a let himself chuckle, a little bit of the tension sitting on his chest fleeting with every huff of breath. “Don’t! I mean – thank you, for not telling anyone. It’s not about that, though. May stopped me before I left the apartment today to tell me she supports me and that you are welcome to come around more often because you are good for me.” Peter could see the tilt of the other’s head, his eyebrows knitted together in an attempt to understand. “I think she thinks we’re dating. Which is funny – “

Ned hit him on the arm, a mock offended noise coming out of his mouth. “The idea of dating me isn’t funny, Peter!” Ned exclaimed as quietly as he could, his face turning red from holding back the intensity of the words he threw in Peter’s direction. Realization hit him, Peter’s own cheeks coloring slightly.

“That’s not what’s funny. It’s funny because she’s right about the fact that I like guys – but she wouldn’t approve of the specific guy I’m actually dating.” Peter stated, his eyes rolling at the thought. There weren’t a lot of people that would understand Peter’s desire to call the older man Daddy and ride him until they’re both coming all over themselves. Older men intrigued him, Peter couldn’t help himself.

“Well, who are you dating that she’d be so against? It’s not like you’re dating Tony Stark, or anything.” Ned stopped when Peter’s eyes widened, the boy putting two and two together pretty quickly. “Holy shit! You’re serious? He’s like – old enough to be your dad.”

Peter felt himself color slightly, a smirk slipping to his lips. “I mean – exactly?”

The look on Ned’s face made him laugh outright, Peter for the first time in the conversation not worried about the people around them. His chest shook for a couple of minutes, the hilarity of the entire situation absolutely insane. “He’s nice, Ned. And so smart. It feels good to be with him.” He didn’t mention that the older man also made him feel better than he’d ever felt in his entire life – Ned probably didn’t want to know that tiny detail, anyway.

“If you’re happy, I’m happy.” Ned spoke simply, that quality one of Peter’s favorite things about him. They didn’t have to beat around the bush to be heard. Peter could be honest, and Ned didn’t judge. He just supported blindly – their friendship built upon so much more than the surface shit.

Peter wrapped an arm around him, the boy using a bit of his strength to pull Ned tightly against him. “I told May you and I were going on a date tonight. If she calls, tell her you had a fabulous time.” Peter muttered, his lips pressing a sloppy kiss to the side of Ned’s head.

“Best fake boyfriend, ever.”

[rwby-grimm-guardians]

RWBY Grimm Guardians Arc 2: Beacon’s Fragile Light Ch VII

Hey, everyone! I’m back! This is the seventh chapter of Beacon’s Fragile Light. This next chapter takes place during the seventh episode of Volume 2. This chapter will feature a LOT of ships. Also, prepare for some battle. As usual, please give feedback and enjoy!

Also, I apologize if some parts seem rushed here and for a certain stereotype. Please note that I am only describing the Weapon Spirits’ ball appearances and a new OC that will also appear in this chapter. Cinder will also be described, but not too detailed.

Disclaimer: Still own nothing.

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The teams’ clothes for the ball had finally arrived...and just in time too, as the dance was tonight. The Weapon Spirits immediately got ready, as theirs arrived later than anticipated. Summer had chosen a red suit with a black shirt...and, of course, looked amazing, according to her fellow Weapon Spirits and their wielders. Sent from Klein, Arktis had gotten a nice, silky, blue sleeveless dress with blue heels and white snowflake patterns that decorated the dress.

As far as her daughter, her friends, and the elder Schnee’s fellow Weapon Spirits were concerned, Arktis looked incredible. Gambol was next to get dressed and she had picked out a beautiful black and purple kimono, sent by Blake’s mother, Kali. While she did groan, due to her totally expecting it, the elder faunus put the kimono on, earning multiple compliments from the group and obviously Ember.

The monk had picked out a yellow shirt with a pair of brown dress pants and shoes. “You weren’t looking forward to the dressing up part, were you?” Summer asked, putting her red cloak on to match her outfit. Ember groaned with a nod as the red clad woman rubbed her friend’s shoulder reassuringly. The former STRQ leader smiled encouragingly, “Relax. You look great.” Ruby and Yang nodded in agreement, prompting Blake to say, “Gambol definitely has the hots from you.”

The elder faunus blushed as she looked at her “sister” and whispered, “Are you out of your mind!? What are you doi-!?” Blake placed her hand over the elder faunus’ lips as she whispered firmly, “I’m telling her what you actually feel. YOU. LIKE. HER. Now go and have fun with your datemate. Got it?” Gambol went silent, before replying in a squeak, “ Hai, okusama .” “You heard her, right?” Summer whispered in Ember’s ear, causing her to jump a bit.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m going.” The blonde said, as both Weapon Spirits went out the door first. With team RWBY sighing with relief, Ruby and Yang began laughing when Summer hugged them tightly with a grin. “I’m so proud of you~!” The red clad woman shouted with joy, doing a short spin as she held her daughters. Blake began giggling, only to fully laugh when Arktis gave the same treatment to a flustered Weiss.

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Now at the ball, Gambol and Ember were already dancing, obviously having a blast. Yang and Blake were also enjoying themselves, taking their time with their dance. Arktis sat next to Weiss, before placing a hand on her shoulder. “Enjoying yourself so far?” She asked. The heiress sighed, “I honestly don’t know…. I...feel like I should, but….well…”

She then pointed towards Ruby, causing Arktis to smile. “You care about her….” She said, only for her frown to vanish when her daughter said nothing. The heiress bit her lip, before saying, “I do care about her as a friend, but….I don’t know if that’s all...or if I care about her more than that.” The elder Schnee nodded, finally understanding what Weiss meant, “If you’re worried, I suggest you don’t. Everyone questions their own feelings from time to time.”

The heiress sighed, “But what if I unintentionally harm Ruby because of it?” The blue dressed woman stayed silent for a couple of seconds, before saying, “I’m sorry...but I can’t help you with that… As much as I want to give you a definitive answer, that is something you will have to find out for yourself.” As a way to change the subject for the time being, Arktis asked, “Would you like to dance?” Weiss just looked at her, wide-eyed, causing the elder Schnee to chuckle.

“It’s a simple question, Weiss.” She smiled. Stuttering, the heiress answered, “Y-Yes, please.” Arktis then stood up and guided Weiss to the dance floor, giving a smirking Summer a nod and a smile as the two past her. Leaving the two Schnees to have fun, the tallest of the Weapon Spirits went over to Ruby, only for the young leader to pull her by the hand. “Sorry, but we need to hurry.” Ruby said, noticing Summer’s confusion.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Outside the Cross Continental Transmit System Tower…)

After a brief explanation of what the young leader saw, Ruby and Summer found themselves outside the Cross Continental Transmit System Tower, quickly spotting the figure the younger Rose saw. “Any idea who...or WHAT that is?” Ruby asked. Squinting at the figure, the elder Rose’s eyes widened, “Isn’t that the new student, Cinder Fall?” The young teen raised an eyebrow, “Cinder? Why the hell is she going around like a burglar?” Summer sighed, “Guess we’re about to find out. We got another guest.”

The red cloaked woman pointed at a new taller figure following Cinder. Judging by the shape, the figure seemed to be female and have a somewhat muscular physique. The figure was also carrying two pistols. “You know that is?” Ruby asked, only for Summer to shake her head. “If I know her, then I don’t remember…” The two Roses then began chasing Cinder and the new figure.

After a bit of running, the two managed to follow the perpetrators to the elevator, heading to the top floor. After heading to the top floor as well, Ruby aimed Crescent Rose in rifle mode, with Summer holding the weapon in scythe mode. “Cinder? We know you’re here. Just come on out so you can explain what’s going on.” Ruby said, looking across the room for any potential threats, before Cinder casually emerged from her hiding spot.

“Your weapon is too observant for its own good.” The masked woman said, causing Ruby’s eyebrow to twitch. “Unfortunately, I don’t have time to have a conversation with you two.” She then whistled, causing the new figure to land in front of the Roses from the ceiling. As predicted from her silhouette, she was somewhat muscular and female. She also had black hair, red eyes with black sclera, black and dark gray sweat clothes, along with black boots and red sunglasses.

Summer and her glared at each other in the eye. Cinder then waved with an arrogant smirk, “Have fun.”, before proceeding to leave, only for Ruby to block her. A silent bell went off and soon, Ruby was dueling Cinder, constantly breaking through any dust the older teenager had to attempt to stop her from escaping. Summer and the other woman began having a brutal battle, as Summer tried to destroy the pistols, while the woman continuously tried to shoot the elder Rose in the face and gut.

Cinder then used fire dust to cause a smokescreen, blinding Ruby temporarily and allowing her to escape. “ Merde! ” The young leader shouted, coughing as she stumbled out of the smoke. Summer then got Crescent Rose caught on the woman’s shirt, ripping it off and revealing the woman’s sports-bra...and many bat tattoos that decorated her right arm and the right side of her torso and chest. Summer’s face went pale as she began stuttering, “It...c-can’t be…! H-How are you still...!?”

The woman raised an eyebrow, before grinning and let out a laugh...a laugh that Summer thought she would never have to hear again. “I see YOU have changed… JUST. LIKE. ME.” The woman said, before punching the Weapon Spirit in the ribs. “BE SURE TO KEEP THINGS INTERESTING, ROOS! ” The woman shouted, before escaping as a group of bats. Ruby then walked up to Summer as both of them sat down and Summer sent a text to Ironwood.

Sighing, the red cloaked woman said, “THAT...was Lady Vampier. Those that follow her call her the Bat Queen.” She then explained that she was a rival of hers back in Beacon, but Lady had vanished. Summer was then tasked with stopping her when she found out that Lady had begun doing various violent crimes, such as murder and experimentation. She was trying to make herself a god by extracting the blood of her victims and using Grimm blood. She had no choice but to kill her.

“Seems like she succeeded...” Summer said. “We don’t know that.” Ruby said, only for the tallest Weapon Spirit to give out a hollow laugh. “Hun, she’s STILL alive….” The two went silent as Summer looked at her scroll. “We need to go through Cinder’s information as soon as possible.” She said, earning a nod from the younger Rose. “What about the ‘Bat Queen’?” She asked, earning a shrug from the red cloaked woman. “Ironwood will give me that info soon.” She said.

After a few minutes of relaxing, the two then heard music from the tower's speakers. The two looked at the scroll, receiving a text that explained that Ozpin wanted them to have a dance, even though the night was almost over. Summer smirked, knowing that Evergreen made that decision. “Shall we have a dance?” She asked Ruby, who grinned and stood, helping the elder Rose to her feet. ‘So...I finally get to dance with my daughter…’ Summer thought, before smiling as she began dancing with Ruby.

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Okay. A few things.

1) The whole Dutch thing comes from the idea that Cinderella (who Cinder is loosely based on) is Dutch. This means that Cinder ALSO might be Dutch.

2) The reason why I had a battle here is because the ACTUAL episode doesn’t really have a fight scene. I’ll admit, I suck at fight scenes, so please give advice so I can improve. I’d really appreciate it.

And 3) Roos means rose in Dutch, Lady means dame in Dutch, and Vampier means vampire in Dutch.

Also 4) Ruby and Summer’s dance is PURELY PLATONIC! Don’t make things weird or gross.

And with that, this chapter is done! Really sorry about this being a short one. Next one might be short as well, unfortunately. But, hopefully, the Vol. 3 chapters will be a little longer. Anyway, I’ll see ya later.

[repeterwiggin]

i decided to make notes as I watched POF (SVSR) for the second time and damn. it’s just as much of a rollercoaster even when you know what’s coming (warning this is long there’s a lot going on)

- wild to me how we jump straight in!

- lee & mary lee are adorable & also thomas at the wedding is a Mood literally me at all my friends weddings

- the flashback breaks my heart,

- Patton is still a really good trier... he’s so good and he tries so hard and I love him

- the way thomas rips off his suit jacket...

- the song that isn’t sung!

- Patton says “we four helped you” but there were five sides in svs hmm I feel like that’s probably significant in some way

- the ace attorney ref makes me very happy! there was a secret path of me hoping for for a professor layton reference but this is ehhhh kinda close?

- the fact that the first thing they say is “why didn’t we talk to lee and mary lee” like. yeah!!

- WE SHOULD START LOOKING I TO WAYS TO PREDICT THE FUTURE! he’s a little confused but he’s got the spirit

- patton and roman bffs!!

- feral cats,,, what a tangent i stan roman

- I like that we get some more context to the invite as well, like being asked face to face does add another element to the dilemma

- Dame Judy Dench = Queen Groovy Bench I see you using those Good Place swears, Roman

- “maybe they ... feel guilty” is like. I get where you’re coming from Patton but talking to them should’ve been step one imo like. I have been to lots of friends weddings and talking to them is important

- “I’m not sure there was a good ending to get” ... “for he’s a jolly good fellow!”

- them calling Patton out for how critical he’s been!!! very important!!! and I appreciate that Patton is trying “I’m just trying to help you be a good as you can be!” he still has more to learn but still im love him

- the bagel callback lol

- GameStore instead of GameStop lol Patton

- FROGGER

- “he eats fly for breakfast”

- We’re ten minutes in and there’s already so much going on

- Also I just want to appreciate that thomas is such a good actor I can tell which side is speaking just from their voice like the cadence is different and they way they say words ahhh it’s something I’ve thought about before but it’s really hitting me with these voice over segments

- Leslie Odom Jr lol if only we’d known

- The Pokemon battle format is so good and I love that it’s being used for a “do you give money to a homeless actor”

- The hotdog puns....

- Logan’s Lowdown!!!

- Roman mouthing “behoove” to Patton is very cute but I feel bad for Logan :(

- Pixel Logan is adorable

- The fact that roman immediately goes “ignorant” breaks my heart listen to logan!!! please!!!!

- Patton trying to soften his thoughts is kind of painful to watch

- “As long as that’s not the main reason you’re doing it!” Patton no,,,,,,,,

- Roman needs to be listened to more he looks so defeated when Patton doesn’t agree with him and only continues after serious prompting I feel like he’s been ignored too many times lately I’m very excited for a roman arc :((

- “Leslie Odom Jr’s....literal cake that he baked!!!”

- Logan’s fun fact popping up in the mario scene!! that’s my boy!!!

- Also the fact that roman is immediately painting deceit as the bad guy after they spent all of svs getting along......like, I feel like after the other sides decided that deceit wasn’t at all genuine or looking out for thomas’ best interests roman did a full 180* on him which makes sense for romans character but is also kinda depressing bc in is lying okay? and svs he was like “oh he’s not that bad!!” And now he’s like “scute bellied tyrant!!” damn

- Patton let’s him talk and then immediately is like “uuuuh no” yikes

- Roman targets all his insults at deceit and very carefully avoids being even playfully rude to anyone else hmm I really do think he’s trying to “make up” for siding with deceit last time and in the end it doesn’t even matter :((( bc he still feels like he’s disappointing people

- Roman seems like he’s genuinely trying to understand and Patton is really struggling to articulate his thoughts and that creates such a good conflict between the two bc it’s not like theyre really against each other it’s just solid interpersonal difference. or intrapersonal I guess

- The trolley problem!!!! A classic I love it

- The way it’s animated too is so good... the “Thomas is full of dread” the way the music cuts when the train appears how it cuts right before the train hits “is it over” ahhhhhh

- Also Leslie Odom Jr again lol

- “Maybe don’t depict scenarios where my friends die” and then later Patton is specifically like “it’s lee and mary lee!!!” lol wild

- “You know we don’t like to use the T word!!!” GREAT little aside

- “So it’s the how that matters” “yeah... and the why!!!” patton baby you’re trying so hard and I love you but it’s okay. you don’t need to have all the answers. you can just not know! I promise it’s alright!

- Thomas face after Patton brings up the “figment of your imagination” things KILLS ME

- I actually disagree with Thomas on the “putting more good into the world” as not being a compelling answer BUT I think that Patton is overlooking how feeling good/having positive emotions attached with those actions IS directly putting more good into the world. like, if doing good makes you feel good, that’s a good thing!! idk

- Logan disagreeing with Patton was good and we all know logan is my favourite but I think he could’ve handled that a little better

- PATTON HITTING SKIP ALL..... sweetie no :((

- everyone has already said this but that cane is the snake boy

- Roman even pulls back the insults on a philosopher who is not there

- Also Roman being like “your desires are getting in the way” again bc he feels like he’s not being listened to or appreciated bc there’s something about him that’s “wrong” and trying to shoulder the blame bc he feels bad that his desires (success, fame, love, appreciation) are inherently selfish :(((

- “that is the stupidest thing you’ve ever said” right sentiment, terrible delivery

- the way roman says “you’re just blowing smoke” is a Lot and very much like his fishing for validation but I don’t blame him for it, after what he’s just admitted it’s truly understandable that he needs that validation

- Thomas’ point about feelings motivating him is REALLY good bc we are all motivated by our emotions

- “Doing nothing is even worse!” i mean you’re not wrong but not in the way you think,,

- Logan/Deceit (I do think it’s deceit at this point) using the oxygen mask metaphor is really great to me!!! I love that metaphor & I was going to be a flight attendant so it’s something I thought about a lot. I’ll talk about it more when Deceit brings it up again lol

- “Uuuh I do need help” mood thomas mood

- “Temporarily put himself first” oof

- “It’s easy to say what we would hypothetically do...” hard agree

- Watching logan/deceit huff and roll his eyes solidifies for me that it is deceit like something about it feels unlike Logan lol I can’t explain why

- Roman nodding along with the explanation of why leisure is important makes me very happy

- “Oh is it not? Please correct me if I’m wrong” and the way the sprite pressing further and further and being more expressive with his hands and eyebrows like damn. that’s deceit!!

- Patton’s breakdown is Iconic I love the glitching and the way it zooms out to show the layout of the living room and the way he explodes ahhhhhhh so good

- why does the frog have abs that’s my one question

- lilypadton ahdhajfka I love it

- DECEIT EX MACINA THE REVEAL IS SO GOOD as soon as he started punning (cut through this bull...frog) I was like 👀 AND THEN THE LINES AND THE CAPE AND THE LORD OF THE LIES IM HAPOY TO OBLIGE

- “CODE YELLOW”

- the deceit sprite is so cute :))))

- Deceit pulling Thomas behind him we have to stan

- “Richer than Jeff Bozos” I LOVE that roman I love you

- Deceit calling him out and the way the words themselves turn into attacks is such a fun detail

- Frog Patton still punning even in serious moments is so on brand

- Deceit dodging while thomas gets hit is a solid metaphor

- “The plane is going down, you need to give thomas some room to breathe” oof like it needed to be said but oof

- The health bars changing to “Thomas’ mental health” OOF LADS WE’RE REALLY IN IT NOW

- the way thomas looks when he steps back into frame cracks me up

- “We can still beat him! We’ve beaten him before!” oh roman, but it’s not a fight against deceit :((

- the snakes on the plane ref lmao “I’m sick of this morality fighting snake on this metaphorical plane” whoever wrote that line... I want to give them a high five truly iconic

- Deceit is so much more playful and showing more diverse personality in this ep and I’m living for it

- final fantasy!! the og version turn by turn which is what I like to play lol also the villain they’re fighting kinda looks like Virgil and idk how to feel about that

- Deceit looking away as soon as logan pops up lmaoooooo

- “Not that any of you care...” logan baby no!!!!! I care!!!!

- Effective Altruism explanation and Logan making a point to go “it employs the heart and the mind” like ... reminding Patton that they need to work together and they’re on the same side I’m soft

- Deceit and Logan agreeing warms my heart they’re both so good and ahhhh

- “Emphasis on the ‘sometimes’ though, right?” “Yeah sure whatever — I mean yes! Of course!”

- I also love how deceit addresses thomas directly they don’t do that a lot but it makes sense cause deceit is really trying to persevere thomas’ self

- Him calling roman noble and roman not believing it :((( deceit trying to be honest and ahhhhh I’m so sad

- “Selflessness isn’t always the answer” which was exactly what svs was supposed to be about

- “What do you almost all things?” “Oh you’re right we wouldn’t want to plant too many trees, imagine how much CO2 might absorbed”

- lmao why am I so impressed by Roman’s deceit impression when they’re literally the same person

- roman flipping out and attacking deceit is a Big Yikes but it’s totally in character bc roman has always been black and white even more so than Patton and it’s been building to an arc for a loooong time so I’m very excited

- Deceit taking off his glove.... saying his name......... I can’t process this

- JANUS!!!!!!!!!! It’s so good it’s perfect I love it I love him

- roman immediately laughing yikesssss

- “Oh roman thank god you don’t have a moustache otherwise between you and remus I wouldn’t know who the evil twin is” YIKESSS but also valid deceit is at a breaking point

- “I thought I was your hero” “you are!”

- I’m going to be thinking about deceit’s—JANUS’S—nod for a long time....was he agreeing with Thomas or was he saying that Thomas was lying ahhhhhhh

- “Everything’s going to be okay. We love you.” “...right” AH MY HEART

- I want to give roman a hug

- Patton asking Janus for advice like right away and Janus not being great at first but coming around quickly with the ever true “it depends” like I love the two of them together the DYNAMIC POTENTIAL

- Janus does seem fond of Patton which is cute I can’t wait for everyone to be friends again lol

- ACTUAL LESLIE ODOM JR I CANNOT

- how did they make that happen,,,, how wild

- the clapping

- “This sanders sides not odom sides,, I’m not threatened at all” that is, somehow, a mood

- “don’t kill, don’t steal, easy conclusions to come to” “even those can get iffy” “I don’t want to think about that... but maybe that proves my point!” you what we call that? growth

- “Giving too simple answers to complicated questions can do more harm than good” “mmhmm”

- “So I’m sorry! Again!” Poor boy is trying to hard and I love him :((( so much <3333

- “Oh yeah that’s cool, talk about me like I’m not here” I love you Janus!!!”

- “I’ll take care of him” and then immediately joking around and trying to make thomas laugh is very cute thomas needed something lighthearted after all of that ahhh

- “You’re not stuck with an EVIL snake boy...you’re just stuck with a snake boy!!” I LOVE YOU JANUS what an adorable nerd I would die for him

- and how excited he gets about being called right he deserves it

- “I love how much you like these constant dilemmas so please keep overthinking things” you know what I needed to hear that man

- “You can’t get doing good down to a science” WORD

- the message of treating yourself well & finding the right balance between that and doing good for others being a personal thing is very good and much needed

- Lee and Mary Lee are onscreen for like 3 minutes and I love them so much

- “So this is what you do for a living? Comedy?” “Yeah I’m a hack”

- Patton and Janus chilling on the same screen... I adore them

- “Seems like things worked out after all... I was wrong about everything!” “You and I both know that’s not true” and Patton’s soft little smile I love them!!!!

- “Odom sides would cool!” like actual Leslie Odom Jr said that.... I’m shook

- okay that’s the end it’s just as much a rollercoaster the second time around no I am not okay, thank you for your time

[gentlemanmcbitch]

An extensive look at the BNHA traitor theory

Alright, here we go. I don’t know what motivated me to do this but I’m diving all the way in. I’m going to assume two things before we start:

Shigaraki knows who the traitor is, and they aren’t reporting directly to All for One.

The traitor has been the traitor the entire time--since USJ. They didn’t become the traitor later on.

So, right off the bat, we know that after Bakugo gets kidnapped and the heroes launch their counterattack, the bar hideout where he’s being held is pretty undefended, and the arrival of the heroes is unexpected, but at the Nomu Factory, All for One is waiting patiently for their arrival, knowing full well they would be there. The only reason the heroes even knew the factory was there was from the tracker Yaoyorozu and Awase put on the Nomu. So, in order to tell the League, the traitor had to have known about that tracker. So, our starting list is the following:

The Hideout Raid Team that conducted the attack, consisting of Tsukauchi, All Might, Endeavor, Best Jeanist, Edgeshot, Gang Orca, Kamui Woods, Mt. Lady, Tiger, and Gran Torino

Awase (The Class B student who welded the tracker onto the Nomu)

Everyone in class 1-A EXCEPT Hagakure, Jiro, and Bakugo

Why not Hagakure, Jiro and Bakugo? Well, the existence of the tracker is revealed to the class when they’re visiting Midoriya in the hospital after the training camp arc.

Hagakure and Jiro aren’t here because they were unconscious recovering from Mustard’s gas, and Bakugo isn’t here because he was kidnapped. So, none of them could have known about the tracker, so they aren’t the traitor.

Also, going back to the Hideout Raid Team, everybody except All Might and Tiger are definitely not the traitor, since there’s no way they could have known the location of the training camp. All Might and Tiger also can’t be the traitor, since Tiger doesn’t actually work at U.A. (so he couldn’t have known about USJ) and it makes no sense for All Might to be working for the organization whose main goal is to kill him.

So basically, the traitor has to be a student. Let’s narrow that down by figuring out who clearly isn’t the traitor and work backwards.

Midoriya: No explanation should really be needed. He’s the main character. Obviously not him. Let’s move on.

Kirishima, Iida, and Todoroki: each one of these characters has gotten a spotlight where we’ve been able to see their own thoughts, inner monologue, and perspective on being a hero, removing them from the list (anime-only people, Kirishima’s moment will come pretty early into Season 4).

Yaoyorozu: She was the creator of the tracker that allowed the pros to find the League and take down All for One. Unless she was in real deep cover and meant for that to be a trap (which is way too risky for the League to attempt), she can’t be the traitor.

Awase: Yeah, he may have known about the tracker, but there’s no acceptable way he could have known when class 1-A would have been at USJ, or that All Might would have been there either. Also, he’s a really minor character and if he was the traitor, it wouldn’t have any emotional pull.

Tokoyami: He was originally going to be kidnapped along with Bakugo, although Mr. Compress says that was a spur-of-the-moment decision on his part.

If you were to make the argument that Mr. Compress doesn’t/didn’t know who the traitor was (which is a valid one), his Quirk is also way too difficult to control for the League to consider using him.

Tsuyu: I feel like a lot of people overlook this detail since Tsuyu is one of the more popular traitor candidates, but assuming Shigaraki knows who the traitor is, there’s no way it can be her. Why?

Because if not for Aizawa intervening and erasing Shigaraki’s Quirk just in time, he would have absolutely killed her during the USJ fight. There’s no way that Shigaraki would have killed the League’s one source of information in the event that things went wrong. And if it was more of a tying-up-loose-ends kind of thing if Shigaraki was being REAL cocky, she probably would have stopped working for them once she learned how expendable she was.

Mineta: No. Just no. I think Horikoshi is self-aware enough that he wouldn’t make the pervert comic relief character the traitor, since that would have the exact opposite of whatever action he wanted.

So, now things get hazy. The rest of the suspects don’t have anything solidly eliminating them from the list, so in theory, any one could be the traitor. However, some have evidence supporting their being the traitor and some do not, and since I think Horikoshi is a good enough writer to put some clues in beforehand, I’m going to say that Ashido, Sero, Koda, Sato, and Ojiro aren’t the traitor because there isn’t any evidence saying they aren’t, but also none saying they are. Also, they’re all minor characters where the reveal wouldn’t really be that big.

So, we’re down to four: Uraraka, Aoyama, Shoji, and Kaminari. I’m going to go over the supporting evidence and the contradictory evidence for each one, give my take, and then let you decide for yourself.

Aoyama

Support: To start, he was mysteriously absent during the USJ, and when asked about it, he claimed it was a secret. Also, there was the short storyline of him spying on Midoriya like a big fucking creep.

Contradiction: Of course, he was allegedly spelling out cryptic messages in cheese because Midoriya’s Quirk doesn’t suit his body and Aoyama felt a kinship in that, but that is a pretty half-assed explanation. Of course, if he was the traitor he could have not made himself known at all, and his messages (both the cheese saying “I know” and his carving in the rock, which is a French phrase meaning “still waters run deep”) imply that he himself is not the traitor.  To top it all off, during the training camp arc, he could have easily not fired at Mr. Compress and nobody would have known he was there or thought it suspicious. But he did.

 I don’t think he is, personally, but I do think he knows something, and it’s odd how cryptic he’s being about it. 

Kaminari

Support: Kaminari’s Quirk would have been perfect for jamming the transmission signal at USJ, and it’s very well-suited for secretly communicating with the league. It’s also possible he’s faking his dumb mode to lull his classmates into a false sense of security.

Contradiction: The signal jamming could have just as easily been done by, you know, the other electric-powered villain who was at USJ and trying to kill Kaminari. Also, even if the dumb mode is fake, the guy’s not very smart. He didn’t know he would be at the training camp if he failed the final exam, so if he was the traitor, he would have passed to ensure he could send the league their location. 

Kaminari to me is the weakest theory, despite it being by far the most popular. Every argument that’s made is really situational, and there’s no solid evidence in favor of it being him. I will say though, out of these four it’d probably make for the best fight.

Shoji

Support: For one, Shoji is the most mysterious character of the bunch. We’ve never seen his actual face because he’s always wearing that mask. He’s also much more powerful then the series really gives him credit for: his stats show an A in power, a B in Technique and Cooperativeness, and a C in Intelligence. He’s got the potential to be a powerful, prominent character, especially since his Quirk has no known limits, and yet he isn’t. We’ve never even seen him fight, but we do know he’s strong enough to hold his own against an out-of-control Dark Shadow, although we don’t know for how long. Speaking of his Quirk, out of these four his is the most well-suited for being a spy, since he can listen in or watch people from a distance. Despite these incredible observation skills, though, he conveniently doesn’t notice Bakugo and Tokoyami getting kidnapped by Mr. Compress during the training camp arc, even though he was right in front of them. Also, he’s suspiciously absent during the hot springs scene at the training camp. On top of all of that, his dorm room has pretty much nothing in it.

He claims this is due to being a minimalist, but it could be so that he can pack up and leave on a moment’s notice.

Contradiction: He’s a pretty minor character, and unless he got some more screentime, a reveal with him as the traitor wouldn’t be very big and emotional. Aside from that, though, there really isn’t that much by way of protecting him.

If I was looking at things totally objectively, I’d say Shoji is the traitor. However, BNHA is a story, and from a storytelling standpoint, the next one makes much more sense.

Uraraka

Support: To start, we know that Uraraka’s main motivation as a hero is money. It’s money for a worthy cause, to help her family, but she could easily get that money from being bankrolled by the League of Villains. Also, she clearly isn’t as sweet and innocent as she lets on, something that really only Bakugo has picked up on, it seems.

And lastly, because from a storytelling standpoint, it makes so much sense. Think about it. What would be more devastating than to have the first friend Midoriya ever made to be the one who inevitably betrays him? It’s perfectly horrible, and it would turn the BNHA world on its head.

Contradiction: Her Quirk isn’t really good for being a spy, and she does save Midoriya’s life when she easily could have just let him die during the entrance exam, but maybe that was out of debt to him for saving hers.

Anyway, if you ask me, it’s Uraraka. If you have anything you want to add to the discussion or an argument you want to make against something I said, tell me! We all want to find out the truth.

[fanfic-inator795]

RotTMNT/Baron Jitsu fanfiction: Dating… With Children - BONUS CHAPTER

((Just consider this a bonus chapter that could pretty much take place at any day during the story, since it's more drabble-like than the other chapters.

As much as I LOVE writing cute Baron Jitsu stuff, the other main part of this story is Draxum also bonding with the boys and learning to become a worthy stepdad. (or, second dad? Since Lou was never married before? Whatever) And I really didn't want that part of the story to sorta fall by the wayside in favor of romance so, here's a whole chapter focusing on Draxum and the boys. Enjoy! ^v^))

Draxum had never really had much experience with kids in his adult life. No brothers or sisters meant no nieces or nephews, cousins or other distant relatives weren’t really much of an option either, and the lab he worked at wasn’t exactly the type to get field trips.

Still, dating a man with four young boys allowed him to learn quickly and pick up on little things. One of the things he had noticed right away was that once a child thought of you as a good person - or at the very least, considered them someone they trusted enough and didn’t mind being around - they wanted that person to know every single detail about them.

Whether that be their favorite food (pizza, though each of them had vastly different favorite side dishes, snacks, desserts and juice. Draxum honestly wasn’t sure how Lou could keep it all straight), their favorite colors (that one was as obvious as, well, as the colored shirts they were wearing) or, the most ‘important’ of all, their favorite toys…

“-And this is The Annihilation, an’ this is Liberty Bill - he’s part of the Liberty League.”

“Naturally,” Draxum said dryly, adjusting his position slightly on the boy’s floor so that his legs didn’t fall asleep.

“Yeah, they’re okay. My brothers really like them though. But my favorite is-” Raph grinned, holding up an action figure in an orange leotard with a white cape and bear ears on his mask. “GHOST BEARRRR!”

“Ghost Bear, hm?” The scientist could hardly keep himself from rolling his eyes. How on Earth did these wrestlers come up with such ridiculous names and costume themes? Then again, they probably had to do something to help keep the audience’s attention, along with all the manufactured drama between the so-called ‘athletes’. It was no wonder so many children were fans of it.

“-and he’s always won every fight, and he’s super strong and just SO COOL!” Raph continued as he shook the figure around, “An’ sometimes, when I’m playing wrestling with him, I have him tag team up with other bears!”

The boy in red raised back over to his closet and began to pull out not more action figures, but instead plushies. First a small black bear Beanie Baby - “This is Capt’n Snuggles-” then a much bigger, much more plush bear with a small lab coat- “and this is Dr. Huggenstein, you’d probably like him ‘cause he’s a doctor like you-” and finally, a slightly smaller and very well-loved brown bear plushie covered in stitches and patches- “And THIS is Cheech! He was my first teddy!”

Raph’s smile softened a bit as he hugged the toy. He and Cheech had been friends for a long time… Since before he met Lou, since before he met his brothers! And as far as Raph was concerned, they were going to be friends forever.

“...It- er, He definitely seems special then,” Draxum commented.

Raph nodded. “Yeah, he’s great…” He then scowled slightly. “Some of the older kids back at my old home didn’t think so though. They said havin’ teddy bears makes you a baby, but I didn’t believe them…” Even when their words hurt. “Teddies are cool, and so are real bears.”

“Indeed,” the scientist agreed, “After all, they’re resourceful, resilient, protective of their young-”

“Yeah!” Raph smiled, hugging Cheech again, “And strong too! Really strong, like me! But they’re not jerks or anything, they’re just bein’ bears! That’s why I like them!”

Draxum smiled a bit, watching as Raph began to make Cheech wrestle Liberty Bill. “A good choice for a favorite animal, then...”

….

“I can’t believe you’ve never heard of Jupiter Jim!” Leo shook his head. What, did grown ups just miss out on ALL the fun stuff in life? “My brothers and I have seen all his movies!”

“Oh? All of them?”

“...Weeeell, maybe not all of them-” Sixty movies was a lot, even for a young fan, and some of them hadn’t been re-released on dvd yet- “But we’ve still seen a lot of them, and that’s more than you!”

“Hmph, fine, fine, I’ll give one of them a watch sometime,” Draxum half-promised. He enjoyed the sci-fi genre well enough but, much like the Lou Jitsu movies, Jupiter Jim always just seemed too cheesy for him. At least with the Lou Jitsu movies, he could still count on well done and realistic fight choreography as well as a performance by who he considered was a much more charming lead. ...Not that he had any biases or anything.

“You gotta watch ‘em,” Leo insisted as he dragged out yet another plastic vehicle, this one being a moon buggy (or at least, the Sci-fi Hollywood version of one) with a miniature version of the titular character himself in the driver’s seat. “Especially the ones where he’s gotta make an escape in his buggy, they’re SO cool! And he explores planets, and fights the bad aliens and monsters while saving the good ones!”

With a hop and a determined smirk, Leo activated his light-up space sword. Draxum made sure to take a couple steps back as the boy began swinging it around, but thankfully Leo had practiced enough (and seen the movies enough) that he knew the moves well enough. “Jim’s just the best!” Leo continued, “He’s cool, he’s good at sword fighting, and he can always think of a plan to win and get away and save the day! And he gets to do this all while in space! On the moon! In SPACE!”

Draxum smirked. “I take it you like space?”

“Don’t you?”

“Point taken.”

“It just makes everything cooler and awesomer,” Leo shrugged, “And I’m gonna try to go to the Moon sometime too. You know, in the future. But until then, I’m just gonna keep watching Jim go there.” Suddenly, the boy went quiet, glancing around for any eavesdroppers before bringing his voice to a loud whisper. “And don’t tell Dad but… Sometimes I think Jupiter Jim is even better than the Lou Jitsu in the movies!”

Draxum nearly snorted at that, managing to just barely hold back his chuckles as he promised, “I won’t say a word…”

…

“Leon might’ve said that Jupiter Jim was the best, but he’s wrong ‘cause he just can’t see who the REAL best character in those movies is!” With a bit of a dramatic flair, Donnie spun around to reveal the doll he had taken off his bookshelf. “Ta-daaaa~!”

Draxum raised his eyebrow, trying to figure out what exactly he was looking at. The doll had spiky bright-green hair, pink skin, eyes that as far as he concerned were much too big for it, and a blue and purple outfit with an atom symbol on it’s belt. The doll also had a giant plastic hammer in it’s hand. “Oh. Well, it’s-”

“Her name is Atomic Lass!” Donnie stated, smiling as he went into the explanation, “She’s a friend of Jupiter Jim’s! She comes from this town on a far away planet called Uraniumville, where she fights crime using her metal hammer and these really neat radiation beams that come from her hands!”

“Ah, I see,” Draxum nodded. That sounded about right, totally in-line with the style of those movies. “Is that why you like her then? Because she’s powerful?”

“Well, yeah,” Donnie replied, looking at the doll, “But she’s also super cool, and super pretty, and tough and, of course, smart.” He smiled at that. “Really, REALLY smart. That was how she got her powers, ‘cause she was also a scientist on her home planet before she became a crime fighter!”

Draxum nodded again, completely understanding now. When most heroes only seemed to rely on muscles and power boost, he could understand rooting for one who also had a brain. Donnie then sighed, fiddling with the doll’s hair a bit. “I know radiation makes humans sick, but I still wish I could just get some uranium and be a hero too instead of just dying from it. And it’ll take me forever to be strong enough to use a giant metal hammer!”

“...” A bit concerning but nonetheless all part of the childhood fantasy, Draxum assumed. “Why don’t you just focus on the things you can do now that make you feel smart and strong, and then figure out the ‘hero’ parts later?” he suggested.

Donnie thought it over. “...I’m trying to get Pop to let me do another science experiment at home, but now I wanna do something else, like… Like making my own robot! They’ve got books on how to make ‘em, you know! I just gotta find the right library… There’s robots you can buy at the toy store too but, I really wanna make my own - and I KNOW I could!”

With how smart and talented the young boy in purple seemed to be, Draxum had no problem believing that Donnie very well could make his own simple robot. Making a mental note to look up robotic projects for children later on, Draxum just smiled back at him. “Sounds like the perfect project to me.”

Donnie was full-on grinning now, eyes determined and mind already whirling with ideas. “Yeah! First robots, and THEN figuring out a way to get superpowers!”

“Well, I’d still maybe put that idea away for now…”

…

If Mikey wasn’t holding a crayon or marker or paintbrush, then he was usually holding one of his brother’s toys. One of their many action figures, or one of Raph’s plushies or Leo’s toy cars or Donnie’s puzzle toys. All of these toys were happily borrowed, and as long as they were taken care of and eventually put back, the other Jitsu boys didn’t mind whatsoever.

Of course Mikey had his own toys - including a play kitchen where he could ‘practice’ until he was tall enough to safely reach the stove - but more often than not his brothers’ toys were just more interesting to him. ...Still, what he did have that was all his own and that he played with happily was all the more unique, as well as all the more fitting for the young artist.

“Here!” Mikey proudly beamed, shoving the large shoe box into Draxum’s hands, “Look!”

“Wow…” Slowly, Draxum picked up each item one by one. Dolls made out of clothespins and spoons covered in paint, string and googly eyes. Birds and nimals made with paper and sticks and glue (loooots of glue, much to the doctor’s slight annoyance). Creatures that Draxum had no idea what they could be, created with puff balls and chunks of styrofoam and pipe cleaners, but still obviously made with lots of love.

And finally, folded carefully at the bottom of the box, a crane made out of a single sheet of bright orange paper. “Origami, right?” Draxum asked.

“Uh huh,” Mikey nodded, gently taking it from him, “But I didn’t make this one, Papa did! He made it for me the first night we came here to live with him, when I was too excited to fall asleep.” He pulled at the tail a bit, making the crane’s wings flap. “He said that paper cranes caused good luck, and that some people try to make a thousand so they can get a wish! But I don’t need a wish, so I just make ‘em whenever I feel like it.”

“That’s fair,” Draxum smiled, “I’m not sure if you could fit a thousand cranes in this house, even if you wanted to.”

“Heh, yeah, it’d be wayyyy too crowded!” Mikey giggled. He looked at Draxum, and then back at his crane. “...Stay right there!” Mikey told him as he ran over to his small desk, pulling out a sheet of paper. Not having much of a choice, Draxum leaned back slightly on the child’s bed and watched him work.

Mikey was surprisingly meticulous for his age, his tongue poking out in concentration as he carefully did each fold, though not once stopping or making a mistake. It was as if this sort of craft just came naturally to him, or perhaps he’d just done it enough times to know the steps by heart. Either way, it was pretty impressive, Draxum had to admit. Once the actual crane was done, it was onto adding markings and designs with markers and crayon along with the finishing touch of a bit of glitter before finally being given to Draxum.

“Here!” Mikey said, holding the teal crane up as far as he could, “Now you can have a good luck crane too, and it’ll make sure you’ll find a neat science thing at your work, or that you have good dates with my papa!”

Draxum chuckled, taking the crane. “I don’t think I need good luck to have a good time with your father, but thank you very much, Mikey.”

The boy beamed, and quickly climbed back up onto the bed to give Draxum a hug. “You’re welcome!”

The colorful crane never did find its way to Draxum’s lab, whether that was on purpose or on accident. But, it did however find a nice home on his nightstand, silently greeting him each night at bedtime and each morning when he woke up.

So, good luck or no, at least there was the small smile that it always seemed to put on his face whenever he noticed it - which only made sense, considering the place (and the family) it came from...

((It's been several episodes since Raph's mentioned his teddy bear collection in 'Mascot Melee', just SHOW US THE TEDDIES ALREADY! His collection sounded so cute, and I absolutely loved the names he had for them, lol. Also Leo being a huge space/scifi nerd in any incarnation is just amusing to me, heh. But yeah, hope you guys liked this! Next time, more Baron Jitsu with a bit of drama thrown in! See you then!))

[just-themys]

Godot’s mask

Ok, my head hurts a lot so I’ll try to keep this short. Basically a few thoughts/theories/headcanons on Godot’s mask and why it is that way.

There’s a lot of bullshitty, anime logic type of explanation but I think that in-universe) it would make sense (aka in an universe where you can just recreate a crime scene through a little device by inputting a few infos and then walk through it, hear people’s emotions and analyze them through another device, etc.)

First, here’s how I think Godot’s blindness work. I think his eyes and optic nerves are fine. What’s been damaged is the visual area of his brain, so the part in blue here: 

He did say that the poison damaged his nervous system. 

Basically, if this part of the brain is damaged, it can’t (or only partially) treat the visual information anymore. The eyes can send any info possible, if nothing’s here to process it, the organism can’t see. 

So now, how would the mask come into play ? In my theory, the mask is only part of the whole device. The point of the device is to make a bridge (lol, reference) between a visual stimulation, and the rest of the brain. And not only do the bridge, but also process that visual information.

[They could have gone with just picking up the visual informations sent by the eyes and add a sort of device that would play the role of the damaged visual area, but let’s say it was too complicated or that they ran into errors because the device is still experimental.]

So. Diego probably had to undergo surgery, where they planted a little chip (or whatever, I don’t have the terms) that would be situated on his visual area, and would connect to the other areas of his brain like that area would normally do. It receives the signals from the mask, that sends it through a form of wireless communication (i’m thinking mostly electric signals).

Basically, the red slits in his masks include little cameras that replace his eyes and send the visual information to the chip inside his brain, which in turn convert it in signals understood by the rest of the brain.

Now, why are there those red “screens”, especially since those are the cause of Godot’s red filter that stops him from seeing colors properly ? To me, it was not something planned, and it’s due to the device being flawed. here we really enter the field of the “bullshit explanations that make sense to me but are absolutely NOT scientific”. So i’ll need your suspension of disbelief here. Basically, the idea is that the HD images sent by the cameras inside the mask were too much to handle for the chip and the parts of the brain connected to them, even once converted. Maybe there was something in the chip, or it converted badly and it ended up too bright, too crisp, etc. Anyway, it was almost painful for Diego to see with those, even with his eyes not being directly exposed to anything. Their solution to fix this without altering the image quality : alter the colors. 

Now, I don’t know a lot about colors physics, but I’m afraid of the dark and sleep with one of these nightlights that change colors. And when it goes to red, the luminosity is much less important. The whole rooms goes almost dark while other colors are much more brighter.

I think, they decided to apply a red filter to tone done the brightness of the pictures without altering the contrast or the ability to see details. It does alter the image quality still, but it allowed to get a visual stimulation that was properly processed by the chip in the brain, and at least allowed Godot to see something.

For the slit shape, it’s either just for aesthetic, or the camera inside the slit(s) can be moved on the side just like the eyes would (which would probably require another chip in the motor area……). and for why three slits, for this I have no idea outside of “design”. But since it’s never shown as an issue, I can’t see it as very important (while the “can’t see red properly” is an issue that seems totally due to his mask).

Anyway tha’s all I have for now. I hope it makes sense (my head will explose if I try to proof read this).

[eternallyyoungjustice]

Wherever the Winds Take You: Chapter 6

Project Cadmus

July 5

1:21

Each of the younger heroes did their best to help explain the events that had unfolded that evening. With Aqualad providing the most structured explanations, Robin butting in some less-than-crucial-but-still-cool details, Kid Flash adding sound effects and the odd rambling, and Zephyr making sure the latter two didn’t veer the story too far off course.

Once the adolescents finally finished their story, most of the League proceeded to leave as they weren’t needed. A few of Leaguers took Desmond away to be locked up, flying away as the Green Lanterns used their rings to carry him. Batman, Flash, Aquaman, and Red Tornado were left huddled off to one side; undoubtedly discussing what they were going to do with their kids. But on the other side of the crater, their proteges stood in much a similar huddle, save of course for the inclusion of an extra member.

“So we’re all totally grounded, right?” Kid Flash snorted.

“What do you mean?” Zephyr asked.

“Well…what about all of us?” Robin asked, gesturing to the circle. “I mean, I know the mission wasn’t exactly perfect but…I mean, we did some good, right?”

“We imploded a building, almost got cloned, and our meer presence led to a lead scientist mutating himself…” Kid Flash pointed.

“But we did make quite a good team.” Aqualad debated, frowning and lifting his finger to his chin in thought. “And even the Justice League’s first mission was not without its faults.”

“Besides, we gotta get Supey some field-training somehow.” Robin smirked. At this, the clone merely raised an eyebrow.

“Wait, are you guys suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” Kid Flash asked, seeming almost puppy-ish with his look of both hesitance and excitement.

“What? What are you suggesting?” Zephyr frowned, looking around at her comrades.

“Zeph’,” Robin said, “what if we made this, our own team, a long-term thing?”

The girl blinked for a moment, looked to Aqualad, and then back to the others. “There’s no way the League will approve.”

“Why do you need their permission?” Superboy asked, the shadow of a frown between his eyebrows.

“He has a point.” KF said, motioning to the clone. “They keep secrets from us, treat us like kids, and never give us a chance to prove ourselves. So…if they don’t want us a part of their team, why not start our own?”

“Wow, that’s probably the most articulate thing you’ve said tonight.” Robin chuckled, earning an elbow in the ribs. This caused Robin to keel over slightly in pain, his ribs obviously still damaged from their escape.

Zephyr bit her lip, fiddled with a strand of her hair, and turned back to Aqualad who caught her gaze.

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” The air-manipulating girl asked, her eyes emanating seriousness even through her mask.

Aqualad nodded. “I do. However, we can’t be a united front without you. We hold our best chances if we are all in this: together.”

The girl took a deep breath, then looked to Superboy. The boys quickly followed suit, peering at the dark-haired clone.

Superboy stared back for a long moment, then shrugged.

Zephyr sighed, then gave the boys a small smile. “Alright then, let the revolution resume.”

Seemingly finished with the conversation, Superboy turned his attention back to a small group off to the side of the crater. Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and where the young clone was intensely focused; Superman.

Sensing Superboy’s gaze, Martian Manhunter placed a hand on Superman’s shoulder. After several moments of getting mentally lectured by his two friends and comrades, Superman cautiously walked over to his clone. Anxious to see what the Kryptonian superhero would say, the four proteges listened in closely.

“We’ll figure something out for you-the League will, I mean.” Superman said, sounding as if he would rather be anywhere but with the boy in front of him. “For now I…better make sure they get that Blockbuster-creature squared away.”

And with that, the ‘Blue Boy Scout’ flew off.

Looking to one another for a moment, Zephyr was the quickest of the group of four to react. Quickly floating over to the boy, she went to place her hand on his shoulder. For a moment however, she hesitated; wondering if the boy would be alright with her touching him. But when she realized he had not flinched or moved away when she reached out, she went for it and gently touched his upper bicep.

“This is a surprise to him.” The girl said with her best consoling voice. “Give him some time, but for now…you have us. You know, with our new team. If you’ll have us.”

Superboy didn’t respond, but the look he gave Zephyr made her feel that she was heard.

Their interaction was cut short by the other remaining League members, the group’s mentors, walking up. Each of the younger heroes looked straight into their mentor’s eyes, not once daring to break the eye contact.

“Cadmus will be investigated.” Batman explained. “All 52 levels of it, but let’s make one thing clear-””You should have called!”

Flash’s interruption earned him an icy glare from the Bat.

“End results aside, we are not happy.” Batman continued. “You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders, and endangered lives. You will not be doing this again.”

“I’m sorry,” Aqualad cut in, “but we will.”

“Aqualad!” Aquaman man exclaimed. “Stand down!”

The younger Atlantean saluted respectfully, “Apologies my King, but no. We did good work here tonight, the work you trained us to do. Together, on our own, we forged something powerful, important.”

Flash cut in yet again, “If this is about your treatment at the Hall, the four of you-“

“The five of us.” Zephyr corrected, her hand still on Superboy’s shoulder.

“And it’s not.” Kid Flash added.

“Batman,” Robin pleaded to his mentor, “we’re ready to use what you’ve taught us. Or why teach us at all?”

“Why let them tell us what to do?” Superboy asked, stepping forward. “It’s simple: get on board, or get out of the way.”

With the intense, fiery gazes of five teenagers. The League members, especially Batman, were cornered.

“Give me three days.”

The area around the group fell still and silent, nobody moving as minds worked quickly. The children, analyzing the deal they were potentially signing up for. The adults, wondering how this was all going to play out.

Until Kid Flash spoke up.

“Three days isn’t so long.”

The tension broke, shoulders dropping and everyone going back to feeling like they could breathe again. The armistice had been signed.

“Uh, guys…” Robin muttered, and motioned to one Superboy who had found himself in the back, looking down at the ground, obviously very uncomfortable and feeling out-of-place.

“Hey Supey, how ‘bout you come home with me?” Kid Flash piped up.

“Will your folks be okay with a house guest?” Robin asked.

“Sure, the more the merrier. Besides,” the ginger looked around at the group, “A confidential Batcave, the ocean, and a packed farm in a foreign country don’t really make for great real estate for someone trying to integrate into society.”

“This is true…” Aqualad nodded. “But nonetheless, if either of you find yourselves in any need of assistance-“

“It’s only three days.” Kid Flash handwaved. “What could go wrong?”

“Famous last words, KF.” Zephyr smirked.

“Then it’s a really good thing I have you guys on speed-dial then, Zeph’.” The speedster winked. “Anyways, we better get going so I can give the run down to Mom and Dad. You ready Supey?” Superboy nodded.

“C’mon guys, I’ll drop the two of you off.” Flash said, waving the two boys over. Before the three of them left however, Zephyr felt a pressure on her cheek and looked to see Kid Flash smirking beside her.

“Until next time madam.” The ginger smirked.

Zephyr giggled, but lightly slapped his shoulder as she rolled her eyes. “Get out of here, Dragueur.”

“Love you too.” The ginger yelled back as he ran off. “Bye guys, see you in three days.”

“Superboy!” Zephyr called after the clone, causing him to turn around and face her. “If Kid Mouth gives you any trouble, you have my permission to hit him a little.”

“She doesn’t mean that.” Kid Flash explained hurriedly, just as they disappeared.

“I should be taking my leave as well.” Aqualad said, catching the other remaining two protégé’s attentions. “You’ll pardon me for not kissing either of you however.”

“Somehow I think we’ll survive without.” Robin smirked, giving a two-fingered salute in goodbye.

“We’ll see you in three days.” Zephyr smiled, giving the boy a quick hug which he happily returned.

“Knowing this circle, I suspect before that.” Aqualad replied. “But I look forward to it nonetheless.”

Smiling at each other, Aqualad began to walk towards his mentor, he and the young air-manipulator holding each other’s hands until they grew too far apart.

Once the Atlantean duo had disappeared as well, the two remaining teens looked to one another. Zephyr was a little surprised to see that Robin was smirking slightly. “Que?” She asked, tilting her head.

“Oh, nothing…” Robin replied, smirk only growing before he seemingly changed the subject. “Good thing you’re on summer break, isn’t it, like, dawn your time?”

“Unfortunately.” Zephyr sighed as she pulled down her hood to let her brown locks flow freely. “But it’s not like this is a great bedtime for you either.”

“Please, have you met my mentor?” Robin joked, motioning to Batman. “‘Dark knight’? More like ‘Eternal night’.”

Giggling again, Zephyr patted the boy affectionately on the head. “Well, still, get home and get some sleep Bird Boy.”

“You too, Airhead.”

This time, the girl’s laughter was fully forced and fake. “Wow, haven’t heard that one before.”

As the two heroes split off to reunite with their own mentors, Zephyr looked up expectantly at hers. Red Tornado, however, made no motion to do anything for a long, pregnant, moment.

“You disobeyed orders.” The robot finally stated, causing the girl in front of him to look down at the ground.

“I know.”

“You broke Justice League protocol, and our rule about going into battles without at least informing either Black Canary or myself.”

“To be fair, that wasn’t exactly just my fault.”

“You could have seriously injured civilians, Cadmus workers, or yourselves.”

“…yes.”

Another moment of silence.

And then a large, metal hand found its way to Zephyr’s shoulder and the young girl looked up at her mentor.

“But you did good work, saved an innocent life from slavery and brainwashing, and formed a somewhat capable team that has potential to grow.”

Zephyr’s lips pulled into a smile as her ears practically perked up.

“Does that mean I’m not grounded?”

“I don’t see the logic behind disciplining you, as I believe you are capable of knowing that the way you acted wasn’t-as some may say-‘thinking smart’. So you face no such ‘grounding’ from me.”

Zephyr sighed in relief.

“However,” Red Tornado interrupted his mentor’s mental celebration, “Dinah still reserves the right to discipline you as she sees fit.”

This news sent a kick of anxiety straight into the French girl’s stomach.

“Oh…Merde.”

“Indeed.” Red Tornado nodded. “Anyhow, you may worry about that tomorrow. You are injured, your brain waves are irregular, and your blood pressure is slightly higher than average; you need sleep. I will escort you to the nearest zeta-tube.”

“Oh thank goodness.” Zephyr sighed as she summoned Winds to carry her into flight, Red Tornado forming his signature tornado around his bottom half as to do the same. “My bones feel like they’re on fire, I definitely bruised my ribs.”

“That would explain your lagged inhaling.”

“Are you seriously still scanning my organs? While we’re talking?”

And with that, the two air-manipulators were off, flying through the air in the direction of the next zeta-tube station. They flew in silence, Zephyr too tired to instigate conversation as the adrenaline in her system began to dissipate.

“Your heartbeat is decreasing even more.” Red Tornado stated. “Are you light-headed?”

“Just tired, I believe this is an adrenaline crash.” Zephyr explained. Red Tornado did not respond. “I’m curious Red, you’ve never scanned my vitals this vigorously before. Did you get an update you’re anxious to show off?”

There was a moment of silence in which the duo landed at the zeta-tube. Stopping, the younger of the two looked up at her elder, awaiting his response

“When we arrived back to the Hall of Justice to see that the four of you had disappeared, then heard that there had been a number of explosions at Cadmus, all of us became concerned that something had happened.” Red Tornado explained. “When we arrived at the scene to witness that the building had imploded, most likely with you inside…”

Slowly peeling off her mask, Lina looked up at her mentor with her azure gaze. A small, comforting smile adorning her face as she lifted a pale hand to touch Red Tornado’s cool metal arm.

“Don’t get all soft on me now Mon grand.” The girl said. “I am alright, all in one piece, nothing to be worried about. I’m a big, strong superhero thanks to you, remember? I can handle myself. And although I am sorry for making you worry, you must admit you had it coming. I mean…lying to me? Really?”

“It is Justice League policy not to tell anyone about the Watchtower.” Red Tornado explained, causing Lina to drop her hand in order to cross her arms.

“A policy that broke the mentor-protege trust between five groups of people today.” Lina countered. “I understand why you did not tell me, however we need to be more open with one another. That’s part of this whole ‘growing to understand people’ ordeal, non? So…can we make a deal? No more dangerous rebelling for me, if you promise not to ever lie to me again.”

Another moment, then the robot nodded.

“I believe that is a fair and logical proposition.”

Smiling, the small girl gave her mentor a quick hug to close the deal before pulling away and putting her mask back on.

“Good, I’m glad we have that settled. I really don’t like being mad at you.”

“Although I do not feel, I would not describe the…reaction your anger elicits as ‘pleasant’.”

Zephyr giggled. “Yes Mr. Robot. I’ll see you later, yes?”

“Yes, possibly tomorrow evening or the following day. But ensure that you get many hours of sleep until then.”

“Yes sir.” Zephyr nodded, before stepping into the zeta-tube. “You try to take it easy as well.”

“Recognized: Zephyr, B04.”

The zeta-tube let out in a location Lina knew all too well by now. A cobblestone building, an old and abandoned storage space on an empty plot of land owned by an anonymous organization.

This particular zeta-tube was installed when Zephyr officially became a hero, as the closest one apart from it was in Paris: a half-hour trip away on foot that wasn’t overly efficient. Lina would forever be grateful for the League and Star Labs for installing it, as it was such a short trip to and from her home.

The empty field of overgrown grass that surrounded the building was also familiar to Lina, it’s Earthy scent coating the cool breeze. Lina extended her hand, feeling the calm gust of wind rush through her fingers. The soft murmuring it voiced wasn’t clear enough to hear, but it acted as a kind of relaxing white noise to the girl who listened.  To match the beauty of the terrain, the early morning sky stretched over the field like a tent in a way, the dark blues of the West mixing with the brilliant orange and pinks that barely broke over the horizon.

Overall, the entire scenery was peaceful. Especially compared to Lina’s past few hours.

Taking one last deep breath to sink in the feeling, Lina summoned her Winds and pushed off the ground. It was only a five minute flight before she came across her destination, a small two-story house in the heart of a fenced-in plot of land. The plot wasn’t too large, but enough for two fair-sized fields and a satisfactory-sized barn not too far behind the house. The house itself was welcoming, the off-white exterior accented by the dark roof and paneling, a chimney on top that was billowing smoke, and lots of windows to let in the light, most of which were decorated by windowsill planters. The front door, possibly one of Lina’s favorite material things about the property, was painted a bright, sunshiny yellow that seemed to call out to people to enter it.

Lina, spotting the living room window where she could just make out the sight of a brunette boy sitting on a couch, angled her flight towards it and pushed open the glass. The Winds gave Lina one last push before she landed soundly on the hardwood floors of her living room.

Lifting her hands above her head, she showed off a giant smile and tipped her chin up.

“Ta-da!”

“A double backflip would have been better.”

Peeling off her mask, Lina sent a bitter look to the boy sitting on the couch in front of her. Leo had hardly looked up from his book at his sister’s entrance before promptly going back to his page.

“I bruised my ribs in an imploding building less than an hour ago, cut me some slack.” Lina huffed back in her mother-tongue. “What is with everyone critiquing my landing?”

“Oh? What building?” Leo asked, still not looking up.

“You wouldn’t care, I didn’t do a double backflip to escape it.” Lina walked up to grab Leo’s teacup, taking a long sip of the hot liquid inside.

“Fair enough.” Leo sighed. “How was the tour thing? By the fact that it hasn’t been all over the news I’m assuming the Hall of Justice wasn’t the building that imploded.”

“Not great, it definitely didn’t go according to plan. Speedy quit.” Lina explained, yawning largely as she began to walk up the stairs that lead up to the second floor.

“Roy? That’s upsetting to hear.”

Lina didn’t respond as she began to peel off her uniform.

“Oh, and best not to mention the imploding building and bruised ribs to Calvin. You know how he gets.” The youngest Dubois sibling called out. “Minding he ever decides to come home…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Lina called back. “I remember the broken arm incident last year.” And with that, Lina closed the door to her room behind her, leaning against it and exhaling a deep sigh in the process.

“I should really shower…” Lina muttered to herself, but instead proceeded to lift her body off the wooden door and continue stripping off her uniform. “I’ll just wash my sheets tomorrow.”

After landing her cropped cloak on the floor, and peeling off her gold boots and matching white and gold bodysuit, the cool air that hit her body was both refreshing and mildly uncomfortable. Deciding to just throw on a large t-shirt she’d stolen from Calvin, Lina gave her wounds a quick check in the long mirror beside her dresser.

Along with a few small bumps and bruises was a huge, purple bruise on her left side, a gash that had already scabbed over on her shoulder, some swollen muscle in the area around her right hip, and another large cut running from her thigh to her bellybutton that had mostly scabbed, but not quite. If not for the thick fabric of her uniform, Lina was sure her injuries would have bled through. She was mostly thankful however that the gashes were shallow, as they probably would have led to severe blood loss if the had been any deeper.

Taking some of the disinfectant wipes from the first aid kit on her dresser, Lina decided to sit and clean the gashes. The sweetness of sleep would have to wait a little bit longer.

As she gave the bloody cuts some attention however, her mind began to wander. She thought over the past 24 hours. The lies, Roy quitting, Cadmus, Superboy, the newly founded team, the League’s poor reactions to everything…

Sure, Roy had always been a hothead since day one. And yes, he had admitted to Lina and Kaldur on a separate occasion that he felt that he had outgrown the title of 'Speedy’ and was growing tired of being Ollie’s 'sidekick’…but never would Lina have ever guessed that Roy would just up and quit like he had.

And what about Superboy? The poor kid had essentially just been living for a little under a day and already he���s been exposed to what it feels like to have your mind completely engulfed with rage and bloodlust, made new allies, and been abandoned by a supposed parental figure. He had no experience in the real world outside of his pod, and now he was being thrown into the chaotic and whirlwind life of being a superhero.

And this team that Lina had landed herself a part in. What of it? Sure, she could understand why the boys put their foot down. She was more than happy to jump on the anger-train back at the Hall. But forming their own team? Was that not a little extreme? Lina trusted her friends of course, and with Kaldur’s level-headedness and maturity they were sure to at least have some kind of clear guidance, Lina knew that firsthand. But the whole thing made the butterflies in her  stomach go mad. She only prayed they had all made the right choices today.

But that brought a new train of thought into the girl’s mind. Why had she decided to join the team at all if she was so skeptical about it? It had seemed like the right thing to do, stand alongside her friends. But there had to be something bigger than that if she was willing to risk her mentorship and connection to the Justice League for it. What was her motivation for all of this? Why had she chosen this path?

Throwing out the now-bloody napkins, Lina walked over to her uniform again and unlocked another hidden compartment to take out her cellphone. Opening it, she easily found the number she was looking for and typed out a quick message.

Hey Hothead,

If you need to talk, you know where I live. Just not right now, need sleep. Have a crazy story for you though, so text me back.

-Lina

Ps. I’m sorry again for the name slip earlier today. I know you weren’t really angry, but still.

Once she pressed 'send’ Lina fell onto her bed, and dug herself into the covers. As soon as she closed her eyes, she was gone.

Translations:

‘Dragueur’: a French term meaning ‘flirt’

‘Mon Grand’: a friendly term of endearment meaning ‘big guy’

[readingwebcomics]

Analyzing Questionable Content: Pages 151-200

High school bully or not, I’d like to reiterate the fact that Dora’s presence is so terrifying that it can repel a trained government agent. That’s a level of badass we should all strive to be.

…I mean like, don’t actually beat people up and steal their cigarettes, lung cancer is bad. But still!

Before getting into things, I’d like to open with a little bit of bookkeeping: First, as was pointed out to me by at least two different people, I COMPLETELY misread #123 – it was Marten who was helping Steve out on a date, not the other way around. This was completely my bad, so I personally retract everything I said about Jeph’s timescale.

Secondly, on my point on Dora’s identity crisis, user Scarlet Manuka had this to say:

For the time frame of Dora's goth phase, I think that Jeph is actually trying to present this as a genuine identity crisis for Dora - but it's also likely one that's been a long time building up. She's probably been becoming increasingly disenchanted with it for the last couple of years, and given that Raven complains that she's missed fifteen or so meetings, it looks like she's already subconsciously let it go quite some time in the past. I think we're seeing more the conscious realisation of a process that's already happened. In many ways that's what an identity crisis is: the realisation that the slow incremental changes we all experience every day have added up into something big while you weren't looking, and that something you thought was part of you really isn't any more.

That’s a perfectly fair point and one I didn’t consider. Thanks for bringing this up, under this light the time frame of Dora’s realization and her gradual shift into a different identity over the course of the next few comics makes perfect sense.

Finally, it was pointed out to me by Marco on the QC Forums that it’s only fair to link to the comic itself in these posts. While I had figured it was really simple to find the comic for whoever’s reading it considering it’s one of the biggest, longest running webcomics out there, they do have a point that I at least owe it to supply links to the site in these posts. So from now on, the dumb intro blurb to each of my posts will hyperlink to the first comic in the batch I’ll be talking about. That way, you can read along with the analysis if you so wish. Cool? Cool.

Now with that all out of the way, let’s move on to the analysis. Agent Turing has nope’d out and Dora saw herself out, letting Marten know that if he buys her dinner she’ll call it even.

This is a weird case of me totally getting WHY Jeph’s going this particular direction – he needs Marten and Faye at an ice cream shop to reveal a bit more about Faye’s backstory, which we’ll be touching on a bit later – but the particular setup for doing this feels… off. This right here reads like a textbook case of a writer going “Fuck, how do I get these characters to do XYZ…” and this being the best solution they could come up with. What’s worse about this is that only a few panels later, Jeph offers a much better alternative:

Literally all he had to do was have Faye be the one to bring this up: Instead of the panel with Marten blatantly asking “So THAT happened, what do you want to do now?” have Faye be the one to bring up that Marten owes her a little something for helping out with the situation, he brings up the ice cream parlor and then the rest of the comic goes on as normal. This may sound pedantic, but it’s a case where just a slight change in wording makes all the difference between sounding contrived and sounding natural.

I have… issues with this comic.

On one hand, Faye is opening up more about her past. A small, innocuous thing spurred her on to open up a little more to Marten, the reminder cracking her mask and showing just how much trauma she’s really containing within. You can tell this is more than just “bringing back memories” – his death had a profound impact on her, there’s something she’s not wanting to bring up or discuss but is being partially dragged to the surface. This is good character writing, and an amazing step in Faye’s character arc. It spurs curiosity, sparks intrigue, makes you WANT to keep reading to see the next time Faye’s mask cracks because you want to see what she’s hiding underneath it.

On the other hand… there’s no nice way to say this – at this point, Jeph is not talented enough at drawing to portray this from an imagery standpoint. The faces are too stiff, the expressions to stock. Faye doesn’t look like tears are escaping from her despite her best efforts to keep a straight face, she looks like she’s mildly disinterested and a blue line to represent tears was drawn on top of her face. Writing can take you far, but the thing about comics is that the written word is only half of the story. Anything you sell with words, you need to also be able to sell with expressions, with physicality and staging.

I’m not an expert in art – not by a LONG shot, I couldn’t draw a comic to save my life – so I can’t exactly offer any advice on how he could’ve made this work better. I’m at least glad to say that with time Jeph came to improve his artistic style, making moments like this feel a lot more natural down the road. He eventually gets comfortable enough with his drawings that he’s able to tell a story using JUST body language, which is admirable. Clearly, we’re not there yet… and unfortunately, it hurts the mood that this comic is trying to sell.

After a week of guest comics, we continue the story with Faye sharing stories about her childhood with Marten, showing just how comfortable she’s become around him that she feels at ease sharing details about her past she likely wouldn’t share otherwise.

Oh, and we’ve got some revelations about Marten’s past here. The Thanksgiving comic where he talks about how his family drives him crazy is starting to make more sense now, isn’t it?

Here, we see three things displayed. First, the fraction used in Marten’s dialogue instead of just saying “half”. I… don’t get why that is. It makes me irrationally angry though. I’m aware that’s fully on me.

Second, this serves to showcase both Marten’s blasé attitude about his strange upbringing and offer potentially an expiation as to why he seems so passive about everything. I’ve offered up the idea in a previous post that when he goes out and makes a choice, it’s enough to completely shift his entire world, so that may have served to encourage him not to not want to rock the boat and keep his head low. This, however, might serve as an alternative explanation, or at least another piece of the puzzle – growing up in a… let’s call it “untraditional” household where his parents were clearly quite open about what they were doing with his son, the fact that Marten grew up to be rather milquetoast serves to make a certain degree of sense.

Third, Marten’s being sassy. I like when Marten’s sassy. As I said, his character kind of… devolves in later comics, so seeing him have a spine enough to throw this out is always fun to read. Plus, it also serves to showcase how comfortable the two of them are with each other that Marten can sling this stuff out without fear of retaliation.

Setup...

The next day, Faye’s leaving for work when a surprise visitor comes to their door.

Marten’s comment always makes me laugh. This comic in general is just hilarious, from Amanda – Faye’s sister’s name is Amanda by the way – triple bomb thrown right into Faye’s lap to Faye’s 404 error to Marten not even missing a beat in his reaction to what’s going on in front of him.

Honestly, I’m with Marten here. And once again, I’m afraid I have to point out the fact that Jeph isn’t quite talented at drawing facial expressions yet ruins the punchline to Faye’s joke in the last panel. At least the writing serves to keep the humor going strong, and don’t mistake me here – these next few comics are gut busters. I fucking love the chaos Amanda causes by just stepping into their lives.

Oh yeah, I guess I should talk about Amanda now, shouldn’t I? Well, uh. Hm. She’s a Lesbian. And she’s a bit of a troublemaker. And like a little bit of a ditz?

…yeah that’s literally all I can think to describe her as. Cut me a little bit of slack here though, at the time of writing we’re on page 4010 and I’d be genuinely surprised if Amanda was in more than 50 pages total. The only real significant things I can think to say about her as a character is how what she says and does serves to inform Faye’s character.

Like right here – we can see the whole “doesn’t plan much further than the very next step you’re about to take” mentality runs in Faye’s family. Also, Jeph’s trying different angles out! Good on him, even little changes like this can serve to make the action feel at least slightly more dynamic!

“Clitoriste” is an amazing word and I hope to find a way to work it into at least one conversation before I die.

Amanda hangs around the coffee shop, swapping sex stories with Dora as Faye desperately tries to claw her own eardrums until Marten comes along. And as I’m saying this, I realize with hindsight that Dora’s being super cool right now, not only letting her loiter around her business but also realizing she was kicked out of her house at least in part because of her sexuality and so is letting her know “Hey, fucking girls is AWESOME, right?” to keep her mind off current events. The more I talk about Dora, the cooler she gets, seriously.

“Aerodynamically curvaceous” is another amazing phrase, this one great enough that Jeph eventually made it into a T-shirt. Seeing as I have as many curves on me as a string bean does, there’s no way I could get away with wearing it myself, but the fact that the shirt exists makes me a little happier to be alive.

Anyway, this comic goes on to show that despite the circumstances, Amanda is taking this rather well all things considered, and Faye has faith that given some time to sit with the information their mom will come around… Also that Faye was a damn good student, which might go on to explain how she was able to absorb so much information about guitars when her ex rambled on about them so much – she just retains information THAT well.

This comic… raises a LOT of questions. The last comic involves characters from another webcomic entirely, making this a fun little Easter Egg/crossover sort of deal. That being said, this raises a LOT of questions about the continuity of QC. Does it take place within the universe of Diesel Sweeties? Or does Diesel Sweeties exist within the universe of QC? The fact that we have a humanoid robot here – does that serve to shed a light on AI development in the QC universe? Did Jeph consider what AI development there would be at this point in writing? I assume not, as thus far the only intelligent devices are Anthro PCs. Is Clango an Anthro PC? Is he a prototype of a more advanced synthetic?

These are questions that were never intended for me to ask, aren’t they? Yeah. That’s what I figured. Considering the fact that Amanda has a girlfriend is canon, and the following phone conversation on the next page is canon as well, the best way to rationalize this is to just pretend that last panel doesn’t exist. Remove it entirely, and this strip fits in perfectly with QC’s established continuity and universe thus far.

Unless you REALLY want to find a way to fit Diesel Sweeties into QC’s universe, which I suppose wouldn’t be that difficult considering it’s a non-plot focused gag-a-day comic, but that’s entirely up to you.

Oh, and speaking of the conversation the two have over the phone:

Credit where it’s due, Dora’s expression on the first two panels is clearly different from the standard set of facial expressions Jeph usually puts on everyone. It’s always nice to see some experimentation! And here’s another situation where Amanda’s main purpose is to drive forward Faye’s character – here we get another hint of something that happened in her past, confirmation that she hasn’t dated anyone in a long time and some kind of source of a reason why she hadn’t. The scar on her chest, the death of her father, the lack of a love life stemming from some event… pieces to the Faye puzzle are falling into place, but we still don’t have everything. We’re given just enough to inspire further curiosity though, which – and I know I’ve said this a hundred times before, but I will say it a hundred times again – is good character writing.

…all that said, I sincerely hope that phone was shock proof. I don’t think her Mom’s exactly going to be in the mood to get her a new one.

Considering Amanda stole her credit card and all, I don’t blame their mom for being furious at her. That said, it’s nice to see that it didn’t take long at all for her to calm down and want to talk things over.

And here, we have specific confirmation that there was a set of “circumstances” that led Faye to want to leave home and move up here. Another piece of the Faye mystery falls into place.

Amanda’s immediately heading off to the airport to return home, leaving Marten and Faye to reel in the wake of an… I’d say it’s fair to call it an intense day.

HAH! If you haven’t read all the way through QC, you don’t understand why that’s so funny in hindsight. Trust me, give it another few hundred comics and it’ll make sense. God, I wonder if that specific reference was intentional on Jeph’s part, or if he just likes Vespas? Then again… he IS an anime buff, it’s entirely possible both events stem from FLCL.

Oh hey, there’s that pink Anthro PC again. We saw them back at the LANPark. Haven’t added them to the character list though since we don’t even know their name, but it seems like Pintsize has friends and a life off-panel. Good for him! I do wonder what ends up happening to these guys later though… Most likely they all just drift apart and move on with their lives.

...Why am I so sad all of a sudden?

And here we see an example of the two of them openly flirting with each other, dipped deep in sarcasm of course but that’s just how these two roll. Their inter-personal relationship has progressed really well and at a nice, natural pace so far. At this rate, something should be coming to a head very soon – either one or the both of them need to acknowledge the fact that they’re getting closer, or something’s going to happen that will throw a monkey wrench into the dance they’re performing.

Ugh. I’m coming to hate whenever Marten says “What do you want to do now?” Maybe it’s just me, I’m willing to accept I’m reading too much into this, but whenever he says that all I hear in my head is Jeph going “I can’t think of a more natural way to transition into this next scene so I’ll have Marten ask this question to push the scene forward.” It just feels like bad storytelling to me, it really does.

Now, I need you to hold onto your seats right now, because what you’re about to read next might just be the greatest comic you’ve ever read in your life. The mere act of seeing this may very well knock you out of your seat. Are you ready for this? I don’t think you are – I don’t think ANY of us are. Brace yourselves.

My man, Jimbo! And yes, he is officially called Jimbo now, so we’ll be changing the name in the character stats screen at the end of this post. And this man, this absolute LEGEND, is living the dream – quitting his blue-collar job to pursue his passion in writing! He’s worked hard to get where he is in life, and now that he’s here, the fruits of his labor are paying off! As a commercial electrician who’s writing on the side, I strive to be like Jimbo one day. God bless you, you absolute PINNACLE of human achievement!

I can’t NOT show off more Jimbo comics, he’s just that great. Also, Faye’s drunken antics are fucking hilarious.

Credit where it’s due to Faye for not only helping Jimbo out with his writing but also doing it as a completely on-the-spot Haiku, while totally piss drunk. Not even going to lie, that takes talent.

Faye’s willingness to engage in behavior like this raises… questions. Questions that I’m not entirely comfortable asking right now considering the author’s own past with alcohol. I’ll touch more on it when we reach the batch of comics 501-550, I’m going to need more time to prepare myself to talk about it in a way that’s as respectful as possible.

And finally… the moment of truth. When long-time readers of QC remember the Pre-500 era, there are two things that come to our mind: The actual conversation that happens at issue 500 that marks the transitional phase of QC into the kind of webcomic it is today… and the headbutt-crotch-vomit comic.

Behold.

I’m not even going to try offering commentary here. Absolutely nothing I could say can be better than what you just witnessed in this comic.

This page right here… it has an interesting dynamic between its first and last panels. Panel one, again, Jeph takes the time to make a new facial expression for Faye as she’s waking up, one that looks nice and works with the dialogue to communicate how she’s feeling. And then in the last panel… well, I don’t think it’s exactly controversial to say that her face in the last panel doesn’t communicate the confusion and rage she’s supposed to be feeling as expressed in the dialogue, is it? Jeph is getting there, his artistry is clearly evolving, but he’s not quite talented enough to pull it all off quite yet. Still, little improvements should be applauded!

And here we get another character confirming suspicions raised back in #172, that being Faye clearly has some relationship hangups stemming from something happening in her past. This raises some concerns considering their more flirtatious behavior around each other and their developing inter-personal relationship. At this point, SOMETHING has to happen to inspire a reaction or change out of one of the two, or they may very well find themselves trapped in stagnation… keep that in mind for a little while longer. On the art side of things, something to note that I just realized… Steve has a shine in his eyes to make them look more natural and full of life, but Marten’s doesn’t. Is there any particular reason for this? And why am I noticing it just now? Actually looking back a few comics, the “shine in the eyes” detail only started with #186… again, in all characters except Marten. Is there a significant reason for this? Or is it just a detail that’s easier to do with the shades of color in people’s eyes except for Marten’s for whatever reason? I don’t have an answer, but it’s something to keep in mind at least while we watch the art evolve.

Also, one more thing?

Either Marten’s a liar, or Faye’s ass is just THAT good that it converted him. My money’s on the latter, considering people routinely talk about how baller Faye’s ass is.

Yes, I did just use the word “baller” unironically. No, I don’t have any shame, thanks for asking.

…payoff. 

And again with the fucking contraction thing… It’s not subtle if other characters are pointing it out! I know, I’m the only person willing to die on this hill, and I KNOW it’s long-passed and nobody’s concerned about it anymore, but it genuinely bothers me! This is a stupid character traits that… bah, I’m not going to repeat myself again. On a lighter note, this particular comic showcases how much better Jeph’s gotten at drawing faces. It’s not much, but it’s better than the stock expressions that most characters usually wear, and you can see some subtle actions and thoughts expressed in the way Dora or Faye’s eyebrows move, in which direction their eyes are facing… it’s nice stuff.

I won’t show everything in these next three comics, but I wanted to showcase this series of events at least because this is some good character writing that says a lot about both Steve and the new girl Jeph introduces.

Setup…

Payoff…

…and subversion of expectations.

Sorry Marten, but I’m with Steve here 100%. That was clever, well-played, and EXTREMELY hot all at once. It’s too bad we don’t end up seeing much of Ellen after this because she has SUCH a strong established introduction.

And what fortunate timing – we have another collection of guest comics, which ends RIGHT at #200:

And here we go – the spark of conflict in the relationship dynamic between Marten and Faye that I predicted we needed. How’s Faye going to deal with this? How’s Marten going to deal with this? What if on this date it turns out he’s actually, seriously interested in Dora? Would this push Faye to action? She’s made it clear, at least to the people around her, that she’s not interested in pursuing something with Marten… so what if someone made her put her money where her mouth is? Well, we’ll find out one way or another come the next batch of comics.

While we’re still talking about this batch however, let’s do our usual deal of comparing the art shift between the first and the last comics in the batch:

This is a clear-cut example of a lot of small, subtle tweaks happening over the course of a long enough period of time making a clear, distinct difference. The biggest change, of course, being the faces of everyone as I’ve been bringing up all throughout this post – everyone looks so much more EXPRESSIVE. You can get a proper read on someone’s mood based on just how they look alone now, and I find that super impressive… admittedly, it also makes me wish that Jeph could/would re-do the ice cream comic in this newer art style to properly capture the expression on Faye’s face that he wanted to capture, but you know. Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve.

So what did I think of this batch of comics so far? Personally, I think it’s the best batch yet – the best improvement in art, the most introduced on Faye’s character, the best sarcasm from Marten… a LOT was improved in this batch, and that deserves praise. I like where the plot is going, I want to know more about Faye, and I am hooked on the will they/won’t they story, especially with the newer developments in the complexities of their relationship web coming into play.

All that said, let’s take a look at the data analysis for this particular batch:

Marten: 34/50 – 68%

Faye: 33/50 – 66%

Dora: 12/50 – 24%

Amanda: 12/50 – 24%

Steve: 6/50 – 12%

Pintsize: 5/50 – 10%

Jimbo: 3/50 – 6%

Ellen: 3/50 – 6%

Turing: 1/50 – 2%

Grand Total:

Marten: 166/200 – 83%

Faye: 163/200 – 81.5%

Dora: 51/200 – 25.5%

Pintsize: 50/200 – 25%

Steve: 22/200 – 11%

Amanda: 12/200 – 6%

Sara: 7/200 – 3.5%

Jimbo: 5/200 – 2.5%

Turing: 4/200 – 2%

Raven: 3/200 – 1.5%

Ellen: 3/200 – 1.5%

Scott: 2/200 – 1%

Miéville: 1/200 – 0.5%

Ell: 1/200 – 0.5%

Do note that in this last batch, 12 of the 50 were non-canon guest comics, so I didn’t count any characters showing up in any of them. Either way, it looks like Amanda was in enough comics to create a barrier in the stats between main and major supporting characters and minor characters as far as amount of time they’ve shown up in the comic goes. I don’t know if anyone else finds that as interesting as I do, I just think it’s neat.

In any case, tune in next week for the exciting conclusion to the double-date story! And a trip to the hospital!

…the two things aren’t related, I swear. See you then.

[human-resourccs]

He Just Likes The Rush - Ch. 7

In which things finally settle down a little and Jon gets put through the wringer.

previous chapter

~2000 words

Jonathan was lucky that he hadn't killed him right then and there, stood at his complete mercy in one of his own traps. Yes, it was definitely luck and nothing more. Another whim of his good mood, and his sense of fair play. Not the look of embarrassment on his face nor his pathetically dishevelled appearance which suggested he hadn't had a good night's sleep since Edward made his escape that first time - the implication of the latter made him swallow dryly. He would not be so quick to forgive, however; if he thought an endearingly sentimental apology note was going to cut it, Jonathan had another thing coming. But… he'd hear him out. This once. the last thing he needed was people thinking he'd gone soft, after all!

He wondered why Jonathan hadn't simply tried to contact him through the regular channels. Making meaningful gestures was Edward's thing. Frowning lightly, he reached blindly across his workbench for his phone; it used an incredibly secure network of his own making. He punched in the numbers - Yes, he had gone out of his way to find out Jonathan's contact details; so he could make a point of not using them, to prove… to prove something to himself - and dialled it in. The startled look that briefly crossed Jon's face made him smirk; there was a sort of audible smile to his tone when the other dropped the scrap of paper and fumbled for the ringing phone in his pocket - startled, but not at all surprised by it.

"Jonathan."

It hung quiet for a moment.

"Edward. I appreciate your not gassing me immediately upon entry."

"Don't thank me yet, I haven't made my mind up."

Jonathan paused, measuring his words. He… wasn't really expecting to actually face Edward so soon already. Ed spoke up again first.

"Not very good at this, are you? One would think one would try harder when their life quite literally lays on the line. Or perhaps you're just getting a kick out of it, who knows? I certainly-"

Jon gathered his breath.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I've no good excuse for what happened. I was simply acting like a complete fool."

He heard Edward huff quietly over the line.

"Yes, you were. Acting like a total idiot. When I was attempting to show concern for you, of all times!"

He had prepared so many speeches in his head to cut Jonathan down in the coldest, most efficient way possible, but this was so… blunt. Utterly honest. Jonathan had put himself at his complete mercy in this way; he had cameras and traps at his disposal. It had thrown him completely off-kilter, honestly. He wasn't expecting this. He was trying to be angry with him, damn it!

He saw Jon glance briefly up to the camera, then away again. If it weren't for the poor monitor quality, he'd have staked a bet that he actually looked guilty. Now that must have been a trick of the light. That was not fair.

"As I said, I've no excuse. And no good excuse for my continued absence after my escape, either."

"Oh, I'm quite aware of what you were up to after Dent's ham-fisted half-assed breakout. Information and intelligence are my most valued commodities. I'm sure it simply slipped your mind during your toxin-induced months-long bender. It's honestly amazing that your addiction to mortal danger hasn't killed you yet."

"…Of course. It had never been my intention-"

"You look like garbage, by the way. You look like you've been sleeping homeless for a month."

He saw Jonathan's mouth hang open, taken aback slightly. Edward bit his lip, trying not to let his sly grin be too audible through his tone.

"I think I can smell you through the camera. If they decide to re-make Castaway I'm putting you at the top of the casting list."

Jon frowned indignantly.

"Edward-"

"No, no. I'm still pissed off at you. You deserve this."

Jonathan sighed an indescribably tired sigh.

He did.

"…I do."

"Good! We're in agreement."

This continued on for approximately twenty minutes before Edward was suitably smugly satisfied with the thorough verbal dressing-down he'd given his friend. More importantly, he had the entire ordeal on disc, which left him with a larger measure of control than Jon could be entirely comfortable with. But this was the exchange for their continued interaction; Jonathan had been equal parts exhausted and impressed by the vulgar creativity he was capable of when he set his haughtiness aside; decidedly dragged through the mud, things were… more or less forgiven. It was a shaky, tentative re-alliance. Edward did not trust easily, he'd discovered.

Following the methodical verbal dissection, Jonathan bid his farewells, went home, and was promptly overcome by the exhaustion he'd accrued over the past couple weeks - he'd actually left to speak with Edward the moment the impulse had taken him; which had been mere moments after waking up from the previous day's escapade. It was a measurably more restful sleep than he'd had in quite some time.

It wasn't until a day or few later that Edward started breaking into his home again; proclaiming rather loudly as Jon came home that if he was going to continue visiting him then the place was going to have to measure up to the barest standards of cleanliness he had! Which, incidentally, was still absurdly high by Jon's standards. This was probably also a passive-aggressive extension of Edward's ire. He wasn't really complaining, despite the resulting misplacement of a fair number of his instruments.

"I mean really, Jonathan. Did you just grow fond of the abject squalor at Arkham? Decide to keep the aesthetic?"

"Been busy, that's all."

"No no no. I've been busy. You've been-"

Edward's sentence broke off with a strangled squeak as he turned and caught sight of movement in Jonathan's hair and his stomach seemed to drop through the floor, then puffed up angrily.

"Is this a joke? "

Jonathan had no clue what he was talking about until he felt the newly-familiar tickling across his hairline.

Oh.

Shit.

He'd forgotten.

Jon's eyes widened a little bit, stiffening in an attempt to quickly correct the situation.

"Now just hold on-"

"Seriously?? Did you really go through all of this just to-"

"Edward."

Something about Jonathan's expression interrupted his thought process- he'd never seen the man look so openly visibly distressed since he'd met him, and an amount of colour had gathered at his cheeks. Edward inhaled, slowly, and relaxed his shoulders.

Fine, fine.

"I am expecting a very good explanation for this."

Jonathan frowned a little indignantly.

"I. Uh... Became quite fond of her. After you left."

"You… got attached. To a spider."

Scarecrow. Self-proclaimed Master of Fear. Had become attached to a small spider. Was letting it nest in his hair. He needed a second to process the catastrophic mental shutdown this information had caused.

There was a long pause.

"...Yeah."

The anger and indignation had more or less evaporated by this point. He clapped a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. Jonathan frowned harder - the arachnid came to rest hanging just above his eyebrow. It was too much; he doubled over laughing.

Jonathan was absolutely baffled by Edward's uncanny ability to switch moods at the drop of a coin. His laughter was sweet, though; compared to the hearty fake stage laugh he employed in his criminal performances. Giggling, even. It made that warm sickly sweet feeling swallow up his heart in the way it always does; he was starting to enjoy the sensation. In that brief instant he could've told you with total conviction that he'd make a fool of himself a hundred times to see Edward collapsing into uncontrollable fits of giggles and snorts like this. At least he could attribute the burning in his cheeks to embarrassment; his face had remained the picture of indignation while he worked through the emotional short-circuit he'd just suffered.

Edward lifted his mask ever-so-slightly in order to wipe the tears out of his eyes.

"I can't believe you- you- replaced me with a spider! I suppose now I'm going to have to compete with it for your attention like some sort of trashy rom-com, aren't I?"

Jonathan pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

--

Gotham (particularly the GCPD) was incredibly grateful of the re-alliance that they were never really even aware had occurred. From the city's point of view, the Riddler and the Scarecrow simply finally toned down their frantic activity a little and everyone could rest a tad easier for it.

They settled back into the rhythm of before; enjoying one another's company. Edward abjectly refused to get within 5 feet of Jon for a while so long as his companion - lovingly dubbed 'Aria' by Edward, who flatly refused to let Jonathan choose a name with the argument that he would undoubtedly pick something so embarrassing she would run away from home - remained on Jon’s person.

They'd settled into a comfortable silence in Jon's living room, it had passed quite late into the evening and they were content to remain in each other's presence while Jonathan scribbled horribly untidy notes of theories and formulae into his worn old notebook and Edward overthought things that he knew didn't really matter.

the journal wasn't even old, Edward mused, watching the other's hands work quickly down the pages. Things just seem to look weathered when they stay in proximity to him too long. It's like he has an area of effect that just causes furniture to age. Fascinating.

He rested his head in one hand. Drew a long breath. Something about the atmosphere, the bizarrely intimate silence finally caused a welling up in his chest that made Edward speak up.

"…I'm colourblind."

The quiet scratching of pencil against paper came to an instant stop, but Jonathan didn't look up. Edward paused, heartbeat quickening. Why did he admit that? He'd never revealed this weakness to any of the others. This… mistake in his biology. A defect he could never truly fix. He'd nothing to gain from it. But then, nobody had spared the fraction of time it took to even ask before Jon had. Whether it was because he was simply curious or because he cared; it didn't matter. He'd paid attention and after all was that not all he demanded people do in order to become more intelligent?

"You asked why I never take this mask off. I'm severely colourblind. Short-sighted, to top it off."

Jonathan set the pencil down quietly. Ed swallowed.

"I'm telling you because I trust you won't abuse this."

There was an unspoken threat behind his tone.

"Completely deuteranopic. Greens, reds, and purples. I always did enjoy taking things I was told I couldn't have. These-"

He pressed a finger to the edge of his mask.

"Are corrective. I created the tech with my own two hands. I detest having them removed and being reminded of the irritating imperfection. Amongst other things. That's all there is to it. Trivial, really."

As he spoke, Jonathan had turned to face him - an obvious question resting on his features. He wasn't really capable of grasping just how difficult the admission was for Edward, but… he had a sense of it. The notion of being trusted with such information made it feel as though his chest might crack open with the effort of trying to contain the rogue emotion.

"Thank you, Edward." Was all he could muster in response; hoping that the emotion in his voice could put across what he didn't have the words to convey.

Edward held his gaze for a few impossibly long seconds more before the intimacy of the moment became more than Ed could comfortably tolerate without babbling anxiously.

"Seriously. If - If you tell anyone about that, I'll tear you and your stupid little spidery companion apart, you hear me?"

Jonathan laughed.

[boston-gossip]

Pls do a review of everyone’s outfits at the gala.

After tonight, my eyes are truly starving for some beauty.

Mara Richardson: A true fiesta del failure. Feathers and lace? Are you serious? That feather piece could’ve been a good idea if you were going for cheap Florida Stripper look, but no. It just hurts my eyes.

Liz Morgan: Surprise! She wore black… Her fashion choices are as bland as her personality, so I don’t even wanna waste my time on that.

Anders Larsson: A navy suit with blue shirt – how surprising! Honestly you might afford fancy designers but you definitely need to hire a stylist first.

Lila Johnson: Thanks for trying to bring 2005 back with that sequin skirt. All you succeed is giving me a seizure.

Winnie Mearns: I like the dress but a ballerina wearing white? So boring and predictable.

Annika Johnsson: One of my favorite looks of the night, you look like a high end hooker. 

Zoe Andrews: The dress was okay, nothing interesting nor special but girl, where did you even find that mask? You should burn it.

Emily Price: It’s modest and simple, just like Emily but I was hoping she could show some skin. Booooooring.

Mea Parker: Love me some Hellenistic look but that hair piece? Girl, this is a ball, not Coachella.

Kajal Malhotra: Finally a look that I truly like. It’s outside the box, I love the contrast between feathers and leather jacket. Not a fan of the mask but I can overlook that.

Spencer Brady: Honestly it’s a simple black ensemble, nothing to comment on.

Luke Rivers: Good god, did you guys plan this? Seems like all of you decided to wear black and look boring.

Sam Harden: First of all, brown is over. Second, brown is over. I don’t know why are you trying to make it happen but I can assure you it’s not gonna happen. I wish you could just put a bag on your head instead of that mask and save us from the misery.

Payton Atkinson: You matched your shoes with your mask, which I like. I am not sure about the dress though, you seem a little bit underdressed.

Brody Cohen: N. I don’t even have energy to say no anymore. Boooooooring.

Kristen Palmers: I always appreciate a good LBD with timeless Louboutins. I just don’t know why you murdered that great outfit with those gloves. Murderer!

Anton Stavros: I didn’t know this was a costume party, I thought it was just a black tie event. A for the effort, that’s for sure but that jacket? Did you borrow it from the costume department of Boston Lyric Opera?

Logan Mills: Another black suit. Groundbreaking, who would’ve thought?

Owen Burke: Insert another cliche insult about a black suit. I am tired of criticising, yet you all are not tired of wearing it.

Robert Berkshire: That look may be all the rage in wherever you came from but in Boston, they will arrest you for crime against humanity. 

James Kingston: I like how you paired your mask with your suits’ details, maybe you were trying to distract us from your bad hair but whatever, I approve.

Tristan Merriweather: Surprisingly I didn’t hate this look. I would get rid of the mask though, red and burgundy don’t mix. 

Gwen Mcguinness: A total cinderalla look. I wonder if she actually rented that dress because from what I’ve seen so far, there’s no way she could afford this dress without selling her right kidney.

Cassidy Michealis: I didn’t know the ball was taking a place in some soccer mom’s backyard because there isn’t another explanation for this disaster.

Lucy Bowers: Those ruffles made her look like a human pinata, I wonder would a candy fall out if I hit her with a stick?

Evelyn Mills: Definitely one of my favorite looks of the night. Sophisticated with a hint of slutty.

Fin Luther: Aww that’s a great dress… For a boring ass tea party with elderly people.

Alice Kingsley: I haven’t seen those cut outs since the movie The Fifth Element. The only good thing about this mask is that it covers up her face.

Keith Ward: Black on black — what a snore. He’s desperately trying to run away from good taste.

Sean Patterson: Am I drunk or did he pair blue jacket with black pants? Good Lord. That jacket with those pants is basically sin against the nature.

Philippa Walker: You actually dared to pair Currant red with Scarlet red. It’s guaranteed disaster. Like eating Mexican food before sex.

Layne Peterson: I was so sure he was going to wear pair of Converses under his suit but he surprised me. It’s your typical black suit, it’s whatever. 

Leonie Myers: Hands down the best look of the night. I am trying my best to find a flaw but I can’t see any. I wish your taste in men was as good as your taste in fashion.

Dominic Cuevas: It’s outside the box I like it, at least you didn’t wear a black suit. Did you pick that shirt after snorting five lines of coke? That’d explain it.

Deborah Gray: Very classy and chic, I truly approve this look. 

Blythe Rhodes: Someone she managed to dress like a toddler but ended up looking like a grandma. 

Elyana Cosio: You tried a little bit too hard there but I like it.

Tallhasse Wolfmeyer: Can I borrow those glasses? Because these retinas definitely need a day off from the disaster you’ve caused with that look. You look like Frank Ocean on a bad day. 

Alba West: This is what shows up when someone orders budget friendly hooker. A true mess.

Mason Parker: I just wanna start a fire, pour some expensive champagne on her (that would the only expensive thing on her) and watch her burn. A 90s slip dress with a classic beige trench coat?  

Lux Sinclair: She might not be the lightest bulb in the lamp but she sure knows how to dress. I really like her outfit.

Sadie Blair: She’s such a disaster, I think at this point when the trains actually wreck now, they call them “Sadie Farrows.”

[trbl-will-find-me]

Every Exit, An Entrance (19/?)

There are two (and only two) possibilities: either she led XCOM to victory and they are now engaged in a clean up operation of alien forces, or XCOM was overrun, clearing the way for an alien-controlled puppet government to seize control of the planet.

She’d really like to figure out which it is, but asking hardly seems the prudent option.

They set down somewhere in what she’s fairly certain used to be North Dakota, leaving a crate of supplies, a note, and a transponder near where Kelly last registered signs of life. It’s a hope and a prayer, but for now, it will have to do.

She’s at something of a loss for the meeting. She hates going in unprepared, but neither Shen nor Tygan have had any direct experience with Volk, and Sally’s accounts are every bit as colored by booze as Central’s, albeit in a very different fashion. The archive offers her the most basic of details, but it’s hardly the kind of substantial dossier she’d hope for.  She is already at a disadvantage; she’d prefer not to call attention to the fact.

Volk is already looking to position himself above her in dealings of power. Setting the meeting on his own time in his own territory sends a clear message, and it’s one she doesn’t like.

The Council had liked to make them grovel. It would leave them dangling, begging for funds as they rushed to build whatever they could to counter the growing threat. She’d implore them for extra funds, the money they’d need to push for better weapons and armor, to build new Interceptors as existing ships were reduced to heaps of slag by alien weaponry.

It hadn’t ended well for any of them.

“And the best thing, the very best thing of all,” Burgess Meredith’s voice sounds from the laptop, “is there’s time now. There’s all the time I need, and all the time I want. Time, time, time. There’s time enough at last.”

She has many regrets from the Invasion. Not telling the Council exactly where they could shove their condescending false sympathy certainly ranks high, but there are other things, too. If she could have seen what was coming, if she could have read the writing on the wall, she would have made different choices. She’d have cleared the base, sent the scientists and engineers home, given the men orders to get out of history’s way and find somewhere safe and quiet to say what goodbyes they’d need to.  She wouldn’t have condemned them to a death fighting their own friends and colleagues, watching in horror as the base was reduced to rubble by an alien menace they’d never truly stood a chance against.

They were good people; they’d deserved better.

On the laptop screen, Burgess Meredith’s glasses fall from his face, the lenses shattering to bits against ruined concrete.

“That’s not fair,” he warbles. “That’s not fair at all!”

She feels some mixture of laughter and revulsion crawling up from her stomach. No, Mr. Meredith, she thinks. It’s not. It’s never been.

Someone knocks at her door.

“In!” She calls.

Sally stands in the doorway, wringing her hands.

“What’s wrong?”

“Tall, dark, and grumpy says we’re about an hour out.”

“Why do you look so nervous?”

She swallows. “He doesn’t drink when he flies.”

“I would hope not.”

She shakes her head. “Take the drunk off the bottle and they get nasty.”

“Oh.”

“Can … Can I stay here for a couple of minutes? I just need a minute.”

She pats the couch. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll go handle him.”

“Wait, no, I shouldn’t---“

“Sally.”

“Ma’am.”

“Let me deal with him. That’s an order.”

--

She can practically feel the noose hanging around her neck as she stands before the Spokesman.

“You say the source was … unknown, Commander?”

She nods. “As of yet, my team has been unable to pinpoint an exact origin. At the time of outage, we’ve registered several simultaneous spikes.”

“It is somewhat unusual, Commander, for your organization to come to us with such a nebulous explanation.”

They know, she thinks. They know, and now they’re toying with us.

“I would have waited until we had a more complete report, Mr. Spokesman, but given that we are operating in the blind, and given the history of an incursion into the base, I couldn’t take that chance. My people took on manual patrols to ensure we were still secure --- if something had breached our defenses, we would have been at a serious disadvantage.”

“I see.”

“Dr. Shen and his team have done everything in their power to reboot and reset the system themselves. His assessment is that a complete reconstruction is necessary; internal monitoring is a total loss.”

“And has Dr. Shen been able to speculate on a cause for the destruction?”

Her hands are shaking.

“Not as of yet. As per my instructions, his team has been focused on assessing the damage and the odds of repair. Everyone here is, rather understandably, on edge about the whole situation.”

“I will relay your request, Commander, but the Council will not be pleased.”

As if we are, she thinks, bitterly. “My thanks, Mr. Spokesman.”

“We will be in touch.”

She pulls out a chair from the conference table, and sinks into it, resting her head in her hands. She is almost certain they know. She doesn’t know what they hope to gain in dragging it out, in refusing to be upfront. She is certain they have all the evidence they need, that they’ve intercepted some, if not all, of their communications.

She looks up to watch the clock strike midnight. Merry Christmas. Good luck enjoying it.

Someone knocks at the door.

“In!” She calls.

Central’s tie is missing and the buttons of his shirt sleeves are undone, poking out from an old Naval Academy sweatshirt.

“And?” He asks, after he’s certain the door’s shut.

“They know,” she says, her throat dry. “I’m sure of it.”

“What’d they say?”

“It wasn’t so much the what as the how.”

“Commander,” he says, kneeling in front of her.

She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, John. I’m so sorry.”

“Elizabeth,” he says, taking her hands. “Lizzie, look at me. It’s not hard proof. It’s been a long day. We all read too much into things sometimes.”

She shakes her head, wishing she could make him understand.

“Okay,” he says, standing and then tugging her to her feet. He pulls her in close, resting one hand on her hip and the other in her hair. “You made me promise that, if I ever had concerns, I’d say something. This is me saying something.”

“Having me declared unfit won’t shake them.”

“This has nothing to do with them, and everything to do with you. It doesn’t help anyone if you go to pieces.”

She sinks against him. “What are you gonna do?”

“You’re gonna brief me on whatever you need to, and then you’re going to bed with a migraine for the next day or so.”

“I don’t know how much that’s gonna help.”

“It’ll give me a read on what’s going on for myself.”

“You don’t trust me,” she says, looking up at him.

He shakes his head.  “Trust, but verify.”

“I hate Ronald Reagan.”

He chuckles in spite of himself. “And Henry Kissinger. I know.”

“So, what?” She asks. “Do I just kill time in my bunk?”

“Never said it had to be your bunk.”

--

They are somewhere in the middle of the wilds of the Pacific Northwest.

She is bundled into layer upon layer of clothing, but the cold still cuts right through.  She can see her breath in the night air, hanging like a small cloud before her. Next to her, Central crosses his arms tighter across his chest, then takes a drink from his flask.

“I never thought I would miss diplomatic events,” she offers, hoping to defuse some of the tension.

“You just miss having them in a heated venue.”

She nods. “Guilty as charged. Is this always how they do things?”

“Until a few weeks ago, they didn’t really believe you existed. They’re cautious. It’s how they’ve survived.”

“I’m cautious, too, and we’re leaving ourselves open to be shot.”

“They won’t let that happen.”

“Not to you.”

He doesn’t disagree.

She shivers. She’s always hated these last death throes of winter.

“There’s one thing I should warn you about,” he says, taking another nip off the flask.

“Warn me about?”

“The Reapers have an … interesting diet.”

“Cannibals?”

His face twists. “Not generally.”

“Not generally?” “The early years were hard.”

“Did you …?”

He takes another sip from the flask. “Not enough liquor in the world to make that palatable.”

She nods. “So. This diet of theirs…”

“Aliens.”

“They eat … the aliens?”

“Yeah.”

“Is it a dominance thing?”

He shrugs. “Maybe? Mostly it’s a lack of beef.”

“You can’t tell me Sectoid tastes like a cheeseburger.”

“Do you even know what a cheeseburger tastes like?”

She shakes her head. “It’s been … fourteen in my timeframe, add twenty … thirty four years since I had a burger? So, probably not.”

“That’s about what I thought,” he takes another drink.

“You know what they taste like, though.”

“I don’t partake.”

“Is there a way to gracefully get out of partaking?”

“I’ve already made your excuses for you.”

“How?”

“To hefty disbelief.”

Something rustles in the brush, and her hand reaches for the pistol on her hip. Next to her, he takes a final drink and pockets his flask.

Slowly, five gas-mask clad figures emerge, each with a rifle slung over their shoulder. She watches Central from the corner of her eye, gauging his reaction. His face remains unchanged.

One figure approaches, removing its mask. “Bradford.”

“Outrider.”

“A little early for the flask, isn’t it?”

“Take it up with Volk, Dragunova. He called this meeting.”

“And you,” she says, turning her attention to the Commander. “You must be the one we’ve heard so much about.”

Her gaze flicks to Central, then back to Dragunova. “I’m almost afraid to ask.”

Dragunova grins. “We’ll make our assessments once we’ve gotten to know you better. Come, you’re expected.”

She slips her mask back over her face, and motions for them to follow. The rest of the figures – other Reapers, she assumes – fall into step around them, a kind of moving shield.

“This standard operating procedure for you?” She asks, picking her way through.

“Our standard operating procedure is not to take meetings. You, Commander Regan, are the exception. Do not make us regret it.”

--

She feels ridiculous. She is freshly showered, clad in flannel pajamas, hand poised to knock on his door. On the scale of stupid things she has done, this ranks high.

Of course he didn’t mean anything by it, she tells herself. He made his decision a long time ago. He set his limits. You need to respect them.

On the other hand, she counters. It was forward, even for Central. He’s not the sort to make that kind of joke.

She concedes she’ll have to ask him herself if she wants the answer.

“Can I impinge?” She asks when he opens the door. “I won’t take up much time.”

“You’re not impinging,” he says, ushering her inside, and closing the door. “What’s up?”

“I’ve got a question I need answered.”

“Try me.”

“What you said earlier, did you mean it?”

He quirks an eyebrow. “You’re gonna have to elaborate.”

“The bunk comment.”

“That you could use a few days to relax? Yeah, I meant it.”

“No, the other part.”

“What other part?”

“The ‘never said it had to be your bunk.’”

“What d’you think?”

“I don’t know,” she says, shaking her head. “That’s what’s eating at me. That’s why I’m here. I think we had rules, and somewhere along the line, we broke them.”

He gapes at her for a moment. “You mean Berlin.”

“Yeah, I mean Berlin.”

“I was an idiot.”

“No, you had a point.”

“Which lost all validity the second we stopped talking about the theoretical, and started reacting to the actual.”

“No, it didn’t. It was a good point. With everything going on, it’s still a good point.”

He rubs his forehead. “Permission to speak freely?”

“I’d worry if you didn’t,” she says, furrowing her brow.

“Lizzie, I’m in love with you. Everything else is everything else; it doesn’t matter. I should have known that then. I sure as hell know it now. And if you’re right, if things with the Council blow up in our faces, then it was worth it. You were worth it. And I don’t regret what I did.”

She stares at him for a beat. “You mean that?”

He chuckles. “Yeah, I mean it.”

“Okay, good,” she says, closing the small distance between them. “Makes this a lot less awkward.”

She knots one hand in his shirt and brings the other up to his check, catching him in the best kiss she can. He doesn’t hesitate, dropping a hand to her waist to support her, and carding the other through the tangle of her still-damp hair.

For the first time in weeks, she feels at peace.