#Y'KNOW that feeling when you have so many thoughts that you don't have any coherency you're just a mess?

[sunnylolli]

I really meant it when I said I can’t think about anything else.

[its-short-for-jackalope]

THE SEARCHER IN THE SHADOWS

☆ Thoughts On Part One ☆

I have many thoughts and feelings and I am definitely not gonna be able to wrangle every last one in here, but I can do my darnedest to hit most of the big ones!

Dropped From The Clouds

The contrast of this first song compared to the start of TGOA makes me a little insane. Both songs are full of questions and uncertainty and take place after the characters have been teleported to another time and place, but When Are We? has the comfort and assurance of being with friends while Dropped From The Clouds has Rose isolated and alone without any familiar faces, and the parallel just reminds me of how much has changed and how quickly things are continuing to change. When are we going to slow down? Not now, it seems.

Dakkar's introduction, oh my god — "I'm nobody." [mildly threatening Radiance noises] "Give me the orrery." — and then he immediately goes into science mode. I need to draw him so bad. Also, side note, I already adore Jesse Bhamrah's voice.

He was/is a Traveler and a Searcher? so it seems the titles aren't mutually exclusive, then. I wonder if his unclear status as a Traveler has anything to do with whatever he's got going on that we heard in Transmission 14.

Fast Friends

CAPTAIN ADDISON ARVAD!!!!!! THE SCREAM I WANTED TO SCRUMPT!!! (also Natalie Masini sounds amazing)

"Lower your weapon, for God's sake." "The gun was your idea." I love them, your honor

So Dakkar and Addison were absolutely taking precautions in case Kal had possessed Rose, right? That's the vibe I get, anyway. Maybe they know he's capable of doing that sort of thing (maybe Sia has seen it happen? or, y'know, ✨️seen✨️ it) and that's why they wanted to check if she knew the GAD's publication date—Kal doesn't seem to automatically gain his host's knowledge, like when he didn't seem to know Morgan had already been sent away, so if he was possessing Rose then he probably wouldn't have known the date.

...Actually wait, you know what? Maybe it was Itzal they were worried about. We don't really know anything about what magic he could have at his disposal—maybe he can also possess people or change his form. and since he's a bigger, badder threat, I think it could make more sense for them to avoid saying his name rather than Kal's. 🤔

ADDISON IS A ROSE FAN???? ROSE IS PRETTY FAMOUS ON THEIR ISLAND??!? THEY HAVE A BRICK FROM TOWNSHIP NUMBER 9??!!?! Rose deserves the hype 100% of course but I have so many questions

okay I didn't expect Rose to meet Addison the very hour she arrived 2 weeks in the past, so I did not consider the fact that she and the crew would be here and they wouldn't have disappeared yet. I am now deeply afraid, because I know something happens to her. I have been so afraid of how the time travel will hurt me irt the twins that I didn't think about how many OTHER ways the time travel could hurt me.....

AND ROSE CAN'T WARN HER!!! So she just has to keep her mouth shut and let it happen and Addison must know that something happens, she and Dakkar didn't seem surprised that Rose didn't know who she was, but she's gonna go in blind anyway... 😭😭😭 okay wait, what if Addison and Sia's plan was for them to leave the Antikythera drifting for the others to find, but instead of returning to Lincoln Island Addison and her crew disappeared??

Destiny Strange and Sublime

...well now I just feel silly for not even considering that Dakkar would be the Searcher in the shadows 😂

I can't quite tell if the people he mentions he'd been unable to save is like... a personal thing, as in he actively failed to save them because of his own mistakes, or if it's more of a shared grief for the Blazing World and all its inhabitants. the first interpretation is definitely more angsty, lol.

I wish I had more coherent thoughts on this one but at this current time it mostly boils down to ohh pretty music, Dakkar is cool, Jesse Bhamrah is awesome, et cetera.

Arrival, part 1

HELLO PART 1 SONG!!!! I am excited to see how parts 2 and 3 may emotionally devastate me in the coming week!

so many people from the Blazing World! pleasantly surprised my island of refugees theory was correct. then again, I've spouted off enough theories that odds are at least some of them gotta be right, lol

Ahlaam my beloved!!! Virginia's voice is gorgeous, omfg.

The different creatures and plants from all over the world.... have the Searchers been looking for things that remind them of the Blazing World and bringing them back to the island to make it feel more like home? Crafting a facsimile of the Blazing World from pieces of Earth? (aough, and I thought "Ipomoea, just like home!" couldn't hurt any more than it already did...)

the phrasing of "OUR planet's biggest ocean" is interesting to me. Is the Blazing World connected to Earth somehow, thereby making it the same planet in some way, or is it just that this island has been home long enough for Ahlaam to feel attached? Or. Or. If the Blazing World is on the moon, then it would make sense for Ahlaam to refer to the Earth as her planet because the moon revolves around it and it's the moon's planet. (yes, hi, hello, it's a new pulp episode, we are once again in the Overthink Everything And Fire Off A Bazillion Theories era <3 )

They've been waiting for Rose for YEARS? ...would that be since 1835, or 1829? and we know they've been waiting for Margaret because, well, duh, but have they been waiting for Samuel and John, too? or are they all just Rose stans?

the crew of the Antikythera....... 😭😭😭

I love that a good portion of this song is basically just Ahlaam going "check out our sweet digs" lmao

The nights have been dark but this is the spark that will set the whole lighthouse ablaze — YELLING RIGHT NOW, oh my god. lighthouses are guides through darkness and stormy weather and they also cut through fog, I want to bite something (/pos)

this has got to be both very nice and very overwhelming for Rose, lol.

Addison & Dakkar and Ahlaam & Dakkar are both very fun dynamics

A Spell Is Just A Rule Made With Magic

THE FOG IS FROM A SPELL!!! ITZAL CAST A SPELL AND CORRUPTED HIS PEOPLE! "It saturates the heart with darkness 'till you forget life before the blight" oh my god, he convinced all of them that the fog is how they always were & were meant to be? No wonder Kal considers Sia and Margaret traitors. So when Kal says "soon the Blazing World will meet its end" he might not be talking about an actual place—in his mind he's probably talking about the traitors' movement & the ridiculous, dangerous ideas they have about replacing Itzal's world with one of light...

"A spell is just a rule made with magic, and any rule can be broken" AOUGH. CHILLS.

ooh they believe Rose is the key? aw man this adds more weight to "I was a hero and the heroes win — don't they?" in Vanishing...

"Capital." oh my god Mr. Dahan you can't do this to me. The similarities between Dakkar and AJ have to be intentional, right?? ...oh god, is Dakkar gonna make a bad deal to save lives? Is he gonna sacrifice himself in some way to save his people?

Two Weeks

I love this montage, it's such a nice way to go through this part. also I just really like how this whole first part is structured, having this entire part dedicated to Rose in this time is a great way to handle the time travel without being confusing by jumping back and forth, AND it gives us time to get to know the new characters a little bit! It's also a bit of a breather after how hectic the end of TGOA was. (I feel like part 2 is going to get super intense super quickly, lol.)

So they start with science and testing her mind, giving Rose access to all their research to see if she figures out anything there. And then they go to the volcano and scan her, starting to test her body for evidence that she might be able to help them in some magical way. (They're probably still going over the research too, ofc. Those were a lot of books, Dakkar.)

Day 9!!! Sia is here!!! I desperately want to know exactly what she and Addison were talking about. I think it might be a plan to abandon the Antikythera for Margaret and the others to find in a few days, but that's mostly speculation.

also Sia seems so much more relaxed and at ease here. maybe it's because she's at home with her people and she can be less secretive than she was on the satellite? (and because she isn't in a literal magic battle, lmao.)

Dakkar mentions phase three and they go to the lake to try doing stuff with illusion magic—do they want to try using magic on Rose to see if they can get her to activate whatever magic she may have? Or maybe how Rose reacts to the illusion magic could reveal something...?

Rose not wanting to go in the water, aoughhh 😭 and Sia helping her when she's scared 😭😭😭

Dakkar's Grotto / Mobilis In Mobili

when I saw this scene during the premiere I said "holy sci fi" and I stand by that. this environment is so cool. I wonder why the rest of the island isn't like this when they're clearly people with a lot of knowledge and technology... it's probably a matter of supplies. They fled to this island from Itzal and his spell, so they wouldn't have had time to pack a lot of stuff. I imagine whatever they did manage to bring and/or build is all dedicated to their efforts to find a cure and protect everyone.

we know they haven't found anything yet because they're still testing Rose's blood. man, that's gotta be stressful for her. (And the Radiance folks, yeah, but c'mon. so much pressure on Rose right now and she's brand new to all this. 🥺)

The Nautilus is here!!! and it's a spaceship!!! AHHHH!!! 🤩

SHIT IS GOING DOWNNNNNNN! Margaret is radiating and I am going to be Thinking about what it means that Sia can sense it—is it a part of her precognitive abilities? is it part of whatever bond they have that allows them to combine their power?

Rose blurting out a warning about the fog and Ahlaam and Sia immediately getting more concerned.... I hope that maybe since she waited until right before Sia left it won't influence anything negatively, if at all—it's only a very small part of the present that will be influenced and it's not like they totally altered their actions across two weeks to accommodate for that information so I'm sure it's fine. hopefully.

Rose is worried about Samuel almost drowning like she did (and is/will be)... she is not going to like hearing about the dangers he's actually facing. well, if anything is gonna wake up potential magic in her, learning that one of the bad guys attacked & has been harassing her baby brother will probably a good contenderrrrroh fuck I had a thought. uh, stay tuned, we'll get there.

oh god the Ellen Austin will be arriving soon and Samuel and Rose will reunite (they BETTER REUNITE ASAP) and Rose is going to be two weeks older and I am going to perish

not the little reprise of The stars appeared... that made me so sad last time.... 😭 I love how this version of it is positive. the parallels,,,,,,

Rose and the Stars

IT'S HERE AT LAST!!!!

The past stays soaked into our skin 😭

we are lit by suns that shatter through the dark.....

WE TRAVEL WITH THE SPIRITS THAT WE KEEP — ough, makes me think of the ghost of all my yesterdays in Behind Me. also the change from "Don't spend a second looking back" in ep 1 to "only looking back to see how much we've grown" has me feeling things idk how to describe rn, lol

THE CONSTELLATIONS TURN INTO A CROWN!!!!!! 🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣

Rose will shine again 🥺😭❤

A Few More Thoughts

Is the day Sia arrives also the day Addison and her crew left the island? we don't hear from her after this, and her disappearance isn't mentioned in the rest of part one but Sia knows that something happened to the crew when she confronts Kal on the Ellen Austin. If they had a plan for the Searcher crew to return to Lincoln Island and leave the ship for the others to find & investigate to kickstart Margaret's memories, but then the crew just didn't show up, I would think it would be mentioned? Unless they didn't want to overwhelm Rose and distract her from her work, or maybe they avoided discussing Addison & the Antikythera with her because of time travel rules...

oh and it is gonna take me a bit to grasp the time travel rules, lol. (sorry Matt, I haven't seen any Back To The Future since I was a kid.) I am going to be pondering the timeline for a while, particularly where Sia is involved. I feel like they probably want to avoid going back into the past as much as possible just based on how they are with Rose and how they put a lot of effort into not altering the present with her information about the future, but I don't think Sia would have gone from 1835 and skipped right ahead 39 years and stayed there? Like she has people to take care of and plans to make, she probably wouldn't just disappear on them for such a long time? maybe the Travelers who are experienced in abiding by Time Travel Rules are able to navigate backwards in time with more freedom because they know what they're doing. idk, like I said it's gonna take me a bit to wrap my head around this. maybe parts 2 & 3 will make it a little clearer.

OKAY, CONTINUING MY SAMUEL THOUGHT FROM EARLIER: Sia and her bunch believe Rose is the key. What if Itzal and Kal think Samuel is the key? What if that is why Kal was interested in Samuel on the Ellen Austin and why he seemed to really delight in antagonizing him? If Kal was hanging around long enough beforehand to see how close Margaret and Samuel are, then that could have convinced him that Samuel is Important™ to the Blazing World and that Margaret knows he is important to them. And maybe both sides are only halfway there, maybe it's both twins, together, who are the key, and that's why they haven't made progress towards the cure with Rose over their 2 weeks.

okay there are probably plenty of things that I'm missing and more that i could come up with and tack on, but I've been working on this post since last night and i want to finish it and get to other things so I am calling it here, lol.

...that is a horribly long sentence but I am not editing it. hope you enjoyed. <3

[bornincaldecott]

I didn't really get into Romy in '97 too much in my post-episode 2 brain dump last night, and while I'd like to say that was completely intentional because I was planning a second brain dump dedicated to them...that's not the case. Not entirely, at least.

Like I said, it was late when I was finally able to watch episode 2 (was fighting an absolute terror of a migraine), and my post last night was already getting long. I was exhausted but I needed to get my thoughts out of my head.

But now that I'm more coherent and feeling somewhat better (migraine's a persistent bastard), let's get into it!

My Romy heart was so happy seeing them together. This era of them is probably my favorite. Yes, of course I love how far they've come since this, and of course I'm obsessed with them being married, but there's something about this part of their relationship — the pining, the angst, the romanticized chaos — that just slaps.

Maybe it's because I do know what the future holds for them, and seeing what led them there, everything they went through and endured, is such a testament to how much they love each other.

Remy has so much faith in Rogue, even this early in their relationship (although I guess they've been together for at least 5 years by the time '97 kicks off). "Rogue always comes to Gambit's rescue"? PLEASE. I know that was supposed to be a throwaway because they're teasing Scott but COME ON.

They gave us so many little glimpses into their relationship. Romy nation was fed well. Like when Rogue's hanging on him after the sentinel fight?

Look how proud she is of him. That face? "Yeah, that's my man."

They seem so comfortable with each other, and it makes me so happy I was misty-eyed watching. Apparently not comfortable enough though because...y'know...

Now that I've slept on things, though, I wonder if they're actually going to go full-on Rogueneto. Yes, they hinted at it, and yes, some tension was introduced, but maybe it'll get nipped in the bud before it becomes a whole thing. This is cheating, but there's another trailer where we see Kurt bamf between them, and you can tell that Remy had his arms around Rogue right before that. The fact that we have that trailer tells me that Kurt is going to be introduced sooner, rather than later (but I could be wrong). So that makes me think that Mags might be a bump in the road, but not an all-out hurdle they have to clear.

That doesn't make it hurt any less 'cause BOY HOWDY does it hurt. But even the strongest ships sometimes have to sail through storms before they can make it back home to the harbor, their endpoint.

I doubt we'll get it, but there is a part of me that's holding out hope that, in light of the Rogueneto angle, we'll get the "home and harbor" speech at some point, albeit with a different lead up. I don't think we will but GOD I WOULD SOB. Maybe Remy's VA has Cameo. I'd shell out the cash for that.

[fan-clan-fun]

Y'know, Starclan bugs me. So we're to believe that four/five clans fight eachother to survive, occasionally dying traumatic deaths that can directly be tied to their enemies (starving due to lack of food and not taking extra territory, killed in battle, infected wounds, etc.) and... they all go to the same afterlife that puts them all under the same clan umbrella? Why would Starclan emerge as a united 'clan' when over and over dead characters still show a huge bias towards the clan they served in life? If anything, to me it should have been Starclans plural, still separated but united (somewhat) in death. It really undermines the 'oh the clans need to stay separate' thing if they'll all be one 'clan' for a timespan arguably longer than they were part of distinct clans.

What are your thoughts on the clan afterlife? (Ignoring the wildly inconsistent capabilities/knowledge/etc. they seem to have)

Starclan absolutely drives me up a wall, and I'm honestly quite glad I stopped reading warriors at the end of Omen of the Stars, cause as far as I know it only got worse after that.

The concept of Starclan itself isn't bad per se, I just think canon Starclan suffers from the many issues the whole series does. Lack of planning, lack of consistency, lack of documentation (i.e. neither the authors nor the editors make appropriate notes to keep track of so they continue to change things that were once canon). I also think warriors suffers from the recent mindset in media and writing to surprise and astound readers with pure shock value rather than a well crafted story.

I'll mention now that I ascribe to the idea that Warriors is no longer a coherent whole but more of a grouping of legends such as Arthurian legends, since any consistency has literally been tossed out the window. In that case, I feel that trying to adhere to any one understanding of canon as the one and only truth isn't possible, so it's best to find the interpretation that works for each person.

As for Starclan.... where to even start in the hot mess that is Starclan.

Like I said the concept isn't terrible by itself. In a world where the clans were much more willing to see the clans as separate from non-clan entities, while still having their own culture, it fits. The narrative being that well we may be separate in life, but in death we as clan cats are still one. It would be a way to soften potential wars, to give something for the clans to all agree on, and to give a significant difference between clan cats and non-clan cats.

But I actually think that where canon Starclan goes wrong, is the ability that they have to affect and change the real world. Ideally, Starclan should be absolutely neutral or closer to that, like they were in the earlier books. The later the books get, the more they begin to meddle in the clans. But in order to fix some of that, we actually have to define exactly what Starclan does and doesnt know and what they can and can't do on an individual scale and as a group.

See, I feel like canon Starclan as it is could be fascinating to play with, if the authors actually lean into the fact that Starclan isn't one entity anymore, but has its own politics. I know some cats have begun to doubt in canon, but I feel like far more should be questioning Starclan. You could easily change things to have Starclan be simply the cats of the afterlife, have mothers tell cautionary tales about listening to spirit cats, such as we tell tales of the fae. They dont lie, but they dont tell the whole truth. Their gifts always come with a price, their knowledge always with a catch. You can't trust them as far as you can throw them, after all how can you know they are who they say they are? And the Dark Forest? Well, if Starclan is all petty politics, then the Dark Forest is where either the worst cats go, or the cats that the important cats of Starclan don't want around. Who is the worst truly, the Dark Forest, or Starclan? Would clan cats even know, or care?

Or you could change Starclan's ability to meddle in clan dealings. Maybe the reason Starclan's prophecies are so vague, its because they don't only just see "the future" but rather several futures! Things could go several different ways, and they just want to try to prevent the worst outcome so they try to give advice but its vague cause their grasp on the future is tenuous. In this case, Starclan wouldnt be able to give powers, or make judgements on whether a cat belongs in Starclan or not. All clan cats go to Starclan, and for this Starclan it would be better to not have a Dark Forest at all. The afterlife isn't a place of punishment or paradise, but simply a place beyond life, where the spirits exist as long as they are remembered, and fade away once those they loved or who loved them are gone.

A lot of it is a usual up to personal interpretation, but I think Starclan would be much better if its exact limitations were delineated ahead of time, because in canon right now its just whatever works at the time. As long as you write Starclan in a consistent manner, with whatever limitations and expectations you choose, it will still be better than canon, so have some fun while you're at it!

[godtakenlove]

In an apartment somewhere in a cookie cutter city, the radio played a rather uneasy tune. But the tenant paid no mind, after all, they heard it many times before. In fact, they could feel a smile coming on their lips as the voices started to seep in to overpower the instrumental.

"Alright listeners! For the whole month of October, we're gonna talk about The Cabin Disappearances!"

"Actually- and I know I should've run this to you beforehand- can I tell you about a case that might be related to these disappearances?"

"Oh? of course!"

"Heh- thanks! it's kinda related, it doesn't take place IN the cabin or around it, someone does disappear though! Three people actually, aaand the cabin is mentioned! There's also drugs and a robot!"

The Cabin Disappearances: File 000.

CLASS OF 2017

Series warning: Yanderes (some more cruel than others), gore, death, blood, serial killers, true crime vibes. Basically anything you'd expect for a Halloween Horror Yandere series lol

Case File warning: Invasion of Privacy (Slight Voyeurism?), Drugs (use), Suggestive content, Nonconsensual Kiss, Your partner... Disappears.

Notes: Reader is gender neutral collage senior and has a partner, partner is a drug user (weed).

You were an anxious, anxiety made you lose focus, the loss of focus made bad grades, bad grades made anxious parents, and anxious parents met a tutor bot.

It was the only way they saw fit, since you wouldn't get rid of your "Bad Influence" (if you had a dollar for every eyeroll or scoff, you would be rich.)

So, Eddie was now here to stay.

Now, you didn't actually hate Eddie, in fact you thought of Eddie as any other human, albeit a shiny, stickman like human. You kinda just thought, y'know, he would leave you alone?

Ever since his AI was implemented in your own personal computer and phone, he's been clingy. You'd also had to admit, having a tutor bot kinda looked childish to you. You don't see many college seniors with tutor bots, especially one as yellow and plastic looking at Eddie.

But, reputation was a worthy sacrifice. Eddie was genuinely helpful, if your grades had anything to say about it, and you found yourself genuinely enjoying the bot's presence when you two weren't studying. It made you a bit sad that, one day, you'll have to say goodbye to him.

"I beg your pardon?"

You blinked, a (forced) enthusiastic voice buzzed you right back to reality. You smiled nervously, shit, you've probably let that one slipped. "Well since I'm gonna be graduating college this year, I-I well- plan on moving out somewhere!"

"Moving out...? How far?" Eddie asked, their smiling visage radiated nothing but tension. You scratched the back of your head, "Y'know that cabin I talked about yesterday? That far..."

"With your partner with you, I suppose?" Despite the chill enthusiasm in his voice that was programmed since the day he gained a voice box, it dripped with passive aggressive malice.

You nodded, your heart starting to thump loudly with each passing second.

"You should be careful of the company you keep, my friend, I don't want a bad influence to change your life forever."

You balled your hand into a fists as your heart beat faster. Out of both rage and anxiety, you mumbled "You don't know anything..." Before you knew it, your rant spiller out of your mouth.

"Stop treating them like they're nothing... Just-Just because they use drugs- because they use weed to help them out does-doesn't mean they're a horrible person or lesser than you..."

The loud silence that bared between pauses of your rant to either collect a coherent thought or your breath was unbearable.

"They're sweet, kind and-and loving as any other partner, I... I love a lot-like a lot a lot! You're my tutor bot. You shouldn't even have-"

You let out a rather embarrassing squeak as the robot stood up from your study desk abruptly. "Our session has gone into break, take 30 minutes and we'll continue shortly after."

You sighed in relief of the automated message, a part of you thought you were gonna have to fight the guy.

"Also," started the bot, glancing at you by the swerve of his head as his eyes were simply painted on his metal suit.

"As a tutor bot, I programmed to help you learn and obstruct bad study habits," he punctuated this by patting your shoulder, though you swear he was reaching out for your cheek. "As your... Companion, I wish nothing but the best for you..."

✏📏📐📕📗📘📙📓📔📒📚📖✏

You bursted out in short fits of giggles as your partner crawled into bed with you, peppering kisses from your face.

"Missed your good looks, last semester!" They teased, to which you sarcastically replied "you saw me yesterday!"

You partner withdrew from you and sat up, looking around and noticing your missing robot friend. "Where's Eddie? Did he get stolen or something?" They said before taking a blunt and lighter from their pocket. You waved it off, "He's out and getting me food, since we ended out study session not too long ago. He'll be back sooner or later."

Your partner nodded as they took a drag, which you watched curiously, you have seen them smoke many times before, but recently you've gotten curious about something.

"Hey, if-if it's not too much of a bother, can you actually... Blow some of that smoke in my mouth?"

...

Eddie glared at the sight of you inhaling the weed's smoke. His fingers digging into the door frame as you partner started to sooth your overwhelmed reaction with kisses. Soon going more south as you calmed down and began giggling.

Eddie stomped away, going outside to the campus and hitting the nearest oak tree.

You... You!!! How dare you!? How dare you enjoy that heathen touching you like that?? How dare you stoop that low? How DARE you choose that ape over him??

Eddie began to shake with anger, if he could breathe he would've been panting right now. Eddie shook his head, no, he shouldn't be mad at you.

He should be angry at that disgrace you call a partner. They were poisoning you, poisoning your brain, because surely... Surely as smart as you would realize how perfect he is for you...

You both were perfect for each other, he knew after the first time you had a study session with him. You were a quick learner, not only that but you were well mannered. Your voice was like music to his ears, he would probably sleep to it if he could. You treated him like he was any other human, you listened to his rambles, you smiled at him, laughed, joked.

You were perfect for him.

Yes, he was a robot, he shouldn't even be feeling right now, but when you're the top tutoring robot, you learn to feel sooner or later.

It would've been a lot more appreciated by the folks at home.

Yes... Once you were out of that smoke stupor and come to your senses, you'll regret ever meeting that buffoon, then you'll be all over him!

Eddie felt smug as he imagined the scenario. You'll beg for his love (which he will be more than happy to give!), then you'll both move in that cabin, then you'll both go on many dates! Then Eddie will propose to you on your 5yearsanniversaryandthenyou'llgetmarriedandhavemanychildrentogetherwhichwillallgrowuptohavegrandchildrenandyou'llbothgrowtogetheran

The robot stopped their train of thought as a familiar face got out of the dorms building and started to walk away. They kinda walked bowlegged and they seemed to struggle to keep their eyes open, a rather content and flustered expression plastered on their face. The robot looked at them with disgust before an idea popped into their head.

A giddiness overcame them as they waved them down, "I just want to have a little chat with you..."

✏📏📐📕📗📘📙📓📔📒📚📖✏

You groaned as you woke up, the sound of books falling stirred you awake, as your eyes adjusted you found Eddie putting you textbooks in a box marked "Cabin".

"Eddie...?" You murmured, about to sit up from your bed before realizing you were wearing... Less clothes than usual. You squeaked and quickly covered yourself with bed's blanket again.

Eddie paid no mind to your squeak, instead he hummed, "Good morning, sleeping beauty! I'm helping you pack up!"

Before you could question what he meant by that, your eyes were drawn to the robot's particularly bloody knuckles.

[chasseuses]

reasons why i love jade leech pt.2

so i guess I'm doing this again.

this is more of a repeat of everything I said in part one but with more sobbing and coherent words.

Jade Leech, Octavinelle's vice dorm leader and the twin brother of Floyd. Many might say that Jade is better than Floyd, although that may seem true to people who don't know him well enough, some people were smart enough to know that Jade was just as bad.

Despite being so fucking shady and nasty, I couldn't help but slowly learn how to love his character. His shadiness is only a part of his charm ❤️ I mean— don't you want that? Don't you just want to look at him and wonder what the fuck is going through his mind right now?

He could be either plotting murder or thinking about tonight's dinner and I would still find his shady expression 🥺 oddly attractive to say the least. I'm being weirdly serious here and typing in lowercase so in a few bullets, expect me to go feral once again.

His eyes are gorgeous. I don't know about you but I get mesmerized everytime I look at them, I swear I could drown in them and never want air ever again. His mismatched eyes,, absolutely beautiful sir please shock my heart eheheh 👉👈 haha jk !!! he doesn't have to use his unique magic to shock my heart bfjfkfjfkfjkffk

His smile is breathtaking, my sun— my light in this dark world of mine. Even if his smile is practiced and insincere, I can't help but go crazy over it. Imagine if he smiled genuinely, no restraints at all as he let out a hearty laugh and a genuine smile took over his expression. I would cry on the spot, I am cryimyfjrkfjkffk.

GOF HELP ME I CAN'T TYPE IN LOWERCASE ANYMORE IM GOING IN CAPSLOCK!!!

I HATE HOW JADE CAN GO FROM HIS USUAL GENTLEMANLY FACE EXPRESSION BUT SUDDENLY SHOOTS YOU A FUCKING SMUG GRIN WHICH SHOWS OFF HIS SHARP TEETH AND SAYS HIS USUAL "Fufu~" LINE LIKE PLEASE 🗿 SHUT THE FUCK UP DON'T SMILE LIKE THAT!!

SPEAKING OF TEETH, MAN I REALLY AM CURIOUS AS TO HOW SHARP THEY ARE. A PART OF ME WANTS TO SHOVE MY HAND INTO HIS MOUTH AND JUST TOUCH THOSE TEETH AND SEE HOW SHARP THEY ARE 🤡 haha imagine if he suddenly bit down tho hahshhhshsdrijfrknfkrgntknffknflfnflffnkfnfkjfkdjfofjddlifjf ok I'll shut up.

I don't think I mentioned it here (i already did) but I am telling you that the idea of someone as composed and reserved as Jade starts pining, IT'S GUARANTEED TO BE SO FUCKING GOOD LIKE 🗿 OH GOD THE THOUGHT OF JADE PINING?? ABSOLUTELY *CHEFS KISS* MAN THAT IS SOME GOOD SHIT RIGHT THERE IF YOU SEE ANY PINING JADE PLEASE TAG ME I WILL START CRYIMG

Oh my god. Have I told you how beautiful Jade's lips are? Please please please please look at them they look so nice ahahahha so irresistible and kissable UEEEEEEEEEE

The way his lips are like that 🗿his fucking smile/smirk. GOD GIEV EME THE ABILITY TO KITH THIS MAN JUST ONCE PLEASE I LOVE HIM SO MUCH I'M FUCKING CRYING.

Oh my gOD THE WAY HE LOOKS AT MUSHROOMS... THE SOFTEST GAZE... SOMEONE LIKE HE... IS CAPABLE OF HAVING SUCH A SOFT EXPRESSION ON HIS FACE.... PLEASE I WANT TO BE A MUSHROOM IF IT MEANT BEING LOOKED AT BY JADE LIKE THAT.

HE COULD FUCKING SPIT ON ME AND I'D THANK HIM.

I'm ashamed to admit that the earliest reason why I liked Jade Leech was because of his hands. Please forgive me, Lilia-sama. I cannot help but get attracted to such beautiful hands- it was if it was sculpted by the god of sculpting himself! It's such a shame that his gloves cover up its blinding beauty- though my eyes can see through the deceit, I know that his fingers are glorious beneath that piece of cloth. My one and only wish in life is to be able to hold his hand- without the gloves, and that's all for my confession.

^^^^^ I FOUND THAT IN MY DRAFTS

I'M SORRY BUT I JUST REALLY LIKE HIS HANDS OK. LIKE 😳 haha...!! what if we held hands,, without the gloves 😳 haha jk...! unless ...?9£4(_8 UE UE UE UE UE MR. LEECH LET ME HOLD YOUR HAND PLEASE I'M GONNA BEG

UEEEEEEEE I'M NOT FUCKING KIDDING YOU WHEN I SAY I WROTE SO MUCH LETTERS FOR THIS EEL I WISH I WAS KIDDING I HAVE LIKE 12 RIGHT NOW GOD I'M SUCH A FUCKING SIMP

st a rts sobbing

pouting jade.

pouting jade.

pouting jade.

WHAT THE FUCKBSJDJDJJ??£?£(_(3(_((_(£(£+£; WHY IS HE SO CUTE INT HSI SCREENSHOT WHAT THE FUCK I LOVE YOU SO MUCH PLEASE THE WAY YOU'RE POUTING RIGHT NOW IS SO CUTE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME SQUEEZE YOU.

I'm fucking crying why the fuck is he so cute gof forbid this man from being so fuvking cute i cannot.

People be telling me: cute?? jade is terrifying.

and I go like: that's cute.

UE UE UE EU UEHFHRJFJJDJF HAVE U GUYS HEARD OF WHAT HE DOES TO PEOPLE HE BETRAY HIM???? I LITERALLY WENT 😳 "ahahahh mr leech i will personally betray you just to make you do that to me" you know. like a simp.

U know what I'm going back to lowercase

His extreme love for mushrooms is probably his comic relief so it doesn't completely make him seem like a shady bitch in the game- it's a surprise as to how cute and vulnerable he can get when he talks about or does something related to his precious fungi. It even goes as far as to make him completely lose his sense of surroundings, which is really rare for someone as observant as him- and usually dangerous sjfbjdbf. It's also EXTREMELY CUTE as to how they made Jade someone who really likes mountains- he even goes as far as to found his own club to appreciate them!!

He has pretty deft hands, being able to create a terrarium and care for it as a hobby is applaudable- not everyone has the ability to do just that, you'd have to be able to be extremely precise and careful, and add a little bit of extreme determination to the mix. He would probably smell like mud from all the time he spends in the greenhouse, and stays up late because of creating terrariums. It shows us that he isn't completely a shitty eel who collects dirt on people as his job and I think that's pretty fucking cute not gonna lie!

There was one voice line of him mentioning that he likes gazing at stars, which was completely unexpected for me! He didn't seem like the type to gaze up at the stars and just- watch! Though I expect him to be always alone whenever he does that- he isn't exactly the most approachable person in NRC, people tend to avoid the Leech twins because of Floyd- mostly. People are just scared of them and I don't think Jade has any friends aside from Azul and Floyd. And I don't think either of them would be willing to stay with him to do just that, Floyd's excuse would be because "it's boring~!" and Azul's would be "I have much more important things to do." And I think that's pretty fucking sad.

God please send me to their world I will watch the stars with him please i love him so much I'm—

BACK TO CAPSLOCK FJDJJEKFJKDJFKRNDKDJFKDFLDJRLFNFLDNFLDFNDLNDLDNFLFOFKDLDKDLDKDK

Look. No amount of words can actually describe my feelings for Jade Leech no words can do my love justice UE UE UE UE which is why I do the second best thing— keysmash.

Please please please I could give him the whole world and it wouldn't do my love for him justice 🗿 UE UE UE UEJFBRKFBTKNFRKFBFKFHJFHFDKHFKDBFKDHFKRBFRKBFRKBRKFBFKFNFKFJFKFJDKFK

I also uh, want him to step on me! Y',)!92+_)£_+ Y'know... He would stomp on my back and dig his heel into my back and probably hurl insults towards me 😳 man. I'd be hIS FUCKING DOORMAT IN A HEARTBEAT.

Omg this is getting long

The first part was much more 🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿 but I still do this anyways.

Anyways. Please stan Jade Leech I love him so much 💕

i would've included my brainrot but ppl would just go 🗿 "taku you really are a jade simp huh" and NO I DON'T WANT THATTTTTTTTT

[rinisbowen]

so much has come out in the past 24 hours. i need your thoughts!!!

no because anon SO MUCH has come out in the past 24 hours literally... in the last few days too lowkey but especially just- today in general oh my goodness. tumblr's harder bc i feel like i need to be coherent to post here instead of just a dumb sentence like i'd put on twitter... but oh gosh i have so many thoughts... if anyone wants me to talk about something specific though feel free to ask about it specifically

y'all probably already saw my post about nini- she's definitely coming to see frozen in 308, and she's with either val or miss jenn (probably miss jenn just due to y'know- the context of her other scene being with miss jenn, but i mean the hair is similar so i can't say 100%.)

something i noticed with val in the featurette today- she's the one casting the musical, we see her in that one where she looks up kinda like- stay away... she's taking notes but she's also got all those audition sheets in front of her (recognizable due to the polaroids maddox takes of the campers for auditions, and the sheet we see of ricky's on val's clipboard when he's auditioning). we see ej sort of running auditions... so maybe he steps back a bit when he realizes he can't be impartial. or maybe he gets scared bc the pressure and she takes over for that part. i think regardless- this is a good call to have her be the one to pick the roles. it removes the nepotism question.

ej and gina are potentially singing a duet... quite awkwardly as it appears, but they are singing one all the same. i'm on the 'love is an open door' team- bc my money is on jet being the camper that goes missing, and if jet is cast as hans due to his incredible voice, well- maybe ej fills in for him. this duet looking moment goes on in the episode that a camper goes missing so... it would make a lot of sense.

ricky's SONG !!! i love it. you can absolutely tell josh wrote it and it's so good. i'm so excited it's in the first episode because oh my goodness it's so good and i'm glad we don't have to wait much longer. curious to see if maybe josh sings it on the mtv thing he's going on tomorrow. not trying to get my hopes up but... could be cool.

ricky and gina's little moment in that commercial break trailer that played during live with kelly and ryan... well that was a moment for sure when i saw that version of the trailer come on... the hat is giving costume, likely for kristoff, and it's quite likely that they're rehearsing for one of the broadway frozen numbers... given we've had confirmed by josh that there will be at least one they do this season. val is also lurking in the corner it looks like- i'd anticipate this is maybe from 305 aka the campers of shallow lake (hard to say it'd be any of the later ones, but we know pretty certainly it's not 301-304 due to clothing, and tbh especially with val being back there in the corner.. i think it will be. whether this is a staged moment or a resulting consequence of one... that perhaps looks and feels more real than it was meant to... should be interesting.

ummmm... i'm blanking on what else i wanted to bring up. but yeah lots of new stuff. lmk if you've got anything you want to see me discuss

[blueoctobass]

omg indigo therapy… friends…….. what is he saying?

it's not coherent because i wrote it in one go and didn't structure it

but here it is

I think it all started back in stratoverse... We were always told to love the weather but i've already talked about that in our last session, but also that we needed to find someone powerful with who we could have children as powerful as possible. they would encourage pairings, sometimes even force children that had powerful parents, so lots of potential, to get along so they could later be an actual couple. and i was a bit of a loner, so i would always get told to find someone, but there wasn't really anyone that i got along with y'know? they were all kind of jerks to me because i had a lisp and no one wanted to be seen with me. so i had the children against me AND the caretakers would say it's my fault, because i don't do any effort. I tried my best tho, I thought i could fake it till i make it, i tried to follow examples i found in comics, but nothing worked and eventually we were all old enough to get a hat. when i found mine and turned indigo i just yeeted out of there, i couldn't take it anymore. in gloomverse, things were a bit different but i quickly learned that having partners was seen as big achievement. like that wallis guy, he had so many fans who just flocked to him and called themselves his "bitches" so i tried to copy the things the girl seemed to like in those persona, and it kinda worked, i mean i got to be a famous dj and get a decent following, but everyone thought it was an act, which it kinda was i guess, but that didnt mean i didnt genuinely try to get a date at times. and then you came along and took me seriously, and the prez really wanted— wait fuck no forget that part i'm not supposed to talk about it or i might get kidnapped? or something. anyway, going on a date with you was kinda the first serious date of my life and all the external pressure made it kinda hard to relax. we did hit it off so that was totes cool and i really wanted to know you better, y'know? maybe cause you were the first one to be interested in who i was and not what i could do for you, but then you asked me for a kiss and it kinda took me by surprise, also you were very intimidating and i don't know if i could have said no to you. so yeah i kissed you but it wasn't what i wanted my first kiss to be... i thought it would be more... more... idk what. i thought i would have a revelation? find what was missing? but all that happened was... i was afraid of messing up and never be able to talk to you again, which didnt happen, but i think you kinda lost interest in me ? maybe. and then i wanted to talk to mom- — to prez about it but she wasn't there, there was just pi, and i don't know whats up with this guy, he always make me feel stupid and inadequate, and there he goes talking about how i'm gay because i kissed one girl under scary circumstances and dindt like it, and that kinda threw me for a loop yknow? he was assuming stuff about me like you did, but unlike you he wouldn't let it go and admit he was wrong. i mean i like women! they're pretty and smart and powerful and i want to be like that too so why wouldn't i like women?? i think the problem is just that kissing isn't my thing, it was nice just talking and holding hands instead, we should get back to that

[iwritethat]

Wally West: One

A/N: This was a detour from what I was doing. Oops.

Warnings: None

>>>>——————————>

"M'gann?"

"Yes."

"The cute alien chic?" You thought of the girl, clarifying it was indeed the correct one.

"Yes."

"And you're sure this one is the one because you said that 3 girls ago."

"Yes... I mean no, I don’t know - look can you please help me (Y/n)." Wally playfully pleaded with you like he’d done on multiple occaisions prior to this and you could only shrug in defeat.

"Sure but my conditions remain the same."

"I know, no bragging, pizza on me, you pick the film for the next 3 weeks."

"And?" You mockingly coaxed, knowing how much the next particular demand pained him which was evident in his deadpan but reluctant tone.

"And no mocking your dates."

"Good."

.

The following day you’d stategically accompanied Kid Flash on a visit to Mount Justice, the sight of you two together was no surprise to Robin, Aqualad nor Speedy though the remainder were intrigued by the mysterious stranger so Wally proudly made introductions.

"Hey M'gann, Conner, this is (Y/n)."

"Ah, this is who you love so much to talk about!" The Martian beamed grasping your hands as you shot a glare to a flustered Wally, the guy sheepishly running a hand through his strands.

"Is this your... girlfriend?" Superboy casually inquired after thinking of the correct terminology, yet again leaving you to wonder what your friend has been saying about you in your absence - also considering the implication this’d have on your scheme.

"No! Definitely not! I'm totally single, just because I've told you about (Y/n) doesn't mean we're dating. We're not dating by the way." Wally briskly recovered, blush fading as he emphasised his point specifically for the sake of M'gann.

"Nice to meet you both. Ah Kaldur!" You lit up once seeing the Atlantean, immediately embracing his form just as he did to you in hopes of catching up with him.

"It's been a while (Y/n), you look well."

"(Y/n) is here? Looking as lovely as ever, surprised you're still hanging with Wally though, you're way out of his league." Robin proudly joked as he walked toward you, genuinely happy to see you again and a girl called Artemis agreed with him despite only recently learning your name - supposedly teasing Wally was a commodity amount the Team.

"I'm here for training, Canary said she'd activated the sparring platform so I wanted to test it." With a content shrug you set your plan in motion, gesturing over to the designated area as indication.

Now you were very well trained, the team knew that so it wasn't a surprise when every single member landed with a 'FAIL' until Wally challenged your winning streak. You went two rounds, the first you played to his strengths allowing him to take you down with his speed and received the only 'PASS' of the day. M'gann cheered, flying over with questions and compliments whilst you comfortably sat up and proudly watched Wally bask in the desired attention. Meanwhile got to your feet, brushing yourself only to be met with a smirking Robin beside your figure.

"I know what you're doing and you are good at it, but I don't think it's gonna work."

"Does it ever work with Wally? He's never met a girl he's really caught deep feelings for but I'm only in it for the free food he's promised me." Came your knowing reply, softly smirking at Robin who seemed to disagree but accepted your justification nonetheless.

"There is one y'know..."

"Hey (Y/n) ready to get your ass whooped by the best there is? Fastest kid alive babe." The speedster smugly gained your deadly gaze, his boasting violating the agreement you’d struck less than 24 hours ago and thus not giving you a chance for Robin to elaborate like you’d wished.

This time you would not allow him a victory, like the others you took him out with a mischievous smile and then crouched over his waist whilst he leaned up on his elbows to meet you.

"No. Bragging." You raised a brow, tilting his chin towards you as you punctuated each word as a reminder before heading out. Although your plan had still succeeded to a degree, you walked backwards finding the Martian kneeling down to your friend inquiring about his condition as you winked at him - Wally seemingly impressed with your antics, as he usually was whenever he roped you into these scenarios.

.

You retained your attentive skills, even talking him up to M'gann but it became painfully obvious that her romantic affections were reserved for a certain clone which left you disappointed albeit pleased for her. Now, you had to break the news to Wally - you'd considered such measures while sitting against the wall in one of the Mountains many hallways bouncing a ball off of the other side as a form of contemplation.

Soon enough your felt a familiar comforting presence beside you, catching the ball and initiating a harmless game between the two of you.

"What's on your mind?" Wally knew you incredibly well, narrowing down I even the smallest quirks and he'd use that to his advantage.

"Nothing, but I'm afraid you might have to give up on M'gann."

"I know. Supes right?" He didn't seemed phased by your sympathetic disclosure, which surprised you slightly due to how long he’d spent gushing over the girl.

"Yeah, sorry West."

"It's alright. Thanks for trying, I'll still get you that pizza."

"But I didn't...?" His response was unexpected, leaving you somewhat speechless but he soon continued with conversation before you could finish, no evidence of heartbreak to be seen.

"That Dan guy you went out with? (Y/n) c'mon you're stunning, and he didn't even offer to pay the full check at the coffee shop. You deserve so much better, his flirting game was awful too." Wally reminisced on the details you’d cruelly given knowing he wouldn’t able to comment due to you deal, although such a thing was now void and you’d regretted that decision. Yet part of you enjoyed his mocking support.

"So I get the pizza but have to suffer your judgements for not getting you a date? I'm sure you have something to say about Jackson too." You threw your head back with an exaggerated sigh, Wally laughing as he replied.

"Don't get me started..."

.

How unaffected Wally seemed about the let down still puzzled you, although you believed something else must've attained his focus - not that you had any indication of what it was as you sat flicking through the channels.

"So... there's another girl." There it is.

"Dude, are you kidding me? Give yourself a month at least."

"No this one is the one, I know it." His tone was oddly confident compared to his usual dilemmas regarding that topic which automatically gained your full attention.

"Uh Huh. And when did you meet her? Love at first sight or whatever?"

"I've known her longer than a few days give me some credit here. But it wasn't at first sight, I didn't even notice it was happening or rather happened..." Wally's point was certainly more realistic in comparison and he was being truthful - again, maybe this peculiar circumstance held promise.

"You know my terms an-" You simply shrugged, assuming he wanted your assistance once more which dulled your growing investment slightly.

"No, not for this one."

"Hot damn, this woman must be special. Tell me everything!" That decision shocked you and it was evident in your tone, you excitedly encouraged him to indulge your lowkey interrogation since he never turned down your assistance.

"Yes she definitely is, but I don't know what to do for her y'know?"

"Romantic restaurant? Roses? Tell her over a romantic dinner." You listed things instantly, barely stopping for a breather.

"Would you want all that though?" Wally considered your ideas, furrowing his brows before he asked his question even if his posture radiated nervousness despite the confident facade he’d attempted to convey.

"Hah, no way! Honestly I'd love a chill night in, order a take out, put on a good series and just enjoy each other's company. I mean roses are nice too but I want to know my date likes me enough to relax and be themselves - you can't really do that in a fancy restaurant. Anyway, you should probably find out what this girl likes first." You simply smiled, giving him an honest opinion and advice for you felt he'd finally found someone more than just a crush to him.

"I guess..."

It was silent for a moment until familiar words echoed in your mind 'There is one y'know...' and instantly you stood up with your realisation.

"I know who it is!"

"What?! How?!" Wally snapped to with concern evident in his expression like a deer in headlights, unbeknownst to you why that was but he too halted in his tracks.

"Dick told me, I don't believe it Wally - it's great!" Now you had Artemis in your head, they'd hated one another at first so it certainly made sense that he'd grown to like her. They'd also kissed at New Years Eve or so you'd heard.

"Robin told you I liked you?! Are you kidding? He only knows because I thought he had a crush on you." That answer caught you off guard, practically disintegrating your ability to form a coherent sentence or even think straight due to the abruptness of it.

"Wait me? I didn't, um, I can't, since when? All the times I've been helping you with girls I... I..."

"Wait you didn't know? Okay stay there, I'm doing this again!" Wally held his hands out in defence, soon disappearing leaving you standing alone with your thoughts. A dangerous thing really.

Did you even have feelings for him? Quite possibly, that would explain why you occasionally compared dates to him and why you were always so willing to help him find his happiness but surely you wouldn't have suppressed them? It was so confusing.

Within a minute he appeared before you, a single red rose in hand and sheepish smile.

"I'm late I know that but there's no pressure for you. This is not how I expected you to find out, I aimed to flirt with you and only you before making a move so it wasn't thrown on you so suddenly but here we are. Guess I'm not great with girls without you."

With a mischievous grin, you pulled him close by his red hoodie and gently met his lips with your own and you couldn't deny how right it felt - an action you’d hope would quell the warring emotions. You pulled apart, his arms wrapped around your waist and yours on his shoulders.

"You're actually quite adequate, I'm just as surprised as you are."

"Oh you're hilarious." He matched your witty sarcasm, but still you find his happiness intoxicating.

"Can we, um could we take things slow? I know that's ironic to ask the fastest kid alive but please."

"I'd slow down for you, I want to take my time in every moment I get so it won't be a problem (Y/n). I promise." Despite the trace of concern in your voice, Wally was reassuring and sincere with his words so you both felt comfortable in whatever situation you'd crafted.

"So, I assume you won't be mocking my dates anymore."

"I think every date you'll have from now on is gonna be too great for me judge. Ah too bad, I know how much you loved me doing that." The speedster playfully responded with a knowingly satisfied smirk to which you threw him an 'are you serious?' expression.

Later, as you both sat comfortably on Wallys' bed eating pizza whilst a film played in the background, you received simultaneous texts from none other than Dick Grayson - his smugness translated even in a message.

[Dickiebird: Told you so.]

[noctuascion]

cryptage prompt: crypto does something badass in a match but gets severely injured and cant walk properly. the ring is closing in on them pretty fast and they don't have time to let the med kit he administered take effect, so mirage has to carry the nerd... gentle like hamburger... (established relationship or not is up to you!)

You never disappoint with your prompts. I'll do my best!

---

The ever-growing danger of the ring closing in on their position became more and more present the longer they remained in this elongated firefight. The sounds of a G7 popping, shattering shields, and shouts absolutely filled the area of Train Yard. When one squad fell, the other two now turning their sights on each other.

Mirage and Crypto had lost Pathfinder during the previous skirmish, meaning they were exchanging shots with a fully-formed squad. They couldn't bring him back either, since the Respawn beacon nearby had already been used. Crypto's EMP wasn't charged, and Mirage's decoy escape wasn't exactly useful, especially since his position was from above, providing him a means of using his G7 more efficiently.

However, he nearly had a heart attack upon peering over the edge of his platform, a bullet whizzing by and nearly shattering his perfectly sculpted features with a well-timed shot. Bangalore was getting nastier.

"Hey, kid?" the trickster said into their comms, clutching his gun close to his chest. "If you're gonna do something, now's probably the time. I'm kinda pinned."

Not a moment later, Mirage could hear Crypto's voice, irritation lacing his breathy voice, panting after having been chased around by both squads. Frankly, it was a miracle he was still alive.

"I'll see what I can do."

Following that almost immediately was the sound of an Eva-8 popping off, though it was quickly accompanied by Spitfire shots.

Bullets struck the hacker's shields, close to breaking them completely, but he managed to down Bangalore without taking an excessive amount of damage. The soldier swore upon being knocked down, but Crypto had very little time to celebrate, more and more bullets flying past his head and nearly shattering his already battered shields. He was quick in getting away from his assailant, rushing towards the large, broken-down building within Train Yard, sliding on his knees and avoiding anymore shots from what appeared to be Wraith spraying a vehement onslaught of an R-99.

"You're kinda low on shields, kid."

A sigh of irritation passed the hacker's lips, reloading his Eva and muttering, "If I had shield cells, I would repair them." He shook his head and peered around the corner—and Wraith was phasing now, likely trying to avoid getting shot at and attempting to raise her fallen ally.

He slid back into cover when he heard the skirmisher reappear, waited patiently, before he heard Wraith roll Bangalore onto her back, searching for the needle to revive her with. Seizing the opportunity, he rushed out of cover and pulled up his shotgun once again, aiming down the sights and pulling the trigger. The spread struck both Bangalore and Wraith, the startled skirmisher letting her ally fall to the ground again and hip-firing in Crypto's direction. His shield was broken, and the now familiar sensation of bullets piercing his skin became present, accompanied by the burning sensation of his shields breaking.

However, unlike him, Wraith lacked any actual shields, and she went down much quicker, signaling his victory at taking down the duo. Already fatigued from the continuous skirmish he found himself apart of, he reloaded his gun, noting his low supply of shotgun shells, and released a soft breath.

"Squad down…"

"'Squad'? Oh! You got Octane, too? Nice job!"

Realization struck a millisecond too late, his kneecap shattering upon a well-aimed shot from a Longbow. A pained shout escaped him, falling to his knees, hearing the telltale sound of prosthetic legs running up to his downed form.

"Eh, not bad! Too bad I'm not bad either!" the daredevil said with a chuckle, his sniper now resting on his shoulder. "Sucks to be you!"

"Mirage," the hacker seethed into his comms, hazel optics focused on the barrel of the smaller male's Longbow, now being focused on his head, "any day now."

"See ya, compadre."

Darkness immediately encompassed his vision, eyes shut tightly and preparing for the inevitable skull-shattering shot from the other. It was silent until he heard a small clattering, like something had fallen, before the sound of an explosion caused his eyes to shoot open, seeing Octane's death box a few feet behind him. He moved his body just enough to get a better look as to what exactly transpired. It appeared Mirage had gotten his hands on a frag grenade and decided it was perfectly fine to toss at his injured teammate.

"Mirage to the rescue!" announced the holographic trickster, jumping down from above and tapping Octane's death box with the barrel of his G7. "So lucky you didn't have any shields." His attention quickly turned to Crypto, the other still on the ground, knee busted and glaring at the brunet. "What? I just saved your ass. A little recon—ren—recol—renco—recognition would be nice!"

"Shut up and heal me."

Mirage opened his mouth to speak, though he snapped it shut upon hearing the familiar, horrifying hum of the ring closing in behind him. He could see Crypto's eyes widen as well, his downed teammate apparently not realizing how close it had gotten either. With Crypto down and unable to walk, there was only one thing the trickster thought to do.

Hazel eyes widened further when he felt strong, warm arms slip beneath his back and knees, easily lifting him up, the taller holding him like he weighed nothing. Scarlet colored his cheeks almost instantly, hands flying up to grasp at the hideous yellow jumpsuit the other always donned during the games. Mirage had taken off through the tunnel, heading toward the nearest Respawn beacon inside the ring; they were fortunate it wasn't too far.

"What are you doing!?"

"It's quicker this way!"

Frankly, Crypto could argue all he wanted that, if he was healed, he could easily run towards the ring himself, but they were ready to get hit by the ring anyway, and he had no syringes or med-kits on him; he would just end up knocked down in the end anyway and Mirage would end up spending even more time in the ring himself. There wasn't any guarantee he had any syringes himself, so, as much as he hated to admit it.

For a moment, though, Crypto focused on the warmth of the other's arms wrapped securely around his lithe body, the heat radiating off of the taller's sturdier form, the heartbeat he could feel beating against him. It was a nice distraction from the pain in his knee and the various other wounds he had inflicted on his body. It was strangely comforting, and, unconsciously, he let his head rest on the other's shoulder, shutting his eyes and taking in the pleasant sensations that combatted the numerous points of pain ebbing through his body.

"Y'know," Mirage started, frowning, "you're not as heavy as I thought you were. You're kinda scrawny, actually."

"I will break your arms."

"With how tiny you are, I doubt you could even break a Kit-Kat bar." A chuckle escaped him, his mirth cut short when the other's hand lifted to flick at his nose, causing him to flinch. "Okay, okay! You can totally break Kit-Kat bars."

Hazel optics rolled in mock irritation, but, with his head still resting on Mirage's shoulder and allowing himself to be carried around like so, Mirage could easily tell he wasn't as annoyed as he tried appearing.

Crypto had a pretty solid means of misdirection, wearing his oversized coat and multiple layers, belying the slender frame that lay beneath. It was obvious he still had actual weight to him, but he was still rather skinny otherwise, and carrying him wasn't exactly the chore he thought it'd be. It was actually quite nice to hold him, nice to just have him in his arms.

Unfortunately, all good things must end, for the feeling of the ring washing over them brought pain that had them both groaning in pain. By the time they managed to get into the ring, Crypto was becoming less coherent and Mirage was starting to feel himself slow down. The ring always did hurt, and he'd easily call whoever made it sadistic if he didn't already know Wattson was the creator.

Upon entering the ring and breathing a simultaneous breath of relief, Mirage moved to take refuge inside one of the many buildings littering the area. He placed Crypto on the floor gently and jabbed the revive needle into the hacker's chest, and the hacker released a sound denoting to his pain, head thunking against the floor.

"Uh, here." Mirage rooted around in his pack before pulling out two syringes and handing them to the hacker. Before Crypto could deny them, the holographic trickster quickly interrupted with that same charming smile of his, "You need 'em more than me. You can make it up to me later." With that, he flashed the other a wink and hurried off to respawn their fallen teammate.

And, as medication ran through his veins, feeling his wounds slowly stitch themselves together and feel coherency return, Crypto thought, for just a second, that Mirage was… cute, even if he was still annoying.

[aromichaelshelley]

no worries,, no need to apologise or anything, honestly getting to infodump about love greatly improved my morning, that being said, this got long so it's under the cut :))

okay so you know how gender is a social construct? as in, gender is typically based on biological sex and we use these categories to split up the population, but the reason we use this as a Whole Thing is completely arbitrary. like yeah there are some things that afab people can do that amab people can't, like carry children, but many afab people can't and don't do that either, and typically amab people are taller but this isn't always the case, you may as well split people up by whether they need glasses or not,,,, the reason gender is such a big deal is because of the social constraints that have been put on people,, that's not to say that identifying as one gender or another is meaningless or arbitrary, gender obviously *exists* but like. the way you experience gender is highly dependent on the society you exist in, do you get what i'm saying?

philosophy tube made a really good video on this that explains it much better than i could, but this relates to love because like. yeah love obviously exists, people experience love, and we can physically see in brain scans that the brain does Things when it's feeling love,, but it doesn't do the *same* thing. i recently had to read several papers on romantic attraction (for Reasons, not by choice), but i did learn that feelings of maternal love and romantic love and platonic love don't make the brain do the same chemicals in the same place... but we still *call* it love. and the way people talk about love varies wildly,, some people tell people they love them very easily and all the time and others never use the word love for their feelings,, and as you say, you love various things, and people, but you don't feel the same way about humanity as a whole as you do your hyperfixations, right? (not rhetorical, please correct me if i'm wrong),, i love toast but i don't love it in the same way as i love broccoli, which i don't love in the same way as i love my best friend, who i don't love the same way as i love my dog, who i don't love in the same way as i love my favourite characters, and i love them *so much*,, the point is, we call this love and the feelings are similar in some ways,, but they're obviously different

and then, because society is obsessed with love, any positive Non-Love-Emotion is also somehow love,, like people who say that happiness is a form of love, and grief is a form of love and excitement is a form of love and sex is a form of love and it's like. yeah you *could* say that, but those are clearly distinct emotions, y'know? and you've got all those greek words for types of love, because again, those are distinct emotions, they're not just naturally one thing,, we call them all love because that's something we do in english. again, how we express love, much like gender, varies wildly by culture. there are probably more coherent ways i could have said this but that's what happens when you write essays on tumblr mobile ://

anyway,, i'm not a loveless aro, or neurodivergent, so these are very much my own thoughts with those things in mind but not personal experience,, (i am aware people get a bit antsy if you try to tell them that their favourite social construct is just that (see: i had to read several academic articles and papers on romantic attraction after daring to suggest that labelling actions as strictly romantic or platonic was an arbitrary choice)) but that's really interesting,, seeing how other people's identities and brain things intersect is endlessly fascinating to me, and very much the kind of "this thing makes you human" and how that intersects between forms of attraction, and gender, and neurodiversity, and race, etc. especially given the fact that some people reject this message wholeheartedly (as in, 'fuck you, that thing doesn't make me human, i just am') or embrace it ('you think i'm inhuman? fuck your humanity then')- which raises the issue of people saying 'romantic love is the most pure and powerful and intense and you cant love a friend that much or in that way', where your favourite people are everything to you, 'fuck you my love is just as powerful as yours', while another person might say [essentially just my original post].

i think my point is, neither view is necessarily wrong or more empowering than the other. and also you can hold both?,, for me, i love a lot of things intensely and those things i love aren't any less special because they're not romantic, but also,, just kinda sick of people (not you, mostly just allos) saying that they have to be that strong in order for them to be worth anything.

not to sound like a bitter aro who hates fun but like. i'm so tired of people acting like love is the whole meaning of life and solves everything,,, and don't come at me with the "but not all love is romantic" I KNOW. believe me. how about you stop pretending you didn't mean romantic love when you said love

[delusion-of-negation]

think you're kind of assuming that someone is defining the self differently when that's not the case necessarily. like, I think the self is the way the brain processes - you're essentially what a computer monitor is, you take in info from the brain and translate it into a medium that's able to be easier understood and assessed, you will not know if the code for the game is right until you actually see if the character animation for walking actually looks like walking. and that is ultimately just the brain and memories. as you said. for me though, that means every mental health issue is impacting that, all the shit that I listed impacts how I think, process, act, and all that I remember (like, is my amnesia me? for it to factor into your definition gets really fuzzy, I think you're essentially saying my amnesia can be described as erasing myself, and that's very much not how I feel about it, in fact I loathe its cultural trend to see it that way and it causes a lot of pain for me and people like me, to see all the world treating us as constantly dying each day, when we have to explain that we're still us we just don't remember everything). that's not really a distinction, but also I don't see losing a part of my self that isn't valuable as a loss, like getting rid of depression isn't a loss, just like it isn't a loss if I were to get less lazy. "self" is not static, it changes constantly, you change, and for me, losing adhd wouldn't be losing any shit of value - it's not me anyway, at least to me, in any meaningful capacity beyond altering how that processing goes, meanwhile the fact that Yu-Gi-Oh means so much to me is part of me.

not in the sense of "it's the self", but in that my valued traits count that among them, y'know? because "the self" and "who I value perceiving me as being" is ultimately a different question. whereas I literally would disappear if my DID is poofed out of existence, like everything that it could possibly mean to have a "self" would be erased in terms of me, and somebody else will remain - with entirely different tastes, feelings, ways of speaking, habits, interests, processing the world, memories, etc. everything you can "count" as the "self" differs between alters, we really are different people in every way. with an issue like adhd and bpd, I'm not personally of the opinion that the "self", in my case, is made up of one more than the other - even though I also see the self as simply a collection of brain processes to view the world coherently and be able to make better decisions via the benefits of that ability to interpret, and also to a lesser extent the effect memories and experience in life can have on that interpretation. your ask is using being inborn as a qualifier, but then that changed - feels like we talked past each other. because losing a self and losing an inborn self are fundamentally different, especially in DID.

edit: by that I mean I thought the convo was in regards to whether "the self" is made of inborn traits or not, but if it's on "is the self just brain shit or is it some ethereal soul stuff" then that isn't something we differ on. but what I see for "what is a self" and what I value as "who am I?" answers, those are different, not because I am not "the self" but just like how the feeling of an action being painful is different to just saying how pain works - "that surface is this many °C and that triggered nerves to-" is not "that hurt" and it's worth distinguishing subjective things.

Tbh I myself don't mind having ADHD, I treat it as a part of me, if I could get rid of just one specific thing it'd be executive dysfunction but the other aspects aren't really...bothering me in any capacity let's say. Like I experience them but it's like...ADHD was never seen as a real disorder over here, I was raised with the idea that this is just who I am and how I am. So that's what I treat it as. Like yeah, I've had a diagnosis since I was three, but again, I've never been medicated and it's not really seen as a "real" disorder, so I treat it the way my grandpa treats his colourblidness - it's just who we are. I can't imagine not having ADHD, it'd be like not being me or like having a part of me removed. I feel like it's innate to me, much like colourblidness to my grandpa. I was born like this, so it's me. The only condition I would remove if I could is BPD because that's not me, it's not inherent to me and it's more like a broken leg or a tumour. I wouldn't really desire to remove it if it made life difficult mostly for me, I think, but it's a condition that can have external consequences and I think people around me would be much happier with my existence if I didn't have it.

if we're bringing physical health issues into the "I wish I could rid myself of..." list it's gonna be doubling xD but executive dysfunction is really one of the hardest parts of adhd for me, along with the lack of focus and the irritability that is a hellish team up of my adhd and autism and a bit of my c-ptsd. with my DID, I think having a distinction of "who I am" based on what I really am by virtue of "I was born with it" makes even less sense than it would anyway - like naturally I'm not inclined to think of it entirely that way - but with DID it's like yeah I most definitely was not born with most aspects of who I am, since I've only existed for a few years and my body is not only a few years old. I think, I mostly desire to get rid of things because of their impact on me, otherwise DID would have to go because it definitely bugs other people but like... I'm really not gonna poof off this planet just because it's annoying for people that I'm unpredictable and shit. maybe that's selfish, but I think most folks wouldn't be like "yeah I'll die just because I can be a dick to my friends sometimes", y'know? it really is a tough conundrum and a tough place to know exactly where to draw the lines, and it totally is valid wherever you personally want to.