#also all of the choices are. intentional. whoops!

[whatareyoudoingwithamaserati]

Getting personal on the track but man. What if I said disabled Jepexx with chronic pain and muscle weakness, maybe some tics and absence seizures. Always acting larger than life so he doesn’t have to acknowledge how in pain he is, laughing the loudest at jokes and making sure that everyone knows he’s alive, he’s here, he’s fun. He needs a shower chair and grab bars, maybe some forearm crutches, but he doesn’t actually use them because he’s afraid to be looked at differently. His friends joke about how he says weird shit at the worst times (coprolalia) zones out in the middle of conversations (petit mal seizures) and has greasy hair (too in pain to shower) and he refuses to explain that it’s because he’s hurting. It’s all a part of his front of Normal Person Who Doesn’t Care when really he’s in so much pain all the time and fights so hard to appear normal. Because what does he have if he’s not the normal abled Jepexx he always was? Maybe he has a severe crash, one where he has to stop hiding his symptoms and is forced to come to terms with the wreck of his body. Maybe he flares up and can’t go to school for a week and gets teased about skipping. I just think he should be disabled!!!!!! Fuck!!!!!

[snackugaki]

.... i have been so normal about wanting to draw tactical!Venus and tactical!Jennika.

hey. HEY. y’all need to go check out @donathan ‘s artwork, and if you are the proper age, go throw some money into their patreon for some... some real, real good art. 👀👀👀 ...but do not if you are a minor, that shit ain’t for you.

some IDW TMNT comic spoilers... and.... I guess... Next Mutation ssspoilers? I know some of you kids haven’t turtled up and watched my beloved childhood iteration yet.

alright, so, y’know, completely normal expenditure of my energy and skillset, amirite? big big thanks to @/donathan for allowing me to play around in their AU’s aesthetic because I have severe, terminal VenusAndJennikaDeserveEverythingoccocal SoIWillManifestItMyselfitis.

and tbh, all y’all’s fics have been, mwah, chef’s kiss. but SOME of you put LORE. delicious, tasty, appetite-inducing lore.

and i am nothing but the littlest hoebag for lore.

okay so, quick rundown for those who both A) are immune to spoilers B) also do not know Venus or Jennika’s origins-- bulletpoint time~!

So Venus de Milo, the “girl turtle”, the “fifth turtle” (not counting April’s extremely brief stint as a white-bandana’d turtle in the Archie comics run) was introduced in 1997′s Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation

An episode of “The Toys That Made Us” touched upon Venus’ creation so idk it’ll cover what I won’t deign to acknowledge.

her backtory is interesting (just her show was a trashfire /affectionate)

Master Splinter’s frolicking around in the dreamscape where all the cool enlightened old people hang out away from teenagers, right?

but oh no! dragon lord, a bad dude with a widow’s peak to rival Vegeta Dragonball’s widow’s peak; is there too! stomping around, ruining shit!

Splinter’s dreamscape buddy Chung I warns Splinter to stay out of the dreamscape ‘cuz Dragon Lord’s around

And like in true old people fashion, just ignores his friend’s admonition and tries to investigate himself

bad choice, womp womp

Splinter gets trussed up and rendered “stuck” in the dreamscape

cue the catalyst for Venus to make the 10+ flight from China to the U.S

don’t worry about what the boys were doing, just literal surfing in sewer grey water, breaking their little turtle skulls on cinderblocks, and picking fights in warehouses with Foot clan goons

tl;dr Venus still has Sixth Ranger mode on, so naturally she whoops all of their asses in the dark, ties them up (like how some of y’all enjoy writing Leo does huhu nudgenudge winkwink)

venusistheoriginalshibarienthusiastandteadrinkerfightme

and then, y’know, it’s still the 90s and children’s television so blah blah the usual “oH My gOd a GiRL tURTle???/?? AWoooOOogaaa ga ga ga” 

it’s.... I mean, i’m 38 so it no longer strikes me as bad as just really fucking embarrassing... for them. to be written saying. fuck, at least they didn’t make her bandana color pink.

so fast forward to Venus teaching them to dreamwalk so they can go rescue Splinter from Dragon Lord’s clutches in the dreamscape.

unfortunately, Dragon Lord offscreen murders Chung I so Venus is narratively anchorless post-rescue, so she’s invited to stay with them. thus ensues wacky hijinks with their new pal, Venus Boom Boom de Milo.

I glossed over the urge to write a cumulative review of Next Mutation. Just, take my word as the target demographic of the show during the last gasps of 90s Turtlemania that TNM was a trashfire overall but... y’know... if you ever needed a palette cleanser after some grimdark or angsty TMNT content, give TNM a whirl. The slapstick was intentional and The Point in the show. Venus’ circumstances for coming was as serious as it would get.

... Also, yes, they made them not related in TNM, preteen snackugaki didn’t clock why because I watched a lot of wuxia as a kid so brotherhood is a term beyond blood ties to me (and if I’m being honest, martial brotherhood is fkkn metal) and later I heard tell that it was to lure more girls into the franchise with both a girl turtle and romance options. which idk whatevs man. 

I also have to clear that, actually no, Donatello and Venus did not fight EVERY episode. Donatello, despite sprinkling a little too much barely disguised snobbery, did defer to Venus’ expertise in “the supernatural” when the situation called for it, and Venus would commend Donnie on his scientific ingenuity. They even teamed up skillsets to create surveillance drones! She essentially casted Calm Emotions on him while he tried to hack the controls of the Astro Megaship back for the In Space Rangers. They breached the divide between STEM and Humanities! They only had one “real fight" near the end of the season-- because Donnie was playing his containment breach elevator mid trash copyright strike immune proto-EDM too loud while she was trying to meditate. and that’s just being bad roommates tbh.

...christ I know it’s gonna come up too, but also NO, there was not constant advances made toward Venus during the show. At most was Mikey pulling his ol’ “I work out every day~!” schtick for like 2 episodes of the 5 spent to introduce Venus. And then after? A shipper’s desert, you’d have to dig and peer behind like 8 curtains for any viable fodder. 

...OKAY NOW FOR JENNIKA’S ORIGINS: Jennika is an IDW character specifically so, naturally why she isn’t in (or would’ve been, AHEM) a lot of iterations yet (or at all, COUGH) (but to continue in honesty there’s a lot of legal tape to cut through since Jennika is IDW’s while TMNT overall is Nick’s) Introduced as a Foot Assassin, her place in the Foot Clan shifts when Splinter takes over from Shredder (Saki), eventually she forms actual bonds with both the turtles and Splinter to where it’s implied she also saw him as an important figure to her if not an outright surrogate father figure. And because TMNT is mess and drama the other 50% of the time, Karai takes over the Foot from Splinter and shenanigans compounded by Karai’s then-current machinations for the Foot-- results in Jennika getting shanked in the stomach by Karai during a clandestine meeting to resolve clan rivalry. She’s losing blood fast, Donnie works to save her and it’s Leo who volunteers for blood transfusion to keep her stable mid-transit. 

SURPRISE!

Leo’s blood mutates Jennika into a mutant turtle. And then Casey ghosts/dumps her. My poor daughter. She has a real rough time of it before fully integrating with the boys. Raph falls in with Old Hob, gets hoodwinked, and now they live in Mutant Town. Jennika slowly finds herself again, as a mutant turtle, a Splinter clan ninja, a girlfriend, a guitarist in a band she started, a sister in a found family, and a constable to a very little town.

okay! we’re all marginally informed about my two wonderfull daughters, Venus and Jennika~!

so if I can indulge further, I’m going to use my cognizance and make it everyone’s problem because I have beem quietly foaming with ideas for bg lore for tactical!J&V, more bullet points!

ok so, donathan mentioned a bit about their tac! Leo and Donnie being the snipers, Mikey and Raph spotting for them while also being demolitions and heavy ordinance specialists respectively

I would think, then for Vee and Jen, they’d be classified as close quarters combat specialists, complicated extraction? compromised area? call them to clean up and clear out~

give or take “magic” being a thing used in donathan’s AU, or anyone’s AU of this AU, Vee would probably be a close combat specialist along with Jen.

Vee, I feel, would, barring a ...”tactical fan”, (even though in TNM it was just her fists and her little wizard components but her toy came with a fan so.) probably use batons, Jen in lieu of her tekagi-shuko would... most likely use tactical karambit. not that large of a leap really.

for my personal lulz, Vee and Jen are... accurate, height-wise. Raph gets to be the biggest brother since alligator snapping turtles are, in fact, the largest motherfucking freshwater turtles on the north american continent. no getting around it.

my Vee in all Rise AUs is a softshell since the messy hanzi used to write her first given name, Mei Pieh Chi (美鱉气) has the hanzi that’s most commonly translated as softshell turtle (鱉). eh ‘di wow talaga

snacku what do you mean ‘accurate’???? tl;dr female turtles are usually the larger ones in most species.

and listen, I love and I mean LOVE, how some of y’all have written the tac!boys, mwah; but god I’m a professional turtle bully. I need to see them get dunked on. for nutritional value. and if it comes to it, I will provide that food for myself. brb laughing at eventually drawing Venus just offhandedly tossing Donnie into the air to skeet shoot his ass for fun brings me the greatest joy.

they absolutely dote on Mikey, as is the natural order of things. 

and even tho I stated TNM Donnie and Venus got along in the show, and depending on the existence of magic in this AU; I just really love dichotomous rivalries (in as much “science” and “magic” exist as a dichotomy, much less as “diametrically oppose” fields-- just, opposites man. i’m a simple girl with simple trope needs)

Vee’s arms (and legs) are absolutely covered in burns, scars, and missing flesh divots, just as close to swiss cheese limbs as you can be

Jen and Donnie debate tracks that go into their joint “On Our Way To Commit Murder” playlist

if Vee’s tactical look seem very familiar, and you’re wondering if-- yes, you’re correct. and you can “call her ms. de milo if ya nasty”

Vee was actually pretty calm and rational in TNM... but for this AU, she can be a little unhinged, as a well-deserved treat. (and ‘cuz that specific anime unhinged facial expression is fun as fuck to draw, which is my treat)

[wxnheart]

𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

note: the idea for this came up out of the blue and I was encouraged to write it so here you go. the premise is simple: what picture of your significant other do you have as your lock screen? as always, I hope y'all enjoy it! And now we have the sequel!

Captain John Price - About as sickeningly sweet vanilla as you can get. Your lock screen is a picture of him geared up, signature hat on, holding a lit cigar, and smiling at the camera like he won the lottery. You always told him his smile was radiant. Seeing him smile makes your day.

Gaz - Your lock screen is a picture of him hard at work. He's reading something and boy, is he concentrating hard. He doesn't believe you when you tell him that he scrunches his nose up while he's thinking. Well, now you have proof.

Soap - You swoon every time your phone lights up. It's a photo of him flexing one arm, smiling, and winking into the camera. You managed to get him after he finished working out and getting those gains. You also may or may not have jumped his bones right after taking said pic. Gah, you fucking love this man...

Ghost - LMAO. So you were trying to be discreet about it (emphasis on the word trying) and capture Ghost just standing there, gun in his hands, minding his business. Menacingly. Motherfucker got your ass because just as soon as you pressed the button, he looked right at you. So now you have a picture of Ghost standing there, gun in hand, minding his business and glaring staring at you. Menacingly. Reactions to your lock screen are either "Holy shit, who the FUCK is that?" or "Wow, he looks cool." You can only sigh adoringly every time you see it. That's Babygurl for you.

Alejandro Thee Stallion - You have a picture of him running a hand through his hair with his eyes closed. No, it isn't intentional; he was actually scratching his head. BUT, it was just the perfect moment and hell yeah, you rejoiced when you got it! He looks modelesque and orgasmic in it. You showed it to Rudy and now Alejandro is wondering why Rudy looks like he wants to laugh every time he sees him.

Rudy - It's actually a picture of you and him together being all cute and shit. And that actually wasn't your first choice. It was originally a picture of him knocked the hell out, bundled up in his favorite blanket, and having the best nap of his life. He looks so boyishly cute when he sleeps. Rudy actually had to put on the puppy dog eyes so you wouldn't make that your lock screen because he's had that blanket as long as he's known Alejandro (who has also seen said blanket) and apparently there's a betting pool going around in Los Vaqueros around the fact that Rudy has yet to get rid of it. It's a long story.

König - You actually have a picture of him sitting down against a wall, arms on his knees looking cool as a cucumber. He's really just chillin', taking in the atmosphere, and staring into space. Looks badass doing it, too. His eyes are pretty entrancing and the picture really puts into perspective how tall König is because he absolutely does not look it when he's sitting down. You also realized that he likes to make himself comfortable in confined spaces. Huh. Wonder if he's aware of that, too. He caught a glimpse of your lock screen by accident and whether you know it or not, he's flattered that he's the first thing you see when you look at your phone.

Phillip Graves - You got a picture of him doing his best Zoolander impression (Blue Steel, y'all) because you forgot to turn the flash off. Whoops. Don't you dare show that to the rest of Shadow Company. Spoiler Alert: You... kinda-sorta-really do. Whoops.

Valeria Garza - One word. Badass. She looks like a fucking badass on your lock screen. Those toned arms and tattoos are out for the world to see. Windswept tresses. And she's smirking at you, too? Oh, baby! You're falling in love all over again.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

(i kept forgetting to make this post for a while and only remembered when i was reading @antispopausandstuff 's recent post; sorry for the tag!)

i have to say this: catra having a mental breakdown basically every single season was pathetic.

usually villains have a third-act breakdown where they realize that they're losing to the heroes or they're losing control over their own allies, and they spiral into anger and desperation.

azula's spiralling in s3 of atla is a clear example of this, as she goes from the level-headed, cunning prodigy to a child who has lost everyone in her life and is desperately trying to use fear to keep people around. it's tragic because yes, she's a horrible person who enjoys torturing people and seeing them in pain, but she's also a 13 year old who was groomed into the perfect soldier by her father.

not all third-act breakdowns are like this though. sometimes instead of feeling bad for the villain, we feel satisfied seeing their downfall, because they weren't a sympathetic character in the slightest and they deserved to have that realization right before getting their ass whooped.

with catra, i get neither of these. i guess i felt a little bad for her the first time and i felt satisfied the second time, but then it just got boring.

there was no need for her to have a meltdown in every single season, only for the writers to use it as an excuse to make catra do even worse shit and hurt more people.

not to mention, her mental state wasn't consistent enough during these breakdowns. let me explain. let's take the s3 one, for instance.

catra is clearly rattled by the knowledge that shadow weaver picked adora over her (which.. wow who would have thought. but whatever). she is dissociating as she walks back to scorpia, there are tears in her eyes, she's devastated.

but then, as soon as catra reaches the horde with adora as her prisoner, she seems perfectly fine. she's calm and smirking proudly as she throws a bound adora to the floor.

and then when entrapta tries to oppose catra's attempts at opening the portal, oh no! catra is not mentally well again and she electrocutes entrapta. and she threatens to do the same to scorpia.

and then she goes right back to being calm and tells hordak that entrapta betrayed him (i'm sorry i don't care how good at lying someone is, i doubt they can deliver such a convincing lie when they are in a poor mental state) and mocks him for trusting entrapta.

and then throughout the portal sequence, catra is oddly calm. not just during the false reality, when she was pretending that everything was normal, but even after that when she starts sadistically torturing adora.

this doesn't seem like a character who finally snapped and is doing horrible things in a desperate attempt to regain control. it reads as a character who always wanted to do horrible things and finally got the chance to do it.

i can't view catra's breakdown in s3 as sympathetic because her actions seemed so intentional. the writers didn't even try to make it look like catra was going through some serious mental health issues and was only making such a dangerous choice because of that.

coming back to my original point, repeating a trope (especially a one-time trope like this) quickly gets stale. and it's even funnier when you think about the fact that catra basically had a dedicated mental breakdown every season and still didn't learn her lesson.

you stop feeling sorry for her and start rolling your eyes, wondering what atrocities she's going to commit this time. it's just the same thing over and over again, and it's funny that the writers used this as a way to keep reminding viewers that catra is a poor traumatized baby who definitely didn't make the choices that led to all this.

it's just bad writing. sure, in real life, people may have multiple breakdowns if they going through some shit. i can certainly attest. but it just doesn't work from a story point of view, especially when the writers refuse to hold catra accountable for your actions. mental health issues or not, you are responsible for your actions and you should work on changing your unhealthy coping mechanisms.

[whats-she-gonna-post-next]

hi!

for the drabble can you do anything with snowbugs? :)

Ok... Listen... I know it has been over a month. I am so sorry. I got distracted. I hope that you accept these 1.8k words that I wrote as an apology.

Anyways, it's technically not snowbugs yet... But they are totally endgame, it will happen. Also feel free to imagine whoever you want as the fellow heroes and villains. I didn't really bother distinguishing them... Whoops

-

Scott’s hands shook, his breath shuttered in his chest, his blood roared in his ears, power pulled tight around his throat like a noose, his mind was racing.

It was too much. It was too soon. He’d told them it was too soon, that he wasn’t ready, and yet here he was.

“Pull back!” He heard the call of his squad captain, “He’s too dangerous!”

Scott shuttered, another wave of cold power pulsed through the warehouse they had been fighting in as he tried desperately to contain it.

He hated this.

You see, Scott was still new to this whole powers thing. For most of his life he, and everyone else around him, had assumed Scott didn’t have powers. Not exactly an uncommon occurrence in their world, though you were still more likely to end up with something mundane than nothing at all, however, so it was ever so slightly disappointing when he passed milestone after milestone without tried or trace of any sort of power. By the time he reached adult hood, he figured that was it. Developing a power after eighteen was uncommon enough, but a major one - that was practically unheard of.

Scott was 28 when he developed the ability to completely freeze anything with little more than the flick of his hand.

He had reported the development immediately to the government, as the had a mandated training program for people with powers above a certain level classification. He had gone in expecting to be trained on control, to learn how to go about his normal day again and leave. The more intensive hero program that was designed to allow individuals the ability to help fight against rogue power users was - as far as everyone was told - entirely voluntary, and Scott and no desire to do anything but return to his normal life.

He found out the hard way that voluntary had a much looser definition when a power is considered too strong or in particular demand. Sure, he had the choice to forego the program, but he would have been marked a rogue and likely sent to prison, so he agreed, and Smajor was born.

They fast tracked him through the program, skipping the basics and barely letting him get a grasp on how to marginally reign in the cold beyond focusing and keeping calm before thrusting him out into combat training.

It hadn’t been the worst, Scott had been learning how to focus his powers in calm environments and it had been going well, so long as he had no distractions.

Then they got the call that Tek was out with some other villains, causing problems, and Scott was sent out with a team to deal with him specifically.

Tek was, for all intents and purposes, the reason Scott didn’t get a say in joining the hero program. Strong elemental powers like his ice were rare, which while likely would have subjected him to pressures to join, Tek had his opposite in fire and they had no heroes with strong enough powers to go against it. At least until now.

Scott tried to protest, to tell his handler - and how he loathed that title - that he wasn’t ready for that level of fight. Hell, Scott was pretty well certain he wasn’t ready for team training exercises yet, but it didn’t matter in the eyes of the higher ups.

“Sometimes it’s sink or swim, kid,” He was told, “When the time comes, you’ll know what to do.”

Protests that he was going to sink going unanswered as he was stuffed into a far too regal looking blue and while suit, gold accents only calling more attention to him, and pushed front and center as other members of his team squared off and distracted other villains, until it was just Scott staring at Tek with barely hidden fear, and Tek returning the stare with bemused confusion.

Scott couldn’t breath as the noise around them grew. He knew what he should be doing, he knew that people were counting on him, but all he could focus on was the ever growing sense of terror as he stared at the flames that casually danced along Tek.

How was he supposed to fight him? The casual confidence of a man who had years to master his power verse the maybe six months Scott had had to do the same.

Everyone was relying on Scott, and he was going to fail.

He watched the bemusement slip from Tek’s face, turning to genuine confusion, realization, then - oddly enough - nervousness. He had opened his mouth to speak, but Scott made out none of what he said through the blood rushing in his ears. It wasn’t until he heard a curse from one of his teammates that he realized that a sheet of ice had been snaking out along the ground around him, small spikes of ice budding up in places without say.

“Dammit Smajor,” The angry tone broke through his revelry, “Focus! Them, not us!”

The words just make things worse, anxiety spiking, pulsing cold echoing the beating of his heart as it matched the frantic pace. Scott did his best to pull the powers back, trying to focus on breathing as several eyes turned towards him, tried to ignore the expectations piling on him.

“What the hell do you idiots think you’re doing?” Scott heard one of the villains ask, “Sending out a kid this green when he can barely keep a grasp on his own powers?”

Scott wants to laugh. Hadn’t he been asking the exact same thing? He pulled his arms across his body as if he can physically hold his powers in. All it does is cause ice to grow across his torso as he sinks to his knees. The ice seems to get worse, a small snow flurry begins, building rapidly inside the tiny warehouse.

Why can’t he just breath?

“Pull back, he’s too dangerous” The call is made and the bubble of laughter finally breaks through.

‘So much for avoiding jail time after this shit show,’ He thinks bitterly, laughter quickly turning to sobs. He just wanted to go home.

He distantly hears the sound of movement, can feel the disturbances against his ices as several people move to exit or take cover from the ticking time bomb Scott has become. He can hear the sound of heroes and villains alike arguing about him.

Oddly enough it sounds like the villains are the ones on his side, somehow.

In the midst of this, he is surprised by a warm hand on his shoulder. He flinches back, another wave of power emanates from him and he desperately tries to pull it in, focus it on himself as his looks up, meeting Tek’s eyes through his mask. Warmth and compassion shine through. He seems unaffected by Scott’s powers, any ice that gets near him melting. He doesn’t even shiver.

Scott envy’s him for a moment.

“Hey, Smajor was it?” He asks, casual as can be, as if Scott wasn’t actively turning the room into a walk in freezer. The absurdity of it gives Scott pause for a moment, and he finds himself nodding, “Nice to meet you, I’m Tek.”

“I- I know that,” Scott replies, confused, “I think most people know that.”

Tek smiles at him, and it’s so bright and warm that Scott wants to lean into it, to keep it there.

“I suppose the costumes a pretty big give away, isn’t it?” There is something soothing to his voice that calms Scott down some. The noose around his throat loosens, the next wave of power seems softer, “I can’t imagine that feels all to great.”

Tek gestures to where Scott’s hands are wrapped around himself, the shards of ice pressing into his sides, the tears in his own costumes it has made, “Do you want to maybe move your hands?”

He makes an aborted move to talk to hands but Scott pulls back some, hangs clenching tighter, causing him to flinch yet again.

“I can’t,” He admits, “I don’t- I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Tek’s eyes soften, but there is a determination there as well.

“It’ll be ok, you can let go,” His voice is unwavering and assured, Scott wants to believe him, “You won’t hurt me.”

Maybe it’s the fact that Scott knows what Tek’s powers are, knows how strong they are and how in control of them he seems to be, maybe it’s the look in his eyes, the determination and strength that bolsters his own in turn, maybe it’s just the fact that he is the first person who is telling him to let go instead of reign in, but Scott believes him.

Slowly, without breaking eye contact, Scott unclenches his hands from his sides, letting Tek gingerly wrap his hands around Scott. They are warm, warmer than anything Scott has held in a long time.

To be honest, Scott can’t remember the last time someone touched him for more than a moment, let alone held his hand.

It had to have been before his powers manifested, but even then, Scott didn’t have a ton of friends, and none of them had been very touchy-feely.

Was touch always this warm?

Was Scott always this cold?

“There you go,” Tek was smiling at him proudly, as if Scott had just accomplished some great task, “See, everything is fine.”

He is vaguely aware of the fact that the storm around them has calmed, his breathing stabilizing, adrenaline draining from his body, leaving him exhaustively swaying where he was kneeing. Without thought, Scott leaned forward, letting himself fall against the warm body in front of him.

To his credit, Tek doesn’t even flinch, catching him with ease and o=pulling him close.

He can hear others coming closer, but he can’t bring himself to care. He was tried and Tek was so so warm. He relaxed into him, eyes slipping closed as he barely listens to the conversation above him, registering little than Tek’s answers as they echoed against his ear, pressed to the soothing beat of his heart.

“Are we really surprised something like this happened?” Tek asked, voice rumbling soothingly through his chest, “Of course those idiots are so desperate to one up us that they would push someone harder and faster than they should and then run when it crumbles.”

There is more conversation overhead and Scott finds himself slipping into a daze before;

“Of course he is coming with us. We can’t leave him to those morons.”

The arms around him move, but before he can protest, they wrap around him differently, lifting him gently. Maybe he should feel worried, as he’s carted off by a group of villains, but Scott figures if they were going to hurt him, they’d have done in by now, so he leaves that to future Scott, and lets himself slip into sleep.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got you now.”

[the-matron-of-ravens]

Genuinely curious, what are your thoughts on Dancer and FCG cuz like, he Literally, not figuratively, tried to kill her and did kill all of her companions at the time. I can see being critical cuz she doesn't seem to treat them like sentient beings, but even in the canon... most of the automatons aren't. Just some of the really old ones from Aeor/other old cities, right? So? She got a whoops!sentient microwave, treated them like a microwave, they killed all her friends and almost her and she's supposed to....? Be good buds with them? Also I know it's said that she trauma dumped on FCG, but let's switch it from microwave to personal journal - how would YOU feel if your personal journal popped to life and attacked you for trauma dumping? IDK haha I guess Idk you opinions and I'm just responding to my projected assumptions of your opinion. REALLY I'd 100% sincerely would like to hear your thoughts. I was really bothered by FCG pushing to meet with Dancer. Like jeez just leave her alone, you're her literal sleep paralysis demon, read the room.

Hey! Thanks for the ask, I put this a little bit in the tags but I can elaborate more here. (Edit: elaborate A LOT MORE it seems)

So here goes, I don’t know if you meant it this way but the analogy of a journal or microwave is helpful here because that’s exactly how Dancer treated FCG - as a tool to be used. But they *aren’t*. FCG is a whole being with emotions and thoughts all of which are apparent and so clearly distinct from other automatons.

So tbh, I think the perspective of “whoops! Sentient bot” makes sense for like a month, max. Not years. After all, we have seen NPC after NPC recognize FCG is a sentient being almost immediately after meeting him. I find it VERY hard to believe that Dancer never realized it herself.

Additionally, we need to step out of the plot itself and look at FCG’s mechanics. We know that every time he heals, takes damage for someone else, etc. he takes stress points, and that once past a certain threshold his switch flips and he goes full Murderbot.

We also know that rest and recovery are what reduces FCG’s stress points. So that tells us that Dancer was using and using and using FCG and not letting him rest (enough? At all?) even though he needed it. Because again he’s a person not a tool.

Even when they met back up recently and FCG sobered her up she remarked how she missed him doing that for her. And while I don’t expect her to miss him, I do think it’s indicative of her interest in him never being about him as a person but only how he could serve her.

And if we want to criticize FCG for his lack of boundaries, inability to take no for an answer and pathological need to fix Dancer sure that’s fair. He needs to unlearn a lot of that and quick. But we then have to ask ourselves where did those traits come from? They didn’t come from nowhere.

FCG is mentally extremely YOUNG. Aside from the 6?-ish Months spent with Ashton all he remembers is his time with Dancer. So, if FCG has a pathological need to fix others, to help them, and feels worthless if he’s unable to do so - that comes from how Dancer treated and trained him.

That doesn’t just go away; ESPECIALLY not when FCG doesn’t even remember going postal and doesn’t see to have the (IMO) most clear and realistic view of his and Dancer’s relationship.

After all look how he interacts with the Changebringer. She’s his surrogate Mom/Dancer. He needs someone to tell him how to feel, think, and what’s Good and Bad because he doesn’t know how to do it for himself - because he wasn’t *taught* to.

But here’s my real question. What do we call one person keeping another person in service to them, with no compensation or personhood to be had, and with no intentions of releasing that person from that service? That’s slavery my dude. AT BEST indentured servitude.

(but that implies there’s a debt. What debt? Waking him up? He didn’t ask for that; that was her choice.

And again this sounds a lot like children being “indebted” to parents for giving them life, housing, feeding, etc. )

That’s the part I can’t get over. And that’s the part I can’t get behind where FCG is the abusive one. The power differential was NEVER in FCG’s court; he never once thought of himself as a person or as anything but in service of “Soul Touched”. That complete sacrifice of yourself and your needs (or an inability to even know you HAVE needs) comes from being in relationships where those things are expected/demanded.

So, yeah, he literally tried to kill her, and I gotta be real I’m not surprised. Even children of abusive parents who they love snap sometimes. Because again, that’s mentally what he was at the time. A child.

But even then, no I don’t think it’s unreasonable or unrealistic for Dancer to be traumatized or not want to see FCG again. I don’t even think she’s wrong to say “I can’t give you closure” because closure isn’t something other people give you.

But the way she’s been discussed to be largely clueless about his sentience, blameless in his blow up, and FCG’s victim? I just can’t get behind that. Like at all.

[arithmonym]

Been thinking about your ace cam fic where she initiates and is like hm yes i am good at being a scientist. And then is like YIKES WAIT NVM. Bc ive lived that experience several times lmao and you wrote it super well in a way that i feel like fits them. It Stuck with me.

Anyway Im reading this autostraddle article you reblogged and looking at the consent chart (screenshot included) and Im curious about where you feel she falls on that chart. I interpreted it as “willing consent (when i care about you even though i dont desire you right now)” but yeah im curious about your meta on it

(fic link, for context.)

that’s a difficult question!! i don’t think there’s a straightforward answer; and camilla is an unreliable narrator in this fic, so that confounds the issue.

the way she narrates the encounter prior to her withdrawal, i think “willing consent” is the closest approximation: she doesn’t desire palamedes, but she’s making the choice to have sex with him because she cares about him, and they’re both hurting in the wake of dulcinea’s rejection. she doesn’t expect to get anything out of it except the reassurance that she and palamedes are still bound tightly together, but she doesn’t expect to be harmed by it, either (…so long as she can stop herself from thinking about how it might affect their necro-cav dynamic, which she prioritizes more than any romantic or sexual relationship they could have).

from a meta perspective, the setting of chapter two is very intentional: it’s where camilla trained as a child (first for her own benefit, then for his), and it’s where she first started to internalize the societal messaging that her autonomy was less important than her his.

(i took gymnastics for a few years as a kid, and the rope climb made me cry sometimes. i could do the other skills fine, but i struggled with the coordination required—not to mention the attention of my peers as i failed. this is camilla, ashamed she wasn’t better (at a task that objectively means nothing vis-a-vis “being a good cavalier”), because she’s grown to a point where she bases her self-worth on being useful to him.)

(then, at the end, she’s lying on her back on the mat, staring up at the bell, exactly like she’s just fallen off the rope. again. introjected conditions of worth go brrrrrr.)

the paragraph under that chart clotheslined me, because whoops, been there, done that, and i think it rings truer to what’s actually happening with cam in this fic:

even as she refuses to acknowledge it, camilla knows that she’s making a mistake. she doesn’t want to desire palamedes. she doesn’t want this to become a part of their dynamic, she wants this to be a one-off that they never speak of again (because she doesn’t really want it to happen in the first place)—but she’s also terrified of losing him. her decision to initiate rather than pull away is 100% informed by the fact that dulcinea has just rejected palamedes, and cam perceives something as simple as prioritizing her own wants/needs as a rejection, on a day when that’s a very sensitive subject. this tips the scale more towards the “unwilling” side, IMO, but it’s a huge grey area (badum-tsss, sixth house pun).

TL;DR: i think consent gets tricky in the context of cavaliers and necromancers and how all-encompassing that relationship can be!! i love all interpretations of campal, but i thought this one was worth exploring (especially as this fic is also me processing that i’m on the ace spectrum, and it reflects the struggle to work out my own boundaries with sex).

bonus: screenshot from when i first brought this fic up with my friends.

[bengiyo]

La Pluie: Not All Gays Are Great

Alright, besties, let’s get into it. This episode was fantastic, and every moment was earned by the character work laid out across the entirety of this show (@lurkingshan ). I want to dig into the ways gay men can fail each other with communication breakdowns and the often-masculine need to control situations. Despite his exploding temper in this episode, I still love Patts. I am going to write this entire essay with the full intent to defend my boy.

Tagging my Patts Defense Squad Member @lurkingshan

We’ve got a lot to discuss, and I just want to post this screenshot because every gay in crisis is one of my favorite things ever.

Lomfon: That Boy is Rude

Lomfon is the kind of nonbeliever that I find so annoying (@shortpplfedup). He has a moment that makes him question his convictions and does not proceed rationally about it with any compassion for anyone else. He could have just brought all four of them together, explained his hypothesis, and asked to solve it together.

See, but Lomfon is a drama queen. Instead, he corners Tai into a date and into the rain, reveal their rain connection, and then kiss him.

He also did not reciprocate on Tien’s attempted pinky touch. This is a huge offense!

And he lied! He heard Patts AND Tai! He only mentions that he heard Tai!

I’m sorry, but I come of “Talk shit, get hit.” He deserved that ass whooping.

Patts: He Deserves to be Angry

Patts’ anger was scary. I full admit that. I’ve always treated anger as a response to losing control. So much of this show is about Patts letting go of his desire to control his relationships. He has avoided conflict with Nara, and he’s been patient with Tai’s reticence for over two years.

In this episode, Tai asked Patts for forever, and then the next time something comes between them Tai opts to lie to Patts. When confronted directly about this, Tai retreats and refuses to discuss. @ginnymoonbeam discussed this here. He says it plainly this episode: “…The only thing I can’t bear with is your silence.”

He’s been good about Tai giving and rescinding consent across their relationship. When Tai asked him for forever and they went home, Patts told him that he wouldn’t be able to hold back anymore. In this episode, Tai chooses to not trust him, lie to him, and then not explain himself. I appreciate that Tai copes with avoidance, but it’s not going to work when Patts needs Tai to acknowledge what’s happening with them.

Also, this show has shown people hurt and bruised from trauma. Patts didn’t hit Lomfon hard enough to leave a real mark, and let him keep yelling the whole time.

Sincerely, Tai is the one who needs to reconcile with Patts.

Tai: He Reads Too Much Romance

So much of Tai’s behaviors for me make sense through the lens of someone who reads too much romance. He expects Patts to understand his thoughts even as Patts is telling him directly that he doesn’t because Tai hasn’t shared them with him.

He decides to go and humor the romantic rival. I genuinely believe he thought he would try to understand the Lomfon situation and let him down and was instead blindsided by the soulmate reveal and kiss. I also get his fear when Patts got angry.

gif by @liyazaki

However, I really love that the universe answered Tai’s plea. At a moment of genuine crisis, the world respected his choice (@liyazaki). This show has always been about how the choice to love people is the key. Love is a choice you make constantly, and the universe respected Tai’s choice to sever those connections. Will he enjoy what he finally got?

gif by @liyazaki

Like Lee Wan in Our Dating Sim, Tai doesn’t appreciate the pain that he’s inflicted on Patts. I am still recovering from Patts asking, “Is it that hard to choose me?” With all of the things that happened at the beginning of this episode, I think it is cruel of Tai to put Patts through that.

I think the line, "If you don't understand my silence, then you won't understand what I will say," is absolutely unfair.

Tien: You Have Done Nothing Wrong and I Love You

I am with my good sis @shortpplfedup and Tien is the main person I feel sorry for. He has done absolutely nothing wrong, and he was absolutely correct when he told Lomfon off. Lomfon also needs to apologize to him, and I will not tolerate Tien doing any more work to fix these people.

gif by @ayan-sukkhapisit

He deserves so much better.

It Doesn’t Matter if You Broke It. You Can Fix It or Make Something New

As @shortpplfedup said to me in a side chat, “If you can break a soulmate connection then you can forge one.” I’m excited about Patts and Tai being apart next week as he heads back to his family and reckons with his choices and the implications for the world.

More than anything I want to take away form this episode, it’s that our lives do not play out like romance novels and we have to appreciate that our actions have consequences that impact other people’s lives. We cannot treat everyone else, especially our partners, as side characters in our lives. Tai and Lomfon’s biggest mistakes this episode are in their selfishness and lack of regard for others.

Both Tai and Lomfon need to do the work of repairing what they’ve broken this episode. It’s okay for them to have to do that. Gay people are not required to be perfect. What we need to do is be kind.

[misty-caligula]

I’m so pleased with the pacing of yj, in general. If it wasn’t for that pacing I don’t think it’d hit quite so well. It’s the slow burn that really sells how they get there.

I’ve been telling my friends and people about yj that ep 1 act 1 scene 1 is a promise, not only of the level of intensity that we’re going to, but also that when we get there we’ll understand why, how we got there, we’ll have opinions on if they’re right about hunting pit girl, it’ll all make sense in the end and we’ll have the catharsis of knowing and empathy for an extreme situation.

I think that s2e8 REALLY fulfilled that promise, really put a lot of those little pieces together.

(I have no idea if this is an intentional motif, but I think it’s interesting that Walter’s GIANT puzzle featured two completely filled in chunks, two sections that were absolutely solid, amongst the noise, now that this episode really answers a lot of little questions and puts it all together in a very satisfying way for us. Hmm)

We were right about the queen, about the necklace, the system for choosing. The hunt began organically, I love that. I love that they got INTO it, I love that the doomcoming needed them to be fucked up on drugs, but now they’re in the exact same place without it. Literally, the same hunting pack, the same style, AND ONCE AGAIN NATALIE IS ON THE OUTSIDE.

The stopping to listen, the whooping and howling, the call back to Travis’ sacrifice. All cool aesthetic choices, but also I wonder...

Shauna can’t just stand there and coldly kill Nat. She can kill Lottie if her blood’s hot, she can do a lot of things when she’s psyched up. But just standing there, coldly, and holding the knife and looking into her eyes? You’ve GOTTA make it a chase, get the blood hot, hit those predator instincts. I’ve been wondering SO LONG why they chased pit girl, why they made it into a ... a game. And now it’s so clear, they do it because they HAVE to, for their own sanity.

When Javi went after Nat too I genuinely thought he was joining the hunt for a moment. I am an idiot. Oh well.

Misty!!! Misty’s SO much. She’s out here, genuinely trying so hard to solve everyone’s fucking problems. She’s in the cold attic with Lottie trying to look after a starved, internally bleeding half dead girl all on her own. She’s covering up for the adults because nobody tells her fucking ANYTHING and then she’s judged for it. She’s saving teen!Nat’s fucking LIFE... like she’s done before and will again. Misty fucking Quigley, greatest of all time.

I’m so glad the adults just fucking TALKED and got their shit aired out. I’m glad that Misty and Nat are on the same side of the table.

They’re not gonna drink the kool-aid right?

right?

....

right?

[ryuichirou]

Replies

More replies! Related to our posts from yesterday + a couple of JadeSil ones from a while ago.

Anonymous asked:

I guess Sebek will be annoyed on waking up in the morning with Silver only to realized animals are around.

lol yeah, imagine falling asleep with Silver and waking up to that one scene from Bambi where all the animals greet the new prince. Things Sebek has to get used to….

hipsterteller asked:

Welp at least they didn’t find a skeleton

You mean… under the birdies?! Spooky..!

Anonymous asked:

Poor Jamil can't catch a break even at clubs.. (he secretly loves it, don't tell anyone lol he's shy)

- basketball poly asker

(this is related to a reply from yesterday)

Yeeeah, it’s probably better for Jamil when he gets pestered by these boys: this way he gets to have some action but also don’t proactively seek it out lol But of course the thought itself would never occur to Jamil! It’s all his subconscious mind.

Anonymous asked:

Hehe...imagine Azul seeing Jamil and Ace together. Another jealously alert. Even better, Jamil, Ace, and Floyd together.

Azul would get jealous with anyone who gets close to Jamil probably lol So with Ace it would be the same scenario as it is with Ruggie: he’s confused about Jamil’s choice and tries to win him over.

And with Floyd, well, Azul would just have to shut up and be patient and hope that Floyd gets bored of Jamil… because if he tells Floyd to stop, Floyd is just going to cling to Jamil even more :(

Anonymous asked:

Hi! I’m that JadeSil shipper from that one ask, is it okay if you can give some hcs on how would Silver’s first time would go if it was with Jade?

+

Anonymous asked:

I have Jade/Sil brainrot after seeing some other people talk about it…(and totally not because I am dirty minded)

What if one day Silver was eating Mushroom Risotto but it had a “special” mushroom (courtesy of Jade)  which had an aphrodisiac-like effect. Silver eventually asks Jade for help on why he feels so weird…and you can imagine how the rest goes

Sorry it took me so long to reply, Anon! Or are you two different Anons..? In any case, I’m sorry for taking so much time and for not giving a satisfying answer: since these two aren’t a ship we’re very invested in, even though we like it in theory, I won’t come up with any headcanons, but I’ll share my thoughts…. Because when I started to think about their first time, the setup I came up with was pretty much the same as what was mentioned in this second ask lol

Since the main theme/motif of their relationship that I always think about is mushrooms, I think the whole thing will start with Jade’s fascination with Silver’s appetite for mushrooms and his appreciation of them. And for a very long time, he would simply feed him without adding anything suspicious to it, but then he’ll notice just how good Silver is at describing the differences between different kinds of mushrooms Jade uses for the risotto. So of course he’s going to be tempted to feed him a “special mushroom”…

Poor Silver would be so conflicted. He never expected to get poisoned, and Jade seems deeply concerned as well… but is he really?  And would Jade really make such a mistake?

So yeah, long story short, Silver’s instinct would probably be to try to get back to his room and hide there until he gets better, but the poison is too strong, and with all his actions and words being just a big blur, he’ll end up having sex with Jade.

Jade is going to be surprised y Silver though, because while he knows that a lot of what’s going on is due to aphrodisiac (that was the whole idea), some of the things just seemed way too “natural”: Silver’s body is clearly used to having intense and lengthy sex, his movements are very intentional and he even has some noticeable preferences. Silver wouldn’t say a word during their first time (he just couldn’t articulate – he was too aroused), but his body language spoke volumes. Jade would probably be quite intrigued by him…

(whoops I guess I wrote it in a way that it isn't Silver's first time, I just noticed that...sorry!!)

[secretsofthewilde]

Sorry to hear you have a shitty brain day :( but I'm glad my little comment helped! I'd love to hear your thoughts about Marie.

Oh you mean Miss Marie cheekbones Winter?

She came, constantly served looks, was that bitch (derogatory), and yet somehow had me distraught over her final episode. Basically; Marie hot. acquitted of all crimes.

Actual critical thoughts on her below - I went on much longer than intended, whoops!

Okay like all characters in this show there is just so much I could talk about when it comes to her, but I think I’ll just try to do a general overview of how I felt about her while watching the show and how it makes me view her now.

Full disclosure: I haven’t rewatched her seasons yet so this is based off of my memory of those seasons and how I feel about them now.

Marie is an interesting character to me because (much like Kaz) I couldn’t stand her during her first two seasons. While I was able to acknowledge how great Susie Porter was in the role (and how gorgeous she looked) in her first two seasons, I just struggled so much to empathise with or even really care about her due to her unhealthy relationship with Allie and my utter disdain for the Marie/Will subplot – which I still think could have been handled better as it comes across as somewhat lazily written imho. Season 8 however very quickly changed that for me, and now I’m able to look back at her previous episodes with a lot more grace towards her.

I think Marie is a really complex character that gets a lot more hate than I think she necessarily deserves. Susie Porter herself has even said that the amount of hatred her character got ended up really getting to her, and I can understand why when I see the way some people speak about her.

I think it would be fair to say that I hated her in season 7, but I think that’s the intention of the writers. While we have moments of seeing her be tender and caring for others, it's really hard to tell what is genuine and what's more manipulation on her part during those first seasons. While I am now of the opinion that Marie does genuinely care for and love Allie, at the time I remember hating seeing any moment with her reassuring or comforting Allie because it all seemed to be just self serving on her part. And the thing is on retrospect a lot of her actions during those seasons still is self serving on Marie's part. Understanding that she loves Allie now doesn't change the fact that she absolutely was still manipulating the people around her during those two seasons.

Essentially during seasons 6 & 7 the only positive-ish attributes we can really assign to Marie is that she has a very strong maternal nature, will do anything for her son, is obviously intelligent and adaptive (which makes her good at manipulating), and is good at social networking/climbing. The problem is that these also work as reasons why we might hate her in those seasons; her son is most-definitely a rapist so we aren't made to sympathise with her grief over him, and the other traits all double as reasons why she's a threat/why she's able to rise so quickly as an antagonist.

Season 8 absolutely surprised me with the way they handled Marie, by having her go through a redemption arc that occurs separate from the characters who have history with her, and I think it was the right choice to make. If we had spent significant time with Marie going to Allie and trying to make amends to her then it would feel like she was trying to be forgiven without having actually earned it. It would make it feel like whenever Marie did something good it was insincere, and only done for the sake of her appearance/manipulation. Instead we get to see her interacting with other characters and constantly trying to do the right thing, without seeking or expecting validation or approval from her past victims because of it. Season 8 also clearly shows us that her maternal side isn't just a manipulative persona, but a key part to her identity. She consistently aims to soothe and comfort those in her unit when they're upset, and it feels like she does genuinely care for them. In the past seasons you wouldn't see her interacting with someone like "Kath" without assuming she is doing so for some personal gain/future plan, but in season 8 their interactions and the care she expresses are obviously genuine. We also get more of an understanding of her relationship with sex imho and while I still think her relationship with Will was written a bit sloppily, seeing her with Lou does at least help solidify that Marie's relationship with sex and grief is very warped.

I love that Marie was able to grow and become a better person in season 8, even if her ending was gut wrenching for me. While her death definitely falls into the category of redemption/self sacrifice tropes, the reason it doesn't come across as cheap or poorly executed is because we saw her throughout season 8 make choices to try do the right thing by the women around her, and not for the sake of being forgiven/redeemed by them, but for her own sense of self. A lot of the time now we have to see in film/tv writers deciding to do a last minute redemption by having a villain sacrificing themself at the end and revealing actually they were just misunderstood this whole time. With Marie it's a slow process that feels real - while certain characters are upset about her death we don't suddenly see them praising her as a misunderstood hero. She was a flawed individual, who spent her last year trying to make amends for her past sins and I think that's really beautiful. It's not up to the audience to decide if she had earned or deserved Allie's forgiveness prior to her death (as we should leave the victims to decide that for themselves) but we are of course able to decide if we believe that she did enough to redeem herself to us viewers. And for me personally? She did.

I think Marie is a great example of the key message of the show – every person is flawed and is capable of both good and bad actions, and instead of condemning people for their past mistakes we should give them an opportunity to learn and try to do better. Because at the end of the day the prison is meant to be a place of rehabilitation through found community, not punishment.

I hope you enjoyed this raw brain dump brought to you by poor sleep and task avoidance. As always, everyone may feel free to drop an ask related to something I've said in this reply, this show in general, or anything you think I might wanna yap about.

[beoneofus]

𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

- 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐠��𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 -

++

you're someone who likes piercings. you're both fascinated and turned on by them, which got you into the art of diy experiments. It started off with a simple ear piercing, and then led you down a more... curious, and daring road. you now have a whole line of piercings down your right ear, including your rook; double nose piercings, and a septum. your next is to place a hoop on the left corner of your lip.

dark clothing, plaid clothing and clothes with wicked designs is also something you love. you sometimes dress as, what localists would describe as “ street ”. cargo pants that hang off your hips, tanks that show your mid-droft or are just ripped at the bottom. boxer briefs, where the waistband tends to show because of the jeans (or pants) you wear. It was a unique style, and it was you.

whether you wear lots of rings, brackets or necklaces — it depends on your outfit or mood. sometimes you liked classic chain necklaces, other times you decided on cool rings and a classic band bracelet.

for whatever reason, david took a liking to all of this. you were different. and not like one of tge tourists that moved through town, or a local outcast that sported a spiked mohawk. you had your own personality and changed up yourself a lot; a new person each day. It spiked his interest.

when he decided to speak to you one day, the boys whooped the entire time. he had threw them a warning look over his shoulder, but it didn't stop ‘em. even usually quiet dwayne was pumping a fist in the air and shouting encouraging words with a smirk. all david could do was sigh, shake his head, and grin to himself.

but surprisingly, the conversation went well. he thought, which was odd, that it'd be a fail. you truly didn't seem like someone to get down with a strange guy who approached you, but you acted nonchalant and kept light humor to the conversation. he liked that. he liked you.

even though it was intention to lore you and eat out your insides, like his plan all the time, he figured he'd wait a little. having you stick around would be fun, or so that's what his gut told him. and, listen - david always listened to his gut.

be glad he did though. that gave him time to know you, and for you to know him. although throughout this time you were uneasy around him, you still went with shit. you chilled about, played around and acted yourself. It'd be weird if he did see through the act.

but... not actually. cause, well - vampire. david wasn't an idiot, he sensed your change in mood when it happened as well as read your body language and facial structure. the littlest bit of wariness, he spotted. it was no shock though, that usually did happen around smart humans. did it make things harder? Indeed. he'd probably have to get messy in further weeks, but... he had a feeling killing you wasn't going to go through, after all. that being his choice.

he was right, too. david told you about him and his boys. what was really shocking is that you didn't freak out. you... passed out, from surprise, but once you awoke and was given a little bit of space, you were eerily calm over the situation.

you officially befriended them all after that, and as time passed, you and david became closer.

you convinced him to wear eyeliner, actually. you fought him on it and fought him on it, until you made a deal with him. If he let you apply it, just once, you'd let him drink from your wrist. just as a treat for being a good boy good sport.

he was silent, resting back in his chair. one leg was folded over the other, while cold eyes stared at you; not a single thought behind them... or so it seemed. If anything, it seemed like he just wanted to murder you. until he spoke. “ alright, ” david said, flickering his gaze off of you with a sigh of defeat. “ deal. but if you poke my eye out, I'm draining you of every drop in your damn body. ”

and so you made him look dashing. it was just a simple appliance to his waterline and the line underneath his upper lashes, but damn did it make his eyes POP. you almost teased him, but resisted. instead you settled with a small grin, and a peck to his cheek.

“ you look handsome. ”

was he taken back? absolutely. but he didn't let it show. he was just... silent, before smirking, letting you think it was his cockiness showing through.

in reality, however, his heart had jumped and it scared the shit out of him.

the boys ended up entering the cave later on, and when they spotted david they nearly pissed themselves of laughter.

paul immediately bursts into hyena howling laughs, marko slaps a hand over his mouth to stop from spitting everywhere, and dwayne smirks widely. he didn't exactly know how to react, given it was funny, but also a dangerous game if he chose to laugh. that's why he excuses himself.

hint; he went to laugh elsewhere.

that was only one of many incidents to happen. having a person around who was proud of who they were, that loved to be... out there, but also distanced themselves from crowds, was rather interesting.

basically you were comfortable in your skin, just not around the open sea. all four boys liked it. but david just seemed to... like it a bit more.

when he finally asked you on a date, it took you a second to process it. only because it didn't seem like he was asking you on a date. he questioned you if you wanted to go somewhere, and you instantly agreed, but when you asked if the others were coming... he said “ no, it's just us two, doll. ”

you put it together after a minute. your face, which heated up, turned away from him. You didn't see it but david smirked, before taking your hand in his own.

that night was rather fun. the vampire had taken you to a lookout on the outskirts of santa carla. It took some time to get there, but when you did, you were awestruck. it wasn't only because the sight was enduring, but because he dared to lift you up over the fence that separated you from the landslide, and held you by he waist. one arm wrapped around your waist, while his other hand rested on your thigh.

you were breathless about it, but didn't say a word. instead, rested back against him; the back of your black tank riding up the slightest.

silence took you two most of the night, but when you did talk, it was calming. you were glad you agreed to go with him, even though in the beginning you weren't aware of it being like that.

It was nice. and it only was the beginning for a bunch of fun years to come.

( I was going to make this longer and more detailed but I got distracted 💔 so if you want a part two let me know. )

[wodrueckts]

so i’ve been sitting with the ted lasso finale for a few days now, trying to nail down what exactly it is that made me not like it very much. because generally i don’t really think it was BAD. i think it was fine. as far as overall plot beats are concerned it hit pretty much all of what i was expecting or at least thought was very possible (ted going back to kansas, beard staying, rebecca getting with dutch guy, nate being back, keeley, roy and jamie all being single at the end) and i don’t really have a problem with these developments on paper although the execution often left some things to be desired.

for me personally especially how nate’s arc with ted resolved was particularly unsatisfying. i mean, what we got was a nice, emotional scene (thanks for the most part to nick mohammed’s acting) but all in all it just lacked impact (at least for me). i mean, i’ve waited the whole season for these two to finally have a heart to heart but then it ended up being quite underwhelming.

and i think that’s what i’d call the finale in general: underwhelming. lacking emotionality. especially from ted, as many people have already pointed out.

 so it was underwhelming, big whoop, finales rarely feel wholly satisfying. so why did it kind of make me feel worse about the whole show? that’s what i’ve been trying to figure out.

and i think it has to do with how it made me look back on ted as a character. because it opens the door for me to see him in a less favorable light than before and it undermines the arc i thought (or hoped) they were going for for him.

ted starts off as a very *kind* character. kindness is pretty much his core attribute. but not in a naive or unthinking way; his kindness is a conscious choice. he is kind because he thinks everyone deserves kindness and because he believes kindness will lead to the best outcome. his kindness is also a defense mechanism, a kind of armor. it keeps people at arm’s length without them noticing. and ted deploys his kindness to that effect a lot. because ted is also afraid of letting people in. he’s nice to everyone but doesn’t really let anyone get close.

and i thought his arc would be that ted finally learns to let people in, to make himself vulnerable to them and risk them being able to hurt him. and i do think that that was actually the writers’ intention. and they did achieve that, kind of.

but for me the finale calls all that into question again and makes me wonder whether ted actually DID let people in. whether he actually CARED about anyone at richmond (beyond the way he generally just cares about everyone).

people have said they were upset about the finale because ted left his (found) family and his support system behind. but is that even true? have we really seen them be his family and support system? or rather have we seen him think of them like that?

the show has shown us a lot of instances of people loving and caring for ted but i don’t remember a lot of instances where we really see how much that means to HIM. or that it actually means anything to him at all.

what i’m trying to say is that i don’t really remember feeling like they were really IMPORTANT to him. of course he cares about them but ted cares about everyone. he cares about them in a very selfless way. but i think if someone is really important to you, you also care about them in a “selfish” way (and i don’t mean selfish in a negative way here). and the only times we’ve seen ted care about someone selfishly was with michelle, which makes sense because she was his wife and he loved her and they have a kid together so of course she is important to him, and with dr sharon, when she left and triggered his abandonment issues. but of course dr sharon is also his therapist so it’s a whole different dynamic in general.

with everyone else he’s just very accommodating, very forgiving, very nice, very... dispassionate.

and i was hoping we’d get to a point where we actually see how much the people in richmond mean to ted, where it would actually be hard for him to leave them, not because of some sense of duty or obligation but because he just genuinely, deeply loves them. but i feel like the show never quite got there. they got kind of close with nate at the end of s2 and beginning of s3 when ted seemed genuinely sad about what happened with him and missed him but that also just fizzled out (and was ultimately squashed in the finale when ted was essentially like “eh no biggie” in the scene where nate apologized)

and the finale just cemented ted’s seeming lack of care when we didn’t seem him wrestle at all with his decision to leave. he just decided to leave and that was that. and many other people have noted how he didn‘t even seem emotional or like he cared at all while other characters (especially rebecca) were practically throwing their love at him.

so really, what was his supposed growth in the show? that he finally went to therapy (admittedly a big step, not slagging that)? that he can ask for help in the form of letting his friend hire someone to stalk his ex? (not the kind of help i’d want him to ask for tbh)? There was some growth in other departments of course, like when he actually admitted to michelle that her relationship with dr jacob bothers him, something he probably would’ve never done before, but again, that’s him selfishly caring about michelle.

so the show now appears to me as: ted runs away to england, he touches many people’s lives without really getting too close himself but does learn some life lessons before he goes back home.

and maybe that was the intention. it is a story, i guess. but not a very satisfying one. at least to me.

or maybe they just made ted a bit TOO nice, a bit TOO caring and forgiving and perfect, that it reached all the way around to coming across as uncaring and detached, which was then only exacerbated by the finale.

(OR this is just my own baggage and issues with social anxiety rearing its ugly head which always makes me a bit suspicious of people who are nice and caring to everyone not because i think these people are fake or not genuine or anything like that but how can you tell if someone like this actually likes you or is just nice to you because they’re a genuinely nice and lovely person. which meant ted has always been on thin ice for me anyway and seeing him leave everyone with seemingly not much trouble just confirmed all my fears. WHO’S TO SAY)

[midnightsslut]

‘break up, break free, break through, break down / you would break your back to make me break a smile’ is an all-time top five taylor swift lyric for me! // first of all COMPLETELY agree with this, totally genius underrated lyric but also. it kinda just gave me a possible epiphany. in my mind hits different and imgonnagetyouback are written about the same event in time (things are a disaster for whatever reason and i need to take some space away from this relationship but DAMN it’s killing me and now i feel like i need u back even tho i still hate what u did) and maybe…labyrinth fits perfectly into that?? like yes i can finally break free from this oh whoops no i can’t damn i’m falling for u all over again?? idk i have many interpretations of labyrinth in my mind lol but this is now a new one

labyrinth definitely fits into that. when the song came out, i was convinced that it talked about the beginnings of their relationship, but in retrospect, placing it right after bejeweled was a very intentional choice on her behalf because both of those songs feel like they could apply to 2021 just as well as 2016. it’s almost like the story repeated itself.

[windvexer]

Spirit advice anon here, typing on mobile and accidentally hit send too early, whoops. (also this became a lot longer of an ask than I thought Le Whoops)

Okay, so baby witch with 0 experience and I live in an old house that was lovingly built by a man for his family back during the great depression, right? I was feeling really sentimental thinking about that yesterday and comparing it to my own family's (much less wholesome) situation and at one point passively thought that it'd be nice to have a family that close and caring, and thought about maybe one day having a spirit friend that could give me that sort of feeling. Again, this was only passive thoughts - no petition or any action from me beyond that.

Cut to last night, I have a dream of the least-horrible parts of my family, dead grandparents in better shape than they've been since I was a child, an estranged sibling, etc. All living in an old family home my mom and uncle had no choice but to sell. I've dreamed of family before, but it's always been a pretty bad one involving members I don't like. This one was really nice though. However, there was someone else in my dream that I thought was an IRL friend from work, who had, let's just say a very *strong* pressence.

When I woke up, still pretty groggy, I turned over in bed and immediately heard (in my head) friend from work, who still feels nearby, call me from behind me. When I try to lift my head, I have the very first episode of sleep paralysis on my life. Again, I had moved my body moments before this, so extra weird. I feel like something's about to happen, but I'm able to break out super quickly. It's about this time that I think to myself "wait a minute, work friend isn't an incorporeal being that can suddenly appear in my room" and start getting weirded out.

Now, while this experience felt 100% different than any weird dreams that I've had before, I still wasn't convinced it wasn't all in my head, so I pulled a couple of tarot cards.

"Did a spirit visit me last night?": 3 of Cups, celebrating your feelings or connections with others

"Okay... what were their intentions?": The Moon, enjoying healthy fantasies and daydreams, practicing magic, embracing the unknown

I'm still not great with tarot, but that all seems pretty clear cut to me.

I understand that I should give them an offering to thank them for reaching out with the nice dream, and probably ask them to not do the sleep paralysis thing again because I did *not* enjoy that. Beyond that, because I was barely ready to start practicing magic at all, let alone with spirits, I feel rather unprepared. Any additional advice you can give me with this information is appreciated.

Hi, Anon. Sorry for the late reply.

This is the only ask I got from you so if you sent a different one, I didn't receive it.

Okay, so baby witch with 0 experience

Welcome

I was feeling really sentimental thinking about [...] Again, this was only passive thoughts - no petition or any action from me beyond that.

You didn't ask, but I'm sure you're aware that petitions or actions aren't required to call to spirits. An earnest desire is often enough to spark action from nearby spirits who are waiting at the veil with bated breath.

Cut to last night, I have a dream of the least-horrible parts of my family, [...]However, there was someone else in my dream that I thought was an IRL friend from work, who had, let's just say a very *strong* pressence.

It may be worthy of consideration that this spirit in the guise of your work friend is not one of your ancestors. I've had spirits (one very important one, actually) show up for me when I started ancestor work, because that was the first time he was able to reach me.

When I woke up, still pretty groggy, I turned over in bed and immediately heard (in my head) friend from work, who still feels nearby, call me from behind me.

Spooky.

I understand that I should give them an offering to thank them for reaching out with the nice dream, and probably ask them to not do the sleep paralysis thing again because I did *not* enjoy that.

If a spirit gave me sleep paralysis, I'm not sure I'd give them an offering.

Beyond that, because I was barely ready to start practicing magic at all, let alone with spirits, I feel rather unprepared. Any additional advice you can give me with this information is appreciated.

Your experience felt like it came on a little strong. It's unusual for people to be thwacked by spirits like that out of the blue. This isn't to say I doubt the veracity of your story, but rather that you might want to consider that you're not dealing with some random household spirit.

If you don't want to talk to or interact with the spirit at this time, you don't have to. If you want to work with spirits at this time, it should be an active choice - not something you fall into by happenstance (or let yourself be pressured into because you don't want to feel mean for not wanting to talk to a spirit who initiated contact).

I highly recommend working wards to protect you during your sleep, and protecting your bedroom/sleeping space as a whole.

When next performing divination, enchant your tools to constrain them to tell the truth (or to prevent the spirit from showing untrue answers).

A person who wants to jump into spirit work with heavy-handed spirits will likely not regret, and might someday be very grateful for, preparing a very stern protective amulet ahead of time to prevent spirits from reaching them. Once enchanted, such an amulet can be kept out of the way until needed.

[voxofthevoid]

I’d die to read what you’ve cooked up for 48! Literally everything you write is big-brained. You’re the modern day Midas haha

Aw, thank you!! Let's hope I don't end up the way Midas did. The medium of choice should make that relatively safe 😂

48. i can't keep killing butterflies

Post-canon Yuuji goes back in time but with a binding vow that prevents him from divulging anything about the time travel or that future to the others in any way, and he enters the past the exact moment he swallows the first finger to save Megumi.

Whoops, this outline is a baby. I poked at the first scene and then didn't touch it again, and even those bits are mostly about Yuuji's mindset and general vibes:

Yuuji going back in time but with a binding vow that prevents him from divulging anything to the others in any way, entering the past the exact moment he swallows the first finger to save Megumi. A blend of outsider PoV interspersed with first timeline goyuu.

Yuuji swallowing that finger, Divergent Fisting that curse on sheer instinct, and blinking around to go "Fushiguro...?" in the same tone he used when Sukuna took over Megumi.

The way his own face would look alien to him in the mirror even though he's only had those scars for a month. Yuuji's face slowly scarring over in those parts without any injury to give it to him

Thaaaat's all I've got 😂

I want to go for something focused more on emotions than plot, though the plot will also have to happen because Yuuji's entry into the past is so loud. But I have a running obsession with the theme of halcyon days in the context of JJK, so a past-plus-present timeline blend of everything Yuuji lost and the way nothing will ever be the same again is the intent. He loves these people, and he has them back, but he saw them die, first. He lost all of them, and these new versions aren't quite the same.

Solo time travel is alienating; you're doubling back, reliving the past, but your actions change things so that the past that's become your present changes too, including the people there.

This one's low on the priority list because I need to be in a particular mood to outline it, and I can't jump into without an outline (unless I want to scream).

Thanks for asking!

Ask in response to the WIP Open Season