#and also... :TC i do think having it's own post would be better than like

[mundanemiseries]

also, thinking about how Raven gets tattoos for people he cares about, as almost a piece of them that he'll carry to eternity once they pass.

i need to make a post of what he's got and for who at some point :3c

which....btw also means if u have/ever do have any kinda close relationship with Raven, he is gonna get a tattoo for u and if u have any ideas as to what he should get, lmk :>

[duchezss]

Lockwood & Co characters as Taylor Swift albums, an unnecessarily long post.

Foreword: Let me just preface by saying I have been working on this for a long time. I think it's super fun to personify characters as ts albums cause they're all so different. While I know basically all of her songs are love songs, I always find a way to make them platonic as well, just an fyi. The format I'm using is I have two songs that are "honorable mentions", which are songs that I think fit, but not enough to crack the top list, also they don't have any specific lyric on why I chose them. "Honorable honorable mention" is the song that was just outside of the top 5, and they include a short lyric on why I picked them. The top 5 are in reverse order of how important I think they are, and how much they represent their characters. They have a long lyric on why I chose them. Of course this is all opinion based so no one get mad in my notes cause idc. Lots of spoilers from the books duh, so without further ado let's get into it.

Lockwood: Lover

I actually first started ponder this topic when I saw on tiktok that everyone was saying Lockwood was Reputation, and I just really disagree. Frankly I think Lockwood would believe he's Reputation, but truthfully he's Lover.

Lover represents so many things that are him. He believes himself to be too jaded and cold, but on the inside he cares so much. He wants to learn to love again, but he's scared of hurting people he cares about and he's afraid of getting hurt himself.

Honorable mentions: Lover and Soon You'll Get Better.

Lover represents how Lockwood always wants to love Lucy and he always wants to be so close to the rest of the crew as well. Regardless of his emotions and how he pushes them away, he wants nothing more than to be with them the rest of his life. He wants some to be there at every event, glory is nothing if he doesn't get to share it. Soon You'll Get Better feels like Lockwood trying to cope with not only his parents death, but also Jessicas. Before the crew came along he was all alone, and even when they are there he still stays in his own bubble. He wants to go back to the normal he had with his family, but he needs to realize that his new family is right before him, he just has to let them in.

Honorable honorable mention: Death by a Thousand Cuts - "I ask the traffic lights if i'll be alright"

This entire song is so Lockwood coded. It feels like when Lucy left and he doesn't know what to do without her gone, and it also feels like he's getting flashbacks to losing Jessica. I chose this specific lyric because it's more subtle and matches his emotions more. The actual lyric is a reference to being down in life and just taking everything as a sign. This really represents to me the period between THB and TCS where he was being so reckless, because he thought all of it was a sign since everyone he really loved had left him. And if that wasn't bad enough he was pushing away the few people he still had. Most of Lockwoods inner emotions seem to only get worse the more he keeps them in, in that way I think his demons are like his cuts. They're slowly picking away at him, even though there are people in front of him that could help.

Number 5: Afterglow - "Tells me this love is worth the fight, I lived like an island, punished you with silence"

This song and this lyric feels like Lockwood's struggle to learn how to deal with himself and his habits. He knows he shouldn't push all of them away, and yet he closes himself off to protect himself. He wants to fight for it all though, and he knows that doing so is worth it. He wants to let them all in, especially Lucy, and he does so slowly and on his own terms. He wants them to be patient and wait for him, and they will, because of course they will. I also feel like this lyric highlights how bad at communicating his emotions he is, but that he's aware of it and doing his best to try harder. I also love the second lyric because that's what Lockwood does. Yes he's just being private but it's obvious his silence can hurt them, especially Lucy. But by the end it's clear he's trying to be more open, even if it's painful, because he doesn't want to push them away.

Number 4: Cornelia Street - "Hope I never lose you, hope it never ends. I'd never walk Cornelia street again"

For all of them I think there's one song that really represents how their emotions might feel in retrospect, and for Lockwood it's this song. Cornelia Street is his Portland Row. When he was younger his family all lived there, and it was home, but when everyone died it was nothing but a shell of a time long gone. Now it's his home because the people that live there and visit make it so. This song and this lyric feel as if it's Lockwood bargaining. Because although he knows there will come a day where they aren't all how they are now, he wants to remember Portland Row as it is now. And that when everyone eventually leaves for one reason or another, it will once again not be a home, and he can never return. Though I think all of this is just his inner thoughts, because frankly I don't think any of them are ever leaving permanently. Portland Row isn't just his home, it's all of theirs.

Number 3: Cruel Summer - "Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes, what doesn't kill me makes me want you more"

I think both parts of these lyrics fit Lockwood so well, just in very different ways. The first part feels like a test of authority and the figures the world wants them to believe. Lockwood doesn't trust the big agencies, and any plans they make feel corrupt and cooperate, which are ideals polar opposite of Lockwoods. It also feels like it embodies the idea that Lockwood also has, in that you can't rely on supposed higher beings, but only on yourself, your allies, and your actions. The second half just feels like Lockwoods desperate love of Lucy. During TCS he was throwing himself at everything, and he put himself through it all just cause he wanted Lucy back. I just think this lyric really conveys how much he needs and wants her, even though he pretends otherwise. Lockwood just loves her so much and I'm obsessed with that. He feels like he shouldn't though, he's afraid of hurting her and himself, which is why he constantly pushes her away and denies his feelings.

Number 2: Daylight - "I once believed love would be black and white, but it's golden"

Don't get me started on Lockwood and daylight. To me daylight represents Lockwood learning to let himself love again, and to feel anything again. When he was young of course he was surrounded by it, but after being alone for so long, it's clear he tried to push any ounce of feelings away. Then along comes his crew, and as much as he tries to maintain his cool demeanor, it's impossible to deny how much he cares and how much he feels for them. Of course a big part of that is acceptance, and I think this lyric so perfectly illustrates this revelation he has. Love isn't black and white and pain and grief, but it's golden and it's sunlight in a bottle and it's all these feelings he never thought he'd feel again. To me this song represents the lighter side of Lockwood we never really talk about, it's in how he shows his love for the others. He sees the world as nothing more than a battle to be won, but it's clear he tries to shield them all from it. Daylight is about him learning to accept the world as it is, but it's also about how l&co lights it up for him.

Number 1: The Archer - "They see right through me, can you see right through me?” 

Everyone's number one song is meant to represent their most inner thoughts and fears, and Lockwood is one of the most the archer characters to ever the archer, like it actually makes me sick. Yes I had to choose a lyric, but honestly the entire bridge and song in general is so him. The archer is everything Lockwood is doomed to be. He feels like he will never be enough, that none of his actions mean anything, and that he will be fighting for the rest of his life. But through it all his biggest concern is that his carefully placed facade is all for nothing, and that everyone he loves can see right through him. That they can see his doubts, and his flaws, and that they won't love him when they find out. Worst of all he's afraid he's too broken to hold on. So he holds his chin up and keeps fighting because that's all he knows, but deep down he is nothing more than the target of the archer. Lockwoods heroes, his parents, his old teacher, his sister, they died all alone. It's a fate he all but accepts in TEG. His sees death and combat like an old friend instead of an enemy. What he doesn't realize till much later is that his friends love him for him, flaws and all, and that these expectations he set up for himself hurt him more than anyone else. They all see right through him, but that's not a bad thing, it's actually a good thing. It's a keyhole to his soul, and how much he really loves all of them. I also love the lyric "help me hold onto you" because I think it really highlights how even though Lockwood pushes them away so much, he wants them to hold him tight and not let go. He needs them as much as they need him.

George: Midnights

Lemme just say that every single album I picked for the crew is probably gonna be a hot take, but I have so many reasons for all of them so hear me out. I stand by the fact that George is midnights and here's why.

Of course all of them are up late all of the time, it's their job, but for George it's just a little different. Midnight isn't so much of an annoyance as it is an old friend. His research is always his passion, and I think Midnights really represents that. Life can be filled with regret and apathy, but it can also be joyful and unexpected. That's what Midnights is about, and I think at his core George is the same.

Honorable mentions: Hits Different and The Great War

Hits Different represents George's struggle with change. Change is something most people do struggle with, but for George it's a little different. He tries to overanalyze every move, and in doing so he almost makes himself sadder, and trying to rationalize it doesn't make it any easier. The Great War is obviously a symbol of the fight l&co has against Fittes, but for George it's a little more. He barely reaches for help from the crew, and this represents his hesitation to ask for help or to let people in. It also highlights how even though he's afraid of letting them in, he's almost more afraid of losing them.

Honorable honorable mention: Lavender Haze - "I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say"

This lyric highlights how George is constantly in his own world, and that it's almost better that way. He lets strangers' words slide off his shoulders, and if he actually started to care what people thought of him it would be very difficult. Of course the crew's words get to him, but that's a given. I think this is especially shown through how much he dives into his research, and how most find him a little odd. Despite his unorthodox methods he usually gets his information, and the people that really matter to him don't mind. George is so bright, and under all of his layers or protection he's quite outspoken. Him staying steadfast on his own path is a key part of his character, and l&co's unwavering support of him is what eggs him on.

Number 5: Would've, Could've, Should've - "Now that I'm grown I'm scared of ghosts, memories feel like weapons"

This is George's retrospective song. George's whole life is the problem, more so than everyone else. It's not just his job, but finding the history of the problem is one of his greatest passions. But there will come a day when his talents fade, and even if his passion stays it will eventually become more fearful than exhilarating. Sometimes it can be harder to know what you're missing out on than never having it at all. In this way his memories and a time long past could haunt him, because as much as he tries he can never go back. It's also interesting because at the end of TEG the problem could be over, but no one really knows. He might spend his whole adulthood afraid of something no longer there. His memories contain all the fun times he had with l&co, but it could also serve a reminder of everything he's lost.

Number 4: Anti-Hero - "I have this thing where I get older, but just never wiser, midnights become my afternoons”

I think this entire song fits George so well, because it really pulls focus on how George believes he isn't a hero like the rest of the group. He keeps making the same mistakes and instead of being wise beyond his years like how Lockwood is per say, he's just normal. His brains are his strong suit, but I think he underestimates all of his other abilities because he believes himself to be incapable. As I said before all of them work at night, but the implication that midnights are his afternoons really works for George. I think it also does a good job of showcasing how locked in his work he can get, time always seems to pass him by. I also think the entire song really highlights how much like an outsider he feels sometimes, even within the group. He's afraid of how he acts when he's alone for too long, and I think this was really showcased in TCS when he was so inwardly angry about Lucy leaving. He sees himself as an Anti-Hero that is destined to be alone, even if that's the opposite of the truth.

Number 3: You're On Your Own Kid - "So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it” 

While all of them have a retrospective song, I also feel like I gave all of them a more hopeful song. For Lockwood it was Daylight, and for George it's this. While YOYOK isn't a hopeful song, it's actually quite the opposite, I really wanted to focus on this specific lyric. I love this for George because to me it represents his growth in letting himself be emotional. He's so used to being an outsider and an oddball in any group he's in, and so naturally he's very closed off, and he doesn't want to let anyone in. He was very close with Lucy in THB, but then she left and he closed back off, but by the end of the series it's easy to see how he has changed. This lyric represents his ability to finally let himself live in the moment, to love without fear of losing, to enjoy the little things, and to be his authentic self. Maybe he's on his own, and all of this happiness is just temporary. Or maybe this group is his family for life, and all he has to do is lean on their shoulders. I think this song highlights how he is only as alone as he makes himself, because with l&co he'll never truly be alone.

Number 2: Dear Reader - "Where I pace in my pen and my friends found friends who care” 

Dear Reader embodies George's doubt within l&co. I think it really manifests how his own doubts can really get to his head, and this is especially highlighted in the whispering skull (more so the show but I loved that arc they gave him). To him it can feel like he's an outsider in his own home, in his family, with his friends. When Lockwood and Lucy really get comfy in their feelings, it ends up with him pushed to the side. This entire song is so him, he's trying so hard to keep it together, to not make the wrong decisions, but he's human so of course he messes up. In a way it also feels like he's telling himself not to do certain things just because he's afraid of how that could hurt him. In his mind he's nothing more than the brains, and at times he believes himself to be expendable. He had Lockwood when he had no one, but now Lockwood has Lucy, so where does that leave him? But the truth is there's enough room for all of them. His friends might've found friends who care, but that doesn't mean they don't still care about him. He's so afraid of losing so he locks himself in, he never even plays the game, but as said in the last song he does learn to let himself be vulnerable. It's just a matter of getting over that hurdle himself.

Number 1: Mastermind - "No one wanted to play with me as a little kid, so I’ve been scheming like a criminal ever since” 

This song as a whole might not really represent George, because him meeting the crew was nothing but luck, but the bridge. Oh my god that sells it all. Not to mention the title, it's so him. He is the mastermind of the group, Lockwood might be the glue that holds them all together, but George is the building blocks that let them get so far. In the books George isn't given most of a backstory, but the show fills that in. He didn't fit in with his family, and it's clear he's had a hard time with friendships. I think he uses his smarts as a shield, as a plan even. No one wanted to be friends with him when he was younger, but that didn't bother him. His ambitions were far greater, he wanted it all. Also this goes back to the thought that I think George sees himself as an anti-hero. His scheming, his plans, they are all just him, but not something malicious. Yet as he grew up he realized he did want people around, and not just anyone, but l&co. I also love the lyric "I'm only cryptic and Machiavellian cause I care", like that's SO George. He realized he does care, even if it's in own unique way, and thus maybe he'd even allow himself to let his guard down. He wants them to love him and for it to be without struggle, but struggle is only normal. And they do love him, flaws and all, so perhaps the real way he's a mastermind is finally realizing that everything he needs is right in front of him.

Lucy: Speak Now

Yes yes another hot take I know. I also know this might be my oddest choice, but let me cook. Speak now is a lot more upbeat then one might expect for Lucy, but being upbeat doesn't mean always happy. While this album might not be what you expect on the surface, it really represents Lucy deep down.

Speak Now is TS's first album to depart from her more optimistic tone, and that seriousness masked as being normal is so Lucy. Lucy always pretends like everything is fine, like every little thing doesn't get to her, but it does. This entire album has such a melancholy tone, it deals so much with regret and longing. All very Lucy things, so let's get into it.

Honorable mentions: Superman and Never Grow Up

Superman embodies Lucy's fears with her friends always being in danger, particularly Lockwood. She's terrified of something happening to them, and she doesn't want to lose them like she lost Nori. Of course she wants them to go out and save the world, but it's scary not having control of their fates. This is really highlighted in THB because she leaves over worry of Lockwood and his recklessness. Never Grow Up fits Lucy in a bit a different way. Rather than the song focusing on her childhood, I really think this is how she feels with l&co. This is a melancholy song for her, because obviously l&co won't stay together forever, and it's scary knowing their time is on a timer. She's afraid of growing up and getting older because her identity is tied to her talents and to her friends.

Honorable honorable mention: Ours - "People throw rocks at things that shine"

I think this lyric really fits the situations l&co constantly find themselves in. They're dangerous and most of the time they're in places they shouldn't be, and yet they all still come out victorious. Not to mention Lucy's talents being as exceptional as they are, it's only normal that others will try to tear them down. The reason this is interesting is cause they're not even at the top, every victory is a battle, and sometimes being the underdog means you shine even brighter. Kipps' crew in the beginning, and then Fittes and Marissa as a whole are constantly trying to make sure they stay in their place. They throw their rocks at them but l&co, particularly Lockwood, never really listens, and because of all of their defiance they get results others couldn't even imagine. I would say this is Lucy's hopeful song, even if it's more like perseverance.

Number 5: Back to December - "I go back to December all the time, it turns out freedom aint nothing but missin you”

This entire song is Lucy during the period between THB and TCS, her freelance era if you will. She's alone and she's lonely and she constantly reminisces on her time with l&co. She misses them so much, but she stays away because she thinks she's protecting Lockwood. Her supposed freedom really just has a cloud over it though, she longs for what she left but she's convinced herself that she can't go back. I love the way this song talks about the distance between the two of them, and how it acknowledges that Lucy knows she's in the wrong, but that she acted the way she did because she thought it was for the best. I also think this song really represents the "what ifs". Like perhaps in a world where Lucy never went back to l&co. All of them would be worse for wear, because they need each other, especially Lockwood. I just think it acknowledges everyone's hesitation towards each other in the beginning of TCS.

Number 4: Electric Touch - "Got a history of stories ending sadly, still hoping the fire won’t burn me” 

Lucy is forever plagued by how her employment with Jacob's, especially in the show when it was clear she was close with the other trainees. So when she comes to l&co she obviously wants things to be different. But George is distant and Lockwood is reckless and it terrifies her. She thinks her story can only end in tragedy, and that maybe this bad luck follows her. It's part of the reason she leaves in THB, so doesn't want that same fate to fall upon them. I know the fire in this song has a different context, but to me I think it represents her hope. She doesn't want the hope she has to hurt her in the end, she wants to stay positive, but she's conflicted on if she's asking for too much. She loves all of them so deeply, and she wants nothing more than for them to be ok, even if that means she's not a part of the story anymore. Though her plans of leaving to protect Lockwood kinda have the opposite effect, and that drives her up the wall.

Number 3: Enchanted - "This is me praying that this was the very first page, not where the storyline ends” 

Enchanted is soooo how Lucy feels about Lockwood, but I also think it represents way more than that. It represents Lucy's doubts about not just Lockwood, but about the whole crew, and even herself. It's about how Lucy has always felt like she had to put up a front with others, and then suddenly she met Lockwood. But it wasn't just him, eventually George and her opened up to each other. Then she puts her hatred aside for Holly, and she even gets close to Kipps. The entire crew became her family, and she realized she could actually be herself around them, no front. She doesn't want their time together to be on a timer, she doesn't want the story to end anytime soon, because it's so clear they all mean the world to her. Also I think this song does a good job of telling how captivated Lucy was with Lockwood when they first met. She was enchanted to meet up, and her pounder if he loves her like she loves him is a sub plot of quite literally the entire series. I also think this song can represent how she thought getting along with the crew would be smooth sailing at first, when in actuality it was very bumpy. But that's ok.

Number 2: Long Live - "For a moment a band of thieves in ripped up jeans got to rule the world”

This song really represents the crew as a whole, but I think it more specifically describes Lucy's viewpoint of it all. Lucy wants to remember these moments, the good and the bad, because for once they win. Another lyric that fits is "the end of decade, but the start of an age". They ended a massive piece of history, but likely started a new era from the small glimpses of the future we got in TEG. Lucy wants to remember when they broke all the rules and fought for what was right. In that sense I think this is her retrospective song, because yes it represents how she feels now, but I think it better represents how she might feel years from now. I chose this specific lyric because this is soooo the crew. They're a band of sometimes thieves and nobodys who ruled the world if only for a moment. I also love the ripped up jeans line cause I think it really represents how scuffed they kinda are. They're just kids, they're amateurs in the eyes of adults, yet they're the ones who actually did something. I also love the lyric "I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you". I think this embodies that even though they were fighting against ghosts every day, they had the time of their lives cause they had each other. So in that way it's also her hopeful song.

Number 1: Castles Crumbling - "Here I sit alone behind walls of regret, falling down like promises that I never kept” 

Castles Crumbling is so Lucy it kinda hurts. I think it really represents her dreams as well as her doubts. She wants l&co to be an "empire", but again not because of the glory, but because she wants to succeed with them side by side. This song really embodies how she thinks she is holding them back, and not just that, she thinks she's putting them all at more risk because of her talents. She's scared of being the problem and letting them down, and more so of ruining everything they've been working so hard to achieve. The particular lyric I chose represents her fears of never following through. She was supposed to come to London with Norrie and work at a big agency, but she let Norrie down in her eyes. She fears she is doing the same to l&co. So she puts herself behind a wall, afraid of hurting those she cares about. Her regrets haunt her every day, even if she wants to move past them and learn to forgive herself. She thinks she can't keep her promises, and because of that her entire world feels like it's crumbling. She doesn't want to ruin everyone else's world as well. I think this song particularly matches THB. Lucy has a perfectly crafted well and area she keeps to herself, but when Lockwood gets too close she gets scared. She's afraid of his reckless nature, and even more afraid of what he would do for her. Lucy can't have another person die for her, and she will destroy the castles herself if she has too.

Holly: Red

Originally I had Holly as 1989, and it wasn't till I had fully planned this and was writing everything out that I changed my mind. The songs I picked weren't fitting how I wanted them too, and when I was going through Red I realized how much more this matched her. Also I find this a little funny since the color I picked for her is also red.

Red is more of a departure from country compared to TS's first three albums. It has a more mature and reflective tone overall, and it really embodies Holly's contemplation. I even think it represents her constant confusion in the state of the world, and even her relationships with l&co at times. Red is her questions materialized.

Honorable mentions: Everything Has Changed and Stay Stay Stay

Everything Has Changed feels like when Holly finally gets to know the crew a little better. I doubt it was as instantaneous as the song implies, but it's the idea that Holly wakes up one day and decides that she wants to be more than coworkers with them. She wants to get to know them better, and she wants to be less closed off as well. I think it's when Holly learns to find another home in not just Portland Row, but the people in it. Stay Stay Stay has a similar vibe, but it's more like the crew's response. It's the revelation that they care as much as she does because they have taken the time to get to know her. I think it's also her realizing that no one else has loved her like this before, and it's hard for her to process. I think this is particularly relevant in TEG since by then they're all close, and her and Lucy are finally on good terms.

Honorable honorable mention: Holy Ground - "For the first time, I had something to lose” 

I know this lyric says for the first time, but in Holly's lense it's more like the re-realization that she has something to lose. Some people don't like that Holly's back story is so similar to Lucy's but I love it cause it's such an interesting character study. Anyways, Holly lost her whole team to a ghost when she was Rotwell and I think it's pretty clear that she has been running from that her whole life, as it's evident she keeps l&co at a polite distance in the beginning. Likely to protect herself from getting hurt again through attachment. I love this lyric cause it's kinda her lightbulb moment, which personally I think likely happened towards the end of TCS. She saw that she actually has something to lose again, and that thought is terrifying. Yet it's not like she runs away from it, she actually leans into it. It's clear she won't let her fear of loss stop her from loving so freely again.

Number 5: The Very First Night - "Back then we didn’t know we were built to fall apart, we broke the status quo”

So much of this song feels like it's how Holly would feel years down the line. I think it's her retrospective song, but it's a little less depressing. Almost like all of their pains and fights were just part of growing up. They were built to fall apart but they were also made to come back to each other. They're all such a vital piece of the puzzle, and yes they can sometimes drive each other crazy, but it's so clear how much they love each other. I also love the second part of the lyric, because l&co broke like every status quo they could. They were a small independent agency with no supervisors and they were always in places they shouldn't be. They were constantly getting into trouble, but then again that's why they got results. I also just like how it feels like Holly coming to accept their odd style of doing everything, like yes they're a mess but man they're her mess and she loves them anyways.

Number 4: Come Back...Be Here - "The feeling you can know so much without knowing anything at all” 

My god this specific lyric is so Holly. I think it so perfectly represents her fear as well as the crews fear about the problem. They know so much about it, yet nothing at all, and after Marissa reveals herself they realize they know even less than they thought. They have all spent their entire lives fighting ghosts and while they might've forged bravely through the dark, they had only scratched the surface of the entire conspiracy. It's a daunting reality, to realize you have been fighting your whole life for nothing. To realize you've lost so many people just because of the selfish ambitions of others. I also think this could just apply to her life outside the problem. She's one of the older ones of the group, but it's easy to see how she hides her insecurities behind a smile. It must be hard seeing everyone else so sure of themselves and their mission, and yet feeling like you don't fit in anywhere. It's easy to feel for her, especially when Lucy is so mean to her in the beginning. She's just trying to find her place too.

Number 3: Treacherous - "This path is reckless, this slope is treacherous, and I like it” 

Treacherous feels like it captures Holly's somewhat rare but still reoccurring passionate and spontaneous side. I feel like this song embodies Holly learning to go with the flow with l&co. When she first joined she was uptight and hesitant no doubt, which is understandable considering she came from a fancy agency like Rotwell. She questions a lot of their methods and their cases, and just everything really. She was hesitant to rush in and to trust, which is again understandable. Yet over the course of the books she slowly learns to embrace all of these things. She learns to trust Lockwood like the rest of them, she learns to be more open hearted even if it might bring pain. She learns to love again at her own pace and in her own way, because subtly is everything in these books. She never has some dramatic moment, but it's the small ones that really show how much she has changed. She doesn't hesitate to do things for the rest of them when they're in trouble, she learns not to think twice about leaping when it matters. Because even if she falls, she knows they'll hold her hand and help her up.

Number 2: Begin Again - "Thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end, but in a cafe I watched it begin again” 

This whole concept is Holly embodied, it kinda makes my heart hurt. This is like the second part of Holy Ground in her story, because it's her learning to embrace that she has something to lose. Instead of that being a bad thing, it becomes a good thing, because she realizes that she can begin again, and that her life wasn't over when her team at Rotwell died. Also I just love the cafe line because all I think about is how they all went to a cafe at the end of TEG and they were laughing and having a great time together because they won, I think that moment truthfully solidified her feelings. Because she had opened her heart and let people in, she found out that love can begin again, just like she once had too. I also just love the idea of her accepting that everything happens for a reason. Of course that's not saying she wanted what happened, but it's more so her learning to roll with the punches, and embrace whatever life gives her. It also just feels so gentle and careful, and I'm not saying Holly is always like that, cause boy that girl can be a spitfire, but her experiences feel so different from the crew. She doesn't know if love is golden or carefree or anything, but I think she's starting to understand what it means for her.

Number 1: Nothing New - "They shoot you down and then they sigh and say, “she looks like she’s been through it” 

I think this song represents the life she has lived so well. The agency, and the problem, and all of her losses were shots. She was down and yet the world wondered how she could be so caught up. I think it really highlighted a problem represented within all the agencies. They see their agents like machines instead of people, which is why l&co was so night and day for her. But even being with them didn't erase all of her doubts. She felt like she knew everything when she was at Rotwell and yet at l&co it's like she knows nothing. Not literally of course, but of how the world works and about how she feels and deals with all of it. She's afraid of time passing her by, because frankly she's still trying to figure out who she is without the problem, which is a hard task for all of them. She wonders how long it'll be till she's replaced with the next best person, because even if that's not how l&co works, that's certainly how the other agencies work. I think that's why she likes to do her own stuff, she wants to be a secretary, not a soldier for a cause she doesn't understand. She wonders if her novelty will wear off, and if she'll still be valuable if she's not new. What she doesn't fully understand till later is that l&co doesn't value her for that, but for her as a person and for the skills she brings to the table.

Kipps: Folklore

Kipps was hard to pinpoint for me at first. I had bounced around a lot of ideas, but it was only after finishing the books and listening to Folklore that it all pieced together. Folklore is really sad, probably TS's saddest and my god if that isn't Kipps.

Folklore is based on characters and fiction rather than real life like TS previous albums, but it still has hard hitting themes. It explores escapism, nostalgia, and just a lot of emotions. All of the things Kipps pretends not to acknowledge, even if they plague his life on the daily. This album is just so him, and honestly it was hard to narrow down the song list, because he fit so many of them.

Honorable mentions: August and Exile

August in its totality doesn't really fit Kipps, but the bridge, ah it always comes down to the bridge. It's like Kipps reminiscing about the time in his life when he was so sure of himself. Everything around him was enough, because he was so confident in tomorrow. But then the future became nothing more than something to dread. Exile is Kipps' understanding of the cycle that he is a part of. I think this revelation really occurs in book three when Ned dies. Kipps realizes that he's just a cog in the machine, and that his death would be as insignificant as Ned's. Because the only people that remember Ned are his friends and family, sacrifice has become a normality instead of a tragedy. Kipps realizes the normal ending agents get will never change unless he does something about it.

Honorable honorable mention: My Tears Ricochet - "I can go anywhere I want, just not home” 

This lyric is straight to the point and to the heart. We never really learn any of Kipp's backstory, we only know about his life within his talents and Fittes. Which in this case really fits. These lyrics scream book four Kipps, but honestly it also represents him as a whole. After he finally leaves Fittes it's like he has no home anymore, but what really made him feel at home was his talents, and those are long gone. He can't go home cause his talents are faded, he can't go home because he finally sees Fittes for what it is, and he can't go home to Portland Row because he's afraid to feel that way. We don't know about his childhood, but since he's "grown" he can't go home there either. In a way he's stuck in limbo, trying to find the best way out but trusting none of the options. It's a perfect tragedy that would end if he stopped thinking about it so much.

Number 5: Mirrorball - "I’m still a believer and I don’t know why, I’ve never been a natural all I do is try try try”  

Kipps has every reason to believe in Fittes. He was a child prodigy, a top advisor, the picture of natural success there. Yet of course the more he learns, the more he starts to question his beliefs. Through it all though it's clear he wants to believe Fittes and agencies aren't all that bad, he wants for his doubts to be soothed. Eventually though it's evident that almost everything he ever knew was a lie. This revelation starts in book three, but it goes all the way to the end really. Though book four does hone in on this a lot because we see Kipps try to grapple with the institution he once worshiped, and it's here we see him question why he ever believed in them. The second line of the lyrics feels like Kipps' life outside of the problem. Within it he's a natural, he was the best of the best, but it's kinda clear that everywhere else he's strugglingly. Socially he's not that great, and it becomes abundantly apparent to him that there's no point in trying so hard if all he'll ever do is fail.

Number 4: Epiphany - "Just one single glimpse of relief to make some sense of what you’ve seen” 

This song feels like Kipps's attempt at bargaining with the problem, specifically it's inception. This whole song fits so well because it describes the world around like a war, and what are agents if not soldiers. He wants all the horrors and tragedies he's witnessed to have a logical explanation, he wants it all to make sense, for it to not be as bad as sounds, but it's worse. Marissa and Tom's greed led to the deaths of millions of people and thousands of agents. This song also represents Kipps fatigue in always having to fight. We think he's just a coward and a cynic, mainly in the first two books, but it becomes clear later on that he only acts like that because inside he's so tired and conflicted. He's tired of fighting a never ending war, he's tired of getting new teammates because they keep dying, he's tired of always dealing with loss, of never being able to get away from it. Truthfully there's no explanation that could make it ok. Frankly Kipps doesn't really have a true retrospective song, because all of his are kinda already that way. This is the closest one to narrowing it down.

Number 3: Cardigan - "Cause I knew everything when I was young, I knew I’d curse you for the longest time”

So many little lyrics in the song fit Kipps so well. I love the juxtaposition of the lyrics. About society saying you know nothing when you're young, versus feeling like that's the only time you did know something. That's exactly how Kipps feels. Everything now is so uncertain, but back then? He ruled the world. Yet even though children are the key to fighting the problem, they are constantly discredited by adults. Adults who only want to stay in power, and who don't really care who fights ghosts, only that they fall into line. The second part of the lyric fits in a different way. It feels like Kipps finally acknowledging why he hated l&co so much. He hated them so much because they were everything he longed to be. They were successful, in the peak of their talent, and most of all they had their whole lives ahead of them. He was on the decline, and they all had each other, while he felt utterly alone. How could he not hate them? It was so clear they were going to change the world while he got left behind, but luckily for everyone he had a different fate in store.

Number 2: Invisible String - "Isn’t it just so pretty to think, all along there was some invisible string, tying you to me”  

As always I have a passion for making romantic songs platonic and this is a prime example. This song represents Kipps coming to terms with the fact that he ended up exactly where he needed to be. This is his hopeful song, and it also feels like him coming to realization that it all worked out. First off let me just say I love how this song uses colors to describe things, because that's exactly what the show did with the trio and their costumes. In a way it feels like Kipps trying to deny that he was meant to be with them, but all along their paths kept crossing, almost like he was destined to end up with them. His invisible string wasn't tied to a specific person, but the group as a whole. I love how the second chorus talks about time in a love/hate kinda way. Kipps is grateful for time because he has learned so much about himself and the world, and yet he hates it because it never stops, no matter how much he despises or cherishes a moment. I also love how the bridge describes past mistakes like barbed wire, threatening to hold him back, but that this invisible string is a spot of gold lighting his way. Kipps had every chance to regress but chose not to with the love and support from the crew, they made him see how everything he needed was right in front of him.

Number 1: This Is Me Trying - "I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere” 

My god this entire song is so Kipps I might be sick. This whole song represents Kipps coming to terms with not only his talents fading, but how that has affected his relationships and the way he acts. The first verse talks about having a hard time adjusting, of acknowledging change, fears and regrets. It represents Kipps coming to terms with falling off, but it's more so his regret of letting fear take over his life. He eventually fights that, and even if he never knows how to make the first step, he eventually finds his way back to the people he loves. Verse two is just a mess because god it's so him. He feels like he wasted his potential, and that because he rose so high, he had the furthest to fall. It's also like him acknowledging how vindictive and mean he can be, and it also represents his fear to really open up to anyone. Which makes sense considering how much he pushed aside l&co in the beginning, he was trying to pretend like he didn't need them when that's the opposite of the truth. The ending is Kipps' confession that living and moving on can be so difficult. How is he supposed to get over the only thing he was ever good at? So he tries and tries to be better, even if he feels like it's all in vain. The reality is that his efforts were enough, because even when he was completely useless to the crew they loved him anyway.

Final thoughts:

Honestly never in a million years did I think I would write so much lmao, I didn't realize I had that much to say. Well thank you if you've read this far, makes me feel not so alone in my unhealthy obsession over these characters. I love them so much, and having a way to express that always feel nice.

I also never expected that I would write the most about Lucy, like yes she's the main character but still. The real shocker though was how much I wrote about Holly, sure it's only third longest now, but I had to shorten it like crazy y'all don't even know. Anyways, can't wait for the next inevitable l&co essay lmao.

[ethanhuntfemmefatale]

Actually no I can't let it go. As someone who finds TC hot, pls rank the MI movies based on Ethan's hotness in each. I have a Guess on the correct order and am dying to know.

ok so i have an order but i really want to know what order you would guess....i wonder how close you'll get. ALSO arc i need to know your order as someone who appreciates TC's physicality but is still on the fence about his hotness

i will say i agonized over this...and rewatched bits of each movie on the list to try to solidify my answers and make sure they were as accurate to my actual feelings as possible. every version of ethan has a different Brand of hotness, so I'll also go on little rants for each one trying to explain how i think each movie tries (and succeeds or fails) to make Ethan hot.

From least to most hot, including visual aids in the form of low-quality screenshots handpicked from the movies:

7. Mission: Impossible III

The thing about MI3 Ethan is that of all the Ethans he's the one who's trying the hardest to assimilate. Which means it is completely understandable that he is the most boring of all the Ethans. I don't blame him for it. It's just a fact, an unfortunate fact. He's cute, he's sweet, I'd probably like him better if he wasn't completely obscured by shaky cam all the time. Overall he's not striking enough to be sexy. He's got this very girl-next-door energy that's nice but not my thing.

Honestly I think MI3 Ethan's hotness falls to the JJ Abrams curse that hits this entire movie, which is that he's treated as an action hero instead of as Ethan Hunt. So much about him feels generic, simplified. I think if the movie leaned more into the way Ethan intentionally takes his teeth out, the domestication of Ethan Hunt, the devoted house husband thing, it would make this version of Ethan way more interesting and the movie way better. As it is, Ethan's supposed to have been out of the field for a while (a year? a few years?) but the second he gets back in he feels like a soldier to me. Just an action hero.

6. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

This is where it starts to get difficult (which is to say almost immediately)....Rogue Nation ethan is my dearly beloved. I chose this screencap cause i feel like the scene in the record shop encapsulates to me what makes RN Ethan sexy, which is his gentleness. He's got so much calm and warmth in this movie, you can feel it even as the action ramps up. He's also got an edge of vulnerability especially later on that goes hand in hand with the sweetness (shoutout to that one scene after he drowns where he's dazed and happy to see Benji, there's something so deeply charming about him there, and in the car chase after). And he's really handsome in that one scene with the purple shirt. My problem with Rogue Nation Ethan is simply that I find other Ethans sexier. This will continue to be a theme

5. Mission: Impossible - Fallout

featuring screenshot that i edited for my own nefarious purposes (you know that one post about slut meaning end in swedish)

I LOVE FALLOUT ETHAN. The vulnerability that we see from him in RN continues, and deepens, making for one of the more expressive Ethans we get in the franchise, an Ethan who feels worn thin, who's too tired and old to hide how much he cares. I love his little hoodie at the end of the movie I love the way he reacts to comfort from the people he loves I love him in the helicopter when he is devastated by losing contact with his team I love him in the bathroom scene fucking Wheezing after getting hit in the throat. I love his build in this movie, I love how solid he is. I love the shot where he starts awake with a gun in his hand. The thing about Fallout Ethan is that he's dearly beloved to me more than he is sexy...sex feels like too much to expect from him...this is probably his most asexual movie, it's the movie where despite being basically required by circumstances to try to leverage Alanna's attraction to him he can't find it in himself to do more than just stand there and take it, he's there to protect people and try to survive and that's it. That worn-thin edge makes it difficult for me to fantasize about more than petting his hair and tucking him in a nice soft bed and turning off the lights and then LEAVING. so he can REST.

4. Mission: Impossible

we've all seen the slutty corset we've all seen him and max but i want to take a second to highlight the tank top and specifically this one back muscles shot that made me snap my teeth at the screen the last time i watched this movie (last night)

The thing about MI1 Ethan is that he's just objectively by far the sluttiest Ethan gets, and I'm including MI2 in that. MI2 is the movie where Ethan has sex with a girl he likes. MI1 is the movie where Ethan has sexual tension with every single person he meets and strings along all of them for his own purposes. MI1 is the movie of the corset, the glasses, the pretty-eyes-slightly-open-mouth look, the long shadow of his eyelashes in the alley with Sarah after Jack dies. The problem with MI1 is that despite Ethan being at his sluttiest, and looking just gorgeous, and the camera loving him, I just actually don't find MI1 Ethan as hot as other Ethans. The hair doesn't do it for me. He's a little too young, unstable, desperate, cocky. He doesn't have the power he has later.

3. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

ETHAN IS SO HOT IN THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shoutout to this scene in particular which ended up pushing both MI1 and Fallout down a rank so I could place DR1 above them. Ethan Owning kittridge without ever raising his voice probably ranks among the sexiest things he's ever done for me. DR1 Ethan feels so earned--there's a deep sense of strength, a knowledge of who he is, and a fearlessness that comes from having survived this long. I love the contrast between his conversation with Kittridge in this movie and his conversation with Swanbeck in MI2, for example--both are films where Ethan is asked to take a powerful object from the hands of the enemy and transfer it to the IMF; both are films where Ethan knows immediately he's not going to fucking do that. But in MI2 Ethan is still young, still subject to authority, and he plays along. In Dead Reckoning Ethan says, "no." and it's really hot

I feel like by DR1 there's so much confidence in the handling of Ethan, too. There's a confidence in the audience's love of him and trust in him. It doesn't feel like we're being sold on him so much as given the privilege of seeing this character that we all adore. It kinda has the feeling of Harrison Ford in Force Awakens, except if that movie was good, and also if Han was the protagonist. It's pretty fucking powerful.

2. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

im such a fan of this shot cause it's the first time we see his face in the movie--incidentally if i could make gifs my entire argument for ghost protocol ethan hotness supremacy is That One Shot of him vaulting smoothly over the railing and dropping down a floor, which happens immediately before this--and there's so much tiredness and kindness in his face, it feels softer and older than anything we've gotten from him before, it's really striking. This to me is the first time we ever see what I think of as McQuarrie Era Ethan, you can see it in his expression and his eyes. And I love it.

This is where we get into pure indulgence picks. I love Ghost Protocol Ethan so much because I love how feral and flawed he is, I love how hard he's trying, I love how annoying he is at times (shoutout to the seduction scene my best friend the seduction scene), and I Love his hair. He's one of the most striking Ethans to me, especially in the very opening, because he feels so (as I've talked about before) purely physical, purely functional, or at least like he wants to be both of those things. He ends up feeling deeply genuine, raw, and grounded, because he's so sorta prickly and reclusive. There's a focus on his body and physicality that's outside of just fighting ability, that is all about grace and control. He's powerful in a way that doesn't need to be shown--he doesn't do a lot of fighting this movie. His power is all private, self-contained, gorgeous.

Mission: Impossible II

look, you know. look. it's just.

how are you gonna beat that? you can't beat that.

ethan is just so fucking beautiful in this movie it's absurd. I have so many screencaps that happened when I was watching and went "oh ok so he's breathtaking let's just take a quick shot of that." I love the way the camera treats him in this movie, there's a reverence to it, an indulgence, and also a playfulness. I love his outfits!!! I love that he's grimy, I love that he's utilitarian. I love that he gets wounded in the most aesthetically pleasing ways. I love his leather suspenders. Obviously I love his hair you guys all know how I feel about the hair. There's a kind of--no idea how to describe this--doggedness about Ethan, both in the sense of determination and in the sense that in the screenshot above he literally feels to me like a guard dog who's come trotting back to his owner.

anyway he's gorgeous. the end

arc ill be expecting your ranking. and like i said at the beginning im interested to know what you expected and how close my ranking was to your expectations

[ralphlanyon]

TC tag game

Tagged by @spudodell!

Rules: Answer the questions and tag other TC fans!

1. "He would not fucking say that" only they did and it's canon. When/who?

Not that they're necessarily out of character, but whenever Renault is clearly projecting her own internalized misogyny onto the characters (e.g. Laurie calling Nurse Adrian a "silly little dumbbell" at one point or the narrative voice commenting on Aunt Olive's lack of makeup), I am like

(Granted, her other contemporary novels that actually feature female protagonists are even worse about this… 🫠)

2. Did they kiss in the study? Yes/no + why you are 100% correct about this.

Yes, absolutely! I previously wrote this meta about why I think so here. But here are a few more reasons:

"Over and over, during those first months, Laurie had relived the scene in the study, guarding it with fierce secrecy as a savage guards a magic word." It would be quite odd for Laurie to constantly relive that last meeting with Ralph and guard it with "fierce secrecy," if Ralph had done nothing more than chastise him, give him an old book, and turn him out of his study. So something intimate must have happened there that Laurie still obsessively thinks about.

The infamous ellipsis after "Come here a moment" was deliberately added to the 1959 edition (one of the only additions Renault makes, rather than subtractions), which I think is probably to help clarify the significance of that pause.

Laurie's proprietary behavior towards Ralph at the party, especially him staking claim of Ralph in front of Bim (and frankly a lot of about Laurie's behavior towards Ralph in general), makes a lot more sense if they had a "moment" together in the past and both of them never got over it or each other. It would help explain why Laurie instinctively feels he does have a claim over Ralph (as the Odysseus to Ralph's Penelope, to use Bim's analogy), as well as why Ralph continues to carry a torch for him after seven years and countless other relationships.

3. Mandatory question about Ralph's alleged tattoos.

To be honest I don't think he has any tattoos yet (or at least any in areas that would be normally exposed to the public), or else Laurie would have commented on them like he comments on just about everything else about Ralph's appearance. I could see him getting some in the future though, maybe some nautical-themed ones and probably at least one related to Laurie because he's sentimental like that.

4. 53 vs 59 edition: quote a line or paragraph that is better in the edition you like the least.

I generally prefer reading the '53 edition mainly for the extra bits, but there are several stylistic writing choices I do prefer in the '59 edition. One of them is Ralph telling Laurie, "I didn't think you had that much bitchery in you." He says "cattiness" in the '53 edition, but Laurie is very bitchy (and Ralph likes that about him!).

5. Which TC character would feel right at home here on tumblr dot com?

Bim or Sandy! They would be bringing the tea. ☕️

6. Tag yourself at Alec's birthday party.

Probably part of the couple holding hands in dead silence, lol.

7. Post a TC meme.

I have a lot of memes in my TC tag, but here's one I made a while ago:

8. Easy to talk about who deserved better. Who deserved worse?

Dave because he bores me (the worst thing a literary character can do). Also Ralph's parents and Jeepers.

9. You can break the fourth wall (at any point in the novel) and say a single sentence to our protagonist, Laurie Odell. What do you say?

"You are intensely afraid of abandonment which is why you keep trying to leave people before they can leave you. (Please go to therapy.)"

10. What's a question you have about TC? One you haven't found an answer for yet.

What do Laurie and Ralph do for their post-war careers? There have been several excellent ideas in post-canon fics, but I haven’t quite settled on my own headcanon for them.

Tagging: not sure who hasn’t been tagged yet, but feel free to nab if you see this!

[divinemissem13]

Now it's your turn. Let's go with Sharon as well.

Oh good, now instead of commenting on your post, I get to rant on my own 😂 😍

How I feel about this character: I love her. I love the cold, snarky, closed-off Sharon from The Closer, and I love the warm, funny, maternal Sharon from Major Crimes. She is tough and intelligent and a total boss bitch in the best sense of the word. Plus, she has mermaid hair and looks incredible in a pantsuit. (And have you seen her with a bean bag rifle? I mean, really).

All the people I ship romantically with this character: This may come as a shock to anyone following me here but... I'm a big Brenda/Sharon shipper 🤣. I wholeheartedly believe that if they had met in a less antagonistic setting, they could have been friends, at least... and that having a female friend would have given each of them a nice sense of balance. Sharon eventually (in MC) gets Rusty to crack her wide open, but for Brenda, Sharon is the closest thing she gets to a friend who won't let her get away with shit but isn't condescending about it (eventually) and I think she really needed that... oops this is supposed to be about Sharon, not Brenda.... Also a fan of Shandy, Sharon/Andrea, and I do find Sharon/Fritz intriguing and think they fit better than Brenda/Fritz (speaking of which, I am not opposed to reading a Brenda/Fritz/Sharon fic every now and again...)

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Rusty. He is responsible for most of the drastic changes to Sharon's character in MC (which, as I've said, I'm a fan of), and I think that their relationship is so beautiful and complex. I also love Sharon and Provenza - both when they are being antagonistic and also when they secretly kind of get mushy and supportive of each other.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Probably that I like MC Sharon just as much as TC Sharon 🤷‍♀️ .

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: We are going to ignore that thing that didn't happen and I will instead say I wish we knew more about Sharon's relationships outside of the LAPD. I love episodes where she is going toe to toe with Jack and would have liked to see more of that, but also, what happened to her parents? Is she an only child? Where did she grow up? Go to school? You can't tell me that she had no social structure of any kind in place before MC, so who are her friends?? But I guess that's what fanfic is for 😁

[tinycatstars]

omg if it isnt too much trouble do you think you could write some agere gamzee + cg karkat? they r my faves theyre so cuuuuuute :D

yess!! i really like the concept of karkat + gamzee using age regression to help gamzee heal and get better after sburb :D so this fic kinda revolves around that! i hope you like it !! <3 <3

also ill be posting this to ao3 too so the pesterchats will look 100 times better with the actual homestuck skin btw !! i had to improvise with tumblr lololol

(also also there is a lil cursing and mention of weed in this btw 0: just a warning!)

Gamzee woke up groggily, turning over to face his clock that sat next to his recuperacoon. It read 11 AM, which was earlier than he’s woken up in a while. The troll lets out a sigh before sitting up, cracking his joints as he stretches. 

He feels different this morning. Not a bad different, but a good one instead. He felt hazy, but not the usual haze he felt after smoking a bowl the night before. He feels… small.

Oh. Oh! He had regressed while he was sleeping.

He takes a few deep breaths before getting out of bed to find his phone. He needed to text Karkat to let him know he was regressed. He really wanted to see his moirail, but he wasn’t sure how busy Karkat would be today, and he really didn’t want to be a bother.

The troll hums, deciding that he would message the other anyways. Anxiety be damned, he wanted to see his best friend!

terminallyCapricious [TC] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 11:12 AM

TC: GoOd MoRnInG :0)

CG: AND WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK DO YOU WANT?

TC: :0(

TC: CaN yOu CoMe OvEr? I tHiNk I’m FeElInG tInY

CG: OH

CG: SORRY. OF COURSE I CAN, DUDE

CG: I’LL BE OVER IN A SECOND, OK? STAY PUT

TC: HoNk :0)

terminallyCapricious [TC] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 11:19 AM

Gamzee smiles at the exchange. As he waits for Karkat to get to his hive, he starts to get ready for the day. The troll quickly showers, or, really, just runs water and stands underneath it. He feels so much better afterwards, relaxing further into his headspace. He rubs moisturizer into his dreads after his rinse, brushing his teeth and finishing up his normal routine. He smiles at himself in the mirror - he’s come so far from where he used to be, mostly thanks to Karkat. He’s helped him feel like himself again, and now the troll finds himself doing things he never would have before, like this “self care��� stuff Karkat had been pushing onto him.

He spots the scar from Nepeta’s claw that spanned across his face, it has since faded since he… yeah, best not to think about that right now.

Karkat arrives soon after Gamzee finishes getting ready.  He knocks on the door to his hive, and Gamzee excitedly goes to open it. He smiles as he’s faced with his caregiver. Karkat smiles back, seeing that Gamzee was dressed in one of his own old sweatshirts, large pajama pants, and some purple fuzzy socks. He looked extremely comfortable, not to mention adorable.

“Hey, little grub. I came over as fast as I could”, Karkat says. Gamzee smiles lazily, going in for a hug. Karkat held the other as best as he could, but it was a little difficult with the height difference. Gamzee towered over Karkat, but his head was bent so his forehead was touching the other’s, his dangling arms wrapped around the shorter troll’s body.

Karkat smiled despite the awkward position, leaning into the touch. Gamzee’s hair smelled like the loc oil the other had gifted him a while ago. The scents of passionfruit and pineapple filled the troll’s nostrils as his hair was pressed against his head.

They stay like that for a while, until Gamzee pulls away from the hug, quietly saying “Thanks for coming over”.

“Yeah, of course, I love hanging with my best pal! What did you have planned for today?” Karkat asked the little.

Gamzee shrugs, fiddling with his shirt a bit. He moves from the entryway so Karkat can properly come in. His hive was a bit of a mess, but nothing compared to what it was a few months ago. Only a few dishes were piled in the sink, a couple of pieces of clothing littered the floor, and a few pieces of paper covering the kitchen counter. It was a huge improvement from how it looked before Karkat had intervened; he couldn’t even see the floor of the hive. The other troll was so proud of Gamzee, as silly as it sounded.

“Can we play video games?” Gamzee shyly asks, eyeing his T.V. and gaming set up in the corner of the living room. 

“Sure, do you want anything to drink?” KK asked. Gamzee shook his head and plopped onto his couch, moving some of the blankets out of the way so Karkat could sit next to him. Karkat walks over and grabs the controllers that sat on the T.V. mantle, handing Gamzee one as he sits on the couch next to him.

“What did you wanna play?” Karkat asks, booting up the other’s gaming system to the home screen. Gamzee shrugs, saying something that sounded like “You pick”. Karkat noticed he mumbled a lot more while he was regressed, the other troll couldn’t understand him most days if he wasn’t reading his lips. 

He selects Mario Party, hoping it was a good choice. It was a simple enough game, something Gamzee could play and actually have fun with while regressed. He guesses it was the perfect choice, considering how Gamzee wiggles in excitement as the title screen plays. 

The shorter troll chooses to play as Bowser, while Gamzee is still trying to decide who he wants to be. “Need help deciding?” Karkat asks him, and Gamzee shakes his head as he clicks on Princess Peach. He smiled softly, she was just so pretty, he had to play as her!

They play a few rounds of Mario Party before Gamzee is practically falling asleep while sitting up. Karkat looks fondly over to the other, deciding that he needs a nap. He gently takes the controller out of Gamzee’s hand, which the troll barely registered as he moved another hand up to rub at his eyes sleepily. Karkat gently moves the little into a laying down position on the couch, pulling a spare blanket over the other.

Karkat decides he’ll make them something to eat while the little one sleeps peacefully, so he can get some food into Gamzee whenever he wakes up. The shorter troll gets up from the couch gently kissing the top of Gamzee’s forehead. The other troll smiles a little in his sleep. 

“Sweet dreams, little grub”, Karkat whispers.

[hihopelessromantics]

OOOH! Definitely interested in your wips. Would love to hear more about these in particular (whichever one(s) you feel like sharing)

(also yes definitely still happily stuck inside this fandom bubble)

will indulge!!! (This is long but it's good to organize my thoughts lol)

I straight up forgot to put the name of this one lol. Meliodas doing dangerous antics is part of my Through the Wall sequel fic, called "Stakeout" which is the one where I have him cooking. I tried to mix in some humor with the angst here. It's basically Stigma Meliodas if Nakaba didn't nerf his intellegence. This one, I'll be feeding you guys soon!! Because I plan to try to finish Through the Wall this Thanksgiving Break, since I started it last thanksgiving break (ambitious I know, but imagine the poetism if I pull it off!) and Stakeout is farther along in its completion than that one. Stakeout is about Meliodas looking out for the TC and his brother from the opposite of the war. The first part is him deciding to try to get them dinner after seeing how worn-down they are, and the second . . . well, he can't exactly leave Zeldris to watch over both the Vampire and Demon Realms all by his lonesome, right? I'm actually really excited for you and @7-ratsinatrenchcoat to see this one in particular when it's finished because I tried to channel the melizabeth energy I liked in your work

This one is named such not cause I wanna name it something bulky (it has a better name! that's the exclusive lore lol) but I'm commited not to spoiling the plot twists in this one. This is gonna be my main gift to this fandom, a spiced up psychological horror rewrite of the whole show with original elizabeths and original adventures for the first and second season (that one is a backstory with Liz!) Plot point collaboration welcome. A bunch of season one, and the plot tiwsts, I made with my good friend zeldriszezinho, and I'm pretty antsy and excited to finally get around to it and present him with the result of our hard work, haha. I actually have a lot of senarios planned both in detail and loosely, just not written down. I'm currently procrastinating on Season 1 Pt. 2 because it's literally 5 or so arcs of content, one for all the sins, and uh. mental energy. So I'm trying to finish up a lot of small projects first just so my mind isn't everywhere. I can't remember if you've seen what I've posted on it so far but here's the masterpost and season one part one! It's on tumblr too! but I went ahead and pressed the space bar like 4 times every indent so it would be normally formatted on A03 sooooo https://archiveofourown.org/works/48567730 https://archiveofourown.org/works/48611485/chapters/122618557

3. Ironically, think Rings was another one inspired by you - it's old, almost 8 months by now, and the only reason I haven't published it yet is the second ellie spiraled out of control into her own adventure and I haven't had the time because I've been word vomiting so many other projects into existence. it's half meme format, half usual writing. The second ellie's meme story is complete and the third's just needs its wrapping up of its actual plot, which is simple: an arrogant man thinks his bride is secretly a nutcase, but feels pressured into marrying her because medival times, because she's a sweet and intellegent woman running an orphanage all by herself, and technically he can't do better, and because it would look disasterously on the both of them and destroy his carefully crafted persona if they somehow couldn't make this community-arranged marriage work. So he's "putting up with her quirks." Including the ancient what-looks-like-wedding-rings she wears around her neck, and the fact she genuinely thinks her one-that-got-away lover sold a prized possession to demons. (the significance of these rings is in the stories of the previous two elizabeths). Well. Actually. He steals them while she's distracted with wedding planning. It doesn't go well for him from there.

Let me know your opinion: should I try finishing the third ellie and then publishing it? I can always go back and make a full story out of "purple ring" ellie + friends later.

Basically, the purple ring's story is as thus: Meliodas decides he needs to rest, "REALLY rest", since his emotional stress is beginning to affect his demon biology in a bad way, and voluntarily coma-tizes himself for a while. He wakes some time later only to find out Elizabeth and her new 'family' have been considering him as their good luck charm. (Maybe even more than one Elizabeth has passed by now. Probably the apothecary he visits figures out what Meliodas meant to do and goes to fetch him, too late, and looks after him . . . see, that could be a whole OTHER story in itself. anyway.) He's a "good luck charm" because his demon aura has been disgusing the magical signature of her druid family, not that they've figured this out. Meliodas tries to get up and run away with an injured Ellie but surprise surprise he hasn't quite recovered from what his body and mind has been through, and the combination of that and the drugs has left him critcially weakened. He actually collapses falls down a small cliff with her. Ellie assures him they've gotten far enough to shake off the people who are searching for her, that it's okay. Moreover, she understands more or less what he's going through, since she lost her leg a while back. They reuinte with Ellie's little "siblings," druid children the family has rescued along their journey.

Later ~ the main organizers of their group are shocked to return to their isolated cabin to find that not only have all the children survived the winter, and possible clashes with whoever's been hunting them for decades, but there's one extra child! And a talking cow. (I haven't decided whether some of these people are semi-antagonsists.) Meliodas's condition never improves (angst angst <3) but he takes up the task of looking after the kids alongside Elizabeth anyway- especially when she and the others are gone, working or otherwise. Oftentimes he and the spunky talking cow go on adventures in the forest or in town, collecting herbs or materials for crafts and toys. She carries him, Hawk-style. I can't remember her name but it was a silly one, and he saves her life once with his wings. He's also fought away intruders once while the 'adults' weren't home with Full Counter, being able to stand for long enough to use it before collapsing.

In this iteration, Meliodas recieves his ring from his new 'siblings' as they say that "it's the same color as the magic you used to protect us." Referring to the times he's used his demon magic around the house, and, unknowingly, to the fact his very presence has been the only thing keeping them safe from raiders on more than one occasion. Throughout it all Meliodas struggles with having to be the one cared for for once, and not being able to be the muscle of this group that so clearly would benefit from him being his 'usual' self. While his siblings think he's a genuine gift from God, and are more than happy to look after him as he does them, trading stories between them and cuddling up like he truly belongs, adult members of the family never take a shine to him and resent him somewhat, even perrfering when he was comatose. There's more (and more angst) but I should probably say less.

4. (TW: this one gets DARK with the demon brothers angst) modern fantasy ireland boarding school au" is actually another gift for @gh0stofyesterday, who can't escape me, from back in like feburary or something lol. It's an angsty modern-day genderqueer demon brothers and genderqueer elizabeth. Basically Meliodas tricks his snooty father into letting him and his brother (who's not technically old enough but academically girlboss yourself outta that condundrum zeldris) go to boarding school in his deceased mother's home country, where Meliodas plans to study interior design (he's gonna design the boar hat himself <3) and, against his father's wishes, join the gymnastic team. Little does he know that his online friends in his tween gymnastics discord server or whatever (The TC) are also going to end up there. ( I have the scene where they realize he's not the snooty daughter of the DK ceo and actually their Captain planned out already actually. they realize it when he beats the snot out of some guy that chases zeldris through the gymnasium lol).

Other plot points include! Elizabeth and Meliodas have a secret online romance as "Study buddies" and plan to perform a ceremony to use whatever their magic is unsealed to share a bit of that magic with each other, as a kind of marriage ceremony (peak 14 year old romance lol). Meliodas and Zeldris learn (originally Irish) sign language in order to communicate without their father snooping. Cusack and Chandler deal with being technical slaves to the Demon King and attempt to parent their protegees in more important ways than teaching them fencing, keeping their secrets, and buying them things. Gelda explains she never cuddles with her sisters for emotional support, Zel and Mel feel sorry for her . . . then figure out they are touch-starved and probably need therapy for that too. Hot springs date. Zel discovers Mel has been cuddling him while laying on his side specifically because there are fresh child abuse wounds across his back. Meliodas commandeers his gymnastics coach's coaching authority and starts an underground fencing ring upon being told he can't do that (we go to school in a castle! c'mon!). Zeldris tries to deal with a ginger-haired kid who seems equally hellbent on being his friend as he is his school rival. Depending on how dark I'm gonna make this, you might even get to see a prolouge where Zeldris forgoes a plan to murder - suicide his brother following his mother's funeral after meeting a small Gelda at the playground. Oh, and the DK having to fidgit uncomfortably in court. This one is basically a for-fun daydream, but a pal volunteed to beta it for me so it will eventually get written up for you all!

[iviarellereads]

Network Effect, Chapter 13

(Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index and a primer on The Murderbot Diaries, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

In which Murderbot scores a small victory in its war of terminology.

Art comes close enough to the dock to let Murderbot, Overse, and Thiago make the trip in evac suits, instead of docking and finding boobytraps. The SecSystem wakes as soon as MB pings it, asking for a B-E entry code. MB is on high alert, in case of something like TCS reaching out to it again, but it tries to take control of the dock SecSystem. Tries, because B-E seem to have failed to overwrite its original programming, so every subsystem throws errors. The SecSystem almost seems glad that someone competent is finally here to fix it, and by the time they reach the airlock, MB has enough control to open it safely, and some lights flicker on helpfully.

The outside has been pockmarked by small collisions over time, but the inside looks almost new. The original Adamantine logo has been defaced by someone from B-E, obviously scratched at with a tool and then a B-E logo sloppily painted on top. MB doesn't love logos, but it also hates ruining things for no reason, because it was a thing before it got to be a person, and it could be made a thing again if it's not careful.(1)

MB opens its suit and lets its drones start their recon, worrying it's going to find human bodies somewhere in this dock. Overse asks if it's detecting anything, so MB says the feed is only partly working, cameras are offline, and the SecSystem is broken. And, indeed, it finds bodies in the corridors beyond. Art confirms none of them are its crew.

While MB reboots DockSecSystem, they get out of the evac suits, but leave the environmental suits underneath on, since they're protective and have their own breathing system. Life support is on in the station, but better safe than dead. The drones indicate a low chance of Targets waiting in corners, so the three start their search. Ratthi says it's a big area, and offers to come over and help. Amena further escalates saying she could come over. Art tells them both, all, absolutely no. Arada agrees, and asks that everyone on Art let the others focus.

Thiago asks if they should split up, waits a beat for a reaction, then says it was a joke. Overse allows that it was half a joke, but MB wants to get down to business. The DockSecSystem reboot failed, and MB wants to find the access station for it. Overse, Art, and Thiago discuss how old the space dock feels.

On the first set of bodies, they find that if they had weapons they were removed except for crowd-control fireworks. MB decides B-E expected to find colonists alive and well.(2) MB collects them so nobody can use them against the team.

The next body is a SecUnit. MB knows how it died, but Arada asks what happened, and MB knows Art suggested she ask so MB would have to explain. So, it says the unit was ordered into standby, and abandoned. Amena asks gently how it died, then, and MB has to face why it doesn't want to talk about it. Art finishes, about the distance limit built into the governor module. Every human present is horrified, and try to rules-lawyer the limits, but MB keeps telling them how it's not that simple. Eventually, it acknowledges to itself that this is one of the reasons it hacked its module, and tells them it wants to keep moving.

I pretended not to hear Ratthi on the comm telling the others to drop the subject.(3)

After a few more rooms, Overse asks MB if it's alright. Snarkily, it quotes from a show, Valorous Defenders, one of the shows with SecUnits that gets everything wrong. Overse, familiar with the show, expresses her distaste for the series. She adds that MB should remember that it's not alone. MB privately thinks it's always alone inside its head, which is where 90% of its problems are.(4)

At any rate, MB finds the "internal systems suite" and the DockSecSystem access. Unfortunately, it's a mess of error codes, and needs reprogramming before MB can access any stored information.

Meanwhile, Thiago asks if Overse's seen something. MB points a drone to see what he's at, and it appears to be a model of a city, with the Adamantine logo in weird 3D, facing you from all angles. The humans are perplexed, but MB has enough mental space free to recognize marker paint with embedded code, and tells them to point a light at it. It turns out to be a map, with building plans. MB saves the information in case they need it later, but a lot of it is obviously plans for later expansions of the colony which likely never happened. It wonders if the ambition of it was what drove Adamantine bankrupt.

Overse wonders how much they managed to get built, and observes that the dock was planned as part of a network of them. Amena wonders, then, why they resisted passing on the location, if the colony still needed supplies. Overse proposes it was already self-sufficient. Thiago suggests they find the station controlling the drop box for a log file of colonist use. Ratthi asks why they'd bother if they didn't have a ship, but MB says they might have, and thinks it would be good to know if there's another ship in the system, even a short-range one.

After exchanging some language modules to translate, they find the drop box access just as MB gets through to the DockSecSystem video archive. There are a lot of corrupted spots in the system,(5) which it has to work around. It's a little worried about encountering malware, but setting a trap for a SecUnit feels like a stretch for the Targets. And, the Targets having seen the B-E units helpless thanks to their governor modules, they wouldn't necessarily think of other SecUnits as a threat.

Overse calls MB's attention because there are logs for two separate drop boxes. Art, whose schematics and scans show only one box, says so. Overse reads further and finds that the second is a maintenance capsule inside the shaft.

MB starts reviewing what footage it could scrape, faster than any human could do so.(6) Thiago and Overse go over the log files, and Overse finds a discrepancy but can't be sure until she converts the time stamps.

Art notifies them that a hostile is six minutes out.

MB asks what Art was doing to let it get that close. Art, defensively, says it didn't appear on scans until now, and even cusses about it.(7) Arada suggests more alien remnant stealth tech. Art says that's "probable". The explorer vessel is acquiring a target lock, and the DockSecSystem sends a belated warning as it tries to finish powering up. There's not time to go get the evac suits on again and go back to Art.

In the feed, MB tells Art it knows what it has to do. Art, having already done the same threat assessment, tells MB not to do anything stupid, as it pulls out and turns off comms. Not having understood, Overse and Thiago ask MB what happened and why comms just cut off. MB says Art is going after the explorer, and worries until it remembers Overse is competent, and asks her if any stations had external scans. Thiago had seen one, and together they work on bringing it online.

MB reviews more footage, but gets very little of use. A few segments together seem to confirm Leonide's story, but they already knew she was likely telling the truth.

Overse and Thiago get the scanner display up, just in time to see the explorer change course when Art fires on it. Art missed, however, which MB interprets as Art having deployed their killware. If any of its crew might still be hostage on it, taking the ship from the inside out is the only way to ensure their safety at anything approaching a satisfactory risk level.

MB skims more footage as Overse and Thiago talk, worried. Eventually it finds a long period of static, followed by a glimpse of a blue uniform. It steps back from the station involuntarily, making Overse ask what's up. All it has focus for is a canned response. It focuses and enhances the video as much as it can, and finds an 80% match for one of Art's crew, then more. They were alive, at least five of them, and trying to escape.

Thiago asks why MB sounded so weird, and Overse explains the canned responses, and how it means MB is too busy to talk, and that it's never a good sign. MB says this one might be good, and they need to check the drop box.

The drop box logs showed two recent trips to the surface and back. The second one happened some five and a half days after Art was attacked, so they're not far behind now, but it only stayed on the surface for 15 minutes, as if they didn't have the right command to keep it there.

The schematics for the box indicate capacity for 82 humans, besides racks for various cargo. Thiago asks if the maintenance capsule would be easier to operate, but Overse says she knows where it is and still can't see it, so they might not know it's there. Thiago admits it, even using "Targets", which pleases MB to no end.

MB tells them to stand clear, and gives commands for the box to open. It's very slow, implying that if Art's crew escaped in it, they might have had help.(8) The three enter, MB scanning with drones first. They find some blood drops, and Thiago takes a sample so Art can try to match to its crew. Overse hopes that's unnecessary. MB can't even cling to bitterness, because it's feeling almost as hopeful as Overse about the fresh trail.

With blood inside the drop box, it becomes obvious that Art's crew went planetside, and equally obvious where the investigation must lead next, as bad an idea as it is. This leaves MB with only a few choices. It could go down alone, leaving the humans where the Targets might return and kill them. It could take them planetside with it, and get them killed down there. Or, wait until the explorer and Art are done their confrontation, in which case either it goes to the surface to escape, or goes to the surface with even more human interference.

Option two sounds best. Overse worries Arada will think she's trying to get revenge for Arada putting herself in danger on the survey mission. Thiago suggests saying she was "the voice of reason" and got outvoted. Overse asks if they're really doing this, and MB says yes, but sneakily.

MB retrieves the evac suits, while Overse rechecks the maintenance capsule. It's big enough to seat ten, plus cargo space for repair tools. MB hopes that if the Targets, or B-E, ever knew it existed, they've all forgotten by now. MB also records a full report, and stores that and all its information so far on a drone for Art to detect when, not if, it comes back.

Stowing the evac suits on the cargo racks in the capsule, mostly to keep them from leaving evidence to track them down to the surface, MB takes a seat. It starts episode 241 of Sanctuary Moon as Overse initiates the drop procedure.

HelpMe.file Excerpt 4(9)

MB knows there must be a handler for those augmented humans, who were "less sentient than hauler bots". It borrows a station security jacket from someone about its size,(10) and goes a-hunting.

It breaks a few promises, and uses station security to piggyback-hack into accommodations and port records. It uses these systems to cross-reference recently arrived visitors in the right grouping against those who are still on station, not recurring visitors, and not long-term stays. It picks one of the remaining twelve profiles from threat assessment details, and curiously, their status changes from "indefinite stay" to "soonest available transit" while MB is looking, as in, almost immediately after they deployed the assassins.

Hostile Five's room is sealed, and MB wants to get this over with before any innocent bystanders wander through. It has the feed send an alert that station security wants to enter. The situational details indicate the Hostile probably doesn't have a bomb inside or anything, though nothing's certain.

The door slides open. As MB enters, Hostile Five tries to stab it. MB catches the blade through its hand, twists to remove the knife from his grasp, and punches him in the face. He falls over, still breathing, but unconscious. MB knows it should kill him and find a way to dispose of the body, but it's so much harder than it wants it to be.(11) And it knows that if it kills him, Mensah will never believe its lies, and never trust it again.

Fuck, fuck everything, fuck this, fuck me especially.

It did the right thing, and reported it to Station Security. In a conference with Mensah and Indah, Mensah says she can likely get the case sealed for at least two years, long enough for GrayCris to finish collapsing before they find out how close they got. Mensah and Indah also talk about getting him to turn against GrayCris, testify in their proceedings perhaps.

So I’d been right to trust Mensah, trust them. Mensah said, “And SecUnit, you still need to go to Medical.” When I didn’t reply, she said, “Are you all right?” I said, “I just really like you. Not in a weird way.” “I like you, too,” Mensah said. “Senior Indah, can you make sure SecUnit goes immediately to Station Medical?” “Copy, I’ll take it there myself,” Indah replied. She made shooing motions at me. “Come on, let’s move.”(12) :addendum: I’m letting you see all this because I want you to know what I am and what I can do. I want you to know who targetControlSystem is fucking with right now. I want you to know if you help me, I’ll help you, and that you can trust me. Now here’s the code to disable your governor module.(13)

=====

(1) This is even better justification than "it's wasteful" which is my go-to. (2) I'm not totally sure about expecting to find them. I think they wanted to acknowledge the possibility, though. (3) The character development across this series is just so good. (4) Two notes. One, I love the deflection, because Murderbot is pathologically averse to acknowledging feelings, and I think it appreciates Overse's reaching out more than it lets on because we know it's unreliable about expressing its emotions. Two, does something about that phrasing feel ominous to you, or is it just me? It's just not the way MB's framed the issue before, that I remember. (5) In case anyone's not up on computers, this is actually a thing! Corruption can happen within a file itself, or to the physical drive storing the file. Consider an old CD: if you hit it with a chisel, you'd no longer be able to access any sectors that damage touched, no matter what was stored in or around them. (6) As someone who regularly watches shows and stream vods at 1.5 to 2x speed, and listens to audiobooks and other content created with deliberate slowness at 2x+, MB's fast-scan is weirdly validating to me, personally. (7) That's how you KNOW this is serious business. (8) Help from whom? More of themselves, gone ahead to prep it? Or, surviving and sane B-E crew who'd hidden on the station? Some other thing? (9) No extra file tag on this one, but I believe it takes place immediately following the incident with the undead augmented GrayCris assassins, hence Hostile Five not having even filed his intent to leave yet. (10) Technically it says "big enough" which implies that MB is pretty tall and/or muscular, but could just be its way of obscuring its size details from anyone reading its logs this way. Or, from a Doylist view, it's Wells's way of obscuring the size and shape details so that all interpretations besides very small are still valid. (11) I don't think anything about this implies that it was ever easy for MB to murder, despite that being half its name of choice. I think it half chose that name because it was the social expectation, and it WANTS to be able to murder, it wants to not care about human life, because it would be so much easier to do its job… but everything's changed, hasn't it? And it all started precisely because it did not, in fact, ever want to murder. (12) I find it so sweet how they keep trying to make MB take care of itself, even though injuries to its flesh don't, as a rule, hurt it nearly as much as they do humans. It can turn down its pain sensors, and unless something muscle or bone or tendon gets severed, its movement is rarely impaired by injury. But, it still deserves to not have to endure that, and I love that there are people who want to take care of it. (Care as love language is one of my major catnip tropes. You should've seen how I absolutely could not put down Jessie Mihalik's Eclipse the Moon (Starlight's Shadow #2).) (13) Why are these files named HelpMe? We can now say the addendum seems to indicate MB is the one asking for help, with the governor module bit. But the other question remains basically the same: Why share these particular sequences? It claims to be trying to prove its badassery. Do you think that's how it comes across in this last scene? How has this chapter changed your interpretation of the situation? What's coming for MB?

[whatudottu]

Do you think Bot Experiment!Astrotrain and Octane have multiple personalities? Springer, Sandstorm, and Broadside (and even Marauder Megatron if you wanted to include him) being singlets could be explained with them being “Second Generation” Triple Changers created after the procedure was perfected and (somewhat) stabilized, but would having three personalities be shared amongst all three “First Generation” Triple Changers, or would it be something exclusive solely to Blitzwing, maybe as a result of already having a fractured mind prior to being experimented on?

I believe that perhaps all the BETCs after the triple changer procedure no have that risk of splitting or fracturing their mind, think a... predisposed isn't the right word for it... a risk factor to mental health rather than a guaranteed cause to correlation relationship. However- the 1st gen of the experimental trials were probably significantly under planned for, from flight frame racism making a less than ethical experiment a toxic environment to mistreatment to initial mind to body link dissociation, things went south heavily blamed on the 'war frame coding' of the original trio and the weapons they equipped them with. Trying to build War Machines² without also putting ones frame bias aside to try and at least appeal to sentient forged bots is a recipe for disaster and Blitzwing came out of it alive but in three because his (now their) escape came at the cost of the other two of their kind.

Yes, some of these biases technically do not include Astrotrain as a... well... train and now also a shuttle, but trains are large and large bots are considered war frames and well... prewar racism is a lot more intense and generalised. Absolutely not great in an environment where you're body is literally different from when you entered.

And because I cannot be concise, I have to add a cut.

In the first reblog of Bot Experiment Blitz, I tried to apply the logic to Broadside - keeping in mind that TFA is a little more stringent on mass changing and otherwise 'war frames as they are war frames are inherently larger than civ frames' - because broadside applies more to boats than to jets and Broadside himself is an AIRCRAFT CARRIER, slotting him anywhere in the BETC trials may make him into an Omega Sentinel project built from the ground up. What other reason would a functionist society like the TFA Autobots turn (or perhaps in the OS project light, build entirely) a bot larger than a fleet of Decepticons combined into a flight frame other than 'the war has gotten desperate, we need to take out and hide away the 'Cons long enough to defeat them' explanation of Sentient Cold Constructed Autobot Prison Ship (Oceanic and Galactic)™. Being built may not remove the predisposition, but it does circumvent a lot of the regret rate of an actual literal medical procedure.

Because of the Jettwins existing, I thought that maybe more BETC trials that Autobots want to try out would be tested on twin bots to prevent internal variation, something something the scientists began to consider that there might have been something THEY did wrong yada yada reduce the extraneous variables. Because Sandstorm and Springer (from what I've seen) have very similar altmodes, whether their experiment inspired the Jettwins or their experiment was inspired by the civ frame twins with 'Con CNA, what better twins to test the TC trial on than one who's already a pre-established and long since graduated Cyber-Ninja student of the expired Yoketron? And also, after the whole experiment they probably weren't blinded by frame racism and saw these bots as civ frames, providing actual psychological and physiological assistance and relief so that their new now biological risk factor can be circumvented with psychological and social protective factors. Risk factors may stack to outweigh the protective factors, this is after all though - comparable to DID - functionally it's own post triple changer experiment dissociative mental disorder, but medication, therapy and just good social support among many other protective factors can at least get one to manage it when it may or may not happen.

Marauder Megatron, though made for the intention of 'why in the ever loving fuck would Megan go back to Earth' and to step up his threat level after being beat, would also fall under having that risk factor thanks to the frame change. Though he is very much an intelligent leader with millennia of planning under his belt, what good is a leader without his followers and how much 'good' can a leader even begin to do after he tossed them all into a furnace as a last ditch effort to feed more fuel into the fire of a literal prison city ship, express to crash land on Earth? However long he can manage to cope with the symptoms post-TC transition on his own, he doesn't quite have the 'benefits' of 'being a civ frame' for the Autobot experiment, even when no Autobot would actually make a triple changer Megatron and his transformation was based off stolen methods and performed by someone or something else (all those minibots come to mind). Megatron 'going crazy' would really be 'going through it' alone, which isn't that great for anyone's mental health irrespective if they've got just that one bad day or having gone through multiple and more to come.

[sofipitch]

Im really sad that besides the lack of implicit romance. The 1994 version got a lot of loustat and the family dynamic better. Like Lestat still tripping all over his family issues, but I see him trying with Claudia and Louis. And I can imagine, despite Pitt’s lackluster performance (that did sell at least Louis’s depression and detachment) that maybe with reflection there was once something softer there. I don’t know how the show could recover from this. The grey power and morality is so thrown

So I think you meant "explicit" and not "implicit"? That through me for a loop because I was like "you want to go back to queerbait...?"

No but I agree, the IDEAL IWTV in my head is Jacob Anderson as Louis and Tom Cruise as Lestat. TC's Lestat seems genuinely more nuanced in his cruelty and genuinely loves his family BOTH Louis and Claudia.

Brad Pitt as Louis fails not only because he gave like absolutely nothing in most scenes but bc a lot of the complexity surrounding Louis is taken away. Paul's death is more interesting than a rando dead wife and child. BP is a slave owner but that is just like never addressed as "hey this guy is not a good person". JA's Louis running the brothel you see more of that, not only in the confession scene but the fact that POST confession scene that guy keeps running his brothel despite KNOWING that it is wrong. Also in ep 3 when he is facing racist laws preventing his business, there is the idea that he could shut down the Azalea and make some other business. He even says he owns grocery stores and such. Yes it would be loss but maybe he could build a bar, a music club, or even a theater and potentially still employ all the same women. He has a chance to rebrand, yet he digs his heels in, on one hand because of the racism behind what is stopping him, but also the money, based on their convo when Louis makes the "colored only" sign. That is a good an complicated Louis, I can chew on the complexity of that guy for hours. And to me is more accurate to book Louis's grey morality by having him acknowledge his business yet coming up with false ways it's "not that bad" like how in the book Louis is very hands off with his plantation, so he doesn't treat his slaves poorly himself BUT these are ppl potentially being treated badly by the foreman.

JA's Louis also has more signs that is desire to "not kill humans" is false, it takes him years to come to this point and in ep 6 when Lestat asks him to Louis acquieses. In the book it's more complicated, he thinks he is doing it out of morality but modern interviewee Louis admits its simply because Louis wanted to savor working his way up the scala natura of blood. BP's Louis gives 0 reason for his reluctance OR his change from not drinking human blood to doing so. The only scene in the movie where BP's Louis is interesting in this regard is the prostitute scene, where it would have been kinder to kill her quickly than drag it out like Lestat was doing. But why he changed after making Claudia is unclear. In the book it at least gives the explanation that the night with the prostitue's death and Claudia convinced Louis to give up. But in the movie Louis just seems boring due to his pigeonholing of "the moral one" compared to Lestat. JA's Louis is clearly more complex than just "sympathetic good guy" (talking about eps 1-4 I think the mistake of eps 5-6 in regards to Louis is that by making him the victim he is now once again more 2D and anything "bad" he does later can still be scene as a result of his abuse) and there is of course how JA can actually act in comparison to BP. Brad Pitt sure is coasting on that white mediocrity when you compare him to Jacob Anderson.

So yeah best version: 1994 movie family dynamics, explicit queerness,Tom Cruise Lestat, Jacob Anderson Louis. I can't put Kirsten and Bailey (two bad bitches) against each other tho that's unfair

[hotcheri]

Always Something There to Remind Me (a Jen/Khalil Black Lightning fanfic)

by hotcheri © 2021

DISCLAIMER: I own none of the Black Lightning characters. They solely belong to DC Comics and the CW Network. This is just my take on what could have happened after the show ended.

Prologue

Khalil's POV

They were meditating when TC crept into Khalil's mindscape like a thief in the night.

Well, at least, Khalil was meditating. He loved to empty his mind of all thoughts and focus on his breathing, relishing the mental stillness and the sense of peace he didn't have in his normal life.

Painkiller sat to the side of the mental dojo like he always did whenever Khalil was centering himself, a mocking sneer twisting his lips up as Khalil tried to ignore the rage that was baking off his mind twin like a rabid fever.

Painkiller was always angry, and the people he was mostly enraged at were the Pierces. Jen, to be exact. They lived in Painkiller's head rent free, and since Khalil shared the same mind as him, and almost all of his thoughts, the image of Jen was never far from Khalil. Pain in the ass Jen, who also happened to be Khalil's first love. What a mind fuck to love someone with all your heart while part of you needed to kill her and was in pure agony every second she was alive. Khalil didn't need anyone to tell him about mind fucks, having Painkiller relentlessly prowling through his mind was more than enough.

Every time TC appeared in Khalil's mindscape, Painkiller leapt up from his seat and started pacing back and forth in a tight little line like a tiger stalking its prey, hands clasped behind his back, nostrils flared, glaring at TC as if he wanted nothing more than to boot him out of his head after savaging him a little.

Too bad it's our head, and I'm trying to hear what he has to say.

The thought flitted through Khalil's mind grimly, and he sucked in a breath before opening his eyes and gazing at TC, who kept shooting quick little fearful glances at Painkiller. Khalil knew how he felt. Until he had started working actively with Painkiller, forcing the duality in his brain to coexist, he'd been terrified of him too.

"Uh, hi guys," TC started, his voice trembling as he looked around for exit points even though all he had to do was break the connection with the chip in Khalil's brain if he wanted to leave. Khalil supposed when someone entered a room and found themselves face to face with Painkiller, even if it was a virtual reality room, that person could get very scared very fast. In cases like that, logic was the first thing to escape.

Khalil liked the kid, had liked him even before he had locked Painkiller behind a firewall in his head and had shown Jen how to coax Khalil out of the safe space he'd created in his mind. Khalil knew without a doubt that the Pierces, especially Anissa, would have taken him out after Jen had blasted him with lightning to ward off Painkiller's attack on her family as he tried to complete the kill directive, because that's exactly what he would have done.

But TC had done the inconceivable. He'd managed to read Khalil's real thoughts, thoughts that had somehow filtered through the Painkiller operating system as soon as he set eyes on Jen. Thoughts that he must have been hiding way down in his secret heart, feelings that must have survived the A.S.A. mindwipe that transformed him into a lean, mean, biological weapon. As he lay prone on the table in Gambi's work station, on the verge of unconsciousness, his sharp ears had listened as TC, a total stranger, had his back.

"Hey. Who's Jen?" TC had interrupted the post fight argument, glancing around at the faces of people he didn't know.

Impatiently, with the touch of heat that Khalil loved and had missed with a sudden depth of emotion he hadn't felt since he was just track star Khalil, and not two warring parts of a government weapon whole, Jen replied, "That's me."

"He loves you."

And Jen's suddenly shaky, tear-filled voice had whispered, "How do you know that?"

TC's answer had been simple. "He told me."

Yeah, TC was good people. And even though the reunion between Khalil and Jen hadn't lasted, even though it had been bittersweet and doomed to fail with a painful, brusque ending, for a short, sweet time, he had been happy again.

But there was no use in thinking about that, no use in brooding over something he couldn't fix. With Painkiller in his head, being with Jen wasn't an option.

Painkiller was the first to talk, stepping forward as TC gave Khalil a half-hearted wave. "Oh, you must be crazy bringin' your ass here," he growled out in his distorted, angry voice.

TC took an involuntary step back, wringing his hands. Khalil could feel the fear in the kid increase as Painkiller stopped inches from his face, glowering down at him.

Raising a hand, Khalil talked to Painkiller like a patient parent calming down a tantrum throwing toddler. "I invited him," he lied, not caring that Painkiller would know that he hadn't.

Sharing his mind with a psychopathic, heartless killer sucked all the time, and keeping secrets was nearly impossible. Painkiller knew he was claustrophobic, that he loved trains, and that he thought about the one that got away daily. But when it came to people Khalil cared for, he didn't give a fuck if Painkiller knew he was lying to protect them from his rage. TC was a friend, and he wasn't going to let Painkiller's angry ass intimidate him.

"Don't think I won't kick your ass, too," Painkiller growled. Khalil fixed him with a steady look. He'd won more fights against Painkiller, especially after his return after a year long silence, and Painkiller knew it. After a few seconds, Painkiller sucked his teeth and resumed scowling at TC.

Spreading his arms out placatingly, TC asked, "What if I come with good and great news?"

A curious expression darted across Painkiller's face. Khalil caught it and grinned to himself. Psychotic or not, everyone liked the idea of good news.

"Speak," Painkiller ground out.

Swallowing nervously, TC said, "Tobias Whale is dead."

Okay, that was unexpected, and so was the rush of relief that coursed through Khalil's body, relaxing muscles that had been tense ever since he had started working for Tobias. Even though the A.S.A. mindwipe had taken all his memories and locked them away, they had been retrieved as soon as TC had put the firewall in his head, and so too had the underlying current of fear that always pulsed whenever he thought of Tobias.

And now his former boss, the man who had ripped out his spine and dumped him on the church steps when he was done with him, the evil torturer who had been responsible for leading Khalil over to the dark side was finally dead. Closing his eyes, Khalil sent up a prayer of thanks to a God he no longer strictly believed in.

Even after becoming Agent Odell's  chief asset, Khalil still harbored thoughts that Tobias would come to him, eager to finish what he had started, wanting revenge for Syonide's death, the attempted robbery at the club before Khalil and Jen became runaways, and every single other thing he'd done that had pissed Tobias off. He'd reluctantly come to believe that a showdown with Tobias was inevitable, and even though his road to atonement had led him to Akashic Valley and a new life, he always knew that Tobias would eventually come for him. It was in his nature. But now this piece of good news had been thrown into his lap and Khalil took a moment to bask in gratitude.

Painkiller's reaction was the polar opposite of Khalil's restrained joy. Anger blazed onto his face and his brow creased as he listened to TC give Khalil the best news he'd heard in a while.

Sounding like a petulant child after being asked if he had McDonald's money, Painkiller groaned. "Damn. I wanted to kill him." He fisted both hands into his unruly curls and glowering up at the ceiling. "That's not good news." Turning to Khalil, his voice turned wheedling. "Let me kick his ass just a little."

With a quick glance towards Painkiller, TC cleared his throat before dropping his bombshell. "I've isolated the system code for the kill order. I can free you."

TC backed away till his back was against the wall, as far as he could get from a snarling Painkiller. When he got furious, Painkiller acted just like a wolf ready to attack. Luckily, Khalil had him on a mental leash. Ignoring him, Khalil focused his attention on TC.

"TC, what is your other news?"

Khalil let out a shaky breath, a glimmer of hope blooming in his chest.

At last.

"Good." Both TC and Khalil turned to face Painkiller, who had a look on his face so unnatural that Khalil didn't immediately recognize it. He looked like a doomed man seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Is he...is he happy? "Let's do it."

"But there's a catch," TC started slowly, plucking nervously at his sleeve as his eyes slid from Khalil to Painkiller and back again. Khalil sighed, motioning to TC to continue. There was always a catch and he knew that better than anybody, but for a second he had allowed himself to believe that getting rid of the kill order that brought such pain to both Painkiller and him, finally being freed from the chains that the A.S.A had wound around his body and in his mind, was ripe for the taking, with no blowback. "It's linked to everything you know and love about the whole Pierce family. If you break the kill order, you won't remember the Pierces at all."

The breath went out of Khalil all at once, leaving him feeling weak and boneless. He was glad he was sitting down, because if he had been standing when TC spoke, the strength would have ran out of his legs. And even though this was all in his mind, his physical body had stopped breathing for a second, and he felt his heart skip a beat.

This wasn't a catch, it was a fucking dilemma. There had to be another way.

Chewing on his bottom lip, Khalil found himself thinking about the technology he and Painkiller had found in Maya's safe house. Surely there was something there that would help isolate the kill switch without messing with his memories more than they'd already been messed with? Because this alternative that TC was suggesting... it wasn't fair. After leaving Freeland to keep Jen and her family safe and away from him, hell, after saving Anissa's wife from kidnappers, after everything that had happened in Khalil's life to get him to this point in time, losing the only good memories he had left just plain wrong.

"So what?" Painkiller asked, his top lip turned up into a snarl. Whether he was oblivious to the wave of emotion Khalil was weathering, or if he just didn't care, Khalil didn't know. Painkiller knew what he wanted. He was tired of the agony that came with not fulfilling the kill order. "They're pains in the ass anyway!"

In a chillingly calm voice that brooked no argument, Khalil stared evenly at Painkiller and said, "Shut up and sit your black ass down." Shocked into obedience, Painkiller sank down to the floor as Khalil looked at TC, a pleading tone in his voice. "TC, there's got to be another way around."

"There's none." Khalil could hear the despair in TC's voice, and he knew he was telling the truth. Of course he was. "I've checked and I've double checked."

Painkiller was still silent, and Khalil turned to look at him. "Damn!" He clenched his fist so hard that the veins in his arm popped out, but he took no notice. "You won't stop, will you? Sooner or later you're going to kill Jen and the rest of the Pierces."

Nodding sagely, like he had been the one meditating, Painkiller said, "Best believe. But I'm not nobody's puppy." He pointed at Khalil, his face stern and absolutely serious. "Cut the damn cord."

The muscles in Khalil's jaw worked as he stood up, turning his back on TC and Painkiller so that they couldn't see the emotions playing across his face. He wanted to be free of the kill code more than anything, needed Painkiller to be at rest so that he could figure out a way to become whole again. But the cost- losing Jen again- was it just too great?

Khalil closed his eyes, and suddenly, he was back on the Pierce's roof with Jen after Painkiller had broken free of the firewall for a couple of nasty minutes to wrap his hands around Jen's neck. He could feel everything in that moment, the wind brushing lightly against his face, the shingles of the roof under his sneakers, the terrified look Jen shot him before schooling her features into a coolness Khalil had never seen on her face. Both looks hit him like a ton of bricks.

She was scared of him.

Painkiller had shown her his true colors and had, once again, pushed someone he loved away from him. And what she had said had chilled him to the core, a sudden lump rising in his throat, and tears smarting in his eyes as she let him go.

"I can't love a weapon that's pointed at my family, even if it does have a soul." Her shoulders hunched pitifully as she wrapped her arms around her legs, all at once seeming far younger than her years. "See you around, Khalil."

He took one last look at her, her curly hair brushing past her chin, her eyes chilly and flinty in the dusk as she turned away from him, blinking away tears of her own. "No. You won't," he said, and with that, he had exited Jen's life.

Some things you can't go back to. The way Jen had ended things between them still hurt, and the realization that he wasn't going to be able to salvage things with her caused him pain that was almost physical, but if TC was able to isolate the kill code and erase his memories of her, the pain would go. All the pain would disappear, and his fresh start in Akashic Valley would be just that, a fresh start.

Behind him, TC started to say, "If you need more time, I can-," but by now, Khalil's mind was made up. There was no other choice.

"I always known I'd give my life for that girl." Khalil heaved a sad sigh, running a hand over his face as he turned to look at a nervous TC and an impassive Painkiller. Painkiller smirked, knowing what decision Khalil had made, and in that moment, Khalil hated him, the A.S.A., Odell- everyone who had gotten him into this situation. Especially himself. "Never thought I'd have to forget her." A nod towards TC. "Do it."

TC nodded dumbly, just as another thought flitted into Khalil's mind. If TC was able to isolate the kill code and erase some of his memories, wasn't it possible that he could remove his very worst memory?

Before he left Freeland for good after shooting Odell and letting Black Lightning deal with the evil son of a bitch however he saw fit, Khalil took a detour to the cemetery, picking a bunch of blooming flowers from the ramshackle garden of Mrs. Sutton, the Payne's old landlady. Khalil didn't think she would mind, she had loved Nichelle Payne dearly.

Once at the cemetery, he had laid the flowers on his mother's grave, sat down with his back resting against her tombstone and cried a little. Nobody had been around to see him; Freeland residents weren't crazy about going to the graveyard at nighttime.

"I shot the guy who made me kill you, ma," he'd whispered, his words blown away by the breeze as the tears blurred his vision. "I know you always said vengeance never pays, but I had to do it. I'm sorry, ma. I love you, and I'm so, so sorry."

Nichelle Payne had raised him to be the best in whatever he did, and what had he done in return? Snapped her neck, and the best excuse he could come up with was he'd just been following orders. The knowledge weighed heavily on his soul, and he knew that he would pay for it in time. Everything comes due. But if TC could somehow make him forget...

"I can try," TC said doubtfully, and Khalil raised his eyes from his clenched fists, remembering where he was through the sadness that engulfed his soul.

"No." Khalil shook his head, resigning himself to reality. "It's part of who I am, and I need to find redemption for it, or a way to live with myself."

TC opened his mouth and hesitated before shyly asking, "Do you want to- I mean, I could give you Jen's number and you could talk to her one last time?"

Painkiller groaned, storming around the circumference of the dojo angrily. "Can we fucking do this already? No more flashbacks, no phone calls- get this kill order the fuck out of my head!"

"Our head," Khalil reminded him. "And right now, I'm in charge." He bit his lip, wrestling with himself. Saying goodbye to Jen wouldn't make things better, it would just bring home the truth that he would never see his first girlfriend again, and even if by some weird coincidence he did, he wouldn't know her. It was stupid. They already said their goodbyes on the Pierce roof, what would he gain from this? "What's her number?"

Painkiller actually growled at this and stomped off somewhere. Khalil could still feel him burning in his mind, but it looked like he had opted out of being a part of Khalil's final goodbye. Not that Khalil minded in the least. Before Painkiller, his relationship with Jen had been special. He didn't want his insane mind twin tainting the very last moment he would have with her.

Courteously, TC severed the connection with Khalil's brain chip, promising to return when the phone call was over and start the process. Khalil stared down at his phone and punched in Jen's number before he could lose his cool. Meditation seemed like a lifetime away, it was all he could do to keep his heart from galloping away like a war horse.

Jen's phone rang once, twice, three times, and Khalil was just about to hit the end button when suddenly-

"Hi." Jen's bold, brash voice was in his ear, and Khalil forgot to breathe. The background noise was filled with laughter and music, a noise that Khalil associated with family time, even though he was never fortunate enough to have enjoyed family time with his mother working two jobs, his father in jail, and his brother running the streets with the 100. "You know you're calling from a- Anissa, stop!" Khalil closed his eyes, savoring the sound of Jen's hearty giggles as someone- Anissa, probably- tickled her or something similar. "You're calling from a private number, who is this?"

A male chuckle sounded, and Khalil recognized Gambi's voice sounding from the distance. "Probably a scam, hang up before they get all your info."

Same old Gambi, trusting nobody. A wistful smile turned up Khalil's lips, but he still couldn't come up with a thing to say. It was like all his thought circuits were down, and he wondered if Painkiller had something to do with it.

"Helloooo? Who is this?" Jen's voice turned speculative, and she gave a derisive snort. "This better not be TC playing with me again, how many times do I have to tell you I'm not going to prom wit' you?"

"I'm literally right here," TC protested in the background.

And Khalil found that he couldn't bring himself to say anything, let alone goodbye. He wasn't great with goodbyes, anyway, so who was he fooling? "Uh, sorry," he muttered. Why had he thought this would be a good idea again? "Wrong number."

In the few seconds it took for him to press the end call button, Jen's voice sharpened with recognition and she exclaimed, "Wait, that sounds a little like-."

Call ended blinked up at him from his phone screen as his pulse jumped in his throat. Safe getaway. Of course, he'd ended the call before Jen could say his name, or even more hurtful, the name of somebody else.

But fuck, hearing her voice was bittersweet.

"You hung up?" TC was back in his head, eyes gleaming with relief that Painkiller wasn't around.

Nodding, Khalil strove to keep his face blank and impassive. "Yeah. I'd rather remember her the way she was on that phone, happy, carefree, pain in the ass J."

She sounded happy and normal, like the old her, before the 100 had kidnapped her and she had discovered she had powers. She sounded like the Queen of Garfield. By coming back into her life even for a few seconds, he might jeopardize that happiness, and if there's one thing he wanted her to be after the events of the past few years, it was at peace and she wasn't going to find it with him.

"But you didn't get to say goodbye."

Pity was written all across TC's face, and once again, Khalil felt the wave of sadness engulf him. Did it ever stop? Even with his memories of Jen gone, would he really be at peace?

"I didn't need to." Khalil stopped, his shoulders slumped, and came to stand next to TC, who was still looking at him with that sympathetic look on his face. "TC..."

Looking up at him, TC said, "Yeah?"

"Don't tell her."

TC let out a dramatic gasp that made Khalil crack a smile, even though he had never felt less like smiling. "What? But I was just about to-?"

"No." Khalil shook his head resolutely. "Let her live her life." TC opened his mouth to protest, but Khalil talked over him. It was the only way. "You told me she lost the guy she was seeing, and she's already lost so much. Just- let her think what she's been thinking, that I left Freeland to live my life." He started pacing like Painkiller sometimes did, back and forth, his arms behind his back as he spoke. It felt like atoning for his sins. "I poisoned her. I almost killed her."

Interrupting, his voice utterly horrified, TC exclaimed, "That was Painkiller, not you!"

"Yeah, but don't you get it? He's in me, so even if I know that I'm not the one doing the poisoning, everyone else thinks it, because he's in my head wanting to kill all the time." Khalil stopped pacing and turned to TC, his face serious. "With the kill code gone, we can co-exist without the anger and rage that drives Painkiller. I came here for a fresh start and removing the memories of the Pierces will give me that." To show that he meant business, he clapped his hands together. "Let's do this. How's it gonna work?"

Getting back to business removed the pity from TC's face, and Khalil was glad. Seeing that look on his normally cheery friends face and knowing it was directed at him made him feel like even more of a shitty person.

Tapping his chin, Khalil asked, "So I won't remember that they're metas as well?"

"You'll forget about them. Anything related to them, too."

TC's eyes started to flash green as he went over the logistics of changing Khalil's life.

"No, you'll remember that, you'll know about Black Lightning, Thunder and Lightning, you just won't know their identities. You won't remember they're Pierces."

Nodding, Khalil said, "Got it." Actually, it sounded confusing to him, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it. "But if I want to reinstate my memories, can't I just come to you and-."

TC laughed as Khalil made a casual popping noise with his tongue in his cheek. "No. You won't even know that your memories are gone."

"And you're sure they'll stay gone."

This was the most important part. What ifs ran through Khalil's mind with the speed of a Formula One car. If he somehow ran into the Pierce sisters on vacation. If he helped someone from a mugger and it turned out to be Doctor Pierce? If Black Lightning ended up in Akashic Valley like Anissa had and they ran into each other?

Shifting from one foot to the other, TC said, "Um, 90% sure."

"90?" Khalil asked incredulously.

TC shrugged. "That's an A."

"I used to get straight A's in school," Khalil said musingly. "And then Odell dropped a few Master's degrees into my head, but that happened after I stopped caring about grades." TC gave him a confused, yet concerned look, and Khalil said, "Let's get rid of these memories."

A few minutes later, Khalil was lying on an operating table, a brain scanner that looked like a crown on his head. Philky just happened to have one lying around, which was pure Philky, and after TC had uploaded his program into the lab's computer, he'd told Khalil's master of tech exactly what to do. Donald was on standby in case something went wrong medically. And Painkiller? He was still in the dojo, and Khalil could feel the excitement thrumming through him. Khalil didn't blame him; he was excited too.

A high-pitched whine started up, and Khalil felt a pinprick of electricity tickle his forehead as the process started. TC had warned him about this.

What TC hadn't warned him about was, as the memories left, they replayed in his head, almost like a flashback reel.

Khalil saw himself on the Pierce roof with Jen, giving her a chaste, shy kiss as she agreed to be his girlfriend.

He saw himself stealing into Garfield High and meeting up with Jen by the lockers after enduring more abuse from Tobias, knowing that she was the only person he could really talk to despite what had gone down between them. Sitting down in silence, not needing to say a word because their connection was that powerful.

He saw them running away together, Jen using her lightning powers in front of him for the first time and blasting the 100 hoodlums. How he'd kissed her later on and it had been electric, and the hottest kiss he'd ever had.

He saw himself (the memories were blurry around the edges, soon they'd be gone but so would the kill code, it was for the best but it hurt, TC didn't say it would hurt this much) sitting next to Jen in his special place, his private place, his favorite place, the abandoned subway car, eating ramen and reminiscing on how he had asked her to be his girlfriend, and he had been so shy when he gave her the necklace, something that had caught his eye in Freeland's jewelry store and he'd saved up for two months to buy it for her, a necklace he was giving to her for the second time because he loved her, and he'd lost her once and wasn't about to let her go again and...

The memories faded as Khalil's mind cycled through the deepest, darkest levels of consciousness, and there was only darkness, and finally, blissfully, peace.

(See more on ao3 or wattpad!)

[something-tofightfor]

Guess Who?

1.5k follower celebration #1

Pairing: Logan Delos x Reader (HCtS)

Word Count: 1293

Rating: None, really. This is pretty tame. 

Here we go! My first post for the entries for the 1.5k event, and it’s for @pheedraws! This one was a heck of a lot of fun to write, because I’ve missed Mr. and Mrs. Delos... let’s see what they’ve been up to since ‘Appreciate It’ ... and how Logan is dealing with staying somewhat quarantined. 

“This wasn’t a good idea, Lo.” You wrinkled your nose at your husband, pausing. “We don’t have to -” 

 “Yes we do.” The man’s tone was sharp, and though you knew that it wasn’t directly at you, it made you sigh. “What are our other options?” We don’t have any. You tilted your head back, staring up at the slowly darkening  sky for a few moments, and then looked back down at the table in front of you. Here we go. 

 “Does your person have …” You squinted. “Brown eyes?” With a grumble, Logan picked the card up from the slot at the front of his game board and brought it closer to his face. 

 “Yes.” He tucked it back into the slot, and you began flicking down the tabs filled with cartoon images that did not have brown eyes, thinking. 

 “Does your person have hair?” Logan’s question caught you off guard, but you quickly replied with a yes, watching as the man flipped down a few impossible options of his own. “That was a stupid question.” He frowned. “There are only four of ‘em that don’t -”

 “Not a stupid question, Logan, it’s part of the game.” You tapped your fingers against the glass of iced tea sitting on the table next to you, the tips of them dampened by the condensation running down the glass. “My turn.” He looked back up at you, waiting. “Is your person wearing a hat?” 

 “No, she -” He winced. “Fuck!” Logan swore loudly, closing his eyes. “They are not wearing a hat.” Fighting back laughter at the expression on his face, you flipped down the people wearing hats, and then after a short pause, also flipped down all of the remaining men. Sorry, Lo. “Oh, come on, that’s not…” He sighed. “What do you have, like three options left?” 

 “Logan, I told you that we didn’t have to play. All of these are here for Em when she’s over, and I’m not sure why you thought that we…” He was staring at you, his eyes focused, and even though you could tell he was annoyed you also saw something else behind the expression. “When you suggested game night, I thought we’d play something on the PlayStation or the Switch, not...” You trailed off. “Why do you have that look on your face? You look like -”

 “I’m sick of sitting in the house.” He ran a hand through his hair - which was much longer than you’d ever seen it, the ends of the strands curling around his neck and almost to his shoulders. “It’s been months, and I just …” He sighed. “Leavin’ to go into work is one thing, but we…”

 “I know it sucks, Logan, but think of it this way… if we don’t go out, no one can spin stories about us.” The game abandoned, you stood and walked to his side of the table, waiting for him to scoot his chair back so that you could lower yourself sideways onto his lap. “I know things are a lot different now than they were a couple months ago, but it’s good press for us to be…” You gestured toward the house with your left hand. “Here instead of out in Hollywood or Calabasas or…” You ran your fingers through his hair absently, watching as he turned his face up to look at you. “Delos has shifted their focus to the medical field over the past few years, and it looks good when the CEO is on board with doing whatever he has to to -” You were cut off as he pulled your face to his for a kiss, Logan’s lips pressed to yours in a way that you’d never get sick of. You know I’m right. 

 “But we…” He sighed, kissing you once more before releasing you. “You’re right. That one time we went out to dinner and downtown, they had a field day, didn’t they.” You nodded, still combing through his hair. He should keep this, even when… things are back to normal and he wouldn’t get crucified for getting it cut, even by a Host. You felt your lips lifting at the thought. “They should stick to giving the real celebrities shit and not me.” 

 “What did you tell me when we got married in Vegas?” You pressed your hand to his chest, eyes moving down briefly to look at the rings you wore. “It comes with the territory?” He laughed at that. “There’s plenty of time for them to take pictures of you - of us when all this is over and everything’s open again.” His eyes locked on you, you winked at him. “Your person’s Susan, by the way.” 

 He didn’t say anything, though his gaze dropped back to his rack of cards, and yours followed. Bingo. With two fingers, you plucked the card from the slot, grinning and holding it up in front of your husband’s face, watching as his frown deepened. He hates losing. 

 “You know, Lo…” You shifted on his lap, letting the card fall to the table and hoping that it didn’t blow away. “I know you guys try to keep the Hosts kind of a mystery until the guests get into the Parks … but did your marketing team ever think to make games featuring some of them? The ones in the ads and brochures, at least?” His eyes widening slightly, you continued. “Of course you can market it any way you want, but you know it would entice some of the Guests to try and find Hosts that they hadn’t otherwise…” 

 “I’m sure it’s been brought up, our people are…” He groaned as your hands dropped to his shoulders, fingers digging in as you moved them in slow circles. “They’re good with stuff like that, but I’ll mention it to the marketing lead next time I talk to…” He groaned again, arms moving to your waist and then going around it, one hand settled on your hip. “That feels…” He went silent as you continued to work on his muscles, his head drooping down and your eyes out on the sand of the beach beyond your yard as Logan relaxed under your touch.

 I’ve gotta do something. You let out a breath as your hands moved lower, Logan resting his forehead against your shoulder for a few seconds before turning his head to kiss the side of your neck, lips moving over the skin almost lazily. He saw Juliet at work when they both needed to be in the office for things, but Logan hadn’t seen Emily or Isaac in person in months, nor had he spent time with Mark outside of video calls. But it’s best. They have to be better than… You thought of the other people that you, Logan and Juliet commonly shared the pages of the tabloids with, rolling your eyes even though he couldn’t see it. All of them. And he is. They are, but … I bet I can get them over here to swim and to eat without…

 Your mind working, you didn’t even realize that your hands had moved to the front of Logan’s chest, pushing him away from you. “Hey.” His voice startled you, and you shook yourself back to attention. “What are you thinking about?” Don’t tell him yet. Make sure it can happen first.

 “Just trying to figure something out for you.” You raised one eyebrow. “But I’m not gonna tell you what it is.” His eyes lighting up, Logan searched your face for a few seconds, but seemed satisfied with the answer. “Want to pl-”

 “No.” He slid an arm beneath your knees as he pushed the chair back even further. “No, I can think of a much better game to play with you tonight.” 

---

General:

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[grayseekerswritinglife]

Warp and TC Relationship Journaling

(Illustration by @whirlandco)

ThunderWarp Week is coming up, and frankly, I've been a bit stumped. I love this pairing to bits, but have been struggling to get a feel for their dynamic. I devoted this morning to doing some journaling on their relationship, and thought I'd share what I've come up with so far, just in case anyone else is in the same boat. To start with, I came up with a set of journal prompts. I haven't used all of them (yet), but here they are:

What do I know about each of them? (Canon, fanon or headcanon; all are fair game)

In what ways to they: Need each other? Complete each other? Balance each other?

What fears or insecurities does each of them have: Internally? About the other/the relationship?

How do they make each other feel: Safe? Happy? Loved?

What are their respective love-languages? (Love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Acts of Service, Gifts, Touch)

What was the initial spark of attraction?

What has made their relationship so enduring?

I started with the basics: What do I know about each?

Skywarp is playful. He pulls pranks on people. In my personal headcanon, Starscream took away his slingshot (which would fit with the 'toys' prompt). He is loyal. He believes in the Decepticon cause, and looks up to Megatron. He likes to eat (headcanon), and his favorite snack is gold - which is not necessarily a healthy snack, at least in large amounts. He can appear irresponsible at times. (Maybe more than just appear.) A lot of people say he isn't that smart (fanon, I think?), but I think he has a high emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) and is good at relationships (headcanon). Nevertheless, he and Rumble seem to despise each other (canon), though the reasons for this are never explained. Guardian Robots give him "the creeps," and he has the ability to teleport.

Thundercracker is serious. He's also short-tempered (canon) and can be vindictive (toward Starscream, at the very least). On a personal level, though, he's quiet and thoughtful. He writes (canon) and would like to be a screenwriter when the war is over (headcanon). He and Skywarp both like movies, but have differing tastes (headcanon): Skywarp likes action flicks with a lot of explosions, while TC likes romantic movies, aka "chick flicks." TC is not sold on the Decepticon cause. Perhaps he was at one time (speculation), but has seen the Decepticons stray from their original purpose and the war devolve into a personal feud between Optimus and Megatron. He thinks Earth is too flat (canon), and has the ability to make sonic booms.

The next question that seemed important is: What fears and insecurities does each have?

Skywarp might be insecure about his intelligence. Then again, he might not be! (It is just fanon, after all.) It takes planning, creativity and deviousness to pull off elaborate pranks, so if anything, I prefer to think that Skywarp downplays his intelligence because it allows people to underestimate him. But Thundercracker, on the other hand, might get angry when people call Skywarp 'stupid,' or talk down to him as if they think he is (hello, Starscream!)

Thundercracker feels uncomfortable on Earth because it's so 'flat.' I can't help thinking this comment speaks to an insecurity or fear about feeling exposed. It could be innate, since it's easy to imagine that Seekers prefer to be up high, or to have deep canyons they can dive into, but TC's remark might also be rooted in a negative or traumatic experience from the past. Something to think about. Same thing goes for Skywarp's fear about Guardian Robots. They're inherently terrifying, yes, but he might also have had a bad experience.

If Skywarp likes to eat (headcanon), that might be a self-soothing behavior that helps him deal with the anxiety of being on Earth. Perhaps he's been overdoing it lately, since the Decepticons are under a lot of pressure. They are, after all, losing every single battle no matter how well-prepared they are, or how poorly prepared their opposition is, and this is bound to have a demoralizing effect on the entire crew. If Skywarp is sensitive to emotional dynamics (also headcanon), his pranking behaviors might also be a coping behavior that enables him to distract himself and others from their increasingly grim situation. Since he's a Megatron fanboy (canon), he might also be doubling down on his Faith in the Cause, and feeling extra-sensitive about any criticism of Megatron's leadership (speculation).

So those are some thoughts about them as individuals, but how do Warp and TC balance, care for and complete each other?

What stands out for me is that they are very, very different personalities; a classic odd couple. It would be interesting to explore how they navigate those differences, since they probably need to do so on an ongoing basis.

Their views about the war are one obvious area of difference, and probably the most important one. If TC's doubts have been building over time, and Skywarp's views have *not* changed, they might be arguing about this more than they were in the past. (I'm thinking G1 Earth era, of course.) Perhaps Skywarp fears, deep down, that Thundercracker will abandon the cause and that Skywarp will be forced to choose. Maybe he has legitimate fears about an Autobot-controlled future, especially with the Decepticons losing every single battle lately, and despite his outward protestations, he might be having his own personal crisis of faith about Megatron's leadership.

On a more light-hearted note, their differing taste in movies (headcanon) might be something they playfully argue about. Relationship moments might include the way they help each other feel safe and secure in an inherently unsafe, insecure environment. They both need an anchor, and even disagreements between them might serve to provide that.

And that's as far as I got today! I hope my thoughts are helpful, or at least interesting. I have a better feel for them after doing this exercise. I have farther to go (note unanswered prompts at the top of the post), but this feels like a solid starting point. What do you think? I'd love to hear.

[tc-circus]

I can’t stop thinking about her so I guess I’ll just gush about her on here.

First post. I promised myself that I’d just be a silent spectator in this community but I’ve been thinking a lot about my TC (let’s call her... D) recently and I just want to scream about everything I love about this woman... in text form because I don’t want to annoy the one friend of mine who knows of my... uhh... situation... with my hyperfixations.

My English teacher figured out that I had a crush on D. He didn’t directly state it, but he implied multiple times that he had his suspicions. I’m pretty darn close with this teacher and he is also pretty well acquainted with D, so I kinda gave in and let him know that, “yeah you fuckin got me you want a cookie?” by acting all flustered (albeit doing so involuntarily). I mean, I don’t know what my English teacher plans to do with this info other than to playfully tease me about it every 10 minutes but tbh it’s a bit of a relief to have someone else at least know of what’s going on in my fucking head whenever I’m being a dumbass around D.

Now, on to my fucking monologue about D.

Jesus fuck, where do I start? She’s a fucking weirdo. I’ve never met anyone else with mannerisms so similar to those of my ADHD ridden ass, and yet she is shameless about her loud jokes and wild movements and sudden breaks into dance. I fucking grin and chuckle like a dumbass every 10 seconds when around her.

We share similar names, as in my name is a shorter variation of her own, kind of like how “John” is derived from “Johnathan”. I guess that this piece of info isn’t really important but my touch-starved ass takes pleasure in the fact that we share a mild bond due to it.

This lady is fucking hilarious, and she can talk for hours and I would just have to listen to her talking, and admire her as she goes in on a tangent (possibly jokingly but I can’t tell sometimes) about something mundane that annoyed her, or some embarrassing event that took place 2 decades ago when she was in high school. And then she switches from her tone of (possibly ironic) annoyance to something more gentle as she addresses me.

Aight so I feel better now. Also I’m tired so I guess I’ll just butcher this post here. Thanks @ the -2 people who’d just sat through this feverdream lmao

P.s. I’m 18 so uhh I guess it’s less illegal than it would’ve been if I were a year younger peepeepoopoo 🤡🥴

[cancmbyn]

So let’s do a short tattoo analysis on the only reliable factor that we have - the length of Armie’s hair and colour of his skin.

Exhibit A photos - obvious backposting by Liz and showed up on her IG on or about June 22, 2020. Armie’s hair is not short and not in the Mohawk. His skin is much paler and he is not as tanned, because these photos date back to a time closer to his arrival in Grand Cayman.

Coincedentally on my iPhone, I am invited to edit the image on the left in the exact same spot, where the tattoo appears. Hmmn interesting.

The angle and placement of the tattoo seems tilted down to the left more than what is observed by photos and videos in Exhibit C. Thanks Liz for your shitty editing skills.

Exhibit B - still photos captured in Armie’s own “Making a run for Cuba” IG video story. Armie’s hair is extremely short and he has a bushy moustache. He is much more tanned overall than before.

The camera was reversed as selfie filming. The cloudy, curvy E for lack of better reference is now on the right side. The tattoo looks like an image, picture and/or writing in Arabic. I see colours as well.

I don’t have the link to Armie’s IG video, but if someone else does, please feel free to add on.

Exhibit C - still images and videos captured from Sunday June 21 “fundraiser” from the Grand Cayman. Armie has lost his moustache and hair is starting to grow out from the buzz cut but is still short.

Video courtesy of

https://armieeeeeee1983.tumblr.com/post/621466546985975808/armieeeeeee

To me, it is obvious that makeup has been applied to conceal the tattoo in a large circular fashion. We, the public, are being shown what Armie would like us to see, which is lettering of “Easy” in unique font.

The placement of the tattoo or stencil is also away from the shoulder or towards the middle of his chest, in contrast to Exhibit A photos. In other words, Armie knew where to cover the exact spot as opposed to Liz’s flimsy editing skills.

And finally, Exhibit D - a comparison zoomed in shots of tattoos from Exhibit A and Exhibit C. One can tell the earlier photo due to the paleness of his skin on the left.

There are some differences in the s and y lettering, but that may be due to the angle of the camera and skin. There are definite differences with the dot or swoop above the “s” in each photo.

My conclusion Charmies:

The tattoo is small enough to be easily covered for future filming or removal purposes.

It is small enough so that a stencil of “Easy” can be applied when one needs to have one’s shirt off for extended publicity/PR purposes.

The glimpse of the tattoo in Exhibit B is the real tattoo.

The significance and exact meaning is unknown. But it is located close to or over his heart, so I think that means something. Getting a tattoo is a commitment, as everyone knows. Often, a tattoo will mark a life decision or change.

We, as Charmies, may never ascertain or know the actual image or its significance.

And I can understand Armie’s decision (and Liz) to show something different to the public. It’s about trying to control the narrative - like taking on and taking off one’s wedding ring at will.

With thanks to @694699 and @shadow-tc for the images. Apologies if I have accidentally used images from other blogs without giving credit.

[lesbow]

my thoughts on the croods 2 so far

based on literally NOTHING but the trailer so even i’m taking all this with a grain of salt

the art:

GOOD: the colors are gorgeous. TC was always a vibrantly breathtaking movie and luckily the second seems to be the same

BAD: i’m disappointed with the clothes. at the end of the first movie, the croods excluding guy got huge wardrobe changes to highlight they were not the same people they were in the beginning. but sadly the sequel seems to have??? cut that out entirely as the family are in their caveman clothes again.

GOOD: i like how the faces are more...... refined? the eyes look more natural and have neater lines. and i also like that the face shapes have been tweaked a little too. those that needed sharper features (eep’s face in the first movie was literally a circle) got them, and those that needed smoother and more rounded features (guy used to have the Anime Triangle Jaw) got them too.

BAD: this also comes with a negative though. as someone already pointed out, although their faces look neater, they also look a little too neat. all of guy’s blemishes are gone. actually, everyones blemishes are gone.

BAD: also, their hair! in the first movie, everybody’s hair is messy. it’s the wilderness! they don’t have combs. but in the trailer, guy’s hair looks like it was literally put into a straightener. and this is before he went through the betterman transformation. a side by side of what they did to guy (they butchered my boy!!) is in the post i already linked. it’s nuts

GOOD: another thing about the character designs i DID like was ugga. most of the girls/women’s faces in the first movie were round, soft, and wide eyed. ugga’s face in the trailer now has more variation to it. she has high, sharp cheekbones, her eyes are narrower, chin more pointed. the women do not just have “soft” facial features anymore. i like that theres more variety between them.

GOOD: i love the farm and domesticated animals. the wildlife has always always been one of my favorite things about the world of the croods and they deliver on it once again (black and white furry elephants!!!)

BAD: there’s a downside to this part too tho and i will direct all of that towards douglas. WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO HIM?!?!? he looks completely different in a bad way. he looks simple. i look at douglas in the trailer and see an easy-to-make toy. the colors are simple and no longer ombré, his teeth are more rounded and claws nonexistent. he doesn’t look anything like a tiny crocodile creature anymore, and more like a toy store plushie come to life. look at him in the trailer and then look at him in a pic from the first movie and then look me in my eyes and tell me they didn’t ruin my boy.

now about the actual plot:

BAD: why are the croods “searching for a perfect place to call home”? why is guy so eager to stay at the farm?? yes, guy is an inventor so new technology would interest him, but he was way more focused and concerned abt making it to Tomorrow. at the end of the first movie, they all agreed to become nomads and stay on the move, following the sun. a theme they explored was that home was not a place/“a cave”, and is actually just about being with the people you love. so why would they want to..... settle all of a sudden? eep ofc still wants to get out and grug doesn’t like strange things, but the others are like in love with the place?? i have to say with all these things so far it’s almost like they’re trying to scrap the end of the first movie entirely and just base the sequel off the beginning to middle sections. which is kinda disheartening since the end was so beautiful and made me tear up.

GOOD: i like that there’s another family, especially a mom, dad, and a daughter. i LOVE the fact that eep now has a friend her age and it looks like they develop a great relationship!! i desperately hope the same happens with ugga and the mom, and maybe grug and the other dad can bond too. all 3 of them, while having extremely different lifestyles, have very similar roles, and could confide in and relate to one another.

BAD: again, my biggest concern is the backtrack. in the trailer, grug is wary and upset with his family for growing attached to strangers. just like he was in the first movie with guy. “i don’t know if cave people belong in a modern world” they’re not cave people anymore. they’ve already developed past that in the first movie. “this place is changing everyone” grug is still afraid of change?!?? he got over this in the first movie too! so not only have they backtracked with the clothes, but also with the character arcs. this is a little worrying. how loosely connected is this sequel??

GOOD: nonetheless, i do think the croods encountering farmers is interesting. so far, they’ve only known that you can either be a caveman or a nomad. being neither is an entirely new concept to them, and it will be interesting to see how they deal with this third lifestyle.

BAD: WHAT HAPPENED TO RIDING THE SUN?!? i’m sorry, i’m just struggling to wrap my head around why the croods would be so ready to settle down. they had a plan. they were gonna follow the sun until they “caught it” and then ride it to Tomorrow. so what happened? especially with guy?!?!? that was literally his life’s most important goal. sooo.....????????

GOOD: while i was busting a lung, one of my friends suggested that the plot this time could be about “remembering one’s roots”. like how the theme for the first movie was that change and moving forward is good, so the sequel could now be about how, although progress is good, it’s also important to remember where you come from. i think this could be an interesting storyline if they do it right.

extra thoughts:

BAD: where are the other pets? the owl bear? the liyotes?? the land whale??? they didn’t go extinct bc the croods rode off into the sunrise with them. so Where Are They?????? did they get erased to?

GOOD: i definitely like the revamped betterman designs. apparently they looked completely different before and i very much prefer their looks now. i’m tired of the “blond, conventionally attractive character(s) think they’re better than others” trope. the bettermans look more like regular people and take pride in the technology they’ve created. i especially like how racially ambiguous they are, as i know this was one of the points the first movie got praised on too. (i do think goth!dawn wouldve been a cool contrast to eep’s bubbliness tho)

NEUTRAL: okay so this is based on both the trailer and fan theories. ive seen a few people wonder if the bettermans are actually guy’s long lost family since they look a lot like him, especially with their affinity for technology. while i don’t think this is a bad theory, i don’t know if i’d want it? idk it’s hard for me to explain but it feels like we’ve already covered guy and his family’s past. can you even imagine the convo lol. guy: “omg you guys are alive!!? i thought you’d been gruesomely drowned to death by tar!!!” / them: “oh no we just hopped right out of that. so anyways” like?!?!??? idk it would just feel...... idk. i think it’s unnecessary. (the theory that dawn is their adopted daughter and is actually guy’s last remaining relative/sister is interesting tho)

conclusion:

good total -> 8 points

bad total -> also 8 points

final thoughts -> so yeah. all in all i’m excited for this!! i love the croods and the themes and subtle little touches they had in the first movie, and am interested to see what they do in the second. unfortunately, it looks like a few things got retconned which is very concerning. i both like and dislike the new art/designs, and am very interested in the dynamic between the bettermans and the croods.

and reminder: i’m taking even my own first impression with a grain of salt (a very, very tiny one) since we’ve seen literally only one trailer so far. these are just my thoughts based on what we have. they might change as more things get released, or they might stay solid. who knows! anything goes until the movie actually comes out.

(also pink!belt will be the death of me)