#but he still doesn’t have many coping skills

[cloudcountry]

SUMMARY: hobbies/habits i think they would pick up when they’re older

COMMENTS: i was thinkin hard about this but ofc rubia helped me on both leo's and haku's (as haku authority ofc ofc <333)

Jin picks up piano to cope with the dread of his younger years. You can often find him tentatively playing through the pieces he loves, worried about getting them right.

Tohma picks up a hobby like auto mechanics. It sounds odd at first until you remember that he was originally in the house full of junk cars...

Luca picks up writing children’s books. If possible, he would read them out to children at the local library, and talk about how he wrote each one for his little brother and you.

Kaito has much more time to bake now that he’s married and settled down with you! He always finds the time in the mornings to bake you a sweet treat before you leave for the day.

Alan starts organizing community service events for your area. He wants to be able to help out the youth and give back to the community at the same time.

Sho would pick up gardening as a way to grow his own herbs, vegetables, and fruits for you and his meals. He takes a lot of pride in his garden.

Leo would most likely pick up freelancing as a way to still go about his usual activities while maintaining the house. He’s mellowed out a lot since marrying you, but he’s still Leo.

Haru starts quilting, making little blankets for the animals (and big ones for you!) He’s definitely a huge animal guy with a bunch of pets in his older years.

Towa picks up gardening for sure, but especially the care of your wildflowers. He treasures each and every dandelion and will occasionally pick some up to eat for your both!

Ren starts steaming his video game playthroughs and even reactions to/recommendations of some horror movies. His followers beg to hear more about you but he always draws a hard line.

Taiga starts going out on the shooting range to remember his high school days. He feels the memories fade more and more with time, and he would like to hold onto the years in which he met you.

Romeo starts making his own jewelry. He’s very meticulous about the whole process and will screech at you if you interrupt him (he still loves you, yes.)

Ritsu starts making coffee every morning to start his day. At first it starts as a way for him to get his daily caffeine fix, but you can tell he’s genuinely interested about how the drink is made.

Subaru starts developing his own tea blends. He starts by buying the ingredients, and then gets advice from Sho on how to grow his own.

Haku would pick up more artsy hobbies to fill up the vacant spaces of his house. He wants, more than anything, to make your shared space a home.

Zenji would pick up cross stitching! You can find him curled up in his armchair when you come home, staring at his linen over the rim of his glasses, carefully sewing little people to life.

Edward starts traveling from place to place and insists you come with him. Oh, you have a job? But my dear, surely you have enough leave to spend some time with your husband...? He doesn’t have forever with you, you know...

Rui, upon finding out that he couldn’t kill plants, picked up anomalous plant caretaking in Darkwick. Now that he’s married to you, he adopts the plants for your world, and does his best to take care of them too.

Lyca starts volunteering in soup kitchens and food banks, putting those customer service skills he learned from Rui to work. Whenever he has free time on the weekends, he goes out and helps as many people as he can.

Yuri starts making soap for the two of you from scratch! You can find him outside working with lye and all of the other ingredients in his mad scientist get up just to keep you clean and healthy <3

Jiro starts knitting. He needs something to do with his hands when he’s not working, and creating blankets and hats for you and your loved ones works well enough for him!

[junosmindpalace]

May I request Senku developing a crush on his childhood friend after the petrification? fem!reader if possible (if not gn!reader is completely fine)

hope you have a good day :)

Something is different. 

Senku isn’t referring to his environment, which is so far removed from everything he used to know and love. Instead of brick buildings and concrete pavements, there is seemingly never ending forestry, green and gravel beneath the heels of his makeshift shoes. 

It isn’t Senku’s clothing, which is only some thin tattered animals skins that he had spent days working to hunt down the material for, then skin, then tan, and then stitch together with whatever he could to make the haphazard, ugly garment he wears on the regular to provide him with whatever kind of protection from the elements he can with the resources available to him. It’s a stark contrast to the color he used to wear long ago. 

It isn’t even the new friends (and enemies) he’s made since freeing himself from his petrified state. A whole village of people, now, who look toward him for guidance and instruction, upon him with admiration and reverence. People who help him against the newfound stakes, newfound work, newfound responsibilities that haven’t in the slightest been easy to take on. 

Something is different, and amongst nearly everything in his life becoming dirt and dust nearly overnight, Senku is referring to something different about you. 

But he isn’t referring to the environment he’s used to seeing you in, a school setting, perhaps a park, maybe his own room. There’s no new observation to make about a change in your room or a decoration in your locker, because like him, those things are long gone. 

It isn’t your appearance, a similar reflection of your new environments and state of the world. Random pieces of tanned skin poorly stitched into something that resembled clothing, a Frankenstien’s monster of a garment. More simple and plain assuming compared to the various designs and fabrics you wore way back when you’d spend time on an experiment with Senku. He watched you mature from one phase of your life into the next, and this was no different.

It wasn’t even the new people you surround yourself with, found comfort within. It wasn’t listening to their stories, the things that made these people, so far removed from your time, human. It wasn’t the small, pleasant things that he knew grounded you when you got too caught up in your head, the new habits you made out of retrieving materials, crafting things to keep your hands (and mind) busy, new skills you learned (or were forced to learn) and previous skills you learned to develop.

But for the life of him, Senku cannot figure out what it is that’s different. He drives himself a little further mad each time he looks on at you. There’s something in his mind, almost like an itch, that intrusively takes hold on the rest of his senses when there’s a moment between the two of you, whether it’s a quiet one, whether it’s one of shared excitement or mutual understanding. There’s a warmth and a chill that wash over him at the same time when your gaze settles on him a little too intensely, or when you say something wise and agreeable. There is something he’s missing, and he can’t figure out what. 

Maybe it’s your laugh that’s different, though Senku doesn’t know why that would be a thing of prominent notice, or notice at all. It’s a little rougher, and at times with a little less heart than he’s accustomed to after so many years of hearing it bright and enthusiastic. But it’s still kind, and most of all, genuine. Perhaps something about that makes it distinguishable from another. 

Or perhaps it was your new approach to, your new outlook on, life. No, perhaps it was the way you applied your already existing approaches and outlooks to your new, unique circumstances. To help cope, to help others, to help him. 

It was something different, Senku was sure of it. However, he hasn’t had much time to linger on what could possibly be the source of such…irritation, for very long. 

Perhaps a more irritating point was the fact that Senku could hardly place a time when he first observed this difference. 

At the very least, he could estimate it to be sometime after the both of you emerged from the stone. 

The simplest solution, perhaps, could be for him to just ask you directly. It’s the easiest way to confirm or deny hypotheses’. He would ask if you had gotten haircuts in the past, ask if you had gotten any sleep after noticing prominent circles under your eyes and sluggish movements. This was no different.

But when Senku finds himself hesitating on an evening when the two of you are working in the lab together, Senku thinks that maybe this is the different thing. For some reason, he’s slower to communicating such personal things, despite it being nothing more than simple, casual and menial conversation. 

You’ve had hundreds of conversations about a million different things over the years, from careers you aspire to pursue in earnest to the more daunting topics about love and loss. He’s seen every side of you, good and ugly, he’s heard every side of you. Every insecurity, every point of pride, about every friend who’s come and gone and stayed behind; and in a more Senku like fashion, you’ve heard the same from him, in that straightforward and logical way of communicating that you’ve always been able to see through from the wavers in his voice to the passionate glints in his eyes. 

But something is different. Something has been different. 

Yet the two of you work away in the lab as if it were any other evening, the twinkling stars in the sky he admires so much hidden away by the walls and bamboo roof. It’s what you’ve been doing since you’ve established some sort of lab to work out of ever since the petrification. Senku has felt quite disturbed by this difference of yours, but at the very least, he finds it comforting that it doesn’t affect this routine that the two of you established early on in your relationship. The content, collaborative efforts the two of you put in to create something satisfying, worthwhile; exciting. 

It’s what he’s always felt with you in your relationship. Thrill to indulge in something he’s passionate about together, thrill to create something with you, thrill to be with you--

Senku pauses his work for a moment. He shifts his gaze from the notes in front of him to where you stand just down the opposite end of the table, completely enamored with the tests you were performing. 

Something is different. He thinks, at that moment, that he’s almost figured out what. 

But the realization he was about to reach disappears from him suddenly, and he can’t seem to become conscious of the conclusion when he stares at you. He tries desperately to recall it, reach for it in his mind, through a frantic look at your features. The warm light against your skin, the gentle movement of your hands, the concentrated furrow of your brows. 

His heart feels like it might burst out of frustration the more he looks at you, and he forces himself to turn away. It’s there, it was there!

(And it still was.)

He’ll figure it out eventually.

[renonv]

Spamano Week Day 2 & 3 : Mochis & 2p

Mannnn late yet again BUT ALSO on time 🙏😏

I think both of these concepts are so fun 😭 like the existence of mochis within the universe is crazy but it’s so fucking funny… and oughhh the two pees.. I used to not really care for them BUT I figured them out for myself and now they are a fun thing to rotate in my head nsnddkk

I’ll go more into detail of how I see their 2p versions under the cuttt but WOO I’m on tha rolll

@spamano-week

HI WELCOME TO THE RAMBLINGS OF A CRAZY OLD MAN

Flavio: Literally Flavio to me is what Romano would have been like if he wasn’t fighting the internalized homophobia/ machismo demons 🙏 he’s flamboyant he’s (still) loud, he stands his ground and he is a fucking divaaa. He’s cunning, takes great pride and care and time into his appearance, he expresses his love freely and loudly, and he’s not afraid to pick a fight. He lacks general anxiety and self preservation. He’s also a tad selfish, and just generally two faced. To me, while Romano puts out the harsh exterior, underneath it all he is a vulnerable and sensitive person. Flavio puts on the very approachable exterior, and will be nice, but inside he’s brewing some out of pocket shit. However, he loves and cares deeply and genuinely for a very special few.

If Romano was to meet him, he would call him a slur. But also be jealous of the way Flavio carries himself. If Flavio were to meet Romano, be would make him his next make over project, he is his new gay god mother. Flavio would be jealous of how many people genuinely care about Romano, even if the guy chooses to act like an asshole.

Santiago: He is a quiet and an intimidating guy, not because he’s plotting shit in his head, but because he just does not know how to carry himself around people. While Antonio is an approachable, sociable man who’s always working on putting out positivity and try to do good by everyone because that’s just how he is (and how he copes), Santiago withdraws himself from everyone because 1) Bro genuinely doesn’t get social cues or socialization and 2) thinks of it as better this way for the general public. He’s a little edgy, but in a “scared to hurt others” way rather than “society doesn’t get me” way. Since he yaps significantly less than Antonio, he’s a good listener and is also a bit less dense on certain things. He’s a bit more prone to picking up on the underlying emotions or when people are being sarcastic / say one thing but mean another.

If Santiago and Antonio ever met, it would be… interesting. Santiago would be put off by Antonio’s high energy, but at the same time wish he could express himself as easily as the other, and be as comfortable with physical touch. Antonio would absolutely loose his mind over the gray streak of hair, bro looks very punk rock. He would think of the other as awkward, but also be very impressed at his observational skills.

[steddielations]

- nsfw, age gap, rockstar Eddie, drummer steve

Eddie should not be wearing a plug here.

It’s stupid. It’s reckless. But that inner voice that led to decades of being stupid and reckless says it’s fine, it’s just for Eddie. Steve doesn’t have to know, unless he wants to find out.

It really is just for Eddie. It’s more for confidence than kink. It’s a trick he learned back when he was still getting comfortable on stage, back when he could still handle the fast life. Started way back when he was a teenager, dear old dad made sure to turn his talent into cold hard cash.

Now here Eddie is, way too many years of coping with drugs and never any therapy later, retired rockstar doing the whole studio owner mentoring baby rockstars thing. Someone’s gotta keep rock and roll alive so long as Eddie’s still kicking.

So the first thing that comes with years of being stone cold sober is realizing he spent too much time on the road and in the closet, not enough time growing roots so he’d have someone to settle down with when he stopped being so afraid of it.

The second thing is a dick that doesn’t work half the time because maybe if someone told him doing drugs would land him limp-dick at 40, he would’ve stopped sooner. The third thing is that he’s going to die alone with his floppy dick and trust issues.

So with the wild life Eddie lives nowadays, it’s no surprise that a couple smiles and smooth words from a good looking young drummer sent him into a spiral.

Steve’s a session musician, an independent guy that looked good on paper and even better in person. He’s got more heart and grit than the last few ‘frontmans’ Eddie tried to get something real out of. Steve knows it too, the way everyone does at 28.

He’s got the same cockiness in his skills as Eddie, but he knows he’s more than just his skills in a way that Eddie wishes he could’ve known at that age. He’s confident enough to make his own suggestions to Eddie, calls him old fashioned and he’s smooth about it, strikes up debates about music and he’s fucking sassy about it.

Eddie’s gotta be under some kinda spell to be considering Springsteen is one of the greats like Steve insists.

It’s not just because Steve’s younger, there’s always been girls much younger than late 20s trying to get with him for his name, status, money. Bless their hearts, maybe if he was still 20 years deep in the closet. It’s not just because Steve’s a guy either, there’s plenty of young guys now that dare to bat their eyes and call him Daddy and want to get fucked.

No, it’s because Steve’s different. The opposite, even.

Eddie slips up and calls him sweetheart once and it’s like Steve was just waiting to open that door and let every babe and handsome and honey slip out from his lips.

He notices Eddie checking out his biceps as he’s banging away on the drums once and sends him a wink that nearly makes him flatline.

He’s not intimidated to get in Eddie’s space. He has no reason to ever be in the control room, but Eddie doesn’t question it when Steve’s close, leaning over him with a warm hand pressed to the small of his back for one second. Eddie’s so hot faced and flustered that he gets his long hair caught in some of the board switches.

“Fuck, fucking, god damn it,” Eddie curses, tangling it even more trying to yank it free and vowing to chop it all off later.

“It’s alright, here, let's get you sorted out.” Steve’s steady hand closes over Eddie’s, gentle and warm as he eases the lock of hair free. Eddie’s breath lodges in his throat when Steve reaches up, fingers brushing Eddie’s face as he combs through his long silver streaked waves and says, “Don’t ever cut your hair. I love it too much.”

God. Steve makes Eddie feel like he’s a pretty young thing getting moves put on him in the kinda club that he was always too famous, too busy and too afraid to go to at that age.

It can’t be real. Steve can’t be serious. Eddie’s mean. Bitter. He talks shit about everyone and everything. He’s nothing without a guitar. He’s got the prickly rind of daddy issues and doesn’t even have Wayne to make it better anymore. The whole world adoring him all his life only fed his ego. He’s worth millions of dollars and feels like nothing most days. His only real friends are his bandmates that he doesn’t call often enough because they love each other, but they’re sick of each other, being stuck together all those years.

Surely, Steve’s just bored and playing with him. Eddie needs a kick of confidence to deal with it until Steve’s contract ends and he’s done playing with Eddie.

So that’s why Eddie’s got a plug up his ass at the studio. At work, technically.

It helps. It gives him all the inner fire he needs to ignore when he feels Steve’s eyes burning into him, and push his hand through his hair that Steve loves, and sway his hips as Steve’s gaze follows him walking out to the bathroom.

Oh yeah, Eddie’s still got it.

And he has to piss. Really bad. His bladder just ain’t what it used to be and when he’s gotta go, he’s gotta go and for whatever reason, he can’t do it with the plug inside him.

Eddie’s locked in a stall so he doesn’t hesitate to undo his belt and reach inside to pull it out. He holds it while he uses the toilet, so distracted sighing in relief like such an old man that he doesn’t realize how lube-slippery the thing is.

It’s too late. He drops his plug and it rolls out from under the stall just as the bathroom door opens and shuts slowly.

Then Eddie feels both relief and panic when it’s Steve’s voice that asks, “Eddie, did you drop something, honey?”

[iloveladybuglucy]

To be his strongest, people have to be afraid—does he want people to be scared? Or worse...does he need them to be?

introducing my first invincible oc! Caelum is a nursing student at Upstate University who works as a part-time paramedic and becomes the eventual boyfriend/husband of Atom Eve in my au :)

ref sheet and character bio under the cut

Hero Name: Reverie (pron. rev-uh-ree, a state of being lost in one's thoughts, a daydream, or a dreamlike trance)

True Identity: Caelum Somner (meaning "sky" and "sleep")

Origin of his Powers:

As a medic who had witnessed countless gruesome, untimely deaths and mass murders, Caelum began to feel the effects of everything weigh heavily on him. While doom scrolling through Reddit, he came across a post looking for volunteers willling to try out a cutting-edge neurological experiment meant to help people with PTSD, anxiety, or coma recovery. The experiment involved neural stimulants and exposure to dream-state frequencies, aided by the government. Caelum, desperate for an escape from his own head, decided to reach out and agreed to do the procedure. However, the experiment was botched and his brain was permanently altered; now he can sense emotions, enter dreams, and manipulate fear.

Powers:

Emotional Manipulation & Empathy Aura

Can sense and absorb emotions, particularly fear and anxiety, which make him stronger.

His Empathy Aura can be used for calming others, reducing panic, and easing pain, making him an excellent medic.

Dream Walking & Fear Manifestation

Can enter people's dreams and explore their subconscious fears and desires.

In combat, he can trap enemies in a nightmare-like illusion, forcing them to confront their fears.

The more terrified the opponent, the stronger he becomes.

Terror-fueled Strength & Reflexes

Gains temporary enhancements (speed, agility, durability) when absorbing strong fear or anxiety.

Weaknesses & Limits:

Emotional Dependence

If his opponent is fearless, rational, or emotionally numb, his power weakens.

Can be overwhelmed by chaotic or conflicting emotions, making him vulnerable.

Dream Walking Drawbacks

Entering someone’s mind leaves his real body vulnerable.

Some strong-willed individuals can resist or manipulate the dream space against him.

Empathy Overload

If exposed to too many intense emotions at once (like a disaster scene), he can experience emotional burnout, making him ineffective.

Requires Fear to Get Stronger

Against an opponent with a calm, strategic mind, he can’t gain any boosts, forcing him to rely on his physical combat skills.

Personality:

Calm & Introspective: Caelum is naturally reserved, preferring to think before he acts. He’s methodical and observant, which makes him a great medic but sometimes slow to trust others.

Cynical but Caring: His experiences as a medic and exposure to constant suffering have made him skeptical of the world, yet he still feels deeply responsible for others. He doesn’t always believe in hope, but he acts because he wants to be the hope people need.

Dry Sense of Humor: He uses humor as a coping mechanism, often making sarcastic or dark jokes. It helps him detach from the horrors he sees daily.

Loyal but Guarded: He will fight for those he cares about, but letting people in is a different story. Trust doesn’t come easily to him.

Flaws & Internal Struggles

Emotional Burnout & Detachment – Caelum deals with so much emotional distress from others that he struggles with his own emotions. He might not even realize when he’s suppressing things until they bubble over in unhealthy ways.

Fear of Losing Control – The stronger he gets, the more he fears what prolonged exposure to terror might do to him. Could he lose himself in the emotions of others? Could he become addicted to fear?

Struggles with Optimism – He admires Eve’s idealism but finds it frustrating. In his eyes, the world is cruel, and thinking otherwise is naive. This could be a point of conflict between them.

Sleeplessness & Overworking – Since his powers weaken with exhaustion, he constantly pushes himself to the brink, unwilling to rest even when he needs it. His body and mind often suffer as a result.

Dependency on Others’ Fear – A terrifying realization for him is that in order to be his strongest, people have to be afraid. This creates a moral dilemma—does he want people to be scared? Does he need them to be?

Relationship with Eve: 

Caelum is calm, introspective, and a deep thinker—opposite to Eve’s more emotional and idealistic nature. While Eve often feels conflicted about her powers and their impact on others, Caelum is able to show her that even in the face of difficult decisions, there are always other perspectives to consider. His quiet demeanor and rational thinking can help her make clearer choices without the burden of too much stress.

Their relationship is balanced—Eve helps Caelum tap into his emotional side and push beyond the logical, while he helps Eve regain a sense of grounding when she gets too idealistic or overconfident in her powers. Their differences complement each other—Eve is emotional, driven by ideals, while Caelum is rational and grounded. She helps him see that it isn't stupid or pointless to have hope, while he keeps her from overextending herself.

Caelum often struggles with Eve’s desire to “fix” things with her powers, as he believes not everything can (or should) be fixed. On the flip side, Eve finds his cynicism exhausting.

[profoundathletecowboybanana]

Hey guys I’m feeling emo rn so have some random assorted Marvel/DC character headcanons:

Damian Wayne keeps his stress in his stomach. And he has a lot to stress about. Normally, however, he can release a good bit of stress during patrols and training, so it’s never really an issue. People think he hates getting injured/sidelined because he’s seen as weak/not training/etc, but really it’s because his body will effectively start to break down on him bc he’s too nauseous to eat or move or calm down

(Not rlly a headcanon but,) Wade Wilson still struggles with PTSD all the way back from his days in the military. He has an almost airtight raunchy, obnoxious asshole persona that is extremely effective in distracting people into forgetting about it or not caring about him enough to remember. He can never let himself relax from it because he’s scared he’ll fall into a funk he’ll never get out of. If he can play the part, he can BE the part, lest he reap the consequences. You can inflict a lot of pain on a man who can’t die

Spiderman has an addictive personality. Coupled with his atrocious coping skills, anything that could marginally be classified as a substance (coffee, alcohol, painkillers) is off the table 100%. He would never admit it, but sometimes he finds himself yearning for the slight high and perfect pain he felt from the initial spider-bite. It’s why he’s never tried to find the spider that bit him.

He had a beer at a friend’s house once and didn’t stop drinking for a month. Normally his metabolism would buzz right through it but he had been drinking so many for such a sustained period of time that he didn’t even realize it was gradually starting to build up in his system (and it was easier to function that way, with his brain turned off a little). Scared by how easy it was to get into and how much he liked it, Peter decided it was for the best if the only bottles he picked up would be for the purpose of smashing over a bad guy’s head

Clark Kent can tune out all of the sounds going on around the world. He can also tune them back in. Sometimes, in place of turning on sad music when he’s feeling down the way you and I do, he’ll tune back in to the world around him and listen to the screams of agony from people all around the world that he should be helping, and that he knows he can if he could just be Superman all the time. But he can’t quite bring himself to give up Clark Kent, and the guilt feels as though it’s going to consume him one day

Wally west is never good enough. He sets his standards to beyond what is capable, and inevitably feels himself fall short of them every time. It doesn’t matter if the people around him tell him he’s going above and beyond already. He’s seen great, unbelievable things be achieved in his time as the flash and if he can’t reach that in everything he does, as a hero, a parent, a husband, then the fastest man alive will always feel one step behind

Brucie Wayne specifically is friends with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. They like his style and music taste and he doesn’t care if they steal things from whatever gala he’s hosting as long as no one gets too hurt or killed. Brucie Wayne has been crafted so perfectly, however, that the fondness he experiences towards the two girls disappears with the persona, allowing Batman to take over and do what needs to be done in a fight. Batman doesn’t feel a thing as he dislocates Harley’s bad shoulder and burns Ivy’s vines. When Just Bruce is woken up by Alfred in the morning though, Brucie Wayne tucked aside until lunch and Batman resting in the back of his mind until the moon rises again, Just Bruce feels a sickening sense of guilt in the back of his mind that he can’t quite place.

Harley Quinn is so terrified that the acid messed up her brain beyond repair, that she has never tried to complete the research she once dedicated her life to despite the fact that her passion for it never died out. In fact, with the resources and loser morals she has now, it would be much easier to finish, but she’s rusty, and she can’t always think straight anymore, and she’s a doctor, damnit, and she will not put that title at risk by looking like a fool that don’t do some simple research. So at this point, she doesn’t even want to bother trying, despite Ivy’s assurances that she’s not as stupid as the joker made her feel.

There are whole groups of people online and in person that were created for the soul purpose of finding others who, under the effects of fear toxin, have had the joker be a disturbing focus of their fear. During these meetings, when Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon, and Harley Quinn are all disguised, sitting next to each other in companionable grief, they forget all that Batman and Robin stand for and comfort each other in the sole wish that the dark night would just kill the bastard already.

The people of Gotham tend to agree in this sense. In fact, they actively advocate for it most of the time, firm in their stance that they would turn a blind eye for Batman if he’d do it just this once. It wouldn’t be compromising his morals, they assure, and they like to think they would trust Batman more if he took joker off the streets. They’re wrong. A man that strong and skilled and powerful? The only reason Batman gives any hope or safety to the people is the fact that no matter how “bad” you are, he will actively try and keep you alive. The people don’t realize it, but if they knew just how easy it would be for Batman to let his strength slip even once and kill someone, Gotham would never recover. Joker is not the greatest threat in Gotham, but having the privilege of the greatest threat being on their side, the people of Gotham don’t recognize who their biggest fear could really be

[cupcakeslushie]

I am really enjoying your Empyrean Weeping AU and am looking forward to the Donnie Arc (the brothers need to save the feral child immediately).

I have a question for you: When it comes to making au how do you know if your going “too far” with an au (if there’s even such a thing) as in that your drifting too far from the canon world, characters and story? Maybe even to the point where you can’t really even say that the au is an au of a preexisting world and not just its own separate thing. How many changes, additions or flat-out rewrites are too many?

I ask this because I’m making my own au for a franchise I really adore but I’m kinda worried about going a little too crazy with my ideas. I know that because it’s an au it doesn’t have to adhere to canon, that’s why it’s called an “alternate universe” in the first place but still.

Like- Your EW characters (and overall world) are pretty different from their canon Rise counterparts and the AU is great! Feeling like it could stand on its own as a completely separate TMNT iteration.

I just don’t know if I’m going about this right with the plans for my au. So I’m looking for a bit of advice I suppose.

Whoa. Sorry that this got so long and ramble-y.

I think….hm. This is a good question. Part of it is, there really is no limit. If you’re fine with going crazy with it…but you do still want some aspects of the characters to shine through, I’ll tell you what I do.

I tend to be really interested in the whole concept of nature vs nurture. So I look at each character individually and pick out which traits I believe are ingrained, which are learned, which grew out of necessity—like coping mechanisms…and I see what new lenses I can show them through.

Like for example, Donnie’s desperate desire to be useful. We saw how panicked he became in Witch Town, when he thought there was a possibility he’d be replaced by mystic powers…if we take that fear—put it through the angle of him being raised Draxum, and being constantly treated as though he was useless…I imagined that would make him even worse at being impulsive and causing chaos in any attempt to prove himself.

Mikey is super competitive, so I figured he would shine if thrown into the battle nexus, and be an adorable little shit about it! He’d take a lot of pride in his wins—at first, but he’s also very empathetic, and those two traits would start to clash.

What if Leo’s coping skill of making everything a joke is totally stripped from him via his strict upbringing with the Foot Clan?

Raph is the one always taking care of his brothers, what would it be like if he got more attention as an only child?

These are really basic questions I started with, and I love sneaking in little ways my boys are similar and ways they’re different to canon (like Leo hating magic instead of loving it, because of what Kitsune did to him)

If you want to keep closer to the source material, but still make it your own, figure out what circumstances call for which changes, and which aspects you think would stay in tact, no matter what they go through.

I hope this made sense!

[ddollfface]

Love the knight. I gotta wonder how he’d deal with a very willing reader who is more than happy to have children with him? Also how did the nobility handle having a commoner become future king/emperor? Could you please elaborate a bit on what his rise to power was like?

𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫—𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐒𝐢𝐜𝐤!𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

Honestly, I think a willing reader will make everyone’s lives all the more pleasant. Really, all LoveSick!Knight wants stability, someone that he can protect, and this is just exacerbated by the fact that reader was an easy thing to cling to, seeing as he was taught from an early age that his role in life was to serve and die for the future queen, i.e. you. These emotions of hatred toward nobility and the rich are still harbored deep within, but they slowly disappear, realizing that, yes, nobility is bad, but not you. You’re different. You treat him like a human and not just some shield meant to separate you from danger. You are his queen, and he will be your king.

But yeah, I think a willing reader will make the relationship far more healthy, and a stubborn and golden heart type of reader will likely be able to set LoveSick!Knight straight (teaching him a softness he’s never known, showing him that there’s more than violence and that there are healthy coping skills, blah, blah). Overall, this will breed for a better kingdom and support for the royal family.

Now, when it comes to the actual world-building. It’s not all set and stone, and please don’t @ me if it doesn’t make sense. Honestly, LoveSick!Knight was just created because I wanted a fucked up knight-in-shining armor lol.

But nonetheless, my idea was that LoveSick!Knight, although a peasant, is seen as a war hero to the masses, and most importantly, the king. He’s not just some peasant who learned the way of the sword. No, no, no, don’t you understand? He helped protect the honor of the Nation’s Beaut! He defended the nation’s honor! He won many battles for reader’s country and brought back more victories in the span of a three-year siege than most have in a lifetime. 

So although there’s of course some nobility who are being bitchy about how LoveSick!Knight will stain the bloodline, especially as reader is seen to be one of the most valuable ladies in the land and such, but because LoveSick!Knight has won the favorability of the king, the emperor, but it falls on deaf ears. 

Also, I would like to add that reader, in the og timeline, doesn’t necessarily hate LoveSick!Knight in the beginning, no. They were friends, best buds, seeing as they were around one another 24/7. She had no choice but to enjoy his presence. The two had grown quite close, an example of this is in this oneshot. Things only turned sour once they were wed, when the isolation began. 

Because of this original support, reader was likely to defend LoveSick!Knight from stingy nobles, creating a even better public persona with the people. If the Nation’s Beaut thought this guy was so great and the King, then he must be amazing! So, yeah, that’s kind of the gist of things. 

And I think I’ve already gone over this, but LoveSick!Knight was given the throne as a gift of sorts. I never disclaimed if reader had brothers or not, and I don’t really feel the need to specify ‘cause I don’t think it matters, but LoveSick!Knight was passed on the throne as the King thought of him as a son. Also, the King wanted to wed the war hero to his beloved daughter, reader. So yeah, that’s the idea of the whole thing. Thanks for listening to my TED talk (´ε｀ )♡

[amorienomore]

Broken Pieces

・˚˖𓍢ִ໋⋆‧₊˚ ࣪⋆ Growing up, you know how it feels to have daddy issues. So when you notice the same glazed look of abandonment and acceptance in Toji’s son, Megumi, you decide to try to fix that broken piece of soul as much as you can.

・˚˖𓍢ִ໋⋆‧₊˚ ࣪⋆Authors Note: this is going to contains some themes that may be triggering to some so please be aware this is kinda sad(??) contains themes such as… daddy issues, hint at y/n sleeping around as a coping mechanism, age gap between toji and y/n

—

Growing up, you used to dream of what it would be like to have a dad who actually cared. Someone who’d tuck me in at night, tell me you’re doing okay, give me a hug just because.

Growing up with an absent father doesn’t just hurt, it full on warps you. It makes you question your worth before you even understand what worth is. It teaches you that love is something you have to earn, something you have to fight for, and even then, it’s never guaranteed. Wanna know the worst part? You don’t even know what you’re fighting for anymore, just that you want to be acknowledged, to be seen.

You grew up with the constant quiet sting of rejection, like you were never good enough to deserve the simplest things. Things like a smile, a hug, his attention. You became a woman who learned to fill that empty space with whatever distractions you could find. Constant nights with men who wouldn’t even remember you. Constant nights of wobbling down the streets with an empty look on your face, a wrinkled dress and sore ankles. And when those distractions didn’t work, you learned how to ignore the ache inside, how to pretend it didn’t matter. How to act like you wasn’t craving something more.

And then came Toji.

Toji Fushiguro… your boyfriend. Your bad decision making skills took over again, you suppose. You don’t think you ever truly knew what you were getting into when you got involved with him. He just looked like you. Empty and cold. “Maybe we could fix each other?” You thought when you first met. Toji wasn’t just emotionally unavailable, it was his entirety. His presence in your life felt like a storm, wild, unpredictable, and often destructive. He was a man who was always on the move, always cold, always keeping people at arm’s length, always pushing me away when you needed him most. Yet pulling you close when he needed you most.

But you didn’t know how to be with someone who wasn’t like that, couldn’t remember a time you were ever with a good guy. Your whole life had been defined by the absence of affection, so why would you expect Toji to give it to you? You didn’t even know how to ask for it. You didn’t know how to say, “Hey, I need you. I need to feel like I matter.” Toji was your reflection, someone who kept his heart buried so deep that you couldn’t even see it. His heart as black as his hair and scarred as the scars that glittered his body. And you mirrored him, closing yourself off until you were just as broken and distant as he was.

“I don’t need you to stay,” Toji said as he tossed your clothes at you your first night with him. His words as cold as his hands on your skin. “I just needed you. Don’t get attached.”

And you didn’t know how to respond, because you’d already heard it so many times before. His voice echoed in my mind, just like the absence of your father’s. Your own worth reduced to something disposable, to something he could discard once when he got his fill. You should have realized this relationship would go nowhere but perhaps it was the look in his eyes that made you stay for as long as you have. A look of hurt and avoidance.

After a few months of us dating, he let you meet his son. Megumi.

You saw him, and you saw yourself.. that same emptiness in his eyes, the same weight on his shoulders from a father who was never there. The same loneliness, the same quiet acceptance of it. But at his age when you’d already drowned in it, Megumi… he was still holding on. He was still looking for something. You don’t know when it hit me, but you realized, you don’t want him to go down the same path you did.

So, you decided to try to help him.

You were a woman with daddy issues, looking for validation in the wrong places. It was like you didn’t know how to not hurt yourself. It was like you thought the pain was the only thing that made you feel alive but you knew you had to try for Megumi.

“Would you like some help with your homework, Megumi?" You asked one day, as he sat at the kitchen table, scribbling over a sheet of paper. I could tell he was frustrated, his brows furrowed and his fist clenched as if the words on the page were just as unreachable as the affection he wanted.

Megumi looked up, eyes wary and defensive but also tired. "I don’t need your help." He said staring me down.

You sigh softly. “I know you don’t need it. But I’m offering,” You said softly, pulling out the chair next to him. "I'm not trying to do it for you. Just… want to make it easier."

He hesitated, but after a beat, he slid the paper towards me. "Fine.."

Your eyes widen slightly and you smile softly before explaining the problems step by step to him. It was simple stuff, but it wasn’t the homework that mattered. It was just being there, like a presence that didn’t leave when it was inconvenient, like something stable in the chaos that followed us. You could see him relax a little, his shoulders dropping as I guided him through it. Maybe it wasn’t a miracle, but it was something. Something better than silence, better than emptiness.

The truth was, you’d become so accustomed to people leaving me that you didn’t know how to make them stay. But Megumi? He needed someone to stay. He needed someone who wouldn’t just disappear when things got hard. So, you did your best to be that person for him.

And even with Toji, you found myself silently craving a fraction of the attention you could never get from him. He had a way of looking at me, like you were just another distraction in his life, a passing moment and sometimes he saw you, truly saw you.

"You look like you need something," Toji said one night, glancing at me from across the room, his tone flat as ever. He was always like this.. distant, detached.

"Hm? It’s nothing." you muttered back, a bitter laugh escaping you, "Just thinking.”

Toji didn’t reply, his eyes flicking away, uninterested. And you felt that hollow ache again, the familiar sting of being unseen.

But then, there was Megumi. He might not say much, but he looked at me sometimes with those soft, hesitant eyes, like he knew something about me. Like he knew that you understood what it meant to be left behind.

And you couldn’t leave him behind like you’d been left.

So you kept showing up. You kept offering help, even when it felt like you were drowning in your own loneliness. Because, in the end, you had to believe it meant something to give that care to someone else. To make sure Megumi didn’t feel the same weight you did. You just needed to try and fix it before it was far too late.

Because, in the end, we all deserve to be seen. Even if the people who should have seen us never did.

[tgmsunmontue]

Season to Taste - 38/42 WIP

Explicit Hangster - Celebrity Chef Bradley and Naval Aviator Jake Seresin who have a relationship spanning the globe before they realize how tightly bound they are to one another.

PROLOGUE/1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (interlude) 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 (interlude) 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 (interlude) 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

CHAPTER THIRTYEIGHT

                Time speeds up and drags at the same time, the way it always does for him when he’s flying and hyper focused on achieving all the goals laid out in front of him. They manage to hit the target, get up and over and then it’s an utter shit show that makes him fairly sure he’s not going to be able to cope with any fireworks for a couple of years. Then Maverick is covering him and going down and all he hears on the comms is the scramble to see a parachute and the denial to go back. Orders to return to the carrier.

                God fucking damn it. He might not like the man very much, but he does respect his skill.

                Can’t leave him exposed like that.

                Can’t have that on his conscience.

                And he’s disobeying orders to do it as well.

                Fuck this is maybe the most stupid thing he’s ever done.

                He manages to shoot the helicopter out of the sky, blows out a breath and pulls at the throttle, has a sinking feeling in his gut because he’s already out of flares and unlike him, the others are likely closer to the carrier than they are to him. Without any air cover, the sheer number of SAMs along with other bogeys in the air he’s already pulled the ejection handle when the SAM hits his jet. It doesn’t stop the blast from hitting him, propelling his body further away. He feels the heat from the explosion and hopes like hell he still has enough altitude to safely land without his body crumbling in on itself or leaving him with broken legs and incapable of doing anything.

                “Fuck. I’m so sorry baby…”

                The landing is rough, branches of trees scratching him up as he falls through them, but he doesn’t care because they assist a little in breaking his fall. A miniscule amount.

                He’s alive.

                It’s not all that matters but it’s better than so many alternatives.

                It’s a miracle. Not one of the ones Maverick had listed off, but a miracle all the same. But he’s alive and well and actually… well is probably a stretch. He’s in enemy territory with no way out. His survival training kicks in and he starts stuffing his parachute back into its bag. The material may come in handy later but he also doesn’t want to leave out a giant fucking flag to any aircraft that might be around as to his location. He pulls out an empty pouch and fills it with snow, seals it and shoves it back into a side pocket of his flight suit, knowing it’ll melt and give him something to drink soon enough.

                First things first.

                Find Maverick.

…            …            …

                He doesn’t need to look very far, because the man is running and looking at him frantically and Jake holds his hands up in supplication.

                “I’m fine. All in one piece.”

                Then Maverick unceremoniously shoves him to the ground and Jake just stares up at him.

                “What the fuck?”

                “What were you thinking!”

                “That I didn’t want you to die on my watch. Sir.”

                “I saved your life! You’re meant to be back on the carrier. Safe.”

                “Well. I’m not. I’m here…” Jake provides, clearly stating the obvious but feels like it needs to be said as he stands back up and brushes snow off himself. Maverick is frowning and Jake recognizes that look. “You got a plan old man?”

                Maverick huffs in annoyance and Jake shrugs, because he’s alive and that’s still better than he thought he’d be ten, fifteen minutes ago. He doesn’t get why the old man is angry at him, he saved his fucking life, and if he makes it out alive from this he’s probably facing disciplinary action at the bare minimum. Well, he can always work on the farm and Leo will make sure he won’t starve at least.

                If he makes it home.

                He sucks in a breath then and refuses to think about any scenario where he doesn’t make it home. It’s defeatist and it’s not his normal thought pattern, so easy enough to ignore. For now. They walk through the trees, using them as cover but also the snow is lighter and any tracks they leave are intermittent at best, although not for an experienced tracker. He can tell Maverick wants to talk, has been trying to talk to him since that first day. There is no-one else out here though, no one that Jake can use as a distraction, so he’s going to have to just grit his teeth and make nice.

                “You married Lieutenant?”

                The question surprises him and he finds his hand go to his tags where Leo’s ring sits.

                “No sir. Am engaged though.”

                “Hmm. What’s their name?”

                “Leonardo. Leo for short… Going to make him a Seresin.”

                Maverick stops walking and turns to look at him, frowning at what he’s said and Jake doesn’t have time to get in his face about any homophobia the man might have. Leo’s well rid of him if he is.

                “Uh. Is your… head feeling alright Lieutenant?”

                “I… yes sir?”

                “You did just get shot down…”

                “So did you sir.”

                “Hmm.”

…            …            …

                Ice’s face and name flash up on the screen of his phone and he swallows, already nervous because Ice doesn’t call, not without good reason. Or bad reason. It hurts to talk but if there’s bad news he will be the one that will want to break it to Bradley.

                “Bradley…”

                “Ice…”

                “You… sit down.”

                “Oh god… Jake.”

                He wasn’t sitting, but his knees give out and he hits the floor

                “And Mav.”

                “What?”

                “They… fuck… classified.”

                “Who are you going to get in trouble with?”

                “President.”

                “Oh.”

                “They’ve both been shot down…”

                .

                .

                .

                Everything is dark.

                .

                .

                .

                “Bradley… Leo… svegliati…”

                .

                .

                .

                He throws up.

                Can’t stop shaking.

                “You look like shit.”

                .

                .

                .

                “Come on, we’re going to North Island. Your zio bought us tickets…”

                .

                .

                .

                He doesn’t know what Vi gives him, but it knocks him out.

                Makes the whole world feel hazy.

                He doesn’t care.

                He’ll wake up when the nightmare is over.

                Or he just won’t wake up.

…            …            …

                Maverick is fucking insane.

                Jake’s worried about concussion and whether the man can even remember how to fly.

                Then again, if Maverick’s only lost his short term memory he probably remembers how to fly a plane older than Jake.

                Okay.

                Insane but also a man who deserves the legendary reputation he has.

                Jake wonders if Leo will forgive Maverick because he’s saved Jake’s life.

…            …            …

                “He’s alive. They’re both alive. I think your Uncle Tom wants to kill them both, but they’re alive and back on the carrier and apparently apart from some mild scrapes, sprained ankle and a little concussion they’re both fine.”

                He’s shaking again, and this time the tears are of relief, he feels like he has been put through an emotional wringer non-stop. While he cries Vi holds him and eventually he falls into an exhausted sleep.

THIRTY NINE

[wobbbiy]

The Psychological Impact of the Prison of Elders on Eramis

Many may not realize the effects the Prison of Elders had on captives like Eramis, but I think about it often. While Variks originally designed and intended the system to resemble traditional Eliksni honor duels, it quickly became something far more twisted—especially once it was used for Reef entertainment.

Eramis herself described how honor duels on Riis worked (in the Spire of the Watcher messages): the first to draw blood was the "victor"-- this could settle any size dispute that two houses/individuals had. The Prison’s matches went far beyond that as they usually fought to the death. The Prison of Elder’s “gladiatorial” style pit-fights strip away all tradition, and thus honor and autonomy that went into the fights.

Of course, Eramis excelled in combat, but at what cost? The matches weren’t chosen by her but were set and controlled by Variks. As a captive, she likely endured:

Uncertainty and unpredictability– Never knowing who or what was waiting behind the airlock doors.

Social Isolation – Minimal or abnormal social contact with others, apart from a few conversations with Praksis (which still technically, could be considered abnormal since he was from a different house)

Loss of Control and Autonomy – No say in her daily life, her battles, or even her survival.

A Unique Perspective: Captivity and Behavior

In my professional life, I am an animal behavior and welfare scientist focusing on the quality of life of dogs in shelters. My work gives me insight into how captivity impacts behavior, and there are striking parallels between shelter dogs and how Eramis might have processed her imprisonment. To me, it is no surprise how Eramis turned out once she gained her freedom. 

Why compare the two? Because across species, learning and behavioral responses to stress, trauma, and captivity are remarkably similar. Have Eramis in your mind while you read through the next part:

How do we ensure good welfare for captive animals? We ensure that the animal has things like: 

Opportunity for choice/agency

Opportunity for expression of typical species behavior

Opportunity for expression of normal social behavior

Freedom from pain/discomfort, among other things

If we don't provide for conditions that support these aspects in a captivity scenario, we risk things like the dog developing:

Loss of coping skills

Lower stress tolerance (aka quicker fuse)

Loss of social skills

Anxious/depressive behaviors

Perception changes (i.e. things that may not actually be a threat, feel like a threat)

Increased aggression 

HPA-Axis malfunctions (aka what regulates cortisol, your stress hormone), the body is unable to keep up with processing chronic stress. Can lead to an animal being “on edge”/hypervigilant/unable to relax 

In humans (or maybe aliens), most likely these behavior changes/symptoms would point towards a trauma diagnosis. We also know from human literature, trauma makes individuals hold inconsistent beliefs and actions. A lot of times these play out even when there isn’t a risk/danger present. 

The Psychological Effects of Captivity

Loss of Choice & Control = Increased Aggression

In shelters, dogs who can’t flee from stressors may react aggressively as self-defense.

Eramis had no choices in the Prison—her entire life was dictated by others. Post-imprisonment, she may lean on aggression more than before as a means of self-defense (compared to how she handled conflict on Riis). She has learned that flee doesn’t work, so her only option left is fight (consider the Drift as well, fleeing got them thrown into more conflict, so fight is what she knows).

Social Isolation & Forced Interaction

Dogs are complex socially. As a need, they require the ability to form voluntary bonds. Forced/mismanaged social interactions cause stress and behavior effects that come with that.

Eliksni are deeply social, socially complex, and their desired interactions are greatly tied to their Houses. Eramis lost the ability to interact socially in a voluntary way (with her house, friends, even wife and hatchlings) and was forced into unnatural social interactions or blatant isolating conditions. Both of which compromise her welfare. 

Unpredictability = Anxiety & Hypervigilance

Predictability creates safety (why we feel better when a doctor explains what they’re doing to us).

Prisoners likely weren’t warned who they’d fight. Most likely it was just open the airlocks and find out who you’re fighting real quick. The sound of an airlock opening may have conditioned a trauma response (fight/flight response paired with noise of an airlock). 

Headcanon: Even after escaping, Eramis might experience panic response/stress when hearing similar sounds, as trauma can create long-lasting physical reactions. This is even after many years of being out of the Prison of Elders, she may have never gotten over this automatic bodily response to the trigger. 

Stereotypic Behavior (Repetitive, Anxiety-Driven Actions)

Stereotypy- otherwise refers to the persistent repetition of an act, especially by an animal, for no obvious purpose. Aggravated by fatigue, stress, anxiety.

In captivity, animals develop behaviors like pacing or weaving as a stress response or as a means to cope with long term stress (a form of self-soothing, potentially). 

Watch Eramis in Beyond Light cutscenes—she has a weaving/pacing motion when tensions rise. This could be a leftover coping mechanism developed in the Prison.

Re-Exposure to Trauma = Retraumatization

When working with traumatized animals, reintroducing triggers must be controlled to avoid setbacks. Because I do a lot of behavioral rehab with dogs, I have to be very careful about how I re-expose them to their triggers. If we expose at too high intensity, we can retraumatize. Usually, the approach is to expose them to their trigger at a lesser intensity first and slowly build up to the intensity that was initially causing reactions (reactions usually meaning aggressive responses/flee responses-- fight/flight).

Eramis in Revenant: Though she chose surrender, it is clear to me that she’s going through a retraumatization event, panicking once captive again. She acted crabby and angry, but I think it was a facade and what was actually going on was P A N I C. That was why she was complaining about not being killed quick enough. She was intensely averse to being in a cage and having those same stress responses as when she was in the Prison of Elders. 

Post-Release Behaviors

Resource Guarding: Shelter dogs often over-protect resources when finally given access. For example, once they are finally able to have their own resources (food, toys, beds, etc.), they are often incredibly overprotective of their items. When we rehab these dogs, we often give them access to many, many resources to teach them that we are not taking things from them, but giving them. Oftentimes, they don’t know what to do with all of the options and choices as they’re not used to them. We have to monitor for stress, teach them how to play without feeling defensive, etc. It’s a process that they have to go through in order for them to be able to process even having resources again. 

Eramis in Zero Hour/Beyond Light: Desperate to seize any power or control after years of having none. Also kind of fitting that Stasis is the aspect of “control”...hmm…

Reactivity:  is another behavioral concern that I often see stem from dogs that live in captivity. This LOOKS like lunging, barking, snapping, snarling, etc., when faced with a potential trigger. It LOOKS like aggression, but it isn’t. It is fear. We often see this as a maladaptive coping mechanism. Simplified- “if I act big and scary, my scary trigger will go away from me.” They often don’t WANT conflict, but will be the one to act first. Reactivity is a defense mechanism to keep threats away.

Eramis operates similarly, striking first to ensure her own safety. Sometimes escalating her behavior far beyond what would normally be appropriate in someone who can deal with stress normally.

Final Thoughts

The Prison of Elders wasn’t just a physical ordeal—it was a psychological one. Its captives didn’t just leave with scars; they carried deep-seated trauma that likely shaped their post-imprisonment behaviors.

Eramis, once a strategic, noble, and effective leader, became more aggressive, more reactive, and more desperate for control—all traits we see in individuals who have endured long-term captivity and trauma.

Would love to hear others' thoughts—especially on how this might apply to other Prison of Elders survivors!

[miyamiwu]

do you also find it strange that in ep5 e soul has the same costume at the start when saving YC and at the end during the convention? we know the suit YC has is from 5ish years ago, so why would e soul look the exact same when he rescued him as current time in YC's story? it's possible he's just wearing an old costume for the event, but do you think it's possible also that maybe the real reason YC's trust value was at complete 0 isn't because he was an orphan like what was said but instead because he consistently lied his whole life about being saved by e soul as part of a fantasy to cope? it could make sense if he just envisions e soul saving him that he just sees e soul as he is, not a time-accurate version of him when thinking back on the memory. plus, the figure + mask he has with him in the orphanage is a very clearly different design to the e soul we see rescue him (at least the helmet- the body design is very similar still. it actually looks most similar to a simplified version of the e soul suit we see in his pv), which could just be a case of him having so many suits but you'd think as a kid he would cling specifically to the exact image of the person who saved him.

why would e soul look the exact same when he rescued him as current time in YC's story?

Great that you pointed that out because I honestly hadn’t noticed this

But when analyzing media, there are two ways to go about it: plot-level and thematic-level

E-Soul having the same costume when he saved Yang Cheng and during the convention should be analyzed on a thematic level. The convention scene is intertwined with Yang Cheng saving Youzi, and that scene is also paralleled with the time E-Soul saved him:

So E-Soul wearing his old costume should be a callback to Yang Cheng’s past. Before, it was Yang Cheng who had to be saved; but now, it’s Yang Cheng doing the saving.

This is also one way of visually setting up Yang Cheng as E-Soul’s replacement. While the other E-Soul actors are sitting all prim and proper at a convention, one out there is doing the actual hero work. It’s no longer just an act for Yang Cheng. He’s being the hero he’s always wanted to be.

I also don’t think Yang Cheng’s past is just a lie. Because if he wasn’t saved by E-Soul, then who did? And why would he fantasize about E-Soul specifically? And in the case those villains just somehow left him alone coz they didn’t want to bother with a kid, then it still won’t make sense. If nobody saved Yang Cheng back then, then wouldn’t he grow up to resent heroes? But that isn’t the case with adult!Yang Cheng.

The show has been presenting it clearly: Yang Cheng’s zero trust value stems from his low self-esteem. He doesn’t even believe in himself, so how could others believe in him?

As for the mask he has in the orphanage, there are several possibilities:

He was still recovering from trauma and couldn’t clearly remember what the mask looked like

He wasn’t skilled enough yet to make it exactly like E-Soul’s (we know he makes his own costumes)

That orphanage scene was months or years after his parents were murdered, and E-Soul had changed costumes again. Little Yang Cheng just wanted to be accurate and copy E-Soul’s new costume. Otherwise, the other kids would bully him more for getting it wrong

I think option 3 is the most likely explanation here.

[irlplasticlamb]

some hotd succession au headcanons… i beg…

so! none of the hotd characters in this u are 1-1 equivalent to the succession ones, more of amalgamations of certain character traits/plot points/tropes hahah

— aegon ii is majorly roman coded ofc as in: terrible sense of humour, NO moral backbone, sex issues, daddy issues, mummy issues, issues in general, he doesn’t want to be the ceo, he just desperately wants daddy to be proud of him. he’s also kendall coded as in suicidal, with massive addiction problems, in and out of rehab constantly. but also a little bit of connor coded as in “i am the (eldest) first son. i AM the first son and i’m not considered”. a failure tbh, he lashes out a lot because he wants people to pay attention to him (LOOSEEEER). his relationship with alicent is a bit similar to kendall’s with caroline, aegon wants that deeper connection but it’s very hard for both of them to communicate. his relationship with larys is very romegerri coded.

for miscellaneous, aegon’s an annoying microinfluencer who gets cancelled every other week. he can’t dress for shit. sunfyre is his gigantic dog who drools EVERYWHERE. he’s a bit trans fem in the „i’m probably trans but i have a company to take over so can’t think of that rn” way.

— rhaenyra is majorly kendall coded as in: groomed to be the ceo and promised the position since she was a child, which OF COURSE messed her up a little (a lot). if she doesn’t end up the ceo then who is she? suddenly her position is compromised after the targtowers are born and she’s majorly FUCKED. she loves her siblings somewhat but she resents them for existing at the same time. rhae’s also shiv coded because she’s a woman in power (but not ENOUGH power) and she’s privileged enough to ignore feminism unless it is in her advantage. a little bit naomi pierce coded but her „scandalous” past is based in many messy romances and kids out of wedlock.

for miscellaneous, she’s a part time model, a very fussy eater and a passenger princess. she’s also a bit trans masc in the „i’m probably trans but i have a company to take over so can’t think of that rn” way.

— alicent is A BIT stewy coded in context of rhaenyra because they were inseparable homoerotic coke snoring (yeah, her religious conservatism happens later in this story as a coping mechanism) best friends slash lovers in high school, until she got forced by otto and groomed by viserys to marry him. yeah, the terrible age gap is still there and she has aegon when she’s seventeen* because i feel like early motherhood is a very important part of who alicent is and becomes. she’s miserable as always. she’s also marcia coded in the “you’ve been careless of me” way, she tries very hard at the beginning to be a perfect little wife and mother. it eventually breaks her.

for miscellaneous, she used to be a model, HATED it. wanted to become a writer but it never came to fruition because of how quickly she got married. she’s a good cook but rarely gets to cook anymore.

** the rough timeline is: she has aegon at 17, helaena at 18, aemond at 20 and daeron at 22. aegon is 32 in this au, hela is 31, aemond is 29 and daeron is 27. alicent is 49, viserys is 70, rhae is actually 47 because i want to close the gap between her and the targtowers at least a little bit. rhaenyra and alicent still went to the same class together because rhae started school 2 years later than she „should’ve”, let’s just say viserys didn’t want his little girl out of the house as quickly because he was so shaken after losing aemma, or they went travelling when she was a kid and that put her two years behind, or smth. idc!

— aemond is uhhh a mix of everything. “i AM THE ELDEST BOY” kendall coded, spit and desperation everywhere, because i think in this au his reliability and skills would get somewhat recognised by viserys and by the company, and it would GET IN HIS HEAD HARD. he’s definitely the parentified son like connor. but he is not the eldest boy. he’s the fucking fourth kid. he knows, not matter his skills, his diligence, his discipline, the position will never be his. he kills a kid like ken (rip lucerys drowning in a nasty ass body of water once again). shiv coded because of his cunty ass bob. roman coded because of possible ed issues (actually i think all of them struggle with food and body image to certain degree because that „summer of competitive eating disorders” line in the succession script book never left my head ever).

for miscellaneous, he’s a part time actor, he trained ballet for a while and loved it but was very quickly forced to switch to fencing and shooting lessons. he makes a mean cup of coffee and refuses to ever buy it. has a minor coke problem but is VERY good at hiding it.

— helaena is a hard one. a bit willa coded when it comes to her love for arts and creative expression. a bit connor coded as in secluded, living on a ranch, not partaking in the business side of the family unless necessary. she sees the unnecessary pain this fight for the ceo position brings to her siblings and wants nothing to do with it. alicent tries very hard to include her, quite forcefully at times but it never works for long, so she’s mostly left to her own devices. helaena probablymhzs the best relationship with rhaenyra out of all the siblings because rhae doesn’t see her as a threat.

for miscellaneous, she trained ballet with aemond, then switched to gymnastics. now very into pilates and yoga. she makes her own wine and jam, has an extensive herb garden and is a little insane about naturopathic medicine.

— daeron is kinda stewy-ish? he’s good with business, he knows his stuff and he usually makes VERY good choices but he doesn’t take it as seriously as his siblings. then again, because daeron’s the youngest, he doesn’t get to make a lot of big decisions anyways. that takes a lot of pressure of his shoulders! he’s also stewy level of loyal, „i’m team aegon baby!” even though he knows how messed up his older brother is about this whole business stuff.

for miscellaneous, he’s VERY into street racing. that gives alicent a gigantic headache. he’s allergic to cats but owns one anyways. never cooked in his life.

[white-guy-energy-swag]

GREEN NERD SHOWDOWN ROUND 2 BATTLE 1

Riz Gugak (fantasy high) vs Jonathan Sims (the magnus archive)

PROPAGANDA

RIZ

Riz "The Ball" Gukgak, is green cuz he's a goblin, and a nerd. He starts out as a "Teen Detective" kid, investigating the disappearance of the missing girls in Elmville, cuz one of the missing girls is his old babysitter, aka his only friend before the show starts. He later graduates in the "James Bond Wannabe" Kid. He starts accessorizing and experimenting with his outfit, but because he's a nerd and self conscious he's constantly trying to justify it by making everything some kind of gadget and saying that it's all for the sake of utility in order to deflect any judgement. Also, before you think the nickname "The Ball" is cool, he got it because when he tried to join the sport team, the school jock said that the only position he could play was the ball, and proceeded to throw him like a ball. Dimension 20 is a D&D actual play show, Riz Gukgak is one of the player character, his player being Brian Murphy, who is a nerd himself. He's also the rogue, starting with the Inquisitive subclass, aka the nerd subclass, and later changes to the Arcane Trickster subclass, aka the slightly cooler nerd subclass. He's a nerd being played by a nerd as the nerd class with the nerd subclass, formerly the other nerd subclass, in the nerd game.

He's a green goblin who is obsessed with solving mysteries and making clue boards

Goblin (green). Middle school nickname was Briefcase Kid. Still carries that briefcase. Is a licensed PI. Definitely the (non-magic) brains of his adventuring party.

he made business cards to give to potential friends on his first day of school. he is a self proclaimed private investigator. he carries around a fucking briefcase to HIGH SCHOOL. what hasn’t this guy done. Sure he does a lot of cool stuff but this is what matters.

I love him, he is such a nerd, straight A student with an impeccable knowledge of the world he lives in, he is also literally a goblin, and thus the colour green. He’s also aro so green in the flag

Feral detective/angel spy

JONATHAN

He’s just a nerd generally. He also started off the series as really posh and “doesn’t believe in the supernatural” (it’s a coping mechanism). Then as the series goes on, becomes a know-it-all. Supernaturally. He gets the powers to know (almost) everything. He doesn’t really have a canon appearance, (podcast) but TMA as a whole is associated with green because of the pictures used for it.

The Magnus Archives cover is green, and per the unofficial rules of eye-themed podcasts, the fanart tends to lean towards a green color pallette. Jon Sims art frequently has him wearing green. And he's so nerdy. He researches and archives supernatural encounters. His preferred ice cream flavor is rum raisin. He went to Oxford and faked his accent. His social skills are abysmal. When someone asked if he'd seen a dog he responded with "…In general?"

Green eye powers plus he works at an archiving job not only that but the head archivist and has a degree in library science+not many friends and a loner

That man saw someone being kind to him and decided they were going to murder him

HE SEES ALL (also he needs a break. That man has so many scars and so much trauma get a that guy a fuckin nap and a raise)

[purpleheartskies]

Robby's mental health in s6 part 2 

Also titled: Robby is the underdog - Part 9, The start of The Resurrection stage in Robby's Hero's Journey

A lot of disappointment wrt Robby's story in s6 part 2 has been around his behavior, lack of focus, and losses. However, with his so many unresolved traumas, the addition of new traumas in part 2, and the lack of a proper support system, Robby's mental health has continued to decline. Robby's underdog story is about his poor mental health, which contrasts the typical Karate Kid underdog trope of having poor physical strength or karate skills. As I've talked about at length, Robby's Hero’s Journey is about finding balance by starting to cope with his traumas in a healthy way and developing a healthy relationship with himself.

Given that part 2 is the start of the Resurrection stage of his Journey, it's important to note that this stage is going to be Robby's final "battle" in the story. This battle is going to be his biggest one yet and with the most stakes. Robby's battles aren't just against his karate rivals/opponents. His battles are also against his poor mental health and how he copes with his traumas. After all, his poor mental health makes him the underdog in this story:

"This fight is not about him. The biggest battle is always the one within. Okay, concentrate, defense, focus, power. You find your balance, and those points will come. All right?"

In part 2, Robby started going down the path that he didn’t want to go down. He drank for the first time to cope with his traumas and poor mental health. He also fought using his anger in his match with Kwon and didn't fight with balance. (I'll talk about these more below.) In s4e4, Silver told Robby that to become a champion, he would have to face his fear. Later, Robby admitted to Johnny that Robby’s fear is that he would end up like Johnny. In s5e5, Robby "let go" of his anger, because of his fawn trauma response, and in doing so believed that he’d found balance. That was the ending of his Ordeal stage, at which he obtained his "want" (a relationship with Johnny) while unknowingly giving up his "need" (finding balance and developing a healthy relationship with himself). In s6e5, it was shown that Robby hasn’t found balance, nor does he have a healthy relationship with himself ("It's still better than always coming in second"). He doesn’t believe in himself or his future. He’s also still fawning (self-abandoning), and in part 2 his mental health continued to worsen due to various reasons. Robby is close now to the moment in his Hero's Journey that his "resurrection" will take place. He will have an internal "death and rebirth". He's going to have to make important decisions wrt himself, his future, his relationships, and the people around him. He must choose his "need" over his "want" in order to succeed in his Journey.  

In ATLA, during his Ordeal at the end of book 2, Zuko chose his want (going home, his "destiny") over his need (standing against his father, helping end the war). In CK, at the end of his Ordeal in s5e5, Robby "chose" his want (a relationship with Johnny and everyone) over his need (believing in himself and who he is). Characters oftentimes do choose their wants over their needs during their Ordeals. When Zuko did so during his Ordeal, it was a total backslide. He had a choice at that moment, and he chose wrong. (This all literally took place in a cave! The Ordeal takes place in the "inmost cave" in the Hero's Journey. For Robby in CK, that cave was metaphorical.) When Robby made his "choice" at the end of his Ordeal (the baby news scene), it was a total backslide. He gave up who he is entirely. (This was a subconscious, defense mechanism.) Neither Zuko nor Robby could find inner peace. Zuko was shown discontent and silently grappling with his decision. Robby's mental health (his self-worth, his self-blame) is shown to have worsened, and he's become more off-balance since.

In this post, I'm going to talk about Robby's traumas, mental health, and behavior in s6 part 2 and how those were affected by other characters (primarily Tory, Miguel, Zara, and Kwon). To start, I'll revisit the state of his mental health at the end of part 1.

Robby's mental health has continued to worsen since s5

(You can read about the Robby's traumas and the impact on his mental health from s1 to s6 part 1 in these posts: The Neglect of Robby Keene (s1-s5), The college essay scene (s6 part 1), and "Second place, second place" (s6 part 1))

In s6e5, it's shown that Robby still doesn’t believe in himself or his future. However, Tory encouraged him that he could win the tournament. To do that, he had to first win the captaincy match. For the first time since the s1 tournament, Robby's flashbacks were shown: He keeps coming in second place, and it's eating him up inside. Miguel then tried to gaslight Robby that Miguel's future matters more, but Robby didn't back down. 

During the captain's match, Robby struggled at first because he couldn't focus. Tory wasn’t there, and no one there was supporting him specifically. Johnny and Sam both stood on Miguel's side. Miguel quickly scored two points on him. Then, Tory arrived. Robby gained his focus and was able to score on Miguel, coming back from 0-2 to win 3-2. Robby, who is usually perceptive of others' emotional states, didn't even notice Tory's emotional state. Robby at the time was struggling so much with his own trauma and mental health (and relief that he'd won despite his struggles) that he simply wasn't that aware or perceptive of Tory's state. It was after she started fighting more aggressively that he started to notice it. 

Tory: "Sorry I was late." Robby: "You came just in time."

Robby's behavior in this scene fit his state of mind at the time. Like how s5e1/2 showed Robby fawning with Johnny before Robby starting fawning completely in s5e5, s6e5 showed how deteriorated Robby's mental health was going into part 2.

Robby and Tory’s relationship in part 2

As frustrating and disappointing as it is, Robby’s part 2 arc (like his previous season arcs) is all about how poor his mental health is because of his lack of stable, genuine support and new traumas that he experienced. Tory had shown him that support in s6e5, but her behavior in part 2 also affected Robby’s mental health greatly.

It goes without saying that in part 2 Robby’s and Tory’s mental healths were at their worst. I’ll be primarily focusing this section on Robby’s mental health when it comes to his relationship with Tory, but I’ll talk about Tory’s mental health a bit first.

Tory’s mental health obviously worsened because of her mother’s death. She also didn’t believe she’d get a fair chance at Miyagi-Do to become captain, which she needed assurance of because she needs the benefits from winning the tournaments. Although she had shown up at the captain’s match in s6e5, Daniel stopping the match and then Johnny egging her on that she wouldn’t get a fair chance really made her believe Kreese’s words about her not being given a fair chance at Miyagi-Do. She had joined Cobra Kai knowing that she had the captain’s spot there. She has also never been against Cobra Kai in general. She was specifically against Silver in s5, which she had clearly stated. She also told Robby in s6e1 that Miyagi-Do is against everything she’d been taught. Tory had made her decision to ensure she was a captain.

After s5, I said that the biggest issue in Robby and Tory's relationship is their communication. This continued in s6. In s6e5, after her mother died, Tory didn’t answer Robby’s calls. After the captaincy match was cancelled and Johnny made things worse, she left the dojo saying she was done. Although there is no context given for what happened between Tory leaving the Miyagi-Do dojo in part 1 and when they all arrived at the tournament, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Robby probably tried to get in touch with her but she likely didn’t respond, like the day her mom had died. (I’ve seen criticism that Robby didn’t go to Tory’s home. However, in s6e1, it sounded like Robby hadn’t gone to Kenny’s home to speak with him either and had only tried to call and text him. But, since Kenny was at the arcade, Robby decided to try in person. Given Robby’s characterization, I took this as Robby respecting their boundaries. If Tory has never invited him to her home, he likely would not go.) Tory continued to behave this way after arriving at the tournament. According to the timeline, it was soon after the captaincy matches that they had left for the tournament. (From what I’ve seen mentioned, the date on Daniel’s phone in one scene in part 2 is a continuity error. That date is the day they had filmed the scene; not the date in canon.)

Robby tried to talk to Tory in the lobby, but she purposely ignored him and walked right past him. During the captain’s pictures, he smiled at her but she didn’t smile back and turned away. Then, he approached her in the aquarium while she was alone. He asked her if she planned on avoiding him the whole tournament. She claimed no, and then said that she didn’t know what he wanted her to say. She had purposely been avoiding him—a defensive mechanism called stonewalling (characterized by behaviors such as refusing to respond to texts or phone calls, abruptly cutting people off and ending conversations, ignoring others outright, etc.). Robby and Tory did end up having a somewhat proper conversation until Sam showed up some feet away, watching and listening to them. When Tory noticed Sam, Tory ended the conversation and walked away. Robby understood why when he turned and saw Sam there. (I didn’t like that Sam came and stood there and listened in on them. Robby and Tory are dating, and it’s not Sam’s place.)

Following this, Tory purposely put Robby in a situation that caused him issues with the others. In s6e5, she had told Robby not to tell anyone about Kreese approaching her because the others wouldn’t trust her. She obviously hadn’t told Robby all the details of her conversation with Kreese because, in this conversation in s6e6, Robby implicitly asked her if her joining CK as their female captain was why Kreese had approached her. Later, when Sam approached her to talk, Tory threw Robby under the bus and said that she had told him about Kreese coming to her. However, she had earlier admitted to Robby that she hadn’t told him why Kreese had come to her because she knew that he would try to stop her. Later in s6e6, when Robby came to Tory at night, Tory told him that she would just be making things harder for him if the others knew he came to talk to her. Well, she had already made things harder for him when she purposely told Sam that Robby knew about Kreese. It has made me wonder if Tory was purposely sabotaging their relationship because she then used this reason and the tournament as her excuse to put them on a pause. It’s also important to note that Tory hadn’t cared about them being in a relationship in s6e5 when they had first made their deal to be on the podium together. But now Tory decided for both of them that being on a pause would be best. She repeated Kim’s words to Robby about owning her decision to be there and what’s best for them is what’s best for their dojos. Tory then told him that it’s best for both of them and to trust her. He rightly pointed out that she doesn’t trust him or anyone. She didn’t respond and got a contemplative expression, which indicated that she doesn’t trust him, so he walked away. Her behavior with him up until that point had already indicated this. Her behavior after this conversation continued to indicate this.

Tory’s mother had died, but she shut Robby out. Like he had told her, he would have been there for her. Tory’s and Robby’s traumas have resulted in both of them having insecure attachment styles. Robby tends more towards an anxious style (characterized by traits such as feeling unworthy of love, fear of abandonment/rejection, and difficulty trusting others), while Tory tends more to an avoidant style (characterized by traits such as strong sense of independence, difficulty trusting others, being uncomfortable expressing feelings, and being dismissive of others). They were already prone to these styles when they first started dating. For example, in s2, Robby hid the truth about medal of honor because he had felt insecure, and Tory went no contact with Miguel after witnessing him cheat on her. Robby’s and Tory’s traumas have worsened by this point, and this has made their relationship more unhealthy. 

Robby was unhappy but was understanding of her decision to join Cobra Kai when he came to speak to her that night in s6e6 and wanted to stay a couple. However, Tory just wanted to focus on her own goals. Tory has always put herself and her own goals above their relationship. Tbf, in s5, Robby had put his need to distance himself from Cobra Kai above their relationship too. That had been in s5e4, before Robby had started fawning. (And, as I talked about earlier, Robby’s mental health has been in further decline due to this trauma response because of his situation with Johnny and the Diazs.) At the time, Tory had been hiding staying in Cobra Kai and working with Kreese, which had been the first instance of her choosing Kreese and Cobra Kai over Robby. Joining Kreese and Cobra Kai for this tournament is the second instance.

It's important to note that she claimed it was best for them, but she was really only doing it for herself. Some say that Robby didn't understand Tory's request for a pause or that he shouldn't be against her wanting one. However, he did understand, but she didn't ask it just for herself. She specifically said that it would be best for both of them and that he should trust her, although she is one who had gone no contact and joined Kreese behind Robby’s back. At that point, she was trying to control their relationship. She didn't care for his feelings and decided to dictate what was best for him too. She then followed that with telling him to trust her. He countered with the fact that she doesn't trust anyone else including him. She didn't deny that, so he walked away. After this point, she has no right to get angry with him about their relationship. She can't under any circumstances dictate what is best for him while also dismissing his feelings and not trusting him. She doesn’t trust him but wants him to blindly trust her yet again. Tory became yet another person who tried to dictate to Robby what was best for him while dismissing and disregarding how he feels and asking for his trust (while not trusting him in return), like Johnny does with Robby repeatedly and like Daniel did when he claimed to be helping Robby wrt to the school fight. Tory reignited those wounds for him. 

(gif on left) Robby was upset and trying the process when she first said that they should focus on karate while they're there and that she needs to own decision to be there. He asked if that means a break up and she said it's a pause. He had the same expression on his face. (gif on right) She then said that it's the best for both of them. His expression after she said this had a noticeable bit of anger.

Having grief is not an excuse to treat someone like they or their feelings don't matter or like you can dictate what is best for them. The same goes for when someone has trauma. Johnny, Daniel, and Sam have all treated Robby as if his feelings don't matter and what they want is best not just for them but for him too. 

There are two more instances that I want to bring up in which Tory continued to make their relationship solely about herself and her feelings. Before I go over these, I want to mention again that he did acknowledge to Sam that Tory had put them on a break. After Robby believed that Tory had started hooking up with Kwon, then Robby also believed that she’d actually broken up with him. 

One incident is in s6e9 after Tory confronted Robby about Zara. Robby defended himself by saying that Tory had broken up with him. Tory then said that she had said a pause and not sleep with their enemies. Robby then called her out for hooking up with Kwon and that being okay. She then told him that his "dumbass got played". Tory insulting Robby like that is pretty messed up. She had refused to have a proper conversation with him and refused to trust him with what she was going through, but she wanted him to fully trust her decision as being best for both of them, although she had kept her choice of joining Kreese and Cobra Kai a secret and kept stonewalling him. He had still respected her decision to want to go on a break. Her not caring at all about his feelings makes the relationship more one-sided than it should be… and a lot like his relationships with the other characters. Tory had made that decision to solely benefit herself. Robby isn’t entitled to Tory, but Tory also isn’t entitled to Robby or to make decisions for what’s best for him. She needs to realize this.

The second incident was while Robby tried to talk to her in the lobby. Robby tried to give her a proper apology and explain his side of the story, but she shut him down. She then started talking about herself and her feelings. So again, it was all about her and her goals. Her mom had died, but she had made her own choice to join Cobra Kai. Robby had kept trying to talk to her but she had been stonewalling him. Tory expected him to feel sorry for her after Cobra Kai lost and got knocked out of the tournament. I am curious if, going into the match, she had expected that Miyagi-Do would lose that match. It was going to be either her team or Robby’s team that would advance to the next round. She would have justified it to herself, and no doubt to Robby too, if she'd helped Cobra Kai knock Miyagi-Do out of the tournament because that would have meant she would advance to the next round and have her chance at the podium. That in turn would have meant that Robby would have lost his chance at the podium. When she'd started that match, she'd been angry with Robby about Zara, so she went into that matching with the intention of winning and knocking him out of the tournament. Again, she can't expect to him to wait around, blindly trust her, be okay with her keeping major secrets (like Kreese's offer), and do whatever she says is best for him, while she focuses on achieving her goals. In a way, I'm happy that he did get the win against Cobra Kai in this regard. He didn’t put her or their relationship above his own future and goals of beating Cobra Kai (and Kwon, specifically) and having a chance at the podium.

I think that someone wanting to go on a “pause/break” is understandable. But expecting the other person to wait around is unfair to them, especially after that someone dismisses what the other person has to say, dismisses their feelings, and dictates to them what is best for them. Just make it a clean break. It's the other person’s choice if they don’t want to see anyone else while they wait for the “pause/break” to be over. Like I said, Robby is not entitled to Tory, but Tory is also not entitled to Robby. In a way, Tory had decided to string Robby along and wanted him to be okay with that. In s5, Sam had been upset in the moment after seeing Miguel kiss that other girl. However, Sam had been okay with it in general after that. Miguel had been the one who kept bringing it up, wanting her to be upset about him kissing that other girl, and gaslighting her about Tory, which is Miguel's go-to method to tear/wear Sam down.

Robby’s abandonment and rejection trauma

A huge part of Robby’s poor mental health is his abandonment and rejection trauma. In s6e5, his “second place” scene wasn’t just about karate but about his life and relationships as well. Remember, finding balance also isn’t just about karate but about life as well. However, Robby’s poor mental health acts as his internal Shadow and as an internal Threshold Guardian in this Hero’s Journey.

Parental rejection, general childhood rejection, social rejection by peers, and other forms of abandonment can cause rejection trauma—a form of complex trauma resulting from abuse and neglect that can cause a fear of rejection… Childhood abuse and neglect… can leave people at risk for rejection trauma. A person might also experience poorer mental health and rejection sensitivity due to perceived rejection, longstanding emotional pain, or instances of romantic rejection that trigger abandonment fears.

During the matches in s6e7, when Robby lost focus/balance, he was triggered; as in, he was having a trauma response. When you’re triggered, you don't think. You feel. It hits you hard and overwhelms you.

Robby was experiencing “freeze” trauma responses. It's not about Tory specifically, but about his trauma from abandonment/rejection hitting him. He has no control over these responses.

Wrt Tory, this trauma was so new. It was also a confusing situation for him. On the one hand, she is the only person who believes in him. On the other hand, she essentially rejected him by not trusting him and by putting them on break, telling him what's best for him while dismissing how he feels and not hearing him out. Her behavior made the relationship unstable/unsafe. Like how Robby can’t predict Johnny’s, Miguel’s, Daniel’s, etc behaviors with him, Robby also can’t predict Tory’s behavior with him now too. This wasn’t the first time that she had chosen Kreese and Cobra Kai over him and their relationship and had kept it a secret. Both times, he had found out in some way that didn’t involve her directly telling him.

It’s striking that in s6e5, Robby seeing Tory at the match caused him to gain balance because he was able to find the strength to believe in himself due to her belief in him. Whereas, in s6e6/7, Robby seeing Tory triggered him and caused him to freeze up. In s1e10, when Robby looked at Johnny during the avt match with Hawk, Robby lost focus too, but in a different way. Back then, Robby’s traumas weren't as bad as they are now due to all of his experiences since then.  In s4, Robby also had a freeze response when he looked at Kenny during the match with Hawk. (That's Robby losing focus in both of his matches with Hawk at a tournament). At the time, Robby was already feeling remorse over his match with Kenny and his decision to have Kenny join Cobra Kai with him. Of course, at that point, Robby was already dealing with the trauma of the school fight and other related traumas, such as everyone abandoning, rejecting, and scapegoating him because of it.

Freeze responses can occur "when the situation confronting you overwhelms your coping capacities and leaves you paralyzed in fear."

Robby is constantly in survival mode due to his fawn response around those closest to him. He was already living in survival mode before s5e5 because of his unstable home life (including not even having a home at times) and unpredictable, neglectful parents hif whole life. His mental health has gotten to a point now where his coping mechanisms are overwhelmed.

In the ongoing life and development of the trauma survivor, the freeze response can continue to emerge in response to the perception of threat, with the brain and body moving into a state of high alert (e.g. heart racing, sweating, breathing accelerated) when triggered. However, when observed, the individual might appear shut-down or withdrawn. This generally occurs in the survivor in response to a trigger that is reminiscent of past traumatic experiences. 

Clearly, Robby lacks focus in general, which is why he wasn’t able to fight as properly in s6e5 until Tory showed up. She had become the only person to believe in him. In his matches in s6e7, he would start out somewhat balanced, but would freeze up when he looked at Tory. The bullying and scapegoating by the others was not helpful either. In s6e8, he even commented that she wasn’t affected at all by being on a break and she was fighting better than ever. He was upset because of her initial rejection (not trusting him and suddenly putting them on a break) and was so frustrated with himself because of his freeze responses, that he had started thinking about drinking.

It’s not that Robby’s story with Johnny, the Diazs, and the LaRussos has been replaced with his relationship with Tory as the main focus of his story. It’s that Robby’s relationship with Tory is being used to explore and show how Robby’s situations with Johnny, the Diazs, and the LaRussos have been affecting his mental health. He is suffering in silence. He is not accepted by them for who he is. He has had to change himself and people-please, putting aside all of his justified issues with them, in order to be accepted by them. He had to self-abandon and put them first. He is still not trusted by them, is still scapegoated by them, and is still not genuinely wanted by them. This has all resulted in his abandonment/rejection trauma worsening and his insecure attachment style due to all of his childhood trauma and the other traumas he’s experienced worsening too. Robby is so overwhelmed with trauma, stress, and anxiety that he is now experiencing triggers and freeze responses more frequently due to this new trauma from Tory’s behavior with him. 

Notice that Robby was showing the same signs of anxiety when he went to speak to Tory that night in s6e6, as he showed when he spoke with Daniel in s3e2 and when he went to speak with Johnny in s4e10. He couldn’t sleep so he went to speak with her. 

In s3e2, Robby starting fidgeting with his fingers when Daniel showed up. In s4e10, Robby was tapping his fingers on his legs as he walked into the dojo to talk to Johnny. In s6e6, Robby couldn't sleep so we went to talk to Tory. When she opened the door, he was standing there fidgeting with his hands.

Of course, Robby is constantly filled with anxiety. He’s in a family, friends group, dojo, and environments that are constantly reinforcing his abandonment and rejection trauma. He still has no genuine, consistent support system, not even one adult. The people around him will not only take away their support without notice. They will also invalidate, scapegoat, and/or bully him, depending on the person and on the circumstance. He has to fawn in order to survive. He’s also worried about his future and sees no prospects for it, other than by winning the tournament. By s6e8, he was failing at that too now.

In s6e7, when Daniel found Johnny packing, Johnny told Daniel that he told Miguel about Carmen. But, Johnny made no mention of Robby. Johnny told Daniel to tell the others. That means Johnny himself didn’t tell Robby and wasn't planning on telling Robby about what was going on. Johnny left Robby out. In s6e8, when Robby wondered how Carmen was doing and asked Sam if she'd spoken to Miguel before he left, it seemed as if Miguel hadn’t spoken to Robby either before leaving. Robby has always been an outsider in this family, and behaviors like this continue to send Robby the message that he is an outsider in this family. (As a juxtaposition, the hospital scenes also reinforced this, as I talk about in my post about the family in part 2.) This added to Robby's abandonment/rejection trauma. 

It was after all this that he told Sam that he wanted to drink. She reminded him that he doesn’t drink, and he said that maybe he should start. He then brought up that Tory put them on a break and that she wasn’t even affected by it, that she was fighting better than ever. Like I’ve mentioned before, Robby had mentioned wanting to drink because of his counter-dependence. He had wanted Sam to stop him. Sam then told him that they shouldn’t let Tory get into their heads like that. Right after Sam said this, Tory walked in with Kwon. Sam immediately left, and Robby eventually ended up at the bar. He ordered his first drink after seeing Kwon put his arm around Tory. Robby turned his head away, and that’s when Tory shoved Kwon away, which Robby didn’t see. A little later, Robby was still glancing over at them. Tory decided to leave because of that. Kwon noticed and went and taunted Robby, telling him that he’d keep her warm that night. Robby stood up and was slightly unsteady on his feet. Kwon taunted him more, and Robby looked like he couldn’t focus enough to put words together. Kwon then left. Robby sat down and unsteadily picked up his drink. Zara then approached him, as if she’d been watching him.

Although Tory's behavior of stonewalling Robby played a huge role in him believing that she had broken up with him and moved onto Kwon (essentially abandoning and replacing him like some of the others have), it should be said that Robby’s belief that Tory had moved on from him and replaced him so quickly was also rooted in Robby’s low self-worth and his belief that he is unlovable. His own father had abandoned him and then replaced him with another kid. In s5, his father had even abused him to prioritize that other kid. Those two had just ditched Robby again, as they went home in an emergency (that also affected Robby because the baby is his sister too) and didn’t even talk to Robby before leaving. In fact, in juxtaposition to Robby drinking because of his trauma, Robby’s father called that random kid his son after that random kid had complained that Johnny was “disregarding” him and called Robby “messed up”, which Robby doesn’t know about. This contrast matches the juxtaposition of the “Johnny chooses Miguel over Robby” storyline throughout the story. 

In addition, Sam had abandoned and replaced Robby with Miguel after the school fight, after having used and cheated on him. It also stood out to me that Sam started telling Robby about all the plans that Sam and Miguel had made for Barcelona. When Sam talked those plans to Robby, I couldn’t help but think how tone deaf of her it was. She has never even taken accountability with Robby nor admit Miguel’s faults in their rivalry. Sam still continues to disappoint in this regard. It also sticks out then that she did leave immediately after Tory walked in, although Robby had admitted to Sam that he was going to drink for the first time because he was so upset. I’ve said before that counter-dependence is hard to interpret, so I understand her not realizing he was hoping she would stop him. Overall, though, it does seem like she’s just his friend at a surface level and still doesn’t understand him. In s6e6, twice she questioned his loyalty: right after they found out that Tory had joined Cobra Kai and when she announced to everyone that Robby had known that Kreese had come to Tory, without even talking to Robby first. Meanwhile, she continues to overlook her past and present acts of disloyalty to him. (Continuing to scapegoat Robby for the school fight and acting like Miguel's past actions towards Robby never happened are disloyal.)

For Robby, all of these abandonment/rejection traumas were compounding. This situation in the bar was the combination of Johnny rushing off with Miguel, without even telling Robby as if he doesn’t exist and as if wasn’t his baby sister too, and Sam sitting and talking about her romantic plans with Miguel, as if she and Robby didn’t have the unresolved history that they have. Robby was also already upset that Tory didn’t care at all about their "break", as in her not having his support didn’t affect her at all. Robby was also performing really poorly in his matches because his mental health was affecting him. Because of all this, Robby was already thinking about drinking. So, after Tory walked in with Kwon, she continued to stonewall Robby, and Kwon later put his arm around Tory, Robby wasn’t in a good mindset at all and was pretty immersed in his own trauma, self-hate, and low/non-existent self-worth. Robby decided to take this first drink.

In s3, Robby told Hawk that Robby doesn't need to drink to pretend to be cool. Robby grew up with alcoholic parents. He never wanted to drink because he didn’t want to end up like them. But, now, he took his first drink to cope and forget, just like his parents do (or did, in his mother’s case). As I mentioned in another post, Robby being SA’d after he drank and got drunk for the first time is a dark irony. This is also something that may/likely have happened to his mother (more than once) before she had gone to rehab.

Miguel is still Robby’s bully and foil

In part 2, Robby continued to check with Miguel that things were still good between them. In s5, Robby made sure to be friends with Miguel and Hawk after Robby started fawning in s5e5. Robby kept initiating conversations with them. Hawk only initiated once and that was to tell Robby that he would shut Kenny up in their match.

In s6e5, although Robby had stood up for himself in the courtyard scene, Robby confirmed with Miguel that they were still good right after their match. In s6e6, Robby checked with Miguel twice to make sure he was on Robby’s side, during the conversation about Tory and Kreese. In s6e7, before their match with Cobra Kai, Miguel told Robby to stay back and stay focused. Robby asked him why he wouldn’t be focused, and Miguel said that he saw him leave the hotel room the night before. After the match, when Robby was in the shower, he didn’t know that Miguel and his sidekicks were talking about him behind his back, saying that they think Miguel should be captain. When Robby came out, they lied about what they’d been talking about. As Robby passed by Miguel, Robby patted Miguel’s shoulder in a friendly manner, again trying to confirm that things were good between them.

Next, after Miguel commented in the locker room about Robby’s lack of focus, Robby confronted him telling him to say whatever it is he has to say.

Miguel told Robby off, saying that he didn’t care about winning and had taken this opportunity from Miguel. Robby said that it hasn’t actually been easy for him and called him out once again for making it all about himself. Robby stood up for himself again, as he had in s6e5, because Robby still believed in himself and his future. Miguel told him that he’d be the reason they’d go home with nothing and he should either man up or admit that Miguel was fighting better and hand it over. After Miguel walked away, Robby looked at the captain’s headband in contemplation.

Miguel: "Sure, but you're also going to be the reason we go home with nothing." Notice the look on Robby's face after Miguel said this. This is scapegoating. (I'll talk more later about how this statement affected Robby.)

Before the platform match, Robby tightened his headband, when Miguel looked at him, to reinforce that Robby wasn’t going to hand it over. However, Robby had another freeze respond while fighting and was knocked off the platform more quickly than he should have been. Miguel ended up winning it for them after a 2 v 1, but before he went up there he told Robby, “Watch how it’s done.” After this match, Johnny got the call about Carmen, and he and Miguel took off without even talking to Robby and definitely not taking him along.

Johnny heard Miguel bully Robby, but Johnny said nothing to Robby to encourage him or make him feel better. Johnny didn't say anything to Miguel in the moment either. Johnny is so useless to Robby. After Miguel had his hissy fit on the plane and called Robby "messed up", Johnny defended Robby for a like a second... Then, to appease Miguel because he started stonewalling Johnny, Johnny called Miguel his son and basically defended why he's "supporting" Robby (which he clearly isn't) as captain.

Robby isn't wrong to perceive Miguel as a threat, even if Robby is doing this subconsciously. Robby needs to understand where he stands with him. Robby knows from past experience that he must stay on good terms with Miguel. In s5e4, Robby had told Tory that he and Johnny still have some issues that are too big to solve. Robby looked toward Miguel. Johnny's unhealthy obsession with Miguel is one of those "too big to solve problems".

In s6e7, Robby was trying to appease Miguel and his anger towards Robby, while Robby was also still trying to believe in himself and his own future. Robby wasn’t wrong about Miguel, though. In s6e8, while Miguel and Johnny had left Robby behind to go to Carmen, Miguel threw Johnny’s alcoholism and failures with Robby in Johnny’s face and even called Robby “messed up” to attack Johnny. Miguel then stonewalled Johnny, until Johnny came begging and appeased him. Johnny assured Miguel that he is Johnny’s son too and basically apologized for “supporting” Robby as captain. 

Because of Johnny’s codependency with Miguel, Robby has to also gauge and be aware of his status with Miguel (and no doubt with Carmen too). After all, Johnny had forced Robby to do the apartment fight with Miguel so that Miguel could take his anger out on Robby and become friends with Robby. In order to have a relationship with Johnny, Robby has to have a good relationship with Miguel. Also, because of Miguel gaslighting Robby after the apartment fight as well as everyone continuing to act like Robby has always been the problem between them, Robby has settled with the belief that he had to be the one to let go of his "hate" in order for their rivalry to be resolved, like he indicated in his conversation with Kenny in s5e8.

When Miguel “apologized” to Robby in s6e9, Miguel didn’t actually apologize. Miguel didn’t admit why he had been acting that way. In s6e8, Miguel had already made sure to undermine Johnny’s support of Robby over Miguel because of his jealousy of Robby being Johnny’s real son and Miguel’s own false entitlement over Johnny. In s6e9, Miguel now showed support to Robby after having gotten what he’d wanted from Johnny—confirmation that he will still be Johnny’s priority over Robby. Miguel was now also motivated to win because of the promise he’d made to his mother that the baby’s older brother (just him, not her other brother) would win. Miguel made sure to give Robby the reassurance that he needed in order to lead with confidence and help the team win. 

Miguel had known all along that Robby had been struggling with his focus. Miguel had called out Robby’s lack of focus a few times, and Robby had also told him that it hasn’t been easy for him since getting there. Miguel could have given him the support he’d needed any time. Miguel had instead chosen to be a bully and hindrance to Robby (as the Threshold Guardian that Miguel is) because of Miguel's petty jealousy, instead of being an ally to Robby (which Miguel shapeshifted into). I’ll discuss their s6e9 conversation in more detail in the next section. 

Note that a big difference between Robby and Miguel is that Robby has never torn down another student, not unless provoked. And even then he makes pointed remarks in response, and not some rant about everything being about himself. Miguel on the other hand tore down Robby out of jealousy and made it all about himself. Miguel is not a supportive “brother” or “friend” to Robby. Miguel is not to be trusted, as he will turn on Robby whenever Miguel feels insecure or threatened by Robby’s presence and Miguel will continue to undermine Johnny's relationship with Robby.

Robby’s self-worth, self-esteem, and self-blame

Trauma greatly affects these traits. I’ll first talk about Robby’s self-worth and self-esteem. Then, I’ll focus on his self-blame.

Self-esteem describes your thoughts and feelings about yourself. It is usually based on judgments you make about yourself in the moment… Because self-esteem involves your thoughts and feelings about yourself and your level of confidence, it isn’t stable or consistent. Instead, it depends heavily on the outer world of people, tasks, and external information used to compare, judge, and evaluate yourself.

Self-worth is a broader, more stable form of self-esteem that is less influenced by outside or inside factors. Instead of focusing on specific traits, skills, circumstances, or achievements, self-worth describes the core beliefs you have about your worth and value. Core beliefs tend to be consistent over time, which is why self-worth is less likely to change in response to feelings, thoughts, behaviors, or experiences.

Robby generally has low self-worth due to all of his traumas, especially his trauma from abandonment/rejection. Fawning also diminishes a person’s self-worth as they put the needs of others above their own. Over the course of the series, Robby’s self-worth has decreased immensely.

In contrast, Robby’s self-esteem has wavered throughout the series. From s1e2 to s1e7, it was low as Robby had no proper support system and didn’t believe in himself or his future. From s1e7 (after the bonsai tree lesson) to s2e10, his self-esteem was high. From s2e10 (after the school fight) to s4e1, it was low again. From s4e1 to s5e5, it was high again. From s5e5 (after the apartment fight and baby news) to s6e4, his self-esteem was pretty low again. In s6e5, after Tory showed belief in him, his self-esteem increased again. Robby stood up to Miguel in s6e5 and in s6e7 because Robby believed in himself and his future. For a short time, after the SA, Robby’s self-esteem was low again. Miguel’s conversation with Robby and winning the team match after that improved Robby’s self-esteem again. In their s6e10 conversation, Tory said that she shouldn't have believed in any of it. Robby asked if that included him too. He wanted to know if she believed in him.  

In s6, the scapegoating continued to affect Robby’s self-worth and add to his self-blame too. Of course, the scapegoating for the school fight has continued. The college essay scene in s6e2 no doubt added to Robby's poor mental health. In s6e6, all the Miyagi-Dos ganging up on Robby and blaming him for Tory joining Kreese and Cobra Kai was uncalled for. When they first found out that Tory had joined Kreese, Sam had immediately asked Robby if he knew. He said that he didn’t, which was true. Sam later threw him under the bus, without even talking to him first, after Tory had told her that Robby knew about Kreese going to Tory. Hawk was also hypocritical about Robby losing the bet with Kwon. Hawk had egged Robby on before the bet and then turned on him after he lost. In s6e7, Miguel told Robby that he would be the reason that that team would go home with nothing. This is also scapegoating. (As a side, the others being upset with Robby for talking to Tory is uncalled for. She is his girlfriend. She had just lost her mom, and she made this choice. Regardless, it is his choice who he dates and talks to.)

Scapegoating is a destructive behavior that can have long-term psychological effects on both parties involved. In the target of this behavior, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, isolation, and even conditions like depression and/or anxiety can arise. They may also begin to doubt themselves since the other person is typically denying their experiences, or making them feel as though they are not worth listening to.

Self-blame also leads to low self-esteem and low self-worth. Scapegoating, abandonment, rejection, fawning, and SA all lead/add to excessive self-blame.

Blaming one’s self is a common response to having a traumatic experience. This is especially true even when the traumatic event occurs through no fault of our own -we didn’t ask for it, we didn’t want it and we certainly weren’t okay with it happening. And while this self-blaming response isn’t logical, the self blame can run deep, cold and hard to shake. There are many reasons why we take on this blame whether it’s a single event or prolonged childhood trauma.  1) We don’t have the capacity to see the flaws and wounds of our caregivers when we’re young. Developmentally, we do not possess the ability to step out of our own experience and perceive that our caregivers aren’t capable of meeting our needs. We can’t see beyond ourselves, so blaming someone else isn’t even possible. Because we are not capable of assigning blame elsewhere, that pain has to be directed somewhere, and that is often inward. 2) Self blame is a survival response. If we blame the caregiver at the root of our trauma, it undercuts our perception that they can provide for us. That, in turn, implies that we are alone in this world without the ability to take care of ourselves. By blaming ourselves, we maintain the perception that we’re still in control of the situation and ultimately safe -even when we’re not. That message of self-blame commonly travels with us into adulthood, manifesting into thoughts such as, “I’m not good enough” or “I’m unlovable”. 3) When a traumatic event occurs, we are hard wired to respond rapidly on an unconscious level. Unknowingly, our nervous system is constantly scanning the environment for potential danger. It’s like a personal alarm system. When the alarm goes off, we assess the situation with a rapid fire response: “Do I escape, fight or hide?” Because we are not aware of this near instantaneous assessment, it often leaves one thinking that more could have been done. The truth is that we likely did everything that could have been done in an attempt to keep ourselves safe -even if bad things still happened. Not being aware that this action unconsciously takes place leads us to conclude that we could have done better or more, thus placing the blame on ourselves.

In part 2, Robby’s exaggerated self-blame increased immensely after the SA. Usually Robby’s exaggerated self-blame is paired with his hopelessness. I’m going to look at two other examples alongside the SA.

In s3e2, after the school fight and being on the run, Robby needed validation that he could change. He told Daniel, “But I caused all this. I’m the one who kicked Miguel… You were right. It was a mistake trying to help because I can’t change.” There is a lot of context to the school fight that Robby ignored. He focused solely on what he himself had done, not the context in which it happened, and then expressed his hopelessness about himself. Daniel then said that we all make mistakes but our mistakes aren’t who we are and he can learn from his mistakes, and that Daniel would help him with that. Robby became visibly hopeful. However, the cops showed up and whatever trust and belief Robby had in Daniel and his words fell away. Robby also stopped believing in himself after that. Not to mention, the circumstances he was in were so dire, and no one cared about his side of the story, his experience or mental health, or had faith in. He was all alone. 

In s4e10, when Robby came to Johnny, Robby told Johnny “I screwed everything up. I had all this hate inside of me… I thought I could use Cobra Kai to control that. But, it just made things worse, and now it’s never going to get better… I’m sick of blaming you, Dad.” Robby needed to hear that it would get better. For these few moments, Johnny gave Robby the emotional support he needed. Notice that Robby again solely focused on what he himself had done, not the context in which it happened, and then expressed his hopelessness about himself, and moreso, his situation.

In s6e9, when Robby spoke to Miguel, Robby expressed that exaggerated self-blame and hopelessness again: "I'm completely screwing it up out there… Tory ended things. She hooked up with Kwon… Then I got drunk and did something stupid. I'm blowing it on and off the mat. You were right. You should have been captain." Interestingly, although he had said that Tory ended things and "hooked up with Kwon", he described what had happened between him and Zara as him "doing something stupid". This means that he doesn’t actually look at it as some casual hook-up, although he thought of Tory and Kwon’s hook up as casual. What happened with Zara was eating him up inside. Notice that, in this conversation with Miguel, Robby did the same things as in the two conversations above: Robby solely focused on what he himself had done, not the context in which it happened, and then expressed his hopelessness about himself, and moreso, his situation.

"I got drunk and did something stupid. I'm blowing it on and off the mat."

Notice also the context in which all these things happened: Robby did something related to his trauma due to Johnny. This is coupled with a traumatic event or trigger and that in turn made him believe even more that he can't change or succeed. This is also coupled with a negative interaction before the traumatic event with the person who he later talked to about his actions, the traumatic event, and his self-blame and hopelessness:

In s3e2, Robby believed that he couldn’t change (that he would end up like Johnny). He hadn’t just lost his balance and his anger had taken over (understandably having a "fight" trauma response in the moment), but he had accidentally injured someone severely. In s2e10, before the school fight, Daniel had told Robby, “This whole thing was a mistake. You wanna end up like him. That’s up to you.” After the trauma, as Robby spoke about it, Robby told Daniel that he had been right about what he’d said. Robby now believed that what he had done / what had happened had proven Daniel’s words right. In this s3e2 conversation, Daniel had also told Robby that Daniel’s words before the school fight had been wrong to say.

In s4e10, Robby talked to Johnny about screwing everything up and making things worse by joining Cobra Kai to control his “hate”. This was a reference to their conversation in s4e4 in which Johnny had told Robby that Cobra Kai is a poison and that Kreese had brainwashed him. Robby then told Johnny that Johnny had trusted Kreese but Robby didn’t trust anyone anymore and that Robby was using Kreese. After hurting Kenny because of listening to Kreese and after having that moment of self-reflection, Robby now admitted to Johnny what he had been using Kreese/Cobra Kai for and that it did make things worse. Johnny then admitted that he had screwed things up for Robby with Larusso and that Robby should blame Johnny and not himself.

In s6e9, Robby told Miguel, "I'm completely screwing it up out there… Tory ended things. She hooked up with Kwon… Then I got drunk and did something stupid. I'm blowing it on and off the mat. You were right. You should have been captain." This was a direct reference to Miguel’s words to Robby in s6e7 that he would be the reason they go home with nothing so he should either man up, or admit that Miguel was fighting better and hand it over. In s6e9, when Robby said that he was completely screwing up out there, Miguel responded that that was a team loss. This countered his previous words that Robby would be the reason they would go home with nothing. Miguel then asked what was going on and what happened while he was away. Robby explained and said that Miguel had been right and should be captain. Miguel then told Robby that that’s bullshit and so on. These conversations were before and after Robby had gotten drunk to cope with this poor mental health, just like Johnny does, and then Zara SA’d Robby. Just like the other two events I talked about above, the SA has affected him immensely.

Robby: "You were right. You should have been captain." Miguel: "That's bullshit."

All 3 of these situations are approached the same way. Robby had an interaction in which the other person demeaned Robby and he had rejected their words (Daniel’s words had been really harsh and were more due to his anger at Johnny; Johnny hadn’t even listened to what Robby had come to talk to him about and had been dismissive of whatever he had said in that conversation, while Johnny had also projected his own past onto Robby; and Miguel had been jealous about Robby being captain and Johnny “supporting” Robby over him). Robby then experienced a traumatic event (the school fight; hurting Kenny coupled with Kenny embracing Cobra Kai completely despite Robby teaching him Miyagi-Do; the SA) that (1) involved him behaving like Johnny in some way (losing his anger and injuring someone; trusting and being brainwashed by Kreese; getting drunk) and (2) made him believe that that person’s words had been right. In each situation, Robby only focused on his own actions and self-blame and ignored important context. Robby then had a conversation with that person about their words being right. That person then told Robby that their previous words had been wrong and/or that he shouldn’t feel the way their words now made him feel. 

Putting aside Hayden’s tweet about the SA, in an interview for part 2, Jon had gone into detail about Robby’s mental state in s6e8 and then merely ended with “Robby made a regrettable mistake”. Like in the story itself, Jon provided no further perspective about what had happened between Robby and Zara. He simply framed his answer the way Robby talked about it in the story. The only information “told” in canon is Robby’s words “I did something stupid”. Robby later provided no perspective on what had happened, not even in his conversations with Tory. In s6e10, when he tried to explain his side of the story, Tory cut him off. This also matches how Robby’s side of the story for his other traumas have been obscured and have yet to be explored. In canon, Robby believes that he and Zara had sex, and he can barely remember what happened. That is the most important pov when looking at the SA.

Although I’ve said that Johnny and Miguel are the two main pov characters, we do get a little of Robby's pov. However, we don't get much of his side of the story for almost all things he experiences. That is, we don’t get much exploration into his side of the story unless he or the other characters say something about it. Because no one advocates for him and instead most times others vilify him and because he rarely speaks up for himself or people stop him when he tries to explain, the “tell” is oftentimes that of the other characters’ or the fallout of the events, which usually aren't in Robby’s favor. The rare times he says something, it's still important to consider his words in the context in which he says them. Robby himself can be an unreliable narrator at times. His exaggerated self-blame, low self-worth, and self-hate frame his own pov, not just of himself but of others as well. As I talked about in a previous post, it’s hard to ignore that this situation with Zara is depicted as another trauma for Robby from the setup to the dialogue to the execution (all the subtext), which I’ll talk about more next. (Note, I know about the episode writers’ interview with CKK. The writer’s demeanor and lack of confidence indicated she was trying to come up with an answer on the spot. She really fumbled it. The other writer's agreement with her was also subdued. As I’ve pointed out, the framing and marketing for Robby’s traumas don’t match the subtext in canon.)

The SA is another trauma for Robby and its impact on Robby’s mental health is depicted

To recap, leading up to the SA, there are no indications of Robby’s interest in Zara. He barely noticed her existence other than watching her fights alongside others’ in a crowd. They’re not even shown having a conversation until after the SA. However, Zara took notice of Robby first. As she stood next to Tory during the captains’ pictures in s6e6, Zara commented about cute boys to Tory and nodded in Robby’s direction. When Tory turned to look, Robby smiled at her. It’s at this point that Zara showed her first signs of jealousy towards Tory, as she commented about Tory having dibs. In their first match, which was after this exchange, Zara purposely leaned over Tory after Zara won and taunted, “Welcome to Barcelona, bitch!”, enjoying her victory over Tory. 

While many claim that Zara later targeted Robby because of her rivalry with Tory, Zara had actually taken issue with Tory because of Zara’s interest in Robby; Zara didn’t take an interest in Robby because of Zara’s issue with Tory. Zara had clocked Tory as a threat to what she had first wanted: Robby. Zara’s behavior with Robby during their conversation in s6e8 is one of entitlement over him and his body. Before this, in s6e7/8, the threat that Tory posed to Zara expanded to Zara’s status as the best female fighter because people were praising Tory as a badass fighter for knocking someone's tooth out. In s6e8, Zara confronted Tory at the bar to knock her down a few pegs, but Tory didn’t feel threatened by her at all. This is reminiscent of Miguel in s1 taking issue with Robby in s1e8/9 because of Miguel’s possessiveness/entitlement over Sam and that fed into Miguel’s rivalry with Robby at the avt in s1e10. Like Tory, Robby had not reciprocated in any way.

In s6e8, some time after Zara confronted Tory, Tory left the bar. Kwon then confronted Robby, who was drinking and couldn't even focus. Zara approached Robby with intention, as if she’d been watching him. Zara knew what state Robby was in. In this case and in s1, Robby was the one targeted by the jealous party: Miguel saw Robby as a threat to Miguel’s entitlement over Sam, so Miguel acted against Robby. Zara saw Tory as a threat to Zara’s entitlement over Robby, but Zara acted against Robby. 

In s6e8, the next morning, Robby and Zara exited her room as Robby was putting on his hoodie. He told her that his head is pounding and he can barely remember anything. That is, he had been too drunk to remember what they had done and didn’t feel well at the moment. She in turn didn’t care at all about his hungover state and offered no caring or empathetic statement. Instead, she mockingly said “Well, good thing I do”. She had been sober and remembered all they had done. She then kissed him as if she’s entitled to. He barely responded as she did. After she stopped, he stared at her, shell-shocked, slowly turned, and walked away from her. 

Robby: "I can barely remember anything." Zara: "Well, good thing I do." This kiss is SA, no matter what happened in that room.

It should be noted that Tory seeing Zara and Robby kissing is written as a coincidence. A question remains if Zara would have said anything if she hadn't seen Tory or if Tory hadn't seen them. Robby wouldn't have said anything. He simply told Miguel that he "did something stupid", and he was later shocked that Tory had found out. The point is this isn't written as Zara purposely doing this to Robby to mess with Tory because there's no indication that Zara would have said anything otherwise. She later assumed Robby would choose her over Tory because of what she had done to him.

The way Zara intentionally approached Robby while he was drinking was reminiscent of how Miguel had approached Sam while he knew she was drunk at Moon’s party in s2. Robby wasn't standing steadily when facing off against Kwon and couldn't muster any words. His movements were already becoming unsteady. Zara seemed to have been watching him and made her move after he was all alone. Miguel had also witnessed Sam drinking and made his move to approach her when she was all alone. She'd even stumbled into his arms, but he still kissed her. Robby had been right to call Miguel out for taking advantage of Sam. Robby had known how drunk she had been. The contrast in these situations is that Miguel and Sam had a history, while Zara and Robby had no history or interaction before this. Coincidentally, Tory witnessed both of these kisses. While Sam had been the one taken advantage of by Miguel, Robby had been the one taken advantage of by Zara.

In addition to the lead up to this scene as well as the dialogue in this scene both indicating that this was SA, there are elements in the visual storytelling that also confirm this: (1) Robby’s demeanor in the scene is that of confusion, dazedness, and shell shock. Zara’s demeanor is that of calm, arrogance, and satisfaction. (2) After Zara ended the kiss that she had entitled herself to, Robby was looking at her in shock. Tory was in the background but was out of focus. In terms of “depth of field”, this is a “shallow focus” shot. Tory is not the focus of this moment, although Tory had just been the focus of the previous shot. In fact, Zara is not the focus either, although she is also “in focus” in the frame at first. But that was because she is in line with Robby horizontally (in terms of depth of field) so she was also in focus. However, as Robby walked away from Zara and towards the camera, the focus stayed on Robby. Zara slowly went out of focus too, as the shallow focus shot stayed on Robby. Shallow focus is used to direct the audience's attention to a certain point or subject of interest. We the audience are supposed to be focused on Robby's, and only Robby's, emotional experience in these moments. Robby’s body language must not be dismissed. (3) The change in tone to the upbeat score that is Zara's theme only played after Robby was well outside of the frame. The score started playing when Zara saw Tory after turning to go back into her room. Although the shift in tone is jarring, Robby’s emotional experience in this entire situation was not underscored or associated with this upbeat tone.

Although Tory was already introduced into the scene, Robby's emotional experience is still important and remains a focus in the scene, particularly in this shallow focus shot that focuses on him only.

From Zara's pov, she had won and gotten what she'd wanted: Robby. Tory witnessing the kiss coincidentally was a bonus for Zara. From Tory's pov, Robby had cheated on her and Zara had tried to steal Robby from her. From Robby’s pov, he can barely remember what happened but his rationale due to exaggerated self-blame became "I got drunk and did something stupid."

Another aspect of this situation that indicates that it is intentionally depicted as SA is Robby’s deteriorated mental health afterwards. Whereas Robby would freeze up during his matches each time he had looked at Tory before the SA, Robby’s focus was completely off during their first team match after the SA. Robby then blamed himself for the whole team losing—a combination of his self-blame from the SA and Miguel previously telling (scapegoating) him that they’d go home with nothing because of him. In that match, Hawk and Demetri had been dumbasses about Kenny and had made things worse, but Robby just put it all on himself. In fact, Miguel had picked up on the fact that Robby was completely off-balance now and that something had happened while Miguel had been away. I explained their conversation in detail above. To add to that, Robby hadn’t been as upset that he had drank or gotten drunk; Robby was much more upset about what had happened with Zara. He specifically called the latter the "stupid" thing he "did". This is in contrast to him distinctly calling what he assumed happened between Tory and Kwon a “hook up”. This makes sense because of Robby’s confusion and self-blame over what Zara had done to him. He hadn’t intended on and couldn't remember consenting to “hooking up with Zara”. In addition to the subtext (text and context) and how it was executed, the deterioration of Robby’s mental health/focus and his increased self-blame also indicate that this indeed is another trauma and not just a casual hook up. 

Another hint that Zara’s interest in Robby was purely about Robby (and not about Tory) and that Zara had SA'd him that night is Zara’s belief that Robby should choose her over Tory after what Zara had done to him. Zara was shocked during the brawl that Robby would protect Tory from her and not let her beat Tory up, which Zara interpreted as Robby choosing Tory over Zara. In s1/2, Miguel had also believed that Sam should choose him over Robby after Miguel had promised to and carried through with hurting Robby in the s1 avt. Miguel had also later attacked Robby in the school fight with the similar intentions. When Robby asked Miguel why he had taken advantage of Sam,. Miguel first said that he would never. Robby then asked why'd it happen. Miguel's response to that had been, "She doesn't love you. She loves me!" Here, after Robby threw Zara off of Tory, Zara said, “You’d really choose her over me!” Robby responded that it's not even close. Then, Zara attacked him, after Tory was attacked from behind. The difference in these situations is that Robby and Tory don’t realize the nature of Zara’s actions against Robby, whereas Sam had first acknowledged Miguel’s actions against Robby in the avt but that acknowledgement has evaporated since the school fight. Sam has also never acknowledged Miguel's actions against Robby in the school fight and has only focused on what Robby did at the end of the school fight. In s4e1, Sam also acknowledged that she hadn’t stopped caring about Miguel when she admitted that her feelings had been complicated. Regardless, Miguel had taken advantage of Sam when he had kissed her at Moon’s party. In both these situations, Robby ended up with the blame for what (the SA) Zara and Miguel (the school fight) had each done to him. 

"You'd really choose her over me?" Bitch is crazy to think that he would choose her... and if nothing had happened in that room (which is highly doubtful), she's even crazier.

Robby and Zara are only shown to have two interactions: the morning after the SA and during the brawl. As I talked about earlier, the self-blame that Robby has due to what happened with Zara is an indication that this is a trauma for him. He believes that he “did something stupid” with Zara, although he barely remembers what happened. Robby’s self-blame due to this trauma was treated similarly in the narrative as his self-blame due to his other traumatic experiences have been treated. In light of this and in light of what is “shown”, including Zara believing that Robby should choose her as if she’s entitled to him and being his choice, there’s so much in the narrative itself that indicates this is SA and a trauma for Robby. (Even if nothing happened in the room, Zara still SA’d Robby when she kissed him that morning.)

Given how insidiously the writers have weaved all the neglect, abuse, scapegoating, and bullying Johnny and Miguel have subjected Robby to in s5 and s6 into the story (the Mexico trip, apartment fight and their conversation after, college application letter, and courtyard scenes) and how they’ve framed and marketed these as acceptable and wholesome (even using words like “therapy session” for the psychologically and physically abusive apartment fight), it would be surprising if this really weren’t intended as SA. (The episode writer said that her interpretation (basically her headcanon) is that Zara told Robby something had happened and kissed him to fuck with his head. Making someone believe that they had sex with you when they can’t remember or give consent is fucked up too. Nothing the writers say can redeem their handling of this or salvage Zara’s character.)

Robby took his self-blame out on Kwon

There are many parallels between Robby and Kwon. For example, both Robby and Kwon were potentially the best students in their dojos, but they were second to the teacher’s pets: in Robby’s case, that was Miguel; in Kwon’s case, that was Yoon. In part 2, Miguel and his two sidekicks were antagonistic to Robby. In part 1, Yoon and his two sidekicks were antagonistic to Kwon. In Kwon’s case, he had to fight all three of them to earn his spot as captain. He beat the sidekicks first and then had a final fight with Yoon. In Robby’s case, he beat out Hawk and Demetri for one of the top four spots and then Robby had to fight Miguel for the captain spot. Kwon and Robby were also given a similar move. In s6e3, Kwon executed a double kick on Yoon’s sidekicks. In s6e10, Robby executed a double kick on Kwon and Yoon. Both Robby and Kwon are good at mind games and throwing their opponent off-balance off the mat. Robby and Kwon shared similar insecurities. They both believed they could be the best, but they struggled to be the best.

Since crossing paths, Kwon had been antagonizing Robby, especially using the fact that Tory—Robby’s girlfriend—was on their team. Kwon laughed at Robby as he tried to catch Tory at the elevator. Then Kwon challenged Robby to the bet. Robby shouldn’t have taken the bait, but everyone was watching as Kwon was challenging and belittling him. Robby wanted to prove that he could win and that he’s not weak. Robby has postured at times before, so this was in character for him. (Though, mature me believes he should have walked away.) He did lose the bet unfortunately and lost his and Demetri’s room in the process.

Later, Kwon beat him in a match after taunting him about the bet. Then, in s6e8, Kwon was pretending to get close with Tory, which Robby took as a sign that Tory really had moved on from him. After Tory left, Kwon taunted Robby about keeping Tory warm that night. Robby was getting drunk at that point, couldn't string together a comeback, and went back to drinking. After that, Robby was SA’d by Zara, and Robby’s focus was completely off because of that. 

In their match in s6e9, Robby took his anger out on Kwon after Robby realized that Kwon had been playing mind games with him and he had fallen for them.

In truth, Robby’s anger had really been directed at himself. Kwon just became the outlet for that anger. Robby had fallen for Kwon’s games but that was on Robby. Robby shifted some of the self-blame he felt for that and for the SA onto Kwon. After all, it was the SA that Robby was really beating himself up about.

"He's making it hurt."

It’s actually quite symbolic that Robby directed his self-blame and self-hate at Kwon. Kwon was written as a mirror character to Robby, hence all the parallels. 

Mirror characters tend to share several qualities and are used to complement and highlight each other’s traits. Common mirror characters embark on parallel plots, sometimes to achieve a single goal, which tests them and highlights their traits in different ways.

Mirrors in fiction are characters who reflect the main character and reveal insights into the main character's behaviors, thoughts, and motivations. A mirror allows the main character to check the state of their own being or learn lessons from their mistakes.

In s6e10, Kwon kept antagonizing Robby. Kwon’s rage at Robby had been palpable. During the brawl, Robby was one of Kwon’s two targets. In the end, Kwon chose to attack Axel and tragically landed on the knife he’d intended to use on Axel.

In s6, Kwon became the student that Kreese had wanted to mold Robby into in s3/4. However, Robby hadn’t trusted Kreese, had been using him, and is too much of a Miyagi-Do. Even Silver realized this and told Kreese that he doesn’t have control over Robby. Although many fans wanted to see Robby become Cobra Kai completely, he was never going to. Robby had his own reasons for being in Cobra Kai and those reasons didn’t include fully embracing Cobra Kai. When Robby was fighting Kenny in the s4 avt, Kreese had to remind Robby that he was fighting his opponent not his friend. s4 already revealed that Robby’s weakness is that he has too much heart. After that match, seeing Kenny fully adopt Cobra Kai (“It’s Cobra Kai. No mercy.”), and then seeing himself reflected in Kenny, Robby lost and didn’t become a champion. 

Kwon in turn was driven to be Kreese’s champion. Kreese imparted the same teachings on Kwon that Kreese had imparted on Robby. Kreese had told him that he could be one of the most terrifying fighters in the Sekai Taikai, just take all that anger inside of him and give it purpose. Unfortunately, this ultimately resulted in Kwon’s death.

In Robby’s fight against Kwon in s6e9, Robby fought with his anger. He made sure to “make it hurt” and humiliate Kwon. Robby had let Kwon get in his head, and Robby now took his anger at himself out on Kwon. Robby gave his anger (his “hate”) purpose. “I had all this “hate” inside of me… I thought I could use Cobra Kai to control that.” Robby fought with anger as a Cobra Kai would, not with balance as a Miyagi-Do would.

Although Kwon is not The Shadow in Robby’s story and has the role of a Threshold Guardian, as a mirror character to Robby, Kwon plays the role of what “the hero could become if they succumb to their inner darkness or make the wrong choices”.

This is Robby’s final “battle” of the series. Compared to the others, he has the most struggles and stakes left. Part 2 showed just how bad it is for Robby. He started experiencing another type of trauma response (freeze) more frequently because his abandonment/rejection trauma worsened due to Tory’s behavior with him. Johnny continued to neglect him and choose Miguel over him. Daniel is too unfocused that he’s not rebuilding his relationship with him. He has no true friend and is still the group's scapegoat. After the SA, his mental health worsened, his exaggerated self-blame increased, and he lost more mental focus. 

Throughout this, he started going down the path that Johnny—The Shadow— had gone down. Robby’s mental health has now worsened to the point that he took a drink and got drunk for the first time in order to numb himself. Then, in his second fight with Kwon, Robby became the fighter that Kreese had wanted Kwon to become: Robby combined his anger with his skills and gave his anger purpose. Although Robby was proud of his victory, he had gained it by primarily channeling his Cobra Kai side. Taking that step further to becoming like Johnny and like the 3rd generation of Cobra Kai.

Robby is Miyagi-Do. He carries the heart and essence of the Miyagi-Do dojo (post 1, post 2). He always has throughout the story. In part 2, when Robby was struggling, the whole dojo was struggling. When Robby improved, the whole dojo improved, as seen in their fight with Futura De Pantera before the fight against Cobra Kai. Robby also led the locker room chant that they are “Miyagi-Do”. In fact, when Miguel said, "We're a family. All of us", Robby got a thoughtful expression and then stood and said, "Who are we?" All the kids said, "Miyagi-Do!" — Robby's family and home have always been Miyagi-Do. 

During the Resurrection stage, usually two deaths occur for the hero: an “external” death and a “internal” death. It's quite telling that Robby’s mirror character literally died in this stage while he was fighting with intense rage. Kwon's death is said to have an impact on all the characters. Of the Miyagi-Do kids, Robby will be most impacted because of his rivalry with Kwon. Kwon’s loss to Robby the day before had added to the rage that drove Kwon during the brawl. Knowing Robby, he’ll feel remorse for taking his anger out on Kwon, “making it hurt”, and humiliating him. This will likely lead to some self-reflection on Robby’s part.

It is also interesting that Robby’s next opponent said only these words to Robby, before the physical death of Robby's mirror character: “Are you going to keep defending? Or are you going to start fighting?” The “death and rebirth” of Robby's internal self should include him moving out of the defensive mode (fawn state) that he's been in since s5e5 and back into fighting for himself, especially against his Shadow—Johnny. 

It’s also telling that Robby fought with balance as a Miyagi-Do against Miguel and won in s6e5. Daniel's KK1 victory leitmotif was played. That win also remains. Later, Robby fought with anger as a Cobra Kai against Kwon and won in s6e9. Although the win remains, the consequences of that win were undone when Cobra Kai were reinstated. In a way, that win was tainted because it wasn't a win using Miyagi-Do. When Robby fought Axel in the semi-final, Robby first went on offense and got nowhere with Axel. Then Axel switched to offense and was landing hits fast. Daniel reminded Robby to go on defense. Robby’s Miyagi-Do defense was so strong that Axel became frustrated. Miyagi-Do is the key to beating Axel. However, Robby has to be balanced on his own, with or without support, in order to truly win his upcoming fight against Axel.

Cobra Kai represents the generational trauma that is being passed down. It’s also presented as an unhealthy coping mechanism. Miyagi-Do represents healing from that generational trauma and is presented as a healthier coping mechanism. Robby rejects Cobra Kai because he doesn’t want to go down that path. 

"Well, you are the tree, Robby. You've got strong roots. You know who you are, right? So now all you've gotta do is visualize what you want your future to look like, and then you make it happen." 

Because of Robby's traumas and poor mental health, Robby doesn't know who he is.  In part 3, Robby is going to have to make his final decision about which path he wants to go down. He's going to have to make important decisions about himself, his future, and his relationships. The Resurrection stage also includes a sacrifice on the hero’s part. I assume for Robby the sacrifice will be letting go of his “want” and choosing his “need” so that he can finally start finding balance.

(As always, please don't reply or reblog with dismissive comments about the nuance in the story. The nuance is part of the story, and the story is exploring important topics like trauma, bullying, neglect, and dysfunctional relationships. I'm aware of the part 3 leaks, but people also shut down conversations about all possible theories for the leaks. I’m just going to stick to analyzing canon here.)

[in1-nutshell]

Bot Buddy being Swerve’s older sibling

SFW, familial, platonic, Cybertroninan/ Bot reader, slight angst but has a happy ending

MTMTE

Part 1 of 2

Part 2 here

Part 3 here

For this writing, Swerve’s older sibling is going to be BIG. We are talking Fortress Maximus Big.

How does Buddy have a sibling like Swerve with their height? No one knows and quite frankly, Buddy doesn’t care. They are very close to Swerve.

Buddy doesn’t mind their younger brother talking their audial off about the most random things. They have gotten used to it by now.

“Hey Buddy. Do you think that if minibots ever became a combiner it would just turn out to be a normal sized bot?”—Swerve

“I honestly don’t know how to answer to that question.”

“No, no, but see if the size of one minibot—“—Swerve

“There goes my sleep…”—Buddy

Swerve is insecure, that’s nothing new. But it increases a bit when he is with Buddy in public. He doesn’t like it when bots or himself start comparing them with him. He really wants them to be proud of him and all of his accomplishments. Would 110% support anything Buddy… but he also has his limits.

“Hey Buddy, what are you doing?”--Swerve

“I’m trying to hone in my hiding skills.”--Buddy

“Under a table?”--Swerve

“Yep, and it surprisingly comfortable down here in this crouching position.”--Buddy

“Your stuck aren’t you.”--Swerve

“… maybe? Yes? Help?”--Buddy

“I’ll get the screwdrivers.”--Swerve

“Thanks Swerve!”--Buddy

“This has been the third time I’ve had to disassemble that table…This is getting ridiculous…”—Swerve

Swerve has taught Buddy a thing or two about what he knows about being a metalourgist. As well as teaching them bit of knowledge he knows from doing weird jobs here and there.

“Swerve what do we do when the light turns red?”--Buddy

“Oh! That’s a good question. That usually just means to-- HIT THE DECK!”—Swerve

Buddy is extremely protective of Swerve. They can sometimes get to a ridiculous level of overprotectiveness for Swerve. For example, breathe wrong in his direction, you will feel pain.

“Swerve hold my drink. I’m going to go teach a mech about keeping one’s servos to themselves.”--Buddy

“They just brushed by on accident! There is no need for violence!”--Swerve

It was no surprise that around the time the war rolled by, Buddy was approached and recruited into the Elite Guard. Swerve despite his worries fully supported Buddy.

“Don’t worry about it Buddy! I’m sure your going to have the best stories to tell me when you come back from your missions!”--Swerve

“You really think so Swerve?”--Buddy

“I am positively sure of it Buddy! You know what, this calls for a celebration! Lets go find some engex.”--Swerve

Whenever Buddy was on long trips, they made sure to try and send a message through their personal channel. Swerve tries to make his messages short, but that was nearly impossible for him to do.

“Hey its Swerve! I have so much to tell you, Buddy! First there’s this bot named Blurr and I got his number and now there is a big plan when the wars over. So the plan is that…”--Swerve

Now for some hurt.

Swerve gets notified from some officers from Buddy’s team that there was a good chance that they were killed in action in the last mission. Swerve was in denial at first, but it soon turned into a depression that would follow him for many years even after the war was over. To try and cope with the loss he would still try and send out deep space messages telling them about his day and how much he misses them.

“Hey Buddy, its Swerve again. It’s been a slow week at the bar today. Whirl’s has been on a cocktail binge and nearly attack a poor bot when he asked for the time… And Tailgate, did I talk about Tailgate, well Tailgate is… and then he exploded, I swear Buddy, he exploded!”—Swerve

Timeskip after the events of Swearth

Swerve was getting better. Sure, progress was slow but he was getting to a better place mentally, with the help of his friends and therapy. The only person who he had ever talked about Buddy was Rung. Buddy was a subject that Swerve was not comfortable speaking about too much about. Now Swerve only knows that Rung knows about Buddy ever existing but there were two another bots on board who knew about Buddy. It was Rewind and Whirl

Why? Why those two bots?

Rewind knew after accidentally stumbling on some footage of Swerve and Buddy. After seeing enough footage, Rewind could tell that Buddy at least meant something important to Swerve. He doesn’t bring it up to Swerve. He wants to but he knows if Swerve wants to eventually talk about something then he will talk.

Whirl knows Buddy as his ‘Buddy’ when he was working with the Wreckers. Buddy had joined as a collaboration between the Elite Guard and the Wreckers. Buddy ended up saving Whirl from certain doom and from then Whirl made sure that he was now Buddy’s problem.

“Hey Buddy, what do you think about breaking into a Decepticon clinic and crushing Killmasters brain module?”--Whirl

“How about we don’t do that.”--Buddy

“Your no fun, you know that.”--Whirl

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go get with the others. I think they are debriefing now.”--Buddy

Absolutely loved working with Buddy. He did find out the Buddy’s designation was on the KIA lists after he heard of their mission going off the rails. He had long accepted that Buddy was dead, or missing. Now being on the Lost Light, Whirl has some hope that Buddy might still be out there. If Swerve could create a giant holographic planet for months and not die or Rewind coming back, in a way, then anything was possible.

Now present time

Buddy was very much alive.