#by the time he is supposed to die literally everyone in his family is dead

[quasi-normalcy]

Let's get into it:

I don't think we really know anything about the backstories of most of the TOS crew other than Kirk (genocide survivor; watched half his crew get killed by a Dikironium cloud creature), Spock (estranged from his family), and a tiny bit about McCoy (divorced, not that that's really "traumatic"). SNW later establishes that Uhura's parents died in a shuttle accident (I think they got that from the novels), but the rest of the crew is a blank slate in terms of backstory.

On TNG: Picard (shitty home life, abusive father, later elaborated on Picard's series into a literal gothic melodrama complete with suicidal mentally ill mom (ugh.)); Riker (mother died young, father was a dick, on his one from age 15); Data (planet destroyed by his brother; abandoned by creators; forgot his early life; went 26 years before he got his first friend. Not really traumatic though, on account no emotions); Worf (family annihilated by Romulans); Troi (domineering mother; dead father; dead older sister she never learned about until adulthood); Crusher (widow; parents killed in childhood; also that whole "generational alien sex ghost" thing we're not supposed to talk about). Geordi, though, explicitly had a good childhood (notwithstanding talk in the writers' room of retconning him to be a literal Rosemary's Baby)

On DS9: Sisko (watched his wife die at Wolf 359; that whole prophetic birth thing (ugh.)); Kira (child soldier during an attempted genocide); Bashir (basically rewritten by his own parents); Quark (everyone loves Moogie, but she is a pretty horrible mother); Odo (medical experiments); O'Brien (war-related PTSD); Dax (repressed serial killer memories); Garak (there's literally an entire novel about how shitty his childhood was)

On Voyager: Janeway (no trauma that I recall); Chakotay (ex-terrorist; I guess his home planet was taken over by Cardassians? They never really say); Torres (abandoned by her father; resentful of her mother; resentful of her own biology and cultural heritage); Paris (shitty father); Neelix (genocide survivor); Seven of Nine (holy shit, just everything that's ever happened to her). I can't recall Tuvok having had anything traumatic in his past, but I very much interpret "Meld" as showing that he's kind of a psychopath at heart and only a razor-thin veneer of logic prevents him from being a serial killer; Harry Kim had a happy childhood, notwithstanding an attempt to give him the "Rosemary's Baby" backstory that the writers had originally intended for Geordi (almost like even in the 90s, the writers couldn't think of how to develop characters without giving them trauma); Kes...had a childhood that lasted, like, a month or two, so it might not count

On Enterprise: Um...yeah, okay, I don't know this one as well. Archer's dad died before his ship could be built, which is...bad, I guess. T'Pol...um, I guess she went to that jazz club one time and it freaked her out. Reed's parents seemed awful in that very "upper-class British" way. Um... Yeah.

On DIS: Burnham's family was killed by Klingons, and then her school on Vulcan by blown up by terrorists, so, you know...trauma two-fer, I guess; Saru was from a species that was being systematically culled before puberty; Tilly's mom was neglectful; um. Book had an abusive dad; Adira saw their lover killed in front of their eyes; Owosekun was disowned by her luddite commune for joining Starfleet. Um. Airiam lost her husband and all her skin in a shuttle accident; Bryce (or maybe Rhys? I don't remember) was in a hurricane as a child; Rayner's planet was occupied by the Breen; probably some of the other bridge bunnies exposited trauma at some point during the fourth season, I don't remember

On Picard: Hoo-boy. Raffi was right about the attack on Mars, but lost her family and developed a drug problem because of her obsessive conspiracy theorizing; Rios had his father figure enact an illegal order and then kill himself in front of him; Elnor had his father figure abandon him (what the fuck, Jean-Luc); Soji's entire life was a lie, except her twin sister (who was killed); Jurati...actually seemed to have a pretty good childhood, but made up for it by having an incredibly traumatic present; Shaw has oodles of survivors guilt over Wolf 359; Jack Crusher, Jr....doesn't actually seem to have had anything particularly bad ever happen to him, but still acts entitled to run around with a giant chip on his shoulder (god I hate him); and then there's added trauma for established characters, like: Picard left Starfleet and bears the weight of the Romulan supernova; Troi and Riker lost their son because of the synth ban (and then, according to season 3, Troi telepathically suppressed Riker's ability to mourn (ugh.)); Seven of Nine was betrayed by her lover and had to mercy kill her adopted son; Crusher...got pregnant and randomly decided that her traumatic backstory was so overwhelming that she simply had no other choice but to keep her son from his father and ghost all of her friends (ugh! ugh! ugh!); something is implied to have happened to Worf, but they never said; Geordi...still doesn't really seem to have a lot of trauma, though the official tie-in materials say that he was in charge of Utopia Planitia when it got bombed. [Okay, so maybe there's a bit too much trauma on this series.]

Lower Decks: Mariner lost her best friend; Rutherford had his entire life deleted by an evil admiral; Shaxs has so much PTSD from the resistance that he'll go spare on anyone who even mentions Bajor; Billups has a shitty mother who keeps trying to trick him into have sex; um...that's kind of it.

Prodigy: They're all child slaves, first of all. On top of this, Dal was sold by his other mother figure (and doesn't even have parents); Rok (had to play the monster in an arena as a small child); Zero (separated from their hivemind; Jankom was an orphan sent off on a sleeper ship; and then woke up before everyone else and had to ditch the sleeper ship; Gwyn was raised to be a weapon by a cruel, domineering father. Murf seems to radiate peace, though.

Strange New Worlds: Pike knows his future is kind of crappy; Una lived her entire life hiding what she was; La'an was bullied for her family connections, and then had her family ate by Gorns; M'Benga, Chapel, and Ortegas have war trauma; and then there's the previously mentioned stuff with Spock and Uhura.

So yeah; going through it, I think that the only clear outliers in terms of trauma are Picard (way too much of it) and Enterprise (not enough).

#1214

Why lit of character in Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek Strange New World have mostly all a traumatic past? Next step: how to make an interesting character without a traumatic childhood or a traumatic past?

[tothestarsinvelaris]

okay so Cardan hides his tail because it gives away his real emotions. It makes him feel vulnerable, so he hides it away. and like, it can't be super comfortable to tuck it away all the time, but its better than having people use it against him. and when Jude is interrogating him, she first mentions the letter she found with her name on it over and over again - he's not really ready to admit his feelings for her, so he tries to redirect by bringing up his tail.

"Just ask me something. Ask about my tail. Don't you want to see it?"

Like, he is absolutely terrified of her (which he also had literally just said) nearly his whole family is dead, he doesn't want to die too, he knows she is capable of killing - and at this point he thinks she hunted Valerian down to kill him. and despite all of this, he's like 'let me offer you my most vulnerable and true self' but she doesn't quite get it bc she's also dealing with a lot and trying to process a lot.

and then by the Queen of Nothing, he has his tail out. his clothes are now cut in a way to let his tail be free. and its all because Jude has helped him see that sometimes being emotional and vulnerable isn't so bad. Even without her there with him, even with him horrified that he ruined everything because she hasn't responded to any of his letters - lets his tail be visible. And to quote him from How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories:

"Everyone finds different lessons in stories, I suppose, but here's one. Having a heart is terrible, but you need one anyway."

[eternalmoonlight18]

Please please Shanks or Law taking care of sick!reader

Ouuuu I always wanted to do headcanons based on sick!reader!

Law and Shanks Taking Care of You When You're Sick

GN!Reader x Trafalgar Law and GN!Reader x Akagami no Shanks (pre-established relationship)

SFW!

Your immune system is usually strong, so you usually don't get sick

But one day, you suddenly fell ill, like super SUPER ill and you're bedridden

But you don't let the others find out, and everyone thinks that you're sleeping.

But once the crew finds out you're down with a sickness for the first time they freak out and tell their captains.

Trafalgar Law

Once he's alerted that you're down with illness, he heads straight to your room

He's pissed that you didn't say anything to him but he couldn't stay mad once he saw how sick you really were

He's a doctor so of course he knows what to do! He comes back to your room with a blood pressure monitor, thermometer, and an IV

Yeah he kind of goes overboard

But I think he would have an innate fear of his loved one getting sick or ill because of what happened to his family and friends with the White Lead disease and it triggers him

So he does everything under his power to make sure you're okay

"Hold still I'm trying to take your blood pressure"

"Law, this is fourth time you've done this in the last hour"

He would make sure that you're well fed with hot soup

Makes sure that you're taking your medication even though they taste terrible

"I don't want to take it"

"(Y/n)-ya, I will literally cut you in half and place that pill directly in your stomach so help me God"

He would refuse to leave your side and will sleep on a chair next to you

Will make sure that you're hydrated

Expect a 2-litre jug of water in your room and he will make you finish one a day until you better or else he threatens to hook you up to an IV

"How many times did you pee today? If you pee a lot it means you drank a lot of water which will help you recover"

"Uh I didn't go yet"

"You have 1 minute to drink 1 litre of water or else I'm hooking you up to this IV right now"

Once you're better he will force you to do checkups with him every month from now on

"I hate the infirmary I refuse to do monthly checkups. Also, isn't supposed to be annual?"

"I don't trust your immune system anymore"

He may be overbearing and too much but that's because he loves you very much and hates to see you sick <3

Akagami no Shanks

The man beelines it to your room as soon as Benn alerts him that you're down with an illness

He starts freaking out because he thinks you're dying because you've never been sick before until now

"Omg please don't die yet we have to get married first"

"Shanks, darling, I just have a flu"

Y'all know that scene where Luffy tries to make Nami feel better on Drum Island when she was sick and he makes a silly face

Yeah, Shanks does the same thing

His face is scribbled with blank ink and his hair is tied up into two ponytails as he tries to make you laugh. Hongo walks in on him and accidentally stabs Shanks with one of his needles in shock

While Hongo does the actual healing since he's the doctor, Shanks tries his best to assist him even though he was no help

"Captain can you not use my stethoscope on their asscheeks please"

"Sorry I was trying to see if I could hear their heartbeat from there"

Shanks would try to cook soup for you but for some reason it tasted like beer

"Is it delicious? I tried to make soup for you so you'd feel better!"

"Why does it taste like beer? And is that a dead fly?"

While you're sleeping, he'd put cold damp towels on your forehead and change them every hour on the dot

Shanks will also refuse to leave your side as well. He will be glued next to you until you got better

He'd give lots of forehead kisses and will cuddle with you, much to your dismay

"Honey, it's getting too hot"

"I know, it's cause I'm here"

"No you loveable idiot you're hugging me too tight, let me go before I cough on your face"

Once you're fully recovered the man is stuck to you like velcro and smothers you with his love and kisses

"Shanks stop it you're going to make me sick with all of your germs!"

"Then let's both get sick!"

He may be clueless but he does his best to take care of you because he loves you <3

------

LOL this was fun to write

[raidark]

One thing I find funny from Show Dany haters is how much they call her an egomaniac tyrant who just wanted to control everything and everyone to obey her, that she only cared about the throne and power. How much they laugh at the idea of her trying to help common people, break the system and in general, give power to powerless people, etc. That she would only want power for herself and would loathe democracy more than any other character.

These people are also the ones who laughed along Season 8 Sansa, Tyrion, Arya and others when Sam proposed democracy as a system for Westeros at the end of the show.

To all that people, I'd like to kindly remind that before leaving for Westeros, Daenerys established democracy in Meereen (and the rest of the Bay of Dragons, I suppose). She and Tyrion spent some undetermined time to plan it and then left Daario and the Second Sons to keep the peace while people chose their rulers and a new government was appointed.

Now, while I'm sure we all would have liked to know the aftermatch of that, how things worked there after her leaving and especially after her death, we won't ever know thanks to certain writers who kinda forgot about it after S6, only remembering the Bay when deciding that slaying slavers was apparently a sign of madness and evilness ?¿

If you ask me, with Dany dead, most of her army destroyed as well, and no one else strong enough to protect the Bay, slavery will return and way worse. But that wasn't something D&D wanted people to think about because that would add some grey to the situation and they wanted Dany to be irremediably unjustifiable in her acts and her death the only option with only good consequences. Just to be clear, I think S8 Dany, a total different character from previous seasons, deserved to die after what she did. But go and visit the Bay in ten years, Jon and Tyrion, and ask them if what you two did was good. Surely and certaintly there were consequences.

In any case, since we'll never know what would happen, the series ends with Daenerys being the only ruler who actually cared for her people enough that she actually gave them total power to choose who should rule them... just 12 episodes before the writers decided she should mass murder innocents for literally no reason at all

She remains the only one who established real democracy that considered people no matter their origins or status (and not merely in a organization like the Night Watch) while the high nobles of Westeros laughed and considered the idea ridiculous. What a tyrant, right?

I'd have liked Sam to know the one who actually established his idea in a different place was the queen he hated so much, while all the others laughed. I'd have also liked if he was told what his family did and how many people died because of their betrayal, how many chances were even then offered to them, rather than just "they didn't bend the knee so i killed them lol". But the goal in Season 8 was always to paint Dany as a villain with no gray in the middle, just like they made Jon lie to his family and the lords and say Dany forced him to bend the knee in order to help the North when she actually swore to defend it without any commitment to her cause the moment she realized the threat was real and no fantasy. Yet no one, not even Dany, ever blinked an eye about this. Like it was retconned to frame her as evil.

[eldal0te]

Wait holy shit, hear me out

What if Gildor Inglorion is Aegnor? Who somehow did not die in Dagor Bragollach?

Not only does he get to (secretly) live with Andreth for some more time like that but also? It would kind of make sense?

Both Aegnor and this version of Gildor are the third sons. If we go by the old names (such as in Lay of Leithian) then the house of Finrod is literally the house of Arafinwe.

He is also likely to have left the Middle Earth on the same ship as Galadriel… almost as if he’d be making the way with his sister?

i have such a soft spot for arafinwean genealogy from home v and early lotr. you have the one and only inglor felagund, lord of caves, friend-of-men, king of nargothrond who is remembered by everyone well into the third age. then, there is galadriel, the eldest daughter, dad's little magician and an overachiever, who had decided that there are too many elven royals per square mile in beleriand and went over the blue mountains to found her very own realm, which would totally be better, more wondrous than dad's. his middle child is the famous gil-galad, star of radiance, the responsible one, who rules the elves of the west (like his father), dwells in the fair and free realm between the mountains and the sea (like his father) and has a phd in quendi-dunedain diplomatic relations (like his father). and enigmatic gildor inglorion is the quintessential youngest child, free to wander the woods, play his little harp, give sage advice to strangers and occasionally scare some monsters to death with songs about light of aman.

these three also make ruining sauron's day their hobby, and (mostly) succeed.

[completeoveranalysis]

[6]

SCREAMING FOREVER OK EVERYONE SIT DOWN

Since the literal beginning of all this the big hanging question behind Clow Reed has always been, “Is this the same one or a different one?”

And under that question came infinite other questions such as, “How could this be the same one if he died ages ago?” and “Is this an Alternate Universe Clow Reed- oh god how many Clow Reeds could there possibly be?!”, and even “Is this a Clow Reed Clone? Or was the CCS Clow Reed a clone all along?!?!” and on and on into forever.

ENTER: THE MOST SIMPLE ANSWER OF ALL. 

IT’S JUST THE SAME GUY. 

THIS WAS THE CLOW REED FROM CARDCAPTOR SAKURA ALL ALONG. 

And I’m just LOSING MY MIND because that means a huge part of Cardcaptor Sakura is centered on a lie. 

Or like, not REALLY a lie. It’s still true that he's dead. But Clow Reed lied to everyone he left behind, and those are all the people we get our answers from in that series. He told them he was going to die and they believed him.

I suppose he could have phrased it ambiguously? But if he DID it was with the intent that they thought he was dead, because that's what they think. He told them that on purpose.

AM I GOING TO GO DOWNSTAIRS AND FACT CHECK WITH CARDCAPTOR SAKURA? ... YES. OK.

OK OK OK OK HERE WE GO KERO SAYS THEY SAW HIM DIE. There we go, 100% he lied to them and even made it look convincing.

WAIT HAVE YOU READ CARDCAPTOR SAKURA? DON’T WORRY LET ME TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW. (But if you don’t want spoilers for everything before Clear Card just skip the rest of this post). 

So the ENTIRE narrative of Cardcaptor Sakura centres on the fact that Clow Reed is dead. He died and left Yue and Keroberos in charge of the Clow Cards and their legacy. (Which is what is being depicted in the Top Left of this page. It's the conversation Clow had with Kero and Yue when he suddenly announced it to them). He died and left a family legacy for Syaoran to eventually inherit - however distantly, we don’t actually know. He died and had foreseen Cardcaptor Sakura, and left gifts and hints for her to continue his legacy and eclipse it. He died and his magic as a power source was dying all these years later, which was why she had to convert the cards, to save them, and Kero, and Yue. 

EXCEPT, HE DIDN’T DIE. 

Or at least, he didn’t die right away. He told Yue and Kero that he was going to die (and made them think they SAW it) and then FUCKED OFF to the Clow Kingdom to live there happily and raise Sakura and Touya there. 

WHICH. I am hung up on because that means in Clow's original reality, which is essentially our world, he had foreseen his death and that Cardcaptor Sakura was going to become his successor - and then, I guess, found out about the big Time Reset Wish that Evil Wolverine did for Lava Lamp, which trapped an alternate version "Sakura" in a Frozen bubble of time that would leave a new 'cloned' copy of her in the new version of the timeline. But that means Clow also would have had a vision of what happens to this new version of the Alternate Sakura, and the huge fate that lay ahead of her, and also that she did not have parents anymore, and so he was like, "AH YES A JOB FOR ME? Let me just tell everyone who loves me that I’m dead and slip over there for like ten years and ride that out." 

But not only that but CLOW REED IS IN CARDCAPTOR SAKURA TOO. HE IS THERE. HE IS ERIOL AND HE IS FUJITAKA. HE SPLIT HIMSELF INTO THE TWO OF THEM. 

Which means that he, like, told Yue and Kero that he died, went to the Clow Kingdom, lived that out, then told THEM that he died too, then went back to his original reality and Split Himself into two new people. Which counts as “death”, TECHNICALLY, sure. There is no more ‘Clow Reed’. He is not a singular living person anymore. But he didn’t “die” in the way that his family in Cardcaptor Sakura AND Tsubasa thought. Though it amounts to the same thing. 

EXCEPT - there is Eriol. Eriol inherited Clow Reed’s memories. So HE KNEW ALL THIS. HE KNEW THE WHOLE TIME. 

HE TECHNICALLY IS OFF IN CARDCAPTOR SAKURA DOING HIGH SCHOOL SHENANIGANS WITH THE FULL KNOWLEDGE THAT HIS DAUGHTER (SAKURA CLONE) IS OFF DYING FOR THE UNIVERSE AND TRYING DESPERATELY TO SAVE IT FROM EVIL WOLVERINE. WHILE HE’S SITTING ACROSS FROM YAMAZAKI AND MAKING STUPID JOKES. 

Though like, full disclaimer, I don’t actually mean it was at the same time. Because (a) time runs differently on different worlds, and (b) we are very lucky that’s true because otherwise it becomes a headache trying to piece it all together, but also (c ) Time travel, so we don’t even need to worry about it. I was at the end of writing another huge paragraph trying to put the events all in order but DONT WORRY ABOUT IT. TIME TRAVEL EXISTS. It all becomes circles in the end anyway. 

So like, don’t worry about it. :) Time Travel. 

The more fun thing is that Fujitaka technically existed as his own separate person in the Clow Kingdom FIRST, with Nadeshiko. Until time reordered events and Clow Reed jumped in to be Sakura’s new dad, before going back home and splitting himself into two people - one of which is the Fujitaka from Cardcaptor Sakura. Like. How does that work on a personal level. Did Clow Reed choose to let part of himself become the guy he replaced, or was he always kind of an Alternate version of him to begin with.

And then THAT Fujitaka meets the alternate Nadeshiko and they fall in love all over again. Which is also fun because it means that THAT Nadeshiko existed in this universe without a Fujitaka in it, Until Clow Reed came back split himself INTO the guy he went over there to replace, and BECAME the guy she was destined to fall in love with, even though he didn’t technically exist at all before that point. 

VERY HITSUZEN OF IT ALL. 

[misteria247]

I need professional help at this rate I'm gonna end up writing an actual fic based on this bullshit when will I learn smh-

When Timmy loses his memories everyone reacts differently.

Spongebob is immediately upset and actually ends up breaking down. Because Timmy's one of his closest friends and his fellow free spirit of their team. So having essentially his other half of fun look at him unsure or uneasy like hits the sponge right in the chest. Despite his heartbreak over Timmy and his condition, Spongebob is the first one to try and reconnect with the magic user. He'll talk and ramble and recall events that they all experienced. In the vain hope that it might spark Timmy's memory and help him. But alas magic isn't always fair but that doesn't stop Spongebob from trying. Even when late at night when Timmy's gone to his room and everyone's retired for the day and he goes to his room and just sobs over the agony of losing Timmy, SpongeBob will continue to try to help for Timmy's sake.

Danny's reaction on the other hand is rage. Rage on behalf of Timmy, his little brother. Rage towards the threats that caused all this devastation amongst them. He's already planning on making them suffer in a nasty way. Because no one hurts his family and gets away Scott free. Other than anger, Danny also can't help but grieve. In a sick twisted way, Timmy not remembering any of them is like seeing his little brother die. To look at his guarded blue gaze is like looking at a stranger wearing Timmy's skin. And when Timmy flinches from Danny, it's like having a bucket of ice water thrown on him. Because Timmy has never done something like this. Never shown fear to the man who's partially dead and who has urges that can hurt someone when he's a ghost. It's an awful and bone chilling experience for Danny that makes him stare into the bathroom mirror wondering if Timmy had always been afraid of him that entire time. He doesn't go to Timmy right away, but he does become more protective of him.

Cosmo and Wanda's reactions is pure devastation. The two fairies can't help but grieve and torment themselves over Timmy's condition. Because they're his parents, they're supposed to protect him and instead they failed him. Wanda will hover around him, always keeping her distance to not make him comfortable. She's always fretting a bit, not wanting Timmy out of her sight. Cosmo on the other hand takes up the role of reassuring everyone that'll it'll be okay. Putting on a brave front for his wife and scared son because they need the support even if one of them doesn't realize it. Both fairies are scarily protective of him now, and work tirelessly to try to figure out how to help their son.

Yet out of everyone Jimmy takes it the hardest. He's immediately filled with guilt and frustration over the situation. Guilt for not being on top of his game and failing as a leader, and frustrated that Timmy Turner once again put himself in harms way to protect someone else. Timmy losing his memories essentially knocks Jimmy's world off its axis. Everything feels wrong and Jimmy suddenly feels so very alone as it becomes painstakingly obvious how much space Timmy took up in his life. He'll find himself lost on how to approach Timmy, not wanting to have him look at him like he's expecting Jimmy to hurt him. Experiencing it once was enough to last the genius a lifetime of haunting nightmares. He'll lock himself up in his lab, researching nonstop to try and fix it. In a way Jimmy will throw himself into denial about how bad this situation is because facing the reality is just too much for Jimmy to process properly. He works himself to the point of exhaustion because nothing is more important than Timmy. He'll literally tear the multiverse apart if it means saving Timmy's memories. He refuses to think about the other option. The possibility that Timmy will never remember them.

[soupthatistohot]

A rant about why BSD is hard to enjoy right now (in my opinion)

Originally posted this on twitter but I think tumblr folks will sympathize, as well. So, here goes!

The stakes are simultaneously so ridiculously high and also nonexistent. I can't shake the feeling that everything is going to return to normal after this arc is over (everyone we care about will be alive, the world will have been saved), so why should I care about anything that's happening?

To that point -- no one (I care about) stays dead!! So what if Kunikida "died" in the chapter today? I'm sure he'll be back. Dazai also didn't die in Meursault, neither did Fyodor (who actually literally CAN'T die!!). Akutagawa is now alive and well, too! As much as I hate excessive MCD (like in JJK), you need to actually kill off characters sometimes if you're gonna threaten it so often, because then every death lacks emotional impact. I've been, like, numbed to it atp.

There are so many characters I do not know enough about to care about. Who even are the hunting dogs? Bram? Sigma? Asagiri hasn't put as much time and care into characterizing them as the main cast, so when things happen to them I kinda don't give a shit long-term. They were introduced in the middle of a convoluted plot that has taken such precedence over the characters who are supposed to be driving the story.

BSD originated as a character-driven story, and that's what drew myself and so many others to it in the first place. It was bizarre in a charming sort of way. It was about the characters growing and developing as people as much/more as it was about the external conflicts going on. It almost feels like Asagiri has been trying to be too clever about this that he's lost the core of BSD: it's heart.

Similarly, there's a reason this is such a ship-heavy fandom, we live for the character dynamics! But our beloveds have been scattered to the winds for literal years in our time that we've lost most of that interaction we love so much. Give us back our found family dynamics!!

Kind of back to the point about the convoluted plot -- it eels like the characters' intelligence has outgrown us and Asagiri, to the point of seeming impossibly ridiculous. Like what do you mean Chuuya was faking it the whole time and then stopped a bullet from entering dazai's skull and got away from it because of the security camera angle?? what do you mean Fyodor dying by a vampire's hand actually means that he subsumes bram and then he sets off a tripolar singularity to create god and this was his plan all along????

Obviously I don't speak for the whole fandom and these are just my opinions. I'm not saying you have to agree with me or even that BSD is horrible. I just feel like it's kinda lost its way the past few years and I miss the animanga I fell in love with :(

[anonymous-dentist]

War is hell, so Bad feels right at home every time he steps onto the battlefield and pulls out his sword and watches the humans run for their tiny little insignificant lives. He isn’t a monster, so he only kills them when he needs to. (Who is he, Foolish?)

Some of the humans have started teaming up. The strong with the strong, the weak huddling with the weak. It’s pointless when they die, because everyone is alone in the End, but it’s the thought that counts.

Bad himself played solo for a long time, but now he’s managed to get himself a human teammate of his own. A… weird little ragamuffin of a teammate.

“Hey, Bad!”

Bad looks up from his soup to see Candy waving some guy’s arm around like it’s his own, a big toothy grin on his muddy little face.

Bad waves back. “C’mere, dinner’s ready!”

Candy grimaces, but he brings himself and his arm over to the fire, and he picks up the bowl of mushroom soup, and he digs in.

Candy is a strange child.

He’s a cannibal, for one, which is apparently rare among humans; when Bad picked him up, Candy had been blacklisted from most of the other teams because he kept eating his teammates. (Which is crazy, because a growing boy needs to eat!) Sometimes Bad will wake up in the middle of the night to someone gnawing on his arm, but that’s fine, whatever flesh he may lose will just grow back. As long as Candy isn’t starving, he’s useful.

And then there’s the whole amnesiac thing. Because, apparently, Candy was dropped into the war from a literal helicopter, and he doesn’t even know his own name, let alone the guys that deposited him. He knows how to kill, though, so he isn’t all that useless.

He’s called Candy because Bad calls him that. He says he doesn’t have a name, but he’s fine with having a nickname for Bad to call out in the heat of battle. He’s named Candy because, well, he likes candy. It’s the one thing he likes to eat besides human flesh, and Bad can’t exactly call a human child “Flesh”. That would be weird.

Candy shivers in the night wind and pulls his flimsy little coat tighter around his shoulders.

With a sigh, Bad pulls his cloak off and drops it on top of Candy’s head; Candy shouts, but he wiggles the cloak down around his shoulders, practically swimming in it.

(Candy is so small, it’s hard to believe he’s fifteen. Between the supposed white helicopter that brought him to war and the amnesia and the burn scars on his temples, Bad has an idea as to what happened, but, honestly, he doesn’t care. Really. Because Candy is going to die any day now, and he’ll be much happier in the afterlife.)

“I’ve been thinking,” says Candy.

Bad gasps dramatically. “Really?”

Candy ignores him: “When I get out of here, I wanna be a detective.”

And isn’t that a thought, escaping the war? Of course, Bad can leave at any time. But the humans like Candy are trapped.

(Occasionally, Bad has thought about leaving and bringing Candy with him to start training as his replacement, but the kid isn’t quite Grim Reaper material beyond being astonishingly good at killing people.)

“What, so you can find your family?” Bad asks.

Candy shakes his head. “I want to find the helicopter. I want to kill them.”

“Oooh, good idea! When you do, send me pictures!”

“Duh,” Candy scoffs. He points his spoon at Bad with a roll of the eyes all the attitude of a human teenager. “But you’re actually coming with me, sooooo….”

Bad raises an eyebrow. “Am I?”

Candy nods. “Yeah! We’re teammates! You have to be there!”

With that fire in his eyes and the blood still crusting his lips and fingers, it’s easy to see why this kid is one of the most feared soldiers out there. It’s why Bad has kept him so long. (He definitely isn’t attached, shhh!)

So Bad nods, playing along. “Sure, sure.”

Because, really, Candy is going to be dead soon. Call it a gut feeling. Nobody Bad has ever gotten along with has survived this long, so the poor kid is going to die in a few days. The war is going to take him like it’s taken so many others, and there’s nothing Bad can do about it.

And, four days later when they get separated in a battle, Bad doesn’t bother looking for him when the bodies are all on the floor. Candy isn’t among them, but he’s probably off dying in a ditch somewhere else.

Bad flicks the blood off his sword and stalks into the night in search of his next victory, not noticing two tear-filled, terrified blue eyes following him until he’s out of sight.

(And eleven years later when Bad sees Cellbit in the ruins of a crashed cargo ship, and when Cellbit notices him and immediately bursts into a huge grin, Bad almost wonders if he’s managed to break the curse after all.)

[beigetiger]

Guys I’m SO normal about the Dead Men, trust me bro

We have Ghastly, the kind one, always being taken advantage of and having to give up so much just to deal with Skulduggery in the war. He tried his best to prevent Valkyrie from being a child soldier, failed, and then decided to do his best in raising her.

We have Dexter, who has lost EVERYTHING over and over and over and has been manipulated and lied to by almost everyone he knows without ever having taken advantage of his friends himself. He has had so many people he loved die before his very eyes and he had his throat torn out and then stitched back together and somehow he hasn’t just killed himself to get it over with. In fact, he’s literally the only Dead Man who’s never actually died.

And of course there’s Saracen, the only Dead Man without a violence-based discipline and who was so ashamed of his power that he hid it for literal hundreds of years and only revealed it to save his relationship with Dexter. He’s considered small and weak but he managed to survive the entire war by fighting his way out the old fashioned way and there’s a very good chance the reason he ended up in the war camps was partially caused by him killing all his siblings.

And there’s Anton, who’s considered big and scary because he’s tall, goth, and quiet but is actually a really sweet guy and one of the better Dead Men. Gist wielders usually die pretty young but this man is like 500 and still somehow going. Unlike many of the other Dead Men, he’s actually REASONABLE in what they should do. People can’t tell when he’s joking because he has a flat voice. He was sad after the war and so decided to make a teleporting hotel. He’s awesome.

And there was Erskine, who legitimately cared about and was loyal to his friends for so long before eventually joining up with the Children of the Spider and slowly working against his friends until he murdered two of them and the other four literally disowned him and swore vengeance.

And in terms of dead members, Hopeless grew up in a damn assassin cult and switched personalities depending on who was with, with his one recurring theme being that he liked animals and didn’t want unnecessary harm to come to them. And of course, Larrikin, who we know almost nothing about but DO know that he was a jokester who tried to get Anton to lighten up, even in extremely tense circumstances.

And finally, we have the most disastrous duo in Ireland. Skulduggery went insane after death and tried so damn hard to curb his violent tendencies and outbursts, but ultimately failed and became a monster who hurt and killed his friends. He’s ruthless and he’d kill anyone he deemed necessary to succeed in the mission. He’s slowly learned to become less dependent on vengeance over time. He’d burn the world down for Valkyrie. He also raised a child soldier and openly admits that the two of them do not have a healthy relationship, and yet they choose to remain inseparable anyways.

And Valkyrie. The youngest of the Dead Men. A child soldier. She joined a full-scale war on a suicide squad literal days after turning eighteen. She’s been through a drug addiction and she’s buff as hell. The people she fights with usually either die or end up befriending her. She inches just a little bit closer to godhood every day, but she still can’t save the people she loves when it matters most. She wasn’t supposed to live past eighteen. Her personality disorder became the universe. She is so, SO doomed and she knows it, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

They’re such a godawful found family, man. A bunch of people who adopted each other because no one else wanted them. This isn’t a particularly deep analysis about any of them, I’m just expressing how much I love what was done with them.

[kbagraces]

No Time to Die LN4

Lando Norris Mafia/Gang AU

As much as we try to suppress the stigma, strong women will continue to be perceived as intimidating until you learn to love them.

(This is a reinvented version of Flip a Switch, i just wanted to start it again, same plot new motivation!)

PART 1 Money Power Glory

Women are small. They should act naive, innocent and weak. That's what you were told. That's what i was still told. Mother said it's the most attractive thing a girl can be. My brother said it's the safest thing a girl can be. Daddy said it is the most stupid thing that i could be. 'Be strong', daddy said and to that i would reply with what my mother and brother had instilled into me. Anger would rise up, "You're a bright girl y/n, but you trust too easily. That'll do you no good if you follow in my footsteps."

I wanted to follow in his footsteps, i really did, but i was stuck in the contrasting beliefs of society and my father's expectations. I wanted to do him proud, he after all risked his life everyday to keep our family safe. But everyone else tells me i'm just a girl what can i do?

Daddy never got a real funeral, that's just the way it was for us kind of people. I think of him everyday, but no one dares to utter his name which leaves my mind to be his only place of rest. After he passed, my mother went AWOL, i haven't seen her in months. My brother is now mad with power, thinking that he can drag daddy's organisation from the pits it collapsed into. He is wrong. Daddy always said Keegan didn't have the ability to work in such a treacherous environment, but of course he never listened.

"Keegan, daddy wouldn't have wanted this. This is so far from how he'd organise things" I exclaimed, chasing after him down the halls of our family home. It was supposed to be an 'event' of sorts to celebrate my fathers life, too little too late i thought, Keegan never celebrated his life when he was actually alive. I was certain this was an attempt at gloating to his so called peers about his ever so important role, despite it being quite the contrary, he is only making things worse, which is literally impossible, but somehow not for Keegan.

"Just because you were dad's favourite does not mean that you know how to run this company, y/n. You're still a little girl. You know nothing. I learnt it all the day Dad bailed on us. Stop acting like he was a Saint, because, if you actually knew anything about how to run this, you would know he was far from it."

I wanted to fight back, but causing a scene was wrong, unnecessary and exactly what he wanted, and you would see me dead before I followed another man's orders, related or not.

The halls were starting to burst with people. The luxurious fabric of suits and gowns brushing against my bare arms as a turned from my brother and stormed away from his ignorance.

The corners of my mouth slightly turned upwards as i caught glimpses of those that i knew but not enough to allow them to want to stop for a conversation. The amount of people i didn't know however most certainly outweighed those that i did and that was how my brother worked. Quantity, not quality. All ego, no class, clarifying to me that this is in no way what my father would've wanted and is unfortunately all down to my brothers stupidity and selfishness.

The mafia is a dangerous place. Being the daughter of a previously feared leader does underpin you with some stereotypes. I, however, wasn't as conformist as the other girls that i knew. I wouldn't let the sleazy sons of other organisations tempt me into going against my family for a below average shag in the back of a stolen car. I'd like to think i had a little more class. As i looked disgustingly at the girls who were doing just that the mingling started as the sound of erratic jazz music drowned out the painfully boring conversations of controversy. Not even a week earlier most individuals were likely to have been literally at war.

I glanced across the room, my mothers 'friends' dotted around, judgemental scowls plastered across their faces. There we certainly some unusual and dangerous occurrences unfolding in front of me.

The jazz music cut off abruptly as my brother clambered on stage a few feeble looking goons following him in a pathetic attempt in looking intimidating, my hand instantly raising to my face in humiliation.

"Well, that's embarrassing." the presence beside me uttered into my ear. My eyes raising in the attempt to recognise who the husky voice came from. Empty eyes were starring into mine, looking as disappointed as i was at my brothers underwhelming speech that he's spluttering out. I hummed in agreement turning back to the mess unfolding in front of me.

"I'm Lando."

Lando.

I recognised his face, flashes of my fathers profiles flickered through my mind as i tried to put name and face to his crime. He once worked here, but was found to be a rat.

"I know." Rat.

His eyebrow raised along with the slight quiver of the corner of his lip. "Impressive, you really are your fathers daughter. Perhaps it should be you that is up there." He nodded towards the stage.

An unsettling feeling rushed through my body, pushing his shoulder i questioned, "what do you think you're doing here? Do you not have an inch of respect?"

"I-"

He was cut off as Keegan pinned me as the next victim of his embarrassing 'speech' if you could even label it that. "And there she is." His eyes dark, filled with hatred and a slur in his speech, he'd never have the balls to do this sober. "The attention seeker of the family. The reason that dad died. The reason that i was neglected as a child. My father never appreciated me, i was the one destined for this life. I worked so hard to make him proud but princess y/n/n always stole the limelight. Which is why, you're out sis." He spat.

I felt empty, shocked. Out?

A hand wrapped around my bicep dragging me through the crowds of people. My senses finally kicked in once i was out of the hall.

I shook off the grip, "get off me!" I yelled. One of brothers goons looking into my eyes. "Out." He stated, nodding his head towards the entrance of my home. I tilted my head in shock.

"No. Fuck you. This is my fucking house. Who do you think you are?" My arm swung for his face, knuckles connecting to his cheek with unexpected force, after the shock had escaped him he grabbed my arms, pinning me to the wall my face pressing onto the cool surface. I felt the barrel of a gun press into my skull. Fuck. "You just find it so easy to fuck things up don't you. Keegan didn't say kill you, but i do fancy seeing your brains splattered against this wall."

"Why because you think it'll make Keegan love you a little bit more. Aw so cute-," i heard the gun being cocked and then suddenly all of the pressure he held against me fled my body, bang.

Swinging round, I was expecting pain to hit my body, nothing came. There he was lying on the floor, Lando standing above him, gun in hand starring at the victim on the floor. Silence filled the corridor and the hall that i was just forced out of. "Out. Now." he glared at me, his eyes flickering to the entrance doors behind me.

We began walking towards the doors before the guest in hall, looked out in curiosity to see a dead boy on the floor, blood pouring from his head. "I didn't need your help." I demanded as we excited what was once my home.

A snort left his nose, "you know, some how i don't think that is true and you're welcome by the way." We reached his car, to which he nodded his head to.

"You're joking, right? You really are mad if you think i'm going anywhere with you, whether you saved my life or not, i do not want to be around you.", now it was my turn to laugh.

"So you admit that i saved your life?" I rolled my eyes and began to walk down the road.

"They'll be after you. We can help you." he shouted down the road.

"See you around, Norris." I yelled back. No way in Hell am giving him what he wants, at least not right away.

***

Keegan hadn't tried to find me, but opposing gangs had and although i can certainly fight my own in a 'normal' situation, when 8 groups of ruthless and revenge hungry men are after you it becomes hard to leave your house.

"You could just give Norris a bell." Mandi suggested. Sitting in her box room which in fact had been my bedroom for the last two weeks. She was my only friend and the only one who knew everything about me. But things such as what she just stated shows how she can still be so out of touch. She's not completely dumb, she now owns my fathers underground boxing ring, where we met when we were 17. My father took a liking to her, almost like a second daughter. Her and her family were estranged and my dad took her under his wing due to my rare adoring fondness of her.

"No."

"Y/n. Think about it. Your life is at risk and as much as your dad hated the McLarens*, he would've hated you dying more." She attempted to reason, and she was right,. "And who gives a damn about your brother, do you not want to help McLaren in taking him down? He literally tried to kill you!" she exclaimed.

Rolling my eyes, "well no he didn't, just one of his moronic boyfriends."

"You trust too easily. Please just think about it, gorgeous. You're the strongest person i know but right now, you can not fight this battle alone." She sighed getting up from my bed, "love you, goodnight."

"Night Mands."

I don't need your help, but I think we can come to a mutual deal - y/n

Y/n, I knew you'd come round. Are you busy?

Yes i'm going to bed. I'll discuss terms tomorrow. Night.

————

Masterlist

A/N

*im using the car names as gang names as I'm just that uncreative!

[dreams-of-beloveds]

HORIKOSHI WHEN I CATCH YOU HORIKOSHI

why in the fuck were we left on cliffhanger for the end of season 7. i’m so- i don’t even know how to feel right now, because i wasn’t even expecting us to be left on cliffhanger, and THE NEXT SEASON DOESNT EVEN COME UNTIL AUTUMN R U KIDDING ME how am i supposed to cope?!?? sure i still have the ova’s and the films left to watch bUT STILL MAN I FEEL SO EMPTY RIGHT NOW DAMMIT

god i have so much to say about season 7—not only was watching the todoroki family the most devastating thing ive ever witnessed—their family history is so intricately tangled and i really wonder if touya is still alive (i haven’t read the manga, i hope he is, and i don’t wanna read it online dammit) i want to see them come to a proper closure so bad i need them to be okay with each other even if endeavor isn’t forgiven (which is honestly valid) i want this family-against-touya-to-protect-everyone-else situation to bring them together in some way dammit!

and then we had the togachako moment. oh lord. oh lord i love them, they’re so—yeah sure i see them as a queer ship, but god fucking dammit after hikimo finally came to accepting her smile and her way of showing love being “normal” because of ochaco’s words and coming to the conclusion that all she ever needed was to “give blood like how she wanted to have someone else’s” HIMIKO BETTER NOT BE DEAD DAMMIT DONT TELL ME THAT CONFESSION MIDAIR AND THE SHARING HIMIKO’S BLOOD TO KEEP OCHACO ALIVE WAS ALL FOR NOTHING

oh god and fucking hawks. oh jesus. i wasn’t expecting his quirk to be taken completely. i honestly have no idea what his ending holds, but god dammit i hope he’s alive, i know his worst fear was getting his quirk taken when that’s what made him “the best” in the first place because he was literally groomed to become a hero due to his quirk despite growing up around villains, i can’t imagine how he’d be feeling—but fuck, fuck the burden he must’ve carried for having to kill bubaigawara even though he didn’t want to, he just found a genuine friend when working undercover and yet, he almost had to face the wrath of the sad man’s death legion through himiko oh man i couldn’t stand seeing him just,, fall, after everything

all might, oh, all might. this man is in his 50s and yet still can’t let his work go can he? this damn workaholic. but seeing him with his support items all including his students quirks 🥹💔 this man adores his students so much, if he doesn’t fucking stay alive after defeating afo i’m gonna fucking riot, RIOT I TELL YOU i sure fucking hope this isn’t the ending nighteye had foreseen about all might’s death because i swear to god, hell i fucking know nighteye would’ve been so mad seeing all might go into that war against afo quirkless with only support items he would’ve been MAD AND YK WHAT SO AM I BITCH SO HE BETTER COME OUTTA THIS ALIVE

and hell we don’t even know what the situation with aizawa, present mic and kurogiri is??? WHAT HAPPENS I NEED TO KNOW I NEED THEM ALIVE i don’t fucking know if shirakumo ever comes back, he was dead to begin with, i don’t think he’s gonna but damn can aizawa and hizashi get the closure they deserve? thats all i want for them, for them to be able to work alongside shirakumo’s “soul” one last time and have some form of closure dammit

and well, i left bakugo katsuki at the end of this fucking rant because i need him alive. i remember seeing so many damn parallels of kudo—and how his expression in afo’s hands looked so defeated, as if he was ready to die for yoichi, meanwhile katsuki, fucking bakugo katsuki, he’s not ready to die, yes he fucking moved through that pain to blast one last move in shigaraki’s face knowing there was a possibility of not making it but GOD DAMMIT I DOUBT HE WANTS TO LEAVE IZUKU BEHIND NOT YET and him fucking talking to all might’s vestige. god i genuinely was bawling so much. the voice, the expression, god just looked so, so vulnerably soft which he’s never let himself before, except for when he apologises to izuku to bring him back to UA. but god fuck, how- what- HOW DO I COPE Y’ALL HELP ME SOMEONE TALK TO ME IM LOSING MY FUCKING MIND

there’s so much fucking more i could yap about right now but it’s 1:15 am, my hands are hurting, my eyes are burning from crying so much after it ended, and my brain is dead. i can’t do this man

P.S. as someone who holds too much emotional intelligence and is studying psych, you can never make me hate any villain because i will always understand their pain too well, even if i don’t justify certain actions

[prankprincess123]

Spoilery Jot-Note Thoughts on Last Night's Critical Role:

(In no particular order because I'm still struggling to process everything, and mostly revolving around the twins because OW!!!)

The simultaneous PAIN and hilarity of Vex and Bozos just laying prone and wailing on eachother

Pelor's blessing is freaking amazing

Vesper - who I've seen a lot of posts expressing concern about her almost being forgotten by her parents at times because they're focused on/busy with the younger kids - being the only one specified by name in Vex's last thoughts

Vex DYING for a freaking FIFTH TIME!!?!

!!!!!!"...save him..."!!!!!!

The whole table going absolutely silent when Ozo went after Vex, and then the two clerics panicked whispering to eachother as soon as it became clear she was gonna die

"Please, not today!"

Pike, you are an actual angel. I love you

PERCY'S REACTION!!!!!!!!

Man went full smoke demon to avenge his wife despite not having an active pact anymore

I genuinely lost track of how many shots he took, and am pretty sure it wasn't exactly game legal but I don't care

The fact that both Laura's in-game husband and real-life husband immediately rushed to rip that psyco apart to avenge/protect her

Literally ripping him apart in Grog's case

Trinket! I was so panicked that he was gonna die! And then he was just having the time of his life riding Skrag

Disappointed that we didn't get a Trinket reaction to Vex's death though. We should have both story wise and game mechanics - cause the moment a ranger goes down - whether dead or just incapacitated - their companion goes into a protective rage and is supposed to get a reaction attack - and Trinket would

Keyleth just breaking my heart on repeat

"Do I see my boyfriend?!"

Girl is trying so hard to be strong and be a leader like everyone expects, but she just really needs a chance to breakdown

Vex's constant reassurances to Keyleth both this ep and the last two. Yes! Just give your sister-in-law all the hugs!

VAX!!!!!!

Keyleth frantically pulling Vax's breaking orb INTO her body to try and save him!!!!

HE'S BACK

Making sure to make immediate eye contact with both his most important girls as soon as he's able so they know he's alright and he's himself

'I head over to join the family reunion'

Percy! I know you're letting the twins have their moment, but you just watched your wife die and haven't seen your brother-in-law in 30y. You're allowed to express relief that they're both alive and breathing! Joining the hug or saying something will not hurt

Keyleth's just dissociation as soon as Vax is back. Girl, you're allowed to feel the feels. You can be happy and relieved and heartbroken and ready to murder the Matron all at once. I have alexithymia so I get not being able to identify or process all the feels, and I get not wanting to be hurt again, but you're allowed to hold onto him.

4-sided Dive a few days ago talking about how MN were all a couple bad days away from going villain, but after this I think Keyleth might be on the verge of murdering the Matron if she takes him back permanently.

As SOON as they know they have more than 5min with Vax, Vex instantly and very excitedly starting to babble about the kids, and everyone else chiming in

Vax's laughing glee at hearing about Vax'ildan Frederick, and utter baffled shock at the name Wilhand'ildan. Because yes, your family absolutely decided to both honor and tease you when naming 2/3 of your nephews.

They better get to keep him, or I'm gonna be a wreck.

I'm still screaming about everything

[ratinthebins]

there’s a lot of debate of which ninja is the most traumatized and I honestly can’t decide, so I’m gonna list all the trauma I remember. Feel free to add anymore I missed.

Kai

Parentless

raised his sister by himself and had to run a blacksmith shop as a teen to make ends meet

his sister got kidnapped

Got hit with snake venom and was high for awhile

got stuck in a collapsing volcano

the whole birthday human piñata thing

saw his brother explode (rip Zane)

ends up falling in love with a villain

loses his powers

gets tricked by said villain and almost destroys Lloyd with the power staff

gf turned into a snake

got teased about what happened to his parents

(still parentless)

fails to protect his possessed brother

is forced to fight said possessed brother

nearly drowns

gets swarmed by psycho fangirls (s6)

finds out his parents may be traitors

truly believes his parents are traitors and tries to stab them

father gets hit my the time punch

is forced to go back in time and watches Master Wu be lost to time

watches his best friend fall off the bounty and “die” (and literally can’t do a thing)

loses his powers (again)

gets thrown into a bunch of walls

literally has to summon his fire or everyone will DIE

watches everyone get turned to ice sculptures

Loses powers and gets turned into a cube o7

gets pelted with rocks

sister turns into the sea

gets in a car crash

turns into a Crystal zombie

oh, and he gets hit by a giant blast and thrown into the distance, then nearly gets killed by dragons.

Jay

Turns into a snake man

Gets tied up and nearly hit by a train

has a pointless love triangle where he breaks up with his best friend

literally resents him the whole time but is secretly sad

said best friend sacrifices himself and Jay has to watch him be thrown into the pit below rip

is adopted

Bio dad is dead (dead as hell)

bio mom is gone (who knows where)

he’s just motherless

Spider tries to eat him

literally gets tortured by a bunch of pirates

loses his ex gf to a super hot djinn

watches Nya die

is traumatized by even the mention of time travel (s7)

adoptive mom gets kidnapped

is so traumatized that he just becomes emotionally depleted and is okay with a dragon eating him???

watches best friend literally fall into a cloud of darkness and can’t even do anything

almost falls into lava

watches his whole family and gf get cubed

gets sacrificed to a sea beast (which isn’t technically real but still)

almost drowns

literally almost dies because water in lungs

gf turns into the sea

is depressed for awhile

grows a beard

Gets turned into a Crystal zombie

‼️‼️SPOILER‼️‼️amnesia

Cole

Mother died when he was a child

Which lead to a bad relationship with his father

ran away and climbed a mountain in his grief

nearly got killed by a dragon

got mind controlled and was forced to fight his friends/ninja brothers

had a weird love triangle

lost powers

sacrificed himself for Jay

turned into a ghosty boi

got kidnapped by the sons of Garmadon

falls off the bounty and nearly gets frozen in the oni cloud

feels so responsible for losing the travelers tea that he literally climbs up a snowy mountain without sleeves-

gets cubed in a video game

is attacked by a creature wearing his moms locket

no one believes him

despite all the crazy things that have happened

gets thrown to the bottom of the mountain

Gets in a car crash

crystal Zombie time

Zane

Fatherless

wandered for like 10 years-

had amnesia

everyone calls him “weird”

is actually a nindroid

bird robot dies several times

btw his dad is actually alive

falls in love with a robot girl

literally gives her half of his heart

sacrifices himself to protect those he loves and all of ninjago

is rebuilt only to be kidnapped

gf is scrapped and now lives in his head

dies again because smartphones aren’t real (s7)

nearly dies from being thrown off the cliff by someone who was essentially supposed to be himself

Had visions about his literal banishment

gets banished to the never realm

loses memories and is manipulated

commits mass genocide

nearly assassinated

Gets electric shocked and hooked up to power a giant machine

turns off emotions because of Nya becoming a mermaid

crystal zombie

literally locked in a imperium temple for years (but doesn’t remember a thing???)

Nya

Lost both her parents at a young age

was kidnapped

becomes samurai X because she wanted to help and the others wouldn’t let her

im not even going to talk about s3

gets hunted down by Chen’ forces

is actually the water ninja

unlocks her true potential before everyone can die

is forced to deal with misogyny at every turn because she’s the “girl ninja”

gets possessed by the spirit of Delara

dies

someone steals her samurai suit

her parents are alive

she watches her family and bf die

has to deal with survivors guilt when Cole “dies”

is forced to confront her powers once again in s12

gets cubed

watches her bf get flirted with and he doesn’t do anything

Becomes a Queen despite not wanting to???

watches bf get sacrificed

Misses her mom but she’s been gone so long things have changed

sacrifices herself to save Jay

turns into the sea

amnesia

is alive again but is separated from Jay once again (merge)

Lloyd

Mom left him at a boarding school as a baby

dad is evil

Is mistreated and opens a serpentine tomb

gets gatekeeped, gaslight and girlbossed by a purple snake

kidnapped

nearly dies because he’s forced to retrieve a fang blade

almost dies in a volcano

Hes destined to defeat his father btw

and fight him

Son vs father

loses his childhood to save his friends

mother is alive

has to fight his father and destroy the overlord

friend group breaks up after Zane dies

Recently redeemed father dies because Lloyd has to banish him to the cursed realm

gets possessed by his cousin

gets thrown into a river and nearly drowns

says a final goodbye to his father

gets really old

isnt old anymore

is forced into a leadership role and no one cares

falls in love with this really pretty, nice girl

oops

shes evil

she beats him up and brings his father back from the dead (only the evil part)

his father beats him up and leaves him for dead

watches family be crushed

is forced top into leadership again and confronts loss

fights his father one last time and defeats him narrowly

Is forced to work with and babysit his evil dad

is so traumatized by Harumi that his trust issues are heightened

distrusts a Wolf girl but works with her

she kisses him and then he leaves (for good?)

Is forced to fight video game Harumi and they kill each other (poetic but cruel)

is cubed

sneaks into Cole’s bedroom just to tell him how much he distrusts the new princess

sister gets turned into the sea

works at Starbucks?

his ex gf is alive and pissed

dad loves a plant more than him

father plays dead and Lloyd turns into a demon goat man

Gets separated from his whole family in the merge

gets a vision of his family’s grave

gets high, beats the shit out of some bad guys and passes out

probably traumatized after that

[panlight]

One thing I don’t get in the twilight saga is that in new moon as Edward ran away, did NO ONE TRIED TO STOP HIM?

I mean Carlisle later says how hard it was for him as they voted for Bella to become a vampire but he literally only reached out to them once every few months and later Alice literally had a vision that he wants to die.

As far as I know he didn’t even got consequences, I know he’s an adult but he literally ran away from home. I kinda expected at least a talk with Esme and Carlisle when he came back.

And in new moon they didn’t even show how Esme felt, I mean he calls her literally ‚mother‘ and Edward, Carlisle and Esme have a very close bond.

This got long, sorry for my bad English.

It's strange that the whole family up and moved for him . . . and then he left the family anyway.

I suppose it's fair he needed some time alone; as a mind-reader he really just can't get it by hiding in his room, he'd still be hearing everyone's thoughts about him.

And plot-wise, he had to be away from the rest of the family for the Romeo and Juliet miscommunication thing to work. He has to be told "Bella's dead" without anyone around to stop him from doing something drastic. So that's probably the real reason he left and everyone just kind of accepted it; it needed to be that way for the plot.

What irks me especially is how Edward's suicide attempt and Bella's cliff-jumping that is reckless if not actually suicidal is just . . . not dealt with. Like at all. I think Esme is like "never do that to me again!" and Edward's all aww shucks, "sorry, Mom" and that's the end of it. And Bella's mental health problems are just treated like "well Edward's back so she's cured!!!" and I get it's a romance and not an exploration of depression or whatever, and that Bella's hallucinations are probably intended as side effect of heartbreak and not a psychiatric or neurological condition, but you'd still think there might be some follow up? Especially the cliff dive -- Esme killed herself by jumping off a cliff. I don't know how she wouldn't see parallels and be worried. And also Carlisle, as a newborn, tried to kill himself a bunch of different ways -- that's HOW Edward knows it won't be easy for him!

And, sure, I suppose it's possible behind the scenes Esme and Carlisle sat Edward down and talked through all this or whatever, or they begged him not to leave in the first place, but again because it's a romance it's just "Yay he's back! Bella's not depressed or hearing things anymore! Let's move on with our lives!" No one other than Rosalie is really allowed to question or argue with Bella or Edward's choices and they have little influence on them. They're supporting characters just along for the ride. It's like what Bella and Edward do is just the weather and they gotta be like "Oh look, showers with high melodrama and a 50% chance of a fight to the death to protect Bella." "Again? Ugh, better bring an umbrella."

[underfaller]

in his house of mind, dead cipher waits dreaming

Chapter 1: On Your Mind Rating: T Synopsis:

You really think you won that day/You packed your bags and sailed away/You think you left your past behind/But trust me/I'm still on your mind

A year has passed since Weirdmaggedon and the Pines family, victorious in the end, are happier than ever. Stan and Ford are adventuring at sea, making up for lost time. Dipper and Mabel are now freshmen and are ready to take on high school-- geometry, bullies, (student eating?) clubs, and all! However, things take a turn for the worst when Dipper and Mabel receive of horrific message from Ford:

Bill is back.

You wrote a page about me in my own book so allow me to make this tiny addendum over your dull ramblings. 

Stanley Pines,

I've been on your mind. 

Are you surprised to see me? You must be confused so allow me to explain, slowly, in small words: 

If memories could return so easily, why couldn’t I? 

You really thought you won that day, huh? It’s painfully pathetic how naive you are. 

Aw, don’t look so distraught! You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Stanley. You may have lied and cheated to get your way for your whole life, but you can’t elude simple logic-- no matter how desperately you try! 

Still there? Of course you are! There’s not much else for me to say and I’ve got a very busy schedule ahead of me so I suppose I’ll end things here. However, before I leave you to the endless void and your growing insanity, I’ll let you in on a little secret-- Don’t ever say I’m not a generous guy!

Here it is: 

I see myself in you.  And that’s not because I’m literally possessing your worthless skin puppet. You and I are quite similar-- always scheming, constantly caught in our own web of lies, conning the world until we can’t tell what’s real and what’s fake anymore. A spectacular guy like myself should be thrilled at our similarities! I mean, the more “me” in the universe, the better, right? 

We should be getting along better than bleach and ammonia! 

…But I’m not thrilled. Far from it. Am I upset? Upset would be an understatement. No, your dimension’s vernacular can’t even begin to describe my resentment of you. 

I hate you, Stanley. I detest you. I despise you.

I can still see through the eyes of everyone I’ve ever possessed. I’ve seen your past, your present, and your very near end. You’ve spent your whole life screwing up and you will die no differently. You’re a loser. A blight on this already tedious world. A waste of space. You shouldn’t exist. 

So how? 

So how could you have beaten me? How could a lowlife, fat-headed, braindead, absolute failure of an existence possibly beat me? 

…And how do you have everything that I don’t have? 

Your dimension is safe, drifting peacefully in chaotic, infinite chaos while mine has been obliterated, erased from existence as we know it. Even the last atoms of my universe are gone-- decimated by your brother during our little Weirdmageddon spat. 

You’ve done nothing to contribute to your world and yet, when I only wanted them to see the stars, I was met with ultimate destruction. 

How is that fair? 

Your brother adores you. Your brother once adored me too. Has he ever looked upon you with pure, unadulterated hatred? We both ruined his life but only one of us is forgiven.  

And your mother. Your mother still thinks of you. She keeps your photo on her bedside table. She looks at them every night. She misses you. 

My mother is dead. 

How is that fair? 

Now I am you and you are me but why do only you are rewarded. Why is it that I get nothing? What makes you so special? 

I am the only one who sees you for what you are and I hate you. I hate every molecule of your being. I hate everything you have that I don’t. I hate, hate, HATE you, Stanley Pines. 

You don’t deserve what you were given. You aren’t worth even a sliver of it. 

So I’m going to take it all away-- Take what’s rightfully mine. There’s nothing you can do. No more cheap tricks, no more cons, no more last minute plans-- your luck has run out. Your time in the spotlight is over-- Time to show you how a real star performs. 

Better luck next time, bootleg Sixer.

When you awake, you will find yourself in utter, pitch black darkness. You will soon realize that your arms and legs paralyzed, unable to even struggle. You’ll be suspended in a limbo where you are neither awake nor asleep. 

Can you fathom my pain after you erased me? Can you imagine the torture? Your smooth brain would implode on itself if you even tried to grasp it-- And now you will experience it yourself. 

How do you like that, huh? 

HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT? 

You enjoyed your little victory but in the end, it’s me who won. 

Ha! Ha! Ha! 

Goodbye, Stanley Pines, and good riddance. Your pitiful existence will not be missed. 

Don’t worry too much, I’ll take good care of your family. 

It seems like an eternity since we've returned to sea but the Stan-o-War II is back. We left Portland at 21:00 and headed to Point Nemo. My research has led me to believe that the pole of inaccessibility is a magnet for weirdness, much like Gravity Falls-- There may even be ruins of a long lost civilization in its underwater bowels. I would like to test my hypothesis. Stan is fine with our expedition as long as there are “hot Atlantis chicks” to flirt with. I will keep his sentiment in mind. 

We’ve grown closer this year than we have in three decades. It’s… nice to be back with him. 

Despite my excitement for our adventures, I enjoyed our short break in Gravity Falls. It's always a delight when the children come to visit. Everytime I see Mabel, I swear she's grown at least an inch taller. At this rate, she'll be towering over me! Dipper is growing into a bright, young man-- it is impossible for me not to notice our similarities when I was his age. He recently mentioned that he plans to take honors geometry next year. I replied that if he ever needs tutoring then his ol’ Grunkle Ford is more than happy to help. 

It's been almost a full year since Weirdmageddon yet I still occasionally think of Bill. I am prone to anxiety and occasionally find myself irrationally fearing his return. That's impossible, though. I remind myself of that more times than I care to admit. Bill is gone and the moss covered statue in the forest proves it. We erased him. He can't hurt me anymore-- and he certainly cannot hurt my family. 

Stanford closes his journal, before blowing out a flickering candle and standing up, yawning. He looks at his watch. 3:33 AM. Old habits die hard and Ford still finds himself procrastinating on sleep, slightly fearing what will happen when he loses consciousness. He sighs, pushing past memories from his weary mind.. He'll need at least two cups of black coffee tomorrow morning if he has any hope of getting up on time. 

As Ford lays in his rickety cot, the Stan-o-War II shudders and creaks as it rocks against rolling waves. Usually, the familiar sounds of the boat lull Ford to sleep, but tonight, they keep him up, tossing and turning, each noise seeming to echo ten times over. 

It is one of those nights. 

Ford looks up at the ceiling, frowning. He used to have fantastic, imaginative dreams. After Weirdmageddon, however, his resting mind is always empty, dark like the ocean during a new moon. He misses dreaming. 

Though, Ford should be grateful-- there are much worse alternatives to a dreamless sleep. 

In the distance, Ford hears the rumblings of thunder. A summer storm isn't uncommon and it certainly isn't the ship's first experience with unsavory weather but for some reason, Ford feels uneasy. Perhaps he should sleep in the bridge tonight, just in case something goes awry. 

Ford’s thoughts are interrupted when his cabin door creaks open slightly. Ford grins, aware of his twin’s antics. 

“Very funny Stan. Aren’t you a little too old to be afraid of thunderstorms?” 

Familiar, cackling laughter rings across the room. 

“Oh Sixer, I’m not the one scared right now!” 

It can't be. 

Time stops. Stanford violently sits up, scanning the seemingly empty room. 

Click. 

Lightning cracks. Stan is sitting atop his brother, shotgun pressed against Ford's chin. Ford looks up in horror seeing Stan’s eyes bright yellow and glowing in the darkness. 

“Not so fast, unless you want your pretty brains all over the headboard,” Bill teases. He examines the shotgun in his hands. “Can you believe the old guy sleeps with this thing? Talk about a safety hazard!”

Ford freezes, his blood turning to ice. He can hear his heartbeat racing in his ears. His usually rapid firing mind has slowed to a complete standstill in his terror. His mouth is dry as he struggles to speak. 

He must have fallen asleep. He’s sleeping, he’s sleeping, he’s sleeping-

“This is a dream,” Ford stammers. “You’re not real; you’re dead-” 

Stanford Pines does not dream.

Bill howls with laughter. As he does, Stan's mouth contorts into an unnaturally large grin. 

“Oh Sixer! You can’t kill an idea or a god and certainly not both!” Bill replies. He giggles. “Did you miss me?”

Ford tries to answer but Bill cuts him off. 

“Oh, I already know your answer-- of course you missed me!” Bill chatters on. “And now that your inferior twin is outta the way we can head back to Gravity Falls and finish what we started!”

“Why did you come back?” Ford says through grit teeth. “Your henchmen are gone, the rift is sealed-- there’s nothing left for you here, Bill.” 

“Nothing left for me, hahaha!” Bill shakes his head, smirking. “Man, that idiot's stupidity is rubbing off on you! Have you forgotten?” 

Ford doesn’t answer. Bill leans closer, lowering his voice to a drawl. 

“We made a deal, you and I. You’re my partner from now till the end of time.”

Ford looks into his brother’s yellow eyes and is filled with fury. Seeing Bill using his twin like this while having the audacity to expect him to continue their partnership-- it’s laughably, outrageously, enraging. Ford can’t help but give a low chuckle before glaring at the demon. 

“Go fuck yourself, Bill.” 

Lightning flashes once more, illuminating the two adversaries. Bill sighs, clicking his tongue. 

“For some reason, I knew you’d say that.” 

Bill grips the shotgun and shoves the barrel down Ford's throat. Ford’s eyes widen, threatening to pop out of his skull, and he gags, tasting metal and sulfur. Bill grins, obviously amused by Ford’s discomfort. 

“Well, if you’re not going to be of use then you can join the rest of your family in the afterlife.” 

The kids. He’s going to come for the kids. 

Bill pulls the trigger. 

Click. 

Silence.

“Seriously? Who keeps an unloaded gun by their side!” Bill shouts. 

It seems his luck hasn’t completely run out. Now, it’s Ford’s turn to slightly grin. He looks up at Bill.

“Alright, my turn.” 

Sorry Bro. 

Stanford lifts his right leg up and kicks Bill in the balls. Hard. Bill cries out in pain and keels over, clutching between his legs. 

“Goddamnit! Curse human body weaknesses!” He yells.

Ford roughly pushes Bill off him and races out of the room, making a break for the bridge. The storm is much closer than he initially thought, violently rocking the tiny vessel against angry waters. 

I have to warn Dipper and Mabel before it’s too late. 

Ford whips around the corner, jumping into the bridge. He quickly locks the metal latch behind him and barricades the door with a piece of wood lying to the side. That’ll stall Bill just enough. He rips open drawer after drawer until he finds a small handgun. This one is certainly loaded-- Stanford always made sure his weapons were. He hesitates at the thought of potentially wounding his brother. 

Anything to stop Bill. 

Stanford checks the ship’s communication radio, flipping switches and dialing to station 618. 

“Transmitting from S-O-W- 0-2. S-O-W- 0-2. This is Stanford Pines.” 

Before they’d left, Stanford gifted the twins a radio and scanner to communicate with them while they were out at sea. With a few tweaks and some borrowed alien tech, Ford had made sure that its frequency range would reach wherever they were in the world. He imagined it would be used to regale the children of their fantastical adventures. Never would Ford have thought he’d use it for this. 

But even if they were near the radio, the kids are likely fast asleep at this hour. Still, he speaks into the mic. 

“Bill is-” 

There’s a thunderous boom and the ship suddenly lurches to the left. Stanford stumbles, gripping onto the edge of the table to keep himself from falling. The light bulb above him swings violently above him, threatening to fly right off its wire. Stanford steadies himself.

“Bill is back. Do not engage. Do not answer.” Ford hesitates before adding, “We love you two. Please keep safe-” 

Ford is knocked to the ground. His gun skitters across the slippery floor. For a moment, he can only see stars. He groans, his face radiating red hot pain and ears ringing from the blow to the side of his face. Bill holds the empty shotgun like a bat, grinning like a madman. 

“Who were you talking to?” 

Bill looks at the radio, slapping his forehead and cackling. 

“Aww… Don’t tell me you were talking to ol’ Pine Tree and Shooting Star! You’re so impatient-- I’ll get to them soon!” 

“No, don’t you dare. Don’t you fucking dare-” 

Bill strikes him again with the butt of the shotgun. Ford tries to crawl towards his gun but Bill steps on it, kicking it even further before kicking Ford in the stomach. The air is instantly extinguished from his lungs and Ford gasps in pain. Bill looks down at him in disgust. 

“Shut the fuck up, IQ. You’re in no position to tell me what to do. I’ve given you chances over and over but since you’ve obviously got a death wish, you’re gonna die like a dog just like your brother,” Bill narrows his eyes, pursing his lips. “I used to think you were different, Stanford. Special . But now I see. You’re trash just like every other member of your damned family. You’re pathetic. ” 

Suddenly, Bill starts laughing as he kicks him again. Over and over. 

“C’mon, Fordsy!” Bill spits. “Aren’t you gonna play the hero? Where’s all that fight in you gone? Or are you too scared to hurt me in this body?” 

Bile rises in Ford’s throat as he is repeatedly assaulted. Pain numbs his mind and his body curls up, mind desperately trying not to black out. Bill’s foot strikes his face and Ford hears his nose crack, blood filling his nostrils. 

Then Bill abruptly stops, bored that his attacks aren’t getting a rise from his former partner. He clicks his tongue, standing over Ford, watching him writhe, gasping for air. Bill shrugs. 

“Well, if you’ve already spoiled the surprise, allow me to say a few choice words.” 

The demon bounds for the radio, grabbing the microphone, twirling the cord in his fingers as he speaks. 

“Hey Shooting Star! Hey Pine Tree! This is your Grunkle Stan! I’m about to paint these walls red with my brother’s guts and turn this shitty tin can around back to the mainland! Don’t be too upset though guys! You’ll be joining him VERY soon! OVER!”

Bill rips the microphone from its wires, throwing it across the floor. 

“As I was saying-” 

Ford grabs Bill’s leg and violently pulls him down. Bill yelps in surprise and falls to the ground. The two wrestle, punching, kicking, scratching at each other like mad men, vying for dominance. Ford spies his handgun, dangerously close, and lunges at it, grabbing the weapon. 

The gun goes off. Bill jumps away like a rabid animal before straightening up. He gently touches his cheek, looking at the blood smeared against his fingers. He chuckles.  

“Wow Sixer, real gutsy pointing that thing at me but we all know you love this meat puppet way too much to actually kill me.”

Ford narrows his eyes, once again pointing the gun at Bill. His hands are trembling. 

Stanley wouldn’t want to be used like this. He wouldn’t want to hurt me. He wouldn’t want to hurt the kids. It’s because of that, that I- “You’re wrong Bill,” Ford says, quietly. “It’s because I love him that I will.” 

Bill’s body shudders. He convulses, gagging before he shakes and closes his eyes. When he reopens them, they aren’t yellow. Stanford lowers his gun slightly. 

“Stanley?” 

Stanley stands in front of him, wide-eyed and terrified. 

“Stanford?” 

His body spasms once more. The yellow eyes return and Bill lunches at Stanford. There is one last crack of lightning. 

The gun goes off.