#caleb was just pissed the whole time

[puretopia]

Spooky Party with occults at the local taven, aka just a party?

[sepublic]

Post-Hoot with Dana Terrace!

            Dana’s put over 200 hours into games she’s missed since the finale; Octopath Traveler, Little Nightmares, etc. Sarah Nicole-Robles cried harder than she ever did when she said I learned a language I’ll never forget, a whole chapter of my life is over, during the King-ceanera. She said the line once and was suddenly sobbing because of how meta it was. 

         Rebecca has a ‘sona during the bit with Barcus in the epilogue sequence. Cissy also cried when watching with her family, her kids asked her about it; Sarah was really excited as she watched the finale.

         No sequel happening, but we can always hope; Dana would like to do more, but Disney owns the IP and needs to give them permission. Dana knew the prequel line in the finale was ham-fisted as hell but still went with it because she was pissed (she said Fuck to express her rage). Rebecca went back to the Anger phase of grief after watching the finale after realizing what they missed, but Sarah was also in Acceptance because it was hard to regret something that ended so well.

         Dana doesn’t cry that much, but TJ’s remix in the soundtrack made her cry. Dana brought back everyone for BBBYYYEEEEEEE, noting this was every character’s last line, and wished Hooty had more lines. Alex improvised a cut line after the Bye with Hooty expressing appreciation for the finale and readiness for his spin-off.

         Dana won’t say much in hopes she’ll get to do more for TOH in the future; A Youtube reviewer (shoutout to all, Zachary Ax, Man of a Thousand Thoughts, Rebecca herself), the Third Bill got it right on Hooty, and Dana won’t be more specific about that.

         They found out about the shortening during S2; They had an ending in mind that Dana had in mind since development, but it needed too much setup and so they couldn’t pull it off. All of Season 2A was written before knowing the cancellation; Follies at the Coven Day Parade was the first episode fully written knowing the show was shortened, hence the tonal change. The Galdorstones was an arc Dana planned more on, as well as the Coven Heads; Bat Queen; It was a hard situation choosing what to leave out.

         There weren’t whole episodes written that had to be trashed; Just one-sentence ideas on a whiteboard never fully outlined or scripted. But Dana is still happy with what came out, because it was pretty damn cool.

         Rebecca Rose once saw someone with a King sweatshirt like hers at Disneyland and said hi, but they just side-eyed her and didn’t respond; Despite this, Rebecca hopes they had a happy day and believes they were just having a bad time. Sarah joked about not being so forgiving.

         String Bean’s inspiration: Owlbert is in the title of the show, String Bean indeed was there the whole time! The S wasn’t completely intentional at first, but Dana flipped the logo around and figured it out. When making the first episode, the logo wasn’t finalized. They always liked the idea of Luz being connected to snakes, it’s what she brought to school and they liked her reclaiming something she terrorized her classmates with. The Snake-Shifter idea specifically; Zach Marcus just said “Snake-Shifter” as they brainstormed ideas and Dana, being a sucker for lame puns, was sold.

         That was indeed Dana being represented as a student in the epilogue! She was Beastkeeping and Oracle; Dana can see the future of the show, and really likes animals. Raine’s palisman was indeed hidden within the violin’s design; Hunter and Dell worked to fix the palismen after Raine broke it trying to stop Belos. The violin is more akin to the staff, anyhow. Dana considered responding to a question about general Caleb, Evelyn, and Flapjack lore, but Sarah insisted she stay silent in case they get to answer it as an actual story later.

         Dana liked to think while writing Thanks to Them; No, Evelyn’s spirit isn’t in Flapjack. But to Philip, he saw Flapjack as the culmination of the corruption in his brother Caleb; He saw Flapjack, if it weren’t for YOU. You can see a hint of it in Masha’s story, Evelyn entices Caleb with Flapjack, who was Caleb’s introduction to magic. Evelyn was probably disguised as a human, and trusted Caleb for seeming reasonable and less violent. Perhaps like Dog owners passing each other by and suddenly becoming friends over this.

         Evelyn and Caleb’s relationship was sweet, from platonic curiosity to romantic. Eda doesn’t know she’s descended from them, nor does Hunter; And Dana has more to say, but will keep it hidden. Luz will stay the majority of her stay in the isles as she goes to college. Camila bought the shack leading to the human world, which allowed Luz to visit during holidays, weekends, etc.

         They never got to explore it, but it could’ve originally been the home of Philip and Caleb, long abandoned; Eda emerges after discovering the portal. In the next thirty years, she fixes up the shack as she builds the Owl House. Dana also advised fans to google Death of the Author, since she’s technically no longer working on the show, and thus gives permission for fans to write their own answers.

         Eda became the Owl Lady before Owlbert, due to the curse; They planned to do an episode where Eda learned palismen carving with Dell, and how Eda reclaimed the Owl identity to carve Owlbert. Dana stills has the outline of that episode in her head…

         According to Rebecca, Caleb and Philip’s graves were in the basement of the shack, based on this church in New Haven Dana passed by every day on her way to school (Gravesfield is based on some places in Connecticut). However, Dana realized the graves didn’t fit into the story. They also had an ‘original’ Belos design for him taking over animals. Marina Gardner did some amazing Belos designs, and Thanks to Them alluded to it.

         The Portal’s eye comes from the Titan’s missing eye!!! Hunter is bisexual, Willow is pansexual, this is how Dana always wrote and imagined them in her mind, but it’s not explicitly stated so technically it’s more headcanon. Dana noted how some people just picked it up. Dana likes to think Amity and Lilith rekindled their student-mentor relationship. Having worked in the library, Amity was interested in Lilith’s knowledge of history. Dana suggested to Zarya(?) from the design team to add notes to Lilith’s museum blueprints. A helicopter passed over and they joked it was Disney trying to stop spoilers.

         Cissy only got her lines and didn’t know any other details about the finale, to Dana’s surprise; Dana explained that people not getting a full script is due to the pandemic. Before quarantine, actors would get the full script. They have to rely on Eden Riegel and Dana for context a lot. Bosook Coburn spoiled Luz’s death to Rebecca Rose during the celebration party. They came up with a lot of designs for dying Luz, trying to figure out how they can hollow out her head how much. Dana mentions it’s up to the showrunner to show how much they want to the actors.

         Thanks to Sarah, they kept in Luz saying her own SFX during her fight with Eda in O Titan, Where Art Thou; She heard someone do it as part of the mock script and wanted it. When Dana voiced Eda and Luz at the end, Dana was crying. There’s a recording of Season 2B and Season 3 of Dana doing a voice-over of the script to get approved by executives.

         Dana clarified everyone would’ve had more of a chance to talk with each other, such as Hunter and Amity; Hunter would’ve talked to Vee, as well as more human realm kids, literally everyone would’ve had a little more time with each other. Dana loves Luz and Hunter’s sibling dynamic. Dana was sorry they couldn’t have Luz and Raine hang out, but they had the Hexsquad storyline. Luz finished high school in the human world, with the renewed motivation that she’ll go back to the isles. Knowing she has a safe space outside of high school made it more bearable, as was the case for Dana growing up.

         Cissy brought up Gus’ hair in the epilogue, which she loved; Emmy Cicierga did the design for Gus and Raine. Harpy Lilith was by Emmy; Dana did Emira, Eberwolf, and Skara’s timeskip designs. The name of the Titan is unpronounceable for humans.

         Dana can’t say much about the Archivists; The Collector never had a flash-forward design, as they age much more slowly than everyone else. Maybe the Collector got just a tiny bit taller. The idea of the Collector came from creepy dolls, as well as a nightmare; John Bailey Owen had a google folder filled with cool references of creepy dolls with a starry aesthetic, liminal minimalist nightmare-scape. They knew who the Collector was gonna be, what role they’d play, but the vibe still needed to be decided.

         Dana confirmed the Collector was always a part of the show before the shortening, and they solidified their placement after the announcement. The Collector has indeed stayed connected with the others, visits occasionally. Dana has seen fan comics on this and teared up.

         Hooty doesn’t have to be vacated from the Owl House if he doesn’t want to; When the door isn’t active, Hooty could be present. The new portal can probably fold up, and Hooty is busy as a curator for Hooty’s new museum.

         Dana said Raine and Eda’s business is their business; Not all love stories end in marriage. It’s their thing and it doesn’t diminish any love, but they do live in the Owl House together (Raine moved in).

         Mattholomule getting a palisman is something Zach Marcus can answer, since he made the character and Dana respects the lore he made. It’s hard to say for Dana if Vee and Masha are dating, since Masha didn’t show up in the finale, but Vee definitely has a crush on them. Again, Dana encourages the Death of the Author approach, if the headcanon makes you happy.

         Alador and Odalia got officially divorced after the finale, and the kids happily lived away from her. They might visit her if they have the energy, but also recognize she’s a toxic influence they can cut off at any point. Dana gave a shoutout to Rachel McFarlane’s voice acting, praising her performance for Odalia.

         In regards to the tower King was born in, Dana has an answer; It was related to a character we all know, who now may have amnesia.

         There was a plan to explore Gus and Willow’s glowing eyes, and do it for other characters; Amity wasn’t going to have that, strong emotions are indeed connected to magic. It was mostly a worldbuilding magic rule they could’ve expanded on, that Dana wishes she did early in the story.

         In the boards, Dawn Han(?) did Clouds on the Horizon, and did the scene of Amity and the twins hiding in the factory as their parents talk about the Abomatons, Alador is worried since it seems like a tad much. Alador had T-rex arms in the storyboard, and it reminded Dana of Remy from Ratatouille, so when they got to the scene of them looking into Alador’s lab, Ratador was drawn in his place as a joke. Dana laughed so hard she decided to keep it in, with Dana handwaving it as Alador’s palisman.

         According to Dana, a show should be appreciated for as it is; But the other way to enjoy it, under the context it was made, is also important to her; Both ways are valid. It was easier for Sarah to voice depressed Luz since she was also depressed. The writers preferred to put their feelings into the show, VS a more happy-go-lucky approach as others did; It was kind of dark for a bit, especially during quarantine. Sarah felt her own experience validated with Luz’s depression, but she and Dana appreciated the balance of having a happy ending too.

         What made the crew hopeful was knowing the characters would always have a happy ending; Luz could continue her studies in full-force, a new family. They KNEW it would end happy. Dana acknowledged how the fandom misinterpreted “I hate the term happy endings,” and Sarah knew about the quincenera when asked during previous Post-Hoots, but couldn’t answer.

         Rebecca commissioned 3D-printed Funko Pops of S2A Lilith and S1 Luz, and gave them to the others as gifts; Rebecca didn’t know about Avi’s appearance until two days before the Post-Hoot, otherwise she would’ve had a Funko of Raine made. Dana’s stand for Luz had to be made with painter’s tape (she appreciated it) due to Rebecca running out of the other kind, and planned to place it beside her Peabody award. Elizabeth Grullon, Camila’s VA, had to call her mom in the middle of a session to translate her line about maduros into English.

        Cissy clarified this wasn’t intended to be the final Post-Hoot! And the video was ended with a BBBBYYYEEEEE!!!!!

[litfeathers]

In all the excitement over the HD Hollow Mind paintings getting released, and in the resulting discussion and theorizing of the Wittebane story, I haven’t seen anyone bring up something that is potentially a HUGE part of the puzzle. Which makes sense, because it only appears for a split second in Yesterday’s Lie:

Hopkins shows this picture, says “disaster struck”, and then tells us a bit about the Wittebane brothers, namely that they met a witch and were lured into another world.

There are two options here.

1) The meetinghouse caught fire and started the witch hunt that we see in the HM paintings. The same one that ended with this:

…and it’s entirely possible that Evelyn is the one who blew up the meetinghouse. Why? *shrugs* The witch hunters pissed her off? In any case, that sequence of events would track what Hopkins said (meetinghouse catches fire, witch hunt is called, Caleb and Philip are separated from the pack, and they find Evelyn).

But if this sequence of events is slightly off? He says exactly this:

We know that Caleb was sneaking around with Evelyn for a while before he left. Look at Philip’s hair here vs his hair in the above painting. Time has definitely passed. He even has his ponytail and adult hair noodle.

Further evidence that time has passed? Masha says “they used codes to travel between worlds.” Which I take to mean that the lovebirds traveled back and forth a bunch.

This is where theory two comes in.

Hopkins said the brothers were lured into the BI. We know Caleb left with Evelyn first, and some time later Philip followed them. We don’t know the exact details, but keeping in mind that the fire could have happened at any point before the “luring” (ie Caleb leaving)…

What if this is our scenario instead:

2) Caleb got caught hanging out with a witch, and was arrested. Evelyn blew up the meetinghouse to save him, spiriting him away in front of the whole town. Philip spends years trying to find a natural portal and finally succeeds, entering the BI at Eclipse Lake. He tracks down his brother and the witch.

We know what happens next.

And here’s the kicker: in that new painting, we see Philip watching his brother leave through the portal all happy and carefree.

This seems like just one of many trips. Caleb might or might not know Philip is there. But in any case, it is probably not what Caleb expects to be his last trip. He doesn’t have any possessions with him. He’s not under any sort of duress. And unless he was a MASSIVE jerk, he does not seem to be concerned that he is leaving his little brother forever.

But. What if this is an important memory because it’s the memory of Philip finally catching Caleb in the act?

What if this is the moment that led to Caleb getting caught (perhaps the next day when he returned home), setting into motion the events that required a rescue from his cell in the meetinghouse and for him to escape to the BI permanently?

I mean…what if Philip rattted out Caleb?

[m00nchildwrites]

So as i've been playing the game for the past 15 days (yes, I'm a newer player), I have noticed that you can tell a lot about each of the guys by how they treat you and how they behave while you're playing Kitty cards.

So I am going to break it down for you for each of the 4 guys. (Sorry, Caleb fans, he doesn't count here.) I'm going to talk about their playing styles and what that says about what kind of boyfriend they would be.

☆Disclaimer, a lot of this is going to be my interpretation and how they're words and actions make me feel so if this resonates with you cool, if it doesn't respect it and move on.☆

That said, let's do this.

~~~~~~~

Sylus:

• So when I first met this man, I thought he was going to be a super controlling toxic sort of guy. And to be fair, first, impressions weren't great, okay, bud.

•HOWEVER this man is so whipped and not in a ew Gross, give me space kinda way, but in a yummy, Yes, please let me sink my teeth into you kind of way.... just me? Oh ok. ANYWAY~

• He is a big softy when it comes to MC. And it is so sweet, I actually really adore Sylus. Let me explain.

• while you guys are playing the kitty card game, if you pay attention, Sylas will intentionally throw the game in your favor.

• at first I thought that it was just a fluke, but it's not. He does it all the time, so if you pay attention, he will purposely put kitty cards in cups where he does not get the double points where all the other players in the game would put they're kitty cards in the matching color cups because the points are doubled.

• this intentional action is even recognized by our character, MC, because Sylas responds to- what I'm guessing is maybe a face expression that she gives him like: What are you doing? And he says, a comment along the lines of basically, "don't worry about it. I've got a plan."

• ordinarily, somebody purposely losing, just so that I can win to try to impress me, or something would actually like piss me off. It's kind of like you don't think that I have a capability of winning on my own, or you don't respect me enough to play fairly with me and give me a chance to learn?? Like I wouldn't like that kind of thing. However, the way that he goes about it is actually insanely sweet.

• i had to really pay attention because this kept happening, and I'm an avid card player in real life...So I was like, why are they making this character do this? None of the other ones do this, like he does?...It took some time, but I also picked up him making other comments that alluded to the fact that he's doing this intentionally. Just so that we can win, and he even tells us why.

• so other than purposely, putting cards into cups to give himself less points. He also throughout the game, is constantly reassuring us and trying to motivate us and cheer us up. He's basically acting like a super subtle Hype man the whole time.

• And at one point, he even makes a comment about how, basically, his favorite part is seeing our face light up when we win.

• And that's just- don't you just want to squeeze him?¿!?!

• my heart is aching in my chest because this man is not real.

• so yes, he intentionally throws the game most of the time.

• again- I've only been playing this game for 15 days, but I have played Kitty cards with all of the players, All 3 times per week, and it's been 3 weeks now because of the way that my days landed. So that's 9 times that I've played the cards with each character, and this is a pattern that has emerged with him. I have only lost against him by a large margin One time. Every other time that I have lost, it's been by less than five points and most of the time by one or two points.

•He will lose to you, but it's going to be a close match, and he's going to do it in a very subtle way that you will not catch if you don't pay attention. because he respects us, but he also is madly in love with us, and that is the cutest thing on the freaking planet, and we must protect this man.

~~~~~~~

Xavier:

• so I want to preface this to say that I think Xavier is an absolutely adorable teddy bear of a character, and I adore him.

•HOWEVER he would absolutely piss me off if I was actually playing cards with him in real life, and I would probably end up breaking up with him. That's how bad this is. So let me just explain why.

• first of all, other characters kind of allude to the fact that the idea of playing Kitty cards is probably not their idea of fun but they're doing it because we want to play, okay? And I get that, however, the other guys humor us genuinely and actually play the game. Xavier is humoring us by like the thread of tiniest threads. And he's not even trying to act like he's enjoying himself.

• i get that a major thing about his character is that he's super tired all the time and probably has Narcolepsy and needs some serious medication. Like i'm genuinely glad that this guy doesn't seem to drive and just takes public transportation because he'd probably kill somebody falling asleep behind the wheel, let's be honest. I am concerned for this man's health.

• that said, if he is trying to spend time with his girlfriend, which we're supposed to be, or a love interest at the very least, and he is humoring us through playing this game that we really want to play with him, and clearly our character is taking it seriously- the dude's not even going to try to not fall asleep? What?! Dude, I can understand like every once in a while...It's really late and you've been up working or whatever it is that you're doing in your life and you nod off in a game, but he nods off like 2 or 3 times a round. Like it's excessive. Wtf bro drink some coffee. Get some meds!

• on top of that, his overall word choice in how he talks to us during the game. Clearly, the guy can't even be bothered to pretend to care about the game.

• i mean, every time you play with him. He says that we should go first because he can't even remember the rules.

• Like my dude, you're falling asleep on yourself and drooling on your sweater, and you can't remember the rules of a game, though we play three times every single week. Are you 80 and possibly suffering from dementia??? Or are we just that damn boring to you? And if that's the case, why the heck are you with us? *eyebrow twitch*

• and before everybody who adores Xavier starts coming from my neck, okay. In a real relationship, this would not fly. In a real relationship, you would want to show interest in your significant others' interests, even if those interests are not your interests, that's what you do. That's how you behave in a healthy relationship.

• so as far as the writing goes for Xavier's character in this particular instance, I don't know if they're just riding the the guy has narcolepsy train a little too hard or writing the whole dude is super laid back and passive thing too hard, but it's like way too much of all of it together, and it ends up equalling a whole big lot of negative.

• like I adore Xavier and I really, really, really want to like him because I think he's a sweet pea, but this particular thing makes me not like him. Kinda turned me off his whole in game story tbh. (Fandom Xavier could get it any day of the week btw)

• and because of that, if this was the real world situation, I would absolutely dump Xavier.

• and then he would cry, and I would feel like a terrible person, but it is what it is.

• (please don't cry, Xavier. You'll break my heart.)

~~~~~~~

Zayne:

• Zayne Zayne Zayne. What can I say about Zayne? In the real world, Zayne is probably my ideal type. (And this is coming from a Rafayel fangirl. Ugh, tbh they may be tied. It's too hard to choose, tbh.)

• Zayne's character here while playing Kitty cards is the perfect example of how you would want your boyfriend to act when you asked him to do an activity with you. That very clearly is probably not his usual cup of tea, and not something that he would ever do on his own, but he's doing it. He's humoring you and he's enjoying himself because you are enjoying yourself. Zayne is perfect.

• I also love Zayne because he's actually playing the game. He doesn't throw the game completely. Like Sylas does, which would probably get on my nerves a little bit even though the way he does, it is good.

• Zayne is not going to disrespect you by not giving his all. He's gonna play the game and if he beats you, it's gonna be fairly and if you beat him, it's going to be fairly.

• However, throughout the whole thing, he is still going to be playfully teasing you.

• He will also be motivating you to do well, and if you get upset, he's going to comfort you in all the right ways. With that gentle guiding hand that is so very Zayne.

• this man is seriously a treasure.

• however, like Sylus, he's also super whipped for us. All that we have to do is get MC to bat her pretty eyelashes and to pout about how her cards are bad and just like that, he offers to trade you. He offers 2 cards from his hand for 1 card from your hand.

• in fact, he's so whipped that if we pout good enough, he will do this trade even when we have no cards in our hand and literally just give us his two cards. Any two cards from his hand that we want. And there seems to be no limit to the amount of times that you can do this in a round with him. He literally gives you the opportunity to do it almost every single turn.

• in that regard, I feel like he would be an excellent boyfriend type to play cards with because for those of us who are competitive like myself- He's going to play against you fairly and respectfully.

• and for those of us who hate losing or are excellent pouty brats, you know who you are, he will let you pick any 2 cards from his hand at the drop of a hat. Because he is that much of a sweetheart and just wants us happy no matter what.

• let me repeat. I freakin love Zayne.

~~~~~~~

Rafayel:

• I saved my favorite for last because, in my opinion, Rafayel is the type of boyfriend that I would have the most fun playing games with, and here's why.

• the man absolutely hates cats. First of all, which makes some pretty hilarious commentary throughout the game. I am a cat person. I've always said that I don't trust people who don't like cats, but he is a fish and that shit's hilarious, so we will let it slide.

• he is going to play the game and he is going to take that shit seriously.

• the man doesn't even like playing Kitty cards and literally says that kitty cards haunt his nightmares at different points in the game café and in messages, BUT-

• That don't matter 'cause when you get this man sat down to play this kitty card game, he is going to pull out all of the stops to absolutely whip our asses and I love him for it.

• this man is bratty. He is pouty. And when it comes to card games, this man is out for blood.

• in fact, if you don't pay attention, he will try to cheat right under your nose. He has 0 shame. He is in it to win it, so be ready.

• when you catch him, it is Flippin' Hilarious. He's so pouty that he didn't get away with it, but that doesn't matter cuz his head is in the game and you're going down.

• no way in hell is he is going to trade any of his cards for yours. You get what you get.

• he will just dust himself off change tactics and go for blood.

•He will still pout about you catching him even in the café, which is a favorite interaction of mine. He is too funny. I feel like I'd always be laughing with him. ANYWAY-

• absolutely, not, not, no. Pouting is not gonna make him go easier on you. You asked him to play this game, and now you're going to play it FOR REAL.

• Fall asleep playing a game that you asked him to play to spend time with him?¿ Are you insane? He is offended at even the suggestion.

• if you play the version of the game that has the specialty cards, expect absolute god of war mentality. He's gonna be throwing down special cards after special card and your butt's gonna be so frozen. You won't be able to lay down a single number card or specialty card, and he is going to be preening like a peacock the whole time.

• purposely, lose a game just so that you can win. Absolutely. Freaking, not, are you kidding me? How dare you suggest it?! if this man gets a card and it matches the color of one of those cups, and he can get him some double points, you best believe that he is playing it. And he is maniacally cackling at your pouty face when he does.

•Our fishie is so eager to win that he actually plays...not that well. (I'm sorry Rafy) But the man will literally put a wrong color card into the wrong color cups, get 0 pts for it just so you can't use the cup. The first time he did that I thought, "weird move but ok, maybe the game is random" but no. He did it again and then smuggly said "It's all part of my plan." I was floored. I was flabbergasted. And then I died laughing. He is such a competitive brat. Mom, I love him.

• this game might not be his cup of tea, but he's gonna damn well be the best at it.

• you want him to go easy on you? Absolutely, not that is laughable. You are a perfectly strong woman capable of whooping his ass, and he's going to prove it to you by making you do so when he's trying his best.

• to not do so would be to disrespect you outright in this man's eyes and he is not about that game. He thinks you are a badass. He knows you are a badass, and he's going to show YOU that you're a badass, because you're going to beat him whenever he is trying his hardest and he's going to prove it to you.

• if he wins, he is going to be playfully and teasingly braggie about it, but at the same time, he is going to comfort, you and tell you that you'll do better next time. Why will you do better next time? Because he is going to give you no choice but to improve your skills each time you'll play.

• if you beat him, he's going to be convinced that the cats are out to get him in a playful, funny way... maybe, maybe he's serious. And he is going to pout, and trick you into agreeing to go out to dinner with him in order to make him feel better. Once you agree, He immediately shows the poutiness was all on act, and he actually enjoyed himself and just wants to spend more time with you.

• because in the end, as ruthless of a player as Rafayel, is he actually really doesn't care if he wins or loses in the end.

• that is probably the biggest surprise hidden thing about his character thay I learned from him playing cards with us. In all of the interactions with him in the kitty card game is the hidden reality that he doesn't really care if he wins or loses.

•he's going to go the extra 10000 percent and be the most competitive player for you to play against so that you can actually truly play the game, test your skills, and get better at a game you love. And not just have it handed to you or be stuck obviously playing with somebody who is just humoring you and not even enjoying themselves. Raphael would place a hand on his chest in shock at the suggestion, or the idea that somebody would do that to you, this man would never disrespect you in that way.

• he's just putting on the act of taking it super seriously, because you love the game and he's not just going to just humor you. No, you deserve more rhan to just be humored. You deswrve the best. You deserve his best.

• you love this game. You wanna play this game? He's going to give you the best possible competitor that you could ever have and ever dream for.

• this man deserves an oscar in the best way.

• because in truth, the game doesn't matter to him, He's just happy to be around you like a golden retriever, and taking him to dinner afterwards, if he loses is really him winning anyways. Seeing you smiling and happy is a win.

~~~~~~~

•Protect this adorable fishy, please.

•(*slams hand on Kitty card table* Marry me Rafayel.)

I hope you guys enjoyed my observations and head cannons and interpretations of the lovely guys from Love and Deep Space.

Let me know what you think in the Reblogs, in the tags or on a comment. I'm curious to know if anyone else has been as observant to the scripted interactions as I have been, or am I just that obsessed.

[mirrorballhughes]

LUKE AND ADELAIDE HEADCANONS!!!

if you want me to go more in depth about any of these or how they broke up or anything ask me in my ask box!!

ADELAIDE:

her favorite thing about luke is his hair, she adores his curls so much.

el loves watching him on the ice. every game she watches her eyes get drawn to him.

while luke has just fully moved to jersey, she would purposely call jack and ask how everything is going and tell him how she doing and always says “oh yeah storm matched me up with this guy going on a date tn.” just because she knows lukes definitely home and is listening to pair’s conversation.

once the pair broke up el totally ghosted the hughes family. she felt really bad, caleb or her parents would update them on her. she would always stay at home for breaks, never wanting to go to the hughes as she knew she couldnt stand to see luke.

last summer was when el started working on her album, it got finished during the winter. she was working on it still while with luke.

quinn is her favorite hughes brother, she sees him as another older brother and goes to him for everything if caleb is busy.

during spring break after lukes departure she called quinn to see if that extra room in his apartment was available so she could come stay with him. she couldnt be around umich or anywhere the couple would hangout.

the team was very helpful during els and lukes break up. they didnt play sides, they were always there for the pair.

when her and storm go out, el whenever she drinks she always ends up taking some guys ear off about luke.

shes mostly seen in the youngest hughes boys old hockey shirts, but when shes mad at him she’s usually always wearing jacks or quinns.

even when luke left umich she was always sporting his jersey, up until seamus was like “lets switch it up, you pick a random jersey for a game wear it” so she ends up wearing a different jersey every game.

ellen was very understanding when el came back around. she knew how heartbroken the exes were, and she still knew that spark was still there. el and lu were destined to be with each other.

mark and luca were the best guys there helping her through everything. when adam left adelaide was always there for him.

LUKE:

lukes favorite thing about adelaide is everything. he couldn’t pick but maybe if he could, he would say her laugh.

the nickname el was off limits to everyone. lukes gears were turning the one time jack called her it and lets say that didn’t end well for jack when they were outside playing hockey with each other.

luke was at his lowest once he walked out those two doors. he wanted to turn back time but at the same time this was his dream. he couldn’t change this.

duker would call luke with updates about adelaide. only bc luke begged him after duker said no. but he obviously changed his mind.

luke only tried moving on once, but he ended up calling the girl adelaide and well thats the end of that.

he hated how jack and quinn got the blondes attention, he tried reaching out but no responses.

luke still looks through the crowd in hopes to see his girl in the stands but shes never there. one game was but she had some guy on her hip. luke was pissed the whole way home.

when lukes drunk after games girls come up to him and hes always showing pictures of her and telling them what’s happening in the said photos, the girls think its sweet.

luke stalks els instagram, he just wanted to see how shes doing. occasionally liking photos but never commenting.

he knew she was writing music, he had heard some of her unreleased stuff. she would never show him anything new.

luke made sure ethan gave the freshies on the team the adelaide is off limts talk just in case they tried anything.

he always watches the monday questions videos, and the tiktoks the blonde makes. smile on his face hearing her laugh and get along with his friends still melts his heart.

before luke left umich, when she would film the team he would always quickly run away from the camera just because he thought it was funny and he knew he was leaving soon and couldnt take her with him.

luke grew distant before the break up, he only grew distant because he wanted her to get upset with him and break up with him. but she never did.

at devs practice before they hit the rink, the hughes brother always has headphones on listening to els music and dawson gives him shit for it, but in a nice way.

whenever jack gets messages from el, he always ignores his older brother which makes jack laugh and is constantly telling the boy about the conversation.

during breaks luke was always excited to see el. but when its just the hunters parents and caleb his face drops.

caleb is slightly annoyed with luke but answers anything he asks him. but the annoyance slowly dies in caleb when he realizes how srs luke is about his sister.

THEM AS A COUPLE:

the couples favorite thing to do is stay in and watch movies. el is a big cuddler and lu just loves being with his girlfriend so he enjoys it.

before games lukes ritual is to kiss els face multiple times then grabs her hands to spin her around like the pair was dancing, then head into the locker room to get ready.

once the pair announced they were together the hugheshunter had to throw a party, which was a tad bit dramatic but it was a night to remember.

they love night drives, they love driving and not stopping.

stargazing, they love it especially during the summer at the lake house.

they pair was together for about almost a year then they broke it off after an argument.

they mutually hate seeing each other with other people, they get jealous so easily.

during lukes nhl draft the couple snuck off to have a sit down talk about it el whispering how proud she was of him luke throwing on his jersey on to her, then pulling her into a kiss.

they love kissing each other.

adeluke’s first kiss was about a month into their relationship, taking it at a pace they both agreed on. luke brought her to a beach at ann habor, and they ended up kissing.

they are both mad clingy. luke gets the most shit for it, el always sticks up for him though saying if they were in a relationship they would understand. (they meaning all of the team and their friends)

jack always fake gags whenever they are seen doing couple shit, ellen scolds him for it.

[magical-regical]

More Caleb things from me because y'all seem to really like it when I talk about Caleb.

I've seen people theorize about what myths the new batch of dateables will have if they do get myths. And it's a bit unoriginal but since I associate nii-nii with apples I got the brilliant idea that his myth can be something Adam and Eve-esque.

Why? Well, tldr; it's angsty, bittersweet, myth-y, and it involves apples. There you have it. If any of you've read the last...three? four? books of Paradise Lost (maybe even a version of it that's not in old english) you'll know what I mean.

As usual, more of my thoughts and crazy rambling under the cut

So we're not completely ripping off the Adam and Eve story, Caleb is instead a guardian for the forbidden fruit and he gives the fruit to MC has heart issues again. And then it ends up with both getting the middle finger from Astra because at this point I wouldn't be surprised if all of MCs incarnations have 'pissing off Astra' baked into their DNA.

I'd like to see those two work out the emotions as they're kicked out of 'paradise' like in Paradise Lost before eventually landing on the conclusion that 'yea our situation really sucks rn. absolute dog shit actually, but if I have him/her by my side, I think I can still find happiness even with all the new challenges we are going to face."

And, and, and you know how in Paradise Lost, Adam gets to see pretty much every major event that will happen from him to Jesus (as they are written in the bible)? What if Caleb's myth just reveals that everything is a cycle? I saw a theory that said the current LIs myths are set in the future and I found that absolutely bananas because Linkon is this super high tech city while say, Zayne's has a more fantasy vibe to it but just imagine, if Caleb's myth ties everything together.

Like, the Linkon we know is destroyed, a new mankind is created as the world kind of regressed back into a time of magic and prophecies as nature reclaims the land and we go through the three current LIs myths and then because of the events in Caleb's myth w/ 'Adam' and 'Eve' being banished from 'paradise' they build civilization back up to the level of the Linkon City we know now and the whole thing just, repeats itself.

Wouldn't that be crazy? 'Philos' and 'Earth' will be like two sides of the same coin that just alternates between each other until the end of time because this one bitch with a paper towel for a heart can't stop trying to one-up god.

[mossyscavern]

Security-… wait, ghosts now?!

This… might be longer than some other stories… read at your own risk

_______________________

Gregory ran, running as fast as his legs can get.

He should not have pissed off the smiling masked kid, yet he did anyways, questioning was.. how did he piss him off? While running straight to the bridge, jumped off to lose him, he’s still going after him.

“You could’ve told me that before?!” He yells out to the faz watch on his wrist, still running from the smiling masked kid.

“You didn’t ask.” He heard on his device. “You said not to!!” Gregory yelled back. “Well sorry, it’s not my fault Tim’s protective of Tom you little shit.” “Well fuck you too!!”

“Gregory! That’s not a nice thing to say and Duncan, watch your mouth.”

Gregory heard from Freddy, chuckling a bit at the thought of Duncan’s pissed off expression towards an animatronic head, turning around he sighed in relief as the boy disappeared, finally.

“Anyways, try not to push off Tom again. Tim’s very protective of him, if you did it again… your funeral.” Duncan says, cutting off communication.

“… What the hell!” Gregory shouts, kicking the stone well in frustration before lighting the candle. ‘When I get out of here, I’m coming after-.. oh. That noise?’ Gregory thought, jumping up onto the well ledge, avoiding the broken planks.

Staring downwards at the floor, blown out candle in his hand, ready to throw it. “C’mon you skeletal, cannibalistic frea-AHH!”

Gregory screamed, getting dragged down the well by whatever is holding him. “Argh! Let me-! ... go.” He paused, now staring at what he assumes is to be the 6th family member.

With shoulder length red hair, leathery decayed skin, glossy moss green eyes behind the front of the hair. This is it. Gregory’s done, he lost the game, he’ll never see Freddy, Vanessa or Cassie ever again. Goodbye to 10 years of his life.

“H llo? Hey!” He heard, staring up at the person in front of him. “I asked if you’re ok, cause you’re clearly not.” The person asked, sounding a little older with a rasp in his voice.

“I- uh… what?” Gregory couldn’t find his voice then and there. This person- no, this boy asked if he’s ok. Like he’s an actual person and not something to hunt like he’s for sport.

“Ok, you’re responsive. That’s a good sign.” He says shifting Gregory around, holding him underneath his arms before placing him down on the ground. “You’re small… but bigger than Lilian, how old are you?” He asked, arching his eyebrow.

“Rude. And I’m 10 thank you.” Gregory sassed, crossing his arms. “You’re 10 years-! Oh god.” He says, hand dragging down his face.

“How are you with piggy backs?”

———

By the time he crawled out of the well with Gregory on his back, he knelt down on the surfaced ground and Gregory lets go. “Stay behind me.”

Sam instructed before placing his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. “Weavers! Get your butts over here!” He says, placing his hands on his hips like a mom would.

And arrived they did. Tim fell from the trees, Tom appeared next to Tim, Lilian floated, Caleb dug out from underground and Benny… just walked.

‘Is this kid like… the leader or something?’ Thought, staying behind Sam the whole time. “… what did I just say? When I agreed to all this?”

The five looked at one another, before Tim answered. “Leave the… younger kids alone?” He asked, shrugging his shoulders. “And what did you do?”

“Chased an intruder?” He says like it was obvious. “He’s 10 years old.” He says, moving away to reveal Gregory behind him. “You scared a 10 year old to death.”

He says, crossing his arms. Not mad just disappointed. “He wasn’t scared at all though! He wasn’t playing fair!” Lilian shouted, stomping her foot when she landed on the ground.

“Really? You weren’t scared?” Sam asked, turning to Gregory. “Not really… I-it’s a long story.”

“Well… I hope it’s a good one, because you’re going no where until you explain everything. And I mean. Everything.”

‘… how did I get sucked into this?’

_______________________

Yeeesssss!!! Finally! It’s done!

Woo! That… was act really fun to write, I can see why crossovers are a huge deal to write… sorry about the uh… character divergence if there’s any elements of that present.

@artisticmerose this crossover’s for you!

[hughjidiot]

Total Drama Island Reboot Season Two: Episodes 2, 3 and 4

Okay wow, was not expecting three new episodes at once. Again I am baffled by both the local and international release schedules. But I'm continuing to watch and enjoy this reboot, here are my rough impressions of all the characters in all three episodes. Spoilers below the cut, obviously.

Chase is out second. Pretty obvious boot with how he behaved in the challenge, but that's just how TDI is sometimes. Glad he went early if I'm being honest since his whole subplot with Emma had run its course and there wasn't much more to get out of Chase. Speaking of which though...

Emma was out fourth, which kind of surprised me. I thought she might get an arc of finally forgetting about Chase and moving on, but then she goes and gets eliminated. Maybe they're saving an Emma arc for if gen 4 gets a third season? Who knows. A little disappointing but not a huge loss.

And between them, Millie is out third. Not surprising if I'm being honest; Millie had a chance to train up to be a stronger player with Priya's help, but neglected to actually study for it. And then in episode 2 when she tries to think creatively to help her team win, her lack of social skills is what did her in when she failed to consider how pissed her team would be for tricking Damien down the most dangerous slide. Her elimination feels like a natural consequence of her own actions and shortcomings instead of the contrived coincidences that Total Drama was guilty of many times in past seasons.

Then there's Damien himself. So far he still hasn't done a whole lot, but he's definitely shown to have become more self-confident with the way he called out Millie and how he was willing to brave that rickety bridge in episode 3. Time will tell if he makes it far.

Zee continues to be hilarious. Not really having much of an impact in terms of plotlines with other characters, but he always gets a laugh out of me. "Not thinking is my specialty!"

Gotta say, I thought Priya would have at least shown a little more of a reaction to her bestie being voted off. Still her plotline with Caleb is interesting. I can picture this leading to drama down the road where she realizes Caleb has just been trying to build an alliance rather than flirt with her. Or who knows, maybe Caleb will develop genuine feelings for her and it becomes a ship. Could go either way.

Speaking of Caleb, he represents the biggest difference between the writing of the reboot and previous seasons. Not once does the show portray him as antagonistic in trying to manipulate Priya into an alliance; he's just trying to form a strong partnership to make it farther in the game. Helps immensely that Caleb isn't actively cruel like Heather and Alejandro; he's genuinely chill despite his determination. Him literally carrying most of his team in episode 3 was awesome, not gonna lie.

Nichelle continues to dominate and be awesome in challenges. However I can't help but notice she's not really trying to get close to anyone, like Caleb is with Priya for example. I have a feeling that could come back to bite her if people vote her off for being a potential threat ala Caleb in season one.

I'm loving Axel so far. She's much better about being a team player but also hasn't lost her edge. I also like how we're getting depth to her, like her love of poetry. And then there's her romance with Ripper which I did not see coming. More on that later.

Holy shit, I was hoping for more of the MK/Julia alliance, but I wasn't expecting this much! I'm loving MK's unorthodox strategy of disguising as an intern to get inside information, it's very unique.

Oh and MKulia might become a thing. "Oh stop it, you'll make me blush!" "If MK's brain drove a cool car, I would totally date it." Watching these episodes I was like Wait are they gonna go there? Oh my god they might actually go there! And if they do, I am here for it!

Wayne and Raj continue to be very wholesome and hilarious! I love the dynamic they bring to Team Skunk Butt, wanting to play fair while Julia and MK cheat. And stuck in the middle...

is Bowie. I'm loving the drama of his character arc: he's still willing to pull the same underhanded tactics he used in season one and is all in on MK's strategy, but now has Wayne and especially Raj are acting as his morality pets. Some are predicting this could lead to a Rajbow break up, but I honestly don't think they'd do that. What I think will happen is Team Skunk Butt loses a challenge despite MKulia cheating again with Bowie's knowledge, Bowie feels terrible, and to make it up he offers to eliminate himself if one of the Hocky Bros is about to be voted off.

Last but not least, Ripper. Gonna be honest, he was my least favorite of gen 4 in season one; I didn't care for his focus on gross-out humor and he survived eliminations over characters I liked more. I didn't expect much from him going into season two so I was blindsided here. Not only is his gross out humor significantly toned down (but still present) but he proved to be quite endearing with his insecurity over his crush on Axel. I was especially stunned in episode four when he actually tried to connect with Axel's interest in poetry and actually wrote a poem for her, something I could never see season 1 Ripper doing. And Axel reciprocating with a kiss despite not seeming interested in him earlier? My haw hit the floor. Before I was hoping he'd be an early boot, but now I find myself actually wanting to see Ripper stick around and see where things go with him as a character and his potential relationship with Axel. I... actually like Ripper now, which is a sentence I never thought I'd say.

A few minor issues aside, I am loving this new season so far. I haven't genuinely enjoyed Total Drama since the original TDI 15 years ago.

[branches-and-thorns]

Listening to Epic on shuffle P2

Because there’s a second power cut!

This time I’m listening to a playlist of mine that has some covers included.

11:44am: Open Arms! My light just came on for 2 seconds and scared the shit outta me (it’s off again now). I’m vibing why is Polites’s part so good—

11:47am: MUTINY GODDAMNIT. IMMEDIATELY GETTING WHIPLASH. God this song is amazing tho. Armando Julián’s singing is top tier. AND JORGE IS GREAT AS ALWAYS. THE SINGING THE MUSIC I. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

11:54am: RUTHLESSNESS! It’s the Annapantsu cover but god it’s good and I am VIBING so much rn. I also think I should draw one of my OCs (Vivienne) with this song. Or Kore, actually. Idk I’ll decide when I can actually do animatics.

11:59am: JUST A MAN! Gonna zone out and think about OCs (Lucius) for a second. Okay now I have a non OC art idea.

12:02pm: SCYLLA! Pretty voices for the win! Gonna ignore the insane whiplash I’m getting today and just vibe with the voice. Actually listening to it the second half of this song would be great to draw Lacey to.

12:05pm: DONE FOR! 12pm is just murder girl hour I guess. God I love this song tho. Honestly the Circe saga is probably my favourite overall. Like I like Monster the most but if I had to add all their scores up the Circe Saga would win.

12:05pm: Warrior of the Mind, Caleb Hyles singing Athena and Annapantsu singing Odysseus. I haven’t heard this cover in a while so I’m just gonna vibe. Okay I forgot how much range Caleb has this is great.

12:07pm: No Longer You, Lydia the Bard. This cover sounds kind of…tragic? To me? Idk if you get it you get it I guess.

12:14pm: There are Other Ways! This really is girl’s hour wow— last time I talked about the tapping beat reminding me of a dance scene so I can’t talk about that so I will talk about the characters I mentioned then until the songs end. Nobles in a fantasy autocracy, sirens, friends to enemies, shared crush, severe violence issues, hypocrisy, and frankly I should draw them with the ‘no I’m not a player I’m a puppeteer’ line. AND TIME.

12:17pm: SURVIVE! Girls hour is over sadly. So funny story when the new versions got released I switched the versions over in my playlists planning to check them out after listening to the thunder saga and then had to leave home due to noise and forgot about it. So the first time I heard this song it was on shuffle on the Millia playlist and the squelch made me JUMP.

12:23pm: Warrior of the Mind, Annapantsu singing Athena, Caleb Hyles singing Odysseus. The girls are back and I’m gonna vibe again!

12:26pm: The Horse and the Infant. Okay I’m gonna vibe for the first half and cry for the second. ZEUS PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GODS. FUCK. OFF.

12:39pm: (took a break to get water and check on the electrics. Still nothing!) Full Speed Ahead! No thoughts just vibes.

12:42pm: The Underworld! I am preparing tissues. However I am also just. Vibing to the music. God the music in this whole musical is AMAZING. OKAY I CAN DO THIS. OKAY I DID IT BACK TO VIBEY MUSIC.

12:46pm: No Longer You, Caleb Hyles covering. I have listened to this one a lot and the ending goes off the rails so looking forward to that. Beginning to wonder what Epic would look like as an stage production. OKAY THIS IS THE BEST BIT!!

12:49pm: RUTHLESSNESS! See I think this version would be good for a Cain animatic because that bastard gets PISSED. Blind fury isn’t a Vivienne thing, but Cain? YES.

12:53pm: MONSTER! God. Favourite song. Hands down. Part of this is for sentimental reasons I mentioned last time but a lot is just that I feel like it really suits one of my blorbos and I really think I should draw him with this song. Especially considering the different reactions from the rest of the leadership…hm. Thoughts.

12:57pm: DIFFERENT BEAST OH MY. Okay so last time I was beginning to have oc thoughts about this song and it relates to the same oc I associate Monster with. It’s not even the revolution routes that triggered this it’s the siren route. Aka the one time Lucius went too far for THORN. I should draw it.

13:07pm: THUNDER BRINGER! God I swear I have the first minute of this song committed to memory. I think that’s slightly concerning. I might have slightly hyperfixated on the song while doing a very difficult art piece shortly after it came out. Okay gonna cry now.

13:12pm: MY GOODBYE! God this also carries a lot of OC associations, and it was really early in these characters development, so it stuck. Neither of them are gods so there’s that, but just…the I’m left to deal with the strain bit. THEM. AND ALSO OUCH. I am absolutely going to draw them to this song when I can draw things to songs.

13:16pm: WOULDNT YOU LIKE! I should draw this to SOMEONE in my catalogue but like. Who. I’m not getting any immediate ideas. I should think about this a bit. TBD!

Gonna wrap up there before my data runs out!

[negative-total-drama-takes]

mod mkaaayyyy tell us about yourself drop the list of your least favorite characters >:)

Least favorite of all time is Chase. I think it should go without saying that he’s a horrible person and the way his fans treat him is straight up misogynistic- no, him nearly killing his girlfriend, wanting to change her name and permanently disabling her mother was not “funny.” The chemma arc as a whole was just written so poorly and I’m praying that Emma finally gets justice for all of the shit that Chase put her through if we ever get a season 3.

Not too fond of Duncan either. He just makes so many little misogynistic comments when it’s not necessary at all and regardless of how shitty your partner is cheating has no excuse.

I’m still pissed that so many reboot characters were robbed of the development they needed in season 2 for the sake of Priya and Caleb getting more screentime. I loved priya in season 1 but the praleb arc was just so dry and flat that I wanted to rip my hair out every time I saw those 2 survive another episode, especially when a much more interesting character was eliminated instead.

My unique pick for a least favorite is the RR ice dancers. I am 100% going to be flamed for this but while I do like antagonistc characters normally, there is a line between antagonist and horrible person I have zero incentive to root for. The ice dancers were just straight up annoying with their “we need to get first in every challenge no matter what” and I don’t like how a bunch of other characters suffered because of it.

Oh and I guess I’m really sick of hearing about a lot of the more popular male characters (namely Noah, Owen, Cody and Harold) to the point of where it’s genuinely soured my opinions of them

[sepublic]

Furthermore, Belos is the type of colonizer who loathes a culture, but also feels entitled to it and is pissed off when it doesn’t bend over backwards to his demands. He wanted the glyphs of the Titan but he refused to respect her and her people, her body, her customs, and opted to take it by force; A method needlessly more complicated, difficult, and arduous than just humbling himself and learning on someone else’s terms. 

So to see some people have the fucking gall to treat Belos’ seizure of what is essentially a native resource as some W over that mean and unsuccessful Titan, disparage Luz as ‘not working’ for the glyphs like he did (ignoring how this brown girl actually put in the work of adapting to another culture), and unironically praise his ‘protestant work ethic’ is just… racist! It’s racist!!! 

It’s buying into the conservative strong man myth that Belos got where he did ‘by the grit of his own teeth’, when really he lied to and cheated people who actually put in effort and suffered the consequences for him; He stood on people’s shoulders without consent and attributed their sacrifices as his own like so many American Dream capitalists, instead of appreciating and reciprocating others’ help the way Luz did. It’s buying into the idea that Belos’ atrocities can be overlooked for the sake of admiring how he ‘got things done’, because that’s just the price of success!!! Like I dunno maybe we shouldn’t even jokingly praise a character for being a colonizing thief, a swindling capitalist in all but name.

This reminds me of that time I saw someone’s Road to El Dorado AU where Philip plays the role of one of the white Spanish dudes. Like are you fucking for real. You saw a genocidal white colonizer who impersonates a local religion he has no real understanding over to manipulate the natives for his own selfish ends and you actually said, “Okay but what if we treated it as a cute and good thing this time? What if we treated his blatant disinterest in everything that isn’t seizing the natives’ resources as a teehee trait???” I don’t care if Philip is chill and doesn’t murder people in this version of events. Y’all are just being lowkey, if not outright, racist. 

Belos is an effective satire of right-wing conservatives and radicalized white supremacists, genocidal colonizers who bastardize and appropriate cultures, “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” success stories, entitled abusers with all their excuses, and Christian self-flagellation and savior complexes. Dana based him off of televangelists, cult leaders, and her own conservative relatives. And yet so many people willingly ignore the whole point of Belos’ narrative and themes to reduce him to just “Caleb’s moody brother” or some sadboi victim of religious trauma, as if Philip didn't willingly embrace Puritan ideology regardless of whatever drawbacks it may have had, because it ultimately promised superiority…

And with the AUs that strip Belos of everything that makes him Belos for the sake of some feel-good story that undermines the show’s themes and does his victims dirty, that isn’t even an alternate version that’s just a completely different, made-up guy with none of the depth. How’s he going to learn his lesson in a redemption fic if the first thing the writer does is undo the curse to restore Philip's White Man status that he so obsessively clung onto, and lost for that very reason? How is he going to learn his lesson if the writer can't seem to properly comprehend what exactly he did wrong and the actual reasons for it???

[maxverstappensflatbrim]

Show Me Yours | Matty Healy [10]

chapter ten, act two: anobrain

masterlist

March 16th 2013

“You okay?”

She looks up from where she’s sat on the floor of the tent in front of the mirror trying to plait her hair, but with the different layers and lengths she’s finding it too hard.

“Yeah.”

“Crazy morning.”

She shrugs, “Grew up in the valleys, not the worst I’ve seen.”

Matty crosses his legs and sits beside her on the floor, watching her hands work, until she’s groaning in frustration as it all unravels again.

“G!”

“Hmm?”

He looks up from his laptop where he’s sat across the little tent, “Can you do it again please?”

He nods, moving the beanbag to sit behind her and plait her hair for her, “Is uh, that guy playing here today?” Matty asks.

“Caleb?”

He nods and she shakes her head, “He’s got a gig in uh, Oklahoma, I think, Don’t know.”

Matty nods, “You guys gonna go on another date?”

She chuckles, “Wasn’t a date.”

“Does he know that?”

She looks up to catch his eye in the mirror, “Yes, he lost a bet, owed me a drink, that's all.”

“Yeah,” George adds, “They didn’t even exchange numbers.”

Matty’s brows raise, “Why not? He clearly wanted a shag.”

George grins at her, “See?” He turns his head towards Matty, “That’s what I told her.”

“Yeah, well, we had a drink, he’s left, that’s it.”

“That’s it?”

She doesn't answer him, does not give in, even as he leans a little closer, “That’s it.” He shrugs, “Besides, I’m not into drummers.”

She gets up, patting George on the head and he frowns a little at her.

“What even happened last night?” She starts asking, “And why was I naked?”

George giggles to himself, “You pissed yourself.”

“What?”

He laughs, “On the way home, couple of us were walking home and you and Matty were behind us messin’ around, recreating some stupid movie scenes. Pretty sure you were doing the whole footloose dance scene at one point. Then next thing we know you’re lying on the floor laughing so hard that you’d pissed yourself.”

She blushes shaking her head and Matty giggles, “You refused to walk on further in wet clothes, wouldn’t wear my jeans because ‘of the textures’-”

“I have sensory issues.” She defends. Ignoring George’s whisper of ‘you have undiagnosed autism’.

“-So the only thing you would wear was my boxers, I had to strip in the middle of nowhere, on an open road.”

“Then when we finally got in you asked Ross to help you get your t-shirt on because it was all twisted around and he just ripped it off.”

“Yeah, you tried to fight him then cause you said it was your favourite bed top.”

Ross, who’s just entered, nods, “You have a very sturdy punch.”

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

March 19th 2013  

“Welcome to Wisconsin, babe.”

George grins, swinging one arm over Adam’s shoulder and another over Matty’s as they step into the large hall for the first show of their American tour.

“Wow… it’s, uh, big.” Adam says looking around at the venue.

“Ha,” Ross chuckles, resting his elbow on Tommie’s head, “That’s what she said.”

She shoves him in the ribs, both of them giggling like teenagers as they walk on forward with their guitars in hand.

“Think this is our biggest gig?”

“Nah?” She shakes her head, “See the crowd in Texas?” She asks sarcastically.

“Mhmm,” Adam hums, “All twenty four of them.”

“Please,” She says, nudging him, “There were at least twenty seven in that tent.”

Ross nods, “Not including the three that left early.”

“Or the guy that got escorted out for calling Roddy a fag.” She adds, said man smiling sarcastically at the reminder. 

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

March 23rd 2013

“New York.”

Matty shakes his head, putting on an accent as he repeats the words back to her a few times.

“The Big Apple.” She says after he’s finished.

“Can we go walk around Central Park? Ooh, and go to the Yankee Stadium, ooh, and-”

Matty’s cut off by a yellow cab almost running him over, Adam’s hand wrapped around his collar to tug him back onto the pavement.

“Okay, so, the traffic lights are different here.”

“Very.” Tommie agrees watching the little white flashing man on the screen. “To Central Park?”

“To central park.” Matty echoes.

“Can’t we go have food first?” Ross complains, walking behind them, “I’m starving.”

“Aw, but, it’s Central Park, guys, come on.” Matty complains, clutching onto Adam’s shoulders and shaking them violently. 

“How about us two go ahead, while you two get food. We’ll message George, let him know where we’re going.”

“Alright, but you know, it’s New York,” Adam says, looking at them both sternly, “Stay together and be careful.”

“Yes, mam.”

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

“You know,” Tommie begins, clutching tightly onto Matty’s arm when a biker rides a little too close by, “I’d love to move here. When we get stinkin’ rich and famous I’m gonna buy a small apartment here. Maybe in a really rough neighbourhood, with a fire escape where all you hear is shouting and sirens. Just like every movie about New York.”

“Really?” Matty asks, “Not overlooking Central Park and all the natural beauty?”

“Nah,” She shrugs, “I’ll live by a train station and it’ll be so close to my apartment it will rattle. And after the first few times I’ll have to strategically place all my little trinkets so they don’t fall and break.”

“Ooh, tell me more.”

She smiles to herself, “There’ll be one of those New York-Italian run Pizzarieras on the same street, like two buildings down.” She decides, “And I’ll make friends with the local crackhead that sleeps on the steps to the apartment building. I’ll ride the subway around all the time, and watch baseball games in the Yankee Stadium, and go on long walks around the city with only the rats being what I have to worry about, because I’ll confidently believe I could fight off any mugger or murder who might take a chance on me.”

“Thought you hated the city.”

“I hate cities in England.” 

She corrects and he nods, a smile on his face and a fake apology leaving his lips as he randomly lifts their hands to twirl her about. “But I thought you and your plant mother would want to live close to nature. How about this?” He suggests, gesturing to one of the large fancy looking apartments above them, “You’ll live up there, you’ll have actual drinkable tap water, and the only noise you’ll hear from around will be the birds. You’ll get up every morning and take a stroll through here, you’ll visit the museum, and won’t have to worry about fighting any one off ‘cause you’ll be safe.”

“That sounds boring.” She shrugs, hand shoved into her pocket, his still clutched tightly inside.

“Besides,” She gestures around them with her other hand, pointing out the greenery around them, “This place is like a zoo… like sea world, for trees.” She gestures to a group of tourists who are taking pictures of the trees, “It’s just a place for people to come and look at trees to act like they’ve accomplished something great. Just like they do when they see an orca or dolphin in sea world. It’s cruel.”

“They’re trees.”

She hums, “In a huge city full of pollution.”

“You’re very poetic today.”

She shrugs, “I’m poetic everyday, just nobody listens to me.”

“I listen.”

She looks up, catching his eye as they walk on and then looks back to the path ahead of her, “When you want to, Roddy, when you want to.”

“I think I’m quite a good listener, actually.”

“Hmm,” She hums, then turns to him, “Remember that formula one driver I was telling you about this morning?”

“Vettel.”

“Good guess but no, Alonso, you remember what I was saying about him?”

“Y-Yeah, you said, that he uh, is one of your favourites and deserves a win.”

“I actually talked about Coulthard, and said I can’t stand him.”

“Right.”

“Good listening.”

taglist

@thereisaplaceintheheart

@indierockgirrl

@sofaritsalrightt

@julezs-bl0g

-let me know if you want to be added :)

[sergeantsporks]

Gilded Family!

Is Belos happy that Caleb is alive after all? Or is he particularly pissed off about him daring to still draw breath?

Well, being Belos, he has a complicated and conflicting bunch of emotions about the whole thing. On the one hand, he's pretty happy that he didn't actually kill Caleb because yippee!!! Fratricide is no longer on his list of sins!!! And just in general, oh, yay, his brother's not dead!!! But on the other hand, he's raging mad that Caleb's been alive this whole time and didn't give him any hint. Hello??? Have you not been seeing all the grimwalkers I made of you??? Obviously I missed you! Why did you hide from me? All of those Grimwalkers' "deaths" are YOUR fault, because if you'd just let me know you were alive, I wouldn't have had to make and kill them. How selfish of you. There's totally no good reason you would have to not let me know you survived. Also I still want to kill your wife.

[lollytea]

Im afraid of the person I will become if we get belos witnessing huntlow or eda and getting dejavu in the last episode

On one hand, I feel like the obvious person that Belos would sees flashes of Evelyn in would be Eda. Because she's her actual descendant and bears a striking physical resemblance to her. But also, Belos is familiar with Eda. The Owl Lady was an infamous criminal wanted by the Emperor since long before the series began. I'm sure Belos noticed the similarities a long long time ago. He likely knows there's a family link. So, if those two end up having a confrontation, Belos won't be caught off guard by all the distinct Clawthorne features. He probably won't fly into a rage upon seeing her.

Unless....remember how angry she was in AOAW when Lilith stole Luz. She's gonna be just as pissed to see Belos has stolen Raine. And he's seen that kind of Clawthorne rage before. And it makes him relive things against his will. Maybe that's what makes him go ballistic. He knew who she was this whole time but things like the eyes and hair never bothered him much. But once Eda lights up in a fucking inferno of fury, Belos isn't seeing the Owl Lady anymore. He's seeing her and he's willing to throw away everything else just to see her dead.

I really love the idea that it's the emotions and the actions and the significance that stir the image of Evelyn in Belos' mind, rather than physical resemblance.

Which is one of the many reasons why I love the idea of him seeing her in Willow. Because she is the exact opposite of Evelyn in terms of appearance. Evelyn was tall and thin with sharp facial features, a head of wild bushy hair, burning amber eyes, while Willow is short and chubby with a moon shaped face, soft green eyes and neatly braided hair. She would fly completely under Belos' radar.

But...then he sees her holding someone's hand. And that someone has his brother's face. His brother steps between him and that girl, shielding her with his body in that stupid selfish way. And then 400 years are suddenly eaten away and he's a young man again with a death grip on a dagger.

It just goes to show that Belos' has become so consumed by denial and rage that his resentment towards Evelyn has mutated into a form of obsession in itself. Not only does she never die but she never stops taking from him. Killing Caleb just wasn't enough for her, but now she needs to make sure he can never have his brother back. He catches sight of her constantly. No matter how many centuries pass, she haunts him from the bodies of endless witches, in an endless cycle of taking. She's stolen hundreds of his grimwalkers.

What Willow looks like is irrelevent. She's the latest of hundreds of witches that Belos saw Evelyn in. The fact that his grimwalker is willing to throw his own life away just to protect her tells him everything he needs to know. This time, he kill the right person.

[polyhexian]

Do you think Belos has ever discarded a grimwalker simply because they didn't look enough like Caleb? He did say it was a shame to lose Hunter because of how similar he appeared. I mean, obviously he was being typical and manipulative but clearly he'd thought about it before. Belos, as a puritan, definitely thought he was punishing Caleb's soul and stuff so if a grimwalker just didn't have the right resemblance would he bother wasting the 'materials'? You just write more about grimwalkers than any author I know so I want to hear your opinion

Oh for sure. It is myyyyy headcanon that Belos used to have a lot more materials than he does now so he was a lot more flippant back then. He could grow ten at a time, fill up all those boxes, so if one pissed him off and he threw them off a bridge he already had a new one ready to grow.

I think he killed Grimwalkers for a lot of reasons. He tells himself he's trying to save Caleb's soul, but its because he's in denial and always has been. He wants to punish Caleb for abandoning him, over and over and over again. I think if one was born that didn't look like him he'd be pissed but again be in denial. He wouldn't kill them for them, but he'd constantly be looking for an excuse to justify killing them. The second he had one, they're gone.

I can imagine a lot of different reasons for him to kill Grimwalkers. Jasper instinctively knows that it would be very very bad for him to have a lover, but perhaps another didn't, or felt it was worth the risk. Belos would be FURIOUS and certainly kill them both. Maybe some did try to run away. Maybe one sabotaged a whole batch of Grimwalkers that weren't yet alive and tried to end the cycle. Maybe some tried to assassinate him. Maybe some just embarrassed him, failed at a task- maybe some were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, standing in the same room when he had a temper tantrum and needed to break something.

[loftylockjaw]

TIMING: Current LOCATION: Harborside PARTIES: Wyatt (@loftylockjaw) & Caleb (@dirtwatchman) SUMMARY: A demonic bird attempts to kidnap Wyatt while he's on the phone with Caleb immediately following the fight with Xóchitl. Wyatt is super normal about it, but the zombie quickly comes to his rescue. CONTENT WARNINGS: n/a

—

Wyatt had barely gotten over the bridge from the isle to the mainland when he had to pull over, realizing he was driving recklessly and not wanting to force Caleb, who he was now on the phone with, to listen to him die after getting himself into a car accident. He got out of the vehicle and began to march aimlessly through the streets in the hopes that he could walk off this frustration, still with his phone pressed to his ear. He’d called Caleb shortly after leaving, asking if he was busy. The man had said no, and Wyatt asked if they could talk for a few minutes while he got his head on straight. Of course Caleb asked what was wrong, and as he tried to figure out how to answer that, Wyatt bumped into another person on the sidewalk coming in the opposite direction. He held up a hand in apology, probably still looking pissed anyway, and sighed, then spoke in a low voice that hopefully wouldn’t be overheard. “I uh… well, I decided to tell someone important to me that I ain’t human. She didn’t take it well. Kicked me out.”

The streets weren’t exactly busy, but they weren’t devoid of other people either. But as he walked and talked, he started to notice less and less foot traffic. Thinking nothing of it, Wyatt wasn’t paying much attention to his surroundings until the light overhead suddenly went out. The shifter stopped, lifting his gaze up to the lamppost. The bulb flickered, then stayed dark. Weird timing, but not a weird phenomenon. 

Then another one flickered and went out. Then another, and another. Soon, the whole street was dark. Wyatt realized he’d gotten farther out of the town center than he’d meant to, and a sense of fear started to creep up his spine. “Hey, uh… huh. That’s weird. All the lights on this street just went out.” He stood still, half listening for Caleb’s response, and half listening for… something else. He didn’t know what. 

—

It was immediately clear that Wyatt wasn’t okay as soon as Caleb had heard his voice come through the phone. He’d closed the book that Father Liam had given him, taken his glasses off to rub at his eyes, and proceeded to lean back against his headboard to listen. He needed to do that more…wanted to do that more, and Wyatt hadn’t said much since their last talk so he knew this had to be pretty important. Sighing softly at the words, he shook his head even though the other couldn’t see him. “I’m sorry. I’m sure she’ll come around once the shock has worn off. She probably just needs a minute to process it all.” He hoped. From his experience though that wasn’t a guarantee. 

The other had gone quiet though, Caleb’s brows furrowing at the silence that met his words. “Wyatt?” The lamia’s voice finally cut through his panic but the response didn’t do much to quiet the fear that something was wrong. Was it unusual for the lights in Wicked’s Rest to do such a thing and if it was what could cause it? There were…so many things that could. “Wyatt, are you okay? Are you able to see anything at all?” 

The book was tossed to the other side of the bed without any care, Caleb’s full attention now on this phone call. He didn’t like the sound of what was going on or the hint of fear that had slid into the man’s voice, the zombie wishing that Wyatt would just say something. The panic that had subsided was coming back in full force, gripping his chest with a vice hold. “Maybe you should turn around…”

—

The alleyway to his right was pitch black and seemed to be yawning even wider as he let his eyes settle on it. Did he see something? What was that? “There’s… somethin’ in the alley…” he muttered, taking a step toward it. Wait, toward it? Why was he walking toward it? 

The lights flickered back on and for a brief second, he saw it. He saw a creature, larger than he was, standing on two legs. It was covered in feathers and long, white bones jutted out of its spine. Its arms were wings, with hands like a bat that sported long, terrifying claws. A huge, thin beak parted to reveal teeth and a writhing mass of something in its throat. Wyatt’s grip on the phone tightened, and terror froze him on the spot as he was again bathed in darkness. “No, no, no. This ain’t real.” He choked out the words as his heart tried to claw its way out of his throat. “I think I’m asleep, Caleb. I’m — I —” The shadows moved and the inky black monster slipped through the alley toward him, silent in spite of its size. He couldn’t move, why the fuck couldn’t he move? He hadn’t even dropped the phone yet, the fear of facing this alone keeping the device pressed firmly to his ear. Then again, it didn’t matter if he was dreaming, but —

The monster lurched out of the alley, beak open and the writhing mass in its throat unfurling and reaching for him. Arms. It was arms, with hands and fingers that clutched at his clothing as the monster pressed itself closer. On the off chance that this was real, he at least wanted Caleb to be able to find his body. If this thing didn’t fucking eat him, that is. “Preacher and Kingspine,” he hissed into the receiver, hoping that the nearby intersection would be enough to go off of and finally releasing his grip on the phone, letting it clatter to the pavement. The monster was upon him, and he could feel the slick, slimy grip of those hands as they wrestled for control over him. His eyes squinted closed and he willed himself to wake up, or at least shift so he could give this thing a run for its money. But neither of those things was happening, and instead he was left feeling far too human and vulnerable, and it wrenched a terrified scream from him as the demonic bird sank its talons into his flesh and started to flap those massive wings in an attempt to fly away with him.

—

“Okay, yea, you should turn around.” Caleb was already out of his bed, moving towards the kitchen to grab the keys to his truck. This wasn’t good. He’d never heard fear like this in Wyatt’s voice, hell he wasn’t even sure he’d ever heard fear in Wyatt’s voice before. His feet stopped moving with the words, eyes widening once he realized what was going on. “Wyatt, listen to me, it’s real. Whatever it is, it’s real and I need you to shift so you can fight it. Please shift!” But he was only met with heavy breathing on the other end of the line. For a few terrifying seconds Caleb waited to hear the growl of the gator or even the sounds of a fight being had in the background but all that came was the name of an intersection.

His truck was tearing out of his driveway only moments later, trusty shovel in the back with a few other things he just barely managed to grab. There was no telling what he was about to go up against but he was certain that he needed something or his ass would be handed to him, zombie or not. 

The truck skidded to a stop as soon as Caleb saw the right intersection, his eyes scanning the area. It really was too dark, too empty. He got out, trying to keep an eye out for whatever could have been behind Wyatt’s panic while pulling his phone out and dialing the man’s number. “C’mon, Wyatt, where are you?” Careful not to be too loud in case whatever monster this turned out to be was still out there, he grabbed the first thing his fingers brushed over in the back of his truck; the shovel that he was suddenly glad he had the brain power to grab. 

“Wyatt!” He raised his voice that time, the faint sound of his phone ringing cutting off as the voicemail picked up. It had to be close if Caleb could hear it but nothing was in his line of his sight until his foot stepped on a hard mound on the ground. Wyatt’s phone was sitting face up on the pavement under his foot and the sight of it sent a sharp current of fear through him again. “Wyatt!” The name tore through the darkness, eliciting some sort of shriek coming from the opposite way that Caleb had manically driven. 

Well, that wasn’t good.

But it didn’t stop him from moving towards it. His feet carried him towards the next street, Caleb only stopping to do a double take when he spotted something moving down an alleyway. It turned at the sound of his footsteps, causing that fear to grip the inside of his chest again. “Holy shit…” No wonder the other man was terrified. Of course it had to be a bird thing but more than that it looked…and felt a little familiar. It was like there was some sort of magnetic pull towards it even with the many arms contorting out of its beak and the clear way that thing wasn’t at all friendly. Despite that pull he took off running towards the screech he’d just heard, hoping that the other thing was not following him. 

—

The terror was overpowering. This was exactly like one of his nightmares: a feathered beast of a bird coming to tear him apart, puppeteered by that fucking mare. Teeth and talons and sharp, gnawed-on fingernails grasping at him and digging into his skin, drawing blood that ran in small streams down his arms. But it hurt. Usually, the dreams didn't hurt. If they did, it was only for a moment before he would wake in a panic, but he wasn't waking up now. He couldn't. Was this her again? Was she somehow able to shift her form? Was she able to make it hurt, and she'd only been holding back before? Was this retribution? 

He felt his feet leave the ground, the heavy wing beats of the creature drowning out every other sound. His panic rose, hands grasping at the bird's throat. Fingers that were too human disappeared beneath the thick coat of feathers, but they were coarse and wet. Slicked with something that felt sludgy against his palms as he searched for the beast's airway. Talons dug deeper into his shoulder, the other foot releasing its grip as the thing let out a loud shriek. It reached for Wyatt again, this time snatching him up by the thigh, burying its claws in deep. The shifter dangled from its grip at an awkward angle, twisting and writhing violently as they gained altitude. Giving up on reaching its throat, Wyatt instead went after one of the arms that spilled from its beak, immediately losing his grip as his hands slipped right over its wrist. With a terrified and frustrated yowl, the lamia tried again, trying to dig in with his own nails, begging himself to shift. Still fucking nothing. His anger was growing to mix with the fear, but he managed to hold on, and with every ounce of strength he had, he yanked down hard. 

The arm ripped free from the monster's throat and it screeched again, releasing Wyatt and letting him drop to the ground. As he fell, he realized that this could kill him. He was high enough that odds were, it was going to shatter something important. 

Finally, his body responded to his commands. Just before he hit the ground, skin turned to scales. It was still a sickening crunch that resonated through the air as he collided with the cobblestone of the footpath that cut from one street to the next, and the lamia was still. His clothing hung loosely around his much larger, natural frame, chest rising and falling as those yellow eyes stared blankly into the sky, breath rattling out from between parted jaws.

The bird creature shrieked a third and final time, then dived toward its fallen prey. Despite now being smaller than the thing it was trying to carry off, the creature continued to attempt to pick Wyatt up off the ground, flapping furiously over the top of him as it struggled to get a grip through his tough scales. The gator didn't even seem to register this, dazed and confused as the world swam around him. 

—

Well, the thing was following him now. He should have seen that coming, right? It was rushing up behind him at full speed when Caleb turned the corner at the end of the street, still following the screeching he was hearing. He almost let whatever this thing was slam into the back of him when he spotted Wyatt up ahead as reptilian and big as ever. Instead of fighting his own bird thing though he was just laying there letting it peck at his tough skin. The zombie didn’t have a lot of time to take in the scene before his own bird used its talons to slam Caleb into the brick wall behind him. The sharp ends were digging into his pale skin, the thing preparing to grab him with all of those extra hands, but the shovel came up and connected with the beak. It lurched sideways, his own yell filling the air as his skin ripped with the movement but he was able to break away from it.

Caleb ran towards Wyatt again. He wasn’t sure if the thing was following behind him or not but his focus was mostly on getting the other bird away from the lamia. The shovel connected again, the bird that was trying to pick Wyatt up screeching while it was knocked away and turned his extra hands towards Caleb. “Wyatt! You’re not asleep, okay? You have to snap out of it!”

One good thing about being wounded? He could feel the extra strength rolling into him. Or was that a bad thing? This meant he needed to eat, the animal brains he’d been living on not doing much for him. It might have been good to be able to get these creatures away from them but so many things could go wrong as well. Two bird creatures now had their focus on him…it was inevitable what was going to happen. But it didn’t have to be bad if he could lead them away from the frozen lamia. At least not bad for Wyatt anyway. All of his extra strength went into his next swing, the shovel connecting with the bird in front of him just before the one behind him wrapped a few of its hands around his shoulders and started to drag him back. Back was good. Back meant getting farther from the other man. 

The one in front recovered quickly, moving toward him. The shovel was swung blindly but the side blade of it sank deep into the bird’s side, tearing its flesh open with another wail filling the air. The bird behind him yanked him back and effectively wrenched the shovel’s handle out of Caleb’s hand with the other end stuck inside of the first creature. So much for getting them both away from the dazed man next to them. Now that the zombie was occupied and weaponless, the bird in front of him was going towards the gator again.  “Wyatt!”

—

The screeches of the creature that was trying to dig its claws into him and lift him back into the air sounded like they were coming from underwater. There was a loud ringing in his head, his whole body aching from the impact. His vision was still blurry, head rocking slowly from side to side as he fought to stay awake — then he heard it. Another voice, one that was screaming his name. Caleb had made it, he’d come. Get up. Wyatt let out a hiss of pain, squinting his eyes shut again when he saw the blurry form of Caleb arrive in his peripheral vision and hit the bird atop him with something hard. 

You’re not asleep! No, probably not. This hurt too much to be a dream, even a nightmare. 

There was more animalistic shrieking, and the sound of Caleb screaming his name again. Wyatt groaned, opening his eyes and deciding that slow, steady movements were not going to be the thing to get him back on his feet again. He thrashed wildly, twisting himself to get his arms and legs back underneath him. A wide, unfocused gaze was set on the creature ambling toward him now with a shovel stuck in its side, and if he hadn’t felt absolutely sick with fear, he might’ve laughed. It came closer, beak open wide so those sharp teeth and arms could get a grip on him once more, but Wyatt was bigger. Stronger. He pushed through the terror that wanted to paralyze him again, knowing that Caleb was in trouble and needed his help. Finding that anger and clinging to it, the lamia ducked his head and leapt forward, barrelling into the bird monster and knocking it to the ground. His head snapped quickly to the side and his jaws came down on the thing’s neck, clamping down with an incredible amount of pressure that locked the monster in place. From there, it was a simple matter of shaking the thing around violently until he heard enough bones snapping that he was satisfied dropping it back to the ground. It did not get up again, and his attention swiveled to the second monster, and Caleb. 

It was trying to drag Caleb away. Take him somewhere. Probably to wherever they’d been trying to take Wyatt. Still panicked, the gator scrambled forward with his heart feeling like it was fit to burst out of his chest. He didn’t want to hurt Caleb, but he needed to keep that thing from getting airborne. With another frightened hiss, the lamia bit at one of the beast’s thin legs, careful to not catch Caleb in his jaws. He pulled them both backward then lowered himself to the cobblestone, wrenching his head back to bring the creature within reach of his clawed hands. He was attempting to slowly drag the smaller monster to him, trying to give Caleb time to get away from it before he would coil himself around it and rake open its belly with his hind claws.

—

There was nothing like seeing him in action. The world started to move in slow motion as Wyatt finally came out of his trance, Caleb watching wide eyed and grinning. He went for the other bird, the zombie transfixed on every movement, pride for Wyatt’s ability to overcome that paralyzing fear swelling. Well, until the bird behind him stuck its beak inside of a wound its talons had already made. The world sped up again, a sharp intake of air filling his dead lungs while the bird tore more of his flesh in an attempt to drag him further away. His elbow shot up and behind him out of instinct, the bone connecting with the beak with more strength than he should have been able to possess. That wasn’t good. 

He didn’t have time to think about it though. He felt his body being pulled back along with the birds, his eyes finding Wyatt while the gator did everything he could not to even graze Caleb with his teeth. He was yanked back again, the bird refusing to let him go even though sharp teeth were now digging into its flesh, but Caleb wrenched his body out of the creature's grasp. It did take a little bit more of his own flesh with it, something that went unnoticed. He couldn’t even feel it now. 

Telling Wyatt to walk away was on the tip of his tongue. The zombie knew he could handle it now and he wanted the other man far away in case he lost control completely but there was something stopping him. Maybe Wyatt needed this. Taking out the birds, knowing he could, that had to be worth something, right? He was actually fighting now instead of giving in to that catatonic state. A choice. A choice seemed like the best way to go. “I can do it if you need me to.” Caleb noticed his voice was raspier than usual, the effort to stay human affecting him more than he realized. He should have thought about bringing a brain. Did these bastards have one?

—

Caleb got away, and Wyatt dragged the creature kicking and screeching toward him, using his own weight to hold it in place, partially smothering it as he climbed on top of it. It couldn’t push him off as it thrashed violently beneath him, trapped while the pair of them exchanged glances and tried to decide who should take care of it. Caleb offered, and Wyatt considered it for a moment. He still felt… wrong. He still wasn’t himself, despite having ragdolled the other bird to death. Normally he’d be excited about such a random, violent encounter — he’d revel in the opportunity to rip something apart, especially if it was to protect someone he cared for. But Caleb had come here to protect him. Caleb had pulled him out of his state of shock, and now Caleb offered to take care of the rest of the problem if Wyatt didn’t feel up to it. 

It was strange, feeling torn like this. Part of him wanted nothing more than to hide. He wanted to get away from these fucking monsters, he wanted to find some place quiet where he could work through this panic attack without having to stare his feathered phobia dead in its beady little fucking eyes. But the other part of him did want to rip it apart, even though it was no longer an immediate threat like the first one had been. He wanted to paint the cobblestones with its blood, he wanted to eviscerate it and prove to himself again that he could fight back. He could and he did. But his heart was beating so fast, so hard, and there was a ringing in his ears that was deafening and persistent. The world felt wrong, it felt foreign and like it might swallow him up at any moment. He might close his eyes and open them again only to find himself in his room, shredding his bedding again. Maybe he’d just gone home after that disaster of an evening with Xóchitl and Mateo. Maybe he’d gotten drunk and passed out so he didn’t have to think about it anymore, and maybe this was his reward. 

Or maybe he was awake, and he could just kill this thing and get some kind of satisfaction out of it. Maybe. 

The bird thrashed harder and screeched louder, and Wyatt’s gaze held Caleb’s for a moment longer before he silently shook his head. His attention fell to the wounds the zombie had sustained, already repairing themselves from that impressive healing ability he possessed. His head turned, looking at the still corpse of the other bird. If Caleb needed food, if any organs would do, there was a pile of them over there just waiting to be sampled. But this… this thing underneath him needed to be destroyed. Quickly. Without putting Caleb in harm’s way again. 

The lamia clung to it, rolling onto his side and bringing his legs up between them while his arms held the creature fast. Its talons scraped uselessly over his scales, cries growing louder and more desperate as Wyatt sank his hind claws into its belly and kicked his feet downward, shredding it from rib cage to pelvis. And once he got going, with nothing else to distract him, he poured his fears out onto the street like the blood that gushed from the creature’s gut. He bit at it, partially out of anger and partially to muffle his own thunderous bellow. He thought of Inge, of the time he’d seen her on the street. He felt now like he had then — he’d wanted so badly to spill her guts onto the sidewalk, but he’d been stopped. His fury and fear had overwhelmed him, and he’d had no place to put it. 

Now he did. Now there was no one to stop him. It was not this creature’s fault that he could not sleep, that he spent his waking hours in a daze, that he so often felt like he was losing his mind, but… but it was, in a way. It was to him. He’d let Inge get away from him a second time, and that failure tormented him more than he cared to admit, so this was his outlet. This was his way of getting back at her, even though it had nothing to do with her. He ripped the beast open like he wanted to rip her open. He tore at its throat, sliced through muscle and tendon with tooth and claw, knowing that it had died long before he had worked out his aggression and not caring. And, when he finally came back to himself, when the panic finally started to abate, he stumbled away from it. Several paces to the west, where he then collapsed, shivering and just trying to focus on the sound of the crickets that followed in the absence of shrieks and snarls and yowls.

—

He saw the subtle shake of Wyatt’s head, understanding what he was trying to say. He would take care of it. Whether that was because he was still trying to protect Caleb or he needed to do it for himself the zombie wasn’t sure but either way he took a step back, his body pressed against the wall behind him, willing to give the other man what he needed. Then he watched Wyatt look towards the corpse of the one he’d already killed and allowed his eyes to follow that gaze. As disgusting as it would be in the long run it was the best option for both of them. Caleb could stick with his current diet while easing the growing need inside of him and at the same time he could keep himself from going after the other man as well. Besides, he was growing less picky by the second.

Still, he found himself staying in place while Wyatt tore into the other bird. Every ounce of anger occupying that man was fueling him, his rage turning this thing into something almost unrecognizable. Caleb couldn’t blame him at all, especially after seeing how paralyzing his fear had been. He’d been told it was bad but it was something else entirely to see it. It made him ache for the lamia. 

As his body healed itself though he knew he had to pull himself away from this scene before he’d lost his mind in the wake of his physical healing. Not as begrudgingly as he wanted to feel, he felt his knees hit the pavement not long after he peeled himself off the wall, his meal half consumed by the time he realized what he was truly doing. He thought human fingers were bad but once the haze in his mind had lifted slightly this had become so much worse. 

By the time his meal was done Wyatt was sitting farther away from the bird creature he’d just completely destroyed, that dazed look a permanent fixture on his face. Sated but not happy with what he’d had to do, he made his way to the other’s side and sank down on the pavement next to him. Caleb wasn’t close enough to touch but not far enough away for them to not feel each other’s presence. He didn’t say anything, there was really nothing to say anyway, but he moved his hand to hover near Wyatt’s claw. There were no words, no, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be there for him in a different way. He would sit there all night with him if that’s what he wanted to do. He would make sure nothing else came their way. He would abandon his truck in the middle of a deserted street. He would endure the silence that had settled between them. Because none of it mattered. The only thing that did was giving Wyatt time to process it all.