#cmm has dead eyes

[ravenadottir]

Yo! I had so many questions I wanted to ask you while you were gone but I of course wasn’t gonna send in asks while you were on hiatus! I wanted you to have peace. But I should have written them down!! 😭

Now I only have this one question. I saw your ask to Mango about Chelsea’s super power and now I want your take on this. Not on Chelsea but an islander or islanders of your choice. What super powers would you give your favorite islanders? They can have more than one power like super heroes do if you feel like it fits.

hi! i missed you!

oh oh oh oh!! anything you remember, send it my way! i need something to help me wake up from this brain coma i've been in. i blame cmm for that...

ok, so i love this question, thank you for sending it to me! i'll definitely focus on a lot of them because well, i love the genre, and i love talking about them 🥺

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lucas

fire. he's able to start it, besides dominating and bending it over to his own will. sometimes uses it for (partial) evil and more. being the anti hero i think he is, i would LOVE to see lucas playing with fire while delivering a speech that instigates the good guy in front of him. in a cool, well cut, all black suit with just one (1) red scarf on the lapel, or his neck, he would look amazing sending blazes everywhere! i even have a song for him: play with fire. aaaah the idea of lucas and fire sends me to heaven, hell, purgatory and back! he can be like tuxedo mask, regarding how he annoys everyone with his smugness.

gary

colossus. strength and possibility of turning into a dense metal at will? gary is perfect for it! he has the body shape and weight, and the skills for the maintenance. picture this: you walk down the hallway to go to the bathroom, only to hear him moaning in there. you're uncomfortable, thinking the worst, only to open the door and see him oiling his joints and almost falling on the floor. "a little help? i can't reach some places..." please, give me metal body gary, it would clear all my trauma! plus, as he is in the villa, he would exercise his comic relief role.

carl

brainiac with technology/time bending. (@lasswithumor's idea for 'time' makes me smile! thank you for the inspo!) not actual brainiac from dc though, let me explain. i always get the sense carl could be tony stark or bruce wayne, minus the assholery. he's much humbler and quiet, but still very capable. as for time bending being his power, it could make him overcome this sense of running out of time he always seems to have. he might have a hardship about it because he never seems to find a balance, so this skill is probably the only thing he could actually be good at, and benefit from.

noah

talking to the dead, like klaus hargreeves. something i would love to see is how tormented he would be while it happens. distressed noah is a beautiful concept, and part of the reason why he would be such a troubled character. picture this: he uses those people to fight in exchange of favors, like finding out who killed them, or to tell their families how peaceful they are now, among other things. noah and ghosts ring different to me, and the thought of him being troubled? even more! not like klaus, but definitely close to that. i love that "short temper" side of him, and in this context, it would be perfect. plus, his looks being similar to something from the 1920's, without the hat. so white shirt, suspenders, dark brown pants. ugh, he would look so good in it!

henrik

vines and plant banding, like layla williams in sky high. there's no other answer for him. i thought about making him avalanche, from x men, but i see him more connected to plants than any other element of nature. the way he would smirk and grow a small vine around his pinky while talking about a brilliant idea he just had? PLEASE. GIVE - IT - TO - ME, I LIVE FOR SMUG HENRIK! and you can be damn sure his looks would include this ponytail, by @juggalohenrik.

kassam

at first i thought invisibility, because of his personality and how he behaves in groups, but then it hit me, supersonic scream. he can take his frustrations out on a single booming scream and be done with it. i would love to see kassam being teased and beat up, only to get up from the ground, scrapes all over, bloody nose, only to position himself and close his fists to focus, before delivering a resounding scream to round it up real nicely. that's definitely a power he would find useful and excels in. the visuals definitely don't hurt either!

bobby

he's a very peculiar boy, and so his powers would have to be too. it might sound crazy, but hear me out! laughter inducement. the power itself can cause the person to laugh so hard, eventually the air is expelled from their lungs and they have quite the death! it's gruesome and i love it, it's the perfect juxtaposition between it and bobby's personality that is so bubbly. picture this: battlefield, gary smugly says "i guess that's the only way you could make someone laugh." to which bobby replies with a laugh "including you, tin can" while making colossus!gary laugh and fall on the floor because of it. it might require lots of energy, so bobby can't always cause mass laughter, just like in the villa... jk jk jk! i just know his uniform would be clown like, before priya adjusted to a beautiful dark teal piece. before that? goofy pink mask and cape with sprinkles, and tights everywhere else. he would also be the type of hero that is a comic relief. ironically, in this case.

lottie

rogue. the power and the visuals fit in so well! sucking up someone's power and/or energy SCREAMS lottie's personality all over! if i could adjust it so the girl doesn't manifest it unless she wants to, that's even better. lottie with dark hair and a streak of platinum, or the opposite, would look another level and i'm here for it! plus, the gloves... AAAAH THE GLOVES. she would smirk before taking them off and turning that grin into a determined smug expression before touching her enemy. PLEASE!

priya

TURNING - PEOPLE - INTO - GOLD. i said what i said. similar to medusa's power of turning people into stone. flowy dresses for the goddess looks, a smirk on her lips while she does it, and golden shiny eyes that glow bright when she throws her gold curse upon her enemy! she's goofy, so you know she has a cheesy catchphrase, but i can't think of anything right now. it's there, i just need to find it.

hope

mind control. CAN I JUST SAY? she practically has that power already. being persuasive and having the power of negotiation the way she already does would fit in perfectly. and if i may add, storm looks like the uniform and the "bright white eyes" while it happens???also! hope as the person who plans the attacks and defense.

marisol

persuasion. similar to allison hargreeves. one word and they will do it. at first i considered super strength, for being so unexpected to someone that petit, but if you account for her personality, persuasion as a super power is so much cooler! plus, she doesn't have to try hard, the seed of argumentation is already there. in her origin story you could have marisol having a moral grey area where she debates whether or not using those powers in court. i would love to see this dilemma and her going through it, since there's a clear distinction in what she considers right and wrong, and the ethically correct options to choose. as looks go, all she needs is a suit, similar to the prom one, and definitely a ponytail and gloves.

ibrahim.

flying and speed. something about rahim screams traditional super hero persona and i can't help but stir into it. he's perfect for the superman alter ego, the one that talks about justice and fights the big guy for the little ones. rahim has a way of going around and making people's lives better, at least that's how i see him. i asked for @itsrealityboo 's approval about this, because you know, she's the authority on golf boy, and she added something really cool that i hadn't thought about: "I will say that I could definitely see Rahim as a part of a team tho, like the fantastic four! I think because of his insecurities, he’s need some type of support system or even older mentor. He’d definitely go through that awkward phase of learning how to manage his powers if he wasn’t born with them lol"

i definitely agree after reading it, it makes so much sense! i don't know if that need comes from being the younger brother, or having those expectations at home (about being suave and all) but that would for sure be a part of his origin story as a superhero.

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in case you missed the asks i sent about superpowers, here is chelsea, by mango, and elisa, by kc

[lovedinapastlife]

Riverdale Reaction - 3x17 - “The Master”

They could’ve renamed this episode “The Snacks” and it’d be pretty damn accurate

The Serpents are slithering in the name of justice and laser pointers! I’m already 10/10 all in

No necklace on V! Is that growth? Can Betty get her a BFF chain thing? Like a heart with two halves and they each wear them? Ohhhh look at my scheming girls.

HA! The Serpents pool table replaced the dining room table. I mean, priorities. Really.

There is an obscene amount of orange juice in the Jones house. Commentary on the acidic relationships? Sunny dispositions? Maybe not. The photos on the fridge have changed and transferred! Woo! OH NO SHE DID NOT grab Jug by his hair and hat. Momma is going down. I’m siccing the girls on her.

Omg Betty’s “ritualistic drowning” line and Veronica’s big smile like “That’s my girl” made my heart swell. Love them when they’re fighting evil instead of perpetrating it.

Did Kevin just put “garden” in air quotes? It sounded like he did. They do have a garden. We saw it. Multiple times.

Alice looks good in white. And crazy XD Wear a silky camisole out in the world as a shirt. You do you, girl. I love the orange/red "yeah I used to be a Serpent” outfit from S2 and hope that comes back at some point.

Why do they choose the creepiest area of Mercy to do interviews? I enjoyed it, weirdly enough. Made their facial expressions reminisce of unimpressed teens sitting in on a scary story. Also, I love how it’s just a check mark box of YES or NO on whatever’s on the sheet and Evelyn didn’t bother marking the last one.

Hermione, the whiney ex-wifey. What was she gonna do if Hiram actually stayed down during those 2 murder attempts? Girl, all you had to do was hold those tubes of oxygen and he’d be taking a dirt nap

Archie’s face as he makes a healthy shake while Jughead noms on chips made me laugh. Classic. Also, any time Archie eats something unhealthy he looks anxious like it will immediately deflate his abs. The prison storyline is silly. Still. Am I the only one who’s still confused by Mad Dog’s status?

The Varchie scene. Sigh. Sometimes I want to bite Archie’s nose because I’m not passionate enough to slap him but I’m frustrated enough I wanna leave a pointy little imprint for a minute. “You worked so hard…before…” Oh like Mary, Sierra, and Betty did as well when you were in trial? And yes, Veronica worked her butt off too and made CUPCAKES for your return! THE CUPCAKES! I’m still upset about it.

“Yes, they wear white after Labor Day…” Is it intentional that Cheryl’s wearing white in this scene? Foreshadowing? Love the little detail on her sweater and Betty’s red sweater as if she’s an ally for the Blossoms.

Ok I’m loving the over-the-top nonsense of Jughead with a switchblade demanding they look for gargoyles on telephone poles and confiscate “gaming equipment.” The Serpents oughtta get a PS4 or something. I love Deputy!Serpents. SOMEONE has to actually do some investigating in this town. And ass-kicking? And pin-pushing? Hilariously enough. Did anyone else notice Jughead thanked a kid named “Jason” on the walkie? Is there a Serpent without a stupid nickname? Or is that a codename?! So many questions.

Ha! FP is mad the Serpents “ruined” his bust. Like, sorry for doing your job before you, sir.

BETTY SNOOPER! What a nickname. Love you, girl.

ELUCIDATE THAT. Damn, sir. You know how to use that vocabulary. I never had an affinity CMM as a teen but he’s got some vibes I’m digging. Like the colorful candles intermixed with the regular ones.

I love how Elio shows up in a full suit to antagonize men he doesn’t know and walks away after it appears Archie is more interested in Fight Club Light

Ok Cheryl has a daddy kink. I know she’s a canon lesbian but canon also has her very interested in the DILFs as eye-candy. Ooooh I cringed when she called him “Eddie.”

I had to rewatch the Archie and Juvie Crew Pop’s scene to get the significance of the guy saying “If I never ate anything but these burgers again, I’d die happy.” WHELP! Good news, person I presume is “Baby Teeth!”

People are terrible at assassination in Riverdale. Why send her a fish? That’s a decent dinner if she could cook. Which I somehow doubt, despite her waitressing at Pop’s. Now her apartment smells.

Betty stands alone in a sea of psychos

Oh my god Hiram’s little SPOOOON! He’s just trying to eat his tiny snacks in peace. He is so done with being accused of everything XD Honestly, he’s probably as sick of his storylines as we are. Also, is that a man with the Olympic torch on the left? Is that gonna be his S4 storyline? Hiram goes for Gold?

Uuuugh I know it was a useless but cute scene and Bughead are so soft I wanna cry. They’re glowing.

Are there ribbon-cutting ceremonies for prisons? Only in Riverdale, I guess.

Maybe there’s a good reason Betty didn’t ask Archie to be her mole at the Farm. He’d definitely join them or just break stuff with his new boxing crew and be like, “LOOK, BETTY! I DID WHAT YOU ASKED :D”

So the juvie guys know the same Serpent deputy secret signals, huh? This sequence is so Riverdale. And Jughead takes NO ONE up with him except Mr. Crowbar? Look at this crazy fight sequence. Good thing the Gargoyles choose to wear masks that limit their vision or our boys may have been in trouble. Because in this DARK SHOW with 99% leather and jeans on boys, how would they know who was who otherwise?

Omg Rhino!Archie is on the loose! I have mixed feelings about the raid sequence.

The ascending window-escape wasn’t really a build-up? They needed some creepy dialogue or something more than that one line. That fall looked pretty painful though? At least he didn’t snag the beanie on a stray plank.

Ok this show doesn’t get how marriage and annulment works. But that’s okay. Hiram can be like Henry VIII and make his own rules. It’s Riverdale.

VERONICA! You schemey schemer! I’d clutch my pearls if we still had any!

Okay does Gladys genuinely not care if Jughead gets shot? Like, she doesn’t actively want to murder him but she’d be fine if he was gone? Because that SUCKS. And giving the Gargoyles guns, she knew that was a possibility. Okay, lady. Game on. Jug should tell his dad. Oh man. My heart.

Betty, my precious snoopy angel! Find Edgar’s tapes and Evelyn’s if you can!

“Like a seance?” anyone else having flashbacks to Jason’s wake and Betty and Juggie bein’ cute lil detectives? Cheryl…oh Cheryl. You saw Jason move on. CARRY ON MY WAYWARD BLOSSOM~ Also, I know the Toni breakup thing was a ruse, but uh…where is she? Just pretending to be broken up with Cheryl? Not caring that she’s in a cult? Alrighty then.

I wonder if Archie or Hiram kept the random trophies in the gym. Again, I’m gonna randomly say that’s gonna be a future season storyline. Forget state champs, these teens wanna get to the Olympics, only to be undermined by their jealous parents!

Okay Betty in a scooped/V-neck? Nice. Also, it looks like Alice is wearing a sheep pin which makes me laugh and also die a little inside.

Alice. You have a daughter. Two, in fact. Neither of whom you have a good experience with because you’re a crap mom, so of course the imaginary dead son is your favorite.

Betty vs. Evernevers! Hell yes! Can we have V join Team Betty more actively as a badass and ignore the speakeasy/divorce stuff in favor of righteous awesome? ‘K thanks!

The Baby Teeth stuff was gross. No thanks. Next.

[schlemptime]

Lily pad eyes (2018)

Warm sunlight struck my bare chest as soon as I got rid of my shirt. I struggled with the stringy straps, getting caught around my neck some. But I had never been outside topless before, outside at least. other than as a kid. I guess it felt the same as being clothed, just without the way bodies carry garments. as if it is heavy. I did not think a shirt could be so heavy until I took it off.

Our bikes were deserted in the corner of my eye as I kicked off my sneakers. And slid off my pants. We dropped them there as soon as we found the clearing. The bikes were natural there, undertaken to become part of the grass and brush and weeds that draped over the wheels. I swore enough time had passed to rust the gears, overgrow them.

I undressed too fast. Rev was just getting to his belt.

I turned to the right and squinted into the sun. Spots of light buzzed around all the corners of my eyesight until everything was so, so white that I was okay with going blind.

“You’ll go blind,” Rev said. I looked over my shoulder at him, glaring. “You know, if you look at the sun too long.” I rolled my eyes. He shrugged his shoulders and removed his pants.

“Wow,” I said. Rev stood all casual, all serious in Iron Man boxers. The super-suit’s chest piece was printed right over where his dick was. Suddenly, I felt that giggle worm out of my body, one of those stomachy laughs that run loose in my body. “Wow! wow. I don’t even know what to say about that, I—”

“Please, just,” Rev giggled, “do me the favor of not saying anything.” So I didn’t. For a long time. It wasn’t like he made me mad or there wasn’t anything to say; there was plenty to talk about. The nature just said everything for us.

There was something godly about the world around me that I couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe it was the fact that it was godly. But it’s impossible to put my finger on god, to touch god. Leaves blockaded any of the sky building a dome around us, resting on our heads like a tiara. The tree limbs grew farther above in real time, and everything was sparkly from the rain that morning. The saturated greenery was beautiful to a point of overwhelming. Underneath my bare feet, the ground pushed back at my soles to help me walk.

Rev motioned me towards the water with his chin in the way guys do. I turned to face the water. The tall marsh grass lining the baby pond was just so green that I nearly cried. Each blade was so individual and separated, that when they rippled in the breeze I kept thinking they were alive. And the water was asleep, black and motionless. It looked as though it would open its mouth and eat me whole.

The grass pushed me forward, and I closed the gap between me and the pond. Trying to tip-toe over the marsh, I toppled over on the slippery bottom. I hit the water without realizing, already a bit above ankle deep. cmm,mvdvvvvvvvdouaeroigjaI! Bottom of the pond was marsh-grassy or a basket or nest of sorts. I was an egg.

But it wasn’t deep at all, so I sat up as fast as I had hit the water. It was a baptism.

“You good, Joe?” Rev asked as he offered his hand. I laughed it off. “How deep?”

I stood up with my arms reaching out, the water reaching right above my waist. “Like, four feet,” I replied. He stepped right through the grass and winced when his foot touched the bottom. Water trickled from the tips of my hair onto my shoulders in inky, black orbs.

“It’s so much warmer than I thought it’d be,” Rev said. I hummed in response; we were doing that thing where we weren’t looking at each other in the face, because we were half naked.

“I just wanted to let you know that, like, I don’t like you in a crush way,” I blurted out. It was stupid to even think to say that. The embarrassment made me cold.

He laughed, “yeah, I know. And I don’t like you in general.”

“Ha, ha. Smart-ass.”

We finally made eye contact. Thank god.

Something swam over my feet.

“What the fuck?!” I screamed, jumping back. My feet landed on a fleshy mass. It jerked underneath my weight until it threw me off balance and I stumbled onto the grassy shore. Black ripples tore across the surface like waves, even for such a small struggle. Rev made his way to me through the water walking on tight rope along the edge.

“What the hell was that?” he asked, wading through the lily pads.

“Probably just a fish, but it was, like, huge.”

We stared out at the cloudy water as if it was far away. Every drop of water that ran down my body felt like hot sweat compared to the late-year air, and Rev sat down in the shallow, his legs outstretched and diving into the cloudy deep. Tadpoles bit at his toes.

Rev’s leg twitched. “Fuckin’ fish touched me, too, Joe!”

“I think it’s swarmed with those nasties.”

“Wanna get out of here?”

“Not really. I don’t know why I freaked out so much,” I laughed.

“Okay.” He laid out onto the muddy grass. “I’m glowing like a vampire,” he said. Droplets of water that laid on his pale chest made him slimmer, and some drops veered and slid off his stomach when he breathed in. One of the fish made a splash on the other side of the pond. We watched as another splash was made, this time closer to the middle. And then another, a few feet away from Rev’s toes.

“Wanna go smoke?” I asked him.

“God, of course.” Reaching out his arms, I pulled him up to his feet.

“I’ll get my bag,” I mumbled, and we danced to the bikes and grabbed my mini backpack. I pulled my shirt back over my head. it stuck to patches of wet skin. Rev laid on the grass, lounging on his side, and I slid down a weak tree that had all its bark rubbed off. maybe from kids before me who slumped against it.

And suddenly, from the middle of the pond, the water erupted as if a man had cannonballed into it just as I lit the lighter. Waves trampled the marsh grass and even almost reached us. We were at the ocean.

“Big fish?”  Rev asked, staring at the water behind him. I grimaced and lit up again.

“Big deal,” I responded tightly, a joint wedged between my lips. It was a big deal. The pond terrorized me. or its contents did. The bare tree rubbed against my back and felt slick from nervous sweat. But nothing else was said about it, and Rev and I spiraled smoke up to the crown of leaves where it dissipated.

We lounged sprawled out under the summer sun until the pond suddenly seemed alluring again. Our bodies were layered in sweat like it was a sweater. I didn’t bother undressing this time before we wandered over, wading into it less cautiously than earlier. After diving underneath to soak myself, I floated on top of the inky surface. Ears under the surface, everything sounded muffled. like I was underground. I closed my eyes and imagined sinking but in a good way.

I lurched out of the water, something wrapping around my entire ankle. Underwater I tried to shake it off, but when I realized that was useless, I battled to pull it out of the water. It was a hand, Rev’s hand, knuckles red and skin white shooting out of the black, all I could see of him.

“REV!” I screamed, taking a hold of his wrist to haul him out of the water.

He responded by grasping me back, but I never saw further than his elbow before whatever was tugging him pulled me in, too. I shot under into the black headfirst, entangling in fish and marsh grass and what I stepped on earlier in the pond. the same thick, warm body.

I hated the slickness of the giant fish or snake or man, the way it encircled our bodies. wound tighter. And so I hated when I wormed one arm above my head and then bit down on the monster. Its skin fell straight off like cooked meat into my mouth and mixed with the cloudy water I began choking. The thing vibrated and unraveled for just enough time to hoist myself and Rev’s limp body out of its constrict.

I began running through the water, tripping over this monster’s legs or tail or whatever it was made of, the water tugged back at me and seemed to deepen the closer I got to shore. The bright forest that I had awed at before melted into overwhelming blotches of color, and the marsh grass become more of a barrier than a gateway to get out. The monster seized my legs and I fell forward, striking my head on the shore. knocked the wind out of me for a second. But I grabbed the marsh grass to drag myself further onto land.

A shadow grew from the pond and kept growing and growing until the trees near our bikes were hiding behind the monster. I momentarily released the grass to push Rev fully out of the water, and the monster quickly flipped me over and slowly encircled me once again. I finally saw its face, as black as the water and slathered in a layer of what resembled almost an embryo. It had no limbs like a snake and the snout of an alligator, but three large breasts lined vertically on its chest. As it lowered me under the surface, I stared directly into its lily pad eyes, with lilies as pupils. but I think maybe that only covered his real eyes. I didn’t want to see those. And then I saw nothing, dipped into the ink like a fountain pen. I wondered what it would write with me.

until I envisioned Rev marooned on the shore, out of breath and dead.

I woke up a little later I guess. I sat up and rested on my elbows on the shore of a clear pond with a grassy bottom. It was cold like mountain water, and I was getting sunburnt.

A loud smell made me turn my head, and I saw Rev with a red, soggy, puffy face behind a facade of smoke. He coughed and cried simultaneously. I got on my knees and shuffled over, leaned back on the barkless tree and Rev’s shoulder. He passed his joint.

“Never going fishing there,” he said. I laughed once and then pulled my shirt over my head. My stomach bulged over my panty line and my breasts laid flat and sagged on my chest. But it was comfy to not be dead. Imagine the cramp from sleeping on your back so long.

I kept dozing off in the lowering sun, but the time and our physical conditions pointed to heading home. So I stood up expecting Rev to follow (he did), and we pulled ourselves onto our bikes and rode home. The trip seemed to take forever, but the sun had only just set once we got to Rev’s little house on the outskirts of town.

“Can I bum a cig?” I asked him as he jumped off his bike.

“Sure thang.” He reached into his shirt pocket and opened the box. There was one left. “Dude, I can’t believe we went through this whole pack today. This? was full when we left class.”

I laughed too hard and then plucked the last cigarette like a flower. When I lit it, the orange warmth of the flame echoed into the now darkness.