#how there exists a world in which he DOESN'T alienate her and she doesn't try to kill him

[yansurnummu]

The Origins of Arcanist Drals

“Are you happy, Dralvayn?”

What an inane, trifling, irrelevant question. Happy. Why would he be happy? What did it matter if he was happy? His happiness had nothing to do with anything.

Dralvayn grimaced, carelessly tossing the book he had been trying to read to the side of his desk. The sound echoed sharply around the now-empty study of his fungal tower.

It wasn’t as if she cared, anyhow; she was merely making petty remarks at the expense of his misery in order to cope with her own emotional poverty.

He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. He was fearful, after everything, that his mother may have been correct – romance among Telvanni mages was ill-advised at the best of times. Shelreni was becoming increasingly more difficult to work with, nevermind the more private aspects (or lack thereof) of their relationship.

A frown fell over his face as he picked up his spell tome. Black leather and silver. It was an old thing; a gift from her, long ago, when their love was young and naive. When still there was love to speak of.

They had studied together as young apprentices. They had laughed together. Conspired together. Clawed their way up together. She was ambitious, forceful, insatiable in her hunger for power, and he became swept along in her wake. Holding the spell tome in his hands, it felt so far away now.

He supposed, at first, it was perhaps her ambition that attracted him. Now, however, she was becoming a liability.

Behind him, he felt the hum and flutter of displaced air characteristic of levitation. He could only sigh, still riding the irritation of their last argument.

“Not now, dear, I’m working—”

Flash. 

Burning, scorching, searing pain. 

Black. Falling. Dead?

Petrichor. Parchment. Not falling, but floating. Dead?

Sea. Not water, thicker than water. Need to breathe. Not dead, very much not dead.

Gasping for breath as he dragged his body to what felt like a shore, panic and survival instinct taking over. 

For a moment, he could only lie there blindly and catch his breath, vaguely aware of viscous mud beneath him and the damnable spell tome still in his grasp. Now afforded a moment to process, the pain across half of his body and face finally began to register.

He soon devolved into cursing, hauling himself into sitting, throwing obscenities into the air around him. He was no longer in his tower, he knew, or surely she would have finished the damned job.

What in Oblivion just happened? Where was he? Where was Shelreni?

Frustrated, he wiped sticky black liquid away from his face. Only one eye could be commanded to open, as he looked up and saw a thousand more staring back at him, his field of vision a sea of ink and tentacles and sickly green.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!”

[tyrantisterror]

Fuck it, I didn't want to make a post on this but it's bugging the hell out of me so let's exorcize the thought.

Lilo and Stitch is an extremely good children's movie. I've been working at a daycare for over five years now, and out of all the children's movies I've shown to an auidence of twenty or so school-age kids (i.e. between the ages of 5 and 12), the only movie that's held their attention as well as Lilo and Stitch is The Emperor's New Groove, and the only one that's held it better is An American Tail. Of those three, Lilo and Stitch has won the vote of "what movie we will watch" the most. It not only entertains kids, but emotionally captivates them from start to finish, because it very thoroughly understands how to engage children on their level. It's a smart, tightly written children's movie.

The feat of story-telling genius it pulls of lies in its ability to reach both where children's imaginations want to go and where their lived real-world experiences lie - most children's movies focus on one or the other, but Lilo and Stitch dives deep into both. On the imagination side, there's Stitch's whole plotline of being a little alien monster being chased by other weirdo aliens onto earth because they want to stop him from running amok and causing havoc (which, of course, happens anyway in fun cartoony comedy/action spectacle). On the real-world side, you have Lilo's plotline of being a troubled little girl who has an abundance of very real problems that, like an actual child, she struggles to comprehend and deal with, as well as the many adults in her life that care about her to some degree but all struggle to fully understand her. Kids want to be Stitch and run amok and cause cartoony havoc. Kids, even the least-troubled kids, relate to Lilo, because all of them have been in a similar situation as her at least once in their lives.

Balancing these two very different stories, with very different tones and scopes to their respective conflicts, is a hard writing task, but Lilo and Stitch manages to do it in a way that seems effortless with one very powerful trick. The two plots are direct mirrors to each other, complete with the characters involved in each having foils in the respective plot. To break it down:

Stitch, the wild and destructive alien gremlin who everyone has labeled as a crime against existence, is Lilo, the troubled young girl who's viewed as a "problem child" by all the adults in her life. In both plotlines, Stitch and Lilo are facing the threat of being "taken away" from the life they know because they act out, and in both plotlines, we see that this is an unfathomably cruel thing to do to them and will not actually solve the problems they have.

Dr. Jumbaa, the mad scientist who made Stitch because making monsters is what mad scientists do, and who had no intentions of ever being nurturing or parental to anything or anyone in his life, is Nani, Lilo's older sister whose parents died when she was young and now is forced to act as a parental substitute despite not being mentally or emotionally prepared for that responsibility yet. Both Dr. Jumbaa and Nani are trying to get their respective wild children in line with what society wants them to be, and both are struggling hard with it because they in turn have a lot of growing to do before they can actually accomplish that.

Pleakley, the nebbish alien bureaucrat who ends up being assigned to help Dr. Jumbaa despite being mostly uninvolved in creating the whole Stitch situation, is David, the nice but mostly ineffectual guy who's crushing on Nani and wants to help her but doesn't really have much he can provide except emotional support. Ultimately Pleakley and David prove that said emotional support is a lot more helpful than it seems on the surface, as they give Jumbaa and Nani respectively a lot of the pushes they need to become better in their parental roles.

The Grand Councilwoman, who runs the society of aliens that is trying to banish Stitch forever for his crime of existing, is Cobra Bubbles, the Child Protective Services agent who is in charge of deciding whether or not Lilo needs to be taken away from her home forever for, ostensibly, her own good. Both are well-intentioned and stern, with a desire to follow the rules of society and do what procedure says is the most humane thing to do in this situation, but both lack the understanding of Stitch/Lilo's situation to actually help until the end of the movie.

Finally, we have Captain Gantu, the enforcer of the Galactic Council who is a mean, aggressive, sadistic brute but is viewed as a "good guy" by society because he plays by its rules (well, when he knows can't get away with breaking them, anyway), who is the counterpart of Myrtle, the mean, aggressive, sadistic schoolyard bully who is viewed as a "good kid" by other adults because she plays by the rules they established (well, when she knows she can't get away with breaking them, anyway). Both Gantu and Myrtle are, in truth, much nastier in temperament than Stitch and Lilo, but are better at hiding it in front of others and so get away with it, and often make Stitch and Lilo look worse in the eyes of others by provoking them to violence and then playing the victim about it - in fact, both even have the same line, "Does this look infected to you?", which they say after goading their respective wild-child victims into biting them.

The symmetry of these two plotlines allows them to actually feed into each other and build each other up instead of fighting each other for screentime. The fantastical nature of Stitch's plot adds whimsy to the far more realistic problems that Lilo faces so they don't get too heavy for the children in the audience, while the very real struggles of Lilo in her plotline bleed over into Stitch's plot and make both very emotionally poignant. When both plotlines hit their shared climax, they reach children on a emotional level few other movies can match - the terror of Lilo being taken away from her family, and the emotional complexity of that problem (Cobra Bubbles pointing to Lilo's ruined house and shouting at Nani, "IS THIS WHAT LILO NEEDS?" is so starkly real and heart-breaking), is matched and echoed in the visual splendor and mania of the spectacular no-way-this-is-going-to-work chase scene where Stitch, Nani, Jumbaa, and Pleakley all team up to rescue Lilo from Gantu.

The arcs of the characters all more or less line up. Nani confronts her own failures to be a guardian and parent to Lilo and resolves to do better and learn from her mistakes. Jumbaa, who through most of the movie protests to be evil and uncaring, nonetheless comes to not only care for Pleakley, but more importantly for Stitch too, and ends up assuming the role he never wanted but nonetheless forced himself into from the start: he is Stitch's family. Hell, the moment that reveals this is really clever - Stitch goes out into the wilderness to try and re-enact a scene from a storybook of The Ugly Duckling, hoping, in a very childish way, that his family will show up and love him. Jumbaa arrives and, coldly but not particularly cruelly, tells Stitch that he has no family - that Stitch wasn't born, but created in a lab by Jumbaa himself. But in that moment Jumbaa is proving himself wrong - because Stitch's creator, his parent, DID show up, and did exactly what happens in the story by telling Stitch the truth of what he is. It can't be a surprise, then, that later in the movie Jumbaa ends up deciding to side with Stitch, to help him save Lilo, and to stay on Earth with his child.

David and Pleakley go from being pushed away by Nani and Jumbaa respectively to essentially becoming their partners in the family. The Grand Councilwoman and Cobra Bubbles finally see how cruel their initial solution of isolating Stitch and Lilo from their family would be, and bend the rules they are supposed to enforce to protect and support this weird found family instead of breaking it apart. Gantu and Myrtle are recognized for the assholes they are and face comeuppance in the form of comedic slapstick pratfalls. And most importantly, Stitch and Lilo both get the emotional support and understanding they need to thrive and live happy lives as children should be allowed to do. It's like poetry, it rhymes.

It's a very precise, smartly written movie. It's a delicate balancing act of tone and emotions, with a very strong theme about the need for family and understanding that hits children in their hearts and imaginations. It's extremely well structured.

...

So it'd be kind of colossally fucking stupid to remake it and start fucking around with the core structure of it, chopping out pieces and completely altering others, with no real purpose beyond "Well, the executives thought it might be better if we did this."

[atrophiedemotion]

escapism vs reality in alien stage

in this post (elaborated greatly by geo's tags as well) i mentioned a big sua/till parallel i noticed (but didn't go into much detail because i didn't want to derail the post lol), and i wanted to go into more detail on that and the overall reality vs fantasy theme alnst has going.

sua & till both use their love for mizi as a form of escapism. sua's love for mizi and the weight of her knowledge of their universe causes her to create a safe (fake) bubble for her and mizi to exist in & makes it as perfect as it can be before they're out of time. till uses his love & admiration for mizi as a beacon of hope, as motivation to go on despite how horribly he's treated in day to day life. mizi is the brightness in both of their dull lives.

this view of mizi as a hopeful, optimistic sort-of deity sheds light onto an entire theme of alien stage, escapism vs reality. it also shows that mizi & ivan, in this specific instance, are antitheses of each other.

mizi, as a character, symbolizes hope and escapism. she is the only character out of the main four that didn't understand the exact conditions of their world due to how she was raised. she does not fully grasp how horrifying the alnst universe is until she watches sua die, which is the inciting incident for the entire series. escapism isn't possible anymore, but hope is still there when she gets rescued by hyuna and joins the rebellion.

ivan, on the other hand, literally symbolizes truth and the reality of their world. since he was born he understood the cruelty the segyein are capable of and knows exactly where he stands in the world. he is seen to be fatalistic and even nihilistic. his death, which he sees as an inevitability, is the second inciting incident (the one where everything goes to shit chaos afterward). it is a brutal reminder of the truth of alien stage to both the characters and the audience.

sua & till actively seek out mizi as solace in their pain, and they both actively avoid ivan (in their own ways) and the connections he has to reality.

sua avoids ivan because, well, he's mean to her, but mostly because he's not even trying to be mean, he's just objectively right and she doesn't want to hear it. he is a reminder not only of the cruel world they live in but her own 'twistedness'. he reminds her that she is not solely the fantasy she's created with mizi, but someone with unavoidable knowledge of the inevitable (as well as someone who is willfully keeping this information from an unknowing mizi).

till avoids confronting his feelings for ivan and confronting ivan in general because ivan confuses him. his feelings for ivan aren't cut and dry in the way his feelings for mizi are, because ivan is and always will be tied to pain and suffering for till (their first meeting in the auction shop, their miscommunication/strange relationship, the fact that ivan is the only one who sees him at his most vulnerable, etc). ivan's death forces him to confront these feelings (for ivan & about their world in general) but even then he's repressing them until he physically can't anymore.

mizi is escapism & hope, literally realized because she escapes. ivan is reality & a representation of the fate of alnst contestants, literally realized through his death.

it doesn't end there, though. sua & till are escapists running from reality (with diverging paths that are both narratively important in their own ways), while mizi represents escapism & ivan represents reality. along similar lines, but going a step further, hyuna & luka showcase these exact themes.

hyuna is the legitimate showcase of hope, of freedom. she is a free human (as free as you can get in the alnst universe) and the leader of a human rebellion focused on uprising as a race against the segyein.

luka is the perfect example of compliance within reality. he is now a two time alien stage champion and the definition of a pet, no matter how he actually feels.

hyuna & luka are similar to, but a step beyond, mizi & ivan. mizi symbolizes escapism, but she is faced with reality and must grapple it, while hyuna is freedom personified (albeit with demons of her own). ivan symbolizes reality, but he still yearns for something he thinks he'll never have, while luka completely shuts off those emotions because he knows they will only jeopardize his chances of survival.

the characters of alien stage perfectly embody one of the core themes of alien stage, the discrepancy between fantasy and truth, and the way those can coincide in a world.

[radiance1]

Ghost Prince Danny who has been adopted by Pariah Dark, known tyrant of the Infinite Realms that has hated and tried to wage war with humanity for eons before being put to sleep.

Then, there is Raven. Daughter of Trigon.

Danny was just going through some kind of royalty training, that he didn't want nor cared for, when they dropped a bomb on him.

Apparently, Amity Park and the rest of the world he knew exists in some kind of weird pocket dimension that was surrounded by the Infinity Realms.

It went like this:

Infinite Realms > Unworld > His world > Unworld > Infinite Realms > basically everything else.

Which was pretty shocking information to be told straight up.

Anywho, he then decided to go and visit his father (Pariah Dark not Jack Fenton) because it was a way to get out of his studies, he's very thankful that Clockwork stepped in and allowed him to go.

Only before reversing his clock and changing him into a kid, of course, and Danny was like "Why???" and Clockwork refused to explain further than his signature calm, all-knowing smile.

So, he arrives in the dimension and then decides to withhold his visit for now because he wants to explore. He finds this dimension to be very different to his, there's magic for one thing, superheroes and villains for another, and actual proof of aliens.

Safe to say, he's gonna be withholding that visit for a while to explore and check out the differences.

Then he gets summoned, and uh, he didn't know that could happen but it did. Then some heroes pull up, fight the cultists, and then look at him a bit weirdly because they were expecting the Ghost King aka Pariah Dark.

He's his son.

Which, apparently, makes them even more apprehensive than they were a while ago. Something about being the son of a tyrant who was known for enslaving worlds or whatever.

Then, he meets Raven.

Meeting her was pretty.... awkward? He thinks? Cause it seemed like she wanted to say something but didn't know how to say it?

Then, while he was sitting around (because apparently, he was being kept an eye on by the Teen Titans) by himself just zoning out, she sat down next to him, and started to talk about her own father and how he was also a known tyrant and enslaver of worlds, and she was apparently the key to the destruction of this world and stuff.

But she didn't have to be something like that, that she could choose her own fate and be good, and so could Danny.

Danny, is, well. Stunned. Then started crying.

He then realized that his it's been a while since he blinked, and that's probably why he's crying. But Raven doesn't know that and assumed she caused this and is trying to get him to calm down and Danny is already calm he swears-

Looking like someone under 10 probably didn't help, neither was trying to wipe his tears away and claim that he was fine but hey! He was trying his best alright-

(Meanwhile, the Ghost tyrant and enslaving of worlds in question: Farmer with quite the ghostly (and kingly) secret. Yes this was an au that was mixed in with Farmer Pariah, because I like that au and this hc is one of my favorites for Pariah, along with him having an intense love for horses :D)

[at1nys-blog]

Some stories gets told: The start

Pairing: OPLA!Roronoa Zoro x reader

Summary: After the duel with Mihawk, reader can't seem to leave Zoro's side while he is fighting between staying alive and reaching for an old friend

A/N: the way I am putting so much efforts in this is crazy, literally watching scenes in loop to understand how to add things and if they actually work in the original setting of the live action. I mentioned de@th a couple of times but briefly considering how long this is getting. Created a new village on Gecko Island for the sake of this ff Miro Village does not exists in the world of one piece, if it does I'm a lucky mf lol.

Pt.1\Masterlist\\Pt.2

If three days ago people would have told her she was going to fight Kalahadore and his minions, she would have laughed at her faces; if three days ago people would have told her she was going to enjoy a trio of wanna be pirates she would have laughed it off saying that the only crew she was going to join was the same as Yasopp's; if three days ago people would have told her that she was going to face one of her greatest fears, she would have joked about it, but there she was after a fight with Kaya's butler in the company of three wanna be pirates.

The bar was filled with pirates and some Marines, or so she thought. Her blurry vision was not of help, everyone dressed in blue or white, or white and blue, was a possible enemy that was waiting for the right time to strick an attack and bring them back to headquarters.

-...sea slug.-she heard the swordsman say, confused to why he was talking about sea slug, which, by the way, she thought were very cute, she asked for some explanations. Nami only pointed at Usopp, dancing with his usual grace and talent, if that could even be called grace or talent.

-Look at him. Like he doesn't have a care in the world.- the orange haired girl stated, she wanted to replay, to say that in reality Usopp was just putting on a facade, but who was she to spill secrets that were not of her owns? No one, so she just kept quite and went back to her drink. A not well made one on her humble opinion, but at least she was able to drink and have fun.

The girl, once again that night, went back into her own thoughts forgetting she was in company but even if she wanted to have a conversation with the two in her heart she knew it wasn't a good idea. Not when drunk and knowing such state meant spilling everything that was on her mind.

-..you drink.- that was the key word that got her attention, if drinking was in the equation she wanted to be part of whatever they were doing. -You guess something about me, I drink.- he said pouring some of the rum in three little glasses.

-uuhhh I want to play.-

-Not now.-they both said in unison.

-First round is between me and the thief.- Zoro said not taking his eyes off of Nami which smirked at the boy.

If her attention was on Usopp and having her drink, now it was on her two new friends having a drinking game.

-I bet yu grew up in a big city, running schemes, hanging out in swanky bars like this one.-Zoro was the first one to try and guess under Nami advice, she gave him a second smirk. Y/N imagines the swordsman got it wrong from how the girl next to her reacted. And she was right.

-You might be thirsty.-Nami said. -I grew up in a small village. Barely a village. Just an handful of houses in the center of a tangerine grove.- Y/N started to picture how beautiful that might have been, that once again her mind alienated her from the conversation.

Y/N didn't know how long she was gone in her little world, but when she was back to reality second round was on, and this time she wanted to partecipate, but aparently the universe didn't want her to play that Usopp came back at the table with "his new best friend" or whatever.

-What did you say your name was again?-he asked sitting next to Nami.

-Which one of you is Monkey D. Luffy?-Y/N noticed Nami trying to get some informations out of the new nameless guy, asking who wanted to know such a question.

-You are Dracule Mihawk.- the name didn't ring any bell to Y/N, she had never heard that name, or at least while she was intoxicated from all the alcohol she had, the name was completely new to her ears.

-I have business with your captain. If you know what's good for you, you'll hand him over.- she noticed the man didn't like to beat around the bush, he just wanted to get to Luffy.

-We don't know anyone named Luffy. Right, guys?- Y/N looked at Nami confused.

-What do you mean we don't know him? He came here with us.- she turned to the elegant dressed man and told him that Monkey D. Luffy was somewhere around the Baratie but she didn't know exactly where.

-You are unbeliavable.-

-What? Is true he was with us and now he is not.- she defended herself, the two of them started to bicker: Nami trying to explain to her friend why she was supposed to lie, but their attention was back at Zoro when they hard him saying Mihawk, was it Mihawk?, she didn't care much, what she cared about was why for the East Blue did he say that the man was going to die the very next day.

In that moment Y/N was sober in an instant, her brain was back to function normally and so her body. She moved forward, motion followed by the girl next to her, she wanted to understand fully what was happening, maybe she heard wrong. Maybe Zoro was just playing around but even if she had known the man for less than a week she could tell he never joked, at least not about somo random guy dying.

-I, Roronoa Zoro, challenge you to a duel to the death.-

-To the what now?- she said as a reflex, it was not like she meant to say out loud but it happens and the fact that Mihawk was staring at her was not helping her nervouness to settle down. The man turned back almost immediatly letting the green haired swordsman know he never heard of him, implying how small of a fly he was in his eyes.

-They call me the Demon Pirate Hunter. But my lifelong dream it to best you in single combat and become the greatest swordsman in the world.- now that is a great dream compared to hers, that just wanted to live numerous adventures and write about them.

Y/N started to second guess if starting such a journey was even worth it, she was surrended by people with amazing dreams, even Usopp had a better dream than hers. She shook the thoughts away, now she had to more important matter to care about.

Once the challenge was accepted and the time was set Mihawk left and she was on her feet in an instant, she tried to say something but the words seemed to be stuck in her throat. She was speechless, Zoro did not just challenged someone that, for what she got from their conversation, is the most powerful and skilled swrodsman out there.

-You just have signed up your death sentence, you idiot.- she said and left to head back to the Going Merry.

Zoro was polishing his swords when Usopp came back with Luffy behind him, Y/N was silently listening to the conversation happening in the room, not really knowing how to handle the situation. Sure wasn't her friend, how could he be after a day they have known each other? But she didn't want him dead already.

Words of the conversation came and didn't so her brain didn't process half of what they had been talking about, she just knew Nami was trying her best to change Zoro's mind.

It was after Luffy and Usopp left the room that Zoro spoke directly to her that night, asking why she was still there.

-The promise.- she had heard that part, his dream was a promise made to someone; he was going to die just for a promise he made in the past. -did you made it to your friend?- he didn't answer but his body language told her everything she wanted to know. -in that case, I hope you are not going to die. Good luck.- she said walking outside ready to go and try to have some good sleep.

Waking up the next morning felt like a task, her head was pouding so much that if she had too many thoughts her head was going to explode in milion pieces for the lack of space. Trying to stand up from her hammock without falling was another task she didn't know how she managed to carry out, her legs feeling like jelly pudding but she managed to stay on her feet and following the boys outside, after wearing a pair of sunglasses.

The duel started and Y/N wanted to go back on the ship. She didn't want to see Zoro lose, she believed Zoro was a strong fighter and very much the most talented swordsman she ever knew but if his opponent had decided to use a tiny sword that looked like more like a knife, there was a high chance his friend was going to die in the worst case scenario.

The first time the weapon inflicted a scar on Zoro, Y/N gasped and hold onto Usopp to not fall butt flat on the ground for the scare it gave her.

-Why don't you retreat?- Mihawk's voice was cold, dry of any type of emotion when he spoke to him.

-I can't.-

-He can't.- a whisper, taken away from the wind in an istant, not Usopp nor Luffy behind her heard what she said and she was glad. She didn't want to explain herself, not right now.

-Or my dream will be lost forever.- and this is when things got for the worse. The swordsman took out Yoru, the sword he carries on his back and there was a fraction of seconds after the collision between the weapons where it felt like time stopped for good. Then the glenging of Zoro's swords hitting the ground broken into pieces. Y/N gasped, holding tighter on her best friend's arm.

The green haired boy sheated his good sword in place, opened his arms to form a T with his whole body. Tension grew in the air, everyone knew what was going to happen.

While the rest of the crew gave a glance towards each other she couldn't. Her eyes, even if weakened by the bright sun rays, couldn't leave the form of the boy that was about to die in a second now.

-ZORO- Luffy was the first to react, in a second the boy with the straw hat was next to his first mate, hoping to not see him dying in his hands. The conversation him and Mihawk had came in and out Y/N ears, she was focused on praying for the boy to not die.

Usopp was next, he run to his friends' side, pulling her with him in the process, she tripped loosing the grip on his best friend and falling on the ground. Nami tried to help her up, asking if she was okay but she was just able to keep silent.

It was just like when she was a kid and her father had died; it was like when she was a little girl and saw his first friend die, it was as if death was following her wherever she was going collecting people she loved one after the other. Her nails became such an important thing to stare at, she couldn't stand the sight of the pirates around Zoro, trying to speak comforting words that he was going to be okay.

He is not going to be okay, she thought, how could he? He had lost already too much blood and the more they were staying there doing nothing the more he was going to be more on the other side.

It was Nami that brought everyone back to reality and started to shout orders left and right. She asked the boys to take Zoro from the arms while she and Y/N would hold him from the legs.

Everything became a race with time, the more they wasted the more likely was for Zoro to die of blood loss. The four of them put him on the table of the kitchen; Usopp started to run around trying to find some towels or everything that could come in handy; Nami checked on the wounds; Luffy started to space out, every type of noise started to fade out and Y/N didn't know what to do, once again in her life she didn't know how to save another life.

-Someone...- the (your hair color) haired girl knew what she had to do, if no one was of any help she had to find someone that could be. She sprinted outside heading back to the resturant, they had to have a doctor or some sort of thing, didn't they? If that was not the case she was just unlucky.

Entering the resturant she clumsly tried to remember where was the kitchen, the place wasn't that big but in her mental state it was going to be hard remembering her own name.

When she found the door she rushed in, getting the chef and waiter's attention. The blond guy smirked, ready to flirt with her but noticing the worried expression on her face he just asked her if everything was fine.

-Nothing is fine.-she catched her breath for a moment. -Zoro got... He has a very pretty bad sword wound we need a doctor.- please tell me there is one on board, please please please. Her eyes were staring at the owner of the establishment and her face dropped when he said that the closest one was two days from there. Just my luck.

-I can't help you. Hope your friend makes it.-

-No, please you have to help us, please. Maybe there is a doctor on...-

-Ehy, where do you think you're going?- she wanted to punch the chef, he was totally ignoring her call of help and cared more where his waiter was going than on the live or death situation she presented him.

-To help her friend.- said Sanji

-Brunch is not gonna prep itself.- he reminded him. She was totally going to punch him if he ignored once again what was happening.

-You always told me to feed anyone who's hungry.- she heard him saying while looking around the room. -I don't see how this is any different.- he added.

The owner of the resturant sighed, realizing that he had no other choice but try and do somethig to help the dying kid.

-Fine. Bring me my kitchen knives and a bottle of our best whiskey. And a fresh yellowtail from the cooler. Bigger the better.-he ordered and started walking outside. Sanji was confused, why would Zeff need a yellowtail? -Just do it already.-

Y/N walked them to the Merry and once she pointed the direction of the kitchen, she let them go in first. She wanted to stay away from there, she didn't want her bad luck to linger over Zeff while he worked on Zoro's wounds.

It had been some time since the two chefs came to stich the swordsman up so when she saw the chef leaving the kitchen she jumped on her feet asking how her friend was doing. Zeff assured her the guy was resting but only time could have told if he was going to live or not.

She walked inside meeting eyes with Usopp, Luffy stop tending on Wado and looked at her, giving the girl a forced smile, and she did the same. She was in no shape for smiling sincerely.

-How is he doing?-her tone was almost inaudible if it wasn't for the lack of noises.

-He is resting now, we are hoping for the best.-Usopp answered, she looked in the direction of Nami's room but then changed her mind. She didn't want for her bad luck to make things worse.

Usopp noticed. He always did. He had know her for a long time now and could read her like an open book. He knew what she had to go through, she had told him, trusting in his vow to not say a thing.

-You can go and talk to him. Maybe he would like to hear from a more gentle voice.- he joked.

-I heard that.- that made her laugh a little and she made a note to herself to thank her best friend for the joke.

-But...-he started again, Y/N stopped him, it was fine. She was going to stay in her room for the time being hoping that everything was going to get better.

-What's up with her?-Asked a worried Sanji looking the girl dissapearing from his view. After she had left the cook tried to get some info out the sniper but the man brushed it off lying that he wished to know as well.

Entering her room she locked herself in, not wanting people in for now, she wished for some alone time.

She went to the little desk and turned on the snail radio searching for a station worth listening to hear. Every station she picked were talking about some piracy activity around the East Blue or the New World, some had music but nothing that was of her taste. Her patience was running short, nothing was good enough, growing impatience she took the snail and throw it away.

The object made a loud noise that had been heard downstairs for sure, but she didn't care. She really didn't. She got herself under the blanket, cold running throught her body even tho the weather was pretty warm.

It took her nothing to fall asleep, and to be surrended by her nightmares coming back to make her sleep difficult. Between the faces that she was used to see screaming at her, putting the blame on her a new was added to the crowd: Zoro's. He wasn't talking like the others, he was silently looking at her dissapointment all over his features. Y/N tried to apologize, but words couldn't come out, they were stuck making her choke on air.

-Z...-nothing, her throat felt dry, like the ground back in Syrup Village during the drought. She felt powerless as usual. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, she wanted to apologize but it was hard when the only thing you can do is breath.

Breating, the only thing she was able to do was to breath but with time she found herself having an hard time doing that as well, dropping on the ground. Tears creeped out her eyes, watering her eye line but she tried her best to fight the urge to cry her eyes out.

She woke up covered in sweat and sighed asking herself when was she going to stop having nightmares or was she going to live like that forever? If that was the case she hoped the sea was going to take her as soon as possible, before she was going to lose her mind.

After a quick shower and a change of outfit she tippy toed outside her room making sure no one was around she headed to check on Zoro. She was happy to see they were alone in that moment.

She closed the door behind her and for a moment she pondered if it was a better idea go back to her room and stay there untill her friends were back, no she decided to keep Zoro company for a while. Maybe she didn't really know what to say, but the words were going to come at some point, wouldn't they?

She moved the chair closer to the bed he was resting on, glanced for a while his hand. Was oaky for her to hold it? Was he going to even feel it? She didn't know what to do, she had found herself in that position countless of times and yet it was just like the first time.

-Zeff told me it is a good idea to talk to you but honestly I don't even know what to say.- she thought she was sounding stupid, who on the seven seas starts a conversation like that? Her for sure. -Usopp hasn't always been my best friend, I had one before I met him. She was older than me, not much older, just two years of diference.- she smiled. -I was new to Miro Village. The first two months she was really mean to me so I would avoid her most of the times, even thought she would find ways to bully me so I gave up. She did everything in her power to make me upset, she blamed everything on me to get me in trouble like that one time she stole an entire cart of fruits and told the major it was my fault. He had to call in my parents, they wanted to talk to my dad about my behaviour but little they know he was dead. He had died some weeks prior I moved there, the journey wasn't that long since I used to live nearby but no one knew, how could they? Is not like I talked about it nor anyone cared to ask why a lonely little girl walked miles to get there, they were just happy there was someone doing the jobs no one wanted. She apologized for how she treated me but to be honest with you it wasn't that important, she was the only one that paid attention to me, yes you might argue it was not the best way but when you are a kid that goes unnoticed you kinda of like it when someone talks to you, even if is just to make fun of you.- she took a deep breath, now it came the hard part. -We started to get closer and closer until one day pirates raided the village, they took her because she was trying to protect little ol' me. They killed her on the spot and I was going to follow her if it wasn't for a random citizen pumbing into the pirate. It gave me the window to run away and I found shelter in Syrup Village where I met Usopp. Sometimes I see her in my dreams, she is always mad at me because I ran away and I didn't help her, sometimes I think back at...-

Someone was on board, she could tell, checking who was she felt safe seeing her captain. Luffy walked past her ignoring her presence, not because he didn't like her, for all the seas if that was the case she couldn't even have thought on putting a single foot on his ship, the captain had to fix the problem first thing first.

-Hey, Zoro. You sure missed a big fight. Those fishman guys were though. You would have loved it.- she smiled, knowing that was 100% so true. -...great dinner. All of us sitting around together, listening to Usopp's stories. Only I kinda messed it up. And now I lost Nami.- schock was painted all over Y/N, what was he talking about? Losing Nami? How? When? Why?

-...but I know what to say now, and is so simple. I need you, Zoro. I need you to wake up.- the girl felt ashemed, she wasn't able to say those simple words, indeed went on about her childhood friend that died to protect her. She was glad that her captain got the courage to say those words.

-You gonna keep talking, or let me get some sleep? Geez, you people really like to talk uhm?- Luffy jumped on top of Zoro, Y/N was only able to stare at the two boys in front of her. He was alive, how? She was pretty sure he was done for. She thanked whoever decided to let him live.

Luffy hugged his first mate, making him groan out of pain.

-Luffy, Luffy get off you are hurting him.- the girl said and before she could help the straw hat pirate down he was already on his feet.

She was now standing next to Luffy, looking at Zoro with a small smile on her face.

-I had the strangest dream that Nami left.-

-She did.-

-What do you mean she did? Why?-

-It's my fault. She left...- he started but Zoro cut him off.

-No, you didn't do anything wrong. You acted like a captain.- Luffy couldn't understand, if he did actually act like a captain, why was the crew falling apart more and more? -No, it's not. I, Roronoa Zoro, vow to stand by your side from now until the end. Until we find the One Piece or die trying.- he kept on with his vow and Y/N could only admire the boy for that. She started thinking if she was in any position to vow eternal loyalty or if her presence on the Going Merry was just temporary, she hoped not for the latter.

-so what do you say?-

-What?-

-Do you want to be part of my crew as a loyal member?-she was taken aback, no one had ever asked for her opinion on important metters, she grew up following orders. If she was told to do something her only concern was to carry on the task, no question asked, but now? Now she was given the chance to choose: eaither stay on board and become a part of the Straw Hat pirates, or leave and starting fresh a new life somewhere else.

-If you accept me, I'll be honored to follow you and protect this crew and the one in needs.-

-Of course I accept you, why would have I asked to join in the first place? Now...- the three of them got interrupted by Usopp screaming and happy to see his friend awake.

-I wasn't worried for a second.-

-Yeah, not worried at all, in fact I was the one...-

-HE IS ALIVE.-he said raising with such force his hand and Zoro's in the process, making the wounded guy groan out of pain.

-LUFFY STOP. - she separeted the two, taking Zoro's hand in hers. -For all the seas, you are going to give him an embaracing death one of those days I am telling you.- she was still holding his hand when the green haired swordsman cleared his throat to get her attention. -Sorry.-

-So, now what we do? Plot a curse to the Grand Line?-

-No, not yet.- was his answer.

-But I thought we were going after the One Piece?-

-We are, but we can't do it without our whole crew.- she smiled, knowing exactly where he was going with that. First mission before heading to the Grand Line: getting Nami back.

-Great, now you two start getting everything ready. I am going to change his bandage.-

-I can do...-the captain started.

-I am not leaving the first mate under your care. You keep treating him like a doll. Now please let get ready to leave.

-I can do it myself.- he groaned trying his best to stand up, but failed.

-dude, you can't even seat without help. Now shut up and let me help you.- he let a small "fine" not sure about the whole situation but it was either that or groaning every two seconds. And as much as his ego screamed at him that it wasn't to be that bad, he gave up and thought that maybe he really needed a little bit of help.

[gotyouanyway]

ok some new episode thoughts now that it's sinking in

belinda is the new love of my life i want to see her on my screen all episode every episode forever

fifteen is definitely now my 2nd favourite new who doctor after eleven. nobody gets to be first until their run is finished tbh but i LOVE him

i really liked belinda not directly questioning the existence of alien robots or anything. the new who universe has shifted a bit away from hard and fast reality lately, and i'm glad we're still sticking with that shift in tone and canon. so some things can largely be taken for granted on modern earth now and we don't have to keep starting at "aliens are real", which is refreshing and interesting. rtd2 earth continues shaping up to be a consistent, just-off-reality world. really feels like living in a story world now, not our own world. not explaining it super well and i have more thoughts on this but later

missbelindachandrabombs made me laugh out loud. such a great stupid bit

absolutely CLASSIC rtd whiff at the end. we're back on the pop culture politics word salad and i'm not even remotely mad, i just think it's funny at this point. it's got a sort of "old guy who doesn't get it but he's trying" charm. bless his heart

ALL THE TIME STUFF!!! WELCOME BACK BLINOVITCH LIMITATION EFFECT WELCOME BACK LAWS OF TIME WELCOME BACK TIME FRACTURES

the scene at the end when the diplomas touched was SOOOO GOOD hellooooo extended dreamy time distortion sequence!! "i just went through your entire life like a bullet" DELICIOUS!!

loving the costume and set designs as well, and the consistency in future robot design, and the camp ai generator design was awesome

i was ready to be deeply in love with sasha 55 i already had a crush i miss her. bring her back rn

i'm lovinggggg belinda and fifteen's relationship and conflict so much already, i love how uncomfortable i felt seeing him launch into his little spiel + how insincere his apology felt when she pushed back. i think they're going to be crazy good together in so many ways and i can't WAIT to see it

mrs. fucking flood

earth blowed up :(

[dark-twist-fairytales]

No, now I'm thinking about Stardust Rhapsody x Once Upon a Witchlight. Feywild shenanigan-ry and all.

I mean, the Rhapsody crew are all alien to the world of Avantris. Both literally and metaphorically. Just them splitting in their groups for survival in the unknown world full of strange creatures, weird sense of time, and odd feelings no one would know?

Anyways, thoughts so far: Pyke and Rett would be unscathed, rushing through the different areas. Something about the feywild is innate to Pyke (being a long descendant (read: elf)) which helps them survive out in the woods. Despite having never been on this plane of existence, Pyke's ability to simply just connect with the world in mysterious ways, plus Rett's intensive survival training from the past, they could make it. Their goal: Find the others, hopefully alive.

Dandy and Chuckles would separate off with each other, having the most trust with each other. Although neither are particularly survivalist, with Dandy's in-tune-ment with nature, they would find ways to survive. But, worse comes to worse, and one night, Dandy powers down. Without Rett around, and Chuckles having no idea about engineering, there's nothing that he can do. He hides a tracker on Dandy, so the he can get back to her, and goes on in the rough estimation he saw Pyke and Rett run in. His goal: Find Rett and bring him to Dandy.

Dandy, however, doesn't stay down long. She, like I've mentioned before, probably gets found by the group the easiest. With the mix of Gricko, Gideon, and Frost, they would be able to power her back on again. However, like before, she doesn't retain... All of her memories. Locked away in some place in her mind that she can't get to. She remembers her name, her powers, and how to navigate the stars, but she only faintly remembers a crew (the name 'Chuckles' makes her jolt in place), not much about where she is or what she was doing. Her goal: Find out who the people in her memories are

Kavir and Leboosh... I think I want them to be captures by the doctors? Because, let's be honest, if Torbek ran away, and you were a doctor and found a green ooze man, wouldn't you want to experiment? Plus, if Leboosh's strength is shown, it could work even better. Leboosh showing a major interest in Kavir, wanting to protect him in anyway he can? Well.... Capturing a humanoid is easier. Trying to break someone down who's already pretty mentally sound is a task, much harder to do then with a mentally unsound bugbear. However, they could probably do it.

But, the doctors still haven't learned. With Leboosh's oozoid abilities and Kavir's silver tongue, despite being experimented on (both of them), they can escape. Sure, half of Kavir's clocks are now purple, including one of his eyes, and Leboosh may flash a muddy purple color when extremely upset, but they're out, being hunted for their lives, but alive.

I do think that, due to Leboosh's technology being otherworldly, they would take it and use it, meaning Leboosh either only has a rough approximation of a humanoid form, or something on Kavir that he can go into easily as an oozoid. They work together, as a team, never separating for more than necessary. Just like old times. Maybe they run into Carinvàle Lecroux, maybe they don't. Their goal is the same: Find the Rhapsody.

[luvsizedfrellie]

I am curious, how would Ellie's apartment in a modern au would look? this is just a mashup of ideas that i have, if you got a bunch of them add 'em!

Would she live closer to Joel? like her apartment will be located in a quiet neighborhood, she's just a few blocks from Joel's house (a 10-minute walk, tops), he likes knowing she's close just in case, even if she cringes every time he casually drops in with leftovers from dinner, maybe the building has a modest brick-and-wood exterior with a small communal staircase that creaks a little when you walk up to her door? the space itself is relatively compact, cozy but big enough for one person to stretch out without bumping elbows with furniture, there's nothing too fancy here but Ellie makes it hers in little ways that give it character, her door has a simple number plaque, someone's scribbled a doodle of an alien over it with permanent marker, she'd laugh about it every time she walked in if she weren't pretending to hate it lmao next to the alien, there's a faded band sticker peeling at the edges, i believe the apartment always smells faintly of coffee and whatever candle she's currently burning, maybe something woodsy or spicy? (there's a faint lil smell of weed lingering in the air, no matter how much she tries to air it out), her apartment overlooks a small park, where she likes to sit and sketch sometimes, she's got a bird feeder hanging outside of it, and she enjoys watching the birds come and go.

(i like to headcanon that she works with Joel as a handyman)

She got a second-hand couch covered with a few mismatched blankets thrown over the back, one of the blankets definitely has a dinosaur print that she adores, there's also a beanbag and a coffee bag of course, there are indents from drinks, stray paint streaks from an old project, and scratches and does Ellie have plants? maybe she got a small collection of succulents (that she can't kill kinda, they can die if you don't water them after a looong time) one by Joel and a bunch you two got together, it's a little collection of them in cute terracotta pots, maybe some different shapes and sizes (there are some colorful and silly stickers around the pots), she'd probably have them lined up on a windowsill, getting all the sunlight, you've been keeping them alive by quietly watering them behind her back when she invites you over, Ellie doesn't actually notice, but hey, they look great! she's even named some of them 'Captain Sprout', 'Groot Jr', Ellie is still trying to come up with a name for the others, give her some time poor sweetie), she's also got a small aloe vera plant that she actually does remember to water occasionally because she uses it for burns.

Oh, scattered on the shelves you can find little figurines, like the plastic T-Rex you got her and a LEGO spaceship she built and refuses to move because it's too fragile, next to them a few knick-knacks, like a cool rock she found on a hike (that she swears glows at night even though it absolutely doesn't, the "glowing" rock gets moved around every so often, as if Ellie is trying to find the perfect spot to amplify its non-existent glow, she's so silly i am gonna marry her one day) and two LEGO figurines, of you and Ellie, that she swore up and down were 'just something to mess with.' whatever Ellie. She got a decent set of speakers and a record player with some vinyl (don't ask me which one, i honestly don't know what type of music she would listen, sorry El, ily), her bluetooth speaker, she has def some funko pop figures still in the box because she's weirdly protective of them.

oh there's also a blu-ray because Star Wars owns a corner of her heart, and she has definitely mismatched mugs hanging on hooks ranging from a cheesy one that says "World's Okayest Lesbian" to some diy pottery mugs she found at a thrift shop (and one with a chipped handle that you gave her that says 'I Need Space' with stars on it), a coffee maker that’s clearly her lifeline to civilization... and next to it, a mug with a rubber dinosaur figurine glued randomly on the side (an early diy project from when she was bored, but you found it cute af, you called him 'Mr. Bitey'), the fridge is def decorated with an embarrassing collection of magnets you two brought from road trip stops, ticket from a concert that you two went to or of a museum (def not a date, no no), a photo booth strips with you and her making dumb faces (her precious treasure) she keeps it tucked under one of the magnets, sticking out from under one of the magnets, there is also a folded-up takeout menu from a local pizza place she likes and a chalkboard with a grocery list, what she has to do or just random doodles that you, the others and Joel made when you visit her, there's always a new passive-aggressive chalk scribble urging her to eat better ('ELLIE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, EAT SOMETHING BESIDES RAMEN - J') her own notes are rarer, but things like 'chocolate milk' or 'buy that good cereals' peek between the doodles, there's one goofy smiley face you drew the last time you were over and she hasn't erased them both

anddd she totes has a PS4/5 where she can play tlou (lolll jk jk or not, but if she does, you've caught her tearing up during the giraffe scene more than once) Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption, The Witcher, even Mario Kart which she keeps the number of how many times she's beaten you at it (She rages hard at Mario Kart, especially when you use the blue shell on her right before the finish line), and a pc with a gaming chair (the gaming chair is covered sometimes in cat hair, even though she doesn't have a cat. It's a mystery for both of you, it's actually the neighbor cat getting inside her apartment whenever she's out), she has this gaming keyboard with customizable rgb lighting that she sets to a rainbow pattern for now, she wants to decorate it but got no idea how, she has a bookshelves filled with comics, Savage Starlight is always on top, it's her holy grail, then there's dinosaur encyclopedias, space encyclopedias..sci-fi novels with titles that sound way too complicated for my liking and a gardening book is jammed in there too

Ellie also has a small flatscreen TV mounted on the wall, where she watches movies or plays games, the remote is perpetually buried in the couch cushions and you two always lose a good time for finding it, oh and Joel gifted a digital drawing tablet to her for her bday (there's a toons of dinosaurs, rockets, and lesbian pride rainbow stickers haphazardly slapped on the back of it) for art even if if she still likes to draw in the traditional way too (sketchbooks, pencils, maybe some paints tucked away in a drawer), posters of movies Alien, Star Wards Jurassic Park etc and of some bands she likes, she has a corkboard covered in snapshots of her, her friends and of you two (some are silly, some are sweet, and some are blurry messes), there's also a goofy one of her flipping off the camera shot by you.

On her nightstand there's her current read a novel (Gideon the ninth), a pair of earbuds she stole from you, her lip balm, her diary, a charging cable, and a half-empty glass of water you remember to bring with her when she's going to sleep, she has a dreamcatcher hanging above her bed even though she doesn't believe in that stuff, you gave it to her as a 'joke' (for her nightmares hoping it would actually help her a little), hidden somewhere are her half-done, guilty attempts at your portrait she swears aren't of you in her drawer, ooh she def has string lights strung above her bed too, instead under her bed she keeps a shoebox filled with old letters, a dried flower from the first time you brought her flowers, a movie ticket stub from the first movie you two saw together and other mementos from her life, it's her little time capsule of memories.

There's a mountain of clothes scattered everywhere, with one very particular section of it with your clothes. She swears it's because she needs to wash them (she did ofc), but the truth is, it's not the fully truth, she keeps your clothes just because she likes the scent but don't call her out of it, nono! when she's feeling particularly lonely, she'll wear one of your hoodies to bed. Don't tell her i told you that btw.

For the plushies...she has plushies, she def does. She has a good bunch of dino plushies but her fav ones are these, they're named "cucumber', 'mr snuggles' (cliché) and 'george' (museum gift shop), they're her bed buddies!

When you're over at her place, you might catch her absentmindedly adjusting them or giving one a quick squeeze, she'll immediately act like she didn't do anything, but you'll know the truth.

[edibleashell]

TUA S4 feels

Pretty sure that Umbrella Academy S4 finale left a permanent scar on my psyche. Still one of my favorite shows but I might just end after season 3 in future rewatches. So many issues with S4.

In like episode 1 we got Ben and Jennifer touching and that started a countdown to the end of the world and the whole season was just junk to fill that time. So many good ideas that weren't done properly at all. Shuffling their powers? Alternate timelines? Hargreaves owning pretty much everything? Abigail just being alive? Pointless.

Luther was just a repeating loop of stripper and home decorating jokes.

Diego should have been a martial arts instructor or something not a depressed delivery guy. A bunch of jokes about him getting out of shape only to reveal that he's still jacked. He throws a potted plant and misses. His arc is just Big Sad for no reason and the relationships he built in the first three seasons were apparently irrelevant, if anyone would have been taking care of Safety Klaus it would have been him.

Allison's character was just an accessory to Klaus, after three seasons of her trying to reclaim the family she lost she ended up spending more time as a tool to Klaus's arc than she did with Claire. And Ray just being casually written out was so disrespectful.

Klaus, oh poor Klaus, my favorite character, what did they do to you? He should have been a nurse or something but instead he was paranoid, then pissed off because the writers decided that Klaus would equate marigold with drugs and just fall right off the wagon? And then he goes to some sketchy guy he owes money to even though S1 Klaus is shown just buying drugs from random people? All to justify his prisoner plot, none of which had any real impact. And he can fly for a second for some reason. Okay.

Five working for the CIA was bad. He should have been the retired fun uncle to Claire and Grace. After spending fifty years trying to get back to his family why did he keep leaving them? Why did he hook up with his brother's wife after only six years? And am I supposed to believe that in every timeline he has the same haircut? That none of the other Fives lost their arm? How did he never notice his boss's blatant umbrella tattoo? He just casually strolls through "his" apocalypse as though he doesn't have ptsd, and why were he and Lila living off sewer rats when they had infinite timelines to scavenge?

I was so excited to see Ben witg the family but one episode in he becomes a bomb and fucks off with a girl who can hardly be called a character.

Viktor was the only character I thought got some form of authenticity and justified growth, his arc kind of seemed like a ripoff of S3 Klaus though. And we missed out on what could have been a really beautiful scene of him drawing the upside down umbrella on his arm.

Lila went from "I don't want to be like my mom" to a motherhood cliche. And what was the deal with her family? She just found her parents and they immediately accepted her or something? Was there another Lila in this universe? That made no sense. If anyone would have joined the CIA it would have been her. Her and Diego should have been weird parents teaching their kids how to fight and kill but instead they got some domestic life that those characters never belonged in.

And there's so much more! Abigail is alive? Hardly relevant. Why did she body snatched Gene, it didn't really seem to change anything. The Keepers existed only to be a minor obstacle in the last episode. And are her and Reggie aliens? Why? How? What's the point?

AND DURANGO? THAT'S A CAR! Harland named marigold and for a farm kid that makes sense (though the retconned acceptance of that word into Umbrella vocabulary was irksome) But Durango? Abigail is a scientist and she names The Bad Dust after an SUV? Why?

AND WHY WAS THERE ZERO QUEERNESS? Each of the first three seasons had some sort of queer arc but not this one. I still wonder if some higher-up didn't intentionally assassinate the show as backlash for the immense respect S3 gave Elliot Page.

One last thing, music is a big part of the show, they've always put such thought and care into the soundtrack and it makes sense knowing who the creators are, so why, of all songs, was Baby Damn Shark the first song to be featured in like three episodes? It seems intentionally disrespectful.

I'm done, rant over, I'll never recover from this.

[tearwolfe]

Okay, that's good to know. I might have other questions later as I think about things more/these Au's progress, but these are the ones I can think of atm. And please don't feel obligated to answer any of these, I just thought I'd ask.

(Also, I realized that all of these questions are somehow related to Leo/need? That was entirely unintentional, lol, my bad)

Cyberidol au- Does Saki and/or Leo/need exist in this AU? Do they play a part in the plot at all?

Maybe Saki doesn't show up physically in the current story events, but perhaps she's the one who inspired IdolKasa's initial, now-forgotten dream (like in canon), somebody he had pushed away for the sake of (or even due to) his desire for fame, and whose previous importance/presence in his life and her current distance from him will come to haunt him, now that everything he's worked so hard for (and his entire world view, hopefully) is starting to crumble.

Or maybe her role is more like Emu's- she loves her brother so much, and she's trying to push him down the right path and make him remember, but he just isn't not hearing her, no matter how hard she tries. Or maybe she's also stuck in a similar position in the entertainment industry along with the rest of Leo/need, or maybe they're in similar roles to Ruinene. So many possibilities.

(Wherever she is, I hope the Tenma's get to have a heartfelt reunion once Tsukasa gets his shit together.)

Seal Rui au- How exactly did the human/sea creature hybrids come to exist? It's been stated that Rui and the other sea people were kinda just born like that, and the humans are... Well, humans, but where did people like Honami come from? Were they also just born like that by chance, or are they the hybrid offspring of humans and sea people, or is it some secret third thing I haven't thought of? Is there an explanation at all?

Starshine au- You said in an earlier post that Saki, Toya, Haruka, and Kanade would also be little alien things along with Tsukasa (and you also said that this AU is RuiKasa centric, so I get it if you haven't thought about this at all), but what are the rest of Leo/Need up to? Do they still exist as a group just without Saki? Are Ichika, Honami, and Shiho not in a band/not friends at all in this AU? Do they act as hosts that Saki feeds off of like Tsukasa does to Rui? Are they also squishy little alien thingies?

Are all the other units essentially going through their own version of "what if this very important group member never actually existed as a human?" in the background while we focus on RuiKasa/WxS?

I highly doubt any of these things will ever come up in these stories proper, but I'm very curious about these things, lol. Thank you for responding <3

(Also, not a question, but if I had a nickel for every time Tsukasa in one of your au's was hiding from Saki that he was dating a nonhuman (seal Rui and vampire Rui), only for Saki to also be dating a nonhuman without him knowing, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's funny that it happened twice, lol.)

leo/need's role is similar to rui and nene's. i think it'd be fun if one (or more) of them were ex-idols (or formerly in the industry, if not an actual idol), but currently they're not. saki is estranged from tsukasa. i don't have much thought out for what's going on between them?? they do still care about each other, but tsukasa's head is so far up his own ass that saki has stepped back from trying to deal with him. it's very complicated between the two.. they'll still message or meet for birthdays/important events but it's Very Tense. and they're both secretly upset about it.

honami is the result of a human/sea creature hybrid! thus, she has legs.

the rest of leo/need exists in starshine, but they're not a band. they're former childhood friends.. funny enough, like in canon, saki does bring them together. she feeds off of all of them, just clinging to whichever one is currently feeling the worst. she doesn't really have to do much to manipulate any of them since she has three whole hosts. she's doing it better than tsukasa... but yes, pretty much! minori is haruka's host, akito is toya' host, mafuyu is kanade's host (though kanade doesn't really have to do much), and i'm thinking about also making an a little alien creature thang, with kohane as her host. because i think the vivids could still form without akitoya, and i cannot let that happen.

some things about AUs i have in my mind but never really talk about (since it's often not that relevant) so i'm always here to answer any questions <3

[utdrmv-confession-box]

(Warning to the mod, this confession is long)

(If it ends up being too long to be posted, I understand)

Okay, as a berdly liker i know that on first impulse his writing and how others treat him in chapter 4 feels out of character

BUT LISTEN

LISTEN TO ME

Its actually very in character

Lets go through every scene berdly is mentioned in or seen in order

First thing: when noelle asks if she should invite Berdly susie replies "hell no" (or something to that effect, sorry i wont be refrencing lines of dialouge exactly, i dont have the energy to comb through a 10 hour playthough rn)

This is for 2 reasons:

1) Since berdly thinks the dark world is a dream, susie assumes that he would have gone back to disliking her. But you might say "didn’t berdly say at the end of chapter 2 that he and noelle could try and study with susie and kris." Well, that's where reason 2 comes in

2) susie's plan is to go into the holidays house and distract noelle while kris goes snooping. Having berdly around would interfere with this plan

Anyway, next scene

We go to the library and berdly starts going on on this little mocking tirade about how suprised he is to see kris and susie there, only for susie to cut him off and say theyre going to leave since he dislikes them and wants to be alone so much.

Berdly is taken off guard, and before going, "Oh yeah alone. I love. Being alone. Mhm. Alone" (again, not a direct quote. it's only been a week. i haven't memorised the dialogue yet, cut me some slack)

Here's whats intresting about this interaction

1) berdly mocking way of speech is how he seemingly speaks to others a lot. Noelle lets it slide, and it doesn't deter kris from interacting with him since they mess with in return. So when he speaks with susie, he takes the same tone

2) but susie doesnt know berdly that well, and she's preconditioned to assume that people dont want her around, so when she is met with bedly speaking so rudely to her she justifiably assumes he has gone back to disliking her, and wants to leave

3) but berdly is again not used to someone calling him out for speaking like that, and he also has a big ass ego, so while he is taken aback his ego wont let him admit he didnt mean it in a hurtful way so he doubles down

4) berdly is uncomfortable with the idea of being alone

In Berdly's attempt to talk to susie the way he usually does to his friends, he has only alienated her, because lets be honest , he probably should not be talking like that with noelle and kris.

Next scene is when berdly calls noelle to ask her out to the festival, before susie steps in to shut that down

Now, if you liked berdly, you might be confused, didn’t berdly say in chapter 2 that he didnt like noelle romantically? And only pretended to because he assumed she had a crush on him?

Yes

BUT

And this is an important but.

Berdly is afraid of being alone, so much so that he's willing to enter a romantic relationship with someone he doesn't have feelings for, to prevent becoming alone.

(Berdly stop it with this amanormative thinking and reincarnate into a lotus flower)

ALSO this is important

But

It's important to me that in chapter 4, when Asgore's misogyny is at its worst, so is Berdly's. Like yeah Berdly isn't quite at Asgore's level of shitty, but he very much could be in an alternate timeline where him and noelle entered into a lovless marriage only for her to divorce him after a midlife lesbian awakening.

Which is why it's crucial for Susie to snip it in the bud (yet again, Susie prevents several horrors from happening by simply existing) by refusing to let him walk over Noelle.

Next is the scene where we can pick the phone. We all seen it by now, so i won't recount it in great detail, but berdly calls susie yandere before back peddling and saying she must be lonely before trying to ask her out before we interrupt

1) berdly calling susie a yandere is very similar to him calling noelle a damsel in chapter 2. He is shown having a tendency to reduce the girls in his life to romantic archytypes I know queen said that there is nothing wrong with him BUT berdly thinks a lot about romance (because he thinks its a solution to his loneliness, rather than recognising that his manner of speech and behaviour is what has led him to becoming so alienated from others) and a lot of romantic tropes in fiction (which we know berdly likes, he plays dating sims as he refrences in chapter 2) are steeped in a lot of sexist and misoginistic ideas. Even if berdly is not consciously sexist, he likely has consumed a lot of sexist ideas through the media he likes, and this reflects in his speech.

2) he then tries to relate to susie by saying she must be lonely. And while she has been for a long time, this isn't him recognising that but rather projecting his own feelings on her and making assumptions, berdly is shit at reading people's feelings we all know this

3) Then he tries to ask her out because AGAIN berdly thinks romance is the only solution to loneliness

Berdly is a flawed person, and one of his biggest flaw (aside from his superiority inferiority complex) is his obsession with romance, an obsession that leads him to express misoginistic ideas without him understanding it, it doesnt make him irredeemable, but it is a flaw

Truly the most teenage boy ever

Also then you can ask berdly out or sing the wrong number song. Either way, berdly makes a comment about how kris has or will fall for him.

I think it's part of the coming age narractive (since deltarune is a coming of age story), berdly is trying to grow up, and his mind he can't stay friends with noelle or kris, and a friendhsip with susie is not an option. Eventually, they will drift into relationships, and he'll end up alone.

To prevent ending up alone, and in the process of growing up, one of those friendships has to gratuate into a romantic relationship. At least, this is what I propose his way of thinking is.

Despite pursuing romance in an effort to grow up, his view on romance is painfully childish and steeped in fictional tropes.

Anyway onto miscellaneous

When ralsei asks who kris will take to the festival, if you select berdly, kris will repeat his name with increased volume

I think its less that kris hates berdly (we have seen how they act around people they hate/dislike (bratty and pizzapants), its with avoidance) but rather a mixture of bafflement and really wanting to go with susie.

When you answer susie in chapter two about who you wanna go with, they answer confusedly if you pick noelle or ralsei, and they very obvious baffled tone at us picking berdly in chapter 3 is probably a sign that kris thinks its very obvious who they want to go with (that being susie) and being baffled at us picking berdly.

Also, despite them at least liking to play games with him, that doesn't mean they want to take him out to the festival. Aka just cuz they like him platonically doesn't mean they want to engage of the very romantically coded action of taking him to the festival.

Im sorry guys, you can like kerdly/krispy chicken but that doesnt mean kris themselves likes it. They're better as gaming rivals.

(Which I would have been using as evidence for my aromantic kris headcanon, but with how much kris, the typically blank faced protagonist they are, blushes around susie, I worry such a reading might not be as strong as it used to be.)

If you visit berdly after chapter 2 in a route where he broke his arm, susie is obviously a lil upset after you exit the room, lamenting over how they didn't heal him. Even contemplating over bringing him into a dark world for a second before deciding that keeping the dark worlds a secret is more important, but she still hopes he gets better.

Susie doesnt hate berdly she just doesnt tolerate him speaking to her the way he usually speaks to everyone and honestly that's for the better, that bird needs to have someone tell him to can it sometimes and to understand that hes being rude.

And for the weird route? Just watch the scene where kris visits the hospital. Kris doesnt hate berdly. They might not be buddy buddy but we know they play games together, and they have been shown to prank him, a thing they do to people they like (like noelle)

With people they dislike they tend to avoid them, like they do with bratty which they do seem to outright dislike likely for taking advantage of them when they were younger for asking them ti bring over food if they want it hang out with the big kids, with one of the dialouge options being telling her to go away. Or pizzapants whom they have very limited dialouge options, with chapter 2's being "leave" or "lie and say you want to hear more" if I'm pretty sure. Kris doesnt seem to stick around people they outright dislike unless they have to.

That's not to say they don't chafe up against berdly or have problems with him they definitely do (eg. trying to get berdly to stand next to the hospital window so rudy can throw things at him), but it's more complicated than simple dislike/hate.

In conclusion:

A lot of chapter 4 feels like a remind to us about how flawed some of the lightners are, and berdly is no exception

Anyway, thanks for listening to my tedtalk

Posting this first just because it’s so long.

[chococrepes-art]

Hello everybody, today I will be talking about something forbidden, which is gender, specifically algebralien gender

That's right, this is the algebralien gender theory!!

Well, it's not really a theory, but in a way it is a theory, you'll see what I mean

So, as we saw in the subscriber specials, algebraliens tend to call each other everything if we are to generalize, she/him/they and I mean that when talking about just a single individual, some have been called both she and him, or him and they, but Nine specifically is a great example because Nine has been called she/him/they by their algebralien friends alone, but something interesting happened when Nine interacted with an object, or objects in general (in the bfdi mouth video) instead of being called by all of the pronounces randomly the way the other algebraliens call Nine, the objects only called Nine a she.

In one of the actual episodes, Four says that he doesn't have gender where he comes from in response to Leafy trying to explain to Four that Pencil likes to exclude people from things such as her alliance or her gender

Now all of this made me come to a conclusion that I was already having an intuition about being the case, and that is that algebraliens don't have gender and therefore don't care what pronounces are being used on them since, well, they are aliens after all. However since objects are like the humans of the bfdi universe (and the davidians/island eaters/stickmans as well obviously but they don't really talk the way the objects do) they are used to gender the way we humans are and so they will be trying to pull the gender from the void when there is none because they are used to calling people only one thing for consistency or because they give them a certain vibe or whatever, but since Four, X and Two are algebraliens and they don't care what they are called because they are a different alien species that sees the world differently, and if you don't care what pronounces are used on you, then you are not going to correct anybody about it, obviously, which probably means that they are used to being called anything back home, but since they are interacting with the objects they might find it weird that the objects tend to only call them or eachother one thing, but they would probably also know and understand that that's how the objects are as a society and species and "do what the locals do" respecting what pronounces objects use on eachother, while they themselves couldn't care less what pronounces you use on them.

Like personally I think that algebraliens would be the type of aliens that are androgynous as a species like either hermaphrodites or asexually reproductive (idk how algebraliens would reproduce, idk how objects would reproduce either, and I don't think we'll ever know and maybe that's for the better tbh lmao) since y'know they are aliens, while the objects being the equivalent of humans in the bfdi world definitely seem to be more binary, I know some objects that might be trans, but to this day I don't know a single object that uses they/them/is nonbinary (sad honestly, press f to pay respects for all the nonbinary people out there waiting for an object that uses they/them to be revealed)(edit: nvm someone reminded me there are actually nonbinary objects, I just forgot lol)

Also I'm saying this because gender is a philosophical concept that was originally based off of biological sex but because gender is philosophical and not physical like biological sex it became completely unrelated to what biological sex an individual has over time, so if aliens were to biologically be hermaphrodites or asexually reproductive then their society and species as a whole would be viewing gender very differently compared to binary species/societies so their Ideas of gender would evolve very differently from them or maybe not even evolve or exist at all.

But basically if I was to shorten what I said here I would say that you can't miss-gender an algebralien because they don't have any gender to begin with....

.... Or do they?

See here is where I'm going to enter with you the very theoretical land of hypothetical/possible algebraliens and aliens in general (to help us understand the algebraliens better)

Ok so since gender is philosophical: that means that if somebody resonates with a gender and/or feels like they are that gender and/or logically thinks that they are that gender (because of their way of being for example) then they could become that gender or realize that they are that gender, meaning that nobody is truly safe from gender, there are just creatures out there that are safer from havening any gender then others, meaning that even if at home gender isn't really a concept for an algebralien they could still learn and find out about gender from some aliens and then like it and become that gender, even if physically they aren't the biological sex associated with that gender, since again, among other things gender is also very philosophical, so since it's possible but just incredibly unlikely for an alien to get like that that would mean that there could be algebraliens that are like that out there as well, but again this is possible, but just incredibly unlikely, but still possible to happen.

However I really really doubt this happened to anybody we know in bfdi since nobody talked or seemed to care about it at all

Four didn't know about gender and it doesn't seem like he cares or learned anything

X also seems to not know or care

Two is called they/them most likely because they are confusing the contestants with their voice and personality enough so that even the contestant's subconscious trying to pull the gender out of the void can't tell what Two really is (y'know, because Two is an alien and isn't just a man or just a woman)

And I don't remember if anyone called One any pronounces but One also seems like the type of person to not care about gender, she probably thinks that gender is foolish since it's a concept the objects that are pawns in her game have

And we don't know about Three yet but I also highly doubt that Three would have any gender as well.

So again I think the objects are the ones that started to call the algebraliens different things after getting used to them (Four has even been called "it" in the first ep of bfb because the contestants weren't yet entirely sure what Four could possibly be) I don't think the algebraliens ever told the objects what to call them, because again, we didn't get to see that (and it wasn't implied either), and it's more likely that again, the algebraliens didn't care enough to tell the objects they can be called whatever and instead let the objects call them what the objects prefer to call them, since for the algebraliens there would be no point in arguing or talking about this because they are ok with whatever.

Edit: also I wanted to mention that for species that are hermaphrodites or reproduce asexually in general being a girl or a boy would be the equivalent of us humans being nonbinary or agender or something, like alien LGBTQ+

Edit again: also also I just realized that the algebraliens would be in a way more gender-fluid rather than non-binary (in a way) since instead of only using they/them they also use she/her and he/him, so at least when it comes to what they call eachother and what pronounces they use they'd be more gender-fluid rather then non-binary (in a way). But biologically they're probably more non-binary (androgynous hermaphrodites), since I really doubt algebraliens work in a similar way to clownfish to be able to say that biologically they'd be more ... sex-fluid? or y'know trans. But literally they're a-gender or genderless because they literally do not have the concept of gender where they come from/in their society and they don't seem to care for it either beyond respecting what other people want to be called.

[risestarkiss]

Hey, so I was thinking about your post about the Timeline Paradox Photo from the movie, and I've been turning it over in my head for a few days (I love timeline nonsense, I've spent hours on LoZ timeline theory, this is my bread and butter) and anyhow I think I figured it out actually.

So, to start, we're dealing with two timelines--the main movie timeline, and the bad future timeline, with the photo originating in the bad future timeline. First, we need to know when does the movie timeline diverge from the bad future timeline, and that would be as soon as Casey emerges from the time portal. Obviously in the bad future timeline Casey didn't exist at the time the Kraang invaded bc he wasn't born yet, so the whole "butterfly effect" thing was immediately in effect as soon as he popped out of the portal and therefore the movie timeline split off from the bad future timeline as soon as Casey shows up. This means there's a window of time from when Casey came out of the portal to when the Kraang were released from the prison dimension (or possibly later to when they summoned their main ship from the top of the tall building) for the photo to have logically been taken (since obviously no one's going to be taking wholesome family photos while the apocalypse is unfolding).

So then, let's look at the events as we know them for fact from the movie timeline. Before Casey finds April, a few things happen. First, the turtles fail to retrieve the key, but since they don't realize how important it is, they just head back to the Lair to chill for a bit. Second, April steals the vials of herbicide (er, whatever the blue goopy stuff was) from her college, and then encounters Casey. And then the rest of the movie unfolds the way it does bc Casey warns them about, y'know, the impending alien invasion and general doom of the world. Which means the team crashes the summoning party before the Kraang are able to pull out their weapons (possibly their exoskeletons? I'm thinking it's got to be the exoskeletons they were gonna try and nab, and not the main warship). Anyhow, this sets off the domino chain to lead to, well, all the other movie events.

Now, what happened then in the bad future timeline? With no Casey at that specific moment in time? My best guess is: the turtles fail to retrieve the key and head back to the Lair. April steals the herbicide from her college and then what? She's got a dangerous substance that she doesn't know a lot about, so it's possible she also heads to the Lair to have Donnie analyze it for her. And hey, she pulled off a cool ninja mission on her own and is making progress on her road to being an investigative reporter, that's something to celebrate and maybe even commemorate, so someone pulls out a camera and they all take The Group Photo (as to who's holding the camera, I mean, Donnie's got all sorts of tech that I'm sure could accommodate taking a picture of the group). Meanwhile, the Foot Clan frees the Kraang, and the Kraang are able to get their exoskeletons (again, this is a guess, but they seem much more powerful and protected w/ the exoskeletons, so), and no one is the wiser bc there was no tip off. The Kraang then make their way to the highest point in the city (big tall building who's name escapes me, sorry) and summon their main warship, which sets the apocalypse in motion. Given the lapse of time the turtles and April aren't able to react quickly enough to do anything to really stop the Kraang (and even if they could, the Kraang already have All Their Weapons)--intead, they manage to save enough survivors and go into hiding, allowing for Casey to be born and for the bad future timeline to unfold until it reaches what we get to see at the start of the movie.

So, that's my best theory for when the photo was taken and how it's not actually a true paradox or inconsistency. Actually, it could even double (or triple) as a really poetic bit of narrative writing, since future-Leo draws the image of the key that will release the Kraang on the back of the photo, the photo is an image of the people who are key to stopping the Kraang, and if the photo was taken/created on the day that everything started, then it might be a sort of temporal key to help Mikey's mystic powers guide Casey backwards in time to the exact day the photo was originally taken so that he could try and change the future.

Sorry for the really long anon ask, I'm super new to tmnt and am still getting a feel for things, so I was a bit too shy to just write this all out in a reblog of your original post. But I love your blog, thanks for writing all these fun analyses!

I’ve been thinking this over as well + having some great discussions on the original post. 😁 I completely agree with the divergence of the timelines happening once Casey comes out of the portal, and I do think that the happy family photo would have been interrupted by Casey’s appearance. But yeah, your explanation makes complete sense.

The twist on the key on the photo is such an interesting take!   Thanks so much for the insight and welcome to the fandom 😊! Aww, it’s my pleasure. I love these silly little guys 😄💜

[dexlabs]

Headcanon: Anodite Mandark

I'm going to make a bulletpoint thing because there's A LOT of stuff. This is a headcanon based on the Fusionfall Universe (of course DUH XP)

About his Parents:

Oceanbird is herself an anodite, arrived on Earth after hearing about it from Verdona, Ben and Gwen's grandmother;

She met Windbear in a secret USSR facility where he worked as head scientist studying alien life. She was captured right after arriving on Earth;

She convinced him to leave the job and follow her around to explore the world and he did, being fed up with all the atrocities he had to see in name of science;

Oceanbird completely fell in love with Earth and Windbear and decided to abandon her anodite form and live with him in Flowertopia.

Before the war:

Mandark doesn't know about his parents past and tbh doesn't really care about it;

His first encouter with magic was because of science, when he used an old jewel case (the one from Mandarker) from his mother to build an interdimentional portal. It just happened that that particular jewel case was infused with magic, so the portal directly opened into Legerdomain;

Unlike in the cartoon, here he actually met someone else who taught him about magic and its powers and how they could be used to rule the world. That someone was actually Charmcaster;

She lied about her name to him (called herself Jojo) but decided to reveal him some secrets since she felt he had something more and evil deep inside and she was actually impressed he managed to get there in first place;

Charmcaster also made a deal with him: once he would be older and in complete control of his powers, he would join her side and become loyal to her. He accepted, knowing too well somehow that that was never going to happen (and it didn't... for now);

Just to be sure, Charmcaster altered his memory so he wouldn't remember about visiting Legerdomain.

Even with this new knowledge, he was still more interested in science, and didn't use the book too much;

He can actually read minds as shown in Dexter's Rival, that's the first sign of his powers awakening, even if he didn't realize it at first;

He used the book again at the science fair to get Dexter, summoning a monster he actually believed to be the Jojo he met years before;

He decided to let go of magic completely because he wanted to get Dexter using science only. He also started hating it because Dexter did.

During the war:

We have an actual mission from him called "Mag-ICK" where you need to investigate magic readings around Steam Alley. Even if you find the Wishing Skull, Mandark tells you to "Stick with science and avoid magic at all costs. It's for losers!" Which tells us that, again, he DOES know magic exists. He just hates it. Honestly this mission is what started this whole mess you're reading lmao. Anyway:

Here we go with my favourite dynamic coming from this headcanon, which is Gwen and Mandark interaction;

Somehow (gotta work on this tbh) Gwen gets to know that Mandark owns a book about magic, and asks a recruit to go get it from him so she can study it;

Mandark actually forgot he had that book, but asks the recruit to go search his old lab for it;

The book is found and Gwen gets it, and immediately knows Charmcaster had something to do with it, so she asks Mandark to get to her on Pimpleback Mountains so they can discuss about it;

Mandark is against the idea, claiming the book is only "a mistake his younger self used when he didn't know better";

Gwen manages to convince him, so they meet at her station to talk about it;

The girl is disappointed he can't remember how he got it, but also realizes Charmcaster might have altered his memory, so she tries to detect magic around him and almost has an heart attack finding out he has MORE than she expected;

She immediately feels he is an anodite and that his powers are right there, ready to pop out anytime, but he keeps repeating it is impossible because his parents are just normal humans;

Gwen manages to convince him to try something, and with ease manages to have him form a mana energy ball in his hand;

She's excited about it but Mandark just freaks out and she has to calm him down. She actually explains him how mana works and they end up talking the whole night, not only about mana and magic, but about the universe, science, the war, dreams and fears. The next day Mandark goes back to Tech Square being... actually happy. Not about magic itself, he still doesn't want to use it. But that he actually found a... new friend. His very first friend.

Mandark makes her promise not to tell anyone about magic powers or the fact he is an alien magic being, because he wants to first study the thing himself and find out where this could come from;

Because of the war he doesn't have time or resources to investigate it, so it's a thing that's gonna come back when the war is over.

The rest of the headcanons come from my other "5 years after the war" headcanon, where Mandark starts a long journey to understand and accept himself completely and finally be happy with who he is.

Let me know what you think!

[electronickingdomfox]

"The Wounded Sky" review

Novel from 1983, by Diane Duane (I had read some TOS comics, and even played a text adventure by this same author, but this is the first novel I read). Very bizarre, very imaginative. You'd probably have to go back to "Planet of Judgment" (1977) to find a similarly unusual TOS novel. Most of the "action" unfolds inside mental landscapes (and that's not even a proper description; the situation is actually far more complex than that). At times poetic, at times metaphysical, it's a more difficult novel than the standard TOS light literature, though there are also many humorous moments.

The aliens are remarkable for how truly "alien" they are, which produces lots of absurd (from a human viewpoint) situations. There's a species who only see in infrared, and needs properly heated cards to play poker. A feline alien that doesn't have language to express the passage of time. Another species with twelve sexes, all of them male (specially the ones who bear children). And glass spiders with an altogether different understanding of physics, who spend a lifetime building a nest of memories to pass to their offspring, and then die at the time of mating. I haven't read any novels by Terry Pratchett, though I know about Discworld from the videogames, but may I say there's something "pratchean" in all this?

In many ways, this is a fascinating novel. But is it a good representative of a Trek novel? I'm not sure. I feel the scope and the depth of this story is a bit constrained by the Trek frame. The TOS series, and even the movies, had a smaller scope: interpersonal problems, specially among the big three, or political conflicts. The aliens were usually very human, and represented different human societies/worldviews. Even when more alien creatures appeared, like the gas cloud from "Obsession", the story was really about Kirk's very personal demons. So maybe this novel would have benefitted if it was set in its own, independent sci-fi world, that provided the needed freedom to explore the larger cast and variety the story strives for.

I'll try to summarize the plot, though this is over-simplifying, since "themes" are more important here than "action". Spoilers under the cut:

The Enterprise is tasked with testing a new revolutionary invention, that will allow ships to travel instantly as far as they want, even outside the galaxy. The artifact in question works by "inversion", sending the starship to a different dimension where time doesn't exist, and popping it up again at the desired coordinates. Since there's no time involved, there's no damage done to ship and crew. Theoretically. Well, what could possibly go wrong?

They take aboard the artifact, along with its Hamalki inventor: K't'lk (pronounced "ketelk", I think). She's the glass spider from the cover, and thus far, takes the prize for most unusual "lady of the week". K't'lk soon becomes best friends with Scotty, though the engineer struggles to understand the nutty physics of the Hamalki. For his part, Kirk has a conversation with her about the reproductive habits of her species, during which K't'lk weaves a strange crystal sculpture, and gifts it to him. She also makes a demonstration of the inversion process, without changing the ship's coordinates. But Kirk can't feel anything, except a vague dizziness.

However, soon after leaving the starbase, the Enterprise is attacked by Klingon ships which desire the inversion apparatus. Sulu manages to outmaneuver them, sending the Klingons into a nearby star, which becomes nova right then. The Enterprise escapes the explosion in the nick of time, by activating inversion and leaving the normal plane of existence. And this time, the crew has indeed strange (but blissful) experiences during inversion. For example, Kirk finds himself living as if he was the starship itself, and this had a conscience of its own.

Upon reappearing in the normal universe, they find out the explosion somehow messed up the coordinates, so they're not anywhere near the Lesser Magellanic, which it was their mission to investigate. Also, the nearby star is going nova too. Coincidence again? Activating inversion once more, this time they're placed in the correct coordinates. But with each subsequent, longer jump, the inversion experiences are becoming weirder, and individuals start merging with other crewmembers, and seeing things from their viewpoint.

Finally, things get more sinister once Kirk reappears with real wounds, that he thought were just the product of his mind. And even worse, the Lesser Magellanic, now nearby, is showing the most disturbing anomalies. Entropy has simply ceased to exist at some points. And it seems the longer jumps with the inversion apparatus have caused this, by ripping the fabric of the universe. Thus, a new universe without entropy is sipping through the tear, and threatens to destroy everything. (It's funny how the problem in "The Entropy Effect" was that they had too much entropy, while here they have too little. If they just left it alone...).

K't'lk is sure she can close the rip between both universes, but to do so, they'll need to make a final jump right at the center of the anomaly. The climax of the story happens entirely inside the mental world of inversion. Which is highly malleable by thought, given the progressive rupture of natural laws. Also, the flux in entropy is represented by ascencing and descending slopes in the landscape. However, they can't close the rip immediately, since they discover a living, god-like being (called simply "the Others"), who would be destroyed in the process. Before that, Spock must join in a group mind-meld with other crewmembers, to give the Others self-awareness, and explain the situation. K't'lk must also stay behind with the god, to weave new natural laws for Them to live in. And she puts forth this universe by singing (echoes from Tolkien's "Silmarillion"? might be, since a forest called "Lorien" appears at one point).

Once everything's fixed, and the Enterprise is back in Federation space via smaller jumps (that won't mess up the universe too much), Starfleet decides that the inversion apparatus is way too dangerous in its present state, and must not be used. Meanwhile, everyone misses K't'lk. But when Kirk accidentally breaks the crystal sculpture that she gave to him, he discovers it was actually an egg. A new, small K't'lk emerges from it, and quickly runs to greet Scotty.

Spirk Meter (or rather McSpirk): 5/10*. During inversion, Kirk gets to see Spock and McCoy's true, deepest natures, and he's in awe with what he finds. First, he's blinded by McCoy's compassion, and the doctor's touch on his arm both reassures and bewilders him. Then Kirk is humbled by Spock's desire of knowledge and his superior mind. The three of them are relieved to find such good qualities in the others' souls. However, the scene is quite abstract, and seems to be dealing more with the characters as ideas, rather than as specific persons. So I don't find it all that slashy really.

As for Spones as such, there's the moment when Kirk finds them walking together, while inside the anomaly, and Spock looks at McCoy with "nearly unalloyed affection". Kirk also considers that McCoy is more geared towards receiving, in contrast to Spock's inclination for giving... How convenient for them!

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[twoidiotwriters1]

Almighty (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: First post of the year! -Danny Words: 2,171 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Damage Gets Done' -by Hozier

XXXII: Just Finished Sobbing. Time to Girlboss

Lester keeps glancing at her nervously. Meg is there, too, holding a plate of strawberries and square pieces of ambrosia. The ambrosia is for Ara, and the girl feeds her diligently, not giving Ara a chance to refuse them.

They didn't need to say anything to understand the way they'd parted ways wasn't their fault or their choice, and it only took one smile from Ara for Meg to hug her and say. "You're still pretty." Which was exactly what Ara needed to hear after all the bad news.

"Meg, can you give us a moment?" Lester asks.

"Why? Are you going to talk bad about me?"

"No, but I don't think Ara would like you to hear our next conversation."

He says it with such certainty Meg believes him, but she huffs and takes the food with her. "Whatever."

Once alone, Lester shifts awkwardly in his seat. "Congratulations on your... er..."

"I'm choosing death," she appeases him. "You can whine in peace."

Lester scoffs. "Well, that's just like a mortal. How can the fates allow this while I'm still here? Don't they know about manners?"

Ara snorts. For some reason, his annoyance endears her. "You'll catch up soon enough, and maybe once you're god, you can, dunno, help me find a way to make it stop."

He frowns. "Do you even know the precious, most unusual gift that's been given to you? You should at least try to cling to it!"

"Lester, you don't understand," she replies. "Cooperation and bonding give meaning to humanity. This gift, as you call it, has deprived me of it. It alienates me, and stops me from building a life with the people I care about."

"Why would you want a life that's gonna fade and crumble when you can have all the time in the world? You can meet more people, have anyone you want!"

Ara sighs. "Foolish of me to think I can make a god change his mind any more than I can change the ways of the world..."

Lester leans back on his chair dejectedly. "I just think it's silly. Dying isn't fun."

"Being alive forever is?" Ara lets out a humorless laugh. "You don't look happy."

The boy blushes. "Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to offer my guidance in this new... uhm, phase of your... existence."

"I'm listening," the girl settles back on her pillows. 

"Godly beings—"

"I'm not a god."

"You were a demigod," Lester says impatiently. "The demi part means you're mortal, you eat human food, you sleep, and you bleed. Take that away and you take the demi."

"Did you breathe as a god?" She reasons.

Lester laughs. "Gods don't need to breathe!"

"Well, I do, and I still sleep sometimes, so the demi part stays."

"You're not like them," Lester says with annoyance.

Ara brushes it off. "I'm not like the gods either."

"Yet."

"For your own good, let's hope I stay this way."

"What do you mean?" Lester raises a brow. "I wouldn't mind welcoming you into Olympus! I have no problem with upstart godlings, unlike some other fellow deities. Fresh ichor is what keeps us running!"

"You don't get it," Ara insists harshly. "I won't be joining you, Lester. I would take your place. I don't think Zeus cares about who succeeds as long as we get the job done and the throne has someone on it."

Lester simmers on this and has no choice but to agree with her. "You are more promising to him..." Ara scoffs in disbelief and he presses. "You are. Medicine and the arts, he thinks those are disposable when there's magic and business... you think hard work and no-nonsense is the way to go. You think all play and no work makes people useless. You're the anti-me."

"I'm not!" Ara protests. "I'm a lovesick girl that's desperate to be seen! If that doesn't scream pro-Apollo to you..."

"Rude and inaccurate. You're not that, Ara. You think you still are, but people rely on you more than you know. Olympus know that they can trust you. My father loves that kind of energy. You're obedient and not too proud, things I could never be."

He reaches for her hand with unexpected tenderness, Ara stops seeing him as another teen and instead catches a glimpse of his ancient godly wisdom. 

"I wish it hadn't made me feel so good, all of my achievements," she shakes her head. "I should've known the high was temporary..."

"Yeah, me too," Lester rubs the back of her hand with his thumb. "No point in lamenting now, though, just be careful. Commodus rose to power when he was your age, and it took away all that was good and lovable in his spirit. You're precious to every demigod in this country, I would hate to see you turn into what Zeus wants you to be."

"You can bet all I do is always going to be for the demigods. Not the gods."

Lester tries for a smile but fails. "Dad won't allow that. You'll have to choose, and sometimes you won't even have a choice. If you take my place, it'll still be under his command. I wasn't always on the sidelines willingly, even if you don't believe it."

Ara heaves a sigh. "Well, we brought this upon ourselves."

The boy shrugs sheepishly. "I was born into it. But you..." Lester cups her cheek ever so gently. "You were young and carrying heartache. That, I fully understand. That, I share with you."

The next morning, Ara is up and ready to go. She's slept little, but her body is buzzing with energy, so she plans to make use of it.

"This is the best way to spot that secret-entrance grate thing," Leo tells them as they climb onto a pedal boat. "At water level, we can't miss it. Plus, we're traveling in style!"

The boys sit at the front while Ara and Meg watch their backs. Ara kept her talk with Leo a secret, him saying that he'd fight back has her worried, wondering what he'll do to make sure Ara can't leave him.

"So what's with you and the emperor?" Leo asks Lester once they're pedalling forth.

"I don't know what you mean."

"C'mon, man. At dinner, when Meg started shouting about commodes? You ran straight to the bathroom and spewed."

"Did you?" Ara glances at the boy over her shoulder.

"I did not spew," Lester blushes. "It was more like heaving."

"Ever since, you've been awfully quiet."

"What's the matter?" Ara asks.

"Commodus blames me for his death."

"Why?" Meg asks.

"Probably because I killed him."

"Ah." Leo hums. "That would do it."

When he tells them to whole story, Ara puts two and two together. "Is that why you never blessed me?"

Lester shrugs. "Maybe. To be honest, I remember seeing you and thinking you were fine without me. Perhaps I was also holding back because every time I bless someone I end up ruining their lives."

"That's rough, man," Leo says, placing an arm on the back of Lester's seat, making Ara and Lester move away from each other. "But it sounds like Emperor Toilet needed to go."

Meg snorts. She really is just like Ara, because every time Leo opens his mouth the girl laughs at his jokes like she's getting paid. "It's Commodus. He's handsome, by the way."

"You've met him?" Lester frowns.

"Once. In New York. He visited my stepfather."

"Nero. Call him Nero."

"Yeah," Meg shrugs. "Commodus was handsome."

"He's also vainglorious, puffed up, egotistical—"

"So he's like your competition, then?" Leo teases him.

"Oh, shut up."

"It wasn't your fault he went mad," Ara comforts him. "Ambition is an awful companion. I would know..."

"One thing I don't get," Leo continues. "Why Commodus? I mean, if this Triumvirate is the three biggest and baddest emperors, the Roman supervillain dream team... Nero makes sense. But Commode Man? Why not some eviler, more famous guy, like Murderous Maximus or Attila the Hun?"

"Gee, Cracker, stop wanting us to have it harder," Ara makes a face.

"Attila the Hun was not a Roman emperor," Lester brushes it off. "As for Murderous Maximus... well, that's actually a good name, but not a real emperor. As for why Commodus is part of the Triumvirate—"

"They think he's weak," Meg explains. 

"You know this how?" Lester demands.

"My step—Nero told me. Him and the third one, the emperor in the west, they wanted Commodus between them."

"The third emperor, you know who he is?"

"I only saw him once. Nero never used his name. He just called him my kinsman. I think even Nero is afraid of him."

"We'll meet him soon enough," Ara grumbles. "The more we approach his territory..."

"Fantastic," Lester says bitterly.

"So Nero and the dude in the west, they want Commodus to be a buffer between them. Monkey in the middle."

Meg sniffs. "Yeah. Nero told me... He said Commodus was like his Peaches. A vicious pet. But controllable."

"Hm. Kind of what Nico Di Angelo is to me," Ara says.

"Where is Peaches?" Lester inquires.

Meg has a hard time keeping a neutral expression. "The Beast—"

"Nero," Ara and Lester correct her.

"Nero took him. He said—he said I didn't deserve a pet until I behaved."

Ara scoffs. "Asshole. He's not even worthy of getting stomped by ostriches."

"We'll get Peaches back," Lester assures the girl.

"Yeah, chica," Leo flashes a friendly smile. "The Dread Pirate Valdez never abandons a crew member. Don't you worry about—"

"Snake," Ara announces, glowing teal. "We need to get out of the canal."

Lester and Leo pedal faster, moving for another twenty feet or so before Leo grabs Lester's shoulder and stops. "Look over there. How many sewers have you seen with gold grates on them? Betcha that one leads right to the emperor's palace."

"That was much too easy."

"Hey," Meg scowls at him. "Remember what Percy told us? Never say stuff like We made it or That was easy. You'll jinx us!"

"My entire existence is a jinx."

"I really feel that," Ara nods at the sewer. "Assesments, Captain Valdez?"

"Well—Look out!" 

A large creature rises from the waters, and with a harsh flick of its tail, turns their boat. Ara shivers and gasps as she comes out, reaching for Almighty and turning it into a spear. The monster traps their boat and squeezes causing little shards of plastic to fly everywhere. Ara shields Meg with her body, feeling a sharp piece cut her arm. 

Leo and Lester are able to keep their faces and shoulders outside the water, but Ara has to tilt her face so it doesn't get in her nose, and she has to pull Meg up to keep her head out. "Keep it occupied!" Leo urges them while he moves to the sewer. "I'll get us out..."

Meg slashes across the serpent's body but it only brings out sparks. Ara curses. "Lester, any idea of how to kill this thing?" 

"Big rocks," he pants. "You have any?"

"I can turn Almighty into a bazooka?"

"That's not a rock," Lester huffs.

"Well, I'm sorry I don't carry big rocks on my Octopus!"

Meg jumps out of Ara's grip and stabs one of the creature's eyes, angering it and causing Lester and Ara to get pushed underwater again by its wriggling body. Ara swims her way up and screams. "Leo!"

"I'm on it!" He replies, anxiously moving his fingers over the sewer.

"Hurry!" Lester presses, sounding far back.

"Gee, thanks!" Leo barks out. "I didn't think of that!"

"What is this thing?" Meg coughs.

"The Carthaginian Serpent," Lester says breathing heavily. "One of the most fearsome beasts ever to face Roman troops. In Africa, it almost drowned an entire legion under Marcus Atilius Regulus—"

"Don't care." Meg spits out water. "How do I kill it?"

"A very Daughter of Olympus way to proceed," Lester responds, looking fussy. "As I said before, the legion crushed it with thousands of rocks."

"We have a construction over there," Ara evaluates the half-built apartment building, looking for a weak point. "And I have a bazooka."

"And no brains!" Lester snaps. "You drop a building on it, you kill everyone around! Meg, perhaps if you could stab its other eye or its mouth..."

"While you do what, hide?" She struggles to remain standing.

The creature doesn't allow them to decide. It throws its head, forcing them to jump in different directions. When Ara emerges from the water, Meg is in the serpent's grip, lifted way above them.

"I got it!" Leo shouts, pushing open the grate's bars. He looks up and sees Meg. "Nuh-uh!" He tries to summon fire but he's too cold and wet, the only thing he can muster is steam.

The serpent tightens its grip and Meg locks eyes with Ara, the buzzing in her head comes back and somehow, she knows Meg is causing it. Buzzing. Vibrations. Ara glows white and looks at the crack in the wall the serpent left behind when moving to attack them. A weak spot.

"Lester, sing!" She points at the wall, and he understands.

"Leo!" He grabs Ara and pushes her forward. "Take your girlfriend and get in the tunnel!"

Leo catches her and pulls her into the sewer, hearing the booming echo of Lester's voice. "BEGONE, SNAKE! I AM APOLLO!" The floor shakes, but Leo keeps her close to him. Once it stops, he leaps forward to keep the entrance open. "Guys, hurry! The grate's closing again!"

Lester and Meg slip in quickly, the grate snapping shut making a sharp echo across the dark passageway.

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