#idk i just think it's an interesting little part of them i hadn't considered before

[icearts]

Lmk season 5 spoilers:

I need to talk about Nezha and Li Jing right fucking now

As much as I didn't like how the show wrote Li Jing, specifically the part where he pulled a complete 180 on his entire characterization for the sake of rushing the one plot I was most excited about, I really like the way Nezha was characterized (as long as we pretend Li Jing's the tyrannical asshole he was in mythology and was introduced to be in the season). Nezha's guilty that Li Jing hurt Wukong and Macaque, and he agreed with MK that his motives were suspicious, but as always, he places his duty before his feelings, connections, and physical needs. But he draws the line when Li Jing starts trying to hurt the kids. He stops him, no hesitation, and at the end of the season he even snaps at him, using Li Jing's own controlling rhetoric against him.

They could've used this in the season, that Nezha without hesitation will violate his orders to protect the kids. This is good characterization, considering the fact he was basically a soldier as a child, himself, and he had nobody to protect him. Even in the special at the end of season 3, when Nezha barely knows MK, he's still leaping to protect him from the mind-controlled Wukong.

Nezha tends to be treated as a warrior or a soldier by his peers, when in reality, he's a guardian. A protector. And this duty will take priority even over the fear he has for his father. He's been conditioned to believe the celestials and their leaders are above all, but his protective nature breaks this programming instantly.

Season 5 would've been better if Li Jing hadn't stopped to listen, because we would've seen this characterization front and center. We could've gotten Nezha fighting his dad (who Wukong commented was "a little stronger than Nezh-ie") and it would've been such a powerful moment, for all of the characters, too. This destiny stuff is assigned by the Heavens, and Nezha fighting against them on MK's side will show that MK should be against these pompous fuckers.

Li Jing could've been a major villain. We can have the Nine-Headed Demon as a major villain, too. Extremists on both sides, and it's up to MK to find that balance between order and chaos. MK represents the concepts of choice and will in this conflict. Willpower is a great mixture between chaos and order, because it defies the control others give and it fights the chaos trying to shatter it.

Back to the topic of Nezha and Li Jing, we could get Nezha becoming part of the group, and he and Pigsy could have a cool dynamic because Pigsy doesn't trust the gods, and he's a very unconventional father in comparison to King Li Jing. They'll disagree, question things, and idk maybe Nezha becomes like a big brother to MK, just wishful thinking there. Either way, Nezha and Pigsy would not get along (at least at first) and it would be really funny and interesting.

All I'm saying is that Nezha has the potential for dynamics with everyone. He and Wukong could also reference the fact that Au Guang (the Great Grand Dragon of the East, he was in season 3) kinda hates both of them. Idk, again, just some fanfic-y things. Maybe the show wouldn't write these things, maybe it would just stay plot-relevant, either way, there's lots of character dynamics to explore

[kolyasupremanxy]

I just finished binging bsd and have been religiously reading your stories and I saw that you have request’s open (I only screamed a little bit) and was wondering if i could request a scenario slight trigger warning ⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

⚠️ where Dazai finally meets someone who wants to end it all like him (he thinks she’s kidding and won’t go through with it) but her ability won’t allow her to die and he is shock when she actually goes through with all of his dying ideas (idk what to call them) and a fluffy ending if you can to level out the dark themes.

It’s kinda dark so i understand if you don’t do it but keep up the good work and thank you if you do decide to write it ❤️

𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : 𝐃𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐢 𝐎𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐮

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: angst , fluff ( ? )

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : suicide , mentions of ending life

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 0.8K

𝐀/𝐧: I hope you're doing well, anon.

You were standing at the edge of the building, staring down at the ground far below. You had been contemplating ending your life for as long as you could remember, and today felt like the day you would finally do it.

As you stood there, lost in thought, a voice behind you made you jump.

"Planning to jump?" Dazai said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

You turned to face him, surprised that someone had found you. "How did you know?" you asked, tears streaming down your face.

Dazai shrugged. "I could just tell. I've been there before, you know."

You looked at him skeptically. "You? A member of the mafia, suicidal?"

Dazai chuckled. "Yes, me. It's not uncommon, you know."

You felt a strange sense of comfort talking to him, like you had finally found someone who understood you. You explained to him how you had tried to end your life before, but every attempt had failed. You told him about your ability, how you couldn't die no matter how hard you tried.

Dazai's eyes lit up at the mention of your ability. "Interesting. Do you want to die with me?"

You were taken aback by his suggestion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, let's die together. It'll be fun," Dazai said with a smirk.

You looked at him, considering his proposal. Part of you was intrigued by the idea, but the other part of you was terrified. "What if I can't die?"

Dazai shrugged. "Then we'll just keep trying until we figure it out."

Over the next few weeks, you and Dazai spent your time trying to die together. You tried everything from jumping off buildings to getting hit by cars, but nothing seemed to work.

As you continued to spend time with Dazai, you began to see a different side of him. He was kind and caring, and he made you laugh in a way that no one else had before. You realized that you had developed feelings for him, and you were terrified that he would leave you once he figured out your secret.

As the weeks went by, you and Dazai continued to try and die together, but as time passed, you found that your desire to die began to fade. You continued to spend time with Dazai, you began to see a different side of him. He was kind and caring, and he made you laugh in a way that no one else had before. You realized that you had developed feelings for him and found that his company was enough to make you forget about your dark thoughts.

One day, as you were sitting on the roof of a building with Dazai, you realized that you hadn't thought about suicide in weeks. You turned to him, surprised by the realization.

"Dazai, I haven't thought about dying in a while," you said, a smile spreading across your face.

Dazai smiled back at you. "I know. I've noticed that you've been happier lately."

You looked at him, realizing that he had been paying attention to you more than you thought. "Thank you, Dazai. For being here with me."

Dazai wrapped his arm around you. "Of course, I'll always be here for you."

You leaned into his embrace, feeling grateful for his support.

Over the next few months, you and Dazai continued to grow closer, and your feelings for him continued to deepen. You found yourself falling in love with him, but you were too scared to tell him.

One night, as the two of you were walking through the city, you mustered up the courage to tell him how you felt.

"Dazai, I have to tell you something," you said, taking a deep breath.

Dazai looked at you, his eyes full of curiosity. "What is it?"

"I'm in love with you," you said, the words spilling out before you could stop them.

Dazai's eyes widened in surprise, but then a smile spread across his face. "I'm in love with you too," he said, taking your hand in his.

You felt a surge of happiness wash over you, and for the first time in a long time, you felt truly alive.

The two of you spent the rest of the night walking through the city, hand in hand, talking about your hopes and dreams for the future. You realized that, even though you had spent so much time trying to die, life was worth living if you had someone to share it with.

As the sun began to rise, you and Dazai stood on a bridge, watching the first rays of sunlight hit the water. You turned to him, feeling overwhelmed with emotion.

"Dazai, thank you for being with me when i was at my lowest point of my life," you said, tears streaming down your face.

Dazai took your face in his hands, wiping away your tears. "Anytime, my love. I'll always be here for you."

You leaned in and kissed him, feeling grateful for the love and support that he had given you. As you stood there, watching the sun rise with Dazai by your side, you knew that, no matter what happened, you would always have a reason to live.

Do Not Copy or Plagiarize Any of My Works. Reblogs Are Very Appreciated.

[falmerbrook]

Murkmire thoughts!

What a grand ol' time! A good old fashion treasure hunt! Twas fun!

The environment of Murkmire was very well done! Very atmospheric and pretty and felt like an actually marshy/swampy area. The edges of the zone felt natural as well. The ambient sounds and music were great to set the mood too.

I was pretty blown away by the interiors too! Almost every interior was just gorgeous. They had such beautiful lighting and ambience and such perfect vistas/views upon entering them. I think this is the first part of the game where I have repeatedly been blown away by the interiors and taken screenshots of caves and temples and stuff. I hadn't even considered their visual design that much before now, but I really appreciate these kinds of touches.

The characters were fun and interesting! Not the most stand out characters ever, but they all had their own little contained arcs (an underrated thing in this game...) and were genuinely likeable. I liked them a lot!

The main storyline was fun too. A fun little mystery with some predictable turns, but predictable in a way that I didn't know where it was going right away but rather as hints started being dropped, so the kind of twists that make me feel clever (lol). The story didn't overstay its welcome and the stakes weren't world ending, but were still engaging.

The Argonian/Saxhleel cultural development was very cool too. I always appreciate cultural lore, and I thought they were handled better than what I have already seen in the base game. (lots of references to argonian sex, but I'm not complaining. they should tap into that kind of "world-building" more often if you ask me). They were given a lot of unique and thoughtful worldbuilding that ESO has spared for most of the other races so far.

On that note, there were themes in this one (well, one, but still)! A theme that the main quest built up to! That was fun. And personally, i found the theme of accepting change to be one that was presented in a pretty thought-provoking way (but tes standard, let me be clear. the bar is low). It was a good was of really hammering home that part of Saxhleel culture.

Rapid fire round

One random thing I've noticed: this DLC has started a trend of new NPC dialogue animations that I've noticed in other new content (e.g. festivals) that I'm not a fan of. This is such a minor thing but there a few animations that just don't fit and look poorly motion-captured to me and I find them a little distracting. There aren't a lot in this DLC, but I'm bracing myself for more to come. I actually like the base game animation style for the dialogue.

The nagas looked cool (and their scales very pretty) and I appreciated the inclusion of different looking argonians. We should be able to make one during character creation imo. The way their teeth were sat in their mouth drove me a little nuts though

I've noticed as I make my way through the DLCs that there is a trend of less enemies in the overland by area, which I am extremely thankful for because in the base game you couldn't walk 3 feet without being attacked by something.

The dialogue for the argonians was better overall here than in the base game. I'm too tired/lazy to go into it now but the way the argonians in the base game were written felt too noble savage-y in my opinion (that might just be me though idk)

Famia was so cute I loved her

I liked the Bright Throat quest. Quests that make me go "what the fuck?" my beloved

HELLO??? WHAT IS THIS?????????

Anyway, that is all! I think the Elsweyr Chapter is up next and I have heard many good things about that one, so I'm looking forward to it!

[spilledmilkfkdies]

So what are your personal thoughts on Yilidth (if you haven't already answered). I hadn't read the comics in a while but I don't think they ever said anything about him being related to Duman, though considering his eye and hair colour I guess it was probably implied. How do you think he created him? Like did he just use magic or did he had a one night stand and then years later, a basket with baby Duman just appeared with a letter telling him he's the dad, and he's like "Oh, f*#k".

I actually made an au where the wizards had joined Yilidth's wizard cult as novices and one task that he made them do was babysit Duman. Imagine the chaos😂

I think I have given my thoughts on him before, but that was both a while ago and I didn't appreciate him as much as I do now, which you can tell ����💀 very angry very rambly stuff over there- So let me give some more/updated thoughts!!

Him being underused and shoehorned is still very true, unfortunately. He could've been a super handy tool to give us more information about the whole Terrestrial conflict, since that was an interesting part of canon that might have benefitted from a bit more exploration, even if it was a bit late. But then he just. Wasn't?? He was announced, he came, he died?????? And that was the first and last we saw of him. Honestly deranged boooo yucky.

He never even got to interact with the wizards again- You could literally say he was just some random criminal that had been locked away and almost nothing would change, and that's really his main problem. Aside from his design. I mean, love a blank canvas to throw a bunch of takes at, but come on!!!!!

Him and Duman's relation was never really mentioned either, I don't think? Beyond the "He was the leader of the fairy hunters!" there's really um. Nothing. Like in general. Ask canon Yllidith their names and he'll give you a blank stare fgbhbn- Tbh I'm surprised Duman's even in the lil flashback thingy at all ngl

Now, can we call any sort of relation implied? Are we gonna give them that much credit? Well idk! I'm just personally a fan of it so I just kinda. Squinted real hard. Matching eye colour? Mhm. Hair colour? Sure kinda. Yllidith having illusion magic and Duman being a shapeshifter? Yep that lines up enough for me, that does it, they're related now. Some people see the vision, others might not- I've spoken to plenty of people who aren't a fan of the take and that's a-okay, just know that I very much am 👉👈

This is a. Surprisingly consistent thing for me too?? Like yeah there's a case of "it depends on what I'm doing", there usually is- But not to a large extent ig? The method varies, but in a lot of stuff I'm doing now there's definitely a relation in one way or another.

Usually Duman is more or less made from scratch, a magic'd up baby, if you will. Though the process did include Yllidith's blood, so you have enough wiggle room to still say there's a blood relation. (Duman wouldn't.) (Yllidith only does when it's convenient.) But I've been getting the urge to explore a more normal approach where he was just regularly born lately, so maybe I'll get to that at some point too.

And!! If you ever feel like sharing more of that AU in any way, please do, because it sounds absolutely DELIGHTFUL. Imagine them thinking it's gonna be an easy enough task, and they wonder why nobody else wants to do it, then little Duman starts shapeshifting into horrors beyond mortal comprehension. Bye, I'm obsessed.

[blade-that-was-broken]

In your soldier on au does branch ever think about signing up for the military? When he’s the age he can do it but this au got me thinking about how my older brother was in the military and how that influenced me to want to be in the military too but my family has a history with the military so idk if John Dory be in the military has influenced branch a little because they seem to be getting along.( sorry if doesn’t make sense but I just had some thoughts about it but this is a really interesting and cool au and I’m only 14 so I don’t really know how a 16 year old will think about this😅)

Oooooooohhhhh... okay, okay, okay I got this lol

This is entirely possible. Especially since John was 17 when he signed up and Branch is not that much younger now. I think he would probably consider it at some point, at the very least, although if John knew, he'd probably be like... now I know what Dickory was trying to do with his brother lol so it might be a theme lol.

I think Branch might consider it at some point; especially when John talks about the good things, the places he's been, the people he has met, the squad that became his family. And since Branch has a kind of disconnect from his brothers, he might think this is kind of a good idea. However, on the other hand, with John's new predicament and disability, Branch also gets a bit of a seat into what can - and even often does - happen when in that type of environment.

John lost his leg. And no matter how strong and capable he is or becomes, that is something he does have to struggle with because it is a huge, huge adjustment, especially at his age. So Branch could also very well be faced with what if John hadn't survived? Branch would have never have met him. What if Branch did the join the military and didn't survive?

In the end, he might consider even have a phase of daydreaming about it for a bit. But at the end of the day, he won't. He ends up gaining that family and relationships that he was longing for, mostly when he is in Hawaii with John (and by proxy, Bruce). Rosiepuff might even sell her house and end up moving them there because of it.

Branch gets friends and close relationships. Not just with John, but with other people too. Tresillo and the rest of John's squad actually get close with Branch too. He ends up having a better relationship - although a little awkward - with Bruce. He has some friendship/relationship with his nephews and possibly even Clampers and Hickory as well. Eventually Poppy will probably make an appearance as well and well, we know I ship Branch and Poppy.

Branch having that moment of wanting the military, part of it is because he was unfulfilled in his life and relationships and in the beginning, before things get better, he sees the good in John's life but he doesn't quite realize that good came out of some really painful loneliness that he didn't have the choice to find in his own family. Branch and John's loneliness are not exactly the same but very, very similar, even though their circumstances are a bit different.

Military backgrounds definitely influence a family, whether or not the family tries to. One of my high school friends, despite her small stature, was determined to get in because that was in her family. It wasn't that her parents told her she had to or even expected her to, but it was something she really wanted and she did. I don't know if she is still here or not, but I know she got in.

And don't worry, your ask made total sense. I'm sorry I went a bit above and beyond.

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

ofmd s2e4 rewatch where i pause to jot down my thoughts and other random shit

it's been a busy week since last thursday and shit's only gonna get busier for me after tomorrow so hopefully i can get through these two episodes out before i go to bed lol!!! anyway once again these posts are just me rambling so i can process the insane amount of information in these episodes and if u want to read them too that's fine.

s2e1, s2e2, s2e3, s2e4, s2e5, s2e6, s2e7, s2e8

rip everyone who wanted homoerotic sword fighting in the gentebeard reunion. have a headbutt as a consolation prize.

obsessed with stede holding raw room-temperature meat against his bruised face bc that's not even a little bit how that works. i love this show.

ok so jim saying "he'll probably get around to killing you after he's rested" in response to stede saying ed needs to regain his strength actually gives some pretty good context to why they want ed of the ship so bad. bc they DID fully try to kill ed and now he's here and alive and like. if i were jim i would be pretty worried abt ed holding a grudge abt that.

wont lie stede being like "we dont just banish people, that's not us!" makes me thinkg abt how they fully banished izzy from the ship in e6. i mean technically izzy banished himself on accident but. lol.

also izzy's absence in this scene indicating he is not yet considered part of the entire crew

roach: i need that steak back, it's dinner stede: (pulling the steak away) oh, right fang: maybe let's put the banishment to a vote? stede: (steak back on his face, apparently having forgotten he was literally just about to give the meat to roach) aw do we have to :(

ed chained to the ship is doing. a lot for me. i wont lie.

buttons saying he's been to the gravy basket a few times... how many times has this man almost died??????

it is deeply funny to me that they edit the split second flashback of the drowning and mermaid hallucination to look all creepy as if that whole scene wasn't set to an incredibly sappy 80's love song (said with immense affection)

OBSESSED with stede trying to be like. encouraging to izzy. and being like "he cant hear you he's got no head" about izzy yelling at the ruined figurehead. this fucking dork.

so ive seen ppl talking abt how the crew's in a deadlock abt banishing ed and which ppl they think were pro-banishment and which were against, but the scenes with the crew make it look like everyone's voting for ed to get kicked out. so tbh i think like either of the following interpretations are pretty valid: the crew is split 50/50 on if they should banish ed OR the crew 100% wants to banish ed and stede was gonna try and leverage izzy's vote to try and get more ppl to change their mind. doesnt rlly matter either way tho

also the fact that izzy was the one to keep ed's body is. interesting. the others must've known abt it and helped izzy hide the body in the secret room. but izzy being the one to be like "no we're not throwing him overboard" is. something. no conclusions abt this atm im just rotating this fact in my brain.

i also just have a lot of thoughts abt the mutiny and the fact that like, jim's a trained assassin and the others are also pretty experienced killers and they probably knew they hadn't completely finished the job. and there was plenty of opportunity for them to do something about that. but instead they hid his body and waited for ed to succumb to his injuries. it feels kinda like ed's "technically i outsource the big job" rule. idk. thoughtssss.

frenchie in this scene is so funny bc he seems both actually apologetic abt kicking ed off the ship but also very relieved/vindicated to see him go.

didnt realize olu almost said smthng to ed lol i thought ed was just saying "fuck you" to him for no reason ghfjkghjkfh

"first time i've ever been on this side of a walk of shame" wee john i have so many questions. how many times have you been banished from a ship.

obsessed with archie just being like "way to make this awkward brah." her shitty boss put her life at risk in an attempt to make her and her coworkers kill him in a weird roundabout suicide attempt and her summary of the situation is "well, this is awkward :/"

"shitty sailing with you" sick burn, jim

"you're making it really hard to look up to you, man" LOVE how black pete is still a blackbeard stan. despite everything.

just ONCE i want someone to appreciate roach's sandwiches :(

"dont you want your sammy" STEDE I WOULD DIE FOR YOU

also i disagree with the subtitles here im like 99% sure says "you're no fuckin mermaid" not "you're not a fuckin mermaid" but that's just me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

stede looks SO sad abt not being a mermaid

love how everyone in this episode just sort of nods and is like "yeah okay" every time buttons tells them he's turning into a bird

altho with stede in this scene specifically im convinced that he's just jumping at the chance to follow ed to the island. he was absolutely gonna come up with some shitty excuse to go ashore anyway but it's nice of buttons to give him plausible deniability

i love how much ed hates nature

why do the subtitles say "gyp-" this has been bothering me all week. the line is "like a drifter"

i also love ed's line delivery of "a wolf?"

anyway dumb posts abt the spider tattoo backstory: 1, 2, 3

i love to see ed getting hugs... wish i could give him a hug :(

ok also buttons talking abt the gravy basket made me think ed needed like some sort of spell or smthng to snap out of it but instead it just kinda wore off by the end of the episode (maybe, depends on how you read the whole buttons turning into a bird scene). this is very funny to me for some reason

anne rubbing the cup she's holding against her tit. queen.

stede bonnet idiot dumbfuck moments

i LOVE anne's line delivery of "eddie motherfuckin teeeeach" like yeah that's cj's girl alright. or was cj's girl. who knows.

SECRET HANDSHAKE im cryinggggg. i love them.

stede's voice sounds so weird when he says "i wasn't looking for you" and that's because he's fucking lying through his teeth

LOVE how anne and mary look at each other after the "shipmates" "former" interaction like they are immediately on the same wavelength. and that wavelength is fucking with ed and his ex. they sniffed out a messy relationship dynamic and were like "oh hell yeah we need more of this in our lives"

ed is SO bitchy this whole scene i fucking love it. ed's face when he says "him?" fdhjksgfjhdgkj

ed: whatever 🙄 anne: whatever? 👀 mary: whatever! 😈

wee john getting more goth is so good

drunk izzy rambling at the ship's figurehead is so funny to me tho i miss drunk izzy

ed's crew lady macbeth "out damned spot" moments

i like how there's a goat in the background of this scene in anne and mary's house and it is unexplained and also never seen again.

ed's face after stede says "that's romance" is soooo good this bitch is so pissed. like oh would you have met me at the docs if i peeled the guard's face off instead of just paying him off? is that what fuckin does it for you???? not that it matters bc i dont care. but. cunt.

yeah im just focusing in on all of ed's faces in this scene. "quite the shift going from wearing people's faces to antique collectors" gets ed to freeze in the middle of bringing his drink up to his lips and just kinda stare off into the distance.

"how did you meet" has ed kind of frowning for a split second before stede starts answering and then he rolls his eyes very dramatically and sighs deeply

ed immediately being like "actually i was gonna kill him myself!" trying to undermine stede's meet-cute story. also anne and mary nodding along in complete unison bc this is just normal pirate conversation to them.

~~~

also as someone who has been team "no ed was dead serious abt the plan to steal stede's identity" this was very vindicating for me. it's a bad plan and it doesn't make any sense but logistics literally dont matter in this show. what matters is giving this story the "falling for the mark" trope makes ed's character arc in season 1 that much tastier!!!!

ed and stede going back and forth telling their story i cant fucking wait until theyre happily together telling this story and instead of ed trying to downplay it and ruin the meet-cute-iness of it they're just building on each other and being sappy and adorable

"more like i relented" one of the biggest lies i've ever heard this man say fjhkgjkfdhk

"until he completely boned it" SAY IT. FUCKING SAY IT. SOOOOO TRUE ED.

auauhghgh the beard bit......... crying

THE!!!!! QUIETEST LITTLE "thank you" OF ALL TIME. TIED MAYBE WITH ED SAYING "thank you" AFTER "i think you're very sophisticated" IN 1.05

i dont blame stede for trying to get ed to open up right after that bc that was the first bone ed's thrown stede's way since he woke up. unfortunately ed is not in the mood to talk abt his near-death experience and mermaid hallucination sequence.

LOVE anne's little gesture when she says "rabbit" and the little hip cocking

stede being like "uhhhh we could leave" during the knifeplay exhibitionism moment

i giggle every time at the way the crew is instantly like "fuck closing our eyes we're doing any fucking surprises"

ngl idgw the crew yelled abt the piñata reveal. but ok

loooove stede's half of the crew just blowing past all the screaming and tension from ed's half. jim screams "STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!!!" abt the blindfold and roach is like "you won't want to stay the fuck away from this caaaake!" like roach fdhsjfgdhfjkghkj read the room?????

i love how much stede just. completely misses all of annie's flirting

ed coughing during the blunt session i love himmmmm

ok but ed's trying to be like "im totally over stede i dont even like him" and then ed reminiscing fondly with a distant smile abt the 1.06 stabbing scene

"and that was the... second time you left your wife?" underrated line

love how annie's been all quiet and seductive and then when she goes to make her move she's just like "WOUND THIS" and aggressively sits in stede's lap

also ok. "they're gonna be so jealous" is that annie talking abt ed and mary or is that annie using they/them pronouns for mary.

BUTTONS JUMPSCARE

also i love how they have that one medusa painting just. in their kitchen. im obsessed with the interior decor of this lesbian antique store that annie and mary live in

the way she's so touched by the poisoning attempt hjfgfjksghskjhgjkh

buttons being like "aahhhhhh do i give her... this bowl......????" fhjkghkfsjhk

"yeah, babe" TEALORANGES WIN

im honestly sad izzy's pathetic wet beast moment only really went for like three tiny scenes in one episode bc this shit was so funny to me. crawling away saying "you're born alone you die alone" over and over again. sir what are you even doing.

god buttons in this episode is so fucking funny bc i keep forgetting he's there. also why is he even there. like was he even invited to dinner or did he just sit down and annie and mary were like "oh ok i uh. guess we'll go make another plate??"

ed's face after buttons says the bit abt "i can tell this rabbit was intelligent" is soooo funny why is he so fucking pissed fdhsjkgyjdfkghjk

NO WAIT HE'S PISSED BC THAT WAS HIS FRIEND. THAT WAS HIS FRIEND THE WOLF HE WAS TELLING HIS SECRETS. NOW IM KINDA SAD :(:(:(

stede talking abt the sea when what he's actually talking abt is ed part 2 electric boogaloo

ed very calmly. standing up. and smashing the chair. im obsessed with him.

stede bonnet stupid dumbass moments

IMPROMPTU BLANKET FORT TIME

ed's voice is so quiet at the start of this scene he's not even yelling at stede until stede says "it's not fair" ohhhhhh my babygirl is so fucking sad........

"you ditching me without a note or anything" ed's literacy confirmed

"expecting me to just melt back into your arms" eddie my man. stede has not given literally any indication that he expected this at all. you are telling on yourself fhdjskghfkjshd

this scene is so fucking good i barely have anything to say abt it. just. u can rlly tell david jenkins wrote this ep himself lolll

"i was all in, mate. i was all in." IM SOBBING

oh nooooo i forgot that ed's line delivery of "im sorry my horrible naked chin disgusts you so much" isnt actually as sarcastic as the words itself make it seem. like it feels like ed wanted to say that all angrily and bitter but instead he just sounds sadddddd

ok ok but the way stede says "i love your chin naked or otherwise" and then after a pause (during which ed is keeping INCREDIBLY still bc u know otherwise he's just gonna burst into tearssss) stede whispers "ed" and ed is immediately like "don't" and then. stede going in for the "i love you" but like the way he's so slow with it?? he's literally like "i. love." and idk if it's bc he's trying to make this as clear as possible or if he's giving ed enough time to cut him off if he doesn't want to hear it

and ed DOES he DOES cut him off with "you don't get to say that to me" and he like. keeps glancing at stede out of the corner of his eye but not quite looking at him directly bc he knowwwwws it's like staring into the sun baby and ed knows if he looks at stede's face it's literally all over.

but also ed's face after stede pivots to "i love everything about you" he's SO pissed. he quietly groans and rolls his eyes bc this bitch. finding stupid loopholes to not being allowed to say "i love you." fuck this guy ed hates him so fucking much (lying)

oooooh when stede says "you don't have to say it back to me" ed's mouth opens and closes a bit before "not about to" bc this man is trying. SO hard not to cry (so am i but it's not working sorry there are tears on my face right now)

idk idk idk smthng abt "it's nice. feels good." makes me hurt so fucking bad bc the entire time since ed's woken up stede's been getting headbutted and snarked at passive-aggressively but stede's still like "i love being near you it makes me happy :)" brb i need. a fucking moment.

honestly tho how did annie and mary even overhear that bit bc they were on the other side of the room and stede was whispering SO quietly. opposite of when ppl in this show dont hear things despite the things being said like two feet away from them (1.03 geraldo and jackie talking abt how blackbeard was looking for stede, 2.01 zheng saying the indigo was worth way more than she spent on it)

LOVE how anne being like "stede likes the ladies" is how ed figures out "ohhhh wait ok theyre just fucking with us, got it" bc this guy??? liking women????? lmao

this also HAS to be why he gets over mary like his brain mustve gone "wait hang on why the fuck would he go back to her he doesn't even like women. guess maybe he really did panic huh" hdjksghfckghkjsh

obsessed with these TINY tiny details abt the ed/jack/annie/mary polycule dynamics we're given. ed would've expected as much from annie bc she's a fucking psycho. mary apparently used to not be like this. im putting the pieces together im connecting the dots.

ed and stede's knowing smug looks at each other. im obsessed.

annie being rlly sensitive to the word "bitch" im considering that more hints abt the polycule backstory

yayy fanny newspaper

"really? i mean she stabbed you, you poisoned her, and then she jumped on my face" stede this is all part of their very elaborate and deeply toxic sex life ok stop kinkshaming them

~~~

curious if ed and stede are too distracted by mary spelling out their worst fears to comment on all the smoke coming into the room

"everything must go" like a fucking clearance sale. this is such a silly line. this is a silly show. i love it here.

WHY DONT THEY MAKE OUT SLOPPY STYLE HERE THO

wait are they crying while they hug??? bro these girls are so fucking messy i love them

ed saying "see you guys" before he leaves them in their burning house. i would die for him

ok team arts and craft time while making a prosthetic for izzy. obsessed with how the b plot of this episode is literally "the crew struggles to get along but they eventually set aside their differences and work together when they realize there's someone even more cringe and pathetic than any of them"

"YOU ARE!!! HARASSING A CRIPPLE!!!!!!" is suchhhh a funny line im sorry im gonna miss izzy at his lowest fhsjkhjksf. literally they just knocked on the door my dude calm downnnn

obsessed with izzy being genuinelly touched and expressing it by saying "fucking cocksuckers." this man is allergic to having feelings.

stede and ed painfully talking over each other bc everything is awkward and difficult. i love them.

ed's face when stede offers to let ed stay. his very quiet "yis." the way he says "might be nice" and then VERY QUICKLY looks away

stede yelling GREAT at the top of his lungs fhdsjkguydfgfjkhl

i love when these guys try to play it cool bc theyre so fucking bad at it hgdfgvjfxdkgjjdkkgjhfdkh

stede bonnet dumb idiot moron moments

ed staring off lovinglyyyyyy

buttons jumpscare

also is that fucking sage. are we doing cultural appropriation here

buttons saying "Earth Wind and Fire i wanna go higher" hfjkhgfdjkhgjkh

i love how ed. does not question this "fuck yeah, brother. fly."

ed teach lovesick fool moments

i love how happy ed sounds telling stede abt buttons he sounds like his old goofy self for the first time all season.... im gonna cry

also i like how the crew adopts izzy as their new creature. 10/10

post credits scene is annie and mary at dinner with buttons. i guess it's after stede goes to comfort ed but before they go eavesdrop on that convo.

buttons enjoying his last meal as a human. and also he's like "there's too much fucking on that ship i need to get away from it all." and his way of doing this is becoming a bird. love that.

[feralkwe]

ship ask game. pre-relationship 5, general 10 and 12, + 7 and 10 for domestic? pick whatever ship you want lol

so i was gonna do a different ship, but you have an elidibus avatar, i have an elidibus avatar. let's not be coy. you are all gonna unfollow me if i don't get other interests soon.

let's go!

I - 5: what would their lives be like if they had never met?

this one is very funny to me, given that he's an essential part of the plot on at least three occasions and she functions to stop him in it. i imagine if they hadn't met, there wouldn't be much world left. tho, idk maybe she'd have survived it all and come out the other side of all the rejoinings fully intact. huh. wow. i have to think on that one a bit. ope.

II - 10: What are their parallels, whether in their personalities or their histories?

oh i love this one. idk who would ever sit and draw all the parallels between the wol and elidibus. that certainly could not be me. i would never think about the fact that they both consider their duty to the world the top priority even over the personal self. i absolutely spent zero hours thinking about how they both love the world enough to sacrifice everything to save it. and, if i'm honest, i've never noticed that they're both a little obsessed with one another over the course of their bizarre twists of fate.

i like to think meeting the wol in the past influenced elidibus as he went forward as warrior of light. kit certainly pressed onward to see the world saved in part because she knew what he sacrificed to give her that chance. i also h/c that kit being a warrior inspired him in his paladin form, but you're not here for my silly lore headcanons. i also think his choice to possess ardbert was strategic as part of that obsession.

for kit's part, she never really recovered from what she had to do in sos, which is a nice paper cut that pandae poured lemon juice all over.

II - 12: do they hide anything from each other, big or small?

before setting off to elpis, elidibus warned her that she could not use these little jaunts through time to change the events of the past or influence the future. so obviously when they meet for pandae, she doesn't tell him what she knows. right or wrong, it is a choice she made out of what she saw as a duty to the world. that's okay lol because he totally thought she believed his ruse too, right? those are equal things, for sure! so initially, yes, they were both keeping pretty big secrets. arguably hers is much worse.

i think in a world where they were allowed to be together that honesty would be a big thing. kit dislikes lies, and lying seems counter to the fundamentals of who themis/elidibus is. they will both do so out of necessity, but if we're dealing with a world that isn't tearing them apart and making them mortal enemies, no, i don't think they would hide anything from one another.

IV - 7: who worries the most?

oh, i'm pretty sure this yoke is bore evenly. it's just who they both are, imo. my god, will someone invent therapy?

IV - 10: who is more likely to convince the other to come back to sleep in the morning?

well that is a disgustingly cute question that is gonna take me back to that 'in perfect world where they actually get to be together' place. my initial gut was to say kit, because elidibus is too duty-bound, but uhhhh i established in fic that he considers her the one exception to always putting his duty first. him. it would be him. "just five more minutes to cuddle, pls. no, the convocation won't miss me. it's fine. i can be late. only nabriales will complain. he can go fuck himself."

i'm so cringe. please take me out back and shoot me.

thanks for the ask! i'm almost sorry i'm a one-trick pony right now. almost.

ship ask game questions here.

[jasperlion]

[ I have Thoughts on the FB, let me tell you. ]

lets divide it into bits:

The fairies

Idc about them sorry.

Peony was wholesome and good on Triandra for finding out nightmares aren't hated. That's about all I have to say. I'm not sure how I felt about the Tharja segment tbh.

Sonya's Solo Story

For this I have nothing bad to say at all. I think Niime as a choice for someone for Sonya to talk to was a great idea, especially because they have a very similar history with the kind of magic that took away some of their family. Granted, the circumstances were Very Different, as is highlighted in the FB, but at least they have this to share in and research on together.

The Celica bit took me by surprise, I actually did not expect her to show up. However, I think it was also a good idea, seeing as Celica is probably the only person alive who has been turned into a witch and lived* to regain her true self. (*she did, however, have to die for it) Clearly, her circumstances were Special to say the least, but the fact it happened means saving a witch could be possible, perhaps even without the death part, they just have to keep looking. "The day I give up on trying to save my sisters is the day they truly die." Damn.

Mycen's Solo Story

It was nice to see FEH acknowledge that Alm was his own war tactician and is quite experienced and knowledgeable as a commander.

That said, we really could have done without Fjorm here beyond perhaps her role in being the player stand-in explaining Alm and Rudolf's beef if they hadn't played Gaiden/SoV.

I also feel it's a little odd of Rudolf to be avoiding Alm considering the Paralogue for Valentines literally ends on Alm and Rudolf trying to make amends and Talk (Celica pushing for it), and all of them going to the festival together. That said, it's not TOO odd, especially since this is a *different* Alm. It does feel like a bit of backpeddaling on the valentines event, though. Idk, I think this could have been elaborated more on.

Also, very silly of two old men to be arguing on who is responsible for Alm being who he turned out to be lol. No complaints on that, as much as it shows a little bit of what each other believes.

I do think it makes sense that Alm is a little sensitive about the patricide thing towards Rudolf and not Mycen simply because Rudolf in his world is already dead. There's no way to make peace with that, or amends with that. Mycen, however, is still alive. He probably already buried the hatchet with his adoptive grandfather by the point he got sent to Askr, so there's no need for sensitivity and hostility. To a point, anyways.

Anyway, mainly, all of this is minor 'eh... huh', my main issue is Fjorm being so prevalent in the story when it feels like she's just there to be a soundboard. Poor woman.

RIP Anna btw.

The FB Story Itself

I got jumpscared by the fact that it starts off ad verbatim like one of me and Bern's (@indumasname ) threads lol

I think the concept of the nothing, and the nightmares, is interesting.

Sonya's resolution with her own nightmares about being unable to save her sisters before she dies, and how they question her resolve, were touching and ended on a strong note. Very good stuff.

Mycen's, however...

That's the one I take issue with, of course, lol.

Mycen doesn't do anything to disprove what Alm and Celica say, he just speaks over them. Sure, they're nightmares, but they have a good point — he kinda threw two kids in a conflict he should have lead or at least could have assisted in.

In a way it felt more like writers trying to justify Mycen, but having no actual reasonable reason for him. Just "Well, he's right because they weren't shouldering it alone". Except adults around them forced them to take responsibility, and so did he, over a situation and world they had no hand in making at just 17.

It'd have felt more resolute if he had faced the children he harmed and admitted they're right, he DID put them in that situation. Maybe they weren't alone, but he set them on a path that forced them to grow up and suffer when they were barely adolescents, because he believed there was no other way to end the reign of the Gods. He believed in the prophecy, and while it worked out, they suffered for it. That would have at least felt like he was answering what the nightmares said… not just speaking over them and ignoring what they said. In a way, it made Mycen look like he constantly avoids the responsibility of what he did to those kids, and the writing put him in the right for it.

Closing thoughts

Alm vc

[fabdante]

For the reboot:

How do you think Dante would react to someone betraying him because Vergil hired/blackmailed them into it? Not because they WANTED to do it (tho they did make Vergil pay them for it, in cash- because money is always useful, and if they couldn't overpower the bastard than the least they could do is make him fucking pay for it), but because Mr. King of Hell Vergil didn't really give them any choice in the matter.

The other thing is, they got close to Dante and Kat first, too. Became friends with them, got at least Dante (maybe they tried to give Kat more space, unless Vergil explicitly ordered them to get close to Kat, too) to trust them enough that Dante considered them a friend. And, if they hadn't met Vergil FIRST and had been "hired" by him to get close to Dante and Kat, they'd probably of been friends with Dante and Kat on their own... it's just that it... didn't work out like that.

I feel like Dante would probably forgive them, especially if they tried to make whatever info or trap they were reporting to/helping Vergil set up do as little harm as possible, and if they betrayed Vergil as soon as they get the opportunity to, too, then even better. But Idk how much of an explanation Dante would listen to right off, because right off, Dante's gonna be pissed. Especially if Vergil outs them as a spy if they're not there in person to defend themselves. Which seems like something Vergil would do, both because its a smart move, its a dick move, and also, hey, getting Mundus pissed worked to let the twins take him down, so on Dante... Would that work on Dante? Would Vergil know Dante well enough to know what WOULD work best to take his estranged twin brother down? I mean, its not like the two really talked or bonded much, before they killed Mundus...

I'm not sure if I could see Vergil wanting a double agent, mostly because I'm not sure if he has access to the funds for it and given he's fresh off of the 'betrayal' of Kat and Dante himself. I say 'betrayal' because in Vergil's perspective, it was a betrayal. He expected them both to agree with him and understand where he was coming from which did not happen so like from his perspective he has also been betrayed (though, again, easily could have been solved by talking to Kat and Dante like before everything at the end of the game).

He just seems like, after everything that happened, he'd take a more direct approach. Part due to his developing trust issues, part due to his frustration with Dante. He seems to put a lot of blame for like...everything on Dante and Dante did try to kill him (even if unintentionally). I just don't see Vergil having the sort of patience for a long con like that, particularly since he might assume Dante also is going to have continued trust issues.

If Vergil were to do this sort of thing, though, I imagine he'd want someone he feels is 100% loyal to him which could create an interesting dynamic with Dante and others where this spy character starts out loyal to Vergil but as they get to know Dante and the others, it softens them to the group and such. Flip side of this would be Kat's been in on it the whole time maybe idk asdfghjk

As for Dante, if this scenario were to happen.

I think Dante would have a very difficult time with something like this, particularly fresh off the whole situation with Vergil. I think I talk about it here in this meta but here I posit the theory that Dante didn't exactly trust Vergil as much as he ignored his instincts about the situation due his desire to trust Vergil due to the whole brothers thing. Which naturally made the betrayal worse, because he knew better. I think there'd be some sympathy there for this spy character maybe but it'd be very buried under the anger that comes with everything related to Vergil, particularly because Dantes likely to feel like he's being fucked over by Vergil all over again.

I think Dantes also very hard to get to trust someone. Kat I feel is a bit of an exception and still is. The quickness to trust her is because they're similar and all, he can see a lot of himself in her and everything. And I think loyalty in this sense is a bit deal to Dante. I feel like his trust is hard earned, his loyalty to, and breaking that like...you're never going to quite get it back.

I think maybe he could forgive this person, depending on circumstance, but it's not going to be easy and I don't know if he's ever going to really trust them again after that.

As for the last part: I'm not sure if it'd be the best move to piss of Dante so much. Getting Mundus pissed was useful because it separated him from the Hellgate, which the twins needed to do to kill him. Pissing off Dante doesn't do much, though. He's used to being angry and sure it'll make him a bit more impulsive, it's going to make him a lot more dangerous to Vergil in a fight particularly if he loses control again. Last time he almost killed Vergil, after all. And I think Vergil would consider that.

I do think that Vergil had spent a good deal of time studying Dante before finding him, and he's probably spent time after doing the same. So, despite not knowing Dante all that well, he does have an idea of how he fights and it's something he can further train himself on. If Vergil could beat him remains to be seen and all but I think with what information Vergil does have on Dante, he can figure out some strategies. That's my thought, anyway.

[finsterhund]

Hoping this will be my last update on the situation ever because all things considered not knowing he was still up to his bullshit felt good but a little reminder not to believe everything you read on the internet. Zachary (bitter HoD stalker guy) finally got banned from Twitter for violating the terms of service (five years too late if you ask me and under the new Musk ownership no less) and he's since moved over to Reddit and is posting bizarre made up fake "facts" about Heart of Darkness and trying to pass off his own fanfiction idea as if it were an actual sequel Eric was working on. Why? Idk man. It's hard to take seriously at this point. Reddit ecosystems generally don't appreciate this special breed of Twitter culture though and I was far from the first person to call him on his bullshit by the time I got around to seeing it on my feed.

He actually had the nerve to complain I showed up because he, a guy who used to exclusively use Twitter previously, posted lies about a niche topic I'm interested in, in a community I frequent, on a site I was using for fucking years before I even knew who the hell he was. I check Reddit almost every day. I used to make burner accounts and write nosleep stories. (None were good and taking credit for them ruins the fun so don't ask) I fucking run the subreddit for the game for fucks sake. I don't know what you expected. Like going to a playground and getting annoyed that there's children there.

It's just so fucking strange to me that he's fucking writing up fake sequel synopsises though? I just really hope he doesn't eventually end up admitting to liking the game or something because as I've grown and matured I've learned that a shitty person hating something you like will always be better than a shitty person liking it and I don't think I'd be able to move past the unrelated to HoD shit he's been part of over the years. He tried to lie and spin a false narrative so I evidently looked up stuff I hadn't thought about in a long while and it's hard to believe he was responsible for it all.

This is after the Godzilla weirdo in the Stephen King subreddit came back a bit ago too. I feel like those two would be great friends.

[msommers]

thinks about how both jorina and mila's biggest venture outside of their homes (the alienage, the circle tower) was probably the city of denerim itself, and how overwhelmed they would have been on their first travels beyond it

[steveharrington]

Hi! I just saw your post about Steve being abandoned by the narrative and I found it so interesting, but I have a question and a wonder on your thoughts.

First, how was Steve supposed to die? I knew he was suppose to die in s1 initially, but I assumed it was at the hand of the demogorgan, but if Lonnie helped Jonathan and Nancy, ig he wasn't there. Was he supposed to die in the pool instead of barb, and she didn't exist in the og script? But that feels a lil too early considering other things hadn't happened yet, so how did he die?

Also, I was thinking about whta you said in regards to Steve getting tortured has an almost light hearted tone to it, and im wondering what you think may have contributed to that tone? He's getting beat up, he's begging for his life, the general is intimidating, what about the scene somehow makes it feel less scary than other scenes? Part of me wants to sya the lighting, since it's in a well lit sterile room, but even in those lab scenes with El in the beginning, it was still scary. Idk what do u think?

so the funny thing is that the duffers apparently don’t even remember how they were going to kill steve, just that he was gonna die and lonnie would take his place during the demogorgon fight before joe keery charmed them too hard and they changed their minds

(this was apparently said during netflix geeked prior to s2 according to this rotten tomatoes article)

as for the torture scene, i just think they added way too much like…joking around? his whole little spiel about the uss butterscotch and the way he stops to be like “or maybe it’s gelato where you come from 🤣” and the fake out when the guards laugh, it’s all very goofy and kinda going in the direction of a comedic scene until they knock him out and then you’re like holy fuck. idk if the duffers intended that, maybe they thought it would be like a way to subvert audiences expectations and kinda sucker punch us the same way steve gets sucker punched, but it just creates a weird….vibe. there’s also the bit where he and robin are giggling and refusing to answer and when they suddenly start pulling on steve’s nail with pliers it just becomes insanely dark insanely fast, to the degree where i saw a gifset of that scene recently and i thought like wow that last gif (plier fingernail bit) looks like it belongs to a different gifset just from how quickly the tone changes. in scenes where el is getting tortured or hopper is getting tortured it’s treated So Seriously there’s absolutely zero comedy there are zero jokes or bits written in, which makes sense! it’s torture! but for steve i really think they struggle to write him in any mode but comedic and it just strikes a weird tone

[deltaruminations]

i didn’t want to keep reblogging that ch.1 game over post over and over so here are some more comments from other users that i thought were really cool and wanted to share/expand on

@determinators

Gaster knowing personally of Chara when they died is something i hadn't really considered in any depth and it's SO interesting and i can't stop thinking about it now

my current (admittedly convoluted) line of thinking is that G originated in the Deltarune universe, and his strong desire to un-doom its timeline is motivated in part because it's his home and he feels a sense of duty (maybe because of past actions) to the people in it -- especially the kids, maybe kris in particular (again, for any number of possible Reasons). i think Egg as a symbol of young, vulnerable life being given out to teenagers represents a gesture of nurturing (even if a very weird/unsettling one from the recipient's POV lol), and when we consider the repeated references to eggs not hatching...

so from there, if we hold that G hopped over to UT at some point (maybe with the "followers"? maybe to flee the Roaring?), and was royal scientist when chara was still alive... holy shit dude.

given just the sheer similarities between kris & chara (and especially if we believe kris & chara to be instances of the same character "model"), the idea that he was able to see kris alive "again" in some form before having to experience their terrible death and the fall of "darkness" a second time... i could see that driving him to a point where he might just feel like he has nothing left to lose, you know?

idk there’s so much i’d like to say but i feel like i’m veering a little too far into speculative fanfic territory whenever i start getting into it. but imo the G/chara parallels definitely seem to be there thematically and i think there’s potential for narrative significance to it as well (is G maybe taking extra interest in Kris in Deltarune the game in part due to what he saw happen to chara in undertale, and/or his particular sympathy for chara because of how his own well-meaning past choices led to harm like theirs did, and/or how his own inaction/indecision in the Undertale universe factored into them making their big mistakes in the first place? is anything about that ethically fraught from kris deltarune’s POV???)

@abandoned-quiche & @torchiiko

one of the things i find so interesting is that he doesn't just say they're wonderful — those statements are among the very few times he ever breaks from his "script." they’re among the only moments of spontaneity we see from him in the whole introduction sequence.

if you pick someone else’s name, even "sans" or "papyrus" or "asgore" or "gerson," he just says HM WHAT A COWINKYDINK. and if you give one of the kids’ names to the vessel alone, he responds similarly neutrally, as if he knows that because you’re giving that name to the "character," you already have some amount of meta knowledge and therefore have already "met" them as a character. he even said on twitter that he knew we were looking for him — he knows we’ve played undertale, and that might be why he’s seeking us out in the first place.

possible masking for personal reasons aside, if we consider that we’re participants in a "survey" or test case, that kind of neutrality is both polite & professional and necessary. whatever biases he personally has, he needs to minimize his betrayal of them, because that could influence the behavior he seems to be attempting to study. and if he’s aware of our (from his POV) tremendous metaphysical power and knowledge, then i think he might be just as skeptical of us as we are of him.

and yet, if you give yourself one of the main lightner kids’ names, he seemingly assumes it really is a coincidence and he just completely breaks. he is so excited for you to meet Kris, Noelle, and Susie for what he thinks is the first time that he can’t stop himself from telling us how very, very wonderful he thinks they are. it’s like he pauses from taking a note, looks up from his clipboard, and says, "NOELLE, YOU SAY. I HAPPEN TO KNOW OF A NOELLE MYSELF." he doesn’t just like these kids, he likes them so much that despite his best efforts he just can’t hide it.

the only other seemingly spontaneous moments occur when we give ourselves his name (discussed below) or when we give the vessel and creator identical names ("OF COURSE OF COURSE. OF COURSE THEY ARE THE SAME.").

@cogentsummoner

YES the name thing is something i’ve been thinking about a lot too.

to explain that more for anyone who’s unfamiliar: in the intro/"GONERMAKER," G ends the survey session as soon as the last letter of his name ("GASTER") is typed. he doesn’t wait for you to submit it, and he doesn’t ask you to change it to something else, he fully just takes the player out of the session. as soon as he sees his full name, he removes you (and, it’s worth noting, himself) from the situation.

this could be taken many ways, but i definitely think "startled" is accurate regardless of anything else. beyond that, it could be skepticism wrt your meta knowledge of him, as discussed before, but we’ve also established that he knows we likely know who he is. he knows we were looking for him. i also don’t think such spontaneity and haste would be expected to follow from skepticism, frustration, or fatigue alone.

PERSONALLY i believe that confronting his own name brings up deep discomfort for him (for, again, whatever Reasons). just seeing it causes him to panic. it causes him to break beyond affection for certain kids and even grief/disappointment after a game over. whatever it stirs in him makes him feel so exposed that he can’t even allow us to be present for it. note that while he doesn’t return us to menu/title after dying, he does that exact thing in response to seeing his name.

maybe interesting to note, "WINGDINGS" and the like don’t cause any particular reaction. it’s just "GASTER" that sets him off.

the survey sequence in general is very very interesting. why does G even give us a character creator in the first place? i know everyone’s already talked about "choices don’t matter" with the discarding from a thematic perspective but could there be narrative/characterization potentials as well? if G’s trying to help the player, his collaborator & participant, feel comfortable, what does the offer of a customized "vessel" say about what he values, what makes him feel comfortable or uneasy?

[anotherkindofmindpod]

Hi! I really enjoyed the latest episode of AKOM. I was a little skeptical at the beginning about how Instant Karma relates to Paul but you made some excellent points that I hadn't considered before! One thing that stuck out to me though was when you said there wasn't anything "to John" on the McCartney album, and while I sort of agree, I also just read this very interesting post: www(.)tumblr(.)com/blog/view/thecoleopterawithana/689695334914473984 which quotes Paul's comments on the song "Junk" from his The Lyrics book, and goes into how he basically wrote it about one person asking their love why they have to leave them and go on to a new relationship. Thoughts? Have y'all discussed Junk in this context before? Seems to fit in well with this episode! Thanks

Hello listener! Yes, I have the LYRICS book and have read that (very interesting!) entry about Junk. Obviously, Junk was written in India; we even have an Esher demo (which, IMO, is superior to the LP version!). So John already knows Junk by the time Paul releases it on McCartney (so to my original point, I don't think he'd interpret its inclusion as a personal "message"). But I guess your question is more about the song Junk itself, i.e. what do I think of Paul's comments and/or do I think they are about John? :) The short answer is: Probably, but I don't think that necessarily gives us any details/info about what happened between John & Paul. While I honestly think Paul is saying "I wrote this mournful, wistful song about waste... and it turned into a love song" there's no doubt that the massive disruption in the relationship with John was a huge concern in Paul's life at the time. I genuinely think Paul writes songs with characters (in this case, the 2 lovers who are parting ways) and uses them cathartically to express his own emotions. So the mood of Junk (IMO) is empty and sad, which I think is how Paul felt at the time. However I don't think this necessarily means that Paul immediately feels "replaced by Yoko" b/c I think Paul at first was more confused, skeptical and distrustful of Yoko (or more specifically John's sudden, obtrusive obsession with her) than anything else. Sounds like one lover saying “bye, bye” and the other plaintively asking “why, why”, even as the junk in the yard demands an explanation for the urge to acquire something – or somebody – new. Paul is talking about a theoretical/fictional relationship breaking up, but he doesn't say he is the one being left. Even if Junk is about John/Paul (a theory I'm more than happy to entertain), I think the most we could take away is that Paul feels like something is ending. I kind of think of Junk as a companion piece to Look at Me (and maybe John thought "fuck it, if Paul can repurpose Junk for McCartney, I can repurpose Look at Me for POB!" hahaha). Look at Me, also written in India, is asking a loved one to deal with a situation rather than run from it. “Who are we? Nobody else can see, just you and me” certainly suggests an undefined relationship that is known only to the two lovers. John also pleads “what can I do for you?” which suggests he is trying to please the other person and get them to stay. So…. IDK! It’s complicated; as usual, I’m not sure that these songs tell us anything specific about what happened, but we can take away that John and Paul both feel desolate, scared and sad that something special is ending and they both feel powerless to stop it. -Phoebe

[poptod]

May I please request a Lyutisfer Safin x Artist Female Reader, where Safin finds out the reader‘s artistic hobby, finds a piece of artwork that they drew of him but was too afraid to show it to him, and he encourages them to continue to draw 🥺💕?

notes: dude i finished this so fast i got this request like three hours ago idk what happened i think i got possessed. again i kinda went off the rails with the story (i literally had so much fun writing this, i wrote it in a single sitting) but i hope you still like it anyway. as usual its gender neutral cause its just never brought up WC: 2.2k

+

How long had you been here?

Enough for it to seem normal; long enough to remember little else. These glass walls––this prison––put you on display. As far as you could see, you were the only one locked up. From high, sealed off balconies, dozens of people stared down at you nearly all hours of the day. They scratched onto clipboards, their forms blurred into mere silhouettes by the bright lights behind them.

But no one ever talked to you. For the most part, you didn't mind––at some point you discovered, or decided, you were an introvert. The closest thing you got to interaction were the masked people who brought you food and cleaned, and a man who sometimes appeared to visit for some sort of study. He asked a lot of questions.

Otherwise, you occupied your time with books, art, and music. That was what you were offered, though at times the man––whom you assumed was a doctor of sorts––brought you puzzles, and watched carefully while you pieced them together.

Sometimes he asked to see your art, or your opinions on the books you read.

He asked you how your food tasted––how you physically felt. If you ever had trouble standing or keeping your meals down. If you learned anything new on the guitar you were supplied with.

"(Y/N)?" He asked, quiet and curt, and drawing you out of your downwards stare.

You were reluctant to meet his eye, as ever, and could only do so for a few solitary seconds before your gaze fell once more.

"Yes?" You whispered out in a voice that cracked. You hadn't meant to be so quiet.

"Have you learned anything new on the guitar?" He asked for the second time.

His pencil stilled above the clipboard in his lap. Lean, scarred fingers gripped the pen tightly, readied to write at any moment. This man's demeanor fit this world perfectly––cold, and calculated, and impossible to read.

"... no," you mumbled, pulling at your bare toes, as your knees were curled tight to your chest. The rough material of your white clothes always irritated your skin. "I've been reading more."

"What have you read in the last month?"

"Part of Othello. Only a few pages, and –"

"Why did you stop?"

You swallowed down the bile in your throat.

"I couldn't really... follow what was happening."

That seemed to pique his interest––he shifted in his seat, straightening his collar and steeling his gaze.

"Is that happening a lot lately?"

"... I think, a little bit."

He paused the conversation for a moment as his notes caught up with the topic.

"How's your vision?"

For the next hour he subjected you to the same, silly tests you took every month. Which image is clearer, how many animals are in this scene, solve this basic equation, what color is this––you marked them down as always. Whatever information they were actually hoping to gather was probably skewed, considering you didn't even think about the questions anymore; you just knew what the answers were, and you'd memorized which question was which, making the tests easy and quick work.

The ease with which you finished their tests was obviously irritating to the man, but you couldn't bother to care. You were bored. Death would be more interesting than this.

Just like after every monthly visit, his face glowed freshly in your mind, ready to slowly deteriorate as more time passed. For now, though, the image was clear, and it was the only other face you saw besides your own in a dim, fuzzy reflection in the clear glass cage. It was the only one you remembered.

His appearance reminded you of things that you lost; things you simply couldn't recall anymore. Your mother's role in your life was unsure, and you had a variety of ideas and half-baked memories, telling you a dozen different stories. Part of you believed she was never part of your childhood, while the other said she was integral. You couldn't quite remember what she looked like. But for some reason your mind, your life, found it fit to know every detail of a stranger's face––a man you still didn't know despite having met him hundreds of months ago.

"May I see your drawings, (Y/N)?"

Was that even your name? Or had he given that to you, too?

"Yeah," you said, knowing there was no choice. "Yeah, they're under here."

It took a moment for your body to catch up with your intentions, but eventually you were reaching down underneath your bed, pulling out a stack of paper.

Most of them were attempts at drawing a human face––others birthed from pure frustration and a black pen, splotched with red paint. He scanned them with little change in his expression, and handed them back to you afterwards. Only when you set them away did he comment on them.

"You have a talent," he said with a twinge of a smile. "Are those people you remember?"

"... no," you mumbled, curling a little tighter into yourself. "I don't remember anyone."

"Hmm." He scribbled something down, the top of his pen twitching back and forth frantically. "Then who are they?"

"People."

"Do they have a mind?" He asked.

"No more than I."

He chuckled, bowing his gaze to the floor, and the dark space beneath your bed.

"You're a person, aren't you?" He poised, lifting his chin. "You're alive. You must have a mind."

"There are... parasites, and sicknesses," you said in a mumble, your eyes glazing over as you recalled fuzzy details, "who can control you after death, during life. Tell them to drown themselves and they do."

You looked up. He was staring at you. Your parasite.

"Do you think you're ill, (Y/N)?"

"Does the sun still exist?" You asked, too tired to try and explain your logic behind the question. It puzzled him slightly but he answered.

"Yes."

"Then yes." You nodded gently, wary of your headache. "I think I am ill."

The next month, he brought you another puzzle. Most of them were scenes of nature, and this one was no different––the only problem was that it was of a starry sky, one that included no visible Milky Way, making each piece near identical to every other piece.

He lingered over your shoulder as you pieced to together on your bed, your cheek squished into your hand. A song stayed in your mind, but it wasn't a very good one, and it was the same three words over and over again, singing but including no instruments, as you couldn't remember the other parts. Starry, starry night. Starry, starry night.

It was taking so long. There were 500 pieces, and your hands and back were getting sore, both of which irritated your long-term headache. Surely the man wouldn't stay and watch you the entire time; this would take you several hours, if not several days if your chronic pain went on like it was. At some point he'd even stopped watching you, instead scanning through your room like he was looking for something. You tried your best to ignore his pacing.

"Mm," he hummed, rising to his feet after having knelt to search beneath your bed. "Here it is."

You paused.

Just like every other time he visited, he asked you an hour or so ago if you'd drawn anything new in the past month. You showed him everything except one thing; something you were ashamed of, something you wished you never created. Something to look at and remember you weren't the only human left.

"One of the cleaners found this. I was expecting to see it, but you found it right to hide it from me," he said, speaking in an even tone as he always did. He took a seat on the edge of the bed, staring at a sheet of paper. "You really do have a talent, (Y/N)."

You swallowed down the acid in the back of your throat. It happened so often, that burning vomit, that your throat was almost constantly sore. Sometimes it came all the way out, too.

"I'm sorry," you rasped out.

"What for?" He turned to look at you with a curious expression.

"Hiding it. From you."

"It's alright," he said softly, staring at the image for a moment more before setting it aside. "It is of no interest to me but personal. There is no impact on our cataloguing of your... health."

When he left, the drawing was still on your bed, and his eyes still bored through you––dead, grey, and sick.

Unbeknownst to you at the time, you wouldn't have to wait another month before seeing him again. About two weeks later––though you wouldn't know, there weren't any calendars or clocks––the lock on your cage disengaged, letting out a hissing sound as the atmosphere levelled out with that of the outside air. Your eyes flickered up to the tubes fuelling your cage with oxygen, then to the door, where the man entered with a vitality you hadn't seen in anything but fictional words for God knows how long.

Without knowing quite why, you stood from your seat on the bed, backing away from him.

"I'm afraid I can't do this anymore," he said when he met you, pinning you to the wall with his gaze and then reaching out for you.

At first you flinched away, but when he finally touched you, you let out an audible yelp, causing him to retract his hand. With quick, short breaths and wide eyes, you realized his was the first touch you'd had in years. Panic had surged through your body, flooding your nerves with adrenaline.

He stared at you for a moment, scanning and downloading your reaction before reaching out again, this time slower and more hesitant. Though you didn't mean to, you let him.

"I can't let you die like this."

"Die like what?" You asked, furrowing your brow.

From the corner of your eye, you spotted the scientists on the balconies scattering about in a panicked manner.

"Your talent is special," he said, tucking the hair out of your eyes. He only touched your temple for a split second, but your knees still buckled. "I know what it is to be poisoned, to be marred and gored forever. I have healed as best I can and so can you."

"I – I don't understand," you said, your voice choked as you neared tears.

"You were part of something great," he murmured. "But greatness comes at such a cost."

"What did you do to me?!"

"Shhh," he said, firmly pressing his palm over your mouth, forcing you to stay silent and hold his gaze. "There's so precious little known about the chemicals we make. It's good for killing bugs. That's all they think about. They don't think about the power, the purpose, or the possibilities. Imagine taking down a whole corporation by filling their buildings with.. quiet pesticides. We just need to know what they do to us. All we need is to see what happens when a human is exposed like that, for so long. Is it death or just torture?"

You could barely breathe. Each brush of his body against yours––his hand on your mouth, his chest against yours, his eyes piercing you into place––held you like a knife to your neck.

"The death of one is the life of another," he said, leaning in close enough that his breath heated your cheek. "No one knows this better than a lab rat. But, my little lab rat..."

He slid one of his hands down to your waist, gripping you tight and digging his thumb deep into your stomach, causing you to squeeze your eyes tight, whimpering behind his other hand.

"... I'm afraid I've taken a liking to you."

At last his hand fell from your mouth. The moment you didn't have something holding you up anymore, your head fell, pouring out with sobs and chokes on your own breath. His fingers moved up to card through your hair.

Despite everything, you melted fully into him, desperate for comfort and touch after years of starvation.

"I won't let you die, in here, like this," he cooed, catching your head on his shoulder. When he spoke, his lips moved against your temple. "The damage is already done, but I will not shatter you again."

He told you his name was Lyutsifer. He told you they'd been pumping your glass jail cell with propylene oxide. He said the reason they bothered to clean your cage at all was so that he could safely enter before they pumped you full of poison again. He told you that you were already mutated by what you'd endured, that cancer would eventually grow in your body, that your lungs had grown corrosive and would likely never heal.

And he took you away from there, to his own bedroom. By then you knew it was him; he was the mastermind. It wasn't 'them'. It was him.

He held you in his bed, murmuring about how glad he was about his decision, how he was relieved that he caved to his desires. How he adored what you created. His fingers searched your body, chasing away that sensitivity and replacing it with a fiery heat. You gave into it, tucking yourself beneath his chin and kissing his jaw––anything to keep him here. Anything to hold him for just a moment more.

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

We Met Within This Screen [chapt. 6]

[Donnie x reader]

sfw, chapter 5 here

Come on, save it, save it, Donnie chanted to himself later that night, at home and tucked away in his room trying to figure out how to neutralize the situation. He paced along his bed back and forth, phone in hand as he wracked his brain thinking about how he'd get her to let it go. He could tell her that she was...overtired? Go the stereotypical route and say it was just her eyes playing tricks on her? Try to play it off as human teenagers messing around on the roof?

She'd gone to bed already. He hated that he couldn't pursue the subject until morning, her morning, but by then, he'd be tired. When she woke, he slept. But he needed to get it resolved as quickly as possible, so he reckoned it was time to pull an all nighter. Luckily, that wasn't anything he wasn't used to.

He figured he'd get the preliminaries out of the way so he could get right to it when she eventually texted back.

"Good morning

I know you're not awake yet but I figured I'd get an early start today.

I want to know, what exactly did you see last night?"

He shut his phone off and set it down on the bed, fingers rubbing his temples. Depending on her answer, this would either be difficult, or near impossible.

The rest of his time was spent just waiting around for her to finally wake up, dodging all his brothers and trying to occupy himself with something. He was fiddling with the radio he kept on the floor next to his bed when his phone notified him of a message. Turning the volume up, some old-school rock played softly. He didn't always keep music on when he worked, which was what he was doing felt like, but something needed to fill the silence. It also made it feel more casual to have the radio on, for both himself and for whoever might stop by his room.

"Good morning to you too

That was...sudden??"

How nice it was to read those words coming from someone who wasn't his family. Not that they said it like that often anyway, but the small gesture hit differently.

"I'm just really curious about what you said you saw."

Curious? Not quite. More like dying to know, and not because he fancied himself some cryptid hunting.

"That's fair I guess

But don't laugh, ok?"

"I'd never, [y/n]"

"Well

Okay

They were big

But no like not the overweight kinf, not even just 'tall guy' kind of big

kind*

You know?"

Yeah, I aware. I'm 6'8" and have a giant shell on my back.

"They?"

He was hoping she'd only seen one of them. Maybe it would have been easier, but, of course, that wasn't the case.

"I think there were two

Idk it just looked really weird, it was dark but the silhouette from the light made them look bulky, I don't know what it was"

Lips pursed tight, he looked up from his phone, and all of a sudden that music in the background was suffocating. He quickly reached over and shut it off. He needed to be able to divert all of his attention to one thing. Except, even though he should have been spazzing over her spotting them (even if just for a split second), a concern crept up in the back of his mind that made him scoff at himself. The need to know was too great.

His eyes fell on his scaled, three-fingered hand as he typed.

"Did it scare you?"

Perhaps it wasn't what he should have been focusing on. But he was. He knew she hadn't seen much, but what if she quipped that it was frightening, or gross, or…?

"I don't know, Bo

I guess it was kind of freaky

Uh, do you actually believe me? That I saw something?"

"'Freaky?'" he repeated to himself in a whisper, brow ridge furrowed. What was I expecting?

He had to shake himself of whatever was going on in his head at the moment, because there were more pressing matters at hand. Like what he was going to answer her question with. Theoretically, he could go two routes; one, invalidate the experience and try to walk on the line of telling her that it was not real without making her feel crazy. And then probably get mad at him. Or two, go along with it, if he didn't have the heart to do that to her. The answer was already here; he let out a deep sigh. Two, it is.

Nothing could make him want to make her feel that way, even if it meant he'd have to put in a little extra effort in fixing his mistake.

"I wouldn't doubt your judgement, [y/n]."

"Thanks

That makes me feel a lot better

You're a really good guy, Bo :)"

Freezing, he sat and stared at the screen before slowly taking the phone away from his face, lips moving, but no sound coming out. He had no idea what to say; all he could focus on was the fact that the girl he undeniably liked thought he was a good guy. And that, presumably, it meant she might have liked him as well. Big on the "might", he realized as the logical part of his mind took over once again. Regardless, he licked his lips and got to preparing a worthy response. He didn't want to come off as flustered as he felt. Donnie was aware he was not particularly suave—he took solace in the fact that she couldn't see his face or hear his voice. He contemplated on acting a bit more "cool guy" than he actually was, but wanted her to like him for him, not a facade. Which was a major contradiction to all that he had done up to that point, but the least he could do was be the person he was on the inside!

"You there?"

"Sorry, I got distracted…

You really think so?"

"That I think you're a great guy?"

"Well...yes."

"Totally. 100%"

His heart was going, he was stammering to himself, and a new feeling enveloped him. He was no stranger to the different emotions; he'd gotten familiar with many of them. Because though he didn't always show it, he had a lot of feelings. These, he felt most viscerally. But he had to get back on track. If he could push last night's incident under the rug, all would be well. More well than it already was, considering.

"Thank you, [y/n]

To be honest, I've never had a friend like you

So, do you want to talk more about what you saw? I know I'm switching tracks quickly, it's just very….interesting."

It was a jarring and awkward subject change, he knew that, but he desperately wanted to get it out of the way. The sooner, the better.

"I suppose

You seem pretty interested in it"

Maybe she wasn't hanging onto the experience like he'd thought she would. There were so many tales of people seeing inexplicable things and becoming enraptured by the experience that he guessed he should only expect the worst, but it appeared that she was not so obsessed. Crisis averted?

"Not too much, I was just wondering

We can forget about it."

"Oh, I'm not going to forget about it, Bo"

There it is, he thought, not surprised.

After thirty minutes of attempting to throw her off without coming off as suspicious himself, he had to take a breather, reorganize his mind. Only to come back and find that she had to go take care of things, and that she'd talk to him later. He'd done as much fixing as he could; at that point, it was as good as it was going to get. The thought of being looked for by his unknowing friend loomed about in the coming weeks as they did their patrols, when they would pass by her residence, and the times that he snuck off to stop by himself. Sometimes accompanied by Mikey, but he tried to keep it as solitary as possible. Soon, watching her on her balcony from that roof became part of his routine. He vaguely thought sometimes that watching her like that could be considered creepy, but that ship had already sailed.

For the third time in the last month he was there yet again, on the same roof, watching the same balcony, watching the same girl. Sometimes they texted, sometimes they didn't. The times he wasn't talking to her as he sat there were the times he daringly crossed the threshold onto the fire escape. There were only a few instances of that. But did he still feel out of his mind doing so? Yes. The window only looked into part of the living room and kitchen, but he felt scandalous to do it. Most of his time there was spent only with his shell against the wall next to the window, just out of sight. He could always hear her faint but noticeable footsteps coming and could easily vault the railing and climb up or drop down. She couldn't get past his keen hearing unless she knew to tread lightly.

Mikey was with him once again, this time out to look for scrap rather than patrol. He'd been buddied up with his younger brother more often ever since their talk that night in Donnie's room. They only stopped by because they were already out and had a viable excuse.

"Does she know about us? Like, me, Leo, Raph..." rambled Mikey, curious, as he practiced one of his new moves with his skateboard. He kicked up onto the ledge of the roof and skidded before hopping off, tucking the board under his arm. "You guys have been together like, what, two months? And she doesn't even know your name."

Fiddling with the strap reaching around his shoulder, Donnie replied matter-of-factly to hide the embarrassment that was ailing him at the thought, "Okay, for starters, we're not 'together'. And secondly, she hasn't mentioned voice chatting in a while."

"And?" He got back on his board, zooming by Donnie.

"My name? It just hasn't come up," Donnie shrugged.

"Call her, then!" Mikey smiled, still preoccupied with his board and trying out his new tricks. Donnie gave a light scoff and shook his head. His brother passed behind him where he sat leaned against the water tower.

"I don't want to just call her out of nowhere, Mikey, she might be asleep."

He also didn't want his brother there when he did.

"You gotta not be so shy!...oh, look, in the window. Right there. See? She's up," he quipped with a small smirk. The curtain was drawn, but the light had turned on at some point, and they could see her silhouette moving past. Donnie looked over his shoulder to say something but felt a hand slip into his pocket on the other side, stealing his phone right off of him. He was fast, but Mikey was faster in jumping into his board and gliding all the way to the other side of the roof with the fussy turtle hot on his trail.

"Mikey, quit it!" Donnie barked, lunging toward him for the phone.

"You'll thank me later!"

The two wrestled for the phone, Mikey holding it just out of reach as he tried to navigate the screen without dropping it.

"Come on," grunted Donnie as the tussle led them near the edge, where Mikey held it precariously over the alley below. His glasses were jostled off his face when a stray hand bumped them, causing them to fall amongst their feet. Squinting, he partially knelt down and searched for the pair while still looking at his brother and his phone, trying to stretch his arm long enough to snatch it. "Really?" he groaned, "just give me the phone!"

Donnie slung out his staff and used the other end to whack his wrist from underneath just as he pulled away from the edge, losing his grip on the phone. Mikey tried to catch it but it bounced off his hand, going right over the side of the roof and plummeting down into the alley.

Mikey froze. Donnie finally found his glasses.

Laughing nervously, Mikey turned back to him, "Whoops…"

When he didn't immediately find the phone on the ground, Donnie knew what happened. He looked over the edge, and there it was, sitting on the pavement in the alleyway. The building wasn't incredibly tall, but enough to do some major damage. He'd have to switch for one of his spares if he didn't want to deal with a busted-up screen.

"I don't need your 'help', Mikey, so leave it alone next time," Donnie said and gave him a narrow-eyed look, huffing as he leaped down to retrieve it.

Mikey may have been insistent, but he knew then it was time to stop. All he wanted to do was help. For his shy, flakey brother to come out of his shell (no pun intended). Donnie, at that time, had the biggest shot out of all of them for something unique and good. He hadn't yet worked out the logistics of how to bridge the gap between the two, but it was a calling of his to help him along.

Donnie watched for people from behind a corner before creeping out to get the phone, which was face down on the concrete. No doubt cracked to all hell if not completely shattered, though it did have a case.

But as he got closer, he heard a voice. From the phone.

He picked up the phone timidly and shot a glance up at the roof, where Mikey was peeking over the edge in apprehension. Without a word, Donnie activated the taser in his staff, pointing it at his brother and zapping it briefly. He flinched and retreated out of sight.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Bo?" she asked again, tone riddled with confusion. "What was that?"

"Uh, yes—hol—hold on, please," stammered out donnie, flying around the corner and pressing flat against the wall as a group of laughing people passed by the alley. "Just one second," he said nervously. Above him, Mikey was rapidly motioning for him to get up there, eyes wide and body trying to stay low. Baffled, Donnie gestured back at him, mouthing at him to keep his pants on for one more minute while he made his way up.

"Hey, what's going on there?" she inquired, concerned.

A street cat abruptly skittered out from between his legs from the dumpster he stood next to, and he had to stifle a startled yelp. He hopped up onto the nearest fire escape, trying to control his breathing. "Hey, hello…[y/n]," he half-chuckled, distracted by working up the building one-armed as he kept as quiet as possible.

"What was all that? And who's 'Mikey'?"

There was suddenly a shout—Mikey's shout—and his stomach did a jump. He sputtered as fast as he could, "I'm sorry [y/n] but this really isn't a good time, and I mean it really isn't," he pulled himself up onto the roof, and there was Mikey, fending off men clad in black, "so I have to go, but—"

"Don, dude! I need help over here!" cried his brother, sliding out of the way as a sword was jabbed towards him. He countered with a harsh uppercut to the man's chin, sending him stumbling backwards. The blade fell to the concrete with a clank.

"'Don'? Bo, what the hell?! Who is with you? And—"

Donnie jumped into the battle, a mix of nine or ten armed men with swords other weapons, and Mikey trying to stave them off, swinging his chucks with nothing short of reckless abandon. But he still didn't hit himself with them.

Ending the call, he secured the phone in his pocket. He wailed the guy closest to him in the side of the head with the heavy staff, then kicked him in the chest. The man fell to the blow, and Mikey ducked underneath the length of Donnie's weapon just in time as the two came together. Stray bullets flew past them, some colliding with their shells as they spun around for protection.

"How was it?!" Mikey yelled over the clamor, breathless. Donnie sidestepped from the rapid hit he sent towards the human to his left.

"What are you talking about?!" Donnie loudly questioned, flummoxed of what could have been going on in his brain during a fight. "We're kind of in the middle of something here!"

"Your phone call!"

"Yeah, the hell's the talkin' about, Don?" a gruff voice cut through the jumble.

Both of the boys whirled around to see their older brothers there, weapons drawn.

"Oh, right. As soon as I saw those bad guys coming, I let them know," said Mikey casually to Donnie, throwing his fist into the face of the man coming up behind him. "You know, standard biz."

With the rest of the team there, the fight was over twice as fast. Some groaning in pain and some unconscious bodies littering the area, along with their weapons. Leo finished the last one and sheathed his swords, eyes on their tallest brother while Raph kept watch around them. Donnie swallowed as Leo approached him.

"Don, you said you were going out for scrap metal," Leo stated.

In the background, Mikey grabbed his skateboard and was going to try to kickflip over one of the knocked out guys, but Raph yanked the board from him, growling. He checked all of the men to make sure they were down and would stay down.

"We were...just on our way back?" Donnie answered. Nearby, there was a small pile of scrap he'd collected, though definitely not enough to justify being out that long.

"So you stopped at your friend's place?" Leo deadpanned, crossing his arms. "Didn't you think that this could get her in trouble, too? Her apartment's right there, dude!"

Mikey budded in and corrected him, "Ah, we stopped by [y/n]'s. And nah! It's all good."

Donnie's face twitched. "Of course I thought about it! That's why I've only come here three times since, and only thirty minute intervals!" he bit back, throwing his hands up. The rest of his brothers all looked at him and his specificity. "I'm not naive, Leo."

The leader pushed past the both of them, signalling that it was time to leave, and they followed. Not before Donnie got what little metal he had collected and put away his staff, tucking the stuff under his arm. Raph joined alongside Donnie as they ran. "What's with all the secret' stuff, Don? First, ya hide it to begin with, then, ya make out like you were done, and now you get jumped by Foot guys by her place when you shoulda been gettin' scrap!" he said. "How were we supposed to cover for ya if you're lyin' even after we let you off?"

"Technically, I did get some!" Donnie remarked. He held up a piece of the scrap for him to see, and Raph snorted. "But..."

Well, his question would be a little harder to answer.

Next block was the nearest manhole, where each turtle swiftly jumped in, knowing by heart (and years of wandering) most of the sewers and the way back home. In some tunnels was Mikey's telltale graffiti, but it was scattered throughout the place enough to not be a giant arrow to their hideout. In the last portion of the run was the tunnel they always slid down, and once they were actually home, Donnie knew what was coming. Master Splinter was already waiting for them by the time they arrived.

"Uh-oh," Mikey said upon seeing him, sinking behind his brothers. Raph pushed him back up front.

Dropping the scrap in his arms, Donnie squeaked, "That's not good." He quietly cursed how high pitched his voice became when he was nervous.

"Yeah…" Leo cleared his throat, looking down at his hands clasped in front of him. The situation had an awkward tension for everyone in it, save for Raph, who was immune to it by then and Splinter himself. "We took care of the soldiers," he added more seriously. "Got out of there before too much attention was drawn.

"The police may be able to handle them from here, but it will not make a dent in the Shredder's forces," explained Splinter, grave as he paced along the line of brothers. "He owns the city. Until I say so, there will be no venturing to the surface. You are all lucky to be unharmed."

"That ain't it," Raph piped up. "But they'll be bringin' the big guns, next time."

"Oh, I am well aware."

"Um...of which thing?" the nervous turtle questioned, exchanging glances to Raph and then Mikey.

Splinter raised his brows knowingly, and that was all it took for Donnie. The floodgates of his signature anxious chatter opened. He grabbed the edge of Mikey's shell and pulled him over into the spotlight with him, "I met someone over an online game and we started texting after a few weeks, and—and Leo found out and I said I would stop, but we never told you," he gestured toward their brother in blue, who refused to make eye contact, "so I told her that it was through and then Mikey somehow convinced me to go back on it," he sucked in a breath, and Mikey grinned uncomfortably, "and then we started talking again and I don't know why, but I went back there to her apartment building and it was just…stupid."

There was a cumbrous pause. Donnie was stiff as a board, Mikey couldn't look at any one thing too long, Leo stood in his polite but awkward stance, and Raph started to whistle.

As poised as ever, Splinter spoke. "I know."

All four pairs of eyes shot to their father.

"What?"

"Uh..."

"Huh?"

"Wait."

They expressed their collective confusion at the same time, and Splinter chuckled. Donnie wanted nothing more than to be able to retreat into his shell, but that was physically impossible. "Nothing gets past me, especially not you and your nervous habits, Donatello. You are scratching that spot on your neck again, son."

Flinching, Donnie pulled his hand away. He'd be damned; Splinter was right.

But unbeknownst to them, there had been spectator of their fight on the roof that night.

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shh do not think too deeply about this my children

a/n: haha plot device go brrrr

i need to finish this cursed fanfiction