#if he doesn't want me he's gonna have to deal with it

[eeb-rody]

Don't pretend like Data wouldn't immediately be the doctor's best friend in under ten minutes. Like,,,, Data's whole deal would be catnip to that man. A unique lifeform who'll live indefinitely and is intensely curious about literally everything. In addition, the doctor is fucking infatuated with humans and humans are essentially Datas special interest, they'd info dump back and forth until the end of time (they literally could do that).

(to be clear, this is about nine because I think he's the most compelling one and the picture made me think of him)

They also both have the experience of making intense connections with humans that they KNOW will die first. Both particularly protective of children. They have the same brand of optimism, they both believe that even though unspeakable shit does and will happen, it doesn't negate the beauty and value of living. Both have met Mark twain. They have weirdly similar shit going on as far as the dynamic with their respective nemeses Lore and the Master (intensely evil dude is resentful and obsessed with you but also kinda wants to be your best friend, fucked in the head enough that he might not be considered fully culpable for his actions but he's dangerous enough that you're gonna have to put him down like a stray dog one day even though there's a glimmer of a chance that you could have fixed him if you tried harder, if you knew how).

I also think Data would be interested in how and why the Doctor emulates humans so effectively. He'd wanna know about how one processes the level of emotion caused by your whole fucking species dying (nine only content remember). They'd have a lot of weird ass conversations about emotions in general.

That'd be the main conflict I think. Like, the ninth doctor is uniquely touchy about a lot of shit and Data would absolutely not pick up on that and keep asking questions. The Doctor would also fully not be having it with the "I do not have emotions" shit and I think he'd push a little too hard a little too soon.

I can't write but I NEED a fic about this pleasepleasepl

ROUND 1: DATA (star trek) VS THE DOCTOR (dr. whom)

[miange1]

YAY

okay so i wanna request something where donnie is talking about his crush on reader(male) to his therapist and it's sorta like the situation where he almost jerks off in her office yk?

but he starts to spill too much saying that he's basically a really gross and stalker pervert towards you😪

maybe add something a little cute at the end after all of that :3

DONNIE DARKO

male reader, perverted tendencies, donnie starts seeing reader in hallucinations, wet dreams, stalking, taking underwear and 'using' it, reader has a crush on donnie but doesn't know what he does, a full fic instead of head cannons for once, slight homophobia even though donnies friends were talking about a gay smurf

"Donnie.." his kisses trailed along your soft skin, grabbing hold of your waist harshly to keep you still and close to him. He loved moments like these with you, moments where he could have you all to himself and use you as you pleased because you would never say no to him, right?

You loved him, and he loved you. "Hm." He hummed, glancing up at you a bit as his kisses stopped at you hip, and his hands moving towards the bottom of your pants.

"Donnie no," He was confused, why were you saying no? You never say no, what was wrong now? "What, why? You're hard for me, why are you.." you shook your head and shushed him. "It's time for school."

Of course it was a fucking dream, he could even remember himself sighing and realizing in his head before he had woke up.

He was in no mood to deal with anyone today, more than usual. The boy was so close to punching his friends in the throat if they made fun of that girl one more time. He just wanted to get on the bus and be able to see you for the few seconds he could, and then for the hours he could stare at you through eyes you couldn't see.

"Guys, just leave her alone. Bus is about to come anyway." Even as he spoke he was only thinking of you, the cigarette burning to the bus right before the bus had pulled over to the curb, and he'd let the stick fall onto the concrete.

Neither of you had classes together, you'd just see each other in the hallways and it was a miracle you had looked over and waved to him. First thing that went through his mind was that you were the most beautiful boy he had ever seen.

First thing that went through his friends minds was that you were a faggot. "He's into you man." Donnie scoffed, head shaking in disbelief, "All he did was wave at me, I mean we barely even know each other." Which was only partially true, he knew almost everything about you. Knew of your interests, knew what you liked to watch and read, knew what kinda porn you liked, knew what brand your boxers were, and could probably guess which you were wearing right now.

Even last night he had watched you be confused as to why half of your pairs were missing. Sometimes he wished you could see it, see his eyes rolling back as his own hands were working at jerking himself off— taking in your scent and feeling so high off of it.

"Donnie!" He jumped up a bit, realizing he had been in class. Jesus, when had he gotten here? "I said do you have a pencil for me to borrow?" Blinking a bit, he nodded his head. "Yeah..yeah, here man."

"What's gotten into you, snap out of it." He wished he could, if he hadn't met you everything would go somewhat smoothly and he could continue along with his day.

"Hey Donnie!" Hearing your voice, he instantly turned his body around and started walking next to you. "Hey," he felt shy, itching to hold your hand but he just shoved it in his pocket. "I'm gonna be going to the movies later, you wanna come?" God, he wanted to say yes, say yes so so badly— but he couldn't. The hope in your eyes slightly went away as he said no, "Ah, I understand." No, no you didn't understand. He didn't want you to understand it that way, he needed you to understand how badly he needed you.

"Hey, hey, look." He blocked your way, standing in front of you as the gravel crumbled underneath his feet. "Look.. I have a therapist, and that's the reason I can't make it tonight." His heart skipped a beat as you smiled slightly, this time actually getting it. "Oh, then there's no worries! I just thought you didn't want to hang out with me." Never in a million years would that be possible, not now or ever.

"Of course I wanna hang out with you." He grabbed your face, almost till it hurt. "What makes you think I don't?" You laughed, your cheek squishing together more as you did so. "Well, maybe the fact you're trying to pop my head open."

His hands let go, heading to his sides while he tried to laugh it off.

Hypnotherapy. Donnie wasn't sure how to feel about it, each and every time he'd 'wake up' hard, and his dick almost out.

"So..Donnie." Dr. Thurman walk back and forth around the room, "Have you met anyone new?"

Donnie nodded, taking a bit before answering. "I met a boy.." he muttered, already feeling a slight twitch in his pants.

"That so? ..Is he like Frank?" Donnie shook his head, no. "No..no, he's nothing like Frank, he's.." He bit his lip, slightly giggling. "He's real." Dr. Thurman took that as a note to most likely stop. Because if Donnie liked this boy, then his pants would be unbuttoned again.

"Do you have any romantic interest in him?" Donnie looked over at her, eyes practically closed but not too much. "You gonna call me a fag if I say I do?" Dr. Thurman shook her head. "No, if you have interest in him we should discuss it." She almost felt the need to say 'For his safety' but she kept it shut.

"Would you mind explaining more?" Bad idea.

"Mh.. well.." His body shifted on the couch a bit. "His body..I love it..I wanna be all over it." Taking a breath, he continued on. "And fuck him..really really hard, feel him squirm and moan out my name." His hands went to his pants, unbuttoning somewhat slower.

"He's so sweet to me..wonder if his moans are sweeter..if his hole is as tight as my fist when I—" "Donnie. I need you to..explain something else." She didn't want to hear that.

"Explain what..how I look at him while he's asleep and awake? Sniff his clothes? Fantasize about using his body how I'd like? That what you wanna hear?" Dr. Thurman clapped her hands.

"that's enough for today Donnie."

"Morning Donnie." You gave him your usual wave, smiling over at him. He reciprocated, before reminding himself of something.

"Oh— hey, wait a minute." He stopped you, grabbing your arms. "Do you wanna..go out? Somewhere? Sometime?" He went silent as you seemed dumbfounded, his heart feeling heavy and he felt sort of angry.

Why were you looking at him like that? Confused? Did you not want him like he did? "Like, today? Sure why not." Then you smiled at him, and he felt himself get less tense.

"Great."

[sweaterkittensahoy]

No one here asked me, but Sean and I have been together for 20 years, so here's the shit I say when I DO get asked how it keeps working:

Base level, we fucking like each other. I do not buy into the "you can love someone and not like them." Fuck that. Like is what turns into love. If you are regularly thinking, "I don't like this person," the problem is that you don't like that person. Love can't fix that. Because the love you need to hold onto when you have a moment of not-liking someone can't exist if you don't first like someone.

Which brings me to point two: Kill the perfect romantic who lives in your head. You will annoy the fucking shit out of each other. It happens. For so many reasons. Learn how to say, "Honey, I love you, but I can't deal with this right now." And, for the record, the proper response is "Okay. Got it." not turning it into a whole fucking thing. Yes, it's very romantic to not get tired of someone. But it's much more realistic to be able to say, "Honey, please leave me alone for twenty minutes," and it's must healthier for the other person to go, "Oh, okay! Love you!" / "Love you, too."

Accept that sometimes you're gonna need to fight it out. With this caveat: If it's the same fight over and over again, that's a fucking problem. If it's a fight over the same topic, but you're on a different point in the topic, you're probably okay. For example: If I said, "Honey, please hang up your towel to dry so it doesn't grow mold," and Sean never hung it up, so we kept going round about it, that's a problem. But if I said it, and Sean DID hang it up, but it needed to be spread out, then that's a different thing. "Hey, thanks for hanging up your towel; please make sure it's spread out on the rack so it dries properly."

Also, be flexible about things you ask for. We have a general rule that whoever opens the dishwasher the first time after the dishes are cleaned has to empty the whole thing. But also, if Sean's running late the morning after we do dishes, I'm not going to call him and complain he didn't empty the dishwasher when he opened it to get a fork.

Think of all of this like the fridge making a weird noise. Most of the time, the fridge makes a noise you don't even register because that's the fridge noise. But sometimes, the fridge make a new noise and WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT. That's how I think of relationship work. Most of the time, it's just work that gets done in the day-to-day shit. But occasionally, something is OFF and needs immediate attention, so you need to stop and pay attention and fix it.

But also, after your fix the problem, you need to be accept that maybe there are new noises that need to be inspected. For example, if Sean said to me, "Hey, I need thirty minutes after work to myself when I get home," this would be a new thing, but yes, okay. I will do my best. And I will. But maybe I forget the rule because I have something I NEED to tell him that isn't actually a NEED, and so I greet him at the door with a monologue, and he lets me monologue, and at the end he says, "Okay, that's interesting. But I would still like my thirty minutes. I will talk to you after I've had that." He's understanding that I'm doing my best and still reinforcing the boundary I agreed to. What I can do in this situation is thank him for listening and give him his time and try not to jump him with information again because he has made it clear twice that he doesn't want that.

The trick about doing your best, respecting boundaries, and loving one another is truly just doing your best because you love each other. I want a good life. I want Sean to have a good life. We want a life together. We will build a good life by being honest, communicative, and kind to one another. I fold laundry for us both not because I think it's my role as the "wife" but because it's a way to get me on my feet for a few minutes. Sean does the cooking because he enjoys it. I generally handle the dishwasher because he cooks. He gets the car to the mechanic to get the oil changed. I take Bean on her second walk when his day runs long. Do I WANT to take her out? Not always. But I've been at home with an office job all day, not driving around the city to do a physical job. Taking her out for her second walk may annoy me, but the payoff is that Sean comes home and is so happy that he doesn't have to do it and thanks me, and that's what makes it worth it. We acknowledge each other when effort occurs. We make each other laugh. We talk through things. We understand the importance of being able to say, "No, I'm not into it, but you like it, so please keep explaining it." and "Honey, I love you, but I can't do this right now."

It's really just understanding that good communication means folding in the idea that good communication includes saying things you might think you shouldn't have to say. Trust me, saying it means cutting down on the bullshit of not having said it. Say awkward shit to each other. Announce you're doing it. "Hey, this is gonna sound awkward, but I need to say it" because the response from the person you love (in every version of love) should be, "I'm listening. Let's go" because it's about mutual support and care and LIKING one another. And all you gotta do is give back what you deserve to get.

[gloomysoup]

'tis the season

@steddiebingo christmas prompt: winter

rating: teen+ | word count: 1808 | tags: omegaverse, hurt/comfort, sick fic | ao3

another edition to home is where you are 🥰

Eddie Munson has always loved winter. He loves the snow, and hot chocolate, and lights, and Christmas. He loves curling up with a whole bundle of blankets to read a good book while snow falls outside. He loves catching snowflakes on his tongue and watching his breath fog up in the cold air. He loves kissing Steve under the mistletoe and dancing around the kitchen in their pajama pants and fuzzy socks.

What he doesn't love about the winter is sick pups.

The first time he and Steve deal with a sick pup is the first winter after Addie is born. It's mid-January, and their little girl is only four months old when she catches her first sickness. Steve and Eddie do not take it well.

Addie didn't sleep for days. She hardly wanted to nurse. She just cried and cried, and nothing could soothe her. They tried everything. They were both stressed out. Addie just kept getting worse.

Eddie got a call at work.

The baby was still crying, broken up by awful intermittent coughing, and Steve was freaking out.

“Something’s wrong,” he stuttered through his own tears. “I don't- I don't know exactly what, but- but I just know that something is wrong, and I don't know what to do.”

Eddie frowned. “What's going on?”

“She just- she has this cough that won't stop, and her breathing is all crackly, and- and she spiked a really high fever. 103.6 last time I checked it. She hasn't eaten since yesterday morning. Something is wrong, Eddie. I just know it.”

Eddie sucked in a breath and looked at the clock. He still had a couple hours left in his shift. “Okay. Okay, let's not panic.” Eddie was definitely panicking, but he couldn't let Steve know that. “Just- just take a breath, baby, okay? We’ll figure it out. Um… just keep watching her temperature and her breathing. We can take her to the doctor together when I get off. If she gets worse before that, though, call me and go to the ER. I'll meet you there as soon as I can.”

Steve hiccuped on a breath. “Okay. Okay, I can do that. I- I'm scared, Eddie.”

“I know, baby. We’re gonna do what we can, though. I love you.”

Steve sniffled. “Love you too.”

“I'll see you soon.”

Steve hummed and said goodbye before the line went dead. Eddie sucked in a shaky breath, scrubbing his oil-stained hands over his face. He had to get himself back together before he went back to the garage.

“What's up, man?” Dan asked when he finally stepped back in to finish working. “You look a little rough. Everything okay?”

Eddie sucked in another breath and picked up a new rag, sticking it through his belt loop as he tried to focus on work. “My pup's sick,” he explained. “That was my mate that just called. He, uh, he's kinda freakin’ out. She's just getting worse. Spiked a high fever today.”

Eddie couldn't see Dan’s frown with his head in the engine of a Cadillac. He could hear it in his voice when he spoke, though. “Damn. She's not very old, is she?”

Eddie shook his head. “Four months last week.”

Dan hummed, back to what he was doing. “Rough age for gettin’ sick, especially this time of year. Lots of stuff that's worse for the little ones. Y'know what she caught?”

“No, not a clue. Hopefully gonna get her in to see a doctor after my shift, though.”

“Better sooner than later, man. You don't wanna mess with that shit when they're that young. No immune system to help ‘em out. Somethin’ small can turn into somethin’ big real quick, man, trust me. My youngest caught a bad case of RSV when he was about seven months, and it ended with a two and a half day hospital stay.”

Eddie’s heart pounded in his chest. He really hoped it wasn't bad. He hoped she was going to be okay. His stomach kept churning. He couldn't get Dan’s words out his head, or the panic in Steve’s voice on the phone. He should have just told Steve to take her to the doctor without him. He shouldn't have made him wait. He knew Steve. He knew his mate was just going to keep worrying himself sick.

And then the phone rang again.

Jennifer, the older woman who ran the shop’s front desk and did all the behind the scenes work, answered. Eddie caught a glimpse of her through the window as she was immediately on her feet. His stomach dropped.

His entire world shifted on its axis when she stuck her head in the door and called Eddie’s name.

“You gotta go, sugar,” she said, as gentle and sweet as she always was. “Your ‘mega’s headed to the hospital with the pup.”

Eddie sucked in a breath and nodded, tossing his dirty rag down and following her inside the building. It took him barely a minute to sprint down the hall, grab his stuff from the break room, and sprint back outside to his car. He tried not to speed to the hospital, knowing Steve would be pissed if he spun out on the ice or got pulled over, but it was hard. He could barely focus. He whipped into the parking lot of Hawkins General, back tires barely catching traction on the slick asphalt. He hardly had the car in park and turned off before he was rushing through the Emergency Room doors.

It didn't take him long to find Steve and Addie, always able to pick out where they are in a crowd with ease. He rushed over to where Steve was running his hands through his hair, and a doctor was listening to Addie’s lungs.

“Steve,” he said, just as he got close to them. He instantly wrapped him up in his arms, both of them uncaring for the oil that would no doubt be staining Steve’s clothes. “‘M so sorry, baby,” he whispered, eyes on Addie as Steve burrowed his nose in Eddie’s neck. “What happened?”

“She- she could barely breathe,” Steve whispered, his voice cracked and broken with his tears. “She was coughing so- so much and couldn't catch her breath, and- and her fever just kept getting higher. I- I couldn't wait any longer.”

“Shhh, it's okay.” Eddie threaded his fingers through the hair at the back of Steve’s head, scratching at his scalp. “You did so good, baby. I'm so proud of you. The doctors are gonna help. They're gonna take care of her. She's gonna be okay.”

They would eventually find out that Addie had a severe case of RSV and pneumonia. They stayed in the hospital for five days while the doctors treated her, and even after they finally got to leave, it was another week of at-home breathing treatments. Eddie hated seeing his pup so sick, knowing there was nothing he could do.

Luckily, none of their other pups got quite that sick. They could get by with cuddles and Tylenol and all the other tips and tricks they got from the older parental figures in their lives. Joyce helped a lot with home treatments that wouldn't break the bank.

One particular winter, right before Sophia was born, the Munson household got hit hard. It was nothing more than a small virus, but the pups were all miserable with it. All they wanted to do was cuddle all day long and sleep. Eddie wasn't about to deny them whatever comfort they needed. With the big snowstorm that had blown through, he had two extra days off work. It wasn't ideal, but the garage’s owner had decided to close instead of letting any of them risk the drive. Eddie knew Steve was grateful for that; he always worries when Eddie has to be out in bad weather to get to work.

First thing that morning, as soon as the pups were sniffling and complaining, Eddie got everyone set up and comfortable in the big living room nest that he had helped Steve put together. Violet was immediately curled up next to Steve, resting her head on his swollen belly and closing her eyes. The rest of the pups cuddled in close, and Eddie kissed Steve’s forehead before going to the kitchen to make breakfast.

He made a whole platter of toast, scrambled eggs, and chopped fruit for the whole pack. He made sure everyone was fed and put on a movie. Then he settled into the nest with his family and cuddled them close. Grace and Lucy ended up in his lap, Grace against his chest and Lucy's head on his legs. James curled into his side, and Addie squished between him and Steve. They were barely twenty minutes into the movie when all the pups fell back asleep. Steve leaned his head over to rest on Eddie’s shoulder, despite the fact that it wasn't the easiest angle to get. Eddie kissed the top of his head.

“I love you,” he whispered.

Steve hummed contently, his own eyes starting to slip closed. “I love you too.”

Eddie smiled softly. “Y’know, I really hate when our pups don't feel good, but I can't say I'm upset that they just wanted to cuddle all day.”

He caught the edge of a sleepy smile on Steve’s face. “I know what you mean. Lately, it's like they don't want anything to do with me during the day. All they ever want is to know when you're coming home. Then they get sick, and all they want is to be held and cuddled.”

Eddie frowned slightly, picking up the hint of insecurity in his voice. “You know they love you, right? You're their mom, and an amazing mom at that. You do so much, taking such good care of them, and they will always love you. You know that, don't you?”

Steve sighed softly. “Of course I know that. They just want you because you're not the one here with them all day. Doesn't mean I don't miss all the early stage cuddles sometimes. They think they're gettin’ too big for that, especially Addie and Violet. And of course, Lucy wants to be just like her big sisters.”

Eddie pressed another kiss to his mate’s head. “They'll come back around eventually. Until then, we can just enjoy the time we have with the cuddles that they do want, even if they are all sick.”

Eddie still loves winter, despite how much he doesn't like seeing his pups sick. He and Steve will always take advantage of the extra cuddle time, though. Just another reason he loves the season. Any day, little Sophia would make her way into the world. Eddie couldn't wait to add one more to their pack, especially during his favorite time of the year.

[broareweabouttoviberightnow]

I love your writing so much! I also love the Curtis bros and a little bit of low stakes angst, so, for a request I would love to see Ponyboy and Soda having a rare fight and Darry having to deal with them being absolute children while being super flabbergasted that they’re even fighting in the first place and trying to figure out what the heck is going on

OOOH LOVE this ask I will do my best!! fic under the cut!!

When Darry pulled up at the house to yellin' that damn near echoed down the block, he wasn't exactly surprised, per se. The boys were always yelling. It didn't matter if they were pleased or hacked off or dangerously close to tears. They didn't have what you might call volume control.

Darry threw the truck in park 'n killed the engine, listenin' carefully. If he was gonna have to go break up a fight he wanted at least some forewarnin'. He can pick out Pony's voice as it rises shrilly. Not a good sign. But he can't quite identify the second voice, or voices?, but if he had to guess, he would play his chips on Steve. He couldn't leave those two alone for five goddamn minutes without them tryin' to kill each other. He rests his head on the steerin' wheel for a moment, bone tired. But there was never any time to just be tired. So out he gets.

He climbs out, easin' the door shut behind him. He doesn't want to give his troublemakers any heads-up. If he had to pry them off one another at least he could deal with it right away instead of havin' to watch them shoot glares 'n jabs 'n ill-placed kicks under the table.

"Tell him to knock it off!" Pony's voice has hit an all-time high note, forget whinin', this was wailin'. The other person isn't yellin' yet, but they're gettin' there. Darry locks the truck, cocks his head. If he didn't know better he would say that it was-

"Soda! I can't believe you're takin' his side over this!" Soda? Now that was not what he had expected.

"Well if you stopped actin' like a brat-" The second Darry hears the word brat leave Soda's mouth he's up the steps before he can blink. Somethin' had to be seriously wrong. Brat was only ever used by Steve and at a high price every time.

Darry's got his hand on the knob but he hasn't quite twisted it when he hears Pony's shocked little gasp and then his vicious "Dropout."

When Darry opens the front door Soda is already on top of Ponyboy. For a moment he just stands there. They don't seem to notice at all. Pony shoves his hand hard into Soda's chest 'n Soda grabs a fist full of Pony's hair 'n yanks. Pony yowls and knees him in the stomach. Soda yelps 'n pins him down to the floor, jabbin' 'n scratchin' 'n not doin' any serious damage at all. Pony wriggles fiercely, manages to worm out from beneath Soda 'n scramble to his feet. He looks like he's seriously considerin' jumpin' back down on him with Darry grabs him by the back of the neck. Soda dives for Pony again and Darry snaps him by the bicep, forcibly keepin' them apart,

"What the hell has gotten into the two of you?" Pony registers shock for a moment, blinkin' up at Darry with big, wet eyes before he refocuses on Soda.

"Ask him. He's the one that jumped on me!" Darry turns to Soda, shakes him when he doesn't say anythin', just keeps on glarin' at Pony.

"Sodapop Curtis, what is goin' on here?" Soda turns his scowl on Darry, anger blazin' in his eyes. He only falters when Darry matches his stare, rattlin' him by the arm for good measure.

"He was bein' a brat." Soda mumbles 'n Darry releases him only to cuff him up the back of his head.

"Ow!"

"Don't call your brother that." Pony smirks 'n Darry rounds on him. "'N don't let me catch you lookin' smug, lil boy, I know better than to think you didn't have a hand in this."

"Aw, lay off him Darry." Soda kicks at the carpet and Darry whips back to him with a scoff, jaw open in bewilderment.

"Lay off? Soda I just yanked you off him!"

"That's different." Soda bats his eyes at Darry like he always does, hopin' for leeway 'n knowin' he was a pushover when it came to his first kid brother. "Pony was bein' an assh-"

"What the hell-" Darry heaves an exasperated sigh 'n Pony at least has the sense to stop while he's ahead. Out of the corner of his eye he catches Soda stick his tongue out. Pony lets out an indignant wail 'n is only stopped from resumin' their scrap by Darry's hand squeezin' the back of his neck.

"Glory God. I don't know what is wrong with you two today but I'm not dealin' with it. Ponyboy Michael, you go to your room. Sodapop Patrick, you go to mine. I don't want to hear a peep from either of you."

Both boys instantly start whinin'.

"But Darryyy-"

"C'mon Dar-"

"No sirree, I'm not hearin' it. You want to act like lil' kids I'm more than happy to treat you that way. Now not another word before I stick the both of you in corners, too."

Darry releases his grip on both of them, givin' a gentle shove down the hall. The second they're out of his grasp 'n around the corner Darry can hear the sound of a slap on bare skin 'n a shove that sends one of them careenin' into the wall.

"Darry!"

"If I need to escort your asses down that hall neither of you are goin' to like it!" He clenches his fists so hard his knuckles are white. Mercifully, he hears a muttered asshole 'n the respondin' bitch 'n both doors slam without any more fightin'. Glory god, they were gonna make him grey before he was twenty-five.

He sighs again, runs a hand up the back of his neck 'n finally realizes Steve has been standin' stock still in the living room the entire time, lookin' more than a little shell-shocked.

"You alright, kid?"Steve shakes his head to clear it, lookin' just as bewildered as Darry felt.

"Yeah? Yeah. I'm good."

"Am I right to guess you were involved in all this?"

"Uh, kinda? I wasn't fightin' or nothin'." He rubs his hands sheepishly back 'n forth on his jeans in a way Darry knows he picked up from him. "But, uh, I was teasin' the Ponykid. I didn't expect it to get ballistic or nothin'."

Darry sits down heavily at the table, exhausted. "We've talked about you ribbin' on Pony before, yeah?"

Steve bites at the inside of his lip. "Yeah, sorry Darry." Darry didn't mind the two of them goin' back 'n forth a bit. Privately, he thought Soda coddled him too much. Well. Normally. But Steve 'n Pony could never stop when they should. Their digs could turn into brawls before you could blink.

"It's alright. Somehow I don't think I can blame you for Soda jumpin' on the kid." Steve cracks a smile, still lookin' lost. "Tell you what, you get over there 'n wash those dishes 'n I'll call this one even."

Steve nods, ducks into the kitchen 'n flips on the tap. Darry scrubs a hand over his face, tryin' to find his head. Darry knew exactly how to break up a fight between Steve 'n Pony, or Dallas' 'n Steve. He had it down to a science how to navigate the fall out of Two makin' the wrong jokes to the wrong people. Hell, he could settle a fight between nearly any of his kid brothers with practiced ease in five minutes flat.

But Pony 'n Soda? God, they were their own entire world.

Darry remembered, back when they were kids, nothin' was worse than a true Soda/Pony beatdown. They just got each other better. So when they managed to get each other's goat, breakin' them up like steppin' in the middle of a shoot out. They were just as liable to turn on you as they were to go after the other.

There were very few things about how their relationships had changed Darry was grateful for, but if it had made Soda 'n Pony closer so Darry didn't have to deal with any of their fighting, well, he wouldn't lick a gift horse in the mouth.

Apparently, the universe thought things had been goin' too smoothly lately.

Darry sighs again, leaves Steve scrubbin' at the pan Darry had been dreadin' washin' all day. Small favors.

He hesitates in the hall, tryin' to decide which of the two boys to talk to first. He worries his lip, figures he better sit Pony down. He's got a naggin' feelin' that this has more to do with Soda 'n he wants to get one of them dealt with. Plus, bein' alone had a repentant effect on Soda. Pony could sit in a dark room for a week 'n come out more mad than he'd gone in.

Darry swears he got that particular vice from Dallas but it's more likely it came from Darry. They were the same brand of fool-headed stubborn sometimes.

Darry knocks lightly on the door and slips inside, schoolin' his features based on Pony's attitude. He's not surprised when he finds the kid knees up in his chest, forehead down. Darry softens, concedes, if only to himself. They were more similar than he admits, 'n he knows from experience, fightin' with Soda hurts worse than just about anythin'.

"Hey, kid." Pony lifts his head up miserably, he's not quite cryin' but he looks like it wouldn't take much to work him up to it.

"He hates me, Darry." Glory God it takes everythin' in him not to roll his eyes.

"No, he does not hate you." Darry plops down on the bed, nudgin' Pony over.

"Yes, he does!"

"Ponyboy, your brother does not hate you now hush." Darry snaps and Pony whimpers. Darry takes a deep breath. Pony feels things different. You gotta be gentler. Glory, when Soda wasn't takin' a chunk out of the kid he was far better at this than Darry.

"Now you hate me too!" And he dissolves into messy tears.

"Oh, baby," Sometimes Pony couldn't see the obvious through all the things he told himself in his head. Now, that was where Darry 'n Pony split. Darry was all ruthless practicality. Soda was where they met in the middle, he supposed. The perfect balance.

Darry cups a hand behind Pony's head and pulls him to his chest. He knows the kid must be feelin' particularly vulnerable when he doesn't protest at all.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" Darry asks after a long moment broken only by Pony's sniffles. Pony wipes a hand across his eyes and sniffs.

"Steve called me a baby and a tag-a-long and I said... somethin'... back 'n Soda got mad 'n told us to knock it off but we didn't 'n then he jumped on me." Darry grabs Pony gently by the shoulders, pullin' him away from his chest, 'n fixin' him with a look.

"Stop givin' me the Ponyboy special." The Ponyboy special was what they all called Pony's tendency to recall only the parts of a story that made him look good. "I know you must've said somethin' real nasty to Steve, 'n from what I heard, Soda was doin' a decent job of not yellin' until you kept pushin', kiddo."

Pony at least has the decency to look sheepish. "You heard that?"

"Yes, siree. Wanna explain to me what was goin' through that head a yours?" Pony worries at his lip, runs his hands back 'n forth over his knees in a way that gives Darry deja vu.

"Nothin', Darry. I wasn't thinkin'. I was just real mad at Steve for callin' me those things." Darry sighs, figures that's the closest he's gettin' to the truth.

"That was no reason to carry on that fight with your brother." Pony drops his chin to his chest 'n Darry uses a finger to gently lift his head til he's lookin' him in the eye. "I'm gonna need you to apologize to Soda 'n Steve when all's said 'n done, understand?"

Pony nods miserably 'n Darry presses a kiss to his hair. "Good, honey. I'm not mad, alright? 'N neither is Soda. Now, I want you to stay here until I let you out, savvy?"

Pony bobs his head 'n Darry squeezes his shoulder, standin'. "Love you, kid."

"Love you too, Dar." Darry eases the door shut and takes a steadin' breath. Soda rarely found himself in these predicaments. He'd get himself in trouble until the cows came home but always in the pursuit of a good time. When Soda fell for somethin' serious he fell hard.

Darry turns, puts his hand on the knob of his bedroom door 'n hears the sounds of Soda tryin' to muffle his own sobs. It nearly cracks his heart in two. 'N suddenly he remembers somethin' else about those fights from when they were kids: Soda fought like he smoked- never without a damn good reason.

Darry swings the door open 'n Soda jolts up, runnin' both hands across his face to wipe away the tears.

"Is Pony ok?" God, Soda was the best of them sometimes.

"Pony's fine. Just a lil' shook up." Soda crumbles to the bed, buries his head in his hands.

"Fuck. He's gonna think I hate him." Glory. Sometimes it was hard to tell where Soda ended 'n Pony began.

"He knows you don't." Darry walks to the bed side 'n sits, runnin' a hand up 'n down Soda's back.

"No, he don't." Soda whimpers 'n Darry sighs, enfoldin' him in a hug 'n pullin' him up beside him.

"Soda, if I know the two of you, you'll be right as rain by dinner. Pony'll bounce back. He's a resilient kid." Soda bites the inside of his cheek, shrugs a shoulder, looks generally unconvinced. "I want to hear about you right now, Pepsi."

"You don't gotta worry about me, Dar." Soda gets to his feet, paces once around the bed 'n back.

"Soda, don't lie to me. I'm not in the mood. It's my job to worry about you." Soda pauses by the foot 'n studies Darry with those piercin' honey headlights that can see straight through any of them. Apparently findin' Darry wasn't foolin' he sighs, drops back to the mattress.

"I'm sorry, Dar."

"I know, honey. Why don't you tell me what's buggin' you?" Soda opens his mouth 'n Darry cuts him off. "'N if you tell me nothin' I'm not gonna let you out of this room until next week." Soda shuts his mouth, pulls at a straw thread at the bottom of his DX shirt.

"Some guys from my old class dropped by the DX today." Darry lets out a low hiss of understandin'. Soda's year would be graduatin' before the end of the month.

Now, Soda was real good at actin' like he didn't care. He was a master at shruggin' off digs 'n laughin' off punches. If Soda decided the world would see him as just fine? Well, no one would ever know the difference. 'N Soda had decided everyone would see him as someone who didn't care he'd dropped out.

Just about the only person who didn't believe that routine was Darry.

"They were ribbin' about savin' up for caps 'n gowns 'n all that bullshit 'n... I dunno. 'N then I got off 'n came home 'n Pony 'n Steve were at it again 'n I just couldn't take it." Soda doesn't wait for Darry to offer, just collapses against his chest. "I just couldn't take the fightin' on top of it all. 'N I know he didn't mean it but then Pony called me a dropout 'n I-"

"Oh, Pepsi-Cola." Soda lets out a weak little sob at the nickname and Darry hauls him against his side. "I'm sorry."

Soda sits back up suddenly, scrubbin' tears away with blunt nails that leave red trails along his freckled cheeks. "It's fine! I mean I'm fine with it! I like workin' at the DX 'n I hated school because I'm too stupid for it 'n-"

"Sodapop Patrick you are not stupid. You hear me? I won't let anyone talk about you that way 'n I'm not gonna listen to it from you. You are smarter than I will ever be in all the ways it matters- you hear me? And sometimes... sometimes it's ok to not be fine."

Soda takes a big hiccupin' breath 'n looks at Darry with those big eyes that Darry would let him get away with murder for. "Ok." He sniffles 'n Darry gently wipes the last of his tears away. He's quiet for a long moment, just blinkin' at Darry. "You're allowed to not be tough all the time too."

God, Soda.

"Fine. We'll make a deal then. No more actin' like were tuff when we don't feel it, alright?" Soda smiles wetly, runs his sleeve under his nose.

"Deal."

"Good, now c'mere." Darry pulls him into a hug 'n Soda melts against him. Darry could have let him stay there forever, but Soda isn't one to be held still. He pulls back 'n runs his hands through his hair, pats at his pockets for his cigs.

"Can I go see Pony?" Darry ruffles his hair 'n smiles at him fondly.

"If Pony wants, yes." He doesn't know why he bothers. Pony would forgive Soda highway robbery 'n Soda would do anything' for that kid.

Darry drops one final kiss to Soda's temple 'n he peels out of the room 'n into Pony's, not botherin' to shut either door. Darry takes a deep breath, listens as Soda 'n Pony babble incoherent apologies over each other.

He ducks out of the room to give them more privacy 'n moves back down the hall. Steve's finished the dishes 'n is awkwardly shufflin' back 'n forth in the kitchen.

"Good job, Stevie." Darry pats him on the back 'n Steve lets out a sigh of relief. Soda 'n Pony tear back out, hootin' at some joke 'n Darry thanks his lucky stars he was right. Soda 'n Pony fall hard. But they always somehow manage to land on their feet.

"You ok, Superman?" Steve drops into a chair at the table as Darry kicks the stove on for dinner.

Darry turns 'n find Soda's sharp eyes already on him. "You know, Steve? A little tired, but I am." Soda grins, drops beside Steve 'n pulls a chair up beside him for Pony.

"Are you alright, Soda?" Darry leans back against the counter 'n watches the automatic of course! come 'n go in Soda's mouth.

"Not really, not right now. But... I think I will be."

[iminyourwallsbabe]

Thinking about Viktor's life story, it's really crazy.

Like I was listening to St. Chroma the other day and that song is about making a life out of nothing starting at the very bottom and making out of there yourself. But what I like about it and why I don't think it's corny like a lot of other songs like that, is that it's so fucking stubborn. Yk? It's like FUCK YOU, I can do this and I dare you to try and hold me back cuz it's not fucking happening.

You know who that sounds a lot like?

Like let's just think about this. He's a boy from the undercity, his parents are probably dead, he has a disability he probably had to deal with and make accommodations for by himself. Given what happens to most people from Zaun and how they live, the odds say he was cooked from the start. He could've been dead or in jail by then. The second someone instilled the idea in him that he could be more than that though, he took it and ran with it. He was like, alright, if I have it in me to go after anything, I'm gonna be a scientist.

So from that point on, he put in the work. Probably twice as much work as someone from Piltover would have to do if Jayce's recreation of his life was any indication. He was probably doing all of this hungry, in pain, and with a million other ailments. I think for him though, instead of doubting whether or not he could he wondered how long it would take. Would be doing this for decades? How much of his life would he spend trying to make it there? Would he live to see it all amount to something? That's why when Jayce presents his ideas and he gets ahold of his notes, Viktor immediately gets in on this. It could be a world altering discovery, it could be bullshit, he doesn't have the time to pass up the opportunity. If he wants to be anything more than an assistant, he has to be bold. He has to have the audacity.

That's really what it is at the end of the day, that's what got him where he wanted to be. The fucking audacity. I mean think about it, this guy from the undercity that people probably don't trust already is about to go behind the council's back to do some potentially life threatening experiments with the guy who blew up a building and almost killed several children. Who does he think he is?

This is why he tells Jayce "When you want to change the world, don't ask for permission", because the truth of the matter is, and this applies to real life as well, the people sitting in the chairs in the council are not going to let you manifest any dreams that don't fit their world view. You can keep fighting them about it until your face turns blue, but more than likely, they're not budging. If you're really about it, you just have to do it.

This mentality bleeds into everything he ever does. There's so many times in just the first few episodes where he's asked "are you sure about this?" and he straight up just says "lol no this could probably kill us but fuck it, we ball". He doesn't wait for anybody, not society, not safety, nothing. He's the definition of a man of progress, it's his entire life. But it's not just the world he wants to make better, it's a personal thing as well.

Every step of the way, he wants to become something greater. He started out as a regular undercity boy, then he became a student, then he worked his way up to becoming the assistant to the dean of the academy, who it may serve you to remember is the head of the council. Then, he became a real scientist, just like he wanted. That wasn't enough though, it wasn't enough to just *do* science, he had to do something with it. Keep pushing it until it could do the most good it could do. Then, he got sick. Or his sickness caught up to him at least. His time was limited. It only made him more focused on progress. How much can I do with what little time I have left? Can I extend that time? Can this magic or this shimmer make me the healthiest version of myself that there can be?

That's why it was so devastating for him to lose Sky. She was the first person to directly be harmed by the thing he created, at least the first person he saw. She lost her life in his pursuit for greatness. Say what you want about how obsessed he is with the idea of evolution and growth, but you can't say he was ready to give up the people he wanted to save in order for it to happen. At least, not yet. That's when he thought it was the end of the road, that he'd gone too far. He had to stop here. His solution to that was gonna be doing a backflip off a building, but you get the idea.

That's really why the second season isn't super surprising in retrospect. I mean we can blame the hexcore for some of it, I think it took some of his humanity but a lot of those ideas were his own. And I think he meant what he said when he said his path and Jayce's path diverged when he was brought back to life. He was supposed to die, the hexcore was supposed to be gone, this pursuit was supposed to be over. He felt like Jayce just didn't know when to stop and it was interfering with the well being of humanity. And I think he took that and his own failures to heart, prompting him to find a way to try and take that out of the equation.

Anyway r.i.p Viktor you would've loved Chromakopia

[bayzadas]

i have been...listening to javiers voice lines because theres just not enough content about him and im obsessed... so i wanted to share the things ive noticed about him! :D (and ill compare his voice lines with other character's)

Bro does NOT bother to hide it when he's irritated. He's actually pretty mean LOL He raises his voice pretty fast whenever he "greets" someone when he's annoyed. He says stuff like, "WHAT, (gang member)?" or "What you staring at?" or "Don't even start." pretty agressively. He even calls Uncle a waste of space 😭😭 (he also snaps at Dutch too! Not exactly being mean towards him, but raising his voice and asking him if he's gonna do something about the things going on)

John, on the other hand, greets people normally when he's annoyed. His tone is just different but he still actually greets people LMAO (which is the same for a lot of members) while Javier is just snapping at everyone 😭 The only person he doesnt snap at is MaryBeth i think. While he's yelling at everyone to be quiet and leave him alone, when he's speaking to MaryBeth he's literally like "You seeing this? This place... How do you deal with these idiots?" 😭 Instead of snapping at her, he's ranting to her. Which is kinda interesting cause I thought instead of MaryBeth it would be Tilly (because its implied they have something going on) but nah he snaps at Tilly too.

Lots of members make kinda passive agressive and mean comments about Arthur staying in camp for too long, but Javier is actually concerned! He doesn't make any mean comments, genuinely sounds concerned when he's saying it's not like him to stay in camp for so long, and he actually asks him if he's okay!!! I know its like... the bare minumim, asking someone if theyre alright when they're not acting like themselves, but the other camp members sound like they dont really give a damn 😭 so its very nice to hear javier caring.

Javier genuinely sounds confused and offended if Arthur wears a strange outfit LMFAOO ITS SO FUNNY ACTUALLY other members are amused or confused and Javier sounds offended lmfaooo

Also another thing I noticed! Javier likes it when Arthur joins and sits next to him by the campfire. Other members will ask him to sit down aswell, yes, but some of them will do it in a way that kinda implies "bro why you moving around so much c'mon have a seat and relax" (sadie, for example) lmfao but javier doesnt make any comments about arthur moving around a lot, he just asks him to join him. Uncle, for example, if he's annoyed, he won't want Arthur to sit down next to him. He'll say stuff like "if you sit down, dont expect company" or "you gonna come ruin this for me too?" But Javier, if annoyed, will still ask him to join him and kinda rant to him about stuff. He'll say stuff like "You joining me here?" "Always fun times around here." "I dont know why I bother sometimes."

He won't ask Arthur to join him by the campfire in beaver hollow 😔 He'll ask him if he's feeling alright, and he'll say "won't even sit next to me no more. 😒" which is kind of an invitation in a passive agressive way if you think about it😭 but like man. that line makes me think about arthur and javier's friendship. they were actually pretty close friends before beaver 😔 the way they speak with each other and act around each other, you could tell they were close and liked each other's company. yk how arthur was supposed to be meaner and colder but the developers changed that? yeah, there are deleted voice lines of that mean, cold arthur speaking with javier in which arthur is ranting to him about things and they have a little argument. javier is defending john and he says something like:

javier: "anybody would think you've given up on us all. the way youce been acting in camp recently. people been talking."

arthur: "people, huh?"

javier: "not me. i just hear things."

arthur: "yeah? sounds to me you've been talking too."

javier: "ever since we got stuck up here (colter) its like you just dont give a damn about noone no more!"

and like ik this is them not getting along but to be honest, to speak like this with not just someone but arthur (who's got a very high position in the gang and remind you, this is the colder version) you just gotta be close with him. he's not scared of him, he's just calling him out on his bullshit and he's comfortable around him enough to be able to do this.

in conclusion javier is a mean asshole when he's annoyed (also he DOES NOT like to be stared at, it makes him very uncomfortable and he gets agressive when he's annoyed) and him and arthur used to be pretty good friends before both of them started to believe theyve been betrayed by the other. :(

[spotaus]

*cackling excitedly*

Haha!! Thank you!! (Killer, beloved <3) Every once in a blue moon I decide I want to try digital painting again and I limit myself to only the Acrylic brush on medibang 🙏 It's always really fun!!! Glad you like it! :D

Ahh, thank you for this one too hehe- the background was smth I was really struggling to decide on how to deal with, and I'm really glad the plan w/ character focus but Not Void came through!! I eould've hated to put them into a void, but coloring everything felt both too daunting + too distracting, haha!

HAH!!! Glad it's not just me tbh 😭 I was struggling getting his design straight from Sketch to Fully Rendered, and a lot of my decisions ended up being based on what looked nice against the dark greenish background I was using, and what felt like other iterations of Dream I've seen before! (I understand the pain u were in trying to work w/ the vague Killer ref once again 😭🙏) The only thing I had planned was his cape + his crown haha!!

And yeah!! The arrow in the table was smth I was debating on adding, and honestly I like your thoughts on it a lot! My initial reason for adding it was because I imagined Killer deflected one or two when he had the opportunity! Having said that, it hadn't really occurred to me that Killer staying largely stationary in a dead-end room would be SUPER telling of smth... I'm just gonna spitball an idea rq that is VERY open to being changed hehe! (You've unlocked my Special Attack, random story plotting!) So, Dream strikes down Cross super-duper quick for three goals. Get inside, out of the growing storm. Find Killer, the one who's been corrupting his brother. Find Nightmare, talk to him, and either convince him to pay down his arms or subdue him by force so that Dream can reclaim the crown and slowly get Night back to 'normal' and un-brainwashed. So, he's inside, and he spots Killer. Now, is Killer with Nightmare? Dream saw flashes of green fabric, but he's heard from witnesses that his twin developed a method of fast-travel, appearing and disappearing through shadows, so when Killer is the only one cornered in the room, I think Dream's first assumption is that, if Nightmare was even there in the first place? He's left. To get help or to simply flee Dream isn't sure. The way Killer is acting, it seems he's confident he can stop Dream here (lying, overconfident to hide his worries, Dream isn't checking). So, they fight. And I think Dream believes Killer is trying to keep him near the door, relying on the ability of the other Knights or the guard to come stop him. Killer is just trying to keep Night safe and undetected. And they stay in an odd stalemate (Dream's a long-range fighter, Killer likes to get close but he's worried about Night) where Killer gets close then backs off, and Dream strikes when he backs off, until, ofc, Dream pulls the blade Blue had been training him with on the side and catches Killer off-guard when he's rushed. Uh. I got distracted. Anyways, rn my plot reasoning is that Killer doesn't want stray attacks possibly getting near Nightmare, and Dream doesn't think much of it because between the Storm, his rage towards Killer, and the knowledge of Night's (old) powers, he assumes he'll have to track his twin down after dealing with Killer. (Forgive me for the random concept dump lol! Sometimes I gotta write things out before I make rash claims-)

Back to ur nite though! Dream's arrows DO have weird trajectory sometimes! In the camp Drabble, I had a mention that Dream's arrows (being magical) aren't affected by non-magical wind or air-resistance, but he also just aims for fun tbh. If he was really in-tune with his magic on any given day, he could pull an Undyne and make an arrow whip around someone and stab them in the back if he *really* wanted. So, Arrow in Table could've been him messing with that too, haha!

And! Yeah! The mask tint was smth I don't add in my writing (because in my heart it's definitely a more dull gray) but because that's visually not super striking, I've been making it purple-ish! I made the choice in my tumblr banner art actually, because the initial pale greys I was using felt off and strange, so purplish it is! (Also, story wise, homage back to Yellow=Dream Purple=Night!)

The brothers meet again

Ohhh my gods, this one was so daunting (I don't like backgrounds 😭) but it was so fun!!! This scene is going to be like. The really fun dramatic one when I get around to writing it, but for now here's a piece for it instead!!

Very quick explanation for those who haven't seen my insane rambles: Dream was about to kill Killer (finish him off) when Nightmare bursts out of hiding to get between them!

Now, bonus stuff!

^ He's actually very handsome <3

^Thinner version with a crop I like better??

^ I had to check sizing a few times (but Killer is angled so idk if it really helped?) And I just thought this was REALLY funny

^ Just the twins!

[57sfinest]

i wanted to look at the symbolism of the ocean in disco elysium because it features so prominently in the setting. insulinde being an isola comprised of islands, martinaise as a port town financially anchored by its ocean trade. the divisions brought by water that we see in the geography: how the canal separates the working district of martinaise from the even poorer, commerce-less village-- how the river esperance separates the worst ghettos of revachol and jamrock from the more rebuilt and financially stable districts-- how, for example, lilienne looks across the bay of revachol to the wealthy district of la delta, a poignant moment of separation between someone desperately poor and the towers of wealth built out of the ruins of revachol. we see water, and often the sea specifically, acting as a divider in various contexts. 

the ocean of time and distance that separates dora and harry, that separates klaasje from oranje:

then, further into the idea of the ocean as representative of time: in various contexts i see the ocean as representing the past. memory residing under the waves, and each of us living above water-- in the present-- but often still helpless to the tides when we’re not careful. to me this is cemented by the implication that the pale is commonly theorized as an *outer ocean* (juxtaposed with harry’s introspective skill, inland empire!!): the pale is the past, and if the pale is seen as an outer ocean, then right there is a tangible connection between the two. memory and the past as an ocean, dangerous if you don’t respect its power, but ultimately navigable. there is frequent reference made to the fact that the bombed ruins of martinaise are sinking or lost into the ocean, lost to the past, now only memory. 

and harry, who is living in the past and being consumed by nostalgia like a rot, drives his car into the ocean. harry’s badge, which is conflated with his identity in the aftermath of his amnesia, was underwater before he pulled it from the car: until he got it, his entire identity was lost with his memory in the past. klaasje’s documents, too, presumed lost to the ocean, a loss of who she was or claimed to be (until you meet the phasmid). lilienne’s husband was lost to the waves, and in the same lines she’ll dismiss your concerns-- he’s in the past now, she’s really not too upset. the cleaning lady, abandoned by the world, who has only her own memories for company in her sea-beaten room. in the context of ruby’s near-suicide in the shack, how inland specifies how the “waves had calmed” as she put the gun away: ruby distancing herself from the past that she thinks is chasing her to form a better plan. the working-class husband, who, had his corpse fallen through the boardwalk into the ocean, would have been lost to the past, living only in the memory of billie and their daughters.

for me, the final dream had some of the heaviest but most subtle inclusions of the ocean symbolism. it’s brought on by looking into the ocean around the seafort and takes place under the ocean somewhere. even before the dream, dora is alluded to in the context of the sea. she moved across the ocean and now, to him, she’s lost under it. she’s trapped in his memory.

where we see things half-submerged or partially oceanic, we see a bridge between the past and the present being represented. something partially lost to the past but still with a foot in the here and now. harry’s half-sunken car, in part a representation of his career: part of his past, yes, but still very much in his present. one of the primary spiritual practices we hear of is the volta do mar: originally a palefarer’s practice to keep them grounded in an onslaught by the past, and its meaning is *return from the sea*. when harry tries to turn back time, he wants to go back to a time when the sun had not yet sunk into the sea-- when the light in his life didn’t reside solely in the past.

also in this context, something that really struck me was how harry will sometimes think of himself in the context of the sea. first is the sea monster thought, brought about by the broken plaza: him as a creature submerged in the past, terrorizing the present. and seafaring brought up to represent a kind of compromise between living in the present and acknowledging the draw of nostalgia. even joyce in her limited knowledge of harry compares him to a “half-submerged ruin”. and when harry is prompted into introspection by the dros predicament, inland empire becomes the *inland sea*.

and i really want to make a final, individual point of this. the whirling-in-rags music is sea power’s song “fire escape in the sea”. there is an explicit reference made to the song by shivers as well, and i think the choice of this song is very intentional. the whirling-in-rags is where harry forgot his whole life, the whole world, and it’s where he wakes up and begins to piece it all back together. the whirling-in-rags is harry’s fire escape in the sea. his bridge between his past and his present, his last-ditch attempt at escape from the tortures of his subconscious. 

(this is by no means exhaustive, there are a lot of other moments where the sea comes in, but i included the moments that spoke to me most. you’re welcome to add your own!)

[yardsards]

Forever mourning that we would’ve had a scene in the finale where the protagonists apparently reach a resolution with Odalia on some level??? It got cut so Camila could take her place and hell yeah more for Camila, never gonna apologize for that. But man it’d have been nice to have both. The Odalia-Collector storyline set up in CotH was evidently going somewhere there but in the end the finale was already extended ten minutes past the usual mark.

Also yes plsss on the twins! Emira my dearrrrr you were molded into the new Odalia into the next showman matriarch while your sister was meant to become the next Alador the next moneymaker!!! What are your thoughts what if we had a storyline about you being your own person!!! I have to acknowledge that there’s always someone who’s going to have to take the fall for another character to shine at this point in the story but man.

i'm actually mostly happy with how things ended with odalia. i really like that amity never forgives her and continues to go no-contact with her. far too often, media does a "but they're your PARENT, it would be wrong to cut them out of your life" message, and having that be the dominant cultural narrative can be really harmful to victims of parental abuse. so it was VERY refreshing to see a story that said "this character going no contact with her abusive parent was the right choice"

that said, i think there could have been a way to give odalia's storyline more of a resolution without tossing that down message down the drain.

see, you know how i've complained before about how making odalia a full-on villain really undercut her storyline as just an abusive mother. how it accidentally kiiinda had the implication of like "the abuse on its own wasn't enough to cut her off. she had to be willing to kill literally her entire race in order to earn that." which i don't think was intentional.

i think it would have been cool if the resolution to her arc was like. she's no longer a full on villain. she helps our protagonists and makes up for her involvement in the big plot. she's technically on our side now... but that still doesn't make up for the abuse, and amity still is better off without her in her life.

i'm imagining a scene of like, after odalia helps the gang with the collector in some way, she talks to amity. says something like "i will admit that you were right, for once. helping with the day of unity was a poor business decision on my part." and maybe even a "these months with the collector have shown me you weren't such a bad daughter" perhaps followed by a pompous "so i will forgive your little outburst at the factory and accept you as a member of my family again" (despite, y'know, being the one who got cut off)

so amity goes off on her. says it wasn't about the day of unity. or, at least, wasn't JUST about the day of unity. that it was about the years of being treated like a puppet rather than a person (cue some kind of clever shot of the collector's puppets). she says that he friends have shown her what real love is supposed to look like, and her time with camila has shown her how mothers are supposed to treat children, and that none of odalia's actions have matched that. so she says that no, she will not be allowing odalia to be her family anymore.

and odalia doesn't understand, just keeps arguing that she only did these things because she wanted what was best for her family. and so amity leaves.

-

AND YESSS THE TWINS. like. i get it. the show had a lot going on and not a lot of time, of course the protagonist's girlfriend's siblings aren't gonna get that much time dedicated to them. but man. i love me a fucked up family and i want to know more about those two so bad. emira especially. like her twin brother (who, up to that point, had exactly as much relevance as her) got his own episode subplot and she got nothing! and like she interests me for all the reasons you said AND like. she seems to be odalia's favorite (perhaps tied with edric, perhaps even above him) but she seems even more cynical about BOTH of their parents than amity does. AND LIKE she's got eldest daughter syndrome despite being a TWIN! she seems to feel responsibility for looking after her brother who is the exact same age as her! i need to know what's the deal with that dynamic! god the fic ideas and headcanons i have about her that i never got around to writing/finishing

[bitchthefuck1]

you know what, I actually will talk about this because it's bothering me. The issue with focussing so heavily on syd and carmy's potential for a romantic relationship isn't that there's something inherently unintellectual about romance or whatever, it's that a lot of people seem incapable of doing that without immediately flattening the story and ignoring or intentionally misreading any and all nuance for the sake of that romance. Every scene suddenly becomes about how it impacts their relationship, every analysis is done through a romantic lens, every frame or line of dialogue becomes about finding some easter egg or hint that "proves" these people should start dating. Their dynamic is absolutely a fundamental part of this show, but if you can only see it as a will-they-won't-they, you miss so much of what the story is actually trying to say with these two.

There are good versions of this story where their relationship is romantic and there are good versions of this story where it isn't, but as soon as you decide them being together is "the point," you lose the ability to actually judge the story for what it is, not what you want it to be.

[ask-miasma-ghoul]

Miasma couldn't help but feel a bit of disappointment. But it is not like he wasn't expecting this. No, he knew this. Jim would not be here if his faith wasn't faltering. That was the entire premises of their fighting before. The man he looked up to a little too much not being as faithful as he had thought.

But, he found himself less angry than he used to be. Maybe a month ago Miasma would be ripping Jim apart, and possibly not just metaphorically. But a lot can change in a month. And Miasma had been coming to realize that as he let the frustration go with a heavy, quiet breath. He sat down next to Jim at his request.

"I have been telling you this from the very beginning, Jim. Maybe I did not... Communicate in the best way back then. But... I do not think it is God torturing us. This is not a place of God. I think it is the devil reaching for you."

"Unfortunately, for some of us, we are already owned by the devil. I can't escape. As sad as it makes me, I have accepted that no matter how much I worship the Lord, my soul is not in his hands. And I don't think it ever will be. I've... Been getting tired too."

"The confirmation of God is not as good of a thing as those who do not have this issue think. They know what comes after, and they worship God and do good to get to their desired destination, and it is simple like that. But for people like you, God has been a confliction. You... Love Copia. But it is so confusing, yeah? It is like you are putting your heart in the hands of the devil and in the hands of God at the same time."

Miasma looked down at what he could see of Jim. Part of him wanted to tell him God would forgive him for staying out of love, and another part wanted to tell him God was warning him to leave. Because either could be true. It was truly unclear.

"... I guess this is just one of those situations where you have to deal with some level of hurt. But in the end, one thing is true: God will forgive you. I do not want you to be like me... I do not want you to bank on him forgiving you to do whatever you want. That is not a life you want... But banking on God's forgiveness to love rather than to hate... I think God would see that as acceptable. You are always telling me God will forgive me for what I've done, so... God will forgive you for being here. For loving a Satanic Pope. And for sitting here pouring your heart out to a cannibalistic hellspawn."

Miasma smiled at him a bit, folding his hands together in his lap.

"I guess the point is that no matter what you're gonna be on the path God has intended for you, and if it has lead you here, then... Don't fight it just because it doesn't make sense to you. A lot of things don't make sense. But it will all work out in the end, Jim."

There was music in the halls.

Near the supposedly soundproof band practice room, sounds from a piano carried softly out the open door.

Nobody had passed this corridor in days, so the basically abandoned hallway laid empty minus the tune from the piano.

There was no human in sight, nobody until Miasma came along, he was told by one of the siblings to drop off a box down the hall. He paid little attention to the music as he walked through, however on his way back, he noticed the open door and a light humming coming from the man playing the piano.

As he got closer, stepped into the doorway to listen, he heard quiet words.

“Christ in me arise…”

“…and dispell all the darkness…”

Miasma couldn’t see him, but he could kind of make out the voice to be none other than Father Jim.

Miasma was so tired. His goal was to finish this meaningless task and head straight for his room, now that he could say he had one since Sister Nyx had granted him a spot in the infirmary. He was not to red necessarily because of physical work - his job was very stationary. He was tired because addiction was a bitch to quit cold turkey. Sleep seemed to become his best friend.

Miasma's ears picked up the sounds, and his brain interpreted them briefly before being swarmed by a colony of negative thoughts and cravings that he promised himself he would not indulge in. Yet, on his way back through to his bed that he longed for, the piano sounded louder, like it was wrapping around him and forcing his mind to focus on it rather than his cravings. He put his hand on the door, opening it a bit more to look inside despite the darkness, his heart jumping as identified the voice to be Jim's. He did not know Jim was into playing the piano or singing... Miasma enjoyed singing as well. But the only times he could find himself doing around someone else was when he had downed a bottle of homemade dandelion wine.

Miasma wanted to burst in and praise him, to tell him how skilled he was, how beautiful he sounded. But he did not want to dump the attention on him all at once. He had done that too much.

He stepped inside, pulling out his phone so he could see just enough in front of him as to not crash into anything. As he got closer, he could see Jim a bit more clearly, watching in silent awe as he perfectly played his song. He stood there quietly, not thinking about how scary it might be when Jim noticed he was watching...

[triglycercule]

i feel like horror would have sourdough starter. he doesn't even use it to bake he just keeps it alive like a funny little experiment. the yeast in that starter will never get to experience the fulfillment of becoming bread unfortunately

and then he totally gets mad at dust and killer if they dont take care of it properly when he can't. WDYM THE STARTER OVERFLOWED!!! YOURE SUPPOSED TO ADD LESS WATER!!!! that's his baby guys he named it and decorated the jar and EVERYTHING 💔

[naomiknight-17]

Just had to pull Tiny Tim away from a Christmas tree I'm working on because he was trying to eat the garland, and he bit the fuck out of my arm

Then I went to move Jill, who had also been after the tree, and I guess she was upset after Tim was screaming and biting me, and when I picked her up, she bit the fuck out of my hand!!!

There's one pretty bad puncture wound from Tim and I washed it as thoroughly as I could and I'm hoping it doesn't swell up or show other signs of infection because I really don't have time to hit a walk-in clinic right now

[imminent-danger-came]

YOU think MK is a selfless forgiving good boi mc. I think he's self-centered, but that doesn't devalue the good deeds that happen as a result. We are not the same

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

Me, when Sebastian joins my party for the first time: Okay, this time I'm not going to forget about you, Sebastian. I'm going to make an effort to use you a lot this playthrough so I can better understand you.

Also me, immediately forgetting about Sebastian while finishing Act 2 and making it halfway through Act 3 before I finally notice his Faith quest: ......................Oh. Right. My bad.