#it also doesn't help that i'm rewatching once upon a time

[sankta-wraith]

One thing I think is really important when it comes to understanding Daemon and Rhaenyra's relashionship is the fact that Daemon doesn't show his love through words, he does it through actions. Quite frankly I'm not sure he knows how to verbally express love. He can't support her emotionally, but he can still do other things for her.I think this is shown really well in season 1 episode 10 and season 2 episode 1.

When Rhaenyra learns of her father's death and the Green's usurpation of her throne, she goes into premature labor almost imediatly, so there is no time for her to start planning her bid for the Iron Throne. Daemon takes the liberty of starting to plan the beginings of the war, and in doing so leaves Rhaenyra to endure childbirth alone. There is a very memorable scene in which Daemon schemes with Rhaenyra's small council at the Painted Table, whilst Rhaenyra screams in the background, even calling out for him at one point. Daemon makes no move to go to her and simply continues to plan a war, at least until Jace informs him that Rhaenyra doesn't want anything done until she is able to join them. Even then he does not join her. He goes to threaten two members of the Kingsguard with Caraxes, so as to ascertain that they will remain loyal to Rhaenyra. Now, when I first watched this scene, I, and probably everyone else, assumed that Daemon was taking the opportunity provided by Rhaenyra's premature labor to seize control and have the war start on his terms. Rhaenyra also seems to believe this, as when Jace inquires about Daemon's wherabouts she says "Off planning his war." However, upon rewatching that episode, I think that think that Daemon refusing to attend Rhaenyra in her labors and instead planning a war for her, is actually his way of trying to help her. Daemon is thinking that, while he does not know how to comfort her, and hold her hand, and help her through childbirth, he does know a thing or two about war. In his mind, he's essentially saying something along the lines of "I cannot help you there, so let me remain here where I am of use to you," because, as I said above, Daemon expresses love through his actions, not his words. I think at least part of him wants to be there for Rhaenyra, but he just doesn't know what he can say or do that would help her, so he focuses on what he can do: getting the council together and starting to plan, so that when Rhaenyra comes back he can show her that he's done something of use.

Then, when the child is stillborn, Rhaenyra once again needs comfort and reassurance that Daemon just does not know how to give. There is a scene of them, standing in front of their daughter’s funeral pyre, and you can see him give her this very concerned look, and kind of glance over like he wants to say something, but he doesn't, because he just does not know what he's supposed to say. Then Ser Erryk (or maybe Arryk, I can never remember,) arrives with the crown, and Daemon is relieved because he might not be able to offer her kind words, but he can be the one to put that crown on her head. A gesture that is even more meaningful if you consider how much he wants that crown. By being the one to physically place the crown on her head, he is telling her "I'm sorry that I can't be there for you, but I love you and I will support you." Then they go back to the war council, and Rhaenyra is asking about their numbers, and Daemon is the first one to speak. He starts talking almost before Rhaenyra finishes asking, he seems almost eager (even though their numbers are nothing to be eager about,) because she's finally asking him for something he can give. This is his chance to show her that, even if he cannot be there for her emotionally, he can still do this. He can organize this war and help her win, and do damn good job of it. This is really how Daemon says "I love you."

Then fast forward to 2x01, and Luke is dead, and Rhaenyra once again needs a level of emotional support he's simply not equipped to give, only this time, there is nothing else he can do to help her. He tries to convince Rhaenys to fly to Kings Landing, but she refuses, so he can do nothing except sit around, helplessly, while Rhaenyra mourns. Then she comes back, and he tries to be supportive, by asking if she "found what she needed," but she doesn't answer him. Instead, she declares that she "wants Aemond Targaryen." In Daemon's mind, she has essentially told him that to comfort her, he must have Aemond killed. So he uses his contacts in the City Watch to arrange it. I think one of the reasons he gave Blood and Cheese such vague instructions as to what to do if they can't find Aemond, is because he needs something for Rhaenyra. He can't be helpless any more. (Note: I am in no way condoning Blood and Cheese, or saying that Daemon did the right thing. I am simply trying to understand him and his choices better. Please dont come after me.) But then it fails. Catastrophically. And not only has Daemon failed to help Rhaenyra, he has made things much worse.

So he goes to Harrenhal to get the support of the river lords. But, so far, he has achieved next to nothing. (Obviously he's been busy with the hauntings and home renovations.) But he will not admit to Rhaenyra that he's failing miserably, so he ignores her ravens and sends none of his own. (I don't believe any of the bullshit Ryan Condal is trying to spin about him betraying her.) Because he will not go back to Dragonstone empty handed. Because to Daemon, that would be like telling Rhaenyra he doesn't love her anymore.

[gffa]

Rewatched the Rebels episode where Kanan and the others go to meet Ahsoka's friend for help in finding good base locations and it turns out to be Rex and everyone has a real bad time of it, because this show was for a young audience, sure, but it also didn't shy away from Kanan's trauma or letting us know that Rex had been through a lot of his own hurt, too. The clones having to live in this space of what they'd done, that it hadn't been their choice, but it had been their hands, killing the Jedi, the people who fought besides them on the battlefield, who bled and died for them, the clones were the ones who killed them because their very agency was taken away, their thoughts were overwritten, and you have to live with that guilt and anger and hurt, because it wasn't your choice, you didn't want this, but it was your brothers that still did it, and you have to worry that the Jedi will be angry at you for it, will come after you for being a danger to them, for having killed their children, and then you come face to face with a Jedi, a Jedi who is angry at you, who doesn't believe you, who was a child when a clone murdered his master in front of him and then tried to kill him, who had killed other kids his age, and how how how could anyone not want revenge for that? Jedi were taught not to seek it, but how could anyone possibly face the genocide of their entire people and culture, and not say this was different? How could they not go through that and decide, no, this did need to be avenged? And no amount of trying to explain that you didn't want it, you didn't know at the time, you didn't choose this, can ever undo what happened. And that you don't know if it's worse to have your mind stripped from you and monstrous acts done with your hands but you lived or if it's worse to have seen your entire culture murdered just for being born with the Force and for standing up to fight against evil and having the entire galaxy lie about who you were and what you did and why you did it, to still be hunted down just because you could touch the Force, no matter whether you fought back or not, to not even be able to just say the words, "I'm a Jedi." without someone probably turning you in to the Empire. Both sides of this utterly trusted each other once upon a time and that trust was shattered through no fault of their own and everyone can understand why everyone else is the victim of something truly horrific, but still can't get back to where they were before, because it doesn't matter that none of them chose any of this, it was still their hands that were forced into unthinkable acts and their kids' bodies on the ground and nothing can ever undo that. You have to do your best to let go of the horror and move on, maybe find something new, but you'll never not see everything that happened when you look at the other person. Anyway, I'm gonna go punt myself into the sun brb.

[theprinceandthewitch]

The way WBW foreshadowed some of TOH's major story plot points makes me want to crash out...

WBW gives Eda a piece of dialogue where she foreshadows her capture in the season 1 finale. This is her description of Adegast:

Eda: I know this guy. He's no wizard. He's what you'd call a puppeteer, a demon who specializes in scamming and manipulating people. He's trying to use Luz to get to me.

This dialogue also gives us a glimpse into Belos' true nature: a con artist who will do anything to achieve his goals.

But what's even crazier to me is that the episode also featured a prince... who is obviously foreshadowing Hunter and his role as the most important puppet in Belos' game...

In WBW, Luz goes on a quest with a prince [Hunter]... at the end of her journey she discovers her entire quest was fabricated by a puppeteer... this puppeteer preyed upon Luz's insecurities so that he could set a trap to capture Eda... when Luz was at her lowest moment, Adegast tries to make her stay with him by preying upon her insecurities once again. This scene implied Adegast was going to turn her into a puppet.

The puppeteer [Belos] setting a trap for Eda by using Luz came to fruition at the end of season 1. Then HM comes around to fulfill the other part of WBW: Luz discovers she has been tricked by a demonic puppeteer to fulfill his goals -- except Luz AND the prince find out they've been nothing more than puppets in Belos' centuries long stage play.

See, this is why I don't think "Luz has to reckon with the reality of helping Belos fulfill his evil plans" was an asspull like the Papa Titan dues ex machina was. Cuz they told us this was going to happen all the way back in WBW. This makes Luz "discovering" the glyphs even more suspicious in hindsight. Honestly, I do think the original plan was to have it be revealed Belos was the one showing the glyphs to Luz. But they changed it to Papa Titan showing Luz the glyphs because of the time crunch.

Buuuut what makes me completely and utterly insane is how WBW intentionally set up Luz and Hunter to have the same journey AND the same discovery at the end of it. And it doesn't help that I keep hearing this dialogue on replay every time I rewatch WBW, SAI, and HM.

Luz: Uh huh... Other than Lilith, I've never spoken to someone inside the Emperor's Coven. What made you want to join? Golden Guard: [Sighs, leans against the wall.] You were right before. I'm a powerless witch. A lot of my ancestors were. I never thought I'd have a future in a world like this. But then, Belos found me and gave me a staff with artificial magic. He said the Titan had big plans for me. Luz: At least you have your future figured out now. Golden Guard: At least you can figure out your own.

Luz thinks Hunter is a chosen one... and Hunter wishes he could choose his own destiny.

Oh okay, nbd... Not only are Hunter and Luz Caleb and Evelyn, but they're also on the same journey of discovering they've been manipulated by a demonic puppeteer... COOL. I will forever be haunted by the writing choices at the end of season two and the entirety of season 3 :)

[wispythreads]

Me, taking a teeny tiny peak into Saccharina Frostwhip's tag out of curiosity: maybe I'll just see a teeny tiny spoiler, no harm, just a hint of the relationship between her, Ruby, and Amethar improving...

Literally the first post talking about Saccharina specifically: "Rewatching A Crown of Candy had reminded me how much I hate Saccharina."

Me: ( ･᷄ ︵･᷅ )

Granted they then went on to talk about how well-written/roleplayed this character was, how if we had followed along her storyline the whole time instead that 'of course we would be on her side' in this tension between the "reunited" family, so on and so forth (it is a good post, I am just not reblogging because the core of it of "I personally hate her but she is a good character" is pretty antithetical to how I feel, and I also disagree that she's SO focused on receiving the love of her father and half-sister that she's unable to recognize the love and acceptance she's received from her cousins and a loyal knight of the family)

I'm just over here pretty surprised that this is a supposedly large audience reception Saccharina had when A Crown of Candy was still the latest in the batch of Dimension 20 adventures? Enough so that her player got hate for it? And was a feeling so strong that it holds out even upon rewatching it?

As far as I could tell watching everything going on, EVERYONE had reasonable feelings about the situation.

The only reason she was able to survive in that orphanage, grow as strong and powerful as she was, is because even as the nuns tried to burn it out of her Saccharina held onto the fact that they were wrong, that she had a father out there who would love her and want her.

Of course she's disappointed when her attempts at being friendly and sharing camaraderie are rebuked. Of course she's hurt when, after all these years dreaming of finally having a home with the people she came from, the lineage that gave her the gifts that brought her so much joy and misery at the same time, they react coldly towards her, suspicious of her, either keeping their distance or, as is in Ruby's case, being openly hostile.

And of course they are. I truly believe that if they had met before the events of episode 9, Amethar would've swept Saccharina up into a bear hug, unabashedly giving her the love she'd always dreamed of. But he had just been stabbed in the back by his best friend of 20 years, who had also been revealed in the same moment to be the cause behind his sisters' murders. He had just lost the daughter that was most like him, that reminded him so much of his sister Rococoa. He's already made the choice that he needs to harden up, become cold, if he was going to keep Caramelinda, Ruby, and all the people who trusted them and helped them alive. He thought he knew who Calroy was, and trusted him, but he didn't. And it cost him too much. He definitely doesn't know who Saccharina is, and he can't afford to lose anyone else.

Ruby is a bit harder for me to judge, as I think there still might've been some rivalry/resentment(?) through their connections to magic and Lazuli, but I don't think she would've been anywhere near as aggressive over this revelation before losing Jet. Because she's not just dealing with the death of her sister, or even the death of her other half. She is dealing with being the reason why Jet died, at least in her own mind. Jet, for once in her life, showed hesitance in acting bold and brash, didn't want to follow up on the letter on their own. Ruby, who usually is the one following Jet's lead, took the reigns, and now one of them is dead. She only lived because she ran away and left her sister behind to die. And now the universe turns around, says, 'Surprise! You've got a new sister now, and she's bursting at the seams with magic,'?

Both of these characters wear their hearts on their sleeves, and as great as they are with their strengths, they've already shown they can be terribly immature as one of their faults. These things are not Saccharina's fault, but it is what they're dealing with and end up projecting onto her while literally everyone else in the party openly accepts Saccharina into the group, and she accepts them into her found family of marauders in turn.

Saccharina notes how the former king, queen, and bastard princess reacted towards her, and what is her immediate response? "Ok. They don't love me. They don't even like me. Maybe I can try to avoid them hating me by at least being useful. By at least not being an inconvenience."

And that is what she sticks by while talking to them for so long, occasionally throwing out a line to test if maybe they could still end up liking her, that she could still have that family she's always dreamed of, only to hit their walls and instantly reel back to at least being useful, without really knowing why the wall is even there. She tells them she's disappointed, of what she had hoped for, but not in a tone blaming them, angry at them, its almost as if she can't help letting it slip out through her diplomacy as she appends it again and again with her hopes she can at least be useful. She tries over and over to make it clear that she only sees the throne as a tool, one that she doesn't really want but one that she needs, and at the same time tries to offer herself to the Rocks family as the same thing. A tool that can be at least needed, if not wanted.

The rest of her hurt? She confides to her found family. And even then, as she voices to the marauders about her frustration that the Rocks don't want her, that she doesn't know why she keeps trying and that maybe it'd be best if she just stopped and accepted it, she can't stop, she keeps trying to appeal to them through her actions.

And, again, she doesn't know how deep their own hurt goes, how horrific the road their open hearts had led them down and why now, of all times, they've closed themselves off. She sees loss, and is confounded because loss is where she started as young as five years old. And yet she still doesn't treat them any differently. She's finally snapped and let the amount of hurt she's felt finally show to both Amethar and Ruby now, but she still shows them trust, and support, and is willing to lean on the people they brought with them just as much if not even more so than her own people. Her sharp-sounding formality is not how she wants to address them, because deep down she is as open hearted as the rest of the Rocks. It is a mirror she is reflecting as she tries to come to terms with the fact that her dream can't be reality, as much as the child within her still longs for and reaches towards it.

Knowing all that, watching how clear they make her feelings regarding everything and how carefully she's trying to maneuver through the world she's found herself in, how much she's trying to prove that she can at least be a good asset, I'm still just... really gobsmacked that a large number of people look to her and hate her.

[sugarrushproductions]

How Once Upon A Time play Among Us

So, I'm rewatching some old playthroughs of Among Us and these ideas just kinda popped into my head. I'm also assuming Emma's superpower only works in person.

Rumple- Most of the time, he'll get voted out immediately based on principle. Especially when Regina, Zelena, and Killian are playing. If he doesn't, he's either killed first (Again if Regina, Zelena, and/or Killian are imposter) or is the best imposter.

Belle- She'll usually be the one to convince everyone that they should let Rumple play. If crewmate, she finishes her tasks first before trying to sus out who's imposter. If imposter, she will kill in front of Rumple and he'll never turn on her and will help her.

Regina- Gets sused out, but is never truly turned on until the end of a round when most have already died. She usually wins if she's imposter and ejected if she's not.

Emma- a decent imposter. However, if she teams up with Regina or Rumple, they nearly always win. If paired with Killian, she vouches for him just a bit too much and gets them ejected. Will never kill him or Regina until the end of a round. As a crewmate, she forgets to do tasks.

David- tends to forget to do tasks in lew of figuring out who is imposter. Whether ghost or crewmate, he'll always be the last to finish his tasks. As imposter, he's decent with Rumple or Killian, even Emma. However, if paired with Snow, they get sused immediately. It's the only time the two split up and they vouch for each other far too often.

Snow- Middle ground as imposter if not with David, best crewmate. First to finish tasks and corals everyone else when they start to turn on each other too much.

Killian- Decent imposter unless paired with Rumple. He'll try to work with him, but the second Rumple kills Emma he gives them both away. As an imposter, he'll never kill Emma, will kill Henry only as a last resort. If paired with Henry as imposter, he'll follow the kid's lead and they usually end up winning. Crewmate, he is also one of the best.

Robin- Excels at both crewmate and imposter. The only thing that will give him away is if Regina isn't killed at any point. If crewmate, he knows when Regina is imposter but never says anything.

Zelena- About the same problem as Rumple. Is never believed as crewmate but she just retaliates by not finishing her tasks as a ghost. This applies if she's just killed by the imposter. The only two who will be able to tell if she's imposter are Regina and Robin, sometimes Emma. However, nothing is done until it's too late most times.

Henry- Lowkey best imposter/crewmate. No one wants to kill the kid, no one but Rumple can sus him out. It also helps that he watches Among Us videos on YouTube.

[banjomelodies]

Spoilers (since I recently rewatched Scaras videos and saw comments about the Nameless Child) (+unintentional Ei rant)

I remember seeing a lot of people question Scaramouches whole thing about holding a grudge on a dying child, but, honestly, as an immortal being that was still learning for the most part at the time, I think it makes sense. He mentions in his character stories that he wasn't aware a human could deteriorate and pass on in a single night. To him, he believed he had so much more time. They had made promises, he cared for that child, showed him the home that once imprisoned him. And if you really think about it.. he didn't really witness death like this until now. He never saw Niwas body, and I don't know if he ever actually saw the bodies of the various workers in Tatarasuna when they finally passed away, as he also mentions that he didn't expect to be flooded with a negative emotion upon witnessing death (though granted, his relationship with the Nameless Child would obviously be drastically different than the random acquaintances of Tatarasuna, so there's just a chance that he really didn't get hit by heavy emotions).

All that he was aware of was that he was alone again. Ei abandoned him, and he only knew that Niwa supposedly ran away and left him alone, and then the child he treated as family left him too. Grief forms in so many different ways, and anger at things around you, or the person who is deceased, can be a common part of it. There's anger at being abandoned, anger about how life suddenly changed.. so many different factors go into it. And instead of being able to handle that anger in better ways, he found himself burning down a building, and attempting to off himself in the flames, and when he lived and tried to keep going with a newfound fear and hatred towards humans who only ever broke his expectations, or had the potential of only hurting him more, he landed in a group that took advantage of and fed that anger.

Scaramouche never had the chance to properly grieve or figure out how to handle emotions that were still new to him at the time. Him having a grudge on Niwa, Ei, and The Nameless Child makes sense, as it's all he knew. There was never anyone there who actually tried to properly help him. In his brain, he was abandoned again, and again, and again, and it eventually just spiraled into a hatred for other people.

I know a lot of people don't usually go for the "I'm going to try to analyze the characters emotions!" route when watching videos about things like this, since, obviously, why would you. But, there are legitimate reasons as to why Scaramouche would be mad at someone for dying, and it's a sucky situation all the way through. But the best thing is, he probably finally got over the anger he had on Niwa and The Nameless Child upon becoming The Wanderer (I don't care what anyone says he doesn't owe Ei any forgiveness - Her situation was straight-up just child abandonment. Which, yeah, sure, she was doing it because she didn't want to control him, and wanted him to live his own life without her interference, but you couldn't just like.. leave him a note explaining that? Check on him once in a while? Hell, even drop him off in civilization that'd love and care for him? You imprisoned him for who knows how long in a domain that probably just felt mind-numbing as everything was always the same until he was finally broken free from it. You say you didn't want to interfere with his life, but then threw him into a situation where his life would've sucked and been non-existent as he could only just stare at walls and trees. Unless she was just gunning on humans to break him out to give him an actual meaningful life, considering he didn't have his strength at the time. But this isn't a Raiden Ei being a shitty mom rant post, so uh!!)

Ignoring my Ei rant for a second. I hope this was. A decent read. Despite how short it is. I always loved analyzing Scaramouche as a character, so making posts about his backstory is very fun.

[everythingunderthestarsthings]

Ulrich and Jeremie - Unlikely besties.

This post was a long time coming, and will be the penultimate post in my Lyoko Warriors friendship headcannons. Check out the other posts I made: Yumi and Odd - Chaotic besties Aelita and William - Quiet Besties Check out my Code Lyoko Masterlist!

(There are no pictures of Ulrich and Jeremie on Google Images and I don't want to accidentally use someone else's work, so no images here.)

(I did find a really good fanart of them! I shall link it here! All credits to the owner of the art!)

Headcannons!

So hear me out.

Before the Lyoko mess began, Jeremie and Ulrich were the only two who went to Kadic as boarders. Yumi was a day student prior to the series too, but Jeremie and Ulrich knew each other before Ulrich even met Yumi!

Also, assuming that Ulrich regularly takes up martial arts with Jim and he met Yumi for the first time there, I think Yumi might have also been a relatively new student to Kadic at the time of meeting him.

It's been established in the show that Ulrich and Sissi have known each other for quite a while, so Ulrich must've been at Kadic for a really really long time.

And Jeremie is well-known as the most intelligent student of his grade, so he must've also been at Kadic for a long long time.

So these two just knew each other as casual friends in class, but never really interacted much since Jeremie was all about his books and Ulrich was trying to get away from Sissi.

But Ulrich probably had a very trustworthy reputation prior to X.A.N.A. awakens (I also made a post about my thoughts on rewatching X.A.N.A. awakens, which you can check out). He keeps to himself and fends off the principal's daughter who has a huge crush on him, to the point where Jeremie doesn't hesitate too much before telling him about Lyoko.

Ulrich also has a very good sense about Jeremie and was able to figure out his giant crush on Aelita (then again, Jeremie is adorable and is an open book).

As the Lyoko warriors got together, and with Odd being Ulrich's roommate -- again, nobody in Kadic has roommates except Ulrich and for the Principal to trust Ulrich might have to do with his quiet nature (also the fact that he thinks Ulrich and Sissi are still good friends or something) -- well, the focus shifts to Ulrich and Odd's friendship, and Jeremie's focus shifts to materializing Aelita, so their moments of friendship are blinded due to plot circumstance.

BUT Jeremie trusts Ulrich to keep Aelita safe more than anyone. Ulrich is the most protective of Aelita out of all the Lyoko Warriors, and Aelita looks up to Ulrich like a brother!

For that to have happened, there must be an unspoken trust between Jeremie and Ulrich in the first place, which I think there is!

And I think Jeremie and Ulrich are wonderful because

They both use their hearts more than their heads when it comes to their respective love interests (Jeremie virtualizing himself onto Lyoko to apologize to Aelita after a fight and Ulrich using Return to the Past to get the right lottery tickets that he thinks might help Yumi stay at Kadic).

And their family dynamics are opposite to each other! Jeremie comes from a household with loving parents while Ulrich's relationship with his parents are somewhat strained. I just think it's pretty nice, how similar and different they are.

You know, their contrasting family relations also play into their relationships. Jeremie and Aelita have a most smooth-sailing romance with minimal drama, while Ulrich and Yumi are on-and-off with so many hiccups, man.

I'm pretty sure Jeremie, Aelita, Ulrich and Yumi go on double dates after shutting down the supercomputer.

Also, ULRICH WILL BE THE ONE WHO GIVES JEREMIE "THE TALK". I'm so convinced of this.

Like ofc, Jeremie probably knows about "the talk" but he might have a moment of fear and Ulrich will be the one to set him straight.

And I have a feeling Jeremie was jealous of Ulrich once upon a time, since he was a really popular guy, but it was probably just a small phase.

[windowlickercurse]

Every time you see a bad Sheldon take, a fairy dies

I'm rewatching mlaatr (in less than a week after finishing it) and its honestly sad how so many people just hate sheldon. Not everybody has to like him but some people don't get what his character is. He is bullied at school and the FIRST person to help him is Jenny. I would start to like her too. Because guess what i was a huge loser just as Sheldon.

He doesn't like Jenny only because she is a robot, although that adds to his infatuation. He is happy to be around her in general! Happy to have friends!

His bevahior is sometimes obsessive and weird, like in the episode Designing Women. That's true. However, every single character in mlaatr is exxegregated. He is also a teenager and I was 16 once and let me tell you, teenagers don't know how to deal with their emotions.

I think he is also meant to be every single frowned upon thing in the 2000's. He is called a geek by other characters, he is a FURRY, a part of various fandoms, suggested to be bisexual, finds Jenny's mom attractive (more in the Good Old Sheldon but also in that one episode when Nora goes on dates with that one guy), he is a nerd. Overall, I think he is meant to be read as an autistic character. I say that as an undiagnosed autisti - I do not have a diagnosis, but me being on the spectrum was common knowledge among my teachers in primary school. I relate to Sheldon in a plethora of ways, and I believe he is on the spectrum as well. That's why Sheldon slander is personal to me, because many people don't have a nuanced take on a nuanced character like him and just hate him. And i know they would hate me too if we were in high school together.

Whatever this is a rant idk

[liberationwasboundtohappen]

Aaaand the last part of the question asked by @kira-quartz!

23: Has your favorite ship changed over time? -- Oh gods, has it. When I first entered this fandom...years ago, I was a very dedicated Revolutionshipper (Atem x Anzu) and Peachshipper (Yuugi x Anzu), but over time I grew cold on those ships. I'm still a fan of Atem x Miho (which doesn't have a ship name?), and I wrote an AU about them more than a decade ago. I may have to revisit it and fix it up because I absolutely love that ship and you will pry it from my cold dead hands. After a while I became an ardent Wishshipper (Joey x Yuugi) and I still love that ship to death. But upon rewatching the series and revisiting it in earnest, I started growing much more fond of YB, Marik, and TKB. Currently, my favorite ship is Boundshipping (TKB x Yuugi) and... A crossover ship that I'm tentatively calling Emeraldshipping (TKB x Inko Midoriya). Yes, we are talking about Izuku's mom from MHA. This is under the prerequisite that TKB and Inko are both consenting adults (I have always headcanoned TKB as around 25, Millennium Book be damned). Emeraldshipping has a similar vibe to Boundshipping, especially with the redemption romance dynamics. Inko is such a gentle person, and TKB needs someone who will worry for and care for him while teaching him what love actually is. Meanwhile I think TKB would practically worship the ground she walks on once the two of them actually fall in love and get comfortable with one another. Also, her insecurities concerning their age gap is an interesting thing to explore, especially since if we're going with post-series TKB who has been around 3,000 years, it's just her body that's older (not her soul). If we're going with YB x Inko, I think there would be much more emphasis on the fact that YB is not used to kindness, but here's this woman mothering him and even being firm with him like he's being an unruly child rather than an ancient spirit. Unless YB is a separate entity and not currently possessing Ryou, I feel like this would be one-sided on YB's end. Unless / until he gets an adult body in which case Inko will have a strange white-haired man that looks suspiciously like the sour kid she'd been helping and feeding declaring that she is 'his woman' and....hhhhhhhhhhhh. I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT THESE TWO.

[ktofbvb]

My Thoughts on NCIS: Sydney Season 2 Episode 1: Heart Starter

SPOILERS AHEAD

This episode continues the cliff hanger from the season 1 finale with the mystery of who organized the kidnapping of AFP's JD's son. NCIS Agent Mackey and JD are suspended from their agencies after Neimus escapes. DeShawn is placed in charge of the remaining unit with some friendly banter between the team to DeShawn, who did not want the position but is doing his best. Neimus was the big bad of season one, but in the final moments of that season's finale is discovered to be nothing more than a pawn in a larger game. Colonel Rankin of the U.S. is the number that Neimus's phone calls, pushing him as a traitor. While Mackey questions him, he has a heart attack, and she carries him to a hospital and provides him a fake name. I did find the speaker magnet disabling the pacemaker a fun way to show how much knowledge Doc has without exposition. The AFP being so insistent on suspending JD, the day that his son was recovered was a choice. It's a choice that paints the AFP in the best light. I'm not sure if the choice is purposefully painting the AFP in a negative light compared to the American NCIS, but it does make me pause and think about it. DeShawn is incredibly loyal even when pressured that someone is being blamed, and he can make it Mackey while keeping his career. "Momentarily more than you" is such a good line from JD. I laughed when he said that. JD escapes into a football crowd upon realizing the AFP agents who suspended him are following him, which was a cool moment since it seemed natural. I did read the showrunners comments that DeShawn and Evie are similar to Tony and Ziva from the original NCIS but that is simply an inaccurate comparison, Evie hasn't tried to kill DeShawn once. They have cute banter that doesn't feel rude or demeaning, unlike Tony and Ziva.

JD and Mackey meet in the ICU unit for Rankin, and it seems that for a second, JD considers murdering Rankin. Mackey comments that anyone else but JD would feel comfortable with the man gone but JD wants answers more than comfort. I enjoy the team dynamic in the autopsy room with Doc asking if now is a good time to discuss raises with DeShawn. The tech tattoo is an interesting device both for storytelling and in life to learn about. Mackey and JD are having a moment at her place, and she reveals that she has a son. That revelation comes out of nowhere as there are no foreshadowings or clues leading to it, except for the child-like drawing next to a family picture that we see in the apartment moments before. Blue and Doc are still my two favorite characters in the show, as they have found family vibes a bit but work so well off each other. Crypto wallets then make an appearance as a means of finding out who hired Neimus. Heart Started packs a lot of story in one episode without getting lost or feeling bloated but without a dull moment, making it an engaging episode regardless of rewatching. JD breaks more laws to hunt down Neimus and find out why his son was targeted, but the prey/pursuer dynamic between Neimus and the teamwork. She has been a step ahead of them, and she is confident that she can escape again, but now JD has nothing to lose, and the team has become a family willing to do anything for him. I loved how the team all took responsibility for Niemus's escape, so if one was going to get fired, all of them would get fired. I also enjoyed the mention of Vance, as it helps position the show in the NCIS timeline.

This was a fun episode to watch, and I even rewatched it, which tied up loose ends from the finale of season 1 while leaving bread crumbs for where season 2 can be heading. It did get renewed for a third season, which is also exciting news, as I love this spin-off. 10/10

[dolphs-world]

Doesn't Matter

Movies, movies, movies. I've watched about 75 movies since I last talked about Barbie. I still need to write a critical review of that film. I may do it tonight. We'll see. Sadly, I don't have much to say on these movies, except for a few very connected ones. The greatest non-IP film I saw was Rat Race and I can't say anything more about that film than it was really really funny and I wished that Tracy got the money. She was so hot and her outfit looked really good. I watched some Spielberg films and I can say that he hasn't made a good movie in 20 years. RE: The Fabelmans, Paul Dano was fantastic, I think the younger sister with the glasses is going places (she was also great in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), I can't believe Seth Rogan cucked Spielberg's dad, and I wished I didn't know David Lynch was in the movie but his scene was the only thing worth it. Shit ending though. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, also a bad ending. I really liked the whimsy and the discovery of the film. And that a third guy joined their adventure to climb the mountain, until he gave up which sucked. Like A.I, a more interesting film to think about but maybe not to watch as a movie. None of the character's are good, interesting, or driven besides lunacy. The music and shot where the car flies over the truck rock though.

I thinked I watched a lot of TV? I can't really remember. I rewatched Modern Family. While a real interesting premise of so many different pairings, the don't do anything with it. Storylines are primarily focused on the same pairings. How many Phil and Cam plots are there? Or jokes with Manny and Mitch together? And it has a real structure issue. Most sitcoms have an A and a B plot, split 2:1. You know which plot is more important but you need another plot to cut back to so it doesn't feel too samey. Maybe, you have a C plot which is really just a loose set of jokes for pacing issues or for character pairings that are fun but don't provide a lot of depth. I've been watching King of the Hill so that comes to mind. There's an episode where they go to Louisiana. The episode is about Hank trying to win some money in a football game but the writers need to justify having more characters go with them. So it's revealed that Bill is from Louisiana so there's more of a reason to go there. Bill's plot is the B plot and it also helps drive the A plot. Or sometimes they give all the character's on the sidelines a C plot for jokes and so the audience is left wondering why they're not involved in more of the episode. But with Modern Family, you have 3 families of supposed equal importance so each episode can only really focus 5-6 minutes on each family. It's very rushed and mainly focuses on marital issues, which again, are resolved in mere minutes. And the rest of the time the show has to focus on jokes with the non-relevant characters to the given story so it doesn't seem weird that they're not in the episode. In KotH, a lot of the side characters are adults who aren't family so it isn't weird if they don't appear in a given episode or are in only one scene. But in Modern Family, the side characters are their children so it would be weird if they didn't show up. And when the kids are grown up and given unlikeable personalities and love lifes, the show gets bogged down in seasons where no one is able to grow and each character only gets 2 episodes of actual importance on them. But that said, it's still decent television. And as you can tell, I don't really like many of the characters. I liked Cam a lot more this time but I think it's because he told a lot of puns. I do really like Phil and Claire. I think Phil is why the show got 11 seasons. I hate Alex. I'm so sick of that kind of nerdy author insert. I got bullied in high school so I'm going to make this really smart character who no one gets mean to everyone else. Fuck off.

[highfantasy-soul]

NaNoWriMo 2023

I have jumped on the NaNo train again this year! Honestly, I don't think I'll hit 50k, but it's still fun to try and keep track of word-count for a bit.

I'm going to try to get some more words written on my MCU Namor/Netflix Daredevil setting fanfic, but it's been slow going for awhile on that one, so my main focus the first couple days is going to be a new fic I'm starting (because I'm a big dum dum and despite having two other started fics, I'm beginning YET ANOTHER ONE).

So my current NaNo project: a Once Upon a Time fic that starts at the Season 3B intro - (spoilers) Storybrooke is gone so Emma Swan and her son Henry have lost all their memories of magic and the inhabitants of the fairy tale town, with fake memories implanted that gives the two of them happy memories as though Emma had never given up Henry for adoption. I'm introducing an OC that became Emma's friend during her year in New York and becomes VERY concerned when she runs off with a strange, leather-clad man who claims to know her and tells her she needs to leave with him to save her family.

Pretty much, I'm rewatching OUAT and couldn't help but think for the entirety of 3B - did Emma not have any friends that were worried about her just disappearing with her son one day??? It seems odd that she didn't have any work associates who might ask about her, or really anyone in the city other than Walsh.

It's pretty fun exploring the story from the POV of someone who isn't from the Enchanted Forest and doesn't have some fantastical destiny in the town. It's just a regular person who befriended someone who took off one day with a dude who dressed like a ren faire attendee, has no phone, credit card, money, or ID, and is claiming Emma needs to go on a quest to save her family. Very adult-form urban fantasy!

Viewing Storybrooke from a 100% non-magic believer at a point in the town's history where everyone has their Enchanted Forest memories is going to open up a whole lot of options for me!

Also, an OC x Emma Swan x Killian Jones throuple is a tantalizing story idea.

So let's see how far into this fic I get, or if I can add any more words to my other fics!!!

[mylutteoheart]

Doing lots of research for my NaNoWriMo project which is a story with my own version of lesser known fairy tales makes me see fairy tales everywhere.

Which apparently also includes knowing some movies are based on these fairy tales. (I'm looking at you barbie and the 12 dancing princesses).

[photos-or-inkblots]

i have to admit, upon rewatch i was pretty intrigued with the real SHIELD concept, and for a while i actually favored them over Coulson's. Mack also had points about Coulson's state of mind by season 2A. Alas, as others have mentioned, it wasn't something the writers were interested in exploring, and from past discussions (i did a deepdive once, i was curious about what people thought about the season when it aired), it seemed like the writers were more interested in having someone antagonize Coulson instead of challenging him. It didn't matter who, or how, just someone, to prop him up. I agree with this somewhat, I feel like the show doesn't really point out Coulson's flaws frequently, or that it doesn't want to at all, and though real SHIELD did challenge him, as the episodes progressed, well, there was shooting Daisy on-site with real bullets, Index-ing everyone in Afterlife, aiming to kill Jiaying upon meeting her when Coulson probably would've done better than that, etcetera, giving the audience reasons to favor Coulson. But a bunch of these decisions was just Gonzales too, not the entire directors board when that was the entire point of real SHIELD.

Gonzales had points for Coulson favoring Daisy (on other things, like in season 3, but I'd argue he was objective about Afterlife's existence), but Gonzales's very own skeptism and xenophobia doesn't make him the right choice, either. Why not have Weaver talk to Jiaying, for one? As a woman of science (she led Sci-Tech pre-HYDRA) she actually has the track record to be more objective than other people on the board. Gonzales keeps bringing up Mack and Bobbi's assessments of Coulson, but we never had anyone else assess him to level the field. I feel like they weren't willing to put much effort into doing that, anyway.

I'm just really sad that the people who lived peacefully in Afterlife were caught in the crossfire for this one. Especially Daisy's family, no matter how deranged Jiaying seemed in the end, it felt like the plot was looking for someone else to blame. It's very hard to fault a woman who had genuine reasons to distrust organizations like SHIELD (she was abducted twice by Hydra and was killed the second time, come on). Gonzales said the wrong words, then she snapped. The fact that Daisy sought refuge in Afterlife because Gonzales's men had orders to shoot her with real bullets doesn't help, either. The entire community of Afterlife were victims to this internal conflict, but the show doesn't seem to treat them as such.

Off the top of my head, there have been had two callbacks for Jiaying's antagonistic behavior in season 2 (season 5, when they were in the van; season 7, when May and Yo-yo went to Afterlife) where she was villainized. If certain things were done right, if certain variables were there or weren't there, there would've been lesser problems for the team, better outcomes for more people, and certainly less deaths and better plot progression, but I digress.

hey if you're a shield fan and you see this please reblog or comment with your thoughts on the whole SHIELD, the real SHIELD plotline. cause I think it's super interesting but also misses on the execution in places. plus I know it's a topic of contention in the fan base or all least was in the spaces I used to be active in.

[yujeong]

hiiiiii, i just found your blog and saw you talking about how pete and porsche aren't the besties in the show that so many people see them as which is a thought i've had for some time; like, don't get me wrong, i like peteporsche being besties (and maybe being besties that kiss each other) and i love when people write them that way (especially post-canon) BUT i personally just never thought that they were that close in show-canon, idk......i have trouble putting my thoughts into words but when i rewatched the show at the beginning of the year i was actually kinda surprised by how these two don't really feel like bffs, and yeah i know pete went into hell specifically for porsche but then again, porsche just kinda forgets he did that? and then the bathroom scene(s)? idk i just feel there is so much complicated mess.....so yeah, my thoughts are pretty much jumbled and difficult to parse, lmao, i'm sorry

also sorry for just coming into your inbox like this, lmao, but i would love to hear more of your thoughts on them and how they interact in the show (if you are willing to share, of course)!!!

Hi there! Firstly, thank you so much for reaching out to me. I love talking about KP in general - VP and Pete more specifically - so your message was very welcome. Now, Pete and Porsche's relationship is such a fascinating thing, I could really talk for hours about it. On the surface level, they seem close but upon further inspection, it turns out that - as @therealblessedaffliction mentioned - Porsche is closer to Vegas of all people than to Pete. There are reasons for this of course. Pete is part of the main family, the family that basically forced Porsche into working for them. He's loyal to Kinn, a person Porsche was at first wary of/mad at. He doesn't believe Pete when he tells him he's the most normal person in the house and he generally ignores his advice until the incident with the minor family happens, when Pete tells him about how Kinn saved his life and to basically get his head out of his ass. They have their cute moments throughout the show but even in those, it's all surface level; Porsche doesn't trust Pete with the information of kissing Kinn or of what Kinn did to him. He doesn't trust him with the information of being in a relationship with Kinn. He doesn't think twice about him when he's rescued by Kinn and the gang in ep 10 and when Kinn is worried about Pete due to his odd behaviour, Porsche doesn't even consider the possibility of sth being off, even though he should have. Cue the Hum Bar scene, in which Porsche just brings Pete along to give to Vegas as a bargaining chip without (evident) remorse and that solidifies the belief I have that Pete and Porsche are colleague buddies, not actual friends. They work well together, they have good platonic chemistry, they totally understand each other, even if they don't show it, but they aren't friends. (Porsche is oblivious to this, just as he's oblivious to the fact that punching the guy who caused his supposed friend physical and psychological harm, as well as threatening him to not do it again, means jack shit when he's the one giving Vegas the chance to hurt Pete once more) That brings me to Pete who, god bless his kind soul, decided to risk his life for Porsche when it wasn't even that necessary? One thing that had confused me about ep 10 and Kinn's plan is that he said he needed the proof of Tawan and Vegas cooperating but in the end it was kind of pointless? Maybe he needed the proof to give it to their partners or sth but whatever the case, it doesn't matter. What matters is that Pete embarked on a mission with high probabilities of failure (and death) because he trusted Porsche and he wanted to help him. We're talking about a man that gave his grandma's food to a stranger the first time he saw him, a man who tried to push back against Tankhun to spare Porsche of his humiliating punishment, a man that risked angering his scary boss by giving him advice to help fix their relationship. What I'm trying to say is, Pete is empathetic af and for those he deems worthy being a sacrifice for, he'll gladly do it. Porsche was one of them.

Btw, I totally believe Porsche thinks him and Pete are friends. His attitude towards him is friendly, he's teasing him and their conversations are those you have with friends, not someone you're not that familiar with. He calls him everyday in the 1 month we never saw to ask how Vegas is doing, encouraging Pete that he'll get better. I just don't think Pete believes the same. Porsche has shown that he's oblivious about many things in the series and this fact, I believe, is one of them. I hope my answer satisfied you, I'm just rambling at this point and I repeated myself a couple of times. They're so fascinating though so my enthusiasm got the better of me haha. P.S. It would have been cool if Pete and Porsche had actually kissed in episode 4 but that would kind of go against Pete's philosophy of "Kissing is for people that we like only" and it would go against the headcanon I have that Pete doesn't like being touched/isn't intimate with anyone before Vegas (sth I'll write meta about soon :3)

[tmnt-obsessed-ace]

Lost But Never Found: Chapter 3, Its Getting Hard To Breathe

The week prior had been a roller coaster.

Leo had gone into the medbay, just to give Indigo a check up, to make sure his unconscious turtle friend was still ok.

He checked the vitals, heart rate was still good, he was breathing fine and everything else seemed normal.

Besides the broken bones, internal damage and the dozens upon dozens of scars that littered practically every inch of Indigo's body.

Leo shook the thoughts from his head, though his eyes drifted to the x-ray images sitting on the table, mocking him relentlessly.

After giving the turtle one last once over he walked over to the table, picking up the images yet again, for perhaps the hundredth time since they were printed.

Where to begin? Three fractured ribs, the severed ulna and fractured radius in his right arm? The obvious concussion?

Those were just the current injuries.

Looking at the images now it was so much worse than Leo originally thought. Broken bones that healed incorrectly like the dozens of tiny fractures in his upper arms, like something grabbed him and tried to crush him.

Or the absolute disaster of a right knee. It looked like the kneecap had almost been shattered. Torn muscles and scar tissue were surrounding the joint. It looked so easy to dislocate, like even just standing on it wrong could push the joint out of what's left of the socket.

How was he even walking on it?

The worst part is that it was recent, about two or three years old. Leo almost felt sick. Was Indigo forced to fight right after the injury? That's just pure vile! Doesn't Big Mama let her competitors rest after major injuries like that? The injury will only get worse if not!

Judging by how messed up the knee is, that's probably what happened.

God, Indigo was in the Battle Nexus for years! Fighting for as long as he could remember.

"I'm never gonna let Big Mama hurt you again." Leo suddenly said out loud, watching the slightly strained rise and fall of Indigo's chest with every breath he took.

The pictures were set back on the table, with the slider making a mental note to get a knee brace for Indigo for when he wakes up. That should at least help stabilize the joint a bit while letting him use the leg.

A soft beep sounded from the nearby machine. The blood analyzer, it seems it was finally finished after forty eight hours. Only reason it was forty eight was because Donnie got the first blood sample contaminated and the results were inclusive. So Leo did the second sample since his twin brother can build machines like they came from a comic book but a little blood makes him too queasy.

Regardless, the results were being printed so Leo was happy.

Once the paper was free from the printer, the slider snatched it while it was still warm. He looked it over, noticing something…

"What?"

You see the machine was primarily used to figure out blood type, gotta make sure any blood donations are from a compatible donor or else blood poisoning will happen and that's a nightmare to deal with.

But it can also check for diseases in the blood and even parentage.

Leo was staring at the results, slack jawed as his mind tried to process what he was seeing.

He grabbed the papers and sprinted out of the medbay, the rest of his family was in the living room rewatching the classic Jupiter Jim movies.

"Guys!" Leo screamed before tripping on the fallen pillows. He landed on the hard floor with a thud, all the papers scattering around the room.

"What is it?" Raph asked, suddenly concerned. "Are you ok?" Leo brushed himself off with a groan.

"Is Indy ok?" Mikey asked, climbing over Raph and fully prepared to race to the medbay. Donnie was tinkering with his cellphone, though he took one headphone off to listen in.

Leo hurriedly tried to gather up the papers, his stomach practically in his throat.

"Look at this!" He showed off the papers, gaining some looks of confusion. April and Donnie's eyes went wide.

"Oh my…no way, how did this happen?" Leo shrugged as Splinter walked into the living room with more buckets of popcorn.

"Dad! Dad, look! You gotta see this!" Leo shouted as Raph and Mikey still looked confused.

"Just a second Blue, let me set this down first!" Splinter said with a light chuckle. Leo didn't have time to wait.

"Indigo is a mutant! He's your son!" The slider shouted, the popcorn buckets all falling to the floor the second the words left Leo's mouth. Splinter whipped around, instantly getting the papers shoved into his face.

The old rat grabbed the papers, scanning it over and over expression morphing from confusion to horror in seconds. He covered his mouth with one hand, tears welling in his eyes.

"How is that possible?" Raph squawked, glancing towards the direction of the medbay.

"I-I don't know! The only turtles Draxum created were you four!" Splinter yelled, shaking like a leaf.

He suddenly bounded towards the medbay like his life depended on it.

The others followed suit and when they arrived, Splinter was sitting next to Indigo's unconscious body, practically vibrating with how hard he was shaking.

"A mutant?" Mikey asked "Like us?"

"Almost exactly like us. Except for some differences in the ooze used." Donnie explained, having taken the papers from Splinter and showing it to the youngest turtle. "Though I'm not exactly sure what species of turtle he is."

"No way…"

"But how? Why? Splints, didn't you say that Draxum's lab was completely destroyed when you were mutated?" April asked. Splinter nodded, but didn't stop shaking.

"Maybe he rebuilt it before we got there and bada bing bada boom Indigo!" It was a shaky idea but an idea nonetheless.

"Really Nardo? It supposedly took Draxum thirteen years to recover all his research, when and how could he create another turtle in that time? With papa's DNA no less!" Donnie added, though the concern laced in his voice was clear despite the heavy sarcasm.

"I was just suggesting!"

"Yeah well your suggestion is inaccuracte."

"Well how else did he become a mutant?"

"I don't know maybe he was an average turtle that ate an oozequito or something?"

"By he has Dad's DNA? How is that possible?"

"Yeah true."

"Maybe Draxum had some od dad's juice left over?"

"Splints are you ok?"

Splinter pulled Indigo into a gentle hug, looking at his children. "Boys." The rat said quietly. "There is only one possiblity. Indigo is one of Draxum's original…five experiments. And I left him behind. God what have I done?" He said, voice breaking into a miserable sob as he held his child in his arms.

"Pops its not your-"

"Yes it is Red! I should've seen him! I should've grabbed him! Then he he would…he wouldn't…I failed him, I failed my son…" That was it, Splinter was crying now, trying so hard to scoop Indigo up and hold im tightly in his arms, protect him from all the horrors of the world. He never should've been in the Battle Nexus, at the mercy of Big Mama and the ruthless hoardes of yokai.

Just like he was.

"I'm so sorry my son. I'm so sorry…"

His children all wrapped their arms around him and their brother, crying miserably while Indigo peacefully slept.

What if he never woke up? What if he…he…passed?

That would by far be Splinter's greatest failure as a father.

After all, Indigo wouldn't have been in the Battle Nexus, been beaten so badly, if Splinter had only noticed a fifth turtle in Draxum's lab.

But he was sure he only saw four even thirteen years later he still remembers only seeing four baby turtles.

Right?

Back in the present time, that same turtle was finally awake.

"What?" Indigo asked again, disbelief clear in his voice.

The rat pulled away and rubbed his eyes dry.

"I understand that this is quite a shock." How was he even supposed to respond to this? Indigo glanced at Leon, was this some kind of joke? The slider gulped, nervously shuffling from foot to foot.

"So uh…yeah you're our brother!"

"What do you mean by that? This…this has to be a joke! Right?"

Both the rat and turtle wore the same guilty expression on their faces. Like father, like son as the old saying goes. Though it was also fearful, like they expected him to explode. Indigo only felt confused.

Leon grabbed a clipboard from the nearby desk, handing it to Indigo. With a raised brow he took it and skimmed the sheet of paper.

It was some kind of table, with all kinds of numbers listed in the columns. Some of the numbers were similar between the two columns but aside from that he couldn't really understand what it meant. "So what does this have to do with anything?"

Leon took the clipboard back, flipping to the next page. "This is the one you gotta focus on Indy." Once the clipboard was once again handed to the shorter turtle his heart began to pound harder against his ribs.

Indigo (n/a), blood type O-, 65% DNA match to Hamato Yoshi.

The rat squeezed Indigo tighter, shame clear on his face.

Hamato Yoshi.

Indigo gently pushed the rat off of him, despite how his arms suddenly felt so heavy, shaking from the strain.

He collapsed into the pillows, vision blurring. A dull ache began to pulse in his skull, near his temples. Where did that come from? Did he get another concussion in the fight?

Take a breath and try to relax. A little difficult to do when your lungs feel like fire.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Easy, simple.

Hopefully the rat and Leon didn't notice how his breath waivered with each huff of his lungs.

"I thought…" The words clung to Indigo's throat. "I thought your name was Lou Jitsu?"

Leon snickered quietly, despite the grim look on his face.

The rat sighed, putting a hand on Indigo's shoulder. "That is just a stage name, Hamato Yoshi is my actual name." The turtle nodded, wincing as the ache in his head turned into a throb, spreading almost lazily through his skull like flowing water.

He tried to massage the pressure points, hands shaking the entire time till his arms eventually collapsed.

Hamato Yoshi.

He shoved the thought away, spots forming in his vision. "I…wha?" He slurred out, one hand pressed against his forehead as the pain intensified again.

His ears were ringing, drowning out the two of them. What was happening? It's like his brain was melting! He buried his head into his hands as hot electric shivers zipped down his spine.

Burning.

Everything was getting hotter and hotter.

Heart pounding against the turtle's ribcage, reigniting the burn with every thump.

Hamato Yoshi

Hamato Yoshi

Hamato Yoshi

That name sounds familiar.

But how.

How does that name sound familiar?

Why does it sound familiar?

The pain reached a peak, becoming blinding.

White hot yet ice cold.

Make it stop!

Make it stop!

Please make it stop!

It's too much make it stop!

God someone please make it stop!

The turtle's stomach lurched, twisting into knots.

God it felt like his skull was vibrating.

"Fuck." Indigo gasped, nearly choking on the word. He clawed at his head, trying to drown out the screaming pain in his mind.

Just as the pain was about to overwhelm him it suddenly vanished.

His eyes twitched, in perfect sync with his heart rate.

A cool, three-fingered hand rested on Indigo's shoulder, providing relief. "Woah woah, calm down Indy, it's ok!" When Indigo looked up Leon was giving him a soft look.

"Sorry." The slider only scoffed at the response. Leon pulled his hands off his head, there weren't any marks left behind. Indigo rubbed his eyes, sinking into the pillows with a dull oomph.

"You alright? That looked intense." Indigo blearily nodded, massaging his sore head. There was a soft knock on the doorframe, though it felt like a hammer was smacked into the turtle's forehead.

Indigo groaned, a string of curses under his breath.

"Is he ok?" A voice asked quietly. Upon looking up there was a much larger turtle standing in the doorway. He was big, broad and spikey and even had a snaggle tooth hanging over the right side of his mouth.

Wearing a bright red bandana and a nervous look on his face. But the strange part was how he was hunched over, arms pulled close to his sides. It was weird.

Like he was trying to make himself look smaller, less intimidating for some reason. Indigo raised a brow. "What are you doing?" He dared to ask, forcing himself to sit up. Now was not the time for rest even though he felt like he got pounded into the ground…again.

The big turtle perked up, honey brown eyes widening. He looked nervously at Leon, waiting for confirmation.

Leon in turn looked at Indigo.

"This is my…er, our big brother Raph!" With a simple 'come here' gesture, Raph cautiously walked over.

The red clad turtle stood a bit away from the cot, still trying to look smaller than he actually was. It was bizarre. Shouldn't someone his size be standing tall, shoulders out and head held high. That's how most of the other competitors acted.

"Hey little buddy, you feeling ok?" The big turtle asked, voice soft and restrained. Which only added to Indigo's confusion.

"What's wrong with you? I'm not gonna bite you if that's what you're thinking." He said curiously. Did this guy lose a stupidly easy match? It happens to everyone, no sense in dwelling on it.

Or maybe it was because of Indigo's status in the arena. He was one of the top five fighters after all so it's understandable to be intimidated. Or awestruck…

The large turtle looked taken aback. "Oh no! I just didn't want to scare you! I'm pretty big after all! I'm Raph by the way!" Indigo looked Raph over, he was maybe six feet tall max.

He couldn't help but laugh.

Both Leon and Raph were taken aback as he laughed harder and harder till the pain in his chest forced him to stop. With wheezing breaths he looked Raph dead in the eyes.

"Bitch are you serious? I fought opponents five, six, maybe even seven times your size regularly. I could take you in a heartbeat!" Both turtles looked stunned.

"Dude." Leon breathed out as Raph at least tried to relax.

"Anyways foul language aside, so how are you feeling Indigo? You doin ok?" Raph asked again in the same tone as before. Indigo rolled his eyes and threw the blanket off.

He stretched his legs, hissing as his right knee decided to be a bastard and locked. Damn it not again. Great! When its not one thing its another.

Whatever it will unlock in a few minutes anyway. Indigo hopped off the bed, staggering as his feet hit the floor, right knee threatening to buckle.

"Easy! Don't hurt yourself!" Raph yelped, trying to provide support but Indigo brushed him off.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Leon's arms were suddenly around his stomach, heaving him into the air.

"Oh hell no you are gonna rest!" The slider grunted, struggling to hold him up. Indigo sighed, grabbing Leon's arm.

"What are you doing?" Indigo rolled, using the momentum to briefly switch positions with the slider.

With a twist Leon was swept off his feet and chucked into the cot with a powerful spin from Indigo.

Leon landed on the cot with a whap. Indigo landed left leg first and once he regained his balance he leveled the slider a deadpan stare.

"You were saying?"

"You're bleeding!" Raph gasped, pointing to a stitched up gash on Indigo's right hip." Sure enough there was a dark crimson spot beginning to form against the stark white gauze.

"Eh no big deal."

"No big deal?" It really wasn't a big deal, it isn't near vitals so a little blood is really nothing.

"Raph please put Indy back on the bed." Stated Leon as he approached, teal medical gloves on his hands. A white stapler was held in hand, clacking dangerously. Indigo only scoffed at the device.

"Do you actually think that will scare me?" The question hung heavy in the air, the only other sound being the constant click clacking of the stapler. Raph carefully tried to approach Indigo, a pleading look on his face.

"You were hurt really bad Indigo, you gotta rest so you can heal. So let's get you back in bed so Leo can nicely patch you up again ok?" The shorter turtle rolled his eyes. Raph gently tried to nudge him back to the cot.

"It's just a little blood, so like I said it's no big deal. It will probably stop bleeding in a few minutes." With that said he staggered out of the medbay, despite how his right knee was absolutely not cooperating. Get with the program already!

The room was completely purple. Purple floor, purple walls, purple lights. The owner of this room really liked the color. Complex machines in all stages of construction were scattered around the room. Massive computer monitors were mounted to the walls, some kind of a human looking girl with insanely long teal ponytails was displayed on one of the monitors.

How does she not trip over her own hair? It looked like a video. Before Indigo could go over to investigate further there was a loud buzz.

A soft blue glow materialized in the air right in front of the turtle, stopping him in his tracks. Leon's head popped out of the swirling vortex, a scowl on his face. One hand holding the stapler came through as well.

Indigo crossed his arms, leveling the slider a glare of his own. "It's just a little blood Leon, save the medical supplies for someone who actually needs it." The boy's face morphed into shock, then something else. A sad look, Leon's face fell into a familiar look. One that was often painted on the older competitors' faces whenever he would often come back beaten and bloody.

It was the look of pity.

"Oh boy. Indy if we run out of medical supplies we can just raid an urgent care. We don't have to worry about scarcity most of the time."

"Most of the time?" Leon nodded, stepping out of the portal. It closed behind him just as Raph came out of the medbay as well.

"Besides hermano, the only one here that 'actually needs it' is you!" Leon finished that sentence with a boop to Indigo's forehead before he was dragged back to the medbay. "Raph go tell Mikey and April that our new brother is up, and if he doesnt let me fix the wound to bring out Dr. Delicate Touch!" Leon cooed in a sing-song tone.

"Whose Dr. Delicate Touch?" Leon only smiled evilly as he gestured for Indigo to sit back down on the cot.

"Your worst nightmare." The gauze was snipped off and disposed of in the nearby trash can. The gash was revealed, the bleeding being like Indigo assumed. Relatively shallow and not at all life threatening as the slider was making it out to be. "You're lucky it's a light bleed or you would already be at the mercy of Dr. Delicate Touch."

The blood was cleaned off and the stapler leveled across the gash. Leon looked up at Indigo, bright green eyes once again filled with pity. "Well? Are you gonna do it or not?" The boy whined a bit.

"Well I…I was just kidding you know? I can just restitch it if you want?" His voice was impossibly soft, it was sickening. Indigo grabbed the stapler and swatted Leon's hands away.

With a loud click the first staple was punched in, it was a bit crooked but if it gets Leon to calm down so be it. Two more were punched in, closing the wound. Not the prettiest thing in the world but it will do.

Upon seeing Leon's absolutely flabbergasted face, Indigo raised a brow. "What?"

"Didn't that hurt? Like a lot?" The shorter turtle shrugged, it was a bit painful but the tolerable kind of pain.

"Compared to almost getting your limbs torn off, not really." The slider's jaw dropped as he stared at Indigo with a look that bordered on horror.

Leon gulped and nodded, hastily covering the wound in gauze again. "Right…where's the rat?" The rat was just gone, not at all seen since…whatever the fuck that was a couple of minutes ago. Like he had headaches before but nothing as agonizing as that was. Leon frowned nervously.

"Oh he's in the kitchen making some dinner, hope you like ramen!" The slider joked. However there was no effort in the joke, it was hollow, laced with anxiety. Indigo decided not to comment. "Anywhizzle, maybe we should introduce you to April and Mikey already, yeah? But you still gotta take it easy ok?" The shorter turtle begrudgingly nodded and stood up again.

He shifted his weight off his impossibly stubborn right leg, ignoring a twinge of pain from the awful joint. As long as it didn't dislocate it would be fine. Leon gave him a curious look "Is that an old injury? Didn't heal right?" When Indigo nodded Leon grabbed something from the nearby table.

It was solid black with four straps, two on top two on the bottom. A circular pad in the middle on either side. "What is that?" Leon walked over while opening up the straps.

"A knee brace, it should make walking easier and less painful." The brace was put on, the straps snugly secured. "Try it out." Indigo stood up, actually putting weight on his right leg for once.

The usual pain was still there, yes but far less than it usually was. His eyes went wide as he took a few steps. "Woah."

"Does it work?"

"It actually does." Leon looked almost giddy.

"Come on, let's go before Mikey and April get impatient." The boy grabbed Indigo's wrist and led him out of the medbay.

"By the way, why did the rat leave?" Leon froze in his tracks. He turned back to the shorter turtle, an anxious look in his eyes.

"It's…uh…we'll talk about it after dinner ok?" That wasn't an answer. But the look of pure dread in Leon's eyes forced Indigo to sigh and nod.

"Alright. I'll hold you to it." Leon gulped before continuing on through the purple room. The monitor that was previously on clicked off as soon as Leon entered the room. Indigo stared at the monitor as they left the room. What the hell was that about?

Once they left the purple room, Leon attempted to lead the shorter turtle to the living room. However Indigo couldn't help but lag behind. He looked around, they were pretty high up. Two levels appeared to be underneath the current one.

Warm orange light streamed in from a massive glass looking dome high above. The walls were covered in so much colorful graffiti, so many colors. Soft fairy lights hung from the walls, adding even more glow to the colorful room.

On the first level was a big wooden ramp of some kind.

"You good?" Leon asked with a chuckle as Indigo continued to look around, eyes big and mouth wide open.

"It's so…big. You guys actually live here?" The slider laughed, slinging an arm over Indigo's shoulders.

"We live here buddy, and hell yeah we do! You, my friend, are gonna get the grand tour!" Leon waved a hand excitedly before jumping down from the top level. With an impressive backflip Leon landed on the floor. Ok the landing needed some work but was impressive otherwise.

Indigo looked down at the concrete floor, the jump wasn't that high honestly. He could easily make that jump, and if he lands right his right knee won't dislocate again. He took a few steps back, getting ready for the jump.

A short turtle wearing an orange mask bounded over to Leon. He had orange spots on his arms and legs and what looked like two stickers on his plastron. Though they were a bit blurry from this height.

Indigo jumped off the platform with a burst of speed, scoring three flips! He could hear the sounds of awe from below. Yes! He was going to land in a handspring.

Before he could, the turtle crashed into something, landing on the floor with a thud. Indigo groaned, rubbing his head.

He could hear Leon and someone else laughing hysterically in the background. Great, that's just embarrassing. His face instantly got hot while he just looked away.

Whatever was underneath him was starting to squirm a bit.

"Ughnnh." Indigo turned his head to see what exactly broke his fall. Though who is the more appropriate answer.

Underneath him was the orange clad turtle, who was currently trying to push him off. Indigo climbed off and pulled the turtle up.

"Are you alright?" The turtle shook himself off before looking up at Indigo. He smiled brightly, revealing an adorable gap in his teeth.

"I'm good! Ohmigosh you're finally awake! Hi, I'm Mikey!" Mikey squeaked, suddenly pulling Indigo into a tight hug. Holy fuck this kid was way stronger than he looks. Indigo awkwardly returned the hug, patting the turtle on the shell.

"Ease up Michael or you'll further crack his ribs! Also Indigo I swear to god do not pull another stunt like that or you'll tear all your stitches open!" Leon called out, causing Mikey to loosen the hug. Someone laughed, the same voice from earlier. If it wasn't Mikey then who was it? Indigo looked up to see a human girl next to Leon. She noticed that he was looking at her.

"Hi, I'm April! April O'Neil!" She cocked finger guns at him, making Indigo smile a bit.

"I'm…Indigo" It felt weird to introduce himself like that. He gently pushed Mikey off and brushed himself off. What an introduction. His face heated up while he tried to avoid everyone's gazes.

"Relax dude, that stunt was cool!" Mikey said excitedly, clapping his hands in applause.

"Come on, let's go to the living room." With that the four went into the living room, claiming the nearby bean bags.

Once Indigo was sitting down all eyes were on him. He scooted closer to Leon.

"Uh…what?" He asked, seriously what was with the looks? Mikey nestled into his left side, giving Leon a look that Indigo couldn't quite read.

The room fell quiet, with Mikey and Leo looking a bit anxious while April drummed her hands against her thighs.

They all had a curious glint in their eyes, mixed in with the familiar look of pity.

They all just sat there for a while. No one dared to say anything but Indigo feeling exposed. He could feel their eyes tracing over every scar that littered his body. Scars were normal, proof that you survived another battle. They were inevitable so why the big deal?

"So what's up with the girl with the long hair?" Indigo asked, because apparently he has to start the conversation.

"Huh?"

"What girl?"

"Me?"

"Crazy long teal hair in ponytails? Wearing a short dress and weird cuff things on her arms? That girl?" Everyone's eyes went wide as dinner plates.

"Hatsune Miku?" Mikey gasped, stars in his eyes.

"Where did you see that?" April asked, a bright smile on her face.

"On one of the monitors in the purple room connecting to the medbay." A downright evil grin spread across Leon's face. He sprung up and sprinted out of the living room at top speed.

Indigo watched the slider go, confusion growing by the second. "Who's Hatsune Miku?" He dared to ask. "Is she Donnie's girlfriend or something?" To say that April and Mikey burst out laughing would be an understatement. They were instantly clutching their sides laughing so hard they were rolling on the floor.

"YOU LISTEN TO VOCALOID?" Leon shouted from somewhere else in the massive home. "DON'T CHU EVER LIE TO MY FACE AGAIN!"

What the fuck? Indigo looked at Mikey and April, who were still laughing. So they were absolutely no help. At least they weren't looking at him weird anymore.

Leon came back a few moments later, covered in purple dust. He plopped down next to Indigo with a content look on his face.

"All is right in the world." The slider sighed with a smile.

"Ok…but who is Hatsune Miku? What's a Vocaloid?"

"Digital singer, her digital songs. And Donnie loves her music."

There was a faint squawk of protest from somewhere else in the lair.

"Ok?" Once Mikey and April recovered they sat back up, tears in their eyes. "Right. That makes sense." Indigo mumbled that last part.

Donnie suddenly stormed into the living room. "How dare you expose me like that!" He grabbed a pillow and chucked it at Indigo's face. It hit with a soft whap, leaving him stunned.

Then with perhaps as much drama as possible, Donnie flopped down in the beanbag next to April, pouting heavily.

Everyone laughed at him and his theatrics. Indigo relaxed a bit since the attention wasn't all on him. But once everyone settled down the awkward tension settled back over the living room.

At least until.

"So how did you get all those scars?" Donnie asked nonchalantly, April smacked him upside the head. "What? It's a simple question."

"Well got this one from a rogue acid attack." He pointed to a large roundish burn scar on his right shoulder. "Hurt like hell for weeks. Little bastard and his cheap tricks."

"Yikes…" Leon muttered, scooting closer to him.

"This one was from a ghost yokai, bitch tried to slice my leg clean off." Indigo pointed to a large criss cross scar at the top of his left thigh.

"And these" He tapped his left cheek, where jagged looking scars extended up and across near the center of his forehead. "came from a demon wolf's freaky black magic claws, definitely one of the most painful ones for sure. Couldn't even breathe without the constant raging pain going through my skull until it started to fade a couple of weeks later. But apparently that wasn't enough for the fucker cause he almost strangled me to death in our rematch fight." That was the incident that landed him in the Infirmary for the first time.

He told that story several times in the barracks, usually getting a worse one back in response.

That's what he was expecting. Instead he was met with pure silence and horror.

April had both hands over her mouth, Donnie's mouth was hanging slack jawed. Mikey whined nervously, suddenly becoming a barnacle on Indigo's side. All the color had drained from Leon's face.

A soft gasp came from the doorway, where Raph stood. He looked like he'd been punched in the face.

And next to him was Splinter, standing there completely still. Indigo wasn't even sure the rat was breathing.

*What?" The turtle asked, trying to push Mikey off but to no avail.

The red clad turtle slowly walked over. Before Indigo could ask he was scooped into a second hug, one impossibly soft and gentle. Like he was made of glass and any pressure would shatter him completely.

"Uh ok? You good big guy?" Leon stood up, somehow wriggling his arms around Indigo as well. April and Donnie joined in not long after.

"Ok I'm kinda being squished here so can you let go?" They did not let go, in fact it felt like their collective grips got even tighter. What the hell? Why so many hugs in one day?

Indigo tried to squirm out of their arms but was forced to just sit there. Seriously it wasn't that big of a deal.

He looked over at the rat, who hadn't yet moved from his spot. In fact he hadn't moved at all! He was just standing there staring off into nothingness. A haunted look in his eyes.

"Alright, alright that's enough!" Indigo finally managed to squirm out of the group hug. He got out of hugging range. "Why are you guys acting so weird?"

No one said anything, no one dared to move. Indigo sighed, they were all acting weird for some reason.

Leon tried to move closer, a reassuring look on his face. It was clearly fake, like a broken mask. "Indy it's…" Indigo glared at the boy, who trailed off and wilted under the shorter turtle's gaze.

"We have so much to discuss, my son." Splinter said so quietly Indigo almost didn't hear him speak. The short rat wore an empathetic expression. And while not one of pity it still made Indigo grimace. "Orange, can you help me finish dinner?" Mikey nodded, bounding out of the living room with lightning speed.

"Blue, why don't you and April give Indigo the grand tour of our home?" Leon nodded, grabbing Indigo by the wrist and pulling him out of the living room while April brought up the rear.

"Alright mi hermano! Time for the grand tour of Casa La Hamato!"

"Ok ok…" Indigo said, his strength starting to wane and his legs beginning to quiver. He slumped against Leon, just a bit of dizziness, nothing to worry about. If only his legs weren't about to give out.

"Woah easy buddy I got you!" Leon's arms wrapped around Indigo, holding him up while his vision blurred in and out of focus.

"Ok you need to rest Indy, you just woke up after all." April added with a soft smile. The two shifted so Indigo was between them, is weight supported on either side. The trio slowly made their way to the medbay. The short turtle was laid back down in the cot.

He looked up at the purple ceiling, swirling vision and ringing ears yet again. April and Leon were talking to him but it just sounded like a giant massive blur of gargled noises.

Everything was spinning around and around, colors blurring together while his eyes throbbed in the same familiar fashion of one of his typical headaches.

"Rest now…" A soft voice suddenly whispered as the turtle's vision began to darken. The voice said something else but Indigo was already gone, falling into the inky black void of dreamless sleep.

A little nap won't hurt anything. Maybe an hour or two…

Meanwhile far off in the city something was working a large fish hook over a whetstone wheel, sharpening the metal till it could slice anything like butter.

The figure giggled excitedly, smiling at her reflection in the polished hook. She grabbed a rag and cleaned the hook one final time to make it absolutely sparkle!

Once it was clean she grabbed a black cloak from a nearby table, securing it over her head, pulling it over her body and popping her arms through the holes. Hopping over to a window she nearly flinched at her own reflection. The cloak made her look so menacing! So scary!

She covered her arms in wrappings just to add to the terrifying factor. She hopped out of the warehouse, heading towards a part of New York she knew all too well.

The sewers.

A manhole cover was lifted up and she slinked down into the darkness. The figure had one destination in mind, a place she once lived happily with her family. She hasn't been back home in so long!

She can't wait to see her dad again!

As for her brothers…something. No! Someone was coming back for the homecoming of the century.

This was going to be so much fun!

Unbeknownst to her, there was another brother in the midst, one that will complicate things. A turtle that will paint the waters with blood.

A turtle named Indigo.