#it was so good tho I enjoyed it!

[skoulsons]

okay my very scrambled thoughts throughout the ep. SPOILERS <3

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SARAH

alarm 😭

she’s making breakfast this is so cute

LOOK A TTHEM

I WAS GONNA MAKE YOU BIRTHDAY PANCAKES

his voice this is so cute

this is so Joel

HOW OLD ARE YOU AGAIN? THIRTY SIX

gonna have to wear diapers soon who says I don’t already I’m DONE

this is so domestic I can’t wait to be hurt in 25 minutes.

TOMMYYYYYYY

I’ll bring back a cake I promise :’)

His smile when she corrected them about Jakarta 🥹

did he slap his wrist to check the time. why.

he’s losing it 😭

wait what’s w the pocketknife did I miss something

Ooh combat veteran

Austin, TX Sep 26 🥹

IS SHE BUYING THR WATCH FOR HIM. YES

bro kicking her out?? if it’s dangerous I feel it’d be better to keep her in?? or maybe that’s me

MERCY?? such a cute little pup

CURTIS AND VIPER 2 YOU BITCH

mercys so cute

she’s infected isn’t she

there he is <3

where’s the cake :(

YOU GOT ME A PRESENT?

SWEAR. ON MY LIFE. oh if they repeat this at the end of the show.

his face when she hands him the box 😭

FUXED IT FOR YOU

IT LOOSKS SO SIMILAR

oh that’s almost word for word

HIS LAUGH

AW WORD FOR WORD FOR THE DRUGS LINE

his little smile

and you were never gonna do it for yourself :(

THANK YOU :(((

don’t tell me they snuggle DONT SNUGGLE

oh god

AND SHES LAYING ON HIS LAP STOPPPPPP

tommys in jail damn

idiot 😭

the carry </3

and the cover pull up man i miss being a little kid when my dad would do this

THE FOREHEAD KISS

no baby girl that’s upsetting

oh here we go

time is pretty accurate I think which is cool

holy balls those are close

“Dad?” :(

aw the little soccer ball and his guitar in the corner

WAIT I WANT TO GO BACK TO SARAHS ROOM i wonder if there’s Joel and sarah pics on her wall

mercy :(( DONT SHOW HIM DIE

no no he ran away cause the family’s dead. that has to be why. the lady’s infected and the dogs scared

SARAH GO BACK HOME

oh that’s a lot of blood

NOOO not the old man

oh she’s right there. SARAH RUN

“Baby I’m sorry” :(((

alright car scene

I wonder if we’ll see Louis’ farm

oh my gosh that shot is exactly the same in the game

boy that house is toasting

aw this is the family asking for a ride :/

oh those planes are going down they’re not just low

HERE WE GO

I’ve got you :((

not them be separated YOURE JOKING

JOELLL RUN A DIRECTION DONT STARE

this guys doing so good as a runner

oh no oh no

ITS OKAY BABY YOURE SAFE

not Sarah staring at him

fuck my volumes going down

no he knows her hopeless it’s so bad

I KNOW I KNOW BABY I KNOW THIS HURTS

CMON BABY GIRL CMON

it hasn’t even been 40 minutes

alright the jump

why does she remind me of the girl from TWD

2023 aye

aw this woman’s nice despite this girl being infected

JOELLL

oh no it’s the girl :(

WHY HAVE HIM THROW THE POOR GIRLS BODY IN THE FIRE. HUH. HUH ?

he looks beautiful im sorry

ooh ration cards I guess

he looks so :(

oh wow. PUBLIC EXECUTION? Does everyone HAVE to watch?

not drugs :( BABY BOY

Pedro seems to have the mannerisms down for Joel, I think

Tessss

oh Robert

WHAT ABOUT YOUR GUY 😭

oh is this like what they allude to at the beginning of the game. The “Robert fucking sent them” guys? Like the live actions take on it idk

ELLIEE

Veronica 😭

JOEL <3

yea joel doesn’t care about your line my guy

ooh so they’re for this guy?

OOH he’s listening for Tommy :(

BUT YOURE SURE TOMMYS OKAY? :(

are he and Ellie gonna meet this ep I’m curious

OFHEKFHR the music

wow they actually have a decent place. or maybe this is just his but the whole joeltess lovers thing I figure they live together

:(

the watch :(

he’s gonna have a nightmare isn’t he

YUP

there tess is :)

HIS REACTION TO HER FACE

roberts terrified of you!!

i just want to see joel smile

ayee marlene

I love that her outfit is exactly the same as the end of the game

Okay interesting so Marlene does have her locked in there for her bite. It’s interesting this woman calls her a “random girl”,, ig people don’t know Marlene knew Anna and was supposed to “take care of Ellie”, but Marlene being lead firefly ig she isn’t really doing a lot of parenting or making it obvious she knows Ellie

Ooh they’re leaving the QZ and were gonna take her themselves.

Radio tower guy is Tommy isn’t he

OH OHW AIT WAIT. I’m so dumb. joel said he hadn’t heard from Tommy in three weeks and it’s been three weeks since Ellie’s been bit SO Marlene contacted Tommy (probably didn’t tell him abt the bite) but tommys had to keep some silence/distance from joel for firefly sake?? I don’t know??

YOU TELL ME TO LOOK FOR THE LIGHT AND ILL BREAK YOUR JAW 😭 he said okay nevermind I’ll leave u be

Pedro even looks like he walks like Joel

how long has she been tied up for

AYE HER BAG

THE SHIVVVV

is it gonna happen :(

aw first time her names been said

kind of sick how she calls it home ngl.

Joel’s bag why am I so happy to see it

THE WET HAIR

Construction corner with Joel miller 😭

oh roberts dead. ynow I was kind of looking forward to Joel breaking his arm, but I like this take

I LAUGHED the way he threw Ellie into the wall 😭

he said no shiv for you

him pointing a gun at her is kind of funny to me knowing how they end up

“Not at her. Point it at me” no this feels like a future Joel line. or maybe it’s my brainrot.

you turn my own brother against me :(

IM NOT GOING WITH THEM SKDHDKDB

“To you? She’s cargo.” “We don’t smuggle people, sorry”

“what are they capable of?” oh you’ll find out

wait wait I want a north tunnel scene

ASSHOLE 😭😭

please remember that I’m bleeding out 💀

the shoulder shove 😭

mmm I feel the ep ends on them finding out she’s infected

OOOH bill and frank. Wait how did she figure that out

He’s so sick of her 😭

okay to this scene is very different from the game one but in a good way I think. They’re much more on each other’s nerves in this than in the game, it seems. That back and forth “what’re you doing?” “Killing time” is done very slowly in the game, and Ellie’s more confused than anything. But here, Ellie’s more agitated with him and raises her voice. And Joel responds really quick to her, as opposed to the game. I don’t know where I was going with this I’m very tired

“You mumble in your sleep” :(

“So we’re gonna be okay.” “Yeah” 🕳👩‍🦯

YOU SOME KIND OF BIG WIGS DAUGHTER? her little smile

He was about to give her a tongue lashing 😭

“You stay close and you follow my lead” “yeah yeah of course” and Joel’s reaction 😭 sorry babygirl be nicer to her

joel has “im too old for this” written all over his face

him stepping in front of her :’) flashbacks for him for sure YUPPPP HES SEEING IT NAUR

no it’s not even Sarah but it is at the same time he has to kill this guy. he’s getting revenge for Sarah

damn the finding out she’s infected was very short lived

Aaaand credits

[bacchuschucklefuck]

typical tavern scene

[wasyago]

various tango doodles

[hinamie]

domain expansion

[sincerelybubbles]

"spence?"

"hm?"

"when did you get home?"

a more awake you would be squealing, thoroughly excited he came home early from his trip, but the early hours have hardly begun to bring light and you're struggling to even open your eyes to look at him. your cheeks still widen into a pleased smile though, turning into his warmth and humming, confused, when your hands find the rough fabric of his coat.

"a few hours ago," he says, voice rough, eyes still shut. one arm across his eyes, blocking the minuscule light, the other a vice around your waist. his voice is slow, deep in his chest, caught on the sleep he obviously wishes to keep. but he still turns his face toward the sound of your voice, smile creeping up at the corners of his lips, willing to entertain you despite his fatigue.

"are you still wearing your shoes?" you ask, voice teasing, scooting up in his arm to nudge your nose against the curve of his jaw. you press a kiss there, the point where his bone hits a right angle, lips tingling from the stubble you find.

"no," he says, voice honest, "i know better than that."

"no shoes, but your belt is still on?" you tease, fingers dragging across the leather. you don't care, not beyond a genuine concern for his comfort, but you enjoy teasing him in this way, skimming your lips across the rough skin of his chin in not-quite kisses.

"i took my gun off," he complains in a half-hearted groan, lifting his arm to peek at you out of the corner of one eye. "hi," he says, voice still soft, somehow deeper with affection, dimples the star of the show on his cheeks.

"hi," you say, tilting your head back and lifting your arm to cart your fingers through his mess of hair. "welcome home."

he smiles, reaching around with his other arm to gather you up and drag you across his chest in a bear hug, chuckling at the squeal you let out, sighing against your hair. he presses a firm kiss there, right above your ear.

"we will have to wash the sheets, though. it was really gross for me to not change, i was just exhausted, sorry."

[remxedmoon]

boo! old woman jumpscare

greyscale vers below!

[rjshope]

insane face card, absolutely INSANE

[tapeworrmart]

Red Dead Revenge (low honor Arthur)

[ruushes]

was going through old art and remembered i had a phase of trying to paint my weird dreams, this one kind of rules actually?

[xxplastic-cubexx]

what kind of underwear do you think Erik and Charles wear (i'm not asking this to see them half naked) ((please believe me)) (((PLEASE)))

My Personal Belief is charles is a briefs guy while erik's a trunks guy. trunks/briefs kinda couple because i can

and idk just a lil bonus or somethin. as i do.

[oifaaa]

So much respect for which ever mad bastard at dreamworks said fuck it let's actually make a good Puss in Boots movie and not just another pitiful cash grab this kitty deserves better so true

[the-togepi-man]

Fuck it first shower selfie at the new place

[sunnibits]

decided to join in on @quezify’s eggtober again this year as a little art warmup and I actually ended up really enjoying it!! it’s obviously way outside of my usual comfort zone so I’m very happy that I was able to create an end result that I’m proud of :)

[cheswirls]

short asl thing based on @where-does-the-heart-lie's modern au :) i started this over a year ago but the beginning is all dialogue and felt more like a script to me i suppose??? which deflated my desire to work on it. anyway i checked it over recently and it's completely fine lmfao, self-confidence restored here we go !

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"Yo. Aren't you usually in the middle of your shift by now?"

"I've been banned from the hospital."

"Like, for life?"

"No. For the next, uh.. Twenty-two hours."

"That's oddly specific."

"It was twenty-four, but I fell asleep after leaving the building."

"That wouldn't have to do with why they kicked you out, at all?"

"Hmmm. I'm too sleep-deprived, apparently."

"Ah. And, um, you called me because...?"

"I pressed a random number in my call log after waking up. Lucky you, I guess."

"Yeah. Right. Lucky me. And your car keys are...?"

"Confiscated."

"Ah, right, of course."

A beat of silence. Two. Three, then "Look, if you're busy, then–"

"No, no.  You called me, so I'll be there. Give me twenty minutes."

"Alright. Thank–"

"Thank someone else. Also, if you fall asleep in my car, I'm taking it as express permission to drive you around wherever I want."

"Ugh, go die. I don't even know why I bothered."

"LUCKY YOU, I guess," sounds off way too loudly in his ear. "No take backs. See you in ten."

"I thought you said–" Sabo breaks off as the call ends, leaving him staring blankly at his phone's too-dim screen. He squints, turns the brightness all the way up, and still squints as the sunlight proves too strong for the display.

Ace shows up in more than ten but decidedly less than twenty minutes. Sabo doesn't waste much brain power on it, only climbing into the passenger seat and yawning into his palm while his other hand fixes the seatbelt into the buckle. Not a second too soon, too, as Ace roars the engine to life and peels away from the curb at record speed.

Ace fiddles with the radio. He turns the music up, then dial it back down to inaudible. They hit the expressway and he leans over the steering wheel, frowning with his eyes fixed on the road far ahead. Sabo yawns again and this appears to be the limit to his patience. 

"Hey, so, I had a thought after you hung up on me."

Sabo grimaces. "You mean you–"

"Today's Wednesday."

He doesn't elaborate. Sabo is too tired to process. "Yes," he follows, after a second. He glances at the sky out the front window. "What time is it?"

"Oh, uh." Ace fumbles with hand placement so he can lift his watch to his face. "Nine forty."

Sabo takes a couple beats to try and process this, moves his eyes away from the skyline, and sighs as he pulls his phone out. 2:47 is what the display reads, which sounds much more believable.

"How did the minute hand get off?" he mutters to himself, chancing a look at Ace's busted wristwatch. Ace raises a brow, taking his gaze off the road to scrutinize Sabo. "No, it doesn't matter," he mutters to himself once more, sliding his phone away back on his person and out of his hands.

"My point is," Ace continues, like he hasn't just been interrupted by a whole thing. "Your timeout will be done midday Thursday. Did they switch your days off?"

"No." Sabo sighs. "They technically gave me the next thirty-six hours. Technically closer to forty. Something like that. I go back in on Friday. Sometime.” He tries to smile and it turns out very lopsided, from that he can make out in the rearview mirror. “Can you tell I’m tired?”

“I don’t think ‘tired’ is an accurate description,” Ace quips. “When did you eat a proper meal last?”

“Uh, yesterday. Maybe.”

“Maybe??”

“A ‘proper meal’ means different things to the two of us,” Sabo huffs. “On my account it was yesterday. I’ve had food since then, of course.”

“Alright, so here’s the plan,” Ace announces before absolutely whipping it around a curve. Sabo is his passenger in the passenger seat and had fully prepared to be so when he got in the vehicle, but he’d been vastly underprepared for this sudden course of action, which is how he ends up halfway out of his seat with his cheek slammed into the cold window. Ace doesn’t quite notice his brother’s terminal velocity until the car is once again on the straight and narrow, and only then it’s because of the audible thunk Sabo’s face makes when it collides with the glass.

“Aw shit. You good bro?”

“Ow,” Sabo mutters. “If I have broken bones I’m suing your ass.”

“Well, if you’re good enough to make jokes, I think you’re better than you’re letting on.” Ace keeps the wheel steady with one knee while he takes both hands away to crack his fingers. When he glances over at Sabo again, he looks even more pathetic – like he’s becoming one with the glass. “Anyway, as I was saying.

“I’m taking your ass home. You’re going straight to sleep and while you crash, I’ll make you something decent to eat and stick it in the fridge for you to heat up later. I’ll even make you two servings to eat two different times, since you clearly can’t be trusted to take care of yourself correctly.”

“Ouch.”

“I want you to conk out for as long as your body allows. We can reset your sleep schedule tomorrow, alright? Put your phone on silent; do not answer any calls. In fact, you know what, just give it to me.

Sabo glances over to see Ace’s hand held out to him, palm up. Fingers wiggling expectantly. His lips pull up into a grimace. “I’m not doing that.”

“Fine.” Ace takes his hand back. “But you will comply with everything else.”

“Wow! It’s so funny, I didn’t realize you turned into my mother overnight! Really tapped into your mom potential, huh? Anything exciting happen in your life that would cause that? I guess I wouldn’t know, since I’ve been a zombie for the past two days.”

“There’s nothing wrong with acting like your older brother, you dipshit, especially if you keep putting yourself through the wringer like this. You go home. You sleep. You wake up and eat. You go back to sleep. Then we do laundry. Does that sound agreeable?”

“That’s negotiable, at the least,” Sabo mumbles. “I will accept good food as a form of bribery.”

“Oh, nice, because I’m flat broke at the moment.”

Sabo makes a mental note of that, and then they’re pulling into the driveway. Ace lets him exit the vehicle by himself and then promptly manhandles him all the way onto the couch where it will be easier to force his body to relax than in a real bed. Ace knows this, so he calls him weird before chucking a loose blanket at his head. Sabo is almost too tired to function at this point, so he lets Ace have the last laugh in favor of finally closing his eyes.

Coming to is a surreal experience, especially since the sun is still out. He must make a noise because Ace is suddenly within view. His limbs are tangled in the blanket and still so heavy that he doesn’t bother moving. “Thought you would be gone,” he half-groans, eyes slipping shut again for a moment.

“I did leave,” Ace confirms. “I had to go pilfer some stuff to make stew with. It’s almost done, so I’ll hang here until then.”

Pilfer. That could mean any number of things. Sabo chooses to believe in the option where Ace is an upstanding citizen, and then remembers Ace saying earlier that he had no money. He frowns and squirms on the cushions enough to where it looks like he’s checking his pockets. “Where’s my wallet, Ace?” he bluffs.

“Somewhere around here,” Ace pipes up. “Your stomach will thank you for your contributions to the Portgas Household’s pantry!”

“Ugh, I got robbed,” he complains. “This sucks. ‘m going back to sleep.” He rolls over so his back is to Ace.

“Yeah, you do you, bro. Stew will still be here later. I’ll see you when you’re back in the world of the living.”

—

Luffy comes in late that night and slams the front door shut as loud as humanly possible. When he appears in the main room, he doesn’t seem to be upset, so Ace writes it off as a Luffyism. Sabo hasn’t stirred at the noise, so it’s all good.

Realizing this, Luffy pads closer to Ace’s side and looks at Sabo’s unmoving body warily. “Why is Sabo passed out like a corpse? Is he sick?”

“No, he’s not sick, he just can’t take care of himself. Which is why we are going to let him sleep for as long as possible.”

Luffy just nods to this, but it’s the uncomprehending Luffy-nod that means he’s just going to end up doing whatever he wants to regardless. Ace sighs, then jerks his head towards the kitchen. “He ate a little earlier, but I want him to eat again when he wakes up. There’s stew in the fridge if you want it – just leave him a little. Got it, Monkey D. Luffy?”

Luffy throws him a salute and then runs off in his socks. “Yippee! Ace made stew!”

“Think of your brother, Luffy, and make good choices!” Ace calls after him. “He’s a pathetic man who needs food to feel better or he’ll end up sleeping through Laundry Day!”

—

Sabo does not sleep through laundry day, but he does sleep for sixteen whole hours, so it’s just around noon when he forces himself up off the couch and into a warm shower.

Ace is around, which is mildly unexpected. But he’s still half-asleep, so everything is at least a little unexpected. He glances up from playing video games with Luffy to see Sabo leaving the steam-filled bathroom with his hair hanging around his shoulders. “You look like a wet cat,” he calls.

“Sabo’s awake!” Luffy cheers. “Ace thought you died at one point.”

Ace elbows Luffy in the gut, making him hunch over. “I did not!”

“He totally checked to see if your heart was still beating!”

“I’m undead, actually,” Sabo says completely seriously.

“Does that mean you don’t need to eat anymore?” Luffy questions. “Because I ate all the stew last night.”

“I saw that coming and made extra.” Ace finger-guns in Sabo’s general direction. “That’s why I bought two sets of ingredients. With your money!”

“With my money,” Sabo echoes, because it’s such a wild statement to have to deal with this early in the day. Well, early for him. “Fuck you.”

“I mean, I can tell Luffy where I hid–”

“Thank you, Ace, for agreeing to share your quarters with both of your brothers so we can all do laundry today on your dime!” Sabo raises his pitch so his voice is mockingly squeaky when he says this. He starts moving down the hall before Ace can start to argue, letting his and Luffy’s voices bleed into the background.

When he comes back out, now dressed, it smells significantly better than before. “I reheated the stew,” Ace announces, gesturing for Sabo to take a seat at the kitchen counter. “Let’s all have lunch before we head out.”

“You have to drink this too,” Luffy tells Sabo, sliding a Gatorade across the counter so it sets in front of him when he finally does take a seat. “Ace’s orders.”

“Gotta get those nutrients back somehow.”

“Aren’t we so considerate, Sabo?”

“Do you even know what ‘considerate’ means?” Sabo asks, lips quirking up into a half-smile. At Luffy’s shrug, it turns into a real smile. “Well, thanks anyway. Both of you.”

“No sweat. And look!” Ace brandishes a five dollar bill for both to see. “I found this baby for us to use on coins! It’s all on me today–”

“Where’s my wallet, Ace?!”

[hinamie]

yeah sorry theyre tragic in this au too

jjk atla!au with @philosophiums

[zombie-bait]

Full Moon

Ok so I don’t normally post about Helluva Boss but the newest episode touched on an interesting concept I haven’t necessarily seen represented in media. Back when I was on Twitter (derogatory) a few years ago there was this now deleted viral thread where someone discussed how their struggles with mental health affected their relationship with their partner and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. 

This is such a good, short example of how anxiety and depression can play tricks on you. It becomes so easy to envision yourself as a nuisance, a constant burden to those closest to you because they cannot possibly genuinely enjoy your company, right? But in doing so you create this arbitrarily cruel version of the people you love, people who would otherwise never behave like this outside of your own mind.

It's mean. Because your mind wants to be mean to you under these circumstances. It wants to put everyone else's emotions and desires above yours, both in worthiness and validity. And that starts bleeding into your understanding of other people, especially those you care about.

Now. Helluva Boss.

"Can I get a fucking MINUTE to think after everything you put me through you pompous rich ASSHOLE? Treat me like one of your little butler imps, you can’t just dismiss me like that! I mean, you royal fucks think you can do this every time, like you can just play with our feelings because we’re smaller and not as important. Well I’m not letting you, BITCH! Let’s go!" - Blitz

I find it really interesting how Helluva Boss decided to approach this conflict between Stolas and Blitz. Obviously, the difference in power matters. It's the underlying tension of their entire relationship and their lives. Stolas is burdened by the mountain of expectations thrust upon him from a very young age while Blitz is constantly reminded that he can NEVER be part of that world, that he is "smaller and not as important" not just in Hell's hierarchy but in his own life and family. Stolas very literally has power over Blitz (through the grimoire, the arrangement, his position in society) and Blitz uses their relationship as an excuse to reverse those roles. But that power dynamic, in one form or another, never truly goes away. And for Blitz, it's a lot easier to paint Stolas as this manipulative symbol of power and himself as nothing more than Stolas' plaything. It's easier to be angry than to be vulnerable and accept that someone might care about him.

"Dismiss" is the keyword in that quote. All that Blitz has been able to process is that Stolas has decided to end the relationship that they have. He feels ls like a choice has been taken away from him so he lashes out because he's not ready to emotionally tackle what the rest of Stolas' offer might entail. If Stolas hates him, just wants to play with him, then he is justified in his anger, his self-destruction, his isolation. If the world is mean, you're "allowed" to be mean back.

But

In that moment he forgets that Stolas is someone he actually cares about. Someone he's known for way too long and clearly wants to keep in his life, no matter how reluctant he can be to admit it. Someone who is not innately cruel or manipulative but sad and desperate for connections in a lot of the same ways that Blitz is. And Blitz immediately sees that he's miscalculated something.

Somewhere along the way the fictional version of Stolas that he's allowed himself to be mad at and the real one that he's not ready to admit he cares about have merged into something real that he has actual power over. Stolas can get hurt and Blitz can be the one who does it. He has once again allowed his greatest fears (which Stolas so frequently symbolizes) to co-opt his loved ones, to give him an "out" even though he didn't actually want one in the first place.

I'm definitely not the first person to say this but I think this is an example of the miscommunication trope done right. Their individual struggles are what cause them to be unable to connect during this conversation or to even have a proper conversation in the first place. There is no convenient misunderstanding or third party fabricating this rift. Both of them have preconceived ideas of what the other one is thinking but those ideas are flawed and rooted in self-hatred. They also both shutdown in their unique ways when the conversation starts heading in the direction they'd feared it would.

Blitz and Stolas work because they're both fucked up in similar ways, because they want similar things. That's the same reason why they're uniquely designed to hurt one another. A fear of rejection and a yearning for happiness. To borrow a quote that has been used by literally everyone from Spiderman to Evangelical preachers, "hurt people hurt people."

anyway, I really liked this episode.

(twitter thread screenshots sourced from this reddit post)