#it's also a bit of a holdover from GOT

[midnightfruitsqueeze]

https://www.tumblr.com/marella-moon/755407722923655168/an-old-disco-holdover

inspired by this gorgeous take by @marella-moon on young/older Harry, I've been thinking about Harry's clothes, given the suggestion that he only started dressing disco a little bit before his Total Obliteration Event, as part of his latest downward spiral. but that's not the first time he's dressed that way — it's just the first time since he was young. in his twenties, disco was cool, and so was he — and disco, while very gay, was also a space for straight men to express heterosexuality through sequins. pre-RCM, Harry had longish hair and a moustache and he wore either flares or tiny shorts, heeled boots or hi-tops. he looked both absurdly gay and absurdly heterosexual in the way of all the greatest 70s hotties. of course, when he joined the RCM all that got toned down. some of the change was intentional and some of it was quiet erosion.

but almost twenty years later, that space for experimentation with the allure of bright colours and slippery satin is closed. the clubs all went bust, coke is prohibitively expensive, if a man walks down the wrong street in heels he's liable to get a beating. and as Harry spirals, he starts dressing a little bit more like he used to, groping clumsily for the things that used to make him feel good. remembering when he was loved and beautiful, knowing everything he does to try and reclaim those moments makes him sadder, more pathetic. a remnant, a hangover, a faded glory.

and then he meets a guy who comes to work in a painstakingly hand-altered vintage military surplus jacket from a failed revolution

[afreakingdork]

Spring Break

RotTMNT Donatello x Reader One-Shot

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Aged-Up Mutant Ninja Turtles, POV Second Person, Friends to Lovers, Human/Turtle Relationships (TMNT), Yearning, Romance, Fluff, Romantic Fluff, One-Shot

Synopsis: You're on your first spring break of college and returning back home to NYC. Donnie has agreed to pick you up from the airport and the season of change is ready to exercise its rights upon your friendship with him.

Also available on Ao3

I cannot thank @tmntxthings enough! She took my half formed plot bunny and helped me finish it up and embellish it with the cutest ideas!! This fic would not exist without her and she gets my endless affection! 💞

Plane descent, it was the one part of flying that really felt like a roller coaster. With its little dips and adjustments, your stomach would rise in turn. It made some sick, but you found it exciting. It was a manifestation of coming home. With each drop in altitude you were a little bit closer and, no matter how people felt about plane rides, the excitement was palpable. Even those tired and exhausted, ready for their changeovers, were glad for a moment on the ground.

This was your stop and you were especially excited for what waited for you.

Clinging to your phone, there was a final announcement and you looked out the window. Watching fields and houses grow closer and closer, your heart alternatively soared. Ants took on definition and eventually you were doing the careful careen through buildings to land in LaGuardia. With a squeaky landing that jarred your body, people stood through the taxiing process which prompted fights with flight attendants.

You were back in New York City.

A fervor running throughout the plane, there was still the docking process and each second ticked by through syrup until you got a text.

Donatello, not to be confused with the famous Italian Sculptor: I am at the appropriate baggage claim.

It was a new entry in a sea of others that had you momentarily closing your eyes. You then typed out a response about what you’d endured since landing and Donnie kept you occupied with messages right up until it was time to deboard. Bumping and jostling and giving appropriate glares back, you were soon just shy of running down a tunnel. Just like descent, you were closing in by the moment and once you broke free from a certain pair of doors, you paused only to take stock. It was fate, you thought, that people parted and there he was.

Donatello stood bundled up both for some kind of anonymity and the early spring weather. A balmy cool outside, trees were clinging for a bit more warmth before they burst with color. You were going to miss the blossoms this time around, but you had a lifetime of watching the petals dot the otherwise dirty streets before. You always liked this season. There was a sense of change in the air. A metamorphosis, you saw not just the growth between your youth and now, but everything from the last half year. 

You were offered a full ride to a school all the way across the country. 

You accepted and left behind everything. 

The long days of your first semester would have been lonely if not for a certain purple coded turtle offering to marathon shows with you online.

You texted in the cafeteria until you found your crowd.

You continued to message him because he had to know the latest gossip.

A webcam was sent to you as a gift so you could better work on projects together across multiple state lines.

You clung to Donnie as a virtual lifeline through your first set of finals.

The Christmas holdover in California due to a lab opportunity had been a daunting choice. 

It was made all the better as you were given a digital spot at the Hamato family table during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Then came another bout of studying for midterms. 

All to now, where he’d offered to pick you up after something had come up with your parents and you had complained of the taxi fare on your spring break budget.

You were in motion.

In fact, you were barreling towards him. He heard the footsteps, but didn’t connect them to your person as he looked up. Now knowing the source, he jammed his phone in his pocket and took on a sort of prepared alarm. Then, at the last second, he pivoted a foot out. A careful rotation, he lowered his stance into a readied one. It was all the confirmation you needed as you leapt.

He caught you at the same time for the hug and you crushed yourself to him. Momentum should have knocked the air out of you, but he swung. Your body twirled up with your heart and, by the time you were set down, you were groping to get more of him. This was new, you remembered. His scent wasn’t like coming home. You’d never been close enough to really get a whiff. Clinging to his worn hoodie didn’t crop up memories of softness because you had at most brushed it in passing.

You’d known this mutant for seven months and this was your first hug.

You wanted more.

Your only saving grace was he appeared to feel the same. For each tug, to get your arms tighter around his neck, he gave equal pressure around your waist. As you butted your head to his, he clawed into your own jacket, trying to get you that much closer.

It was warm.

It was overwhelming.

You didn’t want to let go.

“Hey.” You murmured against him.

“Greetings.” His voice responded. “How was your flight?”

“Good. Boring. Long.” You nuzzled closer.

“A full work day’s flight.” Donnie hummed, amused.

“Thanks for picking me up. It’s good to see you.”

Finally, after what must have been too long, Donnie pulled back enough to view you with a chide. “You as well.”

A little shy, your arms slipped to rest against his plastron and an announcement interrupted citing luggage. A quick check found you were at the right carousel and you sent Donnie a wry look. “We’re in the right place.”

“I was clear about my location.” He playfully rolled his eyes and reluctantly relinquished you to approach the long luggage circle.

You followed close behind and bumped arms with him. “Oh, there was this lady who would not stop yaking about the toast squares she got in that plane snack mix.”

“Ah, yes, the snack gacha.” Donnie chuckled and bags began to drift down the line.

He explained the odds and you walked him backwards through your trip. There was a gap from when you’d set off for your flight until arrival. He’d been on a video call when you’d packed your suitcase so when said luggage came winding down the metal slide, you didn’t need to say a thing. He knew it and hoisted it up where you shouldered your backpack. You’d returned with mostly things to wash, but you figured that was part of coming home.

You soon drifted away from the building. Working through the bustling drop offs zone, you headed to where Donnie had sequestered one of his vehicles. Parking cost too much for the tank, he settled on something visually low key though the interior was just as technologically stacked as the others. It was a resistance in temptation to press buttons on the dash you had never seen. They felt familiar as he’d taken you on a phone tour when he completed retrofitting the van, but it felt different in person.

Conversation took you home and, before you realized it, you were idling on the street.

Time had slipped through your fingers like water and you hadn’t cupped enough to drink. There’d even been traffic, you’d sat through it, but it hadn’t prolonged the journey. You were due inside. Your parents were waiting. You also would need to leave Donnie. He’d only ever been here to give you this ride. Heart sinking regardless, you moved to give Donnie your regards with a forlorn tilt of your head.

“Let me help you with your bag.” He rushed the statement.

Your eyes met.

You were both a little too eager to delay the inevitable.

“Thank you, I’d appreciate it.” You told him though your heart wanted to ask him over for dinner.

You’d already skipped coming home for winter break and there was no way your parents would allow an interloper to impede on catching up with their child.

You were required to spend time with them first, then friends.

Duty was a strange thing. It brought you home to mom even though you were an adult with a supposed choice. It had your friend hoisting your stuffed suitcase out of the back of a van where you had created the burden of the heft. You clicked up stairs, your luggage wheels hopping steps and Donnie felt the need to fill the space as if he were required to keep from giving you a moment of quiet.

You were thankful.

You didn’t want to think of how you’d miss him.

Again, he’d felt the same. 

You liked that about him.

Reaching your door, you knew you hadn’t messaged your parents for this same reason.

It was your own coveted surprise amongst what you had to do.

Donnie was careful in carting your suitcase up silently.

It felt like a stolen moment. “We still on for Wednesday?”

“Yes.” He nodded and pulled up a ninpo calendar for the sake of it. “Mikey has forewarned Señor Hueso and if you make April wait a moment more, I think she will strangle whoever is closest.”

“Of course.” You bobbed your head and felt the reminder of the knob.

You needed to go home.

You needed to see your parents.

You hadn’t seen them in so long.

You hugged Donnie.

Slower this time, you still moved quick enough that you avoided the awkward shuffle. It was an instant threading of bodies where you had to stave off a sigh. You fit so well without practice and his toned arms slung so comfortably around your waist. You bumped your head to his for the sake of closeness. He stilled and you thought it too much until he turned his beak to nuzzle the side of your head. From his inhale, he was catching your smell so you openly breathed him in the same.

Then you came apart, heads down, unable to bear to see the other leave as you mumbled out promises of seeing each other soon.

Donnie left by the sound of stairs and you unearthed your key to head inside.

Wednesday couldn’t come soon enough.

The rest of your Saturday had been a flurry of catching up with your folks. You were pelted with every question under the sun and the few phone calls with them you’d had throughout the school year seemed to have never happened. Your parents remembered none of the details no matter how much you whined about how you’d already told them about your class load. You were struck with backhanded comments about missing the holidays and how this cousin had proposed and that nephew had gone skiing and would you believe the tan your aunt got?

Then came sleeping in your old bed which was now a foreign one.

You called Donnie with your headphones on and he answered after only one ring.

Unable to stand the odd sheets, you curled up beside your window for faint outdoor light and watched Donnie on screen eat snacks as you unloaded about how annoying it all was. You loved your parents, but it was always something. He took his time in the conversation after your most heated complaints were air cooled and then subjected you to his own. His family’s separation anxiety was on another level, but he never made it a competition. You instead felt commiseration, even if the comparisons were outlandish.

Exhaustion took you to bed and the old smell of you drifted up like one you didn’t recognize. You were just tired enough to mention the discrepancy and Donnie made a comment on how you’d changed. You weren’t sure you had as you hadn’t felt like it, but you guessed of anyone, he would know best.

How had that come to be?

Your best friend was here and someone you’d known since elementary school. You still loved them, but they’d fallen to a certain wayside once Donnie appeared. Meeting him had been an accident at best. From senior year finals, you’d picked up a local coffee shop as your own. During summer, you switched to drinks for fun instead of necessity and a new barista started that you liked. She was great at conversation and better at upsizing drinks with a wink so you always made sure to tip. There came a day when you forgot to have cash on hand and you promised to come back by to fork it over. Now on a first name basis, April had scoffed it off, but you still returned after making change at a nearby bodega. It hadn’t been more than 20 minutes and yet she had disappeared. You waited for her to return from break only to notice a mutant was similarly off to the side and one you’d come to find was waiting for the same April. 

That was early August.

You’d gone to UC Berkeley in early September.

That was less than a month knowing the turtle in person.

Now you were drifting off to Donnie complaining about how he’d been found sneaking into East Laird’s lab yet again.

He just needed access to one chemical.

They wouldn’t miss it.

He’d doctored the supply sheets himself.

The janitor was paranoid.

You giggled and it must have come too late because he ordered you to sleep.

You told him you missed him.

In truth, you did.

He murmured the same along with a mention of Wednesday.

It wasn’t here yet.

Texting helped as Sunday led straight to a family meal with whoever was in town. You rehashed the exact same stories about school more times than you could count. Your scholarship was both held up like a heavyweight champ’s belt while others spoke to you like you were some Hollywood convert. It didn’t matter that there were six driving hours between the two places. You’d betrayed some inane state pride by going to a far flung college and whether that was a success or pompous choice was your family’s to debate.

You went to bed so angry afterward that you broke your 125 day streak of saying goodnight to Donnie.

You woke up under your old ceiling.

Breakfast reminded you of high school.

Dad had work.

Mom had lunch.

She talked and you listened.

You saw your best friend in the 3 o’clock doldrums.

It was awkward until it wasn’t.

It took about an hour, but you fell in line to your old pattern.

You meant to message your bestie more, but college had taken both of you in different directions.

Who’s this guy you keep mentioning? 

Donatello, was it?

Did you meet someone?

What a story that was and it came with a growing smile from your best friend. Each passing word felt like guilt off your lips and you were teased mercilessly.

No, stop that! We aren’t dating!

Why would you ask?

It’s perfectly normal to help a friend out like he did.

Yes, we’re close.

Not that close.

He’s a nice guy.

Yes, really nice, what are you insinuating?

It wasn’t like that.

You wanted to call Donnie on your way home.

Your best friend’s words kept you from it.

Tuesday your dad had off from work and, though they took you, you ended up showing your parents around Prospect Park. Where they’d only heard it was nice, you had seen enough from social media to actually maneuver it. You picked a restaurant they hated and then a bakery they loved. You were nagged incessantly and then pestered.

Tell us about your new college friends!

You don’t sound like you have many, what happened?

Oh, whos’ that?

Tell me more!

Are they nice?

Go to any crazy parties? We won’t judge.

They did.

They judged everything.

You kept Donatello’s name out of your mouth, though he appeared with each question.

He kept you sane.

He had been there for you.

He made things better.

You texted him as you ran to a bathroom stall for a moment of peace.

Donatello, not to be confused with the famous Italian Sculptor: Hard to go back after your taste of freedom?

It was such a him response. 

Donatello, not to be confused with the famous Italian Sculptor: Tomorrow, you’ll have us.

Donatello, not to be confused with the famous Italian Sculptor: Don’t worry.

Donatello, not to be confused with the famous Italian Sculptor: Until then, say the word and I can call you away with a lab emergency.

Donatello, not to be confused with the famous Italian Sculptor: I know the codes for several. Do not ask why.

It helped as you rejoined your parents.

One more day.

Wednesday morning and afternoon were tedious affairs with little to do outside of the dreaded laundry. You aired and disinfected your suitcase and ended up cleaning for the sake of it. It made your mom happy and you prepped ingredients for your parent’s dinner even though you wouldn’t be partaking. It would be another nicety in hopes that they wouldn’t say a word when you stayed out late.

It wasn’t like you had a curfew, but you knew the biting remark would be there.

You left just before your parents got home so you sent messages to both of them to cover your bases. Their sent confirmation was like a final school bell and you were running down stairs at an alarming pace. Donnie’s text window appeared next and you shot out a message about your imminent arrival. You felt a buzz in response and wound an oddly familiar path to the necessary sewer grate. One prepped for access to the turtle’s tunnel, you climbed down and only then brought up a map. Above was one thing as you knew your local streets, but the journey below was one you’d never had time to memorize. Donnie’s map was clear and as you switched from sewer to subway lines, you soon came to the brighter lights of the lair.

The Hamato were piled in the living room and you saw Donnie amongst the bale.

He smiled, but it was Mikey who wrapped around you.

Your name was shouted and it summoned the others who hadn’t been paying as much attention. You got friendly pats, several more squeezes from Mikey, one bear hug from April, and a litany of pelted words from the others. Leo’s Hollywood comment didn’t sting as much because he pulled it out in a reference to Son in Law. He did a pretty good Pauly Shore impression and your praise had him pulling out more impersonations. As the chides and jokes flew, you thought about how they hadn’t pelted you with a million and one questions about your college life. They cared little about class and only if you’d had time to catch any local movies or shows.

You nearly wept at not having to talk about only the studious side of your life and you got to share a movie you recently streamed with Donnie. The others hadn’t known either of you watched it and you both excitedly regaled them on reasons not to without spoiling anything. You laughed about a plot line of having been plucked from their environment and joked about red squirrels. Donnie responded in kind about grey and you both laughed until you realized you were the only ones.

“What’s that about?” April asked where she was folded over a couch beside Raph.

“O-oh, it’s-!” You choked on giggles and held onto Donnie’s arm since he was close.

“You see, there was this inane test question that kept coming up.” Donnie filled in for you.

“Non-native grey squirrels have basically put native red ones on the endangered list!” You spoke with too much levity for the topic.

“Now this is a known ecological issue, but the way the professor framed the question…?” Donnie shook his head with a smile.

“He made it out to be like a gang war! So-so Donnie made this joke because they always, freaking always run out of breakfast in the caf when I get out of my morning class about my territory being disrupted!” You giggled.

Donnie bumped you to chastise. “Wait, you’re leaving out your classmate who runs to beat you there, your grey squirrel!”

“Omigosh! I don’t even know her name!” You cracked up.  

“You’ve yet to mention the actual campus grey squirrel!” Donnie pressed.

You laughed harder. “Omigosh, he hates me and anyone that goes near his door on South Hall!!”

You both hurled more examples that fit into your branching squirrel joke and you thought everyone was having a good time until Raph’s voice cut through. “Sounds like a good inside joke.”

You weren’t immediately sobered, but your giggles grew strange.

“Yeah, I’m not getting it, but hey that happens.” Leo shrugged. “Squirrels aren’t my first comedy punching bag.”

“They’re cute! What do you mean they kill each other!?” Mikey had a watery expression. “To extinction!? How could they!?”

April patted his back. “It’s a dog eat dog world.”

“Is that why we were the Mad Dogz?” Leo looked to Raph.

“No, but I’m going to say yes.” Raph shined back a snaggletoothed grin.

With that the others moved on.

Suddenly feeling painfully self-conscious, you shirked and felt that Donnie’s hand behind your back.  

You looked up at him and he had a grin and whisper waiting for you. “These dum-dums don’t know good comedy.”

“You are the funny one.” You softened up and, in an instant, felt reassured.

He pressed lightly for you to join the room and you jumped back into the conversation which had moved onto pigeons. A hotly debated topic, you took sides and spouted facts you had learned in class. Memes were then shared and eventually you went to Hueso’s. The rowdiest table for what was a comical argument about whether they were his favorite customers, the skeleton yokai refused to answer and only spoke of cash spent and tabs to be paid. Leo chased the man into the kitchen to be his usual intrusive self and you stayed present in table conversation the best you could.

It was difficult when Donnie kept sending you reaction images based on said speech and you found it impossible not to reach right for your phone so each joke would land fresh. It eventually meant both of you were side by side texting on another and it was only when the food came did you jar out of it.

“Can’t leave your significant others for even a second?” Mikey jeered before he tapered off. “Though I kind of thought it was you that Donnie was texting… But that’d be weird right!? You’re literally sitting together, why text?” He laughed. 

Others laughed.  

You and Donnie didn’t. 

It spurned April to steal Donnie’s phone.

Some kind of betrayal, Donnie nearly flipped the table to get it back, but the flash of screen April had seen was enough.

You two were outed and ruthlessly drilled.

This was supposed to be fun, you thought to yourself as you tried to field lobs. They weren’t supposed to be rude like your family and yet you were back to fending vultures off. 

Yes, you spent hours talking.

No, you weren’t dating.

Yes, you texted.

No, it wasn’t because it was a secret conversation.

Yes, you were just friends.

No, you weren’t more.

It was only when Leo reappeared and saw the distress mounting on you and Donnie did he step up in his leader position and caught the table’s attention by the throat. He laid out a new topic in the form of recent battles and that conversation took the heat off. You sighed into the booth, feeling particularly drained and when Leo shoved in to have more seat, it bumped you right into Donnie.

Donnie made room, but his hand stayed on the seat, close to yours.

You tapped a questioning finger to his. 

Your heart was heavy.

Were you wrong?

Was your friendship weird?

Donnie had gotten you through moving across the country.

Donnie had done so much.

You really, really liked him.

His finger curled around yours for reassurance.

You’d asked once hadn’t you?

Something about if you bothered him early on since you talked just about constantly.

Donnie had scoffed by saying the word itself and told you that he put forth as much effort as he cared to.

You’d be the first to know if he was displeased.

He’d been honest.

When you complained about a science he liked, he didn’t care how hard the class was, you got an earful.

One of the few times you’d tried to use him as an excuse not to study, he’d hung right up and temporarily blocked you so you’d be forced to.

Your hands moved and, with a rush of your pulse, you tucked your other fingers up and over his.

He held your hand with one and ate pizza with his other as if nothing strange had occurred.

You did the same and spoke more normality by responding to something Mikey said.

It was taken with its own retort and everything felt right.

“I’m stuffed!” April flopped back and her jacket slunk down lazily on her shoulders.

“Can’t… move…” Raph groaned.

“That’s what happens when you are here for four hours and thirty seven minutes ordering non-stop.” Hueso commented as he picked up several empty pizza trays.

“One for the road?” Leo burped.

“Depends…” Hueso cracked a brow and slid over the check.

Leo flicked his eyes down once and then over to his tablemates where everyone dodged the question.

“Maybe next time.” Leo spoke guilt and Hueso hummed knowingly as he departed. “Split time! Cough it up!”

Complaints were loud as all sorts of money was deposited on the table.

“I love and hate catching up!” Leo crooned once an appropriate amount was placed. 

“We were literally here four days ago.” Raph didn’t have the energy to eye his brother.

“Bah!” Leo swung a lethargic arm and it flopped on the table.

“No more pizza for… four more days…” Mikey grunted.

“Heh, you guys’s diet sucks.” April chuckled and fell over into Mikey on purpose.

The youngest squeaked and dominoed into Raph who shouldered the weight without moving.

“We’ll see you again, what? Friday, right?” Leo craned his head toward you.

Leo was dismissing you. 

It was late. 

This had been the plan. 

Two days.

Donnie squeezed your hand.

You had never let go.

“Well…” You tried to respond.

“You know!” Donnie cut through conversation as if he hadn’t heard how it was coming to a close. “Remember how we weren’t able to find Jupiter Jim and His Majesty Cromslor anywhere online?”

The table quieted and you looked to Donnie curiously. “Oh yeah… We missed it in our marathon.”

“I purchased a copy then, but it only came in a few days ago.”

“That took…” You flicked up a few fingers to count. “Months!?”

“Oversees. Probably a boot leg, but it does indeed work.” Donnie smiled at you.

You felt a flutter in your gut. “We should-”

“Watch it now?” His brows bobbed. “Well everyone?” Donnie looked out, carefree to his inebriated brethren. “Movie night?”

“I’m sleeping!” Raph announced. “Don’t wake me and we’re good.”

“But Don…!” Leo’s head fell onto where his arm was still on the table.

“I could watch.” Mikey’s shoulders bobbed beneath April.

“I’m out. Got work.” April yawned.

“Then it’s settled.” Donnie turned back to you. “Not that we needed permission.”

You chewed on a giggle. “Can’t wait.”

Everyone else dragged themselves back to the lair, but you and Donnie took up the rear as you discussed some lab work. Delving into the study you’d monitored over winter break and what came of it, you were soon sat around the projector where Splinter was asleep in his chair. Raph used the last of his energy carting his dad off to bed and Mikey settled into a bean bag with commands to turn his head towards the screen. Leo helped in that matter and set himself up with his phone in hand to hang out more than watch. You and April said your goodbyes and then Donnie joined you on the couch. Raph didn’t return until well past the first quarter of the movie, but didn’t seem to mind as he flopped down to watch a film presumably the family had seen many times before.

The room was filled with the quiet sounds of the movie until Donnie leaned into you. Your shoulders brushing, he whispered to you a fun fact about the movie that gave way to more. With your head turned against the cushion, you eventually stopped watching the film to instead stare at him. He was enthralling. His lips moved with specific enunciation that you knew came from his love of pizzazz. He topped it off with eloquence from IQ and his flair was infectious no matter how emotionless he tried to present himself.

You adored him.

The credits rolled and there was light after movie discussion where you all found Raph had fallen asleep as promised. Donnie regaled you in his theories on how this movie affected the larger Jupiter Jim universe while he threw a blanket over his older brother. Leo pitched in a few notes about his comic knowledge, but no matter how obsessed the Hamatos’ were in this film series, there was still a limit of how much conversation could be shared.

“Welp!” Leo announced, coming down from a stretch.

That was the second final call of the night.

You had already overstayed your welcome.

You pulled out your phone to text your parents.

Donnie touched your wrist. “Before I forget, I finished my latest project. That targeted hearing device.”

You slowed. “Oh yeah, were you able to work out that model on how it decides what to filter?”

“Yes, in fact, I had a breakthrough-!”

“You finished that two nights ago right? When you were pacing in that fit?” Leo interrupted.

Mikey perked up. “Oh yeah, you were so upset, but you wouldn’t say why! If it was just because you were doing your usual tech walk things, then why not tell us?”

Donnie had obvious guilt and raised his hands.

You stared. 

Two nights ago was when you hadn’t been able to text him goodnight.

You were in motion and interjected yourself with force into the fray. “Show us!”

Leo and Mikey looked at you curiously.

You tried not to balk. “It was for you guys too! It will help you gather intel on missions!”

“I thought it was just for your goggles or business people who never take their Bluetooth out, even at dinner parties?” Leo quizzed Donnie.

“The applications are wide ranging! Why do you think I patented it?” Donnie held his head haughtily and headed toward his lab.

The line there went first Donnie and Leo paired where Donie was putting his all into convincing Leo of his inventions use and then you and Mikey who trailed behind in a conversation of your own. 

You weren’t sure, but you thought the blue brother glanced at you twice.

Mikey regaled you on a video game he had recently beat and, by the time you entered the lab, Donnie was in full presentation mode. A space you had only been in virtually, Donnie walked everyone to where the buds were and tried them on Leo first since he was the naysayer. They proved to work nicely as you and Mikey played examples by moving around the lab to make noise for the technology to hone in on.

You remembered locations from your guided tour, but definition had been sparse over the phone. Now here and moving about, gadgets kept catching your eye. Donnie explained them with quips from his brothers about use or malfunction. You heard all manner of stories and saw a part of Donnie you had yet to see. Donnie was quick to hang up if his brothers tried to intervene, but he was no stranger to complaining about them. You felt like you knew them better than you did because of it, but seeing the brothers in action was something else entirely.

They carried through, soon fatiguing of reminiscing and giving space for Donnie to show off his more successful tech. He shined, putting his best foot forward in a way you assumed he prepared for investor meetings. He eventually let you examine his bo staff and demonstrated how it could be reformed within his ninpo. He was detailing how his schematics process had changed since acquiring his mystic powers when Leo suddenly yelled up to the ceiling.

“Nope! Beep, beep, beep! Hear that? That’s my brain at full capacity! No more! No more science for Leon! Honk-shoo! Bedtime alarm.” Leo threw his arms up and seemed ready to spin around to leave before he caught sight of you. “Great seeing you, by the way. We’ll be seeing you, but not again tonight! Later, losers!”

You all watched Leo walk out.

Mikey saw his own chance to pull away.

The youngest did nothing distinctly, but you could tell he was ready to head to bed himself.

You had been together for hours now and it was definitely the AM of the next day.

You needed to text your parents.

You needed to go home.

You’d see Donnie again.

You had one last time before you flew back across the country.

You got your phone in hand and messaged your parents to check in.

“Michael.” Donnie held his own anxiety. 

That meant both remaining brothers were ready for you to go. 

Having already proved to your parents you were alive, you moved to next pen a message about how you’d be home soon.  

“Huh?” A bubble popped on Mikey’s attention.

“Have you checked the time?” Donnie moved away from you. 

Looking up your screen found the time at 2:47am.

“Oh ho!” Mikey sang with scandalous purpose. 

You paused and looked up to see him sporting a huge grin. 

“I get what you’re putting down, brotha! It is the one and only reserved time for my most exclusive dish!” Mikey moved fluidly through a few poses. 

“Yes.” Donnie looked pointedly at you. “You might have heard of it.” 

You blinked a few times not realizing some kind of ploy was in motion. “Special time…?” 

Sliding to the right, Mikey’s whole body dipped below his raised arms. “It is time for my unmatched, out of control, unparalleled 3am dump nachos!” 

A memory slapped you across the hippocampus. 

You did remember. 

Mikey had sprung them on Donnie when he was helping you study for finals last year. 

The Mikey of the present then snapped to attention in a business-like manner. “Proprietary reserved and guaranteed to eradicate night munchies.”   

Your phone buzzed and beckoned with annoyed responses from your mom. 

You’d thankfully never sent that message about heading back. 

She knew you were doing alright, that was enough. 

You closed your phone. “Who am I to say no to the clock!?” 

“Nacho time!?” Mikey turned to confirm with the last party. “That was what you wanted, right?” 

“Yes.” Donnie tried to stave off a certain amount of joy. “Nacho time.”

“Woo!” Mikey started to holler but caught himself off to whisper. “Quieter woo because people are sleeping!”

You all filed down to the kitchen where Mikey took point in commanding his own cooking show. Talking about all his past chip and cheese related mishaps, he walked through pantry staples  and what wasn’t for good nachos. Donnie settled in by your side and eventually grabbed a few drinks. The pair of you mingled together, sharing little glances amongst Mikey’s display until the nachos were in the oven for a quick melt session.

“Oh man, this was a great idea.” Mikey looked at Donnie approvingly. “I can’t remember the last time we did 3am nachos.”

You did, but you kept quiet. 

“Probably after April’s midnight launch at that movie theater.” There was an air to Donnie that said he was purposefully making something up.

“Eugh, was it one of those ones where they watch like six movies back to back?” Mikey made a face.

“Are those marathons bad?” You asked.

“They are when you can’t pause and do stuff like this.” Mikey gestured around the kitchen.

“Helps to be allowed an oven.” Donnie cocked a brow at you.

“It’s not my fault someone started a fire in the dorms a few years ago.” You shot a smarmy look back.

“Finesse.” Donnie’s fingers came up to floss the word.

“This again!” You rolled your eyes.

“The rules are in place to protect! As long as you don’t violate them obviously, then I don’t see the problem.”

“Your homemade oven thing was way sketchier!”

“You could make it out of all the materials you had on hand! It’s completely safe!”

“Just because one can, doesn’t mean one should!”

“Look! I can recreate it now! You never tried.” Donnie went for a junk drawing and came back with supplies. “The most you needed was wire, then a containment unit, easy enough to build…”

Donnie nearly pressed to your side as he cut and created a wire and then spliced it with a battery. Showing you how to then encase the coils, he asked for your help holding something in place. You did so and he eventually came around with electrical tape to bind his creation. He complained about how soldering should be allowed if hot glue guns were. You spoke against that point and your hands brushed. He scoffed at live flames and slipped his arm through yours in lieu of reaching for a piece of plastic that had rolled away. You pressed into him and told him that with that logic you could simply weld.

“Couldn’t you?” Donnie’s face was near yours.

“I’d need…” You reached up and his cheek tipped into your hand as you activated the release on his goggles as you’d seen him do on video.

His lenses came down and you were close enough to see through them to his eyes beneath.

“… something like this.”

“I see… Safety first…” Donnie murmured, leaning in.

“Mhm…” You mirrored him.

A timer dinged and you jolted apart.

“3am nachos!” Mikey came around with oven mitts as if oblivious. “After hearing both your arguments, I’m gonna go with no homebrewing ovens in the dorms. It looks like you’re building a bomb.” He set the tray down and the smell was undeniably delicious.

You might have enjoyed it more had your heart not been pounding out your ears.

“To the uneducated, perhaps!” Donnie grumbled and looked over the spread.

You moved to better reach and heard Mikey talk about the best constructed bite.

What were you doing?

You had almost kissed Donnie.

If that was what just happened.

Donnie.

You had a nacho in hand.

Donnie.

What you had to label as your newest best friend.

Donnie.

Not a replacement, but an embellishment.

Donnie.

Next to you, the man in question said something about guacamole.

He helped you through your semesters.

You still had 10 more after the current one.

Four total years.

That didn’t include masters which you aimed on getting.

On the other side of the states.

As far as possible in the continental US.

That was only the grand scale. 

On a minor one, you’d be back there in only four days time. 

You’d barely seen Donnie.

You’d also arguably spent more time with him in just seven months then you had lifetimes with some of the people you still happily called friends, but 90% of that time had been through an internet connection.

Donnie.

A chip entered your mouth and it tasted so good you wanted to weep.

It certainly wasn’t for any other reason.

Mikey’s cooking was that good.

Eating.

Eating was happening.

You tried to tune into what Donnie and Mikey were discussing.

Donnie had put his goggles back up on his head.

His eyes looked pretty as he talked to his brother.

They always seemed lazy in expression, but they caught so much.

They also took in nothing if he didn’t care to look.

He’d been looking at you.

Right through that red and blue glass.

The make-up of purple.

Mikey hummed an exhausted note. “Oh man… 5am already? Sun’s gonna be up soon…”

“That late?” Donnie asked absently.

At least your parents had gone to bed and wouldn’t hassle you.

They might because you were absolutely going to get home after they woke up for the day.

That was less than ideal.

You also had lunch plans.

What were you doing?

“I’m hitting the hay!” Mikey announced even though you were sure he’d said other things. “Hug for the road!”

Mikey hugged you and you were sure you hugged back.

“Finish those off or whatever. They don’t keep so toss ‘em! Night, D!”

“Night.” Donnie spoke.

Alone.

You were alone with Donnie.

You’d been avoiding this hadn’t you?

Both of you had. 

“Still hungry?” Donnie spoke timidly.

“Sure.” You had barely had any.

You worked through building that perfect bite Mikey talked about and then went for some salsa Mikey had whipped up.

Donnie was right there with his own chip and your knuckles brushed.

You both froze and looked at each other.

You saw it all there.

The budding feelings.

The long distance.

The fear.

The longing.

“It’s too soon…?” Donnie broke away to look at the sheet pan. “Don’t you think?”

You did.

You know you did.

You were weepy as you nodded and ate more than necessary just because the taste helped abate the sadness.

Donnie offered to take you home in his own melancholy.

You’d barely experienced college.  

You were so young.

In spite of knowing him so well, it wasn’t enough.

When he pulled over on the empty morning curb outside your apartment, sunlight was peering in on your exchange.

What would you do?

How would you say goodbye?

“Walk me to the door?” You asked.

“Of course.” He put the van into park and turned it off.

You walked side by side in silence up the stoop.

The moment you were both on the same level, you hugged him. Hard into his middle you squeezed him for all he was worth. Not to be outshined, you were similarly scooped. Donnie created a protective outer layer where his face buried down into the top of your head. You both siphoned as much of each other off as you could feeling like it would be the last.

Was that right?

It didn’t feel like it, but for right now it was hard to parse anything.

It was exciting to be close to him.

You hadn’t known when he offered to give you a ride that you’d tackle him right out of your airport gate.

You’d never hugged before that. 

You’d never touched at all as far as you could remember. 

All of this was sudden.

Too soon.

You rooted your face into Donnie’s plastron. “I’ll still see you Friday?”

“You’ll see me tomorrow if available.”

You blinked up wide right out of his chest.

“You’re on break. I want to make the most of it.”

This time you threw your arms around his neck and he hoisted you up into the hug. You laughed into it until he set you back down and your heads bumped together. Sting moving to cradle, you lingered against one another. You felt more then, how you were rushing. You were jumping to conclusions. You were deciding years down the line before being present in your own moment.

Too soon.

“Dinner.”

“It’s a date.”

You entered your apartment on a cloud nine bubble that even your parents couldn’t pop. It prevailed through your mother’s nagging and you finally catching blissful shut eye. You barely made your lunch appointment with your friend and were disheveled for it. They laughed at you and joked about a rough night. The unsuspecting victim who just happened to ask the wrong question at the right time, you unloaded on them. Not usually the type of friend for long talks, they took it in stride and came out like an MVP.

They gave you advice on how to proceed and shared how they themselves were doing long distance.

It wasn’t for everyone.

You were young.

You needed to prioritize you.

There was also a certain amount of trusting your gut.

All a tricky balance, you came away feeling optimistic and closer to your friend than before.

You also crashed as soon as you got home and had a screaming match with your mom when she returned from work to find you in bed. It was enhanced by you not telling her about your dinner plans, but it all felt like a certain amount of stride. It was par for the course with growing pains of your adulthood and you got yourself gussied up amongst it. Donnie came to get you and you felt whisked away where your dad sent you off in good humor.

You wished he fielded your mom, but you guessed you could only ask so much.

Your date was a romantic one. Dictated by closeness, you counted in touch. There were brushes to the hands that morphed to holds. He’d pressed your back to indicate he wanted to pull your chair out and would eventually pull you to his side when some drunk adults stormed by on the sidewalk. You snuggled close to him during a concession selection and later would rest your head on his shoulder during a movie. Afterwards when you lingered for a walk in twinkling night lights you spoke your feelings into reality and what to do.

You’d wait.

It was too soon.

There was so much more to see.

You didn’t feel sad about anything other than not being able to kiss him when he brought you home.

Those hugs were hard enough to break apart from.

Friday then came and went and this time you felt fully present amongst the Hamato. Sunita and Casey joined for a rowdy bunch and you felt strong enough to take over the entire city. You also were always placed by Donnie’s side whether it be by both your conscious choices or simply your draw to one another which earned some ire. Unlike the last hang out, you were validated and both breezily brushed it off with knowing smiles. That brought more confusion, but any and all were left guessing what your relationship was.

Your family and a huge friend group hangout took Saturday.

Then you packed with Donnie on a video call.

It was just like a week ago, but wholly new.

You wished him a somber goodnight and right before hanging up he asked to drop you off.

You would have to fend off your parents, but you decided you could oblige.

There was little complaint as the next morning your mom asked you point blank who the boy was. You admitted to them the events of the last seven months, mutation and all, which they took in various stages. What your dad heard mostly was your loneliness and how this guy had gone above and beyond to make you feel less so. That was enough for him and in a stern decision, he refused to be moved. It left your mom high and dry outside the marriage unit and she eventually sighed to dreamily say that was why she loved your father.

Comparisons were then made between them and your relationship with Donnie and you shut that down as quickly as you could.

Donnie was then there and in an impromptu parents meeting.

He was surprisingly adept at it and you had a feeling he was aware this would happen. You ended up drilling him on the way to the airport where he admitted he prepared for at least seven possible scenarios regarding him butting in on the airport drop off. He regaled you in them all until you were sick of his preparations and you were at the airport.

He walked you as far as he could.

You hugged.

It should have been scented with desperation, you thought.

Instead, it felt like a promise.

With the same clingy digging, he gave equal pressure to your waist as you gave his head. He clawed your back and you pulled at his mask tails. It caught puffs of laughter from both of you as you drank each other in. You knew his scent now, a specific one you wished to curl up in. You’d remember prolonging time together even when you talked to him on the phone, presumably as soon as you landed. You’d be exhausted and want to shower, but you’d make time. You liked to give it just as he’d do the same.

You parted.

With smiles that were plump with tears unshed, you waved to him and he lingered as long as he could. You thought he even might have continued past that and used his goggles for some x-ray business. In case he did, you metered your steps and kept looking back to send him more grins to log. He probably had a thousand already from the calls or even this week, but you’d give more. You boarded a plane and spring break ended.

Across the country you flew.

Back to school.

Back to work.

Through summer and an internship.

Opportunity and papers.

Talk of job and studies galore.

Late night calls and walls of text.

A flurry of messages.

Arguments.

Cold shoulders.

Apologies.

Fall Semester.

Winter break.

Spring Semester.

Spring break.

Rinse and repeat. 

Donnie became your only airport ride. No matter when you came, everyone knew he was designated. It became common knowledge as much as anything else. As much as your friendship, everyone knew that was to be expected.

You grew.

Four years passed.

You found yourself yet again coming into LaGuardia on the cusp of spring. You had plans for furthering education on this side of the country. California had been nice, but Donnie had mentioned a study once that stuck with you. Eight in ten adults lived within 100 miles of where they grew up. It seemed like such a silly statistic four years ago when you’d made your college choice. You weren’t sure if you necessarily understood now, but there was a certain comfort in knowing you’d be in New York for the foreseeable future.

It helped that you grew up in such an amazing city.

What a town, Donnie would say reverent regardless of whether it was bad or good.

Shouldering your bag, you walked out to baggage claim. While the spot may have changed and the man was still growing like a weed, Donnie would still always appear to you between crowd waves. A sort of fate, he’d part pedestrians like the sea and he looked up from where he was tinkering with something on his gauntlet.

A smile spread on his face and he was in motion.

You had to keep up.

A hop and a skip and you collided in a spin. Twirling out for the sake of it, you both murmured affections until he rooted your face out from his shoulder. There he dipped you first for the sake of flair, but brought you up to properly execute what came next.

Your hands tucked behind his neck.

He locked his arms around your waist.

His gaze poured over you. 

You tugged him lightly as he was taking his time.

He was hovering, no doubt committing all of this to memory.

You didn’t fault him; you had started dating a few weeks ago.

He’d blurted out the question saying he was unable to wait until spring break or even until you graduated with your undergrad. 

You were long past first kiss territory, but this would be the first with the label.

“Donatello.”

“Not to be confused with the famous Italian sculptor.” He staunchly said the same thing he had since the moment he’d first introduced himself. 

“Please.”

“Please what?” He jeered.

“Kiss me, dum-dum.” You pulled him as hard as he’d allow and he snuck in a laugh before your lips met.

You would always appreciate this time of year for its change.

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[ikemenomegas]

Megumi is not good at cooking. Not the way that Tsumiki is. He remembers how she used to stretch their meager meals. To this day, he cannot perfectly recreate the warm kakitamajiru she'd made, powdered ginger, thin sliced scallion, white pepper. But she always could. She tells him there's no secret ingredient, but there has to be, if only that it's his sister's hands which made it.

That is not to say he cannot cook. He's good at following recipes. Gojo's more than once ruffled his hair in the morning, thanking him for the leftovers in the fridge (and despite his denial Gojo-san is picky). But it's never the same.

At first, you'd thought it was some weird, chauvinistic holdover and had been fully prepared to absolutely tear into Gojo about it. Megumi's a bit embarrassed about that (one of the few almost-fights he'd witnessed between the two of you), but he exhales softly as you wrap an arm around his shoulders, patting his hair as he leans against you in the kitchen.

You now think that it's funny, but it's also cute because when Megumi really wants to eat something that tastes better than mine, he'll do literally everything up to and including prep, and also dishes after.

He's young with time to learn, but it's considerate while also being sad. You do appreciate it, but before you all moved to campus, Megumi kept his own room tidy, made plenty of his own meals, avoided asking to do any kind of extracurricular which could cost you and Gojo either time or money. It was difficult to teach him to be a child and you'd never quite managed it with either Megumi or Tsumiki - both of them resistant to being taken care of, both of them too early acquainted with the reality that some people read care and saw burden.

Megumi leans against your shoulder as you stroke his hair, fluffy soft, a smile on your lips as you wait for a couple tomatoes to blanch.

You don't tell him he didn't have. You grin, remembering the adorable little growl he'd made last time. It's good to see him being a bit of a brat, comfortable with it.

"Thanks," you say instead, and he leans heavier for a second before standing straight, freeing your arm to dish out the tomatoes into a bowl. He even takes them to the sink, peeling the loosened skin, the mealy inner portion getting under his nails.

You are so grateful that Megumi has already sliced up the onions and put them in water just how you like them.

You're slicing the tomatoes into wedges, Megumi standing back at your shoulder like him watching you do this for the seventh time will finally give him the answer, when you start talking.

"You know, my mom used to make this for me. They've got a garden." Lots of people in the countryside have gardens. "And we got tons of tomatoes every year. And it doesn't matter how many times I make it. I think hers will always be better."

Megumi looks from your hands to your face and then slowly back again as you scrape the cut half up onto the flat of the knife and into a bowl and then start on a new one.

"She says the same thing about her parents' food," you smile. "Her dad's gyoza. She's very sure that filling is better than anything she ever made for us growing up."

The look on your face is so soft it makes Megumi's face warm and something comfortable-uncomfortable wanted-unwanted twist in his stomach.

You nudge him. "Save about a few slices for the salad?"

He nods and gets you another bowl to set the sliced tomato aside.

You set about putting together the rest of the meal while he trails behind. Blanching thinly sliced beef, pointing out what needed to be mixed for a gingery vinaigrette, stir frying tomatoes, eggs, onions, chicken, lotus roots, napa, noodles...

He mumbles an apology when his stomach growls as he's setting out two places. It's an awful lot of food for a night when Gojo-san isn't coming around, maybe he just had big eyes when he was pulling everything out.

You just laugh. "It's almost done. You can start, don't wait."

But he does, carrying plates from the counter to the table for you and giving you such a puppyish stare when you don't sit down fast enough it makes you abandon wiping down a spot of flour to pull off your apron an sit across from him.

"itadakimasu," he murmurs, politely pressing his palms together as you do the same.

He closes his eyes a little longer than necessary to savor.

"Yours still tastes better."

If you could reach him, you're pretty sure you'd be happily making his hair even more of a mess than it already is right now. There's a secret, complicated look on your face, although he's sure it's mostly happy. And in the end you just say,

"Thanks, Megumi."

"Mm," he replies, holding out his bowl as you offer him another spoonful of noodles.

[crouteann]

DANG WHILE POSTING A REPLY TO SOMETHING I REALIZED I NEVER POSTED THIS REF OF LEVEL 9 ILYA..!!! the old ref was a year old and he needed an upgrade….!!!

under the readmore is the layers of this design and also the old one. my arts improved quite a bit in the year thats passed, but this ref is kind of suffering from being built on the bones of the old one. ah well!! i hope all the ilya likers enjoy!!

(i did not draw the sword, it is an image from the cleveland museum of art’s collection as a stand in. he does wield a big fuckoff zweihander though, it is in fact that big)

ilyas grwm. the pit stains are important. ismark died offscreen as an inciting point for the campaign— i think davey wanted ilya to play the role of “ireena” but also the role that ismark would usually play in a party, which is very cool. rip!!!

i really enjoy thinking of all the layers that would go into a design/armor set. probably a holdover from my fire emblem cosplay days, not that im complaining!! i think you can make way more interesting and grounded designs with a little bit of historical research and thought like this.

aaand the ref from last july. i tweaked this design a bit for the comic but he is wearing that! its very princely but ilya is kind of crunchy and i think the new design kind of shows the growth hes gone through and the horrors we as a party have survived since he got his past life memories back and joined us as a fighter. i like him. a normal amount

[cringecompanionapologist]

I Swear I Thought of This Months Ago: Different Doctors in Midnight

The thing with Midnight is that shit goes wrong because it's a companion-lite episode. The two people the Midnight Entity singled out to possess where the two people traveling alone. They were easy to isolate from the group. If the Doctor's not traveling alone here, and there's this human who came in with him just going along with whatever he's doing, it's going to seem less suspicious. So, what would happen to any Doctor in Midnight is based more on their companions than the Doctor. Donna took the day off of adventuring to enjoy the spa. Not all companions would do that. First Doctor: He may get on everyone's nerves, but he's going to have a granddaughter with him and people will judge him less harshly because he has a family. You've got a couple with their teenage son there. They see an old grandpa with a granddaughter the same age as their son, they're going to see him as someone like them. As for the granddaughters, Susan wouldn't want to leave her grandfather and Vicki canonically is more interested in adventures than relaxation. I'm less sure about Dodo, because nobody is sure about Dodo. She's a wild card.

Second Doctor: A group of people in a small space menaced by a monster? Might as well be a base under siege. He's in his element here. He also tends to be better at understanding human nature than most Doctors, so even if he was alone, he might not end up quite so isolated. And he wouldn't be alone. Out of a combination of loyalty and discomfort with spa environments, Jamie would definitely be with him.

Third Doctor: Following the Doctor around on his adventures is literally what Jo was hired to do. She'll be the one telling everyone that the Doctor is an expert on basically everything and she trusts him so they should too. If they try to throw him out she'll try to either take his place or go with him and nobody will want to hurt her. Nobody wants to hurt Jo. Even the Master didn't want to hurt Jo.

Fourth Doctor: When Four shows up somewhere, being weird, acting like he owns the place, and having way too much fun in a crisis, people tend to sort of roll with it. It's a superpower he has. But, if we want to turn the superpower off, we've sort of got three eras to consider. Sarah Jane would probably follow the Doctor, since she's still a holdover from Three's "companions are literally the Doctor's assistants" era. Leela would not understand the appeal of a spa and would threaten people into listening to the Doctor. As for Romana...Okay, we've got another Time Lord. I actually don't know. She'll probably go with him and might have slightly more luck with the locals.

Fifth Doctor: Really depends on the TARDIS team. Tegan's going to take the goddamn spa day and will talk Nyssa into going with her if she's around. If it's just Nyssa, she'll go with the Doctor and everyone loves Nyssa, so everything will be fine. Turlough is going to enjoy a pleasant day off. He can relax, do a bit of sketching, and not have to deal with yet another traumatic incident. Adric would not understand the idea of a spa, call it stupid, get into a fight with Tegan, and if he wasn't going with the Doctor before this, the Doctor would insist purely to separate the two and restore order. Adric has no social skills, so he wouldn't exactly make the Doctor look better, but like with One and his various granddaughter companions, the family on the train would be more comfortable with a family man.

Sixth Doctor: The classic Doctors have done well so far but Six is probably fucked. Peri would probably like a day off from him and the violent shit that happens around him. Mel might try to get him to stay at the spa for health purposes. I don't know the EU well, but Evelyn might have a chance of coming along and getting him to behave, but no promises for anyone else.

Seventh Doctor: Of course Ace is there. Yet another Doctor passes as a family man and it's easy.

Eighth Doctor: I don't know the EU well and Eight is the Whoops All EU Doctor, but he seems to pick up companions that would follow him around here, being all human and convincing the humans not to bully him. But, considering Eight's luck, they'd probably try to throw him out of the train anyway and he'd end up traumatized again.

Ninth Doctor: Might actually consider just spending the day at the spa, but if he gets bored and goes on an adventure, Rose probably gonna follow him. The day is saved with the Power of Love or something.

Eleventh Doctor: Amy wants to go with the Doctor despite Rory's protests. There's a lot of bickering but they get out fine.

Twelfth Doctor: Clara is his carer who cares so he doesn't have to, so preventing Midnight incidents is sort of what she's there for. For Bill, this would be an educational experience. Twelve gets on everybody's nerves a bit, and he gives a speech about how stupid everyone's being, which doesn't actually help, and he'll probably end up getting punched in the face, but not thrown out of the train.

Thirteenth Doctor: She tells her companions to just enjoy themselves and wanders off alone. If they insist on following her, and Yaz probably would, we're fine. If she successfully ditches her companions, she's in trouble. She'll openly admit to being socially awkward, but I'm not sure if that would actually help in this situation.

Fourteenth Doctor: He's retired. He's probably staying with Donna. If not, everything mainly goes the same as it does with Ten, but it feels more cruel.

Fifteenth Doctor: Ruby would go with him and he's actually pretty good with people anyway. I'm guessing the Fourteen remembered being Ten and regenerated into someone unlikely to be thrown out of a train on a death planet just in case.

[vodika-vibes]

Heyyy,

Firstly, I hope you are having an amazing day and if not I hope it get better :)

Secondly,may I request a commander Cody romance in an undersea AU.Like Cody is pining for reader and well you finish it to your hearts desire

Thank you so muchhh

One More Moment

Summary: As one of the Marshal Commanders of the Atlantean Army, Cody holds a great deal of power, both politically and otherwise. As one of the potential heirs to the throne, eyes are on him at all times. He should know better than to pine over one of the mermaids who live outside of Atlantis. If it came out, he would lose his career, at best. But he can’t seem to help himself.

Pairing: Commander Cody x Reader

Word Count: 2594

Prompt: Undersea AU

Warnings: Krell is a monster, but nothing is shown on screen

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: Alright, so this has been sitting for a couple of days now, but I kept restarting it because my ideas were not super. But I think I'm happy with this one. The title is a holdover from the original story idea.

“Back again, are we Commander?” A small smile lifts Cody’s lips as he hears the familiar voice of the mermaid that he’s lucky enough to call a friend. “It’s been a few days,” She notes, her head tilted to the side as she rests her arms on the rocks around the small pool. 

The pool is also a tunnel that connects Tethnia, the merfolk village, to Atlantis, though it’s rarely used anymore, with things the way that they are.

“It has,” He agrees as he settles on the ground. Cody pulls off his boots and rolls up his pant legs, before dipping his feet into the cold water, “I’ve been stuck in ceremonies for the last couple of days.” He confesses.

“Oh?”

Cody hesitates, and then ducks his head, “It’s the 150th Anniversary of the day that Atlantis was…liberated.” There’s something ruefully bitter about how he says the word liberated, as though he’s muttering a curse.

She favors him with a close mouthed smile, and lightly pets his knee, “It is not your fault, Cody. The kings of old made their choices. There were wrongs on both sides of the conflict.”

Cody flashes a weak grin, “Maybe so, but it’s your people who suffered the worst of the consequences.”

She shrugs and hefts herself out of the water, so that she’s sitting next to him, “Things aren’t so bad these days. The patrols have lessened since I was a girl, at least.”

Cody flashes a small smile, “Yeah, well. That was something that I pushed for. I tried to completely end it, but the King’s argument was that we’re responsible for your safety.” He shakes his head, “But, no matter. How have you been?”

She flicks her tail, and Cody allows his gaze to drift to the eel-like tail. Honestly, there is so much diversity amongst the merfolk, it’s a shame that they’re not allowed in Atlantis. 

“I’ve been well,” She says, and Cody pulls his gaze from her tail back to her face. “I helped my parents at their farm for a bit, the fence broke at their pasture and the Sea Cows got loose, so I spent a good couple of days trying to herd them back home while my father repaired the fence.”

“That sounds like a lot of work.”

She laughs, her head falling back, “Oh, it was. They move quickly when they want to. I had to recruit my brothers to help. We ended up having to swim all the way to the trench.”

“The Trench? That’s a several day swim away!”

“To people with legs, maybe. We have pretty powerful tails.” She grins at him, “Made for swimming great distances.”

“Yeah, yeah. Rub it in, why don’t you?”

She laughs again, “Other than that, things have been pretty calm. No massive shake ups. The bandits from the gorge have been keeping their distance, though Lerri thinks that they’re planning something.”

“Isn’t he a conspiracy theorist?”

She shrugs, “Even a stopped clock is right twice a day,” She leans forward slightly, to get a better look at Cody’s face, “How have you been? You look stressed.”

He sighs and rubs the back of his neck, “Is it that obvious?”

“It is to me.”

“Pressure is ramping up for those of us who are King Elect.” Cody admits with a sigh, “There’s always people watching. Waiting for one of us to slip up so they can remove us from the running.”

“That sounds awful. Why haven’t you recused yourself?” She asks.

“It’s not allowed. Fox got himself removed after he punched someone in the face though. He was very smug about it too.”

“So, you just need to punch someone then.” She teases.

“I’m not going to sink to Fox’s level.” Cody replies dryly, “Honestly, I’m hoping Boba gets the throne. He has the personality for ruling.”

“Have you told him that?”

“Repeatedly. He just looks pained when I mention it now. I don’t think he wants to rule either. As I understand it, he wants to take up bounty hunting.”

She makes a face, “Bounty Hunting usually means that someone with a lot of weapons is lurking in Merfolk villages, waiting for someone to make a mistake.”

“Boba’s not like that.”

“If you say so, he’s your brother.” She tilts her head back, “Hey, wanna go swimming?”

Cody pauses. He wants to. He wants to more than anything, but-

“I’m afraid I can’t. I need to get back.”

“Aww, come on Cody! Just for a little bit?”

He stares at her for a moment, and then huffs and looks away, “Maybe next time. I really do need to get back to work.”

She pouts at him, and he laughs. Cody reaches out and catches her lower lip between two gentle fingers, “Careful, mesh’la. If you pout too much a fish will come along and steal your lower lip.”

She grins at him, and the pout fades immediately. “Sounds like a nice trick to get dinner.”

Cody releases her and pulls his feet out of the water, “Try it, let me know how it goes.” He stands and offers her his hands, “Ready to get back into the water?”

“If I must.” She says with a dramatic sigh, as she takes his hands and he lifts her off the stone and back into the pool. She’s heavy, with her long tail, but not so heavy that he can’t lift her, “I’ll see you later?”

“Definitely.” Cody replies. He remains kneeling next to the pool until she’s well out of sight, and then he sighs.

He loves her. From the top of her head to the tip of her tail. He’d happily spend the rest of his life with her, listening to her talk.

But it’s not possible.

He’s not the one who’d suffer the worst of the consequences if people found out that she was coming into Atlantis. 

Cody stands slowly and makes himself more presentable for life in Atlantis. He misses her already. Stars, he really hopes he doesn’t get elected as King. If he is, he’ll never see her again.

Once he’s presentable he heads back towards Atlantis city proper. Maybe the rest of the day will be easier on him. He won’t hold his breath though. It never is, after all.

“Have you heard?” You look up from where you’re helping your neighbor with her children. Your neighbor looks worried and is clutching her newborn against her chest.

“What happened? Is it the bandits that Lerri keeps screaming about?”

She shakes her head, “Worse.”

“Worse than bandits?”

She nods, and she tightens her grip around her infant, “Krell has returned.”

Ice runs down your spine, “He’s back?”

Pong Krell is a monster of an Atlantean. Cruel and vicious, even to the men who serve under him, but viewed by the majority of the population as someone to be respected and revered. 

And the merfolk of Tethnia are his favorite targets. Specifically the frailer fish based merfolk. It’s rather telling, really, that he doesn’t bother the eel, octopus, or whale based merfolk.

All of whom are stronger…and in the cases of the whale and eel based merfolk, more violent.

Your gaze drops to the little merboy playing in the other room, “Stay inside.” You say, “Do you need anything from the market?”

“No. We have enough for now. But, will you go to the smith and tell my husband that Krell has returned?”

“I’ll be happy to.” You lightly ruffle the hair of the toddler in the other room, before you head to the door. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Thank you.” Your friend says, relief nearly making her cry.

You try to offer her a reassuring smile, though it probably looks more like a grimace, and then you leave her home. 

Your hope is that you’ll reach the smith and spread word to the other merfolk before Krell arrives. Though, your hope is in vain.

As you swim into the market, you see Krell standing in the town square. He has an ugly look on his face and there’s a merman at his feet. You pause as Lerri, a merfolk with octopus tentacles, grabs your arm.

He looks incensed, and you don’t blame him. The other carnivorous merfolk are hovering around the edge of the growing crowd, fury and loathing lancing through all of them.

“He’s threatened to kill his hostage if any of us get too close.” Lerri hisses.

You bristle, “He can’t get away with this. What does he even want?”

“He’s demanding a mermaid.” Lerri says, rage in his voice, “It’s only through sheer luck that there weren’t any in the market when he arrived.”

Krell’s gaze drifts across the crowd, “So. None of you are going to acquiesce.” He looks down at the merman at his feet, “How little your people care for you.”

You take a deep breath as Krell lifts his trident, over the merman.

The merfolk move, almost in unison. The frailer merfolk flee to the back, while the stronger merfolk rush to stop him.

The next few minutes are a blur, but in the end the merman manages to escape and flee home, but you’ve been captured.

Krell glares at you and you glare right back at him. “Well now, it seems like I have proof that the merfolk are plotting against the Atlanteans. You’re coming with me, girl.”

He drags you from the Merfolk village, and for a moment you think that he’s going to kill you when there aren’t any witnesses. But he surprises you. Instead he drags you to Atlantis.

You’re dropped in a cart, even the strongest Atlantean couldn’t carry you for long periods of time, and dragged up to the palace. Then you’re thrown in front of the King and his potential heirs.

At first, you don’t notice them, you’re too busy righting yourself on the floor, though eventually you see them. King Jango, Prince Boba, Commanders Cody, Bly, and Neyo.

“What’s this?” Jango asks, his eyes lingering on you, and then over to Krell.

Krell takes a step and you lash out with your tail, knocking him to the ground. He scrambles back to his feet, and you bare your razor sharp teeth, causing him to flinch back.

“As you can see, my king, the Merfolk have taken action against us-”

“You lying piece of—!”

“Peace.” King Jango interrupts you with a raised hand, “I promise I will hear you out.” You scowl at him but quell after a quick glance at Cody, who looks even more stressed than the last time you saw him.

“Thank you, my king.” Krell simpers, and your lips curl in disgust, “I traveled to Tethnia, to check to see how the people have done in my absence, and I was attacked by them. For no reason.”

The King stares at him, in blatant disbelief, “Krell, why did you not return to the palace after your deployment ended?”

Krell sputters, “I…As I said…the people of Tethnia are dear to me-”

“Enough.” Jango holds up an impatient hand, and Krell falls silent, “And you, young lady, what have you to say?”

“Krell’s a monster.” You bite out, “Everyone in Tethnia knows that he targets the frailer merfolk. We attacked you because you were threatening to kill someone.”

“That is categorically untrue-”

“We celebrated when you were deployed. Everyone knows how awful you are to the people you view as lesser.” You hiss at him, “The world would be a better place if you died.”

Krell rounds on you, and for a moment you worry that he’ll actually attack you in front of the king, but then you blink and realize that Cody is standing between you and Krell.

“Continue your story,” Cody says to you, without taking his eyes off of Krell.

“The mermaids of Tethnia are terrified of him. He’s been known to rip the fins off of Mermaids who aren’t able to avoid him.” You continue, turning your gaze to Jango, “It’s because of him, that the merfolk of Tethnia don’t trust Atlanteans.”

You don’t know the King. Are largely unaware of his policies or personality. And you know that you’re a tough woman, able to give as good as you’re given.

But the look that crosses King Jango’s face at the mention of Krell mutilating mermaids, is dark and dangerous enough that even you coil away from him. 

“Have you proof?” The King asks, his voice as frigid as water from the arctic. 

“Go to Tethnia, you can see for yourself.” You reply.

“Oh, I intend to.” The King stands from his throne and glances at the guards, “Throw Krell into a cell. If what our guest says is true, Krell is going to have to defend himself in the pit.”

“Your Majesty!” Krell sputters, “An eel,” He says derisively, “Cannot fight in the pit!”

“Perhaps not.” He admits, “but you’d be fighting me, not her.”

You watch, with interest, as Krell goes gray. You’ve never actually seen that before. The guards drag Krell away, but you don’t see that, as Cody is suddenly kneeling in front of you.

“You just can’t seem to stay out of trouble, can you?” He sounds exasperated, but there’s a fond smile on his face.

“I don’t go looking for it!” You defend sheepishly.

Cody chuckles and unhooks his cape from his neck before wrapping it around you, “We have a talisman coming. One enchanted to give you legs. Just until we can get you home.”

You make a face, “Legs feel so awkward though.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Cody teases, “It’s only for a little while.” A servant runs up with a conch shell pendant, which he gently drapes around your neck.

The familiar magic washes over you and you huff when your tail shrinks into Atlantean legs. You absently tuck the cape around yourself, to ward off the chill, and with Cody’s help, get to your feet.

Without your tail you’re shorter than Cody, a fact that makes you pout. “There you go,” He murmurs, “Are you okay?”

“I’m not hurt.” You reassure, “You’re going to get in trouble though.” You whisper to him, very aware of the nearly identical dark eyes that are watching the pair of you.

“Yeah, I don’t care.” Cody replies, “Why didn’t you tell me about Krell?”

You shrug, “...was ashamed…” You admit quietly.

Cody sighs heavily, and leans in to bump his forehead against yours, “Stubborn.”

“It’s my nature.” You say with a sheepish smile. 

His hands come up to cup your face, and there’s a look on his face that you’ve never seen before.

Oh. He loves me. The realization hits you like a bag of rocks. You suppose you can get used to having legs, if it means getting to spend more time with Cody.

After all, you love him too.

King Jango clears his throat, and Cody sheepishly pulls away. The older man looks between the pair of you, and something speculative crosses his face, “Cody, spend some time with your lady.” He finally says.

Cody sputters, “She…it’s not…”

“Neyo, Bly, Boba. We’re going to Tethnia.” Jango says, ignoring Cody’s sputters. 

And then they were gone, and you were left alone with Cody.

You grin at him, “So…you love me.” It’s not a question.

Cody glances at you, “Is that a problem?”

“Not for me.” You reply with a small grin.

Something like relief crosses his face, and he bumps his forehead against yours again, “Well, since you’re here. Want to see the gardens?”

“I’d love to.”

[maxwellatoms]

As a follow up to my keeper of the reaper question by detailed shading I meant the shading on the characters cause it looks expensive and I wanted to know how it was done

Also who's idea was it to do the colored interior lines seen in episodes like Keeper of the reaper cause it's a style I've never really seen in any other cartoon before or after B&M and it heavily influenced my style.

Here's an example of the colored lines and shading

Oh THAT shading!

When B&M started out, the industry was still very much analog so even though we were colored digitally from the start, we still had to deal with analog holdovers. For example, for the pilot I was forced to use "The WB Palette". I guess all of the shows painted on cels back in the day used the same 30 colors, which makes sense when you think about keeping things consistent from shot to shot using pots of paint. There is no click-and-fill, and there's definitely no time to be mixing colors. That's the reason Mandy is so comparatively tan in the pilot-- I had only two Caucasian flesh tones to choose from. It was Yosemite Tan or Eggshell Fudd. I'm making those names up, but that was the gist.

When we got to the last season of Evil Con Carne, Digital EMation had taken over the animation and color duties, and I'd talked to them about doing a soft-edge shadow on the characters. My hope was that it would be as easy as a shadow on, say, a B:TAS character but with a bit of blur. Im not sure how they achieved it, exactly, but apparently it didn't add any pain to their pipeline.

The shadows were exposed at a blanket 30%, which I now believe is at least 10% too dark for a non-dramatic generalized shadow. Still, I liked it so much that we began to apply it to Billy & Mandy in certain shots and episodes.

The internal color line is something I like to do in my own digital art, but we weren't doing at the start in order to keep the pipeline streamlined. Our colorist Brian Smith kept sneaking them in, and because I liked them I'd let them go. We did one big last design and color retool about halfway through the series, and at that point we included the colored lines as a regular part of the designs.

[legendary-guest]

All outfits I made for my Drakgo Teacher AU! Discussion under the cut. Lore/casual fic/part 1 here.

It was very important to me for all of these outfits to look like things that canon Dr. Drakken and Shego would wear, not just by lifting palettes from canon, but by incorporating design elements seen in the clothes they wear and finding outfits that feel appropriate for their ages.

I personally believe that the age gap between Dr. D and Shego is not insignificant, there's a clear difference in the way they behave and carry themselves in canon that signals this to me, aside from the fact that Drakken went to college with James. I'd say about 10-15 years, and their clothes should reflect that, not to mention their overall tastes. Dr. D's the butt of a lot of mid-life crisis jokes (by me, LOL), but he doesn't strike me as the sort to dress like he is going through one (this is what the villain career is for, aside from it being an extended and hilarious mental breakdown. The mullet is a holdover from the 80s, not trying to recapture his youth, in my opinion).

I wanted more 80s/70s older style clothes for Drakken, but a lot don't feel like him, and the brown palettes for many of them cross over with Mr. Barkin too much. Dr. D loses his identity with the shift in colour. He works well with deeper purples and reds, but him being listless, and honestly just plain depressed, had to be reflected in the colour choices. Even the long sleeves, hinting at this insecurity he has over his skin that I have made a point of in my Teacher AU. I've seen it a couple of times in fanfic, and I've enjoyed it immensely as an element of characterisation for him.

Chinos make their appearance here, and this Ms. Go's outfit is a slight remix of the original. I characterise that outfit, where she was effected by the Attitudinator and became Ms. Go, as something she would wear at the very beginning of her training as a teacher. Here, she has a bit more bite, more of the Shego we know and love, not as demure.

I gave her a tie in one of them because I love ties and she looks so chic with it. I really wanted to incorporate her belt from her original suit, but it's too garish to fit in with any of her outfits here, and it doesn't suit anything 'normal' or anything slightly professional/chic. Drakken's was easier to implement, more subtle.

Ms. Go palette is mostly green here for story reasons, too. It helps her in gaslighting the kids. If she wears greens and neutral colours, mostly, they won't be able to really tell that she IS green. I love the idea of a teacher Shego just seriously messing with kids' heads, I've had a few teachers like that in my life, who take great amusement in watching them trip over their words, or just outright lying to them to get a funny reaction.

The Good Ms. Go also has shorter hair, which I thought was so interesting - long hair as a hallmark of Shego's evilness - even Drakken's - so I just tied it up here. If I want her to go into evil, I can just by having her let her hair go, or if she just settles down with Dr. D, it's fine, too. It's also just practical as a teacher, makes her look put-together. Headbands make women look young, I find, there's a real girlishness to them. Ms. Go is a woman! And WHAT a woman!

Finding clothes that were professional yet edgy - o my God. The trek. Shego gave me a run for my money, I will tell you. If I had to redo any of this, I might be inclined to incorporate more asymmetry. I love her original suit, it's so striking and disorienting, it's actually insane to me that Stephen Silver designed that and everyone JUST AGREED, AND SAID IT WAS FINE, YEAH, WE'LL ANIMATE THAT?! Crazy. IN 2D, TOO!

Now, original Ms. Go has heels, and even Shego wears heels in So the Drama. Why no heels here? I didn't want to draw new feet and adjust the height, okay - BUT ALSO! She's still got that holdover from her hero days. She's got to be ready at any time, to spring into action!

FORGET THE FACT THAT SHE RUNS AND JUMPS AND SOMERSAULTS IN THE DAMN THINGS IN SO THE DRAMA, OKAY! She can afford to go to Mount Olympus and have Midas karate chop the calf and lower back pain away. She doesn't have a good masseuse/physio/chiropractor here in this AU. PRE-MIDAS! (Hm, maybe Dr. Lipsky could help with that?)

[jaypea00101010]

A single design problem I have for each D&D 5e class

Made this a thread over on bluesky and figured might as well bring it over here. Not really big problems in most cases, but just, small things that I feel WotC should tweak in all current 5e classes.

Artificer: No clear weakness.

A single class that can make great a great support character, DPS character, tank, single target attacker, stealth character, etc

Obviously needs to be built spesifically for each of these, but every other class has at least one thing they can't do.

Barbarian: No force resistance

Slightly cheating because it's not inherently a problem with Barbarian, but recently more monsters have been using Force damage instead of B/P/S, and barbarians should absolutely gain resistance to it while raging at higher levels.

Bard: Full-casting

Bards are designed to be a jack of all trades, it's right there at 2nd level, but they seem to have missed the 'master of none' bit.

Full spellcasting up to 9th level, a pretty solid spell list, and spells they don't have they can take with Magical Secrets anyway, even 9th level ones.

Cleric: Turn Undead

A holdover from older editions, turn undead in my opinion just doesn't make for a good universal option on clerics.

I'd much prefer something like spirit guardians or spiritual weapon be reworked into their universal channel divinity.

Druid: Universal Wildshape

Probably controversial, but I have similar problems with wildshape that I do turn undead, it's good, but a weird universal option.

If I'm a druid getting my powers from stones, plants, or the stars, why can I also turn into a ferret? There should be a few options to pick from instead.

Fighter: Action Surge at Level 2

Action surge is such a good feature, usually it's just some extra attacks, but the fact you have the chioce is great....

That said, I think it coming online so early incentivises unintentionally incentivises multiclassing, casters dipping for 2 spells a turn mostly. They've somewhat fixed it by limiting what actions you can use it for in OneD&D, but I personally just feel it should be later level rather than limiting it.

Monk: Ki Dependancy

This doesnt' need explaining, everything for monks costs ki and it really doesn't need to, they should get resource free disengage and dash, or have ki recover faster.

I had an idea for a ki recharge of 1 min, but less points overall, so you have all points for every fight

Paladin: Oaths at 3rd level

You get your power as a paladin from a sacred oath you swear, so why do you only choose that oath at 3rd level?

That's like a warlock only deciding their patron at 3rd, or a cleric only deciding their god at 3rd (Yes 1D&D does this and I hate it).

Ranger: Spells Known

Why do rangers, the class that's meant to be about being the best prepared for the wilderness and natural areas not have prepared spells?

It just seems so obvious to me, and I've got no idea why it's not done like that already?!

Rogue: Is Pretty Good

If anything I'd say that I'm not a fan of skill floors like reliable talent, and expertise not letting you use it on other tools is a bit strange, maybe the large subclass level gap?

Yeah overall I'm a fan of rogues though, they're just solidly made.

Sorcerer: Spells Known

They tried to fix this in Tasha's with subclass spell lists, and I think that's good idea generally, but letting them swap them for (admittedly limited) options from 3 different spell lists is also weird

Just give them subclass spells they can't swap, or maybe can swap fron one list and you're good.

Warlock: EB is a Cantrip

Eldritch Blast is a good spell. Too good to be honest with multiclassing at least, it's one of the reasons PalLock is such a good combo.

EB should scale with Warlock level so be a feature not a cantrip, or cantrip scaling with warlock level like it was in that One D&D UA that they then reverted.

Wizard: Subclass Theming

Tying wizard subclasses to schools was a bad idea, and what we've gotten outside the PHB seems to be an attempt to go back on that.

It also means they don't have room to explore all of each school, I'd love a teleport or summon focused wizard but school of conjuration smashes them together weirdly

[latibulater]

Venture Bros Rewatch notes: Eeney Meeney Miney Magic

I love Rusty's bedroom but do we think that look is a holdover from the last time Jonas remodeled (as it's not dated enough to be 60s when the compound was built) or did Rusty remodel the bedroom as soon as he inherited the master bedroom?

Dean and Hank are playing Ouija is so cute

ENTERING....MR ORPHEUS. He comes OUT of the orphan heart machine (??? why?) and zaps Helper and knocks out Dean and Hank, so Dr. O can disable electronics and also cause instant sleep all with just a single nonverbal look...And his lankiness...his sharp edges...EARLY SEASON ORPHEUS ILU

"His magical Dracula powers" "youre standing there in FLAMES" whoever wrote this scene has a child

"brock is it okay if i cry?" after brock just choked him for waking the bodyguard up too sudden. there is both so much to say yet nothing needs to be said its all there

i can't figure out if you need to go outside to get to orpheus' part of the compound, dean is wearing a jacket over his pjs but no shoes and rusty has his rarely seen bathrobe and slippies

"abandoned arachnid lab" WHAT was GOING ON????

i LOVE the pan-ups for introducing characters

Orpheus was saving Helper........"his feeble mind had perceived what's not possible" this is contributing to my idea that our Helper is like Ben's Helper in that they are uh....not cyborgs exactly but meaty machines

Led zeppelin is pretty much the only music brock listen to during sex

How does Rusty not know Orpheus' name already? He's literally the landlord

"junior college upstate" "fEEL it's evil grip PuUUUUUULL ME BACK IN"

"scuba" "scuba" "scuba"

TRIANA girl of the hour. How is she so well adjusted and normal-acting. I want so badly to see a scene or two of Triana at school. Can she use her magic there? Is she is similar classes as Dermott?

"Single parent eh? Common ground" Rusty is so desperate for a friend as soon as he realizes Orpheus is bit like him he drops all snobbish pretenses

THE QTIP COMMENT. I LAUGH. "a walking reminder of our common shame"

"I saw him kill a guy with sock full of party snaps" okay but then doesn't in the next episode Dean get confused about Brock killing people at all? The whole body bags were sleeping bags bit? More evidence of mind erasure

"I'm kind of home tutored in a box my pop made. it sometimes gets very hot in the box. that my pop made" "wow that's kinda screwy" this is the entire moment of what made Triana hang out with dean and her bemusement tolerance and at the end (before prom) fondness

Brock fixing Helper is soooooooo sexy i wish i could chew on his forearms like a rawhide bone

Hank seeing an endless expanse of nature with Rusty wanting to spend time with him, contrasted then by Brock actually being the one present to get Hank out of the way

"we two doctor dads" LITERALLY RUSTY STOP he's got an instant crush and he is just so thrilled to have someone to hang out with. okay with the message O leaves for Triana who just left for school, but at the end she gets bored waiting for her dad at dinner. they seriously spend all day at rusty's lab?

"dont think i didnt notice the neon appointments" GAY BOYS

Rusty acting like an overly typical irate father, he was so channeling jonas trying to impress the only other single father he's ever met

BROCK WITH THE PULLED BACK HAIR MEOW

"i DARE you to make less sense!"

Orpheus just pulled...a singular cupcake with pink frosting out of an upper cabinet....why do the Ventures live like this. 4 boys and a robot.

okay but the whole kitchen scene is so funny and really contrasting rusty and orpheus' character designs, in s1 orpheus really is all long lines and huge blocky black cloak, compared to rusty's tiny little frame, honestly we need more ...(rustyxorpheus=.....thapheus?) of this. the way rusty asks if he wants another brew "kaey"

hank's impression of their dad is hilarious

"the beast hungers for them...i just dont get how they can get the door open"

Orpheus commands the open "by the crimson name of lord balayseeta(?) i command you to open" and shit really DOES open for like a mile around and in-universe implications are that somehow Rusty has created this deeply magic resistant bio-engineered machine

the whole play by play about the orphan heart...........it was probably a clone of hank or dean....

marco

POLO

mAARRRRCO

polo polo!

m a r c o

POLO

Brock sitting down to hug Dean for feeling bad that is so sweet.

True love seems to be flimsy yet real and based upon chemicals, so could be the person they love most who makes their brainvlight up most when they see them

the way Orpheus stretches out his hands and launches it at the joycan to go into hell. he can just send shit to hell if he wants. and he can NOT go to hell or traverse, but he punches one way tickets.

i LOOOOOOOOOVE this episode truly 9/10

[isfjmel-phleg]

Because absolutely no one demanded it but I wanted to talk about this anyway:

Most of the designs for my main cast are holdovers from the earliest version of the story, written when I was fourteen and still deluding myself about drawing.

The character that would become Rachel was originally an authorial insert, so she basically looked like fourteen-year-old me. Later on, I hated having a self-insert, and it took me a while to decide to revamp her into someone who does have things in common with my younger self but has been allowed to take on an identity of her own. This included giving her strawberry blonde hair, making her look more like my youngest sister, or Dorothy Gale in John R. Neill's illustrations, which pairs well with some visual associations of Rietta and Ozma that I wanted to make.

Rietta has lots of dark curly hair because of some drawings I had made as a child of someone called Rietta fitting that description. No idea what that original context was, but I liked it enough to reuse both name and hair. I haven't changed because it's become an iconic part of how I picture her, and the springy curls reflect her personality so well. Her having some Mediterranean features (thanks to her pseudo-Italian mother) was a later development as I better defined the nations' cultures. It's a way of visually emphasizing her outsider status despite being the queen.

Delclis has reddish-brown hair for incredibly dumb reasons. I'll spare you the full story, but the short version is the original incarnation of the story, which was overtly fantastical in painfully derivative ways, drew from some thing my siblings and I made up as kids, including a concept of my brother's of a nation where the monarch take as a ceremonial name the name of a type of snake. That was a thing in Corege in the earliest draft, and Delclis's ceremonial name was...Copperhead. So I literalized it and gave him reddish-brown hair. That horrific detail got dropped, thank goodness, but Delclis's design stayed and morphed into his having a coloring and build and features that I could tie to his love of plants. Hair like the color of certain trees in autumn. Much better. It also contrasts him with the rest of his family, showing his disconnect from all of them.

I originally made Elystan a dark-haired puny little person as a vague nod to illustrations of Eustace, because original Elystan was just there to be a bratty character with a redemption arc (badly executed!). That connection is practically nonexistent now, but I like the visual of him with the high contrast between hair and complexion, a bit eerie-looking. The black hair, pale skin, and blue eyes also accidentally make him resemble a) a character from Tenthragon and b) quite a few comic book characters, and I'm fine with that. His originally being described as very short and thin was what led to the creation of his health issues as the story developed into what it is now. It makes him very different visually from his father, Delclis, and Josiah, and that's necessary.

Amarantha's design didn't have any references or reasoning behind it. I was fourteen and drew a brown-eyed brunette probably because that was my description. Her distinctive hairstyle comes from a later attempt to ground the story in more historicity. At this point, it was set in a pseudo-1540s, so Amarantha's hairstyle was inspired by styles meant to be contained under a cap. Fortunately, it translated decently well into the current setting and has become a visual symbol of her uptightness.

Tamett originally had a very bland brown-haired design with no distinctive features, because I didn't bother to put much thought into him. Later, I realized I needed a visual contrast to Josiah and made him blond. I can't remember if I did that before or after deciding he was from pseudo-Scandanavia. (His Noriberrian heritage is actually a very recent development.) The blandness of his design has become a feature, reflecting his role as professional shadow.

The basic designs of the Liennese royal family came from a royal family in an imaginary city that my brother and I created as kids; beyond that, there wasn't a lot of thought put into Josiah's design. The more distinctive features came later. It's important to me that he look very ordinary, not conventionally "good-looking," to emphasize that he's not as perfect and exceptional as he has been raised to think he is, and it's significant that he more strongly resembles his father but the features he gets from his mother will become more prominent with character development. His greater height and larger build also make him almost a comedic visual contrast with Elystan, which is fun to picture.

[cobra-creampuff]

i actually think somewhat slightly opposite-ish of this post.

ed wants to show off. he absolutely does love having proof that he's desirable, wanted, and loved. and taken, in multiple senses of the word lmao. and he's definitely not shy, not embarrassed, doesn't particularly want to be private about it, or any of that. but i think he's very aware of the fact that he is not great with boundaries, that he can - as they say - Forget Himself. and while he and stede know each other a lot better now and are more honest with themselves and each other, no longer seeing each other as or trying to fit into the perfect idealized shape of Gentleman and Pirate (either one in either role), there are still some lingering clingy little holdovers from that. so on that hand, ed is not sure how much showing off is Too Much. if stede will be off-put or embarrassed by him if he crosses some invisible line from tasteful into trashy. and i also think there's this other hand where ed wants to show off, but just ever so slightly more than that (in the context of his relationship), he wants to be shown off.

meanwhile, stede has always been put down for not being good enough or strong enough or masculine enough and he was married to a woman who didn't want him and who he was at least something of an embarrassment to, and he's used to being passed over and belittled and neglected, and to having a lot that he doesn't want and nothing that he does, and being shamed for both. and! at the same time he's still every bit as up himself as any other wealthy white guy lmao, and he's deeply, deeply, apocalyptically theatrical lmfaooo. anyway, point being. now that he has something to brag about that actually really does stroke his ego, rather than just being the only thing(s) he's got to try to make people respect him (in the only way he was brought up to understand "respect"), he will absolutely take literally any opportunity to do that. put together all his measuring-up issues, the fact that he fully and completely believes ed to be the most beautiful and gorgeous and sexy and impressive and perfect and very best man to ever live, his eagerness to make ed believe that too or at least believe stede believes it now that he knows that's an issue, the fact that ed's blush and ed's smile and ed letting him dress him or change his hair or put his hands on him makes him feel more powerful than god, his indelible smug richboy attitude, and his own utter lack of boundaries, and you get a man who cares not one whit what marks on him are showing but will go completely out of his way to make sure everyone sees the marks he's left (or any other clear indication that ed - yes that ed, that one right there - is his).

so, in my head, the scene in front of lucius and his iced coffee goes more like stede dressed completely normally and ed with his hair partway up and his collar tastefully open, clearly trying to show off a little bit but trying not to overdo it (which is just as clearly not coming naturally to him lmaooo). and then stede saying something or other about ed looking uncomfortable or having a hair out of place in a voice that could not possibly be more disingenuous, and reaching over to pull ed's hair all the way up and brush his fingers improprietously over the marks on ed's neck he's purposely revealing on his way down to undo a couple more buttons on ed's shirt, then turning to lucius with vanity so palpable it crunches (as if lucius isn't also in a loving and committed relationship with someone he's just as attracted to, because obviously no one compares to ed and everyone but stede has had to settle at least a little) while ed stares at him like he hung the sun, moon, and every star in the sky.

[zephyrtheoctopie]

Doing the eyes emoji at your octo agent 3 oc so hard-

What is their deal I love them

I’m sosoisoso glad you asked I’ve beeen thinking about this little dudes backstory for so long and not I can finally spill the beans (it’s still somewhat of a rough draft but I’ve got some of the main details down)

I don’t have a name for him yet so for all intensive purposes his name is just octo agent for now, he’s a trans man btw just gotta note that

He was born to an octoling mother and an inkling father (who for obvious reasons wasn’t present in his life at all), but nobody could really tell because in my Splatoon universe inktolings don’t exist. Instead, the hybrid child usually is the species of the mother with some holdover traits from the father (as you can see little octo agent over here took the eye mask, sharp ears, and slightly shorter than the average octoling height from his father). His mom was able to chalk these traits off as simple defects, keeping the secret of her relationship with the enemy.

Because of his half inkling heritage, by default his general mindset was..different from the average octoling. The propaganda never really worked on him, he was more fun loving and rebellious than the other octolings. He had a gut feeling there was more to life than just the army. He just never knew how to access it.

He excelled in his training classes and even became an elite octoling, but found himself the subject of relentless teasing and bullying by his elite peers due to his differences in mindset and appearance, which only reinforced his desire to escape this life.

Little known to him, what was meant to be a recon mission in upper Octo Valley became that ticket to freedom, yap yap yap he convinced Capn Cuttlefish to let him be Agent 3 (after LOTS and I mean LOTS of pestering).

The rest is history!

admittedly the story is a bit flawed, but honestly I just wanted to have fun making this guy. I really enjoy drawing him in all his stupid glory

thanks for the ask!

im going to bed now

oh and maybe he also knew Marina and Acht.

[eolewyn1010]

Downton Abbey Fashion 82 - service worker fashion in 1925

The servant hierarchy from Mrs Hughes to Daisy – sorry, girl; with the maids already checked off the list and no Ivy around anymore, you’re back at the bottom. Will Daisy ever get treated as something other than a teenager? She’s 28!

Mrs Hughes’ coat of the season is pretty – one, I love double-breasted closures, two, these fake-double lapels fanning out to both sides are glorious. Also, look at these adorable buttons! They’re engraved with stars or flowers or something. She also has two hats to go with it, and I like the one with the pretty flowers a little better.

Two blouses for Mrs Hughes, the collars of both we’ve just seen peek out from her coat. One is ivory with shell buttons and a few pin tucks to the shoulders, one is a pale, greyish blue with brass buttons and a few pin tucks to the shoulders. Sleeves and collars are pretty much the same, but the second collar has some little flowery applications.

And the uniform dress. No, The uniform dress. She wears this through the entire season. At some point, even the holdover from last season disappears and it’s just this, all the time. The main fabric has a punched or woven zigzag structure, and the double collar is back – that’s apparently a Thing currently. And then the front panel is this strip of… I want to say lace? I think it is lace; it’s just very art deco-ish because Mrs Hughes goes with the times. Unless it’s waistlines.

--------------

Mrs Patmore has two notable outdoors outfits this season, both brown. The first is this longer coat with some embroidery at the cuffs, collar and down at the hem. They are tone-in-tone, so not super visible, but quite cute once they show up. The second is a tad fancier, a walking suit of a slightly shimmering material that has this scale structure and some tailoring in the front, including a shawl collar. It also has pockets. I don’t like the hat shape in the first picture particularly, but it has a zigzag ribbon construction going for it. Fun fact: I have recently seen this exact zigzag-banded hat again. In Easy Virtue. Where Mrs Whittaker wore it when she came to pick up her husband from a French brothel. This hat has seen some shit.

She has another hat which only has a plain black ribbon which might be velvet on brown straw, but has a nicer shape imo. Also, Mrs Patmore brings in a new blouse that looks almost exactly like the one from last season. It’s less pale green, more pale blue, but it’s got pin tucks in the front again and some tiny trim stitches around the collar. The white blouse she wears in her bed’n’breakfast is a little nicer to look at with the ruffled collar – and it’s another double collar!

--------------

Lucy Philpotts is Mrs Patmore’s niece, only introduced to fill out the role of enduring Mrs Patmore’s verbal abuse now that Daisy has gotten too mouthy for that. She’s even wearing the same colors as Daisy. Her first dress is white with a peach flower print all over it, drop waist, simple white collar and cuffs. It’s not flattering but that’s par for the course; they only put in an effort for the women who meet the skinny boyish beauty ideal of the time. Her second dress is a little better, a yellowish orange. The apron tying in at the waist gives this a bit more of a silhouette, and she’s got a little front ruffling and a simple geometrical embroidery motif to liven it up.

--------------

Daisy has for some reason swapped last season’s generic greyish brown coat for another generic greyish brown coat. Suit yourself. At least she kept the brooch. I don’t have much to say about this coat, but she has a sweet checkered scarf this season and two hats, a brown straw cloche with a wider brim that’s a little meh and a cute smaller felt cloche with a zigzag band that she wears all the time.

The introduction of Daisy’s new haircut and a uniform that honestly doesn’t look as nice and smooth as the one she had last season. Where’s my double-breasted front closure and why do the tucks in the back look so sloppy? This has one button row framed by a couple pin tucks, and the close-up actually shows that the fabric is striped.

We get a whole four leisure outfits for Daisy this season. What gives? Granted, the first one, the peach dress with the fractal print, is one of which we’ve caught a glimpse in season 5, but she was always wearing her coat over it then. Here it is in all its glory, and minus the apron to frump it down, it doesn’t look bad. Here’s wondering if the strip down at the hem was added because the dress was initially too short for her. The second dress is also peach, but it has a pretty yellowed lace collar to make it fit for a wedding guest. I love the skirt; look at all that gathering around the back! The front of the skirt is kept mostly smooth, even though the top is pin-tucked.

We’re ending on not one, but two darling Tartans. First is, obviously, more peach, and I’m wondering if I would like that outfit better without the hat. I suspect not; I really dislike the collar. It’s on a keyhole neckline, which are generally nice, but it still looks kinda granny-ish. But again, they get me with the skirt. Check out those box pleats! Pleated or gathered skirts seem to be a fairly well-established thing now (thank someone that the plain rectangle skirts didn’t win out), because the second dress also has some visible pleating at the side of the skirt from the drop waist downward. I like the coloring of the second dress better; it doesn’t wash Daisy out quite so much. The collar is also much less dowdy. Me like.

[femmecelworld]

holdover snack for the ‘anointed’ universe / a couple of cool guys series:

helloooooo my beautiful blueberries! (thanks to everyone who commented or submitted a question 💖) I’m going to give y’all something to tide you over until the next meal because I’m not sure when my next story will be done. so from here on out, you’re risking spoilers! beware all ye who enter here, etc

(splitting here just cuz too many long text posts stress me out)

after the conclusion of ‘fairytale’, I know I left things on a bit of a cliffhanger (I have been warning y’all about a romencken divorce, however temporary it might be) so I’ll give you an idea of what’s coming up / some easter eggs you might’ve missed until the next story.

I have said this before on here, but I’m bringing Tabitha back (because I LOVE her and I will not apologize for having correct opinions ♥️) but before you freak out pls remember I said the romencken divorce is temporary. Also, as many of you reflected in your distress in the comments… Mencken is not being a great partner right now or giving Roman what he needs. 1) the premise of their entire situation ofc but 2) Mencken is not capable of the empathy and emotional support Roman needs. He can barely recognize his own flaws and issues, much less support Roman getting help. Roman needs some space so he can heal and focus on himself for a bit. Obviously we are out of canon by now and while one of the great and terrible tenets of a tragedy is how people seem incapable of change or locked into their positions with no way out… I do think the ending of Succession showed that Roman, above anyone else, might be capable of breaking out of that cage. That bittersweet smile about leaving it all behind? He’s going through it right now but he’s clearly wanted a way out for a long time. (see more Tabitha/Roman hc at the end, moving on to other spoilers!)

Roman’s watch. 😈 so i have committed a crime against you all which I will now reveal, because it’s too delicious to wait for the next story:

there is no tracker in Roman’s watch.

yeah. Mencken had it repaired and didn’t replace the tracker. he already has the app in Roman’s phone, he figures, so it’s unnecessary (he’ll have fun figuring that out later). but in his own head, Mencken thinks he’s basically got Roman back and he won’t be needing it anymore with Roman taking a job in the White House and Mencken not traveling as much. So when Mencken gave him the watch back… it wasn’t a trick or a creep move (for once). It was just about wanting Roman to have it 💔

Who was the person on the other end of the phone call? While technically none of your guesses were wrong about who will be returning… it’s Tabitha. He called Tabitha and invited her to London for this NYE party his mother is throwing. (Shiv will be there also)

What’s going to happen, besides Mencken losing it? I know I said spoilers already, but I’m going to try not give away everything. But there’s going to be Roman going to therapy (yay!) and Tabitha gently blackmailing him to be honest in said therapy (FINALLY), Roman thinking over what Caroline said to him, more scenes with Chloe, and also some dark fash stuff with Mencken entering the White House. (and to answer those questions; yes, Mencken will make it into the White House if it’s the last thing he does *ominous music begins*). I’m still toying with what Roman’s going to do, job/life-wise, potentially bringing Matsson back in, and what all of this means for Roman’s relationship with Shiv.

Do you have any of it written yet? I do have some scenes already. Summer ‘23 the first thing I wrote after the scene of Mencken and Roman in the martini bar in ‘after the end of the world’ was him finally having a real conversation with Tabitha. Then there’s some Chloe stuff, some Mencken stuff (where he is predictably so normal and chill), and today I started an Aiden-Dan scene off camera where they discuss their insane boss.

How does Mencken plan to have Roman in the White House, would he live there? Nope! Even Mencken’s audacity wouldn’t extend that far. He is likely envisioning that Roman would be like other senior staff, namely that Roman gets a security clearance and hard pass—this is important because otherwise, Roman would have to sign in and out of visitor logs and go through security every time he comes to the White House. I think we can all imagine why Mencken doesn’t want an official government record (which are also public) of what time Roman’s leaving the White House or how often he visits. That being said, I don’t think even Mencken thinks they’d be able to have sex there on a regular basis, way too many cameras, staff, and security. Not to mention his wife.

But Mencken also genuinely wants Roman as part of his administration. If he thought Roman was only good for sex, he wouldn’t bother buttering him up because they already have that arrangement. If he wanted to pay him off for the Election Night heist or the other things Roman’s done for him, he could give him a cushy ambassadorship to Brazil or Jamaica (most big-time donors are rewarded this way) or put him in charge of some bullshit committee. But Mencken was being honest; he thinks Roman is good at this and he wants him on his team.

Oval Office sex? What do you think I am, some kind of hater? (♥️) Of course there will be kinky Oval Office sex with both of them making gratuitous gross blue dress jokes. Mencken is such a freak; obvi transgressive sex in America’s most sacred room (to republicans) is a must.

What’s going to happen with Mencken and Roman, happy ending? I really don’t want to give away too much, but I think you can all assume how Mencken is going to feel about Roman going back to his ex. So! 🫠

For an ending overall… I’m really torn. Because most of me wants Mr. Fascist to die alone and miserable, just like Ayn Rand. But. Roman loves him. Maybe Roman should get the things he wants, for once. The hazy ending I’m imagining will have everyone (the characters) getting most of what they want if not all.

Will Mencken ever use the ‘L’ word with Roman? Ahh…🥺. So. this exact scene is maybe the third thing I wrote after the finale. I’ll try to answer without spoiling everything… yes and no. He’s been saying it to Roman for a while now. And when this comes up, Mencken addresses it head on. If that helps?

Will Connor start a war with Slovenia? Maybe!

Hope this is enough to soothe y’all for a while! (and fingers crossed it’s not too long)

The rest of my Tabitha/Roman hc:

The other reason for Tabitha returning is 1) she and Roman are still in contact through the end of s4 in the script books. I didn’t know this either until I read them last winter! 2) I just don’t care what people might say, I really think Roman liked her a lot. Like Roman has lesbians beat for U-Hauling speed; he brought her to his sister’s wedding after 4 dates, introduced her to his whole family, and proposed to Tabitha after a MONTH of knowing her. And while she says no, they’re living together when s2 opens. Also… I know this is controversial, sorry! but 2) both the sex things with Gerri happen directly after he fails to consummate a physical relationship with Tabitha. LOOK I also think he loved Gerri, but I just can’t believe he didn’t care about Tabitha, and probably loved her. Roman is kind of a love slut. And 3) let’s contrast his relationship with Grace and his relationship with Tabitha: Grace calls him a cheater at family thanksgiving and purposefully shows the kids the movie that (maybe?) ended his tenure in LA—and Roman dumps her. Not great, but did it have to be a dealbreaker? Whereas Tabitha calls them EUNUCH BESTIES in front of his father, which for Roman was almost bad as the dick pic debacle—and he doesn’t dump her or even appear to be angry with her. This man is in love with her.

I also believe it’s mutual. Tabitha seems very laissez faire and unbothered about life in general, I don’t think that’s an indication of her feelings about Roman. And here’s my biggest piece of evidence: does anyone think Tabitha isn’t doing whatever she wants all the time? If she didn’t want to be with Roman, she would have left. The tenderness in her voice when she says, “I am not uninterested in figuring you out,” 🥺♥️♥️. I think Roman’s refusal to communicate about any of his issues when she kept asking him to just got to be too much for her. But if Roman called her and was like, hey you were right, um, wanna hang out? I can see her giving him another shot.

So! Tabitha’s coming back. However, Tabitha’s not a doormat. While she’s clearly a kinky person without a lot of hangups (re: her entire introduction)... we’ll see how far that extends to the Mencken situation 👀 Because Mencken is not letting his man go without a fight.

[burnt-optimism]

So a theory I've developed that I surprisingly haven't seen anywhere else on the internet (by which I mean here on Tumblr bc I'm not actually anywhere else on the internet these days) is this:

Will Ferrell's character. The Mattel CEO.

This guy. This guy is a Ken who wandered into the real world and stayed there.

Think about it. Despite being framed as very much the villain of the story (at least the part in the Real World), the CEO never has any aggression toward Barbie. He wants her to go back to Barbieland because he's concerned for the ramifications to both realms if she doesn't. When they meet in person he is awed and respectful and-- dare I say it-- understanding of what she's been through since she came to the Real World. He isn't surprised when she doesn't know how to drink real water. He never threatens or commands her. He suggests she get back in the box so she can go home, but even when she evades and asks to go to the bathroom first, he lets her go without question. Because why would he ever question Barbie?

Even when Barbie escapes and the executives are chasing her through the building, the CEO comes face-to-face with her at one point, but does he grab her? No. She screams, and he screams, and they both keep running in opposite directions.

That feels like Kenergy, but maybe that's just me.

Also, he knows how to get to and from Barbieland. I can see how maybe, if it's something that can happen, Mattel executives might get briefed on the possibility of a Barbie entering the Real World and what to do if it happens, but I can't imagine the particulars of the journey itself are common knowledge. Yet this guy knows it immediately.

ALSO also, the bit that sticks out in my mind is his conversation with the other executives as they start making their way to Barbieland (which is now transforming into Kendomland). When they hear about the success of the Mojo Dojo Casa House playsets and the new Ken movie and everything that's changing, he's upset. The other executives even say, "what does it matter if we're still making money?" and he has his whole mini-rant about how that's not the point. He's not in this for the money, he's in it for the little girls, and the imagination, and the power that Barbie should have. Now, that doesn't sound like the opinion of an (admittedly bumbling) executive in the otherwise painfully accurate Real World. It sounds more like a holdover of a Ken's ingrained adoration of Barbie and everything she represents.

Not to mention that Allan explains to Gloria and Sasha (when he's trying to convince them to take him with them to the Real World) that others have left Barbieland and stayed in the Real World. At the time, he's referring specifically to Allans, but who's to say it couldn't happen to a Ken? In the original order of things, Kens aren't much more important than Allans, and might be equally unlikely to shift either world in a noticeable way. And if a Ken did manage to wander into the Real World, is it such a stretch to think he might have had a similar patriarchy awakening as the Ken we know, and also ended up at Mattel (like Barbie did), but instead of being captured, he could have talked his way into a position there (thanks, patriarchy) and worked his way up from there?

And he knows there are no real weapons in Barbieland. And I'm pretty sure he's the only man in the Real World (including Ken) we ever see wearing iconic Barbie pink. And, in the end, he's just happy things got back to normal and he's willing to give Barbie whatever ending she wants.

Anyway, thank you for coming to my TED talk.