#like i had some gripes with the previous season

[beif0ngs]

THEY’RE BACK FOR ONE LAST RIDE

[cherrymoonvol6]

.

[thecatundertheladder]

First off thank you so much for the answer it was a great read. My second question has to do with my biggest gripe with show, that is wu keeping secrets. He never learns his lesson with it from Moro to asphera and the one I hate the most,Kai and nya’s parents. He was Kai’s fathers best friend and he never tells them anything about their parents except fact that they were elemental masters. That secret helped with whole Chen thing and I’m honestly surprised that the two weren’t furious that he didn’t tell them anything. So does he or garmadon tell them anything, and if not how does fsm and garmadon react to that?

You 🤝 me

Fixing plot holes with this au

So Wu not telling people things is a thing that happens a lot in the show, and obviously the reason is that Ninjago didn't plan ahead with their seasons until Dragons Rising. But I believe that the in-universe reasons are a) he didn't these things were important or relevent (I mean the Aspheera incident happened when he was a child so 🤷‍♀️) and b) he's paranoid about over sharing which leads to under sharing.

The whole Morro incident didn't happen in this universe (see: this post) so we don't need to justify that (thank god).

So if we take all that into account it leaves two main issues. Wu not telling them about their parents and not training Nya as a water ninja from the start. So let's get into that.

In this au, the reason Wu didn't tell Nya about her powers is because Lloyd was born too late (this is also the reason tomorrow's tea happened, it was the universe course correcting). He was supposed to be born well before the venom kicked in fully, so he would be a teenager roughly the same age as his guardians when fighting the Overlord. Instead, he was born not long before the venom kicked in and Garmadon was banished to the Underworld.

This meant that by the time the four ninja were beginning their training, they were quickly running out of time. In an effort to insure the four ninja of the prophecy plus the green ninja got enough training Wu deliberately didn’t tell Nya that she had water powers so he would’t have to spend time teaching her instead of the others. Especially since he doesn’t know much about water as an element, since he, garmadon and FSM couldn’t use it. So he also wanted to wait for Nyad before he started anything beyond basic training with Nya.

But by the time the prophecy was over Nya had already made herself as Samurai X and Wu felt bad about potentially destroying it by telling her. It wasn’t until the Preeminent tried to take over Ninjago that Wu finally got the confidence up to tell her.

Garmadon does not approve of Wu’s decision to not tell Nya about her powers at all. He thinks the longer he leaves it the worse it will be when she finally does get told - and she does have to be told, the ocean does not like to be restrained. But he leaves it since Nya is primarily under Wu’s care. FSM agrees with Wu initial decision to not tell her in order to spend as much time training the the other five

And now the previous elemental masters, which I will admit, was harder to work out, but I love a good opportunity for world building and plot hole fixing! In season four Garmadon says the reason that the ninja didn't know about the other EMs was because they were made to feel special. I assume this decision was to motivate them when facing the Ultimate Evil^tm. However, that doesn't really explain why Wu and Garmadon didn't tell them post-defeating the Ultimate Evil^tm.

Wu told all all four og ninja that their powers came from the First Spinjitzu Master, and the thing is in canon, he's technically not lying, he's just missing out the part where they got passed down through generations of elemental masters. In this au, he really isn't lying. The FSM boosted the fours powers so they could protect Lloyd better - some of their powers are directly from them. But moving on...

Ray was Wu's best friend, so when he went missing and Wu didn't have his powers to track him down, he was devasted. I think in part Wu's decision to not tell Kai and Nya about their parents was because he was grieving them still, and grief makes people do strange things. Obviously this is a mistake, as, like you said, it leads to Kai nearly being manipulated by Chen.

Wu not telling Cole about Lily was in a mis-guided attempt to help him salvage his relationship with his father. He had originally assumed that Lou had told Cole but when it became apparent that he hadn't, Wu left it - he didn't want to damage Lou and Cole's relationship further by revealing something that Lou had kept secret.

For Jay and Libber, Wu was aware that Jay didn't know he was adopted, and it was this that partly influenced his decision to not tell any of the ninja about their parents as it would lead to some uncomfortable revelations with Jay.

For Zane and the previous elemental master of ice, it falls into the catagory of simply not relevent. Zane does not have any relation to him, though he does learn about him when the Ninja eventually get sat down and told everything about the previous generation.

And of course Wu (in this au at least) has a problem of forgetting to tell people things. He was under the impression that the ninja all knew about his and Garmadon's heritage and that they also knew the FSM was alive, but of course they didn't.

Garmadon does not like that Wu kept all this a secret, but as I mentioned before he doesn't want to over step his boundaries and tell them. And he also has the problem of forgetting to tell people things - it's hereditary. FSM also does not like that Wu and Garmadon elect to not tell the ninja about the other and previous EMs. They believe that the elemental masters of each generation should be at the very least aquaintances with each other (they're a little biased, the first EMs are as good as family to FSM). But the thing is, between seasons 3 and 5, FSM pays very little attention to Ninjago. They were planning to find Maya and Ray for Wu, Kai, and Nya post Final Battle, but well, they forgot. Immortals - especially FSM - can have very bad time management skills.

Hopefully this covers everything and makes sense but if not just let me know. And feel free to keeps the asks coming because they're very fun to answer!

[afreakingdork]

Soft Spot - Chapter 9

RotTMNT Donatello x Reader

Nothing but a little work under the table in this week’s chapter art by @garbagemilkshake (ALSO IT'S THEIR BIRTHDAY SO YOU BETTER WISH THEM ONE!)

Rated: Explicit

Warnings/Tags: Romance, Established Relationship, Married Couple, Married Life, Aged-Up Mutant Ninja Turtles, Villain Donatello (TMNT), Love, POV Second Person, Babies, Pregnancy, AFAB reader, Vaginal Sex, Rough Sex, Penis In Vagina Sex, Creampie, Breeding Kink, Multiple Orgasms, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Fertility Issues, Pregnant Sex, Pregnancy Kink, Reader-Insert, Cunnilingus, Fellatio, Cum Eating, Turtle Noises (TMNT), I have a Biology Degree and I’m Using it, Menstruation, There WILL NOT be any Miscarriages

Synopsis: First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes the next step about as smooth as the others arrived. The baby-oriented sequel to Weak Spot.

Also available on Ao3

First 💜 Previous

LAST WARNING FOR THE 🍋 UNDER THE CUT. MINORS DNI!

Donnie was skulking around like a cartoon villain. While you were busy finishing a show you were watching, you could sense him moving around. He wasn’t being invasive about it and you only really noticed him during lulls of action. He’d abandoned watching alongside you hours ago after the plot hadn’t interested him. For a while he toiled about on his computer until he inquired about bed. You had only two episodes to go in the season and replied that you were going to finish. He pecked you goodnight and you had figured that would be it.

He appeared to shut off the lights and tuck himself in. You had lowered the television volume for his sake and he’d been silent right up until he appeared in the corner of your vision checking in. You said nothing as you were relatively absorbed and it wasn’t unlike him to check a run time. He was always more prone to sleep when you joined him so you thought he might be waiting for you until he switched sides of the couch. From there he peeked again and it was obvious he wasn’t checking the screen.

He was looking at you in a not so pointed manner.

You tried to keep your lips in order through the duration of the final episode, but it was hard not to be amused by the way he crept all around the living room and kitchen. He never once interfered with your watch though you were losing rapid interest. The plot hadn’t come together as you’d hoped so you were mentally counting down the minutes until the credits rolled. You sank back amongst the final scroll of text with your mouth quirked to one side. You dully thought about the writer’s intention when Donnie finally coiled around the couch into full view.

“Couldn’t sleep?” You asked genially.

He had a hunch to his form and only looked between you and the TV.

“Too loud?” You wondered and moved aside so he could join you on the couch if he wanted.

He didn’t move further. “How was it?”

“Eh…” You tipped your head. “The other seasons were way better. The plot holes kept piling up and I don’t get why they wasted time on some of the side plots when there were still major plot points to deal with. Oh, and the recons-!”

Donnie lifted into better posture and seemed to gape.

He hadn’t meant to actually prompt you.

He clearly wanted something else.

He also completely failed at being coy so now you determined he was going to listen to your rant.

You went through all your gripes with more growing like fungi as you went on until he eventually was forced to join you.

You loved that he accepted his pseudo punishment. “So yeah… kind of a bummer.”

He nodded slowly and thoughtfully.

“You were right to skip out.” You sighed.

“Apologies.”

“Yeah…” You glanced at the time to find it teetering around 1am. “So, what were you up to?”

It took him a moment of processing before he remembered. “Ah.”

You waited and rested your head against the couch cushions.

“The lab.”

Your attention lifted.

“Would you like to go?”

By all indication, he meant now so you asked as much.

“Breaking and entering is considered through force and lack of authorization. We would enter through the front door and I have full access.”

“Isn’t it closed?”

“Yes.” He grinned.

“This is-”

“Surprising?” He had a smile to him that begged for validation.

“So spontaneous.” You cooed encouragement for him.

He ate it up with the slightest wiggle. “I must admit to some planning.”

“Oh?”

“I saw that Stockman requested time off. His protocols are coded so there’s no replacement. We only need thwart a computer.”

“Stockman…” You couldn’t remember who that was.

“It also regards our honeymoon.”

Now that you knew very well and switched topics since the other didn’t seem important. “What about it?”

“Do you recall our successful chase?”

A small thrill flickered in your chest. “I do.”

“I never elaborated on my deception.”

“Didn’t really matter when we fucked in the alley and then on that roof.” You teased.

Donnie’s gaze flickered away both to chase the memory and with some amount of guilt.

He had been on the mend, but he still hadn’t quite recovered from getting his hopes up that you might be pregnant.

He had come around on regular intimacy, but the sexual sort had continued to be, as of yet, off the table.

“Okay, let me think…” You shifted your posture.

You didn’t mind as he had all the time in the world to process.

“The alley…” You mouthed the phrase while running through the chase. “You were there, but I couldn’t see you. Is that it?”

“Yes.” He gave into a full smile.

You melted at it. “Let’s hear it.”

“I’d like to show you.”

“Oh, at the lab!” You connected the dots.

He gave a single sharp and excited nod.

“If you were waiting for Stockguy to take time off then we aren’t actually allowed in, are we? Permission or not.”

“The lab is closed…” Donnie led.

You watched with a knowing gaze.

“They could consider us violating protocol.”

You blinked once and it came with a small dose of fear. “Like with lab-aided fertility?”

Donnie grew similarly solemn. “Yes.”

“Are… we…?” You thought you had both agreed to not violate those measures.

“No.”

Your worries were immediately dashed, but you felt a little hollow as they disappeared too quickly. “Then why be sneaky?”

“What I’d like to do has no bar, but it is also both an act that most consider unsavory. Not something the employees or I would like stumbled upon.”

You couldn’t imagine anything else, but sex.

“You are for my eyes only.” He went on, cementing your thoughts.

“You did say it wasn’t in the biodome…” You remembered.

He wriggled the faintest amount. “Your answer?”

“It’s late…” You pretended to look forlorn toward the clock.

Donnie drooped so obviously that you had to fight every ounce of your will not to laugh at how adorable he was.

You turned your head to him and could only warp it into a cocksure grin. “But I suppose it sounds fun.”

Your husband gave a testy little trill at having fallen for your ploy and pounced at you.

You squeaked happily under his pecking kiss assault.

“I only need your tech gauntlet for a moment.” He eventually got out between nuzzles.

“What for?” You offered him your arm.

He slipped your bracelet off. “I will loop the necessary of Stockman’s footage once we’re inside the building, closed system, but on approach I require the image scrambled.”

“Won’t your keycard ping as you when you scan it?”

“Someone will call to inquire within 10 minutes.” Donnie pressed a few buttons and had your gauntlet syncing with his.

“Is that a problem?”

“No, I’ve picked up necessities in off hours before.”

“Then why all the effort?”

“Anonymity. My business.”

“I don’t understand…?”

“A moment.” He finished and reapplied your gauntlet to your arm.

You tilted your head as you waited.

“My gauntlet will take mapping footage to prepare stand-in imagery. Yours will initiate the feed interruption. I don’t want you ID'd. I don’t want you seen. If Stockman were available, he would see the temporary distortion. Since he is not, I will replace the footage, when I have access and before he is aware. The end result will appear as though only I entered.”

“Your eyes only.” You repeated what he had said.

He smiled warmly and caught your lips.

You kissed into him for one heavy press before releasing. “Should I change into anything in particular?”

He looked down at your pajamas and back up. “No need.”

You rounded out your mouth to show excitement without voicing it and you both prepared to leave. To match you, Donnie similarly left in his loungewear, but he stuck his coat over the top of his ensemble. You had never seen him throw the Burberry on over a tank top and you took a moment to look it over. He stood still to let you and you decided you weren’t sure about the pair as you shoved an arm through your puffer. It had only been a few weeks since you purchased it with S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. and you liked it quite a bit. It still looked a bit hokey, but the downy warmth it provided wasn’t something you would trade in the lingering cold.

The moment you exited the apartment you started to sneak similarly to the image Donnie had set. You exaggerated taking steps with your whole leg and held your wrists up limp in front of you. At first your mate stared on, unenthused, until you turned a corner and checked back with him playfully. The game of spy clicked for him and he joined in by slinking up without nearly the same posture. He shifted the tone more to one for covert ops and together you crept around. With hand signals that meant nothing you decided to avoid the elevator and hit the stairs. Donnie took one look over a banister before he held out an arm for you. As if he were about to shoot off some grappling hook, he held you close and hopped down.

Your stomach shot into your throat and Donnie levied the fall by hopping off a few floors instead of all the way down even though he was capable. Your heart beat an excited speed when you landed on the ground floor and you tried not to lose your cool secret agent exterior as you signaled that you would check the door. Donnie hung back and you cracked the opening to the lobby. It was predictably empty and you waved him through.

He came and together you strolled out of the building as if you’d made out like bandits when in reality you had just exited your residence. You let the joy of your game hit you the moment the cold outdoor air nipped your nose. Donnie joined in your merriment with a churr and the car sat idling with a puff of warm inviting smoke coming from the muffler.

Inside the cabin was glorious heat and you unzipped our jacket. Donnie followed suit and instructed you on what to expect once you got to the lab. It was bathed in purple neon and rolling through somewhat empty streets that Donnie urged you to stay on his left side. That was the location of his primary tech gauntlet and would make for the optimal footage. He didn’t anticipate running into anyone, but you were to duck behind him if that were the case and he would cover you if necessary.

Reaching the lab, you felt exhilarated. Unlike your trips to the Hidden City where there was seemingly danger at every turn, there was little peril here other than a scolding. Spencer had been keeping you posted in his quest to get your pregnancy granted, but there had been little movement. The man had also assured you that things like this took time and it hadn’t phased Donnie so you guessed that was true.

You had a vague notion that if you were caught here then there was always a chance it could delay your favored decision. They might try to say you were violating terms even though, as far as you knew, that wasn’t true. You were sure Donnie would also somehow back up the actual footage that he was going to tamper with. If things went that South you bet he would offer at least part of it as evidence and with his usual lack of shame, he’d probably admit to whatever act you were in for.

Something clandestine was about to occur.

You still didn’t know what. 

You had almost forgotten amongst the infiltration plans.

You were left wondering as Donnie tapped your shoulder to signal it was time. You nodded your readiness and he swept out of the vehicle first. He snapped the lapels of his coat clean and you zipped your jacket back up to follow him. You stood dutifully on his left and he appraised you with affection before approaching the building. The lights shined brightly on the exterior and Donnie moved to a far door as the others were gated. It was clearly an access door for this sort of afterhours entry and had a card scanner which Donnie swiped through. The door beeped and lurched with purple instead of green and you passed through.

The lobby was sparse in comparison to the sleek feel during the day. You thought a guard might be at the reception desk, but it was chillingly empty and partially dark. The only lights on were probably enough to illuminate security tapes and you tried not to fall behind as Donnie headed straight toward the elevators.

His phone rang as he was reaching out to scan one into operation.

He was smooth in removing the device with his right hand and answered in the motion of bringing it to his head. “You’ve reached Donatello.”

You heard a man’s voice on the line, but couldn’t make out what it was on the opposite side as you.

“Yes.” Donnie turned and looked pointedly at a wall.

You tried to peer at it without exposing yourself, but you didn’t see anything. 

“I’m going to use the testing facility.”

Donnie’s unused hand flapped once.

You tucked your fingers into it and he squeezed.

“Yes. Shall I account for how long you pester me?”

You could hear anger turn up on the line.

“You delay genius.”

You still couldn’t hear, but there was a sharp retort that caused your mate ooze hatred.

Donnie looked forward to the elevator and from his profile you could tell he was using all his willpower not to spit venom.

You heard a taunting whoop from the phone.

“Your parent’s anniversary?” Donnie’s lip ticked with a wicked grin. “They recently moved, East Elmhurst. You’re attending a dual celebration which, congratulations are in order. A family owned grocer of 50 years. Shall I recite the address of the resort you’re staying? Your personal room number? Your parents? How about their social security numbers? I can overturn the entire booking in an instant. I can upend such jubilation. What a headache for the occasion.”

There was stark silence and you tucked closer to Donnie.

He appeared to shield you.

This time you heard the man on the line. “One wrong move. Never forget.”

“Review the footage as you please.” Donnie dismissed the man. 

The call terminated and he put his phone in his pocket.

A swift exchange, he then swiped his key card through the slot.

The elevator was predictably on the ground floor and opened up.

He walked you in being careful to keep you on his left the entire time.

It placed him in front of the panel where he hit a floor and then swept a hand down to open the control panel. It took a few flicks of his finger and he kept his body otherwise stationary. The elevator door closed around the time Donnie revealed some circuitry. With one hand, he unearthed a port and plugged something into it. He then placed everything back as it was and went idle.

You waited beside him with growing concern.

He checked his gauntlet once and you saw a checkmark pass over the screen. “The entire company…”

You didn’t make a noise.

Your mate’s eyes flashed red. “All of them. Sent a notice without me attached!”

You searched his face. 

He shook with his fangs bared. “All made aware of my failures! All to monitor me! They turn my company against me!!!”

He panted from the effort and tried to settle himself. 

You ventured closer.

He pulled you right into a hug.

You squeezed him tight.

“The footage is doctored. You’re free to act.”

“Who was that? What did they say?”

“Stockman.” Donnie hissed. “He found it to kindly notify me of the Genius Built company wide alert. It notified all that one Donatello was barred from genetic testing equipment and materials for the time being, ect and so forth.”

“You threatened him.” You understood now and you began to remember what you were once told about this man. “Keep your enemies close…”

“I should ruin him. I should-!”

You shook your head against his plastron.

You felt him look down at you.

“I don’t know who he is, but he sounds like an asshole.”

You reached your floor and Donnie moved you just outside the elevator so it could shut.

“Maybe you should later. I’d need to know more, but this is for us, isn’t it? Fuck that guy.”

He didn’t disarm, but he relented a tiny bit.

“It sucks, but I guess it makes sense that they warned the employees.” You pulled your face from him, but didn’t look up. “I mean you couldn’t even get needles. Spencer told you that you couldn’t use the labs. He might have coordinated the email and cc’d some bigwig as proof. It’s probably all part of getting us the approval we want, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t really suck!”

Donnie popped a single irate click.

“Sure.” You finally met his eye. “Maybe it sounds like they’re talking shit about your manhood, but we both know you’re virile. It’s genetics stopping us! It’s always going to be your company. You’ll knock me up and then you can parade me around. We’ll go to that security room and I’ll tell that stock twerp off.”

Donnie watched you with an empty expression for a single second before all his weight came down on you.

You had to laugh as he rooted down to kiss your cheek and your knees buckled. “Too heavy!”

“I adore you.”

“Donnie!” Your legs were seconds away from giving out.

He gave a mating call before he relented.

It was just in time and you shook a little as he retreated.

He checked you over with more levity.

You were glad for it and caught your breath before wondering, “Testing facility?”

He gave you a confirming glance before he ushered you along. Not dissimilar to the lab floor, you were scanned in one room before walking out into a softly lit hallway. You imagined it was bright during the day, but it currently stood as a repeating pod to the far wall. Both walls were lined with either doors or glass and Donnie walked you straight down to the fifth one on the right.

It opened to a pitch black room and your husband disappeared into the void without hesitation. You clung to his coat as your eyes weren’t adjusted and he trended toward the side where he hit what sounded like a switch. The metallic click then blinked with fluorescents that woke up through a pane of glass. You pulled away from your mate and realized you were in an observation room. The lights had turned on in the attached room where someone was meant to be watched. When you looked through the pane of glass, all that stretched before you was a white cube. You guessed that made sense given that it was for testing and you reviewed what this room had to offer. There were a myriad of controls on a panel that you assumed changed variables along with some scant chairs for the observers. 

With nothing more to look at you frowned. 

You thought your surprise would have been waiting. 

Studying the empty space for a moment longer, you turned to Donnie.

He had a smile waiting.

You recalled your honeymoon and wondered if you just couldn’t see the object. “Well…”

“I will be observing.”

You had a feeling and nodded your understanding. “Okay. Should I go to the other room?”

He had a pause to his features.

“What?” You reached for him.

“My trusting mate…” He mumbled awe in a small way as if he had to say his thoughts aloud.

You slipped close enough so you could do a hop and peck him on the cheek. “Who wouldn’t trust you?”

“Everyone.” He eyed you playfully. “You often included.”

Your pupils slid to the top of your vision as he wasn’t wrong. “Sure, but that depends on how sneaky you’re being. Whatever we’re doing now you’ve been planning-”

He had a complaint to him.

“-but totally pulled off in a spontaneous way.” You rushed to correct yourself.

He ate it up like praise.

“You’re not trying to trick me. It’s a surprise that you’ve worked hard on so, of course you have my full confidence.”

He popped a few deafening mating calls as he swept you up.

He spun you around a few times before he set you down to cuddle you.

“We’ll never test like this!” You giggled.

He kissed you deeply.

For a moment, you forgot all about whatever Donnie had planned.

Donnie seemed to do the same because he ushered you towards a control panel. Once your legs bumped it, you hiked up in preparation at the same time your mate lifted you. You were sat down amongst little knobs and made out. You must have flicked something in your jostling, but cared little as Donnie’s tongue invaded your mouth. It was an expert slide against yours to taste and you wound your own appendage to his. He churred sweetness into your jawline and pulled back to peck you.

You knew he would head toward your mating mark and tipped to unveil it. Your clothes still covered it and Donnie slid down your zipper in a tantalizing drop. It was unraveling to your ears and you had to yank his mouth back to yours in an interruption. He gave you a few more rolling presses before he trailed for his intended destination. It came with a thump hard to the ground which shook through your delirium as he nosed against your shoulder. There was then another clink beside your head and you blinked more lucidity as that was exactly where you were looking.

There was nothing there.

Donnie pushed your collar back with his beak at the same time as you lifted a curious hand up.

You touched metal where there was nothing and twitched away in surprise.

Your husband caught movement and checked once before the scene made sense to him. “You’ve noticed.”

“What…?” You groped the empty air and felt cool metal once again.

Now that it was under your fingertips, you could grasp it and, with an encircling of your hand, you identified one of Donnie’s mechanical arms.

Only they weren’t visible. “This is wild…”

“Our honeymoon.” He reminded you.

“Invisibility tech…?” You felt down to where the mech arm’s claws were and they held your hand when you reached them.

He pressed a grin into your cheek.

“What are we testing?” You turned an owlish look on your partner.

“I integrated some of B.E.D.F.A.S.T.’s tech…”

The claw retracted and you felt soft silicone press the obvious shape of a dildo into your palm. “Oh!”

He churred caramel.

“B.E.D.F.A.S.T. I can’t see…”

“My trusting mate.” He encouraged with a nosing.

“You making me feel good when you aren’t up for it.”

He nodded.

You squeezed the dildo to feel it wasn’t very long. 

Following it to the base you could sort of feel part of it was still sheathed within the arm.

You could feel Donnie waiting with growing nerves.

You lingered for a second longer before turning. 

“Are all four arms here?”

He nodded with a hint of shyness to him.

“They’ll wrap me up?” You tried to keep your rapid pulse out of your words.

It was still there as he bobbed again with growing confidence.

“Let’s do it.” You sent Donnie hooded heat.

He chirped one excited time before he evacuated your space.

You hopped off the control panel that he moved to man. 

With his figure hunched, his coat dipped and spread as his battle shell presumably removed itself from his carapace. 

“Oh, that’s going to follow me, huh?”

“Yes.” Donnie’s grin was insatiable and he flicked a few switches on the board.

“But I’m not going to know where?” You swiped a testing hand to the air and felt nothing.

“No.”

“Same safe word?”

“Gargoyle, if at all necessary. It will also respond to the S.O.S. signaling.”

“But that’s our two-way test. That we’re both okay.”

“Yes.” Donnie looked at you, nonplused.

You chewed your lip giddily.

Donnie made a big show of pushing a button and you heard an intercom echo of a door unlocking. “Audio feed from the other room. I have full control.”

You took one excited deep breath before heading toward the door. You didn’t hear the battle shell pursue you, but you felt it was. You could almost picture it crawling out like a bug through the cracks in the door that you left to close on its own. It trailed with winding arms and crept along as you went one door down in the hall. It opened immediately with a tug and you threw it wide so the arms had space to easily enter.

There were faint lines marking off cubes within the white walled space. It was a stark contrast to the dark toned observatory and you felt the sterility in the form of a testing environment. Since Genius Built dealt in all kinds of products, you figured there were all sorts of different testing facilities. You had a feeling this room was for live subjects and you approached the center of the room for the sake of it. A long mirror stretched out on the wall that connected the two rooms and you waved at your image.

Your visage disappeared and in a shift of light you saw Donnie manning the control panel.

“You can turn it off.” You spoke the obvious.

He nodded.

“Can I hear you?”

He made it obvious he was pressing a button before his voice was fed through another intercom. “My feed must be activated, yours is continuous.”

“And Stock asshole can’t see us?”

“From his feeds I rode the elevator up alone, took this same room, and am currently testing out a small spider-like device.”

“Is that real?”

“The footage is not, but the device is, yes.”

“Huh.” You shrugged.

“I will leave in approximately one hour.”

“Is that all the time we have?” You tried not to sound too sad.

“No.” Donnie’s voice came through sharply. “We have until just before Genius Built opens. Leeway should give us 20 minutes to evacuate before first on staff at 7am. Meaning we have about three hours.”

“Should I ask how the invisibility tech works?” You waved your arms again to see if you could catch the mech arms.

Donnie chuffed from the speaker. “The usual advancement. Not dissimilar to how I scrambled your existence on the way up. Take surrounding footage and feed it through specialized micro cameras lining an object’s exterior. Trick the cones in one’s eyes and the same with video sensors.”

“And this is what you did in Italy…?” You walked out with your arms outstretched.

“The prototype, yes.”

“All to chase me?”

“What other use would it have?” He almost sounded bored.

“I feel like being invisible is pretty advantageous to a villain.”

“And where’s an active one of those?” He spoke with irony.

You gave him a dull look.

He smiled in return.

“I’m also guessing this isn’t for Genius Built which is double why it’s under wraps.”

“Shall I say something about not wanting the technology to fall into the wrong hands?”

“When it’s in yours…?” You fluttered your lashes.

A claw flicked your cheek and you sputtered.

Donnie laughed only for a moment before he lifted his hand from the button so you couldn’t hear him.

You swatted at the air and found the mech arms were gone so you sent him a sour look.

He tried to keep himself under control, but mirth leaked when he hit the button again. “Ready to begin?”

“Yes!” You huffed.

He nodded once and you watched him release the comm.

You then stood for a dreary moment waiting for something to happen.

When nothing did, you checked in with Donnie and found him watching with rapt attention.

You should have guessed he would play this like a cat and mouse game.

You took one deep breath before you turned to observe the room more closely. It was as you expected with three white walls trimmed with squares and the one observation glass. The floor and ceiling matched the pale walls exactly and the squares were the same width as the door so from the interior it appeared to disappear. You approached it and ran a hand over to feel the seam. It was still there and you figured if you went to escape with any purpose then Donnie would let you out.

You turned and trailed with your hand along the wall for the sake of it. Another glance up and you noted that the lights were mounted flush in the ceiling. You bet the whole room was reinforced and soundproof. It spoke of evil big corporations and to a point you supposed that was true. Spencer spoke as much and with Donnie’s hand there was a moment’s notice in which anything at Genius Built could turn nefarious.

You supposed that was a little like the scenario you were in and you rounded the back wall.

You still couldn’t believe those purple poison tipped claws could be replaced with sex toys and there were now four of them on the prowl. Your husband wasn’t wearing his glasses so you instead bet he had some sort of mechanism in the glass to see exactly where the battle shell was. He also had full mental control over it which added to his participation even if he was hands off.

It was similar to B.E.D.F.A.S.T. in more ways than just inspired designs.

Did it have different sized toys?

Was it self-lubricating?

Were you about to experience double penetration?

You hadn’t worked up to that, but if there were different sized toys then there was a likely chance that now was as good a time to start as any. You stretched both mentally and physically at the thought. The delay meant more possibilities sprouted as your imagination ran wild. You were thinking about how a position would work against the ceiling when a claw tip tapped your nose. You looked out clear across the empty room and it arched slowly around your cheek to show you where it was heading. You held still until it cupped your jaw before you leaned into it, totally relaxed.

You saw Donnie perk with emotion behind the glass.

You reached up for one false swipe before you caught the arm in the next. Following along the track of the limb, it held steady as you traced the length for a better hold. You could hear the metal undulating from this distance if you listened close enough. It rolled beneath your touch before curling close to your body. You stroked downward to hold it as it slicked heavily against your torso.

You sent Donnie a loving look before you returned your attention to the thing you couldn’t see.

It traced a claw tip from the junction of your jaw around your neck. You shivered and hugged the arm you had close as it traveled a light line to your spine. It tested weight there, soft pricks with that razor sharp tip until it pulled at your collar. With the width of the arm, it would surely stretch out your top and you weren’t particularly in the mood to go home wrapped only in Donnie’s coat for once. You urged the arm back and it relented away from you so you could pull at your top.

It was a quick shimmy of both that and your bottoms until you were nude and you watched as what must have been a pinch of another claw caught the clothes and tossed them into a corner. You giggled and tried to catch the arms again, but they’d moved out of your way. You couldn’t imagine that they’d gone too far and chased them with open arms only to find nothing. You pouted, a little put out, and folded your arms at your hips to give Donnie a stern look.

Your mate watched on with a love-struck expression from the booth.

You rolled your eyes at him and did a slow rotation, now listening for that churn of metal. You identified it for a split second to your right, but resisted a flashing turn to catch it. Instead you held firm for a consistent noise. There were a few snaps of metal and even one soft plod that said the bulk of the battle shell settled, but it wasn’t until you heard a roll of movement points coiling to your left that you struck. 

You caught the edge of the arm and it tried to evade you at the same time.

The fast revolution of metal rubbed against your hands like rope burn and you recoiled with a hiss.

“Are you alright?” Donnie’s voice appeared urgent.

“Yeah…” You reviewed your digits first before showing him. “No blood, just red.”

“I’ll calibrate.” He was leaned forward, almost pressed to the glass.

“Sure…” You shrank back into yourself and flicked your hands to help cool them off.

Worried metal slipped over your shoulders to hold you.

“I’m okay…” You told it with a turn of your head.

Prickled points tapped your fingertips to check.

“I feel it.” You pressed back. “No harm done.”

A second arm wrapped opposite around your waist.

You chuckled. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”

It held you and you looked at Donnie.

He had apology written on him and you gave him a scolding smile.

His eyes lowered as you did and you kissed at where you knew metal to be.

It held nervously still under your grip and you remembered the first time you had used B.E.D.F.A.S.T. All those years ago, your first chase had left you both scarred and it had been integral in you finding one another again. His emotions filtered through his tech as it was an extension of himself. Sending more reassurances through kisses, you turned amongst the coil of arms so they’d hold more of you.

They came with and it felt like a sort of dance as they revolved to get more of you. You were both a lead and a follow as you directed the movement, but they swirled to keep you spinning. Just shy of getting dizzy, they then dipped you and you felt secure enough to let go. You threw your hands out and what had to be the last two claws slipped between your fingers to hold you.

You giggled amongst the machinery and felt it pull you. You had a sense of where the pack they were sprouting from was and moved in the opposite way. Playfully the arms followed after, trying to get you on their tempo, but you moved without coordination. It meant the arms were a step behind in catching you and you were goading them on purpose.

You got only a few steps away before you were swept off your feet by a coil around your legs. It started from your ankles and, in a snake’s rotation, it wrapped all the way up your hips so you could be comfortably held up. You laughed brightly there as this was your goal and felt along the pipe of one of the arms until you found the tip.

“It’s all modeled after you, right?”

Donnie didn’t respond and you looked to see him focused on watching.

Your smile slipped into something more besotted. “You’ve never seen me like this from this angle, hm? Without anything in the way?”

He nodded slowly, entranced.

“The cocks...” You felt until you were between the claws and into their approximate of a palm where the attachments were housed. “… in here. These are modeled after you? You always do that.”

He gave the same distant agreement.

“Smaller, of course.” You returned your attention to the blank space. “Can’t have me getting stretched by anything, but your actual cock.”

You rubbed your finger into the metal and felt the split where it could open up.

It slowly cracked open and you immediately dipped a finger in to find the silicone.

You could also see a bit of a darkened circle as the cameras weren’t lining the inside of arms.

You didn’t need sight to recognize Donnie’s length, but you caught a glimpse of a familiar looking purple cockhead before it poked out and disappeared into the open air. You closed your eyes as there was no need for them and dipped forward with only a minor fear of poking your eye out. The claws gently rotated and bent backwards to save your face and you led with an open mouth.

It pressed the flattened tip of the dildo to your tongue and you rounded your lips to capture more of it. It took a single suck and some other mechanism for it to drop out what you imagined was the full length. It had a heavy weight and resisted bending in a way that made you think it was attached by a rod inside. That made sense to you for what it was and you bobbed your head to feel how much of it you could take.

It was a decent amount that paled in comparison to Donnie’s size and with one deep inhale you were able to get straight down to the metal at the base of the arm. You sucked in oxygen as you retracted so you wouldn’t have to pant and felt it move around you. Oddly lifelike without your vision, it curled across your cheek and you lapped at its warmth. The metal core or the machinery itself, you weren’t sure which, was adding to the real sensation as it had decent heat. It didn’t scald, but read alive to you and it even twitched when you tipped your head to lick at the glans.

You caught Donnie’s face during the exchange as his mouth was parted in denied desire.

You wondered if he would break from his show to join you and nuzzled into the cock only to feel another slide wet against your back. You felt one of your earlier questions answered and you arched reflexively as the lube was warm. It dripped with a honey-like consistency that was thinned by a sense of pre-cum. It read need, but since an arm was coiling all the way around your hips, there was no way for it to reach another of your holes. It seemed content instead to press into the dip of your lower back and the bump and grind of it soon fell in time with the cock in your mouth.

What did it look like from Donnie’s perspective?

Was your mouth openly agape and violated by nothing but air?

Did your cheeks hollow and spit drip out even though he could see your molars?

Did your body writhe as you floated with slick cropping up for nothing?

That and more you assumed.

You figured you only needed one thing to complete the gang bang imagery.

With one last squeeze to the arm you were holding, you released and put your limbs out.

In one needy flex of all your fingers, the battle shell got the message and you felt two more cocks slide into your hands. You moaned loudly at the one fucking your throat and grabbed both for a lethal squeeze. It was nothing more than prop work, but the heat and beading tips had reality skewing. You pumped the lengths in tandem and felt there was a faint give to their bounce. It read flesh and you chirped wanton out of habit for your mate.

He wasn’t here in anything more than remarkable shape and the only thing you were saddened by was there was no way any of the dildos could spread like him. That technology was a little too biological and very much only branded to Donatello. For that, you were thankful even if it did rob you of one of your favorite mechanisms.

The second of which you noticed as the cocks in your hands grew sticky with supposed pre. Donnie had failed to add knots to any of the devices and you might have laughed were you not working your neck furiously on the appendage in front of you. As you bobbed and the silicone rolled deliciously over your tongue, you doubted the bulge at his base wasn’t something he could recreate. The whole knotting concept was an age’s old fetish and surely available in the sex toy market. That meant Donnie omitted it for another reason, which you bet, again, had to do with not stretching you out by anything other than him.

You thought it silly as you swirled your tongue and you felt a certain type of readying pulse bounce that you usually akinned to cumming.

That seemed like a silly concept until on a backswing there was a sudden gush of fluid in your mouth.

You coughed it out on reflex and the cock disappeared to give you space.

You looked down to find what looked exactly like jizz leaking down your chest.

You could see it. 

You swirled the excess fluid with a swish of saliva in your mouth and found it to be an unmistakable flavor.

“Donatello, my love?” You spoke slowly.

There was no response and you turned toward the glass. 

Your mate had his hand down the front of his body and, even though the control panel blocked his lower body, you knew he was pleasuring himself.

“Donatello…!” You sang a teasing song. “Oh, where is my sweet mate?” 

He was sheepish as he looked up and pressed the intercom button with only his free hand.

You spoke before he could. “Is this thing filled with your cum?”

“The shell houses a reservoir.”

“It’s…!” You weren’t mad, but your features pinched at how audacious this all was. “How much?”

“Fluid does it hold or-?”

“How much…?” You reminded yourself again you weren’t angry. 

You truly weren’t. 

There was still a part of you that felt deceived. 

Not because he had actually tricked you, but because he had been getting off in some capacity without you. 

There was nothing wrong with that. 

You didn’t mind. 

You knew it was the vestiges of the pregnancy debacle. 

Cum had been a precious resource.

It needed to be in you in a particular way. 

Your hips had to be an exact angle, hoisted up by a pillow, so you could take it. 

You had to take it at a certain time. 

It was a never ending list of aggravations and now a load had been wasted in your mouth. 

You didn’t actually feel that way, but the rest of your sentence leaked out. “... of this did you dump into it instead of me…?”

Donnie made a startled sound. 

You squeezed the cocks in your hand. “When did you…?” 

“While you were watching your show.” He admitted and clearly released his member.

“Tonight!?” That wasn’t the timeline you expected. 

He nodded.

You thought for a moment and sighed. “Floor please.”

You were set onto your feet.

You walked straight up to the glass. “I just…. want to make sure I understand… You both planned this and it was random, right?”

“Yes.” He had your full attention.

“Did you actually get bored of the show or did you ditch to do this?”

“Both and neither. I was aware of Stockman’s upcoming absence and its advantage for weeks. Intention plagued me. Would you be ready? Would I? Would not aid spontaneity? I had yet to make a decision. To this evening and the lackluster program. I had every intention of sleeping.”

You watched on attentively. 

His gaze lowered. “I attempted, but I couldn’t stop thinking of this. Of you.”

“How did you…? Or where…?”

His head tipped to one side. “The B.E.D.F.A.S.T. inspired battle shell attachments were completed tech. Ready to deploy. What wasn’t was the reservoir. As I lie imagining you floating and pleasured, I saw through fantasy to completion. The satisfaction of you filled and coated. In an entranced fit, I devised how that might be possible. B.E.D.F.A.S.T. already had a reservoir that was as of yet unused and my tech has cross compatibility.”

The chilling cum on your chest felt heavy. 

“Aroused, I silently took the tank the bathroom and re-ran my simulation with you as fodder.” He finally looked at you. 

You wiped up a bit of spunk with your thumb and popped the globule into your mouth. 

“Again and again…” His pupils expanded as he watched. 

It was bitter, so you drank it down fast.

When you returned, you found your mate squirming slightly.

You hadn’t sucked him off in months so that made sense.

It all did.

His concerns. 

His secrecy. 

His creeping around. 

He wanted you so badly even though he wasn’t ready. 

His fantasies had sent him to masturbate. 

He collected the spill both for the answer he had given and because he probably felt equally guilty about wasting it. 

With his mixture of pre-planning and impulse, he concocted a scenario in which his desires played out both with his participation and not. 

“Is the cum viable…?”  You wondered.

“It has been kept at my bodily temperature, but I’ve never examined such.”

You softened with a wistful sigh. “You’re trying so hard.”

“An attempt was made.”  

“If this sperm did work, would you be upset?”

He openly thought about it.

You waited and wiped a bit of drying jizz off yourself.

“No, I don’t think I would be.”

“It is you.” You agreed while examining the stickiness of your hand and your lack of forethought of where it could go.

“Wipe it wherever. The room will be disinfected.”

You chose the glass for a smear.

You could still see his pupil expand with interest.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” He shook himself back to his senses. “Any other questions, comments, or concerns? I can alleviate further surprise.”

“Nah. I’m good.” You took a few leading steps back. “Fuck me full. I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to see inside me when this thing cums.”

His hand slammed into the console to cut off the audio and you were immediately yanked into the air. Far less delicate than before you were spun around so your sex was on display for him. You didn’t need to spread as the arms caught your ankles to do it for you. Claws crept up and sank into your ass cheeks without a penetrating pierce. It had you flexing and arching to a gasp where a wet member slid against your slit. You tried to grind on it, but a coiling limb wound sturdy circles around your waist. You were lifted higher until your head hung back and you could see the dizzying distance to the floor.

You were floating a dangerous height to fall and despite feeling the components holding you up, your stomach clenched with concern. It fell in line with the flip that took up space as a dildo tested your entrance. It pumped gently, getting a feel for what you could handle and you tried to flex to grab it. The arms held you tightly, giving you little breathing room until they adjusted you for better entry. It was a slight lowering of your upper body that put your sex further on view just in time for the cock to push in.

You felt the pulse of it, one you read as high excitement and the spread where you could be viewed internally. You almost thought some sort of flashlight might appear to give Donnie a better view, but instead the toy only sank in partially before it pulled out to predictably work you up. It was a gentle stroking at first, surely showing your mate exactly how you accommodated for him before it sped up along with your juices.

The claws tucked further into the thick of your ass until it was stinging around the pull of your asshole. You worried he might add another toy then, but your concern spun out as a new cock appeared to instead press up perpendicular to you to stimulate your clit. You cried out Donnie’s name as that flat glans shape cupped and rubbed at the same time. Your body shot confused signals about how your partner had too many cocks in a way that you found comedic until the member teasing your clit trended downward.

It pressed against the leak from the cock fucking you and warning bells went off as they seemed to be trying to occupy the same space. A warning chirp popped off your lips and you thought Donnie might respond, but your mouth was stuffed up with another dildo. It cut off your oxygen flow for a messy moment until you remembered your nose and inhaled drivel.

A few snorts got your breathing clear and you could still feel both cocks rocking against your sex in tandem. The second didn’t seem to be trying to enter, but instead, as your immediate worries fell off, was pushing out against your labia. You had to keep reminding yourself that all of this wasn’t visible so if something moved on your body all it would reveal was more flesh. It was x-ray vision without any sort of light spectrum manipulation and a revving had the length of an arm lift and press roiling to your g-spot.

You bit down on the toy on your mouth in sheer surprise and felt the silicone bend threateningly. You could sever it if you dug deeper with your incisors and you would find that metal rod in the interior. Instead you released, eyes and tongue rolling back to accommodate further as you were fucked gaping.

You were tightening on the toy and the ground was getting closer to your face.

You thought about it drearily, but the pulsing of your jaw was distracting. You couldn’t think under the heat and pummel outside of the fact that you were going to cum soon. A long swipe of the secondary glans took up the last of your stimulation and you didn’t even cry out as you came. You only felt yourself vice grip on what was inside you before the snap reflex of your muscle milked it. The cock came then, spraying your insides with an indiscriminate hose of your mate’s seed and you felt it fill you before dripping out. Plops of it were visible to you on the floor and you made a guttural noise at the sight.

All motion stopped outside the pulse of your body and you sat with the tip sending more and more of the blood to your head. You were lightheaded when the toy in your snatch finally withdrew and with it the rest of the slick was coaxed out. It dripped and dribbled in a way that you read as falling down the battle shell arms. You were lifted up and the toy acting as a gag removed itself from your mouth. Your jaw sat slack from use and you sort of remembered you had never sucked your partner off twice in a consecutive row.

You were lifted carefully until you were in a pseudo-seated position facing the glass.

You saw Donnie hunched forward and panting where he’d clearly cum.

“Got a tank in there too or another disinfecting?” You slurred.

He bounced with amusement once before he sent you a darkened look.

His intent went straight through to your sex and filtered out of your mouth. “How much cum is left in your battle shell?”

His grin grew and your thighs were licked and spread.

You knew then he’d want to see every angle of which you could be opened wide.

You were brought straight up to the glass until your feet almost pressed against it and the toy slid up through the dripping cum ready to enter you once again.

“Bring it!” You cheered once before your available orifices were stuffed full.

💜 NEXT 💜

We got @tmntxthings We got @thepinkpanther83 They're both awesome betas!

[mayorbeaver]

also troy otto 😌😌😌

Another tragic character😭

Things I like:

He was such a good villain. He had such a fascinating arc to me!! Daniel Sharman always serves in all his roles but there was smth SPICY about the way he played Troy. He had so many ups and downs of being an antagonist and possible protagonist throughout season 3 (I refuse to talk about season 8😭) I think it’s interesting how ultimately what he craved was approval and affection and he would seek it out wherever he could. His father, Madison, Nick. Troys villain origin story was having mommy issues and being raised by a cultish ultra Republican father😭😭😭 HE WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE WITH DIFF PARENTS 😭😭😭 I think there’s also a lot to be said about how much he progresses in the second half of s3 once hes off the ranch only to revert to what he was before when Madison confronts him before she bonks him with a hammer. Not because he’s evil or was faking it but rather because he felt like a cornered animal and lashed out in defense of himself. He had to make sense of what he did and why he did it. He had to say he’d do it again. Because if he didn’t, then Jake was dead for nothing. Because if he didn’t, it’d show that he knew he was in the wrong. I think it also showed how much trust he had in Madison that she’d forgive him because he looks SO betrayed when she hits him.

Things I dislike:

Troy is an EXTREMELY well written character. I cant say I dislike anything about him. Like yeah, he’s a bigot and awful person but from a writing standpoint I can’t say there’s anything else I could ask for. My gripes lay more with the behind the scenes & s8. I hate that the og writer for FTWD was fired because the soft reboot of the series was fucking awful. I hate that Troy was killed so the following writers wouldn’t be able to take him and ruin him and they did that anyways. And that’s my biggest fucking issue😭I love seeing Daniel employed and thriving but having Troy come back for a few episodes and die in the most lackluster uncreative way JUST because ratings weren’t doing well pisses me off SO much. The Troy that came back didn’t feel like Troy at all. Maybe if we had gotten how he developed and changed during the years he was apparently ALIVE then maybe yeah it’d make sense but Erm no. It was a big waste of daniels talents and lowkey a slap to the face of both him and the previous writers but I do get some satisfaction that the writers were changed to garner more views only for views to fuckin PLUMMET after the switch (and what was with that blue fucking filter over the entire show from s4-8???)

[okkos-ferrum]

Unorganized helluva boss apology tour rant cuz I think I'm going crazy

Disclaimer, cuz I know helluva fans can get defensive: A lot of this is probably my subjective opinion. I'll state my tldr as my actual objective piece of criticism, but otherwise my gripes throughout this could be based on my tastes and expectations. I genuinely don't want to take away anyone's enjoyment of this show nor hate on anyone involved, so if u just want to enjoy helluva, totally skip this :]

I think I'll actually have to give my hot take here and criticize this episode, because everyone has given way too much praise for an episode I think - in the long run - hurts the show

Im not gonna even bother organizing my thoughts I'm just gonna rant, but to start, i think the decision to start the ep right after full moon chronologically wasn't the best move. The full moon episode cliffhanger was an impactful scene and a dramatic way to start the rift between stolas and blitzo. It's where the dam of two-ish seasons finally breaks, where to me, stolas and blitzo have already said everything needed to be said, at least at the emotional maturity they currently are at. Any changes in said conversation about their relationship would require growth from both separately in order to foster a healthy discussion.

So to undercut that tension by IMMIEDTLY having blitzo somehow wiggle his way back into stolas's private property to have both double down on their stance diminishes the weight new moon's finale had. The conversation, while it does add further clarity, feels repetitive and emotionally taxing to watch, because the show has literally zero scenes of either of them reflecting on the previous night. So it's just them starting up the same fight with the same talking points we already know.

Yeah, maybe it is in character for blitzo to demand a conversation after new moon, but it shouldn't have been the path the show took. It should've allowed the story to stew in the feelings brought out in new moon, both in a narrative and meta sense by taking a break from stolatiz.

Cuz honestly I'm a bit drained of it atm. The show sells itself on the premise of blitzo being a "boss" (a hell of a bos-) and him working with imp. But all of s2 has had this obsession with stolatiz ever since the popularity of ozzie's (for good reason that episode was amazing and one of my personal favs still).

Just abt half the eps in s2 carry an emotional weight around the stolitz relationship. (where s1 has stolitz is make out sessions and the occasional threat to their life, s2 takes it up to actual life or death situations and full backstories) . This increased tension and focus draws away from the intial episodic format to become a more serialized (and imo) melodrama abt the status of the stolitz relationship. Rather than concern itself over any of the imp characters and their emotions, helluva has made all of its emotional beats and stakes throughtout the whole season relate to stoltiz in some way (or it's parallel with fizz and Ozzie in ep 7).

To return back to the ep, I also take issue with its writing of verosika. I will admit that this could be subjective, as my partner, who loves verosika and was worried abt her writing going into the ep, enjoyed how the ep integrated her. But idk, I think it is so lame that an ep like full moon, which is marketed to be abt stolitz, is fine wasting its time writing the cherubs for 90% of the episode, while can't bother making verosika a larger character in her own ep.

Like she's a SINGER, but no she's back up for STOLAS'S SONG this ep. And it's not stolas's hasn't had the chance to sing love ballads before, he's got plenty. But no, the host of the party can't even be a duet to stolas, she's gotta be back up. Like it couldve been a way stronger connection between these two if they sang a duet, rather than the show AGAIN prioritizing verbalizing stolas's emotions again.

We get a full flashback to blitzo's relationship with both fizz and stolas, but nothing on his other significant relationship??? Just a line or two of how it went down and that's it??

Side tangent: It gets on my nerves how so many people are realizing now that verosika is not a bad person. Like it's clear from even in her intro ep in s1 ep 3 she's angry rightfully for how blitzo screwed her over. But now that she actually is being nice and forgiving to stolas and blitzo respectively, now she has earned the fandom's respect??? Like the amt of comments of "Oh wow, verosika isn't a villain, she's an anatognist" drives me insane

Like to me, this ep should've stepped away from stolas directly, and focus on blitzo and verosika. Have blitzo go back to ignoring his feelings by jumping back head first into business, now with the asmodeous crystal. Then bump into verosika somehow. However it may happen, verosika and blitzo, either angrily or calmly, reflect on their own past relationship at the end, which might have blitzo making a realization of how he is repeating his past mistakes. Use the episodic format to slowly allow blitzo to mature so the next time he meets stolas, he won't just double down like he did in the beginning of the ep.

I think, personally, the decision to have verosika host the anti blitzo party diminishes her as a character. It chooses to again define her by how blitzo hurt her, rather than touching on the other underdeveloped parts of her character. She has shown to be very petty yes, but to go through all this effort seems too much, since she is a pop star and should have better things to do.

Maybe explore how she, a succubus, who is meant to have primarily sexual relationships, goes abt on her day to day as a celebrity who went to rehab. Or her relationship with maybe knowing barbie. Or the other ways to explore the set ups for her in ep 3. But no, she plays second fiddle to her second focus ep for the stoltiz drama. But yeah sure, let's have full moon be abt the cherubs.

On a final and likely my most pettiest point, this ep made me cringe a lot. I'm sorry, this is very subjective of me, but I need to say it. So much of this ep felt like fanfic. Always hammering in how "he's a prince and you're an imp" kind of deal. Stolas getting overly drunk after taking a swig of one drink to have blitzo handle him being drunk. The million puppy dog eyes by blitzo, like it felt too pitying. The rushed pacing felt like a result of this indulgent kind of writing, where it priotizes creating the cute shipping scenes before thinking about the actual plot and its effect later on. Again, just my taste tho

Alright I think I ranted enough but ...

Tl;dr: Apology tour messes up the pacing and focus of the show by continously centering itself around the stolitz drama rather than allowing time to reflect by themselves

[ginger375]

X-Men 97 thoughts

Some random thoughts I had while watching the first two eps.

Mohawk storm! Omega level Storm! Over dramatic Storm!

Goldballs reference! WTF lol

Gambit crop top! I know that was in style in the 90s but I'm taking it to mean Marvel is confirming his bisexuality.

Morph being an absolute shit!

Cyclops using his powers in more than one way! Like, damn dude!

Magneto serving cunt like it's no one's business. Eyeliner on point.

"Previously, on X-Men..."

Morlocks!!

The FOH actually having a woman in their ranks for once... equal opportunity douchebags!

The implied Rogneto is fucking gross and I'm thoroughly annoyed they're putting it in here.

So having watched it, I do like it. Mostly.

I find the animation is lacking the soul of the original series, it's like everyone had botox after Xavier died.

I love the references to the old series during the intro, adding Morph and Bishop to the intro.

Hearing the OG voice actors takes me so far back, it's unreal. I like Gambit's voice actor here better than the previous two, though I still loathe the third person speak.

And I just need to reiterate my annoyance at Rogneto one more time... eight shades of inappropriate relationship there, especially considering it was NEVER indicated in the OG series. When the fuck would it have happened?! Ugh.

That's probably my biggest gripe, but it might have me waiting until the whole season is out before I watch it.

[blaithnne]

Actually I think one of my (minor) gripes with Season 3 of Hilda is that I wish it committed to being a… serial? Is that the right word? Let me explain-

One of the reasons previous seasons of Hilda are so good because they’re episodic - each adventure works as a great standalone episode that (outside of finales and the like) you don’t need much context for - but still follow an overarching storyline.

The Tide Mice, for example, is a fun standalone adventure about Hilda accidentally stealing some souls. But it also foreshadows Frida becoming a witch in Season 2, why Hilda herself wouldn’t have made a good witch, and the jorts episode in Season 2, among other things. It also builds on things we already know - Johanna struggling to find work was foreshadowed in previous episodes, David was already established to be an anxious and worrisome character, etc! So the story works perfectly well as a standalone adventure, but all these little details mean that within the context of the rest of the series it’s even BETTER!

The thing with Season 3 is that I don’t really think it had time to do that in the same way prior seasons did. In S1-2, it felt like we were seeing little snippets into one of Hilda’s many adventures. In Season 3, the events feel much more consecutive, like less time has passed between them?

Where S1-2 subtly set up plot lines and then zoomed in on them later, it feels like S3 said hey look at this cool plot line! And then they zoomed out to have an adventure with a talking fish, and then zoomed back in a few episodes later. The Laughing Merman and The Giantslayer feel a bit like interruptions to the main storyline, which sucks bc they’re great episodes.

As much as I love Louise, with the episode count being so limited I think I’d have preferred if The Laughing Merman and The Giantslayer were replaced with adventures that had more to do with the pre established plot, or characters from previous seasons like Kaisa or The Bellkeeper. It feels like those episodes were included as a return to format, a last hurrah for the monster of the week style stand alone adventures, but they just didn’t sit as right for Season 3.

Honestly? This isn’t a gripe with the show as much as it is with Netflix - but I don’t even think Season 3 should’ve even been Season 3 — I think it should’ve been a seperate series.

For one thing, the way Netflix has the series set up rn means that the movie is in a totally different section, so if you’re watching without knowing it exists beforehand, you could end up autoplaying from The Stone Forest to The Train to Tofoten and be left VERY confused. It’s weird to me that you have to click off the series to go watch the movie and then come back for Season 3 if that makes sense ??

I think it would’ve been better formatted if Season 3 was an epilogue series listed separately from S1-2, and under a different title (like “Hilda and The Fairies” or something). That way it feels less clunky going from S2 -> MK -> S3. It also makes it easier for ppl who dislike S3 to pretend it doesn’t exist, so there’s a win for that crowd too.

I also think under those circumstances it would’ve made more sense for the series to be much more story focused, without stopping midway through to do a last monster of the week couple of episodes.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved those episodes! But they were just slightly off from what I’d come to expect from precious seasons, and kind of just reminded me of what we were missing out on. I think if the show had committed to doing things differently for S3 - which would likely have been easier if this was a separate epilogue series, as the expectation for it to follow the previous seasons formula would’ve been lessoned - it would’ve felt a little less… uncanny?

TLDR - Season 3 is undeniably different in tone and overall vibe from the previous seasons, and I think the show would’ve benefited from leaning into that.

(I don’t even know if this is a critique of the show tbh, or if it’s a critique of Netflix? A lot of this could’ve been solved or at least improved by changes in formatting, or not cutting half the planned episodes, and I don’t know who’s responsible for that lmao ?? So yeah this is just me getting these unproofread unqualified opinions out on paper and is not me trying to bash anyone cause idk jack shit about how shows get made, it’s easy for me to sit here and go “oh they should’ve done this—“, but there was likely chaos behind the scenes that would’ve made that impossible, or hell, maybe it just wasn’t what they were going for! Idk! Idk what I’m saying or if any of this makes sense but thank you for reading hope you enjoyed anyways I still love s3 bless you all and goodnight <3)

[uninformedartist]

So the new episode of helluva.

So gripes 1st. Hate that Stella is still a one note character, she's also whining in this ep and immature as hell. Andy (ice brother) annoying aswell no personality other than annoying ice twink. His and Stella's dynamic together was... off to me. Like the things he said to her and their interactions were just.. off. I've heard suspicious/questionable things in postings and such about them but I'll leave it at me just feeling off about them

The B plot with Loona and Blitz was forgettable, only connection is it to the hospital Stolas also ends up at. The censorship was annoying and the almost r-word was 💀 yeah wait to shove it to the critics that voiced issue when it was said in the pilot Viv really sticking it to them 🙂 I love it haha. Anyway Moxxie and Millie has some role in this ep unlike what happened in season 2 ep 2, still nothing to develop Millie all I can say is that she's nice to others by thanking those singing imps but that's all, same old story for her. What really bugged me was again pacing, had to rewind the whole time because it moved too damn fast even for me who picks up on fast info put before me. Had a problem idk if its just me but the ep was lagging in some areas and glitchy and I rewinded multiple times but the issue persists.

Hate hate the sympathy Blitz feels for Stolas, unlimited woobiefication because one Viv wrote this ep so of course and 2 their relationship is based on cohesion, power imbalance and r*pe. I hate their relationship how toxic it is and how season 2 turned Blitz into the instigator of their relationship when season 1 clearly stated it was Stolas's idea and now Blitz feels sorry for his abuser like what. I don't care sorry that Stolas got hurt, he's an immortal abuser that sees anyone even Blitz an imp as below him and took advantage of him. Not changing my mind on that. Lastly, the songs suck point blank.

Pros 2nd: Props to the artists involved on this ep as always. Liked the ice bird's castle, Moxxie and Millie were actually on their own on a mission cool, was lackluster in general but they were somewhat useful in this ep.

Other than that um, yeah wasn't good or bad just eh, much better than the previous one but it was eh a 4.5/10 maybe a 5 if I was high.

[woodsfae]

B5 s02e22 The Fall of Night table of contents • previous episode

Wow, the season finale of another season! That's 44 episodes and the Gathering in eleven months! Or a year? With the little break I took shortly into season one, and the big break I took in season two, I'm actually surprised that averages out to one every week and a bit. It's been a riot, but I'm beginning to suspect that they aren't going to fight the great war by the end of season two….a few episodes ago Lord Refa told Londo it had been six months since the war with the Narns began, and Sheridan says in the credits it's the year the great war began. So there's another six months to fill before the all-out war begins?

I cannot believe that last episode, Jack the Ripper from 1888 London tortured Delenn half to death. that. That was wild. But it only makes me more stoked to see what they do next, for the season finale! No, really, how are they going to top the whole season so far?

I'm just picturing Bruce Boxleitner sitting in a little set and his plastic helmet acting earnestly into the studio lights for some reason.

Huh, Lennier and Vir have a lot in common. And they meet every to gripe about their ambassadors. So cute. Lennier plus anyone is a winning strategy.

The Centauri arm of colonialism is spreading again, and it's been less than an episode since they took the Narn homeworld! They're doing 90% of the shadows' job for them.

B5, over and over again: "Imperialism is - hey, look at me. Imperialism is bad. Say it with me: "Imperialism is bad." It's not a good thing, only bad."

Hm, Garibaldi's take on Londo that he's holding on for dear life as the situation spins wildly out of control, since he has no fall-back plan or safe harbor that he knows of, gives him more credit than I had been.

There's more sightings of the shadows now, passed off as scary stories pilots tell each other half joking, half warning.

EarthCorps is here to meddle and get direct reports from their fashy spies.

There's pilot elitism!

"A spider big as death and twice as ugly. When it flies past, it's like you hear a scream in your mind. I saw it too."

They really must exude a visceral wrongness. Natural, or cultivated? Lt Keffer (?) is a little batshit to want to find one again. But all pilots are a little nuts (I say as someone about halfway to a pilot's license)

Hm, Ivanova sort of gets along with this EarthForce guy. Or she's charming him on purpose? She's usually blunt or bluntly professional.

A Narn war cruiser survived! Help them, Sheridan! It'll flare tensions like crazy, bring war to Babylon 5 almost certainly. But it's also the right thing to do.

Hm, the other Earthforce guy is also making an effort to get along with Ivanova. Deal with the devil shit. Join our political faction and add your rising star of influence to our cause. And oh, also spy for us and send us information on everything and everyone on B5.

Ivanova gives an excellent, very civil smack-down. Booo fascist faction in the already fascist government.

Lovely. A meeting of everyone who signed up to be spies, and they all get grilled and criticized in front of each other about the quality and quantity of the information they reported. And there are informants who inform on the informants. This isn't concerning at all.

Wasn't Lt Keffer banned from going out and doing sweeps looking for the shadows in hyperspace? This man cannot be stopped by mere orders.

Going by EarthForce Guy's mien, Earth isn't interested in supporting the Narn. Lame. And an Earth-Centauri Alliance! Terrible! Typical!

"A non-aggressive treaty with the Centauri? That's like trying to make nice with a piranha."

A great simile, Sheridan. And awww, he's having baby's first shame over one's totalitarian and morally bankrupt government.

Sheridan and Ivanova's relationship warms me heart. She got him a piece of the Black Star, the Minbari warcruiser which he defeated, to remind him that the impossible is within reach.

Way too many fucking spies on this station. Earth Force does not need to find things out this quickly, and it's disastrous that the Centauri have.

Yeah, go Sheridan! EarchForce is going to be PISSED, but he's defending B5 space. It can't be a neutral station if they bow to whomever shows up with a big warship. Plus, he's the Captain, and he hasn't gotten any direct orders from his superiors, so it is his decision!

There is tension! I feel tense! Wow! What a space battle! They do well at those. Love that Zeta Squadron went and escorted the Narn ship into hyperspace. Good relations being established there!

Sheridan: "[The Centauri ship] fired first, Mr Lantz. I have an obligation to protect this stations." Mr Lantz: "You had no business helping a Narn cruiser." Sheridan: "Are you telling me to disobey regulations?" Mr Lantz: "What regulations?" Sheridan: "General Order 47. EarthForce personnel are required to answer distress calls and assist any vessels not currently involved in hostilities against Earth. Now, it may not have been politically convenient, but legally and morally it was the right decision."

That it was. No matter the amount of Centauri blustering. It is 100% bullshit of these people to be catering to the Centauri so much. Sheridan is ordered, on pain of losing his position, to apologize to the Centauri, which is super lame.

Lt Keffer's computer's voice is fantastic. Good job, human voice actor playing a computer voice!

Sheridan's practicing his apology in the mirror is excellent.

Londo being a sad outcast in the middle of parties because no one wants to associate with his shitty ass is also excellent.

Awwww, Lt Keffer. Excellent work tracking down a shadow ship, brave and quick thinking saving the information, but bad death.

Whoa!!!! Sheridan just jumped out of the shuttle! But Kosh pulls a Dues Ex Machina! And everyone recognizes him with a local name or designation. Has this actor been in the encounter suit all along?

Huh, the inside of the shell of B5, an interesting view.

Sheridan really keeps it together. His calm acknowledgement in just saying "Kosh."

Hmmmmm. Good Vorlon lore.

A Narn in speaking with another being agrees that seeing the being of light was a good omen. Londo claims he saw nothing. I wonder how much truth there is to that.

Ivanova voice-over! We started the season with her voiceover, and I'm glad to end it the same way.

"…[Babylon 5] became our last, best hope for victory. Because sometimes peace is another word for surrender, and because secrets have a way of getting out."

At least there's a publicly released footage of the Shadows now!

This episode did a really good job of making me want to immediately watch another! Season one was great. Season two was better, and with this finale, I'm completely invested in where Season three will take me!

this just in! my top five from s02 and final thoughts before starting s03!

[sitizelter]

🩵Sky Full of Stars🩵

Loscar ♡ Pt.4

Pt. 4 finally here!! Sorry it took so long, but now that the season's over I can take more time to write 😭😭

╰──────── ♡⁀➷ ────────╮

The ringing of the church bells echo the streets of Melbourne, meaning it had just turned 6pm. Oscar finally comes back home after closing up the workshop, he pops a sliced apple in his mouth before trudging back to his room.

With a grunt, he throws his bag on the floor and falls onto his bed. The sunlight peers through the crack of his window, golden hour had come. He rolled over onto his back, dialling in Logan's number to videocall him.

A content sigh escapes from Logan as drowsy eyes blink open to flashing numbers signifying an incoming call. Squinting against the morning light streaming in, Oscar's cheerful face fills the display stirring a sleepy smile to his face.

"Well, well, if it isn't my favorite delinquent." Logan chuckles softly still finding his voice, rubbing the remnants of dreams from stubbled cheek.

Taking him in leisurely sprawled across rumpled sheets, Logan notes the weary lines etched onto Oscar's face.

"You look exhausted, mate. Everything all sorted at the shop?" Logan inquires gently, seeing as ever through his brave mask to the weariness beneath.

"Some... 'fans' found out I helped my dad out here. Started clobbering all over the place, got me here feeling buggered out." Oscar murmured out with a heavy sigh.

Brows furrow in concern as Oscar's admission washes over the american through the speaker. Fans can be notorious, bringing praise one moment and chaos the next without care.

Oscar swore under his breath as he massaged his temples, "Sorry Loges, y'know how I am."

"Don't you dare apologize, mate." The other says gently yet firmly, shaking his head. "I understand the pressure better than most. You've nothing to explain to me."

Holding his exhausted gaze, Logan let steadfast care shine through his own. "You did well to make it home in one piece, yeah? Try and get some rest now - I mean it, Osc. No tinkering or plotlines tonight."

A soft chuckle escapes as the american thinks to distract. "Maybe put your feet up, watch some Netflix. I can gripe at you for missed calls in the morning when you've got your spark back."

"No, wait Logan-" Oscar suddenly shoots out. He clears his throat, regaining his composure.

╰──────── ♡⁀➷ ────────╮

"Stay on call with me. Your... voice helps to clear my mind." The aussie explains. He adjusts himself on the pillows, getting comfortable.

Logan blinks in mild surprise at Oscar's outburst, unusual to such candid vulnerability from him, before melting into an easy smile. Oscar's request sends warmth spreading through his chest where stress and uncertainty once gnawed.

"Alright then, mate. You've got me." Shifting to mirror his snug position, Logan gets cozy against piled pillows and watches the other expectantly through the screen.

"Well now what do you want - me serenading you to sleep like a lullaby?" Logan teases gently to lighten the atmosphere, hiding his own concern for him. "I haven't got the pipes for it I'm afraid. But I'll talk your ear off as long as you need, Osc. That I can manage."

"Just relax and rest now, yeah? I've got you."

Oscar sighs in content, glad that the other could understand how he's feeling then. "What did you dream about last night?" The aussie asks, his voice is soft.

Logan ponders Oscar's question thoughtfully as he tries to remember what he had dreamt of the previous night. A faint smile plays at his lips, fondness evident in lowered tones.

"Actually, there was one that's stuck with me. We were back in the park near your dad's shop, remember - the one with that huge gum tree we used to climb?"

Chuckling softly at the image, Logan nestles deeper into feathery pillows and lets nostalgia's soothing warmth embrace his tired bones.

"We must've been... what- 15? 16? Sun was just starting to set, painting everything orange and rose. And we were laying in the grass, talking for hours like we used to..."

His gaze softens as it meets Oscar's through the screen. Quiet falls between, filled instead by memory's gentle refrain. For what need have words, when hearts have known each other so long?

"I'm glad it was that one," Logan whispers finally, hoping Oscar hears all he had left unsaid too.

"I'm glad you dreamt of that one too," Oscar breathes out.

"Sorry that our calls have been quite... short lately. Ugh, it doesn't feel the same, I miss us. When are you visiting again?" Oscar turns his head to look at Logan in the screen. His eyelids were half-lidded, with barely visible eyebags underneath them.

A pang of longing lances the american's chest at Oscar's weariness shining plain. He wishes nothing more than to reach through the call and gather Oscar into arms, let his head find rest upon his shoulder as days go by.

Stroking fingers tap a thoughtful rhythm upon blanketed thigh as schedule runs through his overtired mind. "Not sure offhand on exact dates... few weeks maybe?" He ventures tentatively, hating the uncertainty.

Their gaze holds tenderly through slowing blinks. "Tell you what though - why don't I shuffle things around and come next weekend instead, if you'll have me? Barge in, cook us dinner, we can put on a show and just relax, yeah?" A soft smile plays on his face, hoping the offer of sooner solace may lift spirits, if only briefly.

Oscar's eyes shined for a moment. "Yeah. Of course, next weekend would be great."

"I'll make sure to tell mom that you're staying over. Hopefully she'll make her Shepherd's pie that you love so much." Oscar teases, his playfulness making an reappearance from underneath his tired outlook. A genuine grin brightens Logan's face.

"God, I can taste it already." Logan sighs wistfully, relishing memory of flavors mingling on the tongue. "Your mum's Shepherd's pie is honestly the cure for everything bad. And her company, of course!"

Warmth blooms anew in Logan's chest at thought of familiar embraces, gentle smiles and care that emanates from the walls of Oscar's childhood home.

"Get some rest soon, mate. I'll sort the travel details tomorrow."

Oscar nods, "Mhm, G'night." He mutters out. He looks at the other through the screen again, with Logan's face being brightened up by the morning sun.

A faint smile plays once more on Logan's cheeks as fond gaze lingers warmly upon Oscar. His cares are the american's own; if that alone can offer even moment's solace, all the journeys of world are worth the walking.

"Now get some rest, darling. I'll see you soon." Logan whispers before he ends the call, with his heart so very full.

╰──────── ♡⁀➷ ────────╮

Once the call ends, it only leaves Oscar alone with his thoughts. His eyes are wide open, with his ears ringing and repeating those last few words spoken by the american.

"Darling. Did he really call me 'darling'?"

Oscar felt blush fill in his cheeks. He rolls over and buries his reddened face into his pillow. He felt like a 8th grader that had just fallen in love again, kicking his feet while blushing like crazy.

The aussie takes a minute to calm down. Logan might've only been teasing him. But what if he wasn't? What if he really meant it?

A shy grin appears on his face. He swears he isn't being delusional, more like... optimistic.

"Darling." Oscar whispers, with his heart fluttering.

╰──────── ♡⁀➷ ────────╮

[variousqueerthings]

doctor who specials thoughts!

spoilers for most everything below:

obvs the plot was banging -- my partner didn't know the meep's a full-on war criminal evil emperor carnivore and I was trying not to giggle every time they called the meep so cuuuuute

the concept of transgender saved London! and donna noble's life! remember to thank a trans person in your life toay for saving people through the power of transgender!

but also specifically Donna's love for her daughter!

also Doctor preferred pronouns as any but specifically also "The Doctor" (definite article), fuckn good and correct

"you have weapons in your wheelchair!?" "of course, we all do" (from memory)

I know this is OG comic already, reallyreally enjoy the big bug beings aren't evil, and use stun guns -- an important way of gauging their character and whether the Doctor trusts them and solves the mystery. also the desiiiign of them!!!!! PRACTICAL CREATURE DESIIIIIIGN BOTH THEM AND THE MEEP!!!!!!!!!!

THE DOCTOR flopping about, RUNNING AROUND, CLIMBING UP THE WALLS, GETTING KNOCKED OUT! having just watched the entire of Eleven with all the "has a speech about how cool I am which makes the Bad Guys just give up for some reason" having this Doctor stalling for time and solving a mystery and then immediately knocked TF OUT!!!!!!!!!!

DoctorDonna BEstiESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! they're so!!!!!!!!!!!!! they're SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! next two episodes are gonna kill me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

still got the mystery of why the Doctor came back with this face, teaser about the Meep's "boss" (assuming Toymaker), and of course we know next to nothing about what will happen next week!

ohhhhhhh the new Tardis, she's so FLASH, she's so CLASSIC, she's so HAMSTERWHEEL!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know why I assumed Wilfred would be dead (well, they definitely counted on us assuming it), but it makes so much sense he wouldn't be when they fucking filmed with Bernard Cribbins!! Wilf will be coming up soon!

my couple of gripes are my feelings about UNIT as "uncomplicatedly good guys." I know there's a lot of different depictions of them throughout who (I've seen Two and Three + nu!who's depictions, and I prefer early seasons making it a more tempestuous relationship, especially with Three being sort of forced to work with them but really challenging their decisions and structures), but I watched the 50th anniversary the other day and that sees Kate Stewart almost blowing up London... once a military organisation, always a military organisation, and I'd like to see some future exploration of that. not that this episode was the episode to do so necessarily, but certainly in the future...

and the "male presenting" moment -- I see where it came from, it was the one misstep in threading trans/gender political and philosophical ideas into the text, had the vibes of "women and non-binary" type gendering, and makes you (me) go "what does male presenting mean? who is male presenting to you? do you mean man? do you mean "read as man"? are you talking about non-passing tans women, non-binary people with beards, trans men? and what does that have to do with your innate self?" it's some basic gender essentialism dressed up in progressive language. I'm going deep into this Moment, but it's also the only Moment, and I feel like it's interesting to hold it to a higher standard than I have previous Who. good intentions, this one is a miss

on the whole it's fucking BACK!!! TRANSGENDERS SAVE THE WORLD AND THE DOCTOR IS A BABY LOSER WHO FEELS SO MANY FEELINGS AND IS NO LONGER AFRAID OF EXPRESSING THEM AND DONNA IS ASKING WHY THEY CAN'T JUST HANG SOMETIMES AND SPILLS COFFEE ON THE CONSOLE AND THE TARDIS IS SO FLAAAAASSHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tmntkiseki]

Hi! 😁

I wanted to ask! As a TMNT fan, what’re your thoughts on Fast Forward? I’m almost finished with the season and I think it’s pretty good! The designs of the turtles also really stand out!

Thanks! Have a good day! 😁

Oh, this is a fun (and interesting) ask since I generally don't talk about Fast Forward that much (at least in the context of TMNT 2003 canon proper.)

I remember back when I first watched through the entirety of the 2003 I was actually surprised by how much I ended up enjoying it? I think it helped that I already knew ahead of time that Fast Forward was going to be different in terms of art style, tone, and writing, so I didn't get completely blindsided by the brighter color palette and goofier, more episodic storytelling.

Now mind you, I definitely have my fair share of personal gripes with the season; some of the colors are too bright (the red they use for Raph's mask, belt, and enviropak legitimately hurts my eyes) and there were a number of instances where the turtles or Splinter would drop a line and I'd be like "He would not f**king say that." I also feel like there was a massive missed opportunity to explore how the turtles and Splinter felt being a world where they could walk around freely in the daylight as well as any potential homesickness they felt, but Playmates and the execs at 4Kids were really adamant about keeping the tone of the season as lighthearted and unserious as possible.

Overall though, I'd say I am pretty forgiving towards Fast Forward and there is quite a bit of stuff from the season that I do like. I like the overall aesthetic of the future setting, the weapons the turtles wield are fantastic, I love the character designs (seriously, the gear the turtles wear, along with their slightly more individualized heights/builds, are a massive improvement over the previous seasons), some of the characters exclusive to the season are enjoyable, and episodes like Future Shellshock, Invasion of the Bodysnatcher, The Freaks Come Out At Night, and Graduation: Class of 2105 are some of my favorite in the 2003 series. (I will also die on the hill that Sh'Okanabo could have easily been the most nightmarish antagonist to grace the 2003 universe had he been introduced in an earlier season when the tone was still serious.)

So, ya know, tl;dr version: Definitely not my favorite season from the 2003 series and I do have some problems with it, but there are also a lot of aspects from Fast Forward I do enjoy—I really wish the second season had happened since many of the characters and concepts never had the chance to fully blossom. (Darius would have been defeated for good, the Dark Turtles would have switched sides, Shredder would have returned controlling the body of a Triceraton, and Cody would have started to fade out of existence due to the amount of time the turtles had been in the future, among other unrealized plots.)

[convexicalcrow]

Oh? How normal are we about Pharaoh Cub?

Okay look. You gotta understand. I've been interested in ancient Egpyt since I was a kid. It's my longest-running special interest/hyperfixation, so much so that I've been practicing ancient Egyptian religion for over twenty years. It's something that's very, very precious to me, bc it's so personal to me, and bc I'm who I am, my knowledge of this stuff is arguably higher than the average person. This makes any kind of media about ancient Egypt actually not that interesting to me bc my brain will Not shut up about inaccuracies, so I tend to avoid them bc of that.

(I could go on about my issues with ancient Egyptian themed media, but I won't, that's a whole 'nuther essay frfr.)

(Also I hope you like infodumping, anon, bc that's what I'm about to do :D)

That said, I've actually written a whole lot of Egyptian myth rewrites, as well as ancient Egyptian stories exploring all kinds of various topics. I have some published on an old blog of mine, but some I never finished for various reasons. It's a whole thing. It's been a whole thing for me for a very, very long time.

So, you're me, someone with a more than average knowledge of and interest in ancient Egypt, and you've just become a Cub fan in s8 bc that was my first Hermitcraft season. I had heard about the pyramid, and Pharaoh Cub, and I was both SO INTERESTED but also actually quite hesitant to watch Cub's s7, bc I didn't want to be disappointed if he messed it up or did something wrong that caused my brain to Disagree. Again, very irrational bc my brain do be like that, but also based on previous experiences of seeing ppl just taking the aesthetics and doing whatever with it, and screw historical accuracy.

(Honestly, this is, like, my One (1) critism with the lore TrixyBlox built into the USW map. Can we Not have evil pharaohs plz just for once. ;_;)

I wanted to trust Cub, bc I'd seen the research that went into the canyon build. He's a smart dude. He cares about getting those kinda details right. And I did genuinely want to see how he approached the pyramid build and how he was going to use it as a base. But again, SO HESITANT. bc what if my blorbo messes it up and ruins the whole thing for me bc m brain is Stupid about this sort of thing. ;_;

But I'm so glad I trusted Cub when I did get around to watching s7, bc I fell in love with the pyramid. The fact that he cared about making it as life-size as possible, but also that he took an approach of taking what works, but also making it his own, and making it fit into the minecraft world. Like, using Standard Galactic for hieroglyphs! I loved that small little detail! It makes so much sense to use it that way.

Like, my very-not-srs gripes about the Pharaoh skin and its weird sleeves aside, his approach was very much how a lot of Egyptian pagans approach things today. Take what works, or what makes sense, and adapt it to where we currently are in the world and what we have access to. And I could tell from how he talked about it throughout the season that he really had done his research. And just- The Morning and The Evening Sun/Star epithet he gave himself like!!!!

Like, it's the little things, like the lapis roof, the stars - including Sirius!, the most important one bc its rising heralds the flood of the Nile and the new year - on the ceiling in the bedroom, the statue room and the way he built those five statues to represent aspects of himself (I cannot stress enough how much I adored those statues), allll the little tunnels and sekrit passageways, and the cartouche on the wall with his name in SGA and using SGA in the museum room, the treasure room with its traps, and the tomb of the Pharaoh himself. Like. It was such a perfect blend of Cub and Egyptian stuff. 10/10. I can find no faults. Although I do want to go back and finish the oasis room at some point. Make it a healing pool room with a shrine or two in it. Something like that.

Like, I had my doubts, but I trusted Cub and his process, and I was right to do so. It cemented Cub as my favourite Hermit at that point, bc he took my special interest and did it justice. And that's why I'm Very Normal about Pharaoh Cub.

But there are also other aspects too! Pyramids were designed to be tombs, and that's where the Pharaoh was left to rest at the end of s7. Which seems very appropriate, given where Hermitcraft went after that.

The reason I fixate so much on this is that there's this Egyptian underworld book called the Book of Caverns, that describes the King's journey through the underworld. It's not as well-known as the Book of the Dead, but the reason I keep coming back to it is because of Cub's canyon in s8. Where he built everything in little caverns in the canyon itself. And with the change of skin to young Cub, my brain just cannot let go of the idea of s8 being Pharaoh Cub's journey through the underworld, culminating with the final battle against the serpent we do not name so we do not give it power (a/p/o/p/h/i/s) that is here manifested in s8 as Moon Big. It's not a perfect metaphor, and I won't pretend it is. Especially bc while Cub escapes, the world is destroyed, and that's not necessarily accurate. But! He still escapes! He uses all his knowledge and resources that he's gained through his journey through the underworld to escape. To rise again in s9 as the new sun.

AND AND AND the fact that in s9 PHARAOH CUB DID ACTUALLY RETURN. Only now, we have the Pharaoh as a distinct entity. A divine akh/ancestor, a master magician, one who is clever and wiley like Thoth and who loves playing games and playing pranks. (Thoth is a trickster, and a very smart one.) And to have the distinction between Pharaoh Cub, who is a god, and mortal Cub, who is just Cub, like.

(Cub and his possession kink is also a whole 'nuther essay frfr)

That distinction makes sense in an Egyptian theological framework. Once the Pharaoh dies, they become divine akhu/ancestors. Very few were Actually Deified in a way we would recognise, but Cub is still not wrong when he calls the Pharaoh a god. The Pharaoh was a conduit between the people and the gods. He acted as the only high priest of the religion. He became King by hosting the Kingly Ka, the divine soul of Horus that legitimises their rule. This Ka/soul, has been with every king before it, and all the kings are attached/accessed through it. Kings live forever, after all. My own personal religious work has involved various Kings and Queens and working with them. (Not the most famous ones, tho, it's mostly the Sobek ones bc I worship Sobek first and foremost.)(Sobek being a crocodile god, a strong protector, and a god who was incorporated in Horus at one stage and gained Kingship attributes from that.)

And so it makes so much sense for the Pharaoh to be a separate entity now. The old man died, bc Cub is mortal, and ba/eternal soul of Cub was reborn into a new, younger body, with a whole new ka. Everyone has a ka, it is the soul that belongs to a particular lifetime and is the one that goes through judgement after death. The ba is eternal, and can have many kau/souls throughout its existence.

And bc the Pharaoh has died and become an akh, he can be contacted and manifest in the world again through the mortal Cub. The fact that Cub never actually changed the Pharaoh skin to reflect his younger self? It still has the old man's face? Like. This helps the distinction work. They're two different souls. This is theologically sound. And honestly I never imagined the Pharaoh lore would get to that point. But here we are, in s9, and we have the Pharaoh and mortal Cub, and I am Just So Normal about this bc I thought I'd missed my chance at Pharaoh Cub bc I only started watching in s8. BUT NO. s9 came along and is like, would you like some more Pharaoh Cub? and it's eating my brain like. oh my gods.

And also like, the Vex Magic Grimoire I've been working on? Canonically (to me), it's being written by Pharaoh Cub. Once the ConVex and ConCorp shenanigans settled down, and Cub had space to really focus on his magic, that's when he starts working on the grimoire. bc almost all Pharaohs were also master magicians. They had to be! It was part of their work as high priest and conduit for the gods. So Cub has Pharaoh magic on top of Vex magic, and in working through his new powers, decides to start recording down all he knows about Vex magic. Scar does some as well, but it is intended to be mostly Cub.

(I have an ask I STILL have not got around to about the Pharaoh's magic, and I will save a longer discussion for that there. I will get to it, I promise, anon! It's just taken a while to get my thoughts in order. <3)

It's like, in Pharaoh Cub, I can combine my love of writing about Egyptian things with my current hyperfixation on Cub, and it's so much fun omg. Cub doesn't do deep lore the way someone like Sausage does (again, whole 'nuther essay lol), but there's enough there to make a really good story, and build up these aspects of his character and make a really coherent story out of it.

And with Pharaoh Cub, I can explore all kinds of things that maybe don't work with other characters. Like death! In a way that doesn't really happen in minecraft bc players just respawn. Permanent death is something I've really only encountered on Empires, not Hermitcraft. But with the Pharaoh dying and being laid to rest in his pyramid? Like. That's something to work with. There's lore there to explore. Old Man Cub coming to terms with dying and what happens afterwards. and bc like. idk if anyone has actually ever written Old Man Cub as an actual Old Man. But as someone who's approaching 40, and has their own chronic pain stuff to deal with, like? Maybe I see it differently. Maybe I want to approach Old Man Cub as an old man. And maybe the Old Man dying as Pharaoh, and being reborn into a younger body is one way to do that.

Sure, it may not be the most popular fics for ppl. Maybe ppl are more interested in my other works. But I don't care. It's all my special interests in one place and I'm having the time of my life. :D

Even if I STILL don't know what to do with the journey through the afterlife!s8 caverns idea. Maybe one day I will find the right spark to do that idea justice. <3

[biblioflyer]

It was no “All Good Things” but it did what it needed to do.

Discovery is a bit of a metaphor for “NuTrek.” Never quite sure what it is, whether to take itself uber seriously with the razor edged gravitas of nuGalactica or The Expanse, or to lean into joyful camp like Doctor Who. I think the choice to lean into the camp was ultimately a sound one. The edge simply didn’t fit the writing which was all over the place, in true Trek fashion.

It brought out some of the worst in the fandom, which apparently also has a deep legacy. See also the extensive letter writing campaign condemning TNG as a betrayal of TOS back in the day. We have never been as good as our heroes and some of us don’t seem to try very hard.

Discovery has long baffled me because I’ve struggled, more during the early seasons, with how to approach it. The early aesthetic made me feel like I should be taking it as seriously as open heart surgery which meant it could never withstand scrutiny. The choice to lean into camp made me more forgiving.

I still prefer the bridge crew being a more core part of the ensemble but I think that’s my old school Trek training. It makes more sense for the senior staff to be spread around rather than clustered on the bridge every time and there were plenty of Ensigns and Lieutenants whose names we never learned.

Having a defined main character worked better logically when Burnham was XO or even outside the command structure. The way the character was written, I actually found it frustrating when they first had her rejoin Starfleet and then promote to Captain. They eventually wrote her as a more convincing leader but it has always seemed like she was more convincing and more compelling as someone following their conscience outside the formal hierarchy.

For all the griping about its supposed radical politics, NuTrek has felt very safe. I’ve written a lot about this in the context of Picard, but NuTrek’s skepticism of institutional power clashes with the traditional story format. It keeps walking right up to the edge of legitimizing independent actors working outside of formal structures to right wrongs and do good deeds that are harder to do from a position of responsibility where the cost of making a mistake isn’t just losing one’s own life but possibly losing hundreds of lives or starting a war.

But it always chickens out. Burnham, Rios, Raffi, Seven, Jack: all roads lead back to Starfleet. Which is not to say that Starfleet is bad, actually. I’m all for depicting Starfleet as an enlightened institution but there’s a nuanced position where some people don’t work well in that setting and there are legitimate roles for individuals acting outside of Starfleet. It doesn’t have to be a binary where on one side you have all of the honorable, moral, and disciplined people and on the other are only pirates and vigilantes.

I must give a nod of respect to Saru who has probably undergone one of the most interesting and well executed character arcs that has left the character almost unrecognizable from where he started but it all happened very naturally. Which is an achievement given how the show has struggled with pacing in the modern season format. The next closest examples I can think of would be Rom and Nog who had 7 seasons to complete their arcs. 7 much longer seasons.

I’m sorry to see Discovery go. Just on a meta level, it’s been fascinating to scrutinize its artistic decisions and how it has engaged with its critics. Ultimately I think it did an excellent job of sifting through the muck to find the good faith, well formulated criticisms and adapt gently. Given the incandescent nature of the fandom, it would have been tempting to write off the detractors entirely or essentially reboot the entire show, writing out or severely changing unpopular characters and abandoning previous choices.

I’m a big tent fandom guy, so I will always say that a show needs to be a show for both the people who loved it from the start as well as people who only approved of it later. Balancing that is tricky, I think Discovery did it well. It was often confused and janky, but it grew both the competencies of the storytellers and grew the fan base. For that I’m grateful.

[ecargmura]

Pokemon Horizons Episode 1 Review: The Era of Liko

Here it is! The third and final anime I’ll be reviewing episodically for this season! It’s the start of the Pokemon anime’s new era! How is it? I really liked it! The anime gives off a modern feel compared to Ash’s first episode, but it also has that Pokemon charm to it! For this review, I might just be pointing out the things I liked and disliked in this episode. Hopefully, the reviews will become more solid as more episodes air.

We are introduced to the first of the dual protagonists, Liko. Liko is much different from Ash in that she’s timid and reserved. She has a hard time expressing herself. She is from the Paldea region but moved to the Kanto region to study at Indigo Academy after hearing about it from her parents as it was their alma mater. I can sense that she will have a backstory similar to Penny’s in that she had a hard time fitting in and decided to go to another region to sort herself out.

I really like Liko a lot. I can relate to her as I am also reserved and an over thinker. What I like about Liko is that her thoughts are heard, compared to Ash who does not have his thoughts voiced out. I think it gives a different approach to a Pokemon protagonist and it also helps viewers understand what sort of person Liko will be. She’s also someone who relies on her Rotom phone. She uses it as a diary and as a way to take notes and such to analyze and observe as she did with Sprigatito’s napping spots.

Liko’s most notable aspect is having a mysterious pendant. Her grandmother gave it to her as a good luck charm and it’s sought out by the mysterious Amethio. I can’t wait to find out what that pendant is. I also really liked how Liko knew something was suspicious and decided to escape. It makes you wonder how Amethio knew about Liko having the pendant and how he knew about it being from her grandmother.

Liko’s partner Pokemon is Sprigatito. I find it interesting that the choices for starter Pokemon is randomized and it is not region-locked. Liko’s roommate Anne got an Oshawott because of the random picks! While Liko adores her Sprigatito from the start, it took a while to warm up to her. I do like how the bond between Liko and Sprigatito change slowly as time passes. Time passes in this episode because Liko’s school goes on a long holiday, implying that months had passed since her first day. While Ash’s Pikachu was flat out disobedient in the beginning, Sprigatito prefers sunbathing and relaxing over battles. My only gripe with Sprigatito is that it wasn’t as focused as much as Liko was. Hopefully that changes in the second episode. This is just the start of something amazing, after all.

The side characters are interesting. Anne is a cutie and I hope she’ll get some focus in future episodes. I love that she doesn’t think Liko is weird and just does her best to get along with her. She’s pretty much Liko’s only friend as of now.

Amethio is pretty manipulative. He got information about Liko’s family background and uses it to deceive her into giving her pendant, but Liko’s too smart to fall for it. I like how politely sinister he is. It shows how far he is willing to go to get something he wants but he still tries to be respectful. I can see Amethio as an interesting villain later on. His crew doesn’t have much focus in this episode, but they seem interesting with their designs.

Friede wasn’t shown as much as his crew, but the fact that they’re also looking for Liko is strange. I don’t think they’re looking for the pendant? Why are they looking for her exactly? I hope it gets answered.

The fictional Poketuber Nidothing is also interesting. Why is she wearing a Nidorina costume? Why does she have a Quaxly? I do wonder what she looks like underneath. However, I do like how Liko refers to her videos for advice on battling and other necessary advice.

The voice acting is superb. Voice actors from the previous anime make a return in this brand new series. For example, Goh’s VA Daiki Yamashita is now the Rotom Phone. Megumi Hayashibara who voice Jessie and various Pokemon returns to voice Sprigatito; fun fact: she voiced Litten in the SM anime, so I guess the staff wanted her to make cat noises again. Daisuke Namikawa returns as Quaxly (He was also the background character with the Eevee). Kei Shindou returns as Mollie; she voiced Lillie, Goh’s Raichu and Ash’s Riolu. Murdock's VA is Kenta Miyake, aka Giovanni. Yuka Terasaki returns as Roy, but he’s not in this episode. I think it’s cool how while it’s a new era of the anime, familiar names return to bring a new experience. I do think Minori Suzuki’s performance as Liko is really good. She is able to portray Liko’s shyness very well. I can’t wait to hear more from her. I think Shun Horie is also a standout as the voice he uses for Amethio isn’t what I’m normally used to from him. Taku Yashiro as Friede is good too! I just need to see more from the side characters in future episodes. Overall, all the voice acting is good.

The music was amazing to listen to. It brings about a different feel from the previous anime. I like all the soundtracks equally so far.

The animation was amazing. The way everything moved was fluid. I think my favorite animation portion was when Ceruledge appeared for the first time. It gives off the menacing, sinister feel as it opens its eyes and stands up. That’s how you make an entrance.

So far, I really like what I’m seeing so far. I have no particular dislikes. I just hope the anime keeps up the amazing quality. It has potential to be amazing. I can’t wait to see what this new era brings for the future of the franchise.