#not really but they're treating tommy as if he's dead

[aesthetictarlos]

I didn't complain much because I didn't like Natalia nor Marisol but tbh I've always thought they handled both break ups very badly, which leads me to think that they're really riding the wave of bad writing.

Natalia and Buck were so wrong for each other and it was clear but for some reasons (I still have to understand what reasons but it's not the point) they decided to make them a thing and the season ended with them kissing. (Which pissed me off and made me think of not watching season 7). And then we don't even know why or how they broke up, we just have Buck casually telling Eddie that they did because he had no one to go karting with. Which– okay??? It would have been nice to see Buck realizing (and telling her) why they didn't work.

And Marisol? She wasn't the best person on Earth but she wasn't that bad either. She treated Eddie and Christopher with kindness and respect. Then Eddie cheats on her and she has every right to be upset and break up with him but again, it would've been nice to see them talk about such an important thing like cheating on your girlfriend with the doppelganger of your dead wife??? Instead what they gave us was nothing??? She just disappeared, just like Kim. And okay, it had more to do with Eddie's struggles than their relationship but anyway... They just don't know how to handle break ups.

Which is why I'm so so so pissed. I haven't even watched the episode yet but I know, I know that the Tommy who broke up with Buck isn't the same Tommy who gave him a second chance after Buck shoved him back in the closet. He isn't the same Tommy who accepted to go to Maddie and Chimney's wedding a few weeks after their first kiss (and ruined date). He isn't the same Tommy who took care of Buck, who spent the night on the couch just to be close.

I'll never get over this I think.

[iphyslitterator]

Getting out some more Airport 1975 Theory thoughts now that I've actually watched the movie (building on my earlier post):

The main strike against this theory is that it's too good to be true lol.

If they do Airport 1975 and Tommy isn't involved, that would admittedly be very funny 💀 Partial credit!

The flight in the movie is Columbia 409. If the flight number in the episode is 409, we will Know.

"Sick little girl who needs a kidney transplant" and "nun with guitar" are also dead giveaways.

There is plenty of downtime in the movie (thanks, autopilot), so I feel justified imagining a conversation between Tommy and Athena.

I really do love the idea of a few lines of Bobby/Athena dialogue early in 8x01 establishing that Athena has qualms about Tommy. It sets up a fun little bonding arc, which potentially serves as a muuuch lower-stakes mirror to wrestling with feelings about her fiancé's killer (can people change, when should you let the past go, etc.).

I think "Tommy lands the plane" and "Buck and Tommy fight about Gerrard" in the opening arc are mutually exclusive. I'd bet on, at most, one Bucktommy-only scene in 8x01 and one in 8x03 (and Tommy might not be in 8x01 at all).

Definitely doesn't make sense for Tommy to talk Athena through landing the plane from the ground - they don't need a helicopter pilot, they could get actual experts on the jet.

In the movie, rappelling into the plane is treated as an unprecedented terrifying stunt, and they get a specially-chosen military guy to go up in a military helicopter to try it. But he gets caught on some wreckage and falls to his death, so Charlton Heston (Nancy the stewardess's boyfriend and a very accomplished instructor on this type of plane) decides to go in and succeeds. Neither is a helicopter pilot.

The collision ripped a big hole in the cockpit, by the way, so if that doesn't happen on the show, it pretty much kills the rappelling theory.

To have Tommy's involvement "make sense" for people who know nothing about aviation (sorry), here's my pitch:

The collision happens at a fairly low altitude OR the plane starts losing altitude. Pilots are dead or incapacitated, and the door to the cockpit is blocked so no one can get in. Tommy and his copilot are already in the air dealing with the bees, and they happen to be the closest to the plane, which requires time-sensitive intervention. Tommy (movie buff) (unhinged) rappels into the cockpit and, guided by air traffic control on the radio, gets the plane stabilized and solves the immediate crisis.

Athena finally bursts into the cockpit. Tommy: "Sergeant Grant." Athena: "Firefighter Kinard? How did you get in here???" Tommy (catching his breath, wry manic smile): "Jumped." Cut to commercial.

Then they're in the air for another episode and a half because of damage to the plane and/or bees at the airport.

At the end of the movie, Charlton Heston says to the passengers, "Thank you for flying Columbia Airlines," and Tommy would look soooo hot doing that, he would deliver that line so good.

I've got to say, I can't remember the last time I had this much fun with a fan theory - even if it doesn't come true at all, it's been a pleasure 🫡

[tobi-smp]

the problem with talking about ghostbur's relation to wilbur is that going too far in Either direction muddles the waters.

people like to think of ghostbur as an entirely separate entity from wilbur, where nothing about him informs wilbur as a character. this often comes packed with dehumanization, either of Wilbur (with ghostbur being the Good version of wilbur while wilbur is the bad) or of Ghostbur (why does it matter how anybody treats ghostbur when he isn't Really wilbur).

and it's strange and uncomfortable ! because ghostbur so clearly gives us an insight on wilbur as a person. we learn so much About wilbur Through ghostbur. it's just ! absurd to use one to lessen the other when they're so clearly different views of the same Whole.

but at the same time, I Remember ghostbur begging for personhood. I Remember ghostbur begging to have his feelings taken seriously, to be seen as more than just a joke. I remember ghostbur building tommy a home in logstedsire and mourning when it was lost. I remember him mourning new l'manberg. I remember him wanting to bring wilbur back. I remember how tommy mourned him. built him a grave a Grieved him when nobody else did because they didn't think they had to. why would they, when wilbur was right there in front of them? I remember, I Remember.

and the thing About ghostbur is that I Do think that he is a reflection of wilbur. it's ridiculous to try to say that one doesn't inform us of the other.

but I think about how much of his character is wrapped around this desperate want for Personhood. trying to figure out who he is, to carve a place for himself as the memory of someone who was already gone and yet a fully formed being perfectly capable of feeling emotion.

and I think that, too, is a reflection on wilbur.

ghostbur didn't want to be wilbur because Wilbur didn't want to be wilbur anymore. but wilbur didn't know What to be either. trying to break out of the mold he made for himself and figure out what it means now to live as a Person with agency and feelings that matter.

wilbur didn't kill himself because it was an inevitable part of his story as the villain, he did it because he was sad. learning how to be someone who can admit that was Hard.

he'd cried as the president of l'manberg over the pressure of being responsible for everyone, of not being able to live up to what he thought he had to be. and we learned that from ghostbur.

and like ! it's exactly Because of all of this that I can't find it in me to deny ghostbur his personhood. to look at someone who once begged people to realize that he has feelings that Matter, that the things that happen to him Matter because he has agency, because he's a person, and to say No.

I had a theory, once, that the thing that made ranboo Ranboo is that he was half dead. there was the enderwalk that remembered everything, and there was ranboo who lived as a separate antonymous person. ranboo is, in a way, a reflection of this other person, and yet he's not Lesser as a person either. ranboo being formed around a smaller pool of memories means that he grows Differently from this enderwalk version of himself. his personality shifts, the choices he makes are different, even if fundamentally the building blocks are shared.

I had a theory, then, that the whole point of ranboo dying was to have this enderwalk and our ranboo Fuse. not into the whole person that ranboo was split from, but into the New person that they make together.

and that's how I like to conceptualize wilbur and ghostbur. not two unrelated entities and yet both People in their own right.

moreover, that's exactly what I would've liked for them as well.

[lemotmo]

Love reading your takes. I like the way you think. Keep them coming.

Sorry for being negative, but my biggest fear is that since Eddie’s coming arc as been stop twice before, it’s hard to believe it’s still coming. I fear that now they have Bi Buck, they won’t trouble themselves with Eddie.

The way the left Eddie at the end of the season, there is so much they can do with him in the upcoming season. I just hope they take the chance to tell his story which would be so impactful to a lot of people and feels natural to his character. To be honest, I don’t know what else they can do, if they keep throwing woman at him, they have literally shown it’s not working.

You can see the way the tune changed in the middle of the season with those interviews. Is it because they know they got a renewal or they completely put the brake to 'buddie'?

I’ll keep hoping for the best. Tptb, please surprise me. Season 8 will make or break it. I don't see people staying past season 8 if nothing significant happens. I'm pretty sure they know, but why be so afraid. Argh ..

From an Eddie fan that’s fed up with the way they treat his character.

Hey Nonny! Thank you for the lovely compliment. I'm just another fan with some opinions, but I'm glad you like reading about them so much.

No no, I get it. I do. I get the negativity. They were so close to finally going where the story has always been going and then they backed off in the middle of the season. Even the interviews changed. It was clear that Oliver wasn't pleased with the way things were going bts either. And I have the feeling Ryan wasn't happy either. Every single interview he had to think about what he was saying and if it wasn't too much against Buddie, but also not too much pro Buddie. It was hard to see him struggle so much. That's probably why some of these interviews contradicted each other as well.

I really do believe they changed the timeline of the story when they heard about the renewal of the show. They realised they could take their time to give Eddie's coming out story the screentime it deserved. However, now they had to find a way to get Eddie to a place where he would have nothing left. No Chris, no ghost Shannon hanging over his head, no girlfriend... just him and his thoughts. This is the first time in life that Eddie is on his own and it's going to lead to some big time self-reflection.

The consequence of the decision to push the Eddie storyline to season 8 is of course Buck now being stuck in this stale relationship with Tommy.

I have read the interviews Ryan has given after the finale and they do fill me with hope and -dare I say- confidence? The way he talks about Eddie's upcoming struggle and journey very much reads as someone realising they're not as straight as they thought they were. He also stopped talking about Eddie being 'hetero' and started using a lot of gender neutral terms when he talks about a possible future partner for Eddie. So yeah, that is a very good sign to me. A feel like a switch has been flipped now and he is more certain where the story is going.

I agree that it would be the most natural way to explore Eddie's character. He has always been queer-coded, since day one. In my opinion even more than Buck. I was always more convinced of Eddie's queerness than of Buck's. So yeah, it is definitely the best, if not the only, way to go with his character.

And yes, I agree again, if there is no progress in Eddie's storyline and he is once again waylaid, keeping him locked up in that closet, put into another dead relationship with yet another female love interest, put through pain again for no reason whatsoever? A lot of people will give up on the show as a whole. Tired and exhausted that Eddie once again was the victim of bad writing. And if they dare to keep Buck in a relationship with Tommy? They will lose even more viewers.

I myself will retreat back into fanon-land where Buck and Eddie will be happy together forever. I might keep on watching the show from afar, only the parts that interest me. Basically because I love Eddie so much and I only want the best for him. I also love all the other characters and I want to see what happens to them. So I don't think I could give up on the show completely.

However, I really don't think it will have to come to that. I don't know for sure of course, but I do know that this time the odds are in our favour and we have a really good chance to get exactly what we wanted for years now: Eddie coming out in season 8 and eventually, when the dust is settled, Buddie.

[nomsfaultau]

Can you ramble to me about anything with Philza pretty please

welp I'm working on Mandatory Family Reunion at this second, so. The absolute way MFR Philza just messes up his children each in such fun unique ways. Like the damage to Techno is OBVIOUS. Gaslighting minimizing destroying his entire sense of self etc etc. Philza is so deeply delusional, and the way he infects Techno is fascinating. But basically all of MFR is about that.

However, the way he hurts Wilbur and Tommy is so neat too, and I think it implies so much about Philza. Wilbur clearly has no sense of consequences for his actions ever. Which is crazy for a dude who has been doing various criminal activities. Super sheltered but thinks he isn't. And the way he's been left feeling incomplete, dedicating his entire life to getting back his 'other half'. And of course Philza gives him this whole talk about 'he is not replacing you' and 'our capacity for love grows' etc etc, promising Wil directly that he is equally loved. But like. He just clearly isn't. Philza is constantly, constantly paying 100% attention to Techno, which does ultimately lead to his down fall; Wilbur building the raid beneath his nose, being too depressed to properly rig the court case. Philza is utterly consumed with the mythos of his prodigal son, and forgot his 'eldest constant son' in the process. Like Wilbur word for word says he's just an attention whore, and Philza has so, so clearly shaped that. Grown up in the shadow of an impossibly perfect martyr that Philza built up in his head.

Plus Wilbur says he hasn't felt guilt since he was twelve, so he straight up just let a preteen into his criminal empire????? What is WRONG with him?

And Tommy. Ohhh Tommy. This is something I'll be really getting into chapter 11ish, but like Philza's severe paranoia was pretty detrimentous to him. Spending weeks in a bunker cut off from all his friends with no idea what's happening to his absent family? Hello? The strict scheduling and security makes me think Philza doesn't really let Tommy just spontaneously hang out with friends. See: actual months before he let Techno see even one friend (okay extreme case but still). And of course it's so very justified to Philza because welp he lost one kid before so no level of security is too much.

The fact Tommy thinks he was adopted to try and replace Techno. And. I mean maybe? Genuinely that might've been philza's angle?? At the VERY least Philza did not notice and cure that anxiety that his kid has. Obviously it didn't last long, but at the start Tommy really resents Techno in a way that's so unhealthy. Tommy is just screaming abandonment issues, really, especially during the Nether kidnapping. Philza promises to do better, of course. And then just doesn't, again. He completely shuts out everything but Techno the days leading to the final raid, and then lets himself go to jail. MFR Philza has all these pretty words, but he really, really does not back them up.

But also, he's lived every single second of the past 18 years in the minute he found Alexander's empty cradle, and I think it took Techno's last testimony for him to wake up. Philza spends most of MFR doubling down on the promises he's made about his happy ending for years. It's how he kept himself together and destroyed himself all at the same time.

Which, in comparison with The Lambs wolves wear Philza, it's really funny how both of them treat the mask of fatherhood. MFR Philza chasing perfect fatherhood so desperately to stave off the trauma of losing a child. And Lambs Philza forced into playing a perfect father no matter how much he hates it, again to stave off the trauma of losing a child. Anyway just funny they're both bad and fake at being a Dad in polar opposite ways.

Hold on I think Worth far more than your weight in gold Philza is also dadmoding to avoid dead child trauma. And Fault Philza gets Anderson killed and immediately stress adopts Wilbur as a coping mechanism. Honestly same with Tubbo. And Lord what fools these mortals be! Philza is kidnapping humans so he doesn't have to think about the horror of being a stagnate immortal.

Actually this is a really really funny trend I just found in my Philza's. Dad as coping mechanism and is kinda bad/traumatizing at it.

[bucksdaffy]

https://www.tumblr.com/bucksdaffy/750482450750308352/i-mean-i-think-its-fair-to-ask-what-show-yall?source=share

Okay, let's talk about development. Buddie shippers love to throw shade at Tommy. So, quick question: it's been 5 years now, where is Eddie's character development? Since Season 3, he has been suffering because of his wife and has run away from a new relationship. He's in the same place as in Season 7. The truth is, Buddie shippers don't care about Eddie's character. They see Eddie as an extension of Buck. Buck manages to get some self-improvement. We can see his changes from Season 1 to now. Eddie? They don’t care; they're too worried about karaoke scenes and their only concern is to make Buddie canon

Sorry, that annon got me so nervous

truth be told, the show favours buck, and eddie is often neglected in terms of development. i must admit i actually saw some eddie-leaning bobs express frustration about this early on when it was revealed that a gay eddie arc was under consideration before tim and co ultimately decided on a bi buck storyline. but their voices were pretty drowned out by the constant yapping of how the show could make buddie canon, and now it's hard to see anything else.

i think you're right in saying bobs don't care about eddie as a character. but i'd even go so far as to say they don't care about buck either. superficially? sure because they both are part of the ship they love. but in reality? i wouldn't be so sure about that.

because the thing is they don't seem to think about buck and eddie as separate individuals. they always make one's storyline about the other. there is no buck without eddie and no eddie without buck in their eyes.

when you love a character, i think it's only natural that you want them to be happy. but when you love a ship more, your brain is wired to believe that the only way for them to be happy is if said ship ends up together. i don't want to condemn anyone for their feelings and choices because it's everyone's right to enjoy what they want to enjoy. you can't force anyone to change their view on that. i just wish they admitted they are not actually buck defenders or eddie defenders – they are just full-on buddie shippers, and that's it. don't pretend you care about them as individuals because it's obvious it's not true.

bobs don't care that buck is now in a happy relationship with a man who treats him as his equal, doesn't glorify him, understands what it means to be a firefighter, supports him, and makes an effort to be there for him when he needs him. they don't care that he is good for buck right now. they want tommy gone because he stands in the way of buddie canon (does he really? not the fact that eddie is canonically still very much heterosexual?), and because the audience seems to enjoy him much more than they anticipated. and they don't even care about an amicable break-up anymore – i saw some bobs say they want tommy dead. now you can't tell me you care about buck if you wish for his love interest to die. it's fine if you don't like tommy and if you personally think buck would be happier with someone else. let's agree to disagree and move on. but when you wish to seriously traumatize (one of) your favourite(s) character(s) in order for your ship to become canon? that just shows where your priorities lie, and i can guarantee that most people will disagree with you.

when it comes to eddie, he doesn't have the happiest storyline right now, and hasn't for a while. but if/when in s8 or some later season (provided they get renewed for more) he gets the development he deserves, and finally finds someone who he truly likes (and that someone isn't buck) and treats right, or perhaps decides that being single is fine and lets go of the pressure to be in a romantic relationship, do you think they'll be happy for him? i highly doubt so. they'll still push for buddie canon, not taking into account the individual characters of the story and their needs. what matters is that they get what they want, and everything and everyone else can go to hell.

if that is your stance, i personally think you should just quit watching the show and move to ao3 full-time for your and everyone else's own good. tim and co will not make buddie canon just because you want them to. it has to make sense for both buck and eddie individually first. and right now that is not the case for either of them.

[bleue-flora]

I just watched the finale again and what was the idea of c!drunz killing the server and reviving the server again supposed to mean, was that whole saw trap scene staged? because how were they gonna gather everyone and kill them all, and then revive them till they got their simple peaceful family and life back and if is staged, why even say all that to c!clingy if they were sick of c!clingy fighting c!dream all the time and seeing him as the big bad. If its not staged, why is it something that they thought would work? I feel like I've misinterpreted it as like c!drunz gathering everyone around like they're sheep into a pen lmao. Another thing is, they wanted to test the heroic/sacrificial limbo but the way they phrase the conversation is as if the person that died is gonna die forever while the other person leaves to tell everyone what happened which makes me believe that part was also staged because lets say if c!tubbo stayed behind and died making the sacrifice, then they'd revive him, find out the limbo and then would they like kill him again? like what would they do, put him in prison, let him be free, treat him like vikk and lazar despite saying that they made a mistake with those experiments and revived and killed too many times.

And if the server is off balance by revives and kills why would they want to kill everyone on the server then revive again to begin with. I'm just a little confused on the plan and I think you were the blog that said that it was all staged iirc and I wanted your insight into it because oh man I am struggling here. I do get their plan isn't meant to make sense though I feel like I missed something which has made me more lost.

Hmmm asking all the good questions. Well I should say to start that while I do think we should look at what staged duo does and says with skepticism, after all these two have shown they are liars especially to clingy duo so there are a lot reasons to doubt them. On the other hand 1) technically it can’t really be staged because it wasn’t super planned out, clingy duo came and they were not expecting it. 2) It is the finale and the content creators would know this so they would try and give us at least some answers…

Anyways while their actual Plan remains unclear, though I have some theories and thoughts about it [here], there are things we can determine pretty reasonably are legit or not, because we know they tell both lies and truth. For example, we know they experimented with Lazar and Vik - so they do spill truth obviously. It’s just how to determine what is and wasn’t true.

The biggest thing I can say we probably can say pretty strongly is that that saw trap was such a load of bs. For starters, it wasn’t meant for clingy duo, and when I’m thinking about characters who are willing to be selfless and die a hero, that would be significant enough to Dream or Punz to do this, not a whole lot of options come to mind. I’ve talked about it [here] about who it could be for, but since then I’m starting to wonder if it was supposed to serve a different purpose entirely… anyways the other thing and perhaps most noteworthy is that staged duo doesn’t seem to give a damn about the trap one way or another. When Tommy shows up in the finale and says Tubbo is dead, Dream doesn’t believe him, double checking with Punz to make sure he checked [clip] (checked what? No freaking idea, limbo I guess or more likely to see if there was a body probably… I don’t know). So the fact that they seem to care so little about their experiment and clingy duo in general is telling to me. The other thing is that the variables that change limbo seem to me to be pretty minor differences, like I’m not even sure if there’s a way to replicate and make it back to the same limbo, if it matters both on how you die and what happens before. I mean multiple people have died to a sword or axe, presumably specifically Dream’s sword or axe, I mean how different is Tommy dying in the finale to him getting beat to death in the jail cell with a potato, I mean plus technically Ranboo’s death could be seen as selfless right? Dying for his son seems kinda selfless, (but they didn’t even go talk to him in limbo anyways, so do they really care about limbo that much?), therefore I don’t really think that point matters. Hell even if it did, I don’t see why they couldn’t test this on Vikk or Lazar (maybe that was their original plan?…). I mean it just sounds so stereotypically evil - especially the way he presents it, the way he says they couldn’t test it because they are evil [clip], and the fact that it aligns with the hero dynamic fueling Tommy’s ego and such. In other words, playing into his world view. And whenever they are doing that I’d say it’s a major red flag. So, the saw trap I think we can say pretty reasonably, based on what we do know is facetious, the question of what the room is for and who however remains up for speculation.

As far as them killing everyone, I don’t think this is true either. I mean for starters why not kill Tubbo and Tommy to start the process, why not kill Sapnap like he talked about to Foolish, while on his own. Like if the goal is to kill everybody why let someone go tell everyone to come after them. Killing Sam, Sapnap, Foolish, Quackity… etc is a lot easier than trying to kill then all teamed up together. And we know unless they have some super weapon that they aren’t confident enough to even kill them all as they said in the finale and here [clip]. So unless they plan on trapping them in the prison and nuking them, or summoning a freaking dragon, or teaming up with XD or something, I don’t think that’s a feasible plan and they may be very screwed up mentally but they aren’t stupid.

They also are all about the balance but yet have no issues bringing Tommy back after he gets murdered, and they seem just in general so calm to whatever unbalance of such is going on. I mean we do know to some extent that it’s truth, XD tells Foolish his lives are limited because he’s low on power and he needs more death to fuel him, and we know the book is directly connected to XD since in the prison podcast it summoned him. So the unbalance is pretty confirmed as true even if perhaps their ‘solution/plan’ may not be. All the best lies have truth in them.

Which brings us to more questions than answers. Why bring clingy duo to prison in the first place? What and or who was the saw trap actually for? What was the actual plan? And why monologue to clingy duo at all? To which I unfortunately have little satisfying answers, which trust me frustrates no one more than me ;). What I can say perhaps their reason for lying and putting on a show at all was that I think they planned on letting someone go and for some reason wanted them to tell the others. And I base this on two things - their utter nonchalance, the way they just don’t seem to even care about clingy beyond being infuriated by them murdering Dream , and just the absolute unhinged way they act at times. The villainous, “This is so cute. We shouldn’t interrupt them” [clip]. The way they talk about the saw trap/experiment - “we’re just too evil” and like Punz’s ominous “choose wisely” as they leave [clip].

I don’t know but a good portion of that monologue feels very - we were practicing our evil laughs backstage before we walked out here, ya know… ;D

[starry-eyed-extraterrestrial]

Another one shot for my moot @robinsnest2111 , sorry this took me a while I'm writing exams rn and also this isn't my best work, so I promise to make it up to you and annal next time I write requests by making the requested fics actually...good lol, hope you enjoy this short piece anyway<3333

Mick is very familiar with facades.

He's known people who use them almost exclusively to the point that they lose all true identity and people who curse the mere thought of pretending to be something they're not or being anything but honest about who they really are. Mick falls into the latter category, he hates when people lie to save face and beat around the bush with their true intentions he'd rather just people be upfront about their true motivations so they can get from point a to point b.

There is one exception to this rule. One annoying blond exception that now lays next to him in his hotel bed, pressing his cold shivering form against Mick's side and hiding the face that he's usually so proud of in the crook of Mick's neck.

Another nightmare it would seem.

Vince Neil is a man who is no stranger to facade. He prances around all day like he's God's Magnum Opus and treats everyone who isn't hot and famous enough for him like second class citizens.

But at night, when there is no more audience to entertain and no more people to peacock around for in public and no more booze and girls to go around to satisfy his insatiable need for debauchery. Vince gets to thinking. And thinking leads to remembering. And remembering leads to thoughts of razzle.

And thoughts of razzle lead Vince to Mick's bed.

They haven't been doing this whole song and dance long, the accident was literally a few months ago so Vince is still freshly traumatised, not that Mick knows anything about that, he just assumes.

Mick wraps his arms around the singer gently and helps them settle into a more comfortable cuddle, one that allows them both to lay in positions that doesn't turn them into acrobats.

Vince's face still stays pressed in the junction of his neck and if Mick feels moisture there from what could only be tears, then he pretends not to notice and instead almost protectively puts his chin on top of Vince's golden locks and brings him in closer.

Mick isn't huge on cuddling but he wants Vince to know that he's there and that he's got him. He has to steer clear from as many words as possible. Him not speaking is the whole appeal to Vince.

Vince comes to him because if he goes to Nikki, Nikki would want to talk. Vince doesn't go to Tommy because Tommy will brush him off and assure him all was well. But Vince knows all isn't well, knows that a man, his friend, is dead today because of him and he doesn't need someone to tell him to talk about how he's feeling or someone to give him patronising comfort. All he needed was a warm body to touch and a judgement free zone to cry and Mick was the perfect candidate.

Mick hears rain start to fall on his window pane and Vince seems to shrink up further and deeper into Mick's side.

They don't ever speak when they're like this, Vince just clings to the subtle warmth of the guitarist and Mick holds the man, despite himself like the most precious gift in the world.

So yes Mick hates facades, thinks they make the world a far worse, more complicated place but he understands why Vince hides behind a mask.

If anybody were to touch the fragile ego and soul of the singer with even slightly to rough a palm they'd break him into a million pieces.

Mick loves Vince too much to ever want that pain of being vulnerable around the untrustworthy people of the world to be known to him.

So for once he puts up with the facades, and allows the soul of his vulnerable singer to stay protected next to him in bed huddled in his arms safe and sound.

He'd make the bad thoughts go away. He'd make them disappear forever if he could…or maybe he wouldn't, call it being selfish but Mick quite likes being needed by his singer for things like this, likes holding him close and running a hand through his hair.

Maybe they could reach an agreement somehow, Vince's nightmares of past horrors go away but he stays in bed next to Mick, still in desperate need of his affection.

Yeah, he thinks that's fair.

The rain pours outside now, making a nice cosy white noise atmosphere fall over them like a warm blanket. They fall asleep like that, listening to the rain and holding each other close.

[outrunningthedark]

It would be great to get bi buck, it really would!! I think people’s issue with the Tommy and buck stuff is that y’all have plucked Tommy as a LI out of thin air. You’ve just seen a guest starring male character near buck and decided ‘yep it’s probably gonna be him’ with zero proof. Sure, for all we know it could be him, but it could just as easily be any other male character new or old

People's issue with "the Tommy and Buck stuff" is that it's not Eddie. When the fandom was theorizing how the show could build a Buckley-Diaz arc to start the season, no one complained. When the fandom theorizes on how Eddie's still canon relationship can lead him to realizing his feelings for Buck, no one complains. When the fandom theorizes on how Eddie's still canon relationship can inspire ~jealousy~ and hurt in Buck because of his hidden feelings, no one complains. As soon as you say "Buck could get a boyfriend. And the first one might not be Eddie"? NOW you're "talking crazy with zero proof". Tommy is the easy topic because we know he's there. Being a first responder helps, too. It could literally be some guy Buck meets in the premiere and the fandom would still go "omg why are you always trying to hook Buck and Eddie up with the people they meet???" Uh...probably because that's the way the show has gone season after season? The fandom says "That won't happen!" And they're wrong. Every time. I know for a fact that if I was treating Buck and some bf not named Eddie as a "crackship" no one would care what I'm saying. But that's not what I do. If my gut says Buddie isn't going canon this season, I'm gonna look at the story that's been laid out thus far and form my opinions around that as opposed to what I *want* Tim to do. If Natalia were coming back, obviously Buck discovering his attraction to men would not be on anyone's mind. But it's looking like he's single, and if we're hoping for any kind of deviation from what we're used to, why shouldn't it happen while he's single? Why shouldn't it happen while Tim gets to collab with a new network and write for a new audience who MIGHT be more open to such change if it's told right off the bat vs. years from now (and will come across as "pandering")?

Buck getting a boyfriend doesn't mean Buddie's dead. It would just mean Buddie isn't happening right now. Which should not be a controversial statement considering Marisol's status, but this fandom wants what they want when they want it. And if they don't get it? That's when the tantrums begin.

[nobodywritingao3]

Shameful Company [ch 3] Lady Lie [3/4]

masterpost | previous

The village Tommy grew up in was located in a beast's territory, a man eating serpent's. Isolated from the world, all he's ever known is loneliness. When he's forced outside the safety of the town walls he meets a stranger who claims to live beyond the village. They become fast friends despite the fact that the man is clearly hiding something - but can you really blame Tommy? He's never had a friend before.

CW for entire fic: - Wilbur eats people lol - swearing

title taken from 'Shameful Company' by Rainbow Kitten Surprise

chapter title taken from 'Lady Lie' by Rainbow Kitten Surprise inspired by the talented @beckyu and her story 'My Monster to Slay' (tumblr) (AO3)

word count: 4.3k 🐍 read it on AO3

CW for section: depiction of depressive episode including suicide attempt, self harm, disordered eating, and anger issues

Kintsugi (金継ぎ, "golden joinery"), also known as kintsukuroi (金繕い, "golden repair"), is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum; the method is similar to the maki-e technique. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise. Kintsugi

How have things been since last you messaged me? I'm reminding you to keep the antidote close, perhaps on your body. I can't imagine he'll be happy trapped in human form and I recommend you keep your guard up.

"FUCK. YOU!" Wilbur screamed, smashing Phil's equipment on the ground. There was a noise like shattering glass as it landed,.

Phil winced, wondering what exactly got ruined. He toyed anxiously with his necklace. "I'm sorry," he said soothingly. "But you need to - "

"What I need is to not be stuck in this - this body!" He crumpled into a ball on the floor, breathing heavily and shaking like a leaf.

"I'm sorry," Phil repeated. "I'm so, so sorry." He made to approach him but Wilbur fell back with a growl at his first movements, and he stopped dead in his tracks.

He's had a hard time adjusting. I'm worried he won't move past this. I'm trying to be patient and I'm doing everything I can in the meantime, but sometimes he just -

"Wil, sweetheart, you need to eat something."

"No." His voice was bitter and hot.

"You haven't eaten anything in days - would you please try the stew? It would put something into your belly without you having to - "

"No." He was more insistent that time, but as well, his voice cracked and wavered. He looked away from Phil and harshly blinked tears from his eyes.

Phil nudged a half bowl of mushroom soup towards him. "There are some potatoes and the like in there, but they're softened from being cooked. I know chewing is new to you, but it's a skill you can practice and - "

"I don't want to learn how to chew," he gritted out. "I'd rather starve."

"Wilbur - you will if you don't eat, please, just try - "

I'm sorry, Phil, that's terrible.

"Oh fuck - honey, what did you do?" Phil dropped his bag and hurried to Wilbur. Kneeling down, he gently took the boy's hands in his own and delicately held them palm up to expose the wrists.

Wilbur stared blankly at the wall. He was completely unresponsive and looked terribly pale.

Phil tried to focus on his labored breathing. Dead children don't breathe. And Wilbur was breathing very hard indeed.

"We're gonna get you cleaned up, okay? It could be a lot worse than it is, but you're still - you're losing a lot of blood."

He pulled him up and Wilbur went without resistance.

The motion seemed to pull him from the fog, from the dark place he was trapped in, but only by a little. He focused hazily on Phil's face before his eyes slid away. He leaned into Phil's touch.

Phil complied, curling protective arms around him and entirely supporting his weight. His heart pounded painfully in his chest as he felt warm, sticky blood beginning to soak into his clothes. "You're okay, you're okay... you're gonna be okay," he mumbled to him. "Everything's gonna be okay."

I'm worried about him. I don't think he's gonna get better.

It took Wilbur three days to wake up.

Every few hours, Phil would press his fingers against the boy's neck just to make sure his pulse was still going.

He lost sleep.

Whenever his body did finally succumb to the exhaustion, he was plagued by the same nightmare. In it, there was a cold body that wouldn't breathe but wouldn't stop bleeding, no matter what he did. He could apply any amount of bandages or tourniquets or even stitches, but the blood would soak through and the wounds would split open. He didn't know why he was even trying to stem the blood flow as the child was long dead, but he couldn't stop himself. Phil just wanted him to be okay.

The cave overflowed, a testament to his failure. The blood was viscous, solid, and completely nontransparent. As it engulfed the floor and the beds and the furniture, he became overcome with the paralyzing fear that everything it swallowed was gone forever, and he could dive deep and swim hard without ever reaching the bottom. The only thing left unblemished by the void was the body itself, frail and small and helpless and dead. Phil couldn't stop trying to save him, futile as it was. The red seeped into his eyes. He was rendered blind, and the last thing he took in before it filled his delicate lungs and killed him dead was the overpowering smell of iron and the distinct, hollow feeling of shame.

He would wake up crying and soaked in cooling sweat, and he'd fall over himself to reach Wilbur's bed. The only thing that could calm him down after those dreams was placing his ear over the boy's heart and listening to the steady beat.

Phil didn't leave the cave. He spent his days watching Wilbur. In preparation for his waking, he'd cook, boiling potatoes and grain and meat until they lost form from the gentlest touch, and impatiently, he waited. He cleaned the wounds and fought the infection with a combination of antiseptic and magic. He redressed the bandages constantly (thanking his stars that the blood never seeped through), and reapplied balm twice a day.

Under his gentle care and watchful eye, Wilbur's body healed. His body healed, but Phil never stopped worrying for his mind.

Shouldn't think like that. He had a bad moment, but he's already proven he's a strong kid. He must have been, to survive what he has. Have faith in him. He needs to be loved before he can be lovable.

"Why did you save me?"

Phil looked up sharply. It was the first thing he'd said in a week. The boy's voice was rough from disuse, and he visibly swallowed. Phil cautiously approached him, handing him his second serving of soup.

"I'm not sure how you mean that question."

He wouldn't look him in the eyes. "Just - why?"

Phil was quiet for a few seconds. "Do you think I shouldn't have?"

The boy looked uncomfortable and didn't say anything.

"I won't be angry if you say yes," Phil said gently. "I'm asking because you did that to yourself. And I have to wonder if you did it because you feel like you deserve to - "

"Does it matter why I did it?" He snapped, his fingers curling into a fist.

Yes. More than anything. "We don't have to think about that right now."

Wilbur softened. He was quiet several seconds. "So why did you save me?"

Because you were hurt. Because you're a kid. Because I don't believe anyone deserves to die. Because I believe you deserve to live. Because I love -

"Do I need a reason?" He sat on the edge of Wilbur's bed. Absentmindedly, his hand reached for the boy's hair and started to ruffle. He froze, realizing what he was doing, and made uncomfortable eye contact with Wilbur.

His cheeks were a bright red... but he wasn't withdrawing from the touch.

Phil slowly restarted his movements, scratching the boy's scalp. "You're adorable," he chanced.

Wilbur sputtered and slapped his hand away, earning a laugh from Phil. He tried to frown at him, but it didn't take long before he was laughing just as hard.

I hope you're right Tech, I really want this to work out for him. I admit, sometimes it feels like he's getting better, but other times -

Wilbur hadn't left his bed in two days.

"Take my hand, okay? I'll bring you up, and then you and I are gonna take a short walk outside. Get you some sunshine? Sounds nice, right mate?"

He stared at Phil's hand with weak contempt. "Can't you just leave me alone?" There was no real bite behind his words. "If you want to take a walk, just go by yourself."

Phil shook his head firmly. "Come with me." He kept his hand extended. "Fifteen minutes. I want to talk to you."

"About what?" Wilbur asked mistrustfully.

"About nothing. I don't have anything I want to talk to you about, I just want to talk to you."

"Well, we're talking right now."

Phil sighed and dropped his hand, his heart sinking to his feet. "Please come with me."

Wilbur glared at him.

~

"I made your favorite," Phil said hopefully, motioning towards the set dining table.

His face crumpled. "No thanks."

"When was the last time you ate?"

He didn't answer.

"Wil?"

~

"Put it down!" Phil yelled.

Wilbur scrambled backwards, a bloody bread knife still clutched desperately in his right fist. For someone who had only started walking regularly a year ago, he was surprisingly agile when pumped full of panic and adrenaline.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" He screamed back. Tears were streaming down his face and his left arm was bleeding freely.

"Please," Phil said, with as much patience and love as he could muster - which at the moment wasn't a lot - "just hand me the knife, okay?"

"Fuck no! And fuck you!"

"You can swear at me later," he begged, frustration seeping into his voice, "please just give me the fucking knife!"

Wilbur dodged his hands and sprinted towards the entrance of the cave. "Eat my fucking ass, Phil!"

Sometimes getting better looks like getting worse.

"I'm not - I can't do this!" Wilbur wailed, hugging his knees. "It's too hard, Phil, I'm never gonna get it."

Phil sat down next to him and pulled him into a tight hug, letting Wilbur empty himself of his emotions. It must have been an hour of heartbroken crying before Wilbur quieted down into sniffles and sharp breathing.

Phil sighed and traced patterns into his back. "I'm sorry. I know I say it all the time, but I'm so, so sorry."

He waited for Wilbur to snap at him, start yelling about how he should be sorry, how 'sorry' doesn't fix anything, how he hates him and no amount of 'sorry' can fix it, but he stays quiet.

Tentatively, Phil continues, "You've been working so hard. Learning to walk on two feet, and chew, and adjust to being small - it's a lot. You should have had someone to teach you these things when you were younger. I'm so sorry, Wilbur. It's so much, isn't it? It's not easy for you."

Wilbur's breathing hitched and Phil felt guilt well up inside of him.

"I - shit, sorry mate, I didn't mean to make you cry - "

Wilbur pressed himself into Phil's chest, leaning in hard and practically forcing Phil to keep his arms around him.

"Oh..." he said softly, blinking down at him.

"Are you gonna leave me?" He blurted out, voice muffled in Phil's chest.

Phil's heart ached. "No. Never. Never ever."

Wilbur clung on tight and didn't say anything else.

~

Wilbur was screaming again. Phil watched helplessly from his bed, where he'd woken up twenty minutes earlier to smashing and yelling. He fiddled with his necklace, worriedly taking in the scene before him.

Every book on nagas had its pages ripped out and crumpled, strewn across the ground like confetti, and a large portion of Phil's clothing had been torn into and cut up. Food was spilled across the floor. Everything was in disarray.

Wilbur was currently tossing things into the fireplace. The fire inside was steadily dying. He didn't seem to give much regard as to if what he was burning was flammable or not, but he still tossed anything he could reach into the pile.

Phil stood up, his heart aching, and made his way to the kitchen area. He gingerly stepped over broken shards of glass and spilled rations while Wilbur stared at him, breathing hard and looking ready to brawl.

Phil just gave him a sad look.

"Will you fucking quit that?!" Wilbur snapped, sending a pile of papers onto the ground.

He winced as they went down, and Wilbur bared his teeth in a mock smile.

Phil just sighed and pulled open one of the cabinets, happy to find that the tea, kettle, and cups were still perfectly preserved. He started to set some water boiling on the stove.

Apparently dissatisfied with his reaction, Wilbur screamed again before picking up a lantern and smashing it down as hard as he could. Shards flew and spread across the ground.

Phil ignored it.

Wilbur started to march towards him, but stumbled and gasped in pain as a long shard of glass lodged itself into his foot. He made a throaty, angry noise and stomped his foot down hard, pushing the debris deeper into his skin before continuing to limp towards Phil. He readied a hand to smack the boiling kettle off the stove, and it was here that Phil finally stepped in.

He grabbed Wilbur around the wrists and tugged him away, firm but gentle. Wilbur writhed in his grip but he paid no mind, sweeping him into bridal style and carrying him to his bed as he clawed and thrashed. Phil deposited him onto the mattress and turned away, back to the tea. He continued preparing it in silence.

Wilbur stood up and hobbled to the kitchen. Phil made to stop him again, thinking he was still trying to knock the tea over, but instead he reached for the cabinet containing their silverware and dishes. He snapped open the little door and started grabbing for the contents.

Staring him in the eyes, Wilbur took a dish at a time and smashed them against the wall. He got through five while coldly glaring at Phil before he started to pick up the pace, gradually paying less and less attention to his reactions - or more accurately, his lack thereof - as he threw everything he could at the walls, the ceiling, the floor. Hot tears streamed down his face. Then he ran out of dishes. He kicked a half broken bowl into the wall and stepped into the shards. By now, there were bloody footsteps all over the floor, tracing out his meltdown, and he seemed all too happy to add more paint to the canvas. He fell to his knees and the glass sank into his flesh there as well. He pressed his palms into the floor and he raised his hands, Phil caught sight of the torn up, encrusted skin.

Wilbur started to whimper, and then he started to sob.

Phil poured two cups of hot tea and left them on the table to cool. He made his way to Wilbur, assuming he'd gotten it out of his system.

He looked up at Phil, his cheeks splotchy and red and his eyes completely bloodshot, and then he reached for the nearest sizable glass shard. Seeing Phil quicken his pace, he quickened too, raising it rapidly towards his face - towards his eye. Just as he made to plunge it into his skull, Phil grabbed him around the arm and held him back. He pulled the glass from his grip, ignoring the cutting sting on its edge and let it shatter on the floor before Wilbur could further self mutilate. He tried to grab him around the armpits, get him to his feet, but Wilbur kicked him hard and shoved him away.

"GO AWAY!" Wilbur screamed. "JUST FUCKING GO!"

Phil tripped as he backed away, his breath catching in his lungs.

Wilbur inhaled sharply. "Fuck - just fuck off..." His voice came out considerably weaker.

It was silent, save for his soft crying.

After a painfully long half minute, he managed to choke out a single, heartbroken, "Why?"

"Why... why what?"

A sob fought its way from his mouth in spite of his best attempts to choke it down, and a fresh cascade of tears went down his face. "Just - why?" A dam broke. "I don't -  I don't get it," he cried, barely able to speak for the sobs wracking his body. "I don't understand. Why? Why? I don't - I just... I just don't fucking get it."

He raised his a hand to wipe away his tears, and the invisible barrier keeping Phil anchored to the spot dissolved. He shot forward and stopped Wilbur's hands, insistent on wiping away his tears himself.

"Glass hands," he murmured. "Let me, okay? Just let me..."

Wilbur hung his head and continued his broken wailing, but he didn't fight as Phil carefully wiped the tears and snot from his face.

Phil sifted through the debris on the ground until he unearthed one of his day packs. He opened it and reached into a padded inner pocket, pulling out a small vial. He returned to the table and pulled one of the teacups forward, emptying the potion into the warm drink.

"Healing pot," he gentle explained. "Let's get you fixed up."

He returned to Wilbur's side and helped him to his feet. Slowly guiding him to the table. An absurd thought hit him then, how similar this action was to when he'd first guided Wilbur to the cave after trapping him in human form. He winced with each limped step Wilbur took, knowing the shards in his feet would only wedge itself deeper into his body. He sat him down at the table.

Wilbur reached out a bloody, glass encrusted hand for his drink and Phil shooed him off, raising the cup to the boy's lips instead. "There's enough in this cup to heal all the damage you took, so you need to drink all of it. But you can pace yourself."

He took a few sips before miserably pulling away. Phil obliged, setting the cup down and pulling his own towards himself. He watched idly as the glass in Wilbur's hands slowly started to push itself out.

"There you go," he murmured warmly. "Potion's doing its job just fine."

By now, Wilbur's crying had begun to taper off.

Phil raised the cup to the boy's mouth again, and he accepted the drink. The last of the glass pushed itself free from his hands, and Phil gently set it into his grip.

They sat in silence. The sun was starting to rise. Their home was a broken mess.

Wilbur stared shamefully into his cup. "I just don't get it," he repeated, voice broken and raspy.

Phil nodded. "Which part?"

"The whole thing."

They continued sipping their tea.

Phil returned to the cabinet, grabbing a jar of honey. He stirred a few dollops into Wilbur's cup and refilled it with another portion of tea. "It'll soothe your throat."

They drank until the sun sat low in the sky.

"I made a mess," he said, breaking the silence.

Phil hummed. "It's okay."

Wilbur clenched his jaw. "How can you say that?"

"Easily."

They lapsed back into silence.

Wilbur chugged the rest of his tea, and then threw the cup against the wall. He turned to Phil with a curious, guarded expression.

Phil regarded him inquisitively. Wilbur's action had lacked anger or passion. If anything, it seemed half-hearted.

He continued sipping his tea. "Do you want another cup?" He clarified in afterthought, "Specifically to drink from."

Wilbur stared at him expressionlessly. "What. The fuck?"

"I'm not going to punish you, Wil," Phil stated with a slight note of exasperation.

He frowned at him. "I don't want you to," he said coldly, clearly offended by the implication.

Phil finished his own cup. "Okay."

"I don't!" he insisted.

"I said okay."

Wilbur was quiet. Then he inhaled sharply and spat out, "Aren't you mad at me?!"

"... I feel like that's irrelevant."

Wilbur glared at him, his hands starting to ball into fists.

Phil sighed, relenting. "Sometimes I am. Sometimes I can be very frustrated with your behavior."

Something in his face dropped and his body went limp, a devastated look like disappointment flashing across his face before he could properly cover it up with a snarl. "Good," he hissed.

"I get angry at you because I care about you, mate. If your goal is self destruction, I wouldn't count this as a victory."

"That doesn't make any sense - none of this makes any sense!" Wilbur exploded.

"I know it doesn't."

"Well, do you care to explain?"

Phil scrubbed at his face. "I would if I thought it would make you feel better." Before Wilbur could say something to add to his spiral, he continued plainly, "I'm going to throw this cup at the wall."

This caught him off guard. "Excuse me?"

Phil threw his teacup at the wall. It exploded. Wilbur stared at him with a slack jawed expression.

"I want to show you something."

He began to murmur under his breath while making quick motions with his hands. Light and sparks began to dance and fill the air behind his fingers' movements. Wilbur's eyes widened. The cup fragments lifted and floated airily towards the table from where they'd collected on the ground. They arranged themselves neatly in a circle. With a deliberate flick of his fingers, the shards fit themselves together like a jigsaw puzzles, and with a softly hummed three note tune, clean gold liquid started to materialize in the air and apply itself to the cracks. Wilbur watched in awe as the delicate shards slowly came together, even the smallest pieces finding their way to where they used to be. The cup, repaired with beautiful gold binding over its cracks, gently set itself onto the table before the pair.

"It's a kintsugi spell. And I want to teach you how to perform it. I also want to teach you how to brew healing potions."

Wilbur swallowed, a conflicted look crossing his face. "Is this why you aren't punishing me?" Because the damage I did wasn't permanent, wasn't big enough. Because I haven't truly pushed you to the edge?

Phil gave him a look. "I'm not punishing you because there's nothing in this world that you could do to me - or to anyone else - that would make me think you deserve to be punished."

A defiant look crossed his face and he spat out harshly, "That is bullshit. You're a fucking liar - or you're delusional. I don't know what's wrong with you, but that isn't how this works. I just want to know - " he cut himself off, glowering at the table.

"It is how this works," Phil gently countered. "It is how this is working."

Wilbur glared at him. "I've killed a lot of people, Phil."

"I know you have."

"And the majority of them didn't deserve it. At all. They were innocents." His voice broke at the end and he furiously blinked back tears. That indignant, heated look never left his face.

"I know that too."

"I ate most of them alive."

Phil didn't respond, only looking at him sympathetically.

"I heard them screaming and dying inside of me, and I never once felt bad about it." Liar.

"I know, Wil - "

"No. No, I don't think you do."

Phil sighed. "Sweetheart, I saw you eat Jared."

Wilbur's mouth fell open in shock, and a mortified look crossed his face.

"Don't be embarrassed that I know. The first time we met, you kept trying to kill me too. You kept trying to eat me."

He averted his gaze, his cheeks heating up and fresh tears collecting in his eyes.

Phil started to perform the kintsugi spell again. "The point is that I know. I know very well. And I still don't think you deserve to be punished."

He worked silently for another minute, pretending for Wilbur's sake that he didn't notice the streams of tears dripping down his face. He finished repairing the teacup Wilbur had thrown, and when he was done, he poured another portion of tea - the last portion left in the kettle - and gently dropped a spoonful of honey in. He stirred it, the sweet noise of the spoon moving in circles absolutely musical.

"I know it seems bad. I know it feels like this is a lost cause, that the damage is too much." He pushed the cup into Wilbur's hands. "But you would be surprised at the things you can fix."

Wilbur accepted the cup. His fingers traced over the gold sealed the cracks. Something in him seemed to die. "You can feel where it broke," he said desperately. His voice cracked into a whimper. "You can feel - they're still there."

"Of course they are," Phil said soothingly, running a finger across one of the gold veins on his own cup. "But the cups still hold tea just fine, don't they? You can tell our cups were broken, but they're still fully functional. And just as beautiful as they were before, even if they look different."

He touched the cup irreverently. "This tea set was a gift from my son, actually. Lots of love in these cups. Lots of history in them too."

Wilbur shrank back, fresh shame taking over his features. "I'm sorry," slipped past his lips. Phil looked at him curiously. It was the first time he'd ever heard him say that.

"You're misunderstanding me. I love these cups, mate. I'm still going to love them even if they get a little broken or chipped. I'm not going to throw them away just because of a little damage. Especially if the damage can be fixed."

He reached forward and gently pushed a few strands of hair from Wilbur's eyes. He adoringly thumbed the boy's temple. "I have every reason to keep these cups. I love these cups. Very, very much." He stared at him for a few seconds, a tender, sweet quality in his eyes. He let go of Wilbur's face and motioned for him to give him his hand.

"Will you learn the spell? I can't always be around to put things back together, and it would make me feel better if I knew someone taught you how to take care of the things you care about."

Still sniffling, Wilbur nodded. "Okay." And then he blurted out, "Thank you."

Phil smiled. "Of course. Anytime. I'm always happy to help you navigate these things, okay?"

Wilbur gave him a small smile in return, and for the first time since he'd brought him home, Phil felt like their story might have a happy ending.

~ ~ ~

🏷️: @i-am-beckyu @da3dm @flowers-of-plenty @gracideaviolet

ah haheuaheuhaeuahe. well i hope you enjoyed this

[color-coded-bear]

DSMP Hotel Del Luna AU

Hotel Del Luna is a K Drama that I'm very fond of, so of course I made a DSMP AU with it. I had even planned a fic for it that I never actually got around to writing.

There exists a hotel that caters only to ghosts and spirits, unseen to the human eye. Of course, that doesn't mean the living don't stumble upon it.

Ranboo comes across a hotel in some less than desirable circumstances (spoiler alert: he almost dies), and strikes a deal with the hotel owner, Wilbur, in order to keep living.

The deal? When he's old enough, Ranboo will return to the hotel and become the hotel manager; the only position in the hotel taken by a living person.

When Ranboo finally returns to the hotel to take the position of hotel manager, meets the ghostly staff;

Quackity, Techno, Niki, and Tubbo

Although he learns that ghosts arent the only ones occupying the hotel;

There's Philza, the Grim Reaper/Angel of Death, who helps deliver spirits to the otherside when their time comes.

And there's Bad, Dream, Sapnap, and George. Deities, who- well actually, Ranboo isn't entirely sure what they do.

Ok, incomplete fic outline time:

At the Doorstep (A Deal is Made): Ranboo comes across a hotel in less than desirable circumstances (spoiler alert: he almost dies) and strikes a deal with the hotel owner.

This isn’t Goodbye: The old hotel manager, Karl, has died, and it’s time for him to move on. A deity comes to see him off. (a lil bit of Karlnap, as a treat)

I Can’t Believe You’re Working With Dead People and You Didn’t Tell Me: Tommy notices that Ranboo is acting off about his new job, and decided he's gonna trail him and find out why (Tommy learns about the hotel and decides he wants to help)

Too Far Gone: A ghost escapes the hotel seeking revenge and becomes an evil spirit. A deity steps in. (Dream kills an evil spirit oOoo)

Title TBD: Ranboo and Tubbo bond over helping a (ghost?) child named Michael

Title TBD: While hanging out with Wilbur outside the hotel, Ranboo and Tommy run into some acquaintances/friends. Normally this would be chill, but Wilbur is acting weird now

Title TBD: Ranboo and Tommy learn about reincarnation, and suddenly, a lot of Wilbur's weird behavior is starting to make sense

So Long and Goodnight: Tommy and Ranboo really didn't plan on telling their dad (Sam) about the hotel, but that changes when a familiar face appears at the hotel (AKA breaking my own heart with some AwesamPonk)

Title TBD: After a particularly nasty disagreement between Tommy and Wilbur, it's revealed that Tommy is the reincarnation of Wilbur's little brother, who he lost before getting the hotel

When you reach the top there's nowhere else to go but: The story of two brothers in search of a home (aka Wilbur backstory)

Lily White and Poppy Red: Wilbur's change of heart

Title TBD: Tubbo finishes his business and finally moves on +Tubbo backstory

Title TBD: Techno finishes his business and finally moves on +Techno backstory

Title TBD: Quackity finishes his business and finally moves on +Quackity backstory

Title TBD: Niki finishes her business and finally moves on +Niki backstory

Title TBD: With Wilbur's change of heart, he can finally relinquish ownership of the hotel and move on. And so it's time for Tommy and Ranboo to say goodbye

I had two ideas for an epilogue:

The glimpse at who would be the hotel's next owner (probably a Hermit). It would be an open ended epilogue though, because I had no plans to write any sort of sequel.

A glimpse of a future where they're all reincarnated together

(Both were unlikely to happen to be honest)

A prologue I couldn't decide if I wanted to write or not;

A Debt to Pay: Wilbur meets a deity, and receives a hotel for his sins.

The reason the Techno, Tubbo, Niki, and Quackity-centric stories were so vague is because I never actually figured out their backstories and their reasons for not moving on.

I had also wanted to add more chapters between the ones listed above, to space out all the serious plot stuff. Although to be honest,, I never actually thought about what they would be about.

[away-ward]

Interesting! Some posts by PD on their FB group, from the pastinfound these days from X / Twitter

link: https://x. com/dearreadrr/status/1755958608171597855?s=61 (delete space between x. And /)

conversation from the link was about readers asking PD about what other pairing could happen, and some excerpt from PD i copy pasted from those links:

Pen Douglas

Michael and Banks. All day. It would be so hilarious. And Damon and Kai. He would soooo mess up Kai's clothes

And

Damon and Michael. I never got a vibe from Damon and Emory, but their connection is for life. Definitely.

2. Admin

Pen Douglas • 4 Oct 2022 •

Just a silly convo I wrote

***

Damon: I mean, I know we don't get along, but I do care about you.

Misha: You don't care about anything you can't screw.

Damon: And...?

Misha: 😳

Kai: 🤦🏻😆

Misha: I hate you. I've always hated you.

Damon: That hurts. Because I really love you. I mean, if we were stranded in the wilderness--and you were cold--I would warm you.

Will: 🤣

Damon: With my body.

Misha: Shut. Up.

Damon: And if I were dead and you were starving out there, Ikd want you to eat me

And i saw another extra that i forgot where i got:

Banks: Fine. I'll ask Kai if he wants to go, too.

Michael: No. Just you.

Banks: *laughs* | trust him around her. Now anyway. You don't trust her?

Michael: Of course I do. I just don't trust where my mind is going to go imagining you three alone in the dark together. Just make it a girls night.

Banks: I've been alone in the dark with her, too, you know?

Michael: Fuck.

(My note: wtf, so michael was always insecure when they're together? Wtf! So this wasn't new huh)

another one with Damon, Will and Emory, damon likes to spoil her. Again like PD said, their connection was for life, this too wasn't new. Wow, i think PD really already thought this out huh:

Pen Douglas • PenDragons-Penelope

Douglas Reader Group

Will: No. We do not need more chandeliers.

Emmy: 😥 But...

Damon: Ohhhhh, 70% off. *walks in store*

Emmy: 😊 *follows*

Will: 🙄

last one about readers complaining about why people hate emory and pd and someone else replied!

link: https://x. com/jurdandrew/status/1449132149894959107?s=61

(Delete space between x. And /)

conversation goes like this:

PenDragons-Penelope Douglas

Reader Group

Kétsia Mendes • 4h •

•••

Post: Emory Scott is definitely my fav character from Devil's Night. I don't understand why some people don't like her.

And I think she's almost a female version of Damon Torrance.

PD's reply:

Pen Douglas

Administrador

Many people had general problems with all of the heroines. We'll see the same thing in Hellbent. The double standard.

Or worse...the "Aro is so much better than Dylan" or "Tommy is the best girl" as if there's some competition between these women. It was one of the hardest things too see happen with Devil's Night.

But luckily, most understand Emory was at the survival level in high school and Will wasn't owed anything. Thankfully, her heart came around and she finally fought for him. 💕 I loved that SHE proposed. 😆 One of my favorite scenes. Will was so dang cute. Lol

another reader reply:

Donna Lynn Glushien

I didn't like her at first because Will is such a sweetheart to her and she treated him like dirt. But how she was, really added to her character.. and now I appreciate Emory a lot more. Love how strong and independent she is 💪🏼

original poster replied and quoted:

Kétsia Mendes Autor

Donna Lynn Glushien She explained why she treated him like "dirt" in chapter 29:

"Part of me resisted you because I didn't want to bring you into my horrible life," she told me. "I was embarrassed and full of anger and without hope. I couldn't give you anything."

I tipped my chin up, remaining silent.

"But a part of me also resisted you because I feared I'd just be trading one abuse for another," she explained. "How you coerced me, pushed me, wouldn't leave me alone when I told you to... Tried to scare me."

And PD liked OP's comment:

Pen Douglas reagiu ao seu comentário: "Donna Lynn Glushien

She explained why..."

There's ANOTHER surge of emory-hating video on tiktok too, and i think they probably didin't read thoroughly because they missed a lot of things that were going on in the text but luckily, that side of DN readers always are ride or die for emory!

link : 483 likes, 97 comments, ninguém é obrigado a gostar de ninguém e cada um tem opiniões diferentes 🤙🏻 https://vt. tiktok.com/ZSFFowdLU/ (delete space between t. And tiktok)

sometimes, i think some dn readers really don't have any critical thinking skills because they only read what they see, and even then, they don't read fully, as if they were just skimming. How are they gonna believe everything that damon and will said when damon likes to alter reality and mindfuck people, while will lies to everybody but emmy? Even damon and alex never knew his full story, AND their his best friends. And only for will to admit a couple times that emmy was right and he was just lying to convince himself he was right because he was prideful, arrogant, selfish, self-centered and spoiled? Like, if he admitted his flaws to be better, why can't these readers? And the thing that they're mad at her was not even because she was prideful, scared or a bit cowardly (like she admitted in her pov about her approach to her love life and will) but because she was caring for her grandma? 🤡 wtaf? Crazy!

some discourse happened too about will and her years of gone too:

https://x. com/raybanks/status/1755907408629485937?s=61 remove space between x. And /)

idk why but if pd can write all these headcanons about rika, banks, michael, kai, winter, will and damon, why is there nothing for emory? And it was half-assed too? I get that idea doesn't come easy, but still?

just wanted to share.

Heyy thanks for sharing! This was all very interesting to go through.

Thanks for putting the links together.

First, PD passing Damon around, and Damon literally wanting to sleep with everyone (except Emory apparently… which is so weird because he did say “it certainly wouldn’t be a chore” like…?) is kinda funny in that PD is exactly like the fandom in thinking Damon is like next level.

I still maintain that will would be the best lay. Damon said he's selfish and doesn't always keep his promises where that is concerned. why are they all lined up for him? We all know he only follows through for winter.

But at the same time my heart is like “Oh… so Emory is safe, right? No weird mash-ups?” And based on PD saying Michael and Banks and then following it was Damon and Kai, I can’t help but think it’s because those pairs have issues. Like they don’t really get along right off the bat, so there’s all this tension… which Emory doesn’t really have with anyone. So maybe that’s one reason why we never get HC with Emory. Because she’s just out there, being cute and not really causing any problems with anyone? Maybe??? I don’t know…

But it’s also weird that PD’s just like “Damon with Kai, Damon with Will, Damon with Misha, Damon with Michael… but I haven’t thought about Damon and Emory before.” Keeping in mind that Rika and Banks are the only other girls in the group besides his wife and they’re his sisters. If it weren’t for that fact alone, I really do think they’d be thrown into the mix.

And again… PD has thought about it before because they wrote Damon suggesting it. Like how have neither of them ever revisited that when the whole family is built on who Damon wants to have sex with, apparently? I’m laughing so hard on the inside because this all seems very…convenient.

Damon hassling Misha is fun. I can see it. Will and Misha are more like brothers, and we saw Will hassling Trevor in Corrupt. I think it’s probably a natural thing for them to annoy their best friend’s younger sibling. Now, if only Michael would stop trying to have sex with his best friend's little sisters...

As for the Michael and Banks convo, I didn’t read that as insecure. I read that as he didn’t want to be thinking about what the three of them would get up to alone when he could be there because he’d get turned on… and not be there. Such torture.

But gah.  They’re annoying.

Why would Will try to limit how many chandeliers Emmy has? I assume she would have a warehouse when she and Damon keep supplies for jobs. It’s not like she’s filling every inch of her ceiling with them. That’s just dumb design. So if she wants to have her collection of chandeliers, let her?

And of course, Damon has to spoil her. This is extra irritating because I went back and checked the tampon scene that PD wrote, and they ended it with “Damon probably went in and got them”

Like. I don’t try to defend PD’s portrayal of willemmy anymore. Obviously, I just don’t get it. But it would be impossible to do so when Will is constantly telling Emory she can’t have something or he won’t get her something, and then Damon goes and saves the day.

I feel like we get it, already. Damon is everyone’s everything, and Rika is the star of the show.

I also loved that Emory proposed to Will, and that he didn’t make a big deal about wanting to be the one to do it. But the thing about the favorites is… people are going to have favorites. That’s alright. People aren’t going to love every character on the page.

The reason there is a competition between the Devil’s Night girls is because they were in a competition for page time. It’s the most common complaint I see is that when we were supposed to be learning about Banks, Rika came in and made the scene about her. When we were supposed to be reading about Emory, Alex came in and made the scene about her. PD wrote the girls competing for time on the page and the reader's attention. Logically, the readers have a preference, and they will be jealous for their character. And since the series is what it is and there’s no changing it, of course that means readers are going to bash the character they didn’t want to read about who “stole” time from their favorite.

None of the girls had to be in competition. And I don’t think they are in canon. But PD definitely made it difficult to root equally for all of them when they weren’t all treated the same.

At least some readers are starting to see Emory more clearly, but I feel there will always be a bit of Emory hate. She’s really not given the same level of consideration from PD. Some readers do have a double standard when it comes to the girls, but it’s not always the case. Some readers just want the girls to be given equal amounts of attention across the series.

It’s not lost on me that Rika and Alex are the ones pitted against Banks and Emory the most. The fact is that Rika and Alex were developed during the first book when it was originally a stand-alone and not a series, so Banks and Emory often feel like an afterthought when the other two come around. That’s an issue with the writing, not the reader. And I’m not going to hold PD to the fire over it; writers will always have limits in their abilities. PD did the best they could at the time. But can we stop placing all the blame on how the readers are interrupting it and accept that somewhere along the line the author didn’t execute this in the best way possible? It's nothing to threaten PD over, but at least stop blaming the readers for being frustrated and championing one girl over the others.

And the tiktok… wow. But I can’t say I haven’t heard it before. It’s so strange how some readers are willing to hold Emory accountable for Will’s actions and not Will.

But as they said… we all have our own opinions.

And only for will to admit a couple times that emmy was right and he was just lying to convince himself he was right because he was prideful, arrogant, selfish, self-centered and spoiled? Like, if he admitted his flaws to be better, why can't these readers?

It really is weird, isn’t?

And the final bit of the discourse, not entirely sure what the post meant, but I feel like it relates to a post I made a few weeks back. Will wasn’t mad at Emory for leaving. He was going to let her go and live with the regret of what he did, even though it hurt. He wasn’t ever going to chase her down or seek revenge until he learned that she lied to him and about him.

His anger was never about Emory leaving. It was the lies and (what he saw as) betrayal.

Head canons really don’t come all that easy unless you’re obsessed and constantly thinking about even the most mundane things about a character. There has to be a little insanity around them for it to get that deep.

Again, I don’t really understand PD all that much, but if I had to guess… the boys started it all, and Damon is their favorite. So HC for them is easy. Rika was developed in Corrupt and came soon after the boys, so again, there was a lot of time to be a little obsessed. Banks and Winter aren’t mentioned nearly as much as those first, but still Banks more than Winter, but never without one of the boys or Rika.

I haven’t seen a winter hc or scene other than the alternative scene to KS.

I think the lack of Emory is just that PD was done with the series and the negative side of the fandom by the time they got to NF. If it’s true that they pushed NF out right after KS, then they might not have even had time to be obsessed with Emory.

This is a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Sure, Emory has much less content and readers who favor other characters will find her an easy target. But the bonus of liking an unpopular character is that you’re free to do what you want, because nobody’s watching that character.

Nobody’s watching Emory’s fans. Let’s have fun.

-KO

[bonesandthebees]

Anyway, eavesdropping! Why are all your Wilbur’s so damn nosy? (I’m referring to Stars. My son. A lot of late night snooping in that one. Curious boy.)

[“Is there a problem, pumpkin?”] This is the same nickname we’ve heard before, right? When Wilbur first overheard that Quackity and Schlatt were working together? This implies some sort of closeness, but I’m pretty sure Quackity did not like the nickname then, and he does not like it now. The fact Schlatt still uses it, implies how unhealthy their relationship is.

It’s also a big power imbalance. Schlatt holds the upper hand. He has the money and thus the power to back Quackity. He needs Quackity to be named heir because he does not like the other two options, and because he can control him (aka manipulate him because of the power imbalance).

Side note: if Quackity and Schlatt do have a romantic involvement (like in canon) then that’s an extra reason for Schlatt to not like Wilbur, since tntduo clearly has something going on. Like being Phil’s son is part of it, as well as Niki!s right hand. BUT the nickname could also be to flaunt his older age/power over Quackity.

Anyway, [The shit you keep pulling is causing problems. ] I wonder what shit he’s referring to. The Tommy assassination seems too long ago for them to have a fight about now… but it could be re-triggered by the ball. Or it could be plans for a new attempt. Maybe pressure Sam. Bride someone else. There’s options, but none of them are relevant since 1. Schlatt is dead and 2. There’s a time skip, if something was in place, it would be a short term arraignment. Unless of course the deal is over once the money man has died.

[The next thing Wilbur heard was a pained noise.] referring back to how killing Schlatt is also protecting Quackity. This is not a safe environment and Q is now stuck with him. The plan is already made up by that point. But it could be an extra reason why Wilbur does not want to fail when it needs to be carried out.

(3/?)

-🌲

"why are all your wilbur's so nosy" because he's gotta know what's going on he's a nosy mfer who wants to what's going on with everyone

like real answer rose!wilbur has been trained his entire life to be searching for information anywhere he can get it. his dad runs an entire information network of servants based entirely off of eavesdropping. but also he does like gossip outside of that. he and niki have had some insane gossip sessions.

oh yeah schlatt loves using that nickname for quackity and quackity doesn't like it. he can tell that schlatt uses it to be condescending. quackity technically ranks above schlatt (barely, but he is above him) but schlatt disregards any kind of formality to bring quackity beneath him. after all, he's the one with the money and power between them. the power imbalance is very present and quackity's rank does nothing to even it out.

I've decided to leave the nature of schlatt and quackity's relationship a bit ambiguous. schlatt definitely flirts with quackity quite a bit and I think quackity certainly flirts back when they're alone, but it's a constant game between them of what's real and what's manipulation. does schlatt flirt as another kind of power move? does quackity flirt back to keep schlatt on his side? or is there actually something there? it's up to reader interpretation, but either way I'll confirm that schlatt is really annoyed by whatever's going on between wilbur and quackity. it jeopardizes the control schlatt has over quackity, and theres definitely a bit of jealousy there too.

hmm... maybe you'll find out what their argument was about or maybe you won't but schlatt certainly did something to piss quackity off

oh yeah, if wilbur had any remaining moral qualms about killing schlatt that definitely got rid of them. again, even outside of whatever weird thing wilbur and quackity have going on, quackity is still one of wilbur's childhood friends. he wasn't thrilled seeing how schlatt treated quackity behind closed doors.

[hbosscreations]

Fixing Hellblazer: Dead in America

Apparently I'm not doing being negative today, so I'm going to channel my bullshit into fixing things.

Let me tell you a bit about me. I love bad horror movies. I LOVE horror movies that aren't great, but you can see how they COULD be great under different circumstances. My favorite thing to do for years was take a movie that wasn't good and think about what needed to be done to fix it.

Dead in America actually has a pretty simple fix that would help with the rewrite. You'd have to rewrite the whole thing, this draft isn't salvagable, but if you really want to tell the story about American Racism, it's such an easy fix, I don't know why they didn't do it in the first place.

Make Noah Ikumelo the main character.

Seriously. That's the big change.

Maybe he's not the focal character for the entire 11 issue run, but have him be the perspective of at least one issue instead of the random racists that keep getting their stories told like we're supposed to care about them.

Issue 1: Flee

Tommy is dead, K-Mag is dead, they're on the run, and John says 'well, I've got friends in America who could help us out'.

Noah's scared, Nat's scared, John seems to have a plan. So, they're off to America with no money, no papers, nothing but the clothes on their backs.

It's okay at first, John's magic lets him manipulate people a bit, gets them through security checks and keeps them fed, but it's definitely not enough to keep them safe forever.

Noah has a bunch of exposition he gives about being black in the UK, about being disabled, about his feelings about his mother (being a cop, being in a coma, being weird about magic).

How he has always felt unheard until John came into the picture and saw him.

They're traveling, the fear starts to wear off, Noah realizes they've fled the country and his mother is alone.

Where's his gran? This is a point to show flashbacks. Maybe she's not mentally all there? Maybe Noah has been sleeping on John's couch. Maybe he's been learning magic during the months we don't see in the original run. Not a lot, John tells him that he likes that Noah's not really involved in this shit.

Until the murder dreams, when Noah starts getting a crash course in magic and hasn't had a chance to think about anything except John and his stupid plans.

The issue ends with them on the freight ship they stowed away on approaching the docks. They've arrived in port, and it's time to leave. John puts his hand on the double decker bus and reassures them both that he's got this. He's got a plan, and things are going to be okay.

He looks fondly at Noah, and Noah wonders if he can trust that face. Can he believe John?

He doesn't really have a choice, does he?

Issue 2: Where is everyone?

This issue is mostly from John's perspective and his narrating voice takes control again.

John reaches out to old contacts. They're gone. Dead or never existed in the first place. No capes and cowls in this universe. Just magic, divinity, and damnation.

They're fucked.

Meanwhile, Noah and Nat both realize that they're being treated differently than John is. Both have experienced different types of prejudice based on race, gender, disability, and now there's an extra layer of it. The American layer that the story really wants to talk about.

John gets a little, but it's pretty clear that people are generally cooler with a blond haired, blue eyed, white man with an accent than they are with Noah's lack of speaking and Nat's heavy Glaswegian accent.

There's a level of cruelty that makes being trapped in another country, unable to call anyone and tell them that you're alive, unable to know if your family is safe, unable to know if you were even a suspect in the crimes committed, extra fucky.

John's contacts he'd normally call are all of touch the easy way.

So, fine. If he can't call them, he'll go to their usual haunts and track them that way.

Hence, road trip.

This leads into the actual comic scene where John is in St. Augustine, Florida and talking to the statue.

You can still have the Girl Scout come and be cryptic and cruel, have John losing his shit over the fact that he's damned Noah to hell.

(Or we can include my favorite headcanon that Noah was supposed to be a tulpa designed to distract John. I don't know if it would work here, but a story about a kid literally designed to be a sponge for prejudice and cruelty might be a mirror this story about racism could play with. It would need a MUCH more competent writer than me and at least two sensitivity readers.)

Noah wants to pull over for a hitchhiker, they've got the space and he's kind, but John cautions him that America is VERY different from London. We learn that Noah has not traveled much outside of his home city if at all because of his mother's profession and then her coma, leaving him in the care of his gran, who lived on the estate and therefore didn't really have much in the ability or desire to go far.

The dream with Dream still happens, which gives us a nice connection to the previous story as well as John's whole...being dead thing. They're looking for the sand, they're looking for friendly faces, they're looking for magic in a world that John quickly realizes is GASPING and DYING.

Because the multiverse still got punched in the dick by Tim Hunter, and while this world hasn't been hit by him specifically, it's feeling some of the multiversal repercussions of an apocalypse that massive.

And John doesn't have the power to get them out of this while he's a corpse. The longer he rots, the weaker he gets.

Dream gives his orders. John agrees.

They wake up, Noah is being threatened by the cop because he's black and driving a bus. We don't make it about the cop being too stupid to know what a bus is this time, instead, we make it because the bus looks strange and 'why is a black boy driving a bus unless he stole it? obviously he's a thief and he's refusing to speak out of disrespect'.

That fucking sucks, but it also works more to the actual threat of racism in the US. The OTHERING. They're dangerous because they're OTHER. They're lesser because they're OTHER.

Nat keeps the cop's gun after he's frozen. She's freaked. Noah's freaked.

John calmly tells them the spell won't last forever and they need to drive. Nat goes to the wheel and we watch Noah sneak up to the upper level and cry.

John watches from the stairs until he's sure Noah is asleep. He doesn't know how to offer this particular kid comfort, how to offer to hold him without revealing his death or just being too attached.

We see him put his coat over the boy as a symbol of protection. He brushes a hand over Noah's head and asks Dream to look out for the kid.

"I know you're pissed at me and I don't really have the right to ask, but hasn't he had enough nightmares for now?"

Noah's dream about all the horrible things he's processing from the previous issue, the previous run, and that night melt into something more pleasant. Maybe the groundwork for him learning John is his father.

John is back with Nat as she's driving. She's angry. The conversation from the original issue can stay and be expanded on. John tries to comfort her, tries to ease the tension, and it eventually works.

She gets what he's doing, even if he's not doing a good job.

This is a Classic John Constantine who cares about other people but isn't necessarily good at showing it.

The sun starts to rise.

"Where the fuck are we going now? We're a target in this thing, John, and that cop's gonna call us in."

John reassures that they're fine and he's got a new plan.

Most of the hero types don't exist now, but that's fine. He's started to tap into the multiversal memories that he'd repressed in the 2019 issue, and he's pretty sure that he's got a friend who will exist in this universe, even if people like Zatanna and Superman don't.

After all, the Green is a multiversal constant.

This leads into the ending of the original issue 1, with the swamp being filled in and turned into a golf course.

And that ends issue 2.

I don't know if I want to invest energy into re-imagining the entire run, and I suspect that would require the run to be finished before I can properly fix anything except the opening. If you actually read this...sorry about the way it's written, this was all just thought to typing, so it has 0 polish.

I think this is a series that could have worked under different circumstances. I think there are elements here that are good, but this was clearly not written with any real oversight or a coherent story beforehand.

I would have loved for them to learn magic on the bus. Scenes of Nat and Noah picking up spells, Nat teaching Noah the proper way to throw a punch that won't fuck up his hands. Noah being REALLY good at making sure they all manage to eat properly (I am deeply invested in this child shoving oranges into people's hands because 'do you want scurvy?').

A scene of John teaching Nat sign language while Noah slept because he's already so isolated and they all need to take care of each other. Nat forcing John to drive, only for him to hit a car and immediately switch back to her driving. Nat reading a novel aloud to keep Noah awake while they drive at night.

Basically, we need to make them seem like they're actual people who actually spend all of their time trapped together.

Also, does John eat? How have they noticed that he doesn't eat? Does he sweat? If he showers, does that damage his skin and hair, since he's apparently molding at the start of the series?

[cdroloisms]

Questions? Do you need more questions? Because if you need more questions I can give you more questions. How about 7 & 12?

7. Which character do you think is the most similar to c!Dream?

Like the man cc!Dream himself, I have to say c!Techno. I think they have similar ideals, and in similar circumstances, preeeetty similar ways of going about those ideals--c!Dream has a lot more narrative baggage because of the L'manburg Mythos and he doesn't go through c!Techno's arc, but c'mon they worked together to blow a nation up to bedrock like they're both pretty damn willing to do some pretty damn crazy stuff. Obviously c!Dream is very much willing to do worse and is morally a hell of a lot more dubious, but in terms of how the rest of the server treats them, the fear that governs a lot of their actions, the motivations and ideals behind their actions, etc, i'd say that they're quite similar

(From a different perspective, looking at the finale, I kinda want to throw a c!Tommy in the ring? Obviously these two characters are very, very different in a lot of fundamental ways which leads to their initial conflicts and they're never Not going to grate at each other...but in terms of the narrative that c!Wilbur wrote, in terms of what they meant In The Story, in terms of that similar desire for a server where they could just exist in peace, yeah. there certainly are similarities there. and no one really inhabits the L'manburg Narrative in the same way that these two do as its hero and villain, because the lmanburg mythos was the tommy-and-dream-show that ended up dominating so much of what the story became..anyway. Not really my answer for most similar, but they're well. You know. c!Tommy and c!Dream, the significance can't really be overstated.)

12. What do you think c!Dream’s limbo/s would have been like?

Hmmm i don't have the strongest opinions on this tbh! Limbos have always been tricky for me. The inside of the prison/main cell is always good, but for an answer that's not that...something to emphasize the fear and paranoia that followed him everywhere, the server that was his home that became the very thing he was afraid of, the way that he couldn't stop looking over his shoulder waiting because everyone wanted him dead? i can't think of what, exactly though. Going everywhere and feeling eyes on his back. Hearing footsteps but unable to see their source, arrows whistling just past his ear, explosions making the ground under his feet crumble, clanking armor. If he stops and hides anywhere then they only get closer. His only choice is to keep running.

[inklessletter]

Can we please talk for a second about Steve's trauma? It's heartbreaking that in the show he only mentions that losing Nance was what made him "crawl forward", when he's been through SO MUCH.

We don't know much about his upbringing, but we do know that in s01 his only two friends were Tommy an Carol, and he spends the whole season cleaning up their messes and trying to be the better version of himself, and no matter what he does after that, he is still reminded by absolutely everyone season after season how much of an asshole he was in highschool... And he never even argues that. He never defends himself, he never even try to justify his actions, although he had a pretty strong reason to snap at Jonathan after he found out about the naked Nancy pictures, for example. He goes along with whatever shitty opinion his friends have about him, and they have no problem whatsoever expressing them. Robin's way of expressing her affection is calling him dingus, Dustin keeps treating him like an idiot, Nancy had the nerve to be annoyed when he dared to be hurt the morning after the awful break up. And it makes sense that he internalised that, that his emotions and his trauma are worthless. That way of belittling him constantly by his loved ones must be... dehumanizing.

And that's not even the worst part. A girl died in his backyard and he's not allowed to be affected by that, because that's Nancy's trauma, not his. He gets brutally beaten to the pulp by Billy to protect Lucas and Max, uses himself as a fucking human bait with the demodogs, gets tortured by evil Russians and nobody (not even himself) ever mentions that again. Like, ever. All of this happens and nobody even says thank you to Steve. Nobody has a heartfelt conversation with him after. Nobody even acknowledge what he does for them in a regular basis, like driving his best friend to a school he doesn't attend to anymore, or showing for Lucas' basketball game, or risking his job by letting the kids sneak in the cinema. No, he keeps getting rewarded with shady comments and low-key insults.

Honestly? The closest to a rendition to Steve comes from Eddie in the Upside Down woods, and they're not even really friends at the moment. And it's odd, right? It must be odd hearing nice things from someone that he doesn't really know, someone he's jealous of because he's afraid that his fifteen-year-old friend is going to replace him with Eddie. Eddie, who is pulling the most vulnerable, soft expression on Steve's face that we get to see in the whole show by telling him that he's unambiguously loved. It just makes sense that he simply doesn't believe it.

So, yeah. I don't really think that Steve's trauma is only Nancy's fault. Steve's trauma has deeper, darker roots, and they all end in feeling worthless of love, because no matter how hard he tries, how much he proves that he's not that person anymore (if he ever was), how much effort he pays to fix it, to be acknowledged, he can't get rid of King Steve. Not even with his closest friends. No matter the concussions, or the dead girl in his backyard, or the many, many acts of service.

As much as I love ST characters, I truly hope that in s05 his friends get to acknowledge him somehow as for what he is at the moment, regardless of the past. I would hate to end the series thinking that Steve Harrington deserved better friends.