#now just know that we are not surviving this season

[danisbrainrot]

Teen nat comforting you when you're crying about something hcs?

natalie scatorccio x reader

a/n: we're so back! after the first two episodes of season three dropped I'm inspired by this ask. it's not head canons, sorry, I just liked the idea and wanted to write a little story about it.

sorry this must be at least six months late, but here it is! camp counsellor nat :)

spoilers ahead!! (technically? I think it's just season two spoilers though)

wiping the tears from your eyes, you sniffle into your lap, hunching over to take up as little space as possible. you just wanted to be out of everyone's way, not wanting to ruin the mood with your tears. everyone else was happy and celebrating surviving winter, while you felt stuck. frozen in time, still unable to move on from how much winter took from you girls.

first jackie. then crystal. then javi. . .

now springtime has rolled around, you can't help but feel the same dread you felt throughout winter—yes, it was lovely now and your team has cultivated a livable community. however, you couldn't help but wonder what happens next winter? When akilah's animals freeze to death, gen can't find game. . . when shauna goes crazy again.

you pause, wondering when was the last time shauna was sane. then, guilt creeps in as you realise that you had no right to judge her—not after everything she lost. her best friend. her baby.

"hey, are you okay?" nat asked, crouching down to your level.

you gasp in shock, wiping more tears from your eyes. your cheeks stung with embarrassment at getting caught—nat came out of nowhere, giving you no time to recuperate. "yeah, just. . . needed to let it out."

placing a comforting hand on your back, nat tried to offer you a reassuring smile. "hey, we all understand. it can feel daunting out here. if you ever need someone to talk, I'm here."

"oh I know, your majesty," you tease, eliciting a snort from nat—you could tell she hated the title. you sigh gently, signalling you were okay. nat pats your thigh, standing up when suddenly your hand flings out to grab hers. "do you think we're awful people? for eating javi? and jackie?"

nat pauses, her face dropping significantly. she bites her bottom lip, which you find insanely attractive, before shrugging. "we did what we had to. . . to survive."

"but if that's what it takes to survive, do we deserve to?" you question, clutching nat's hand firmly. the brunette looks down at you, her expression unreadable, before shaking her head.

"all I know is that it should have been me. javi. . . I still don't believe in lottie's bullshit about the forest, but I will never forget his sacrifice."

you nod, realising your questions were hurting natalie more than you'd meant for them to. you drop your hand, resting it in your lap and watch her walk away.

she swivels her head to look at you, words on the tip of her tongue, before she shakes the thought away and walks away.

late that night, you hear a rustle outside your makeshift hut. turning to your roommate, you find gen fast asleep, so you decide to investigate by yourself. you follow a sliver of light, someone's back to you as they watch the small flames dance.

"shouldn't you put that out? it's late," you ask, sitting next to nat on the campfire log. she glances at you, her face enchantingly illuminated by the flames, taking your breath away.

"just thinking," she mumbles.

"about our conversation before?" you ask, eliciting a nod in response. you stare at the fire, wondering if it was the heat from the dying flames that burnt your cheeks or the way nat looked.

"you didn't chase me. why?" she whispers, not daring to look you in the eyes.

"when we ate jackie, it felt different. . . she was already dead and we didn't cook her, the snow did. sure, it was cannibalism but it wasn't murder. . . if I had chased you—"

"you'd have actively tried to hunt me," she replies.

"it seemed wrong, even for us," you answer.

there was a beat of silence while you watch her gaze into the flames. you felt your heart race in your chest, working up the courage to tell her what you want to say, "it goes both ways," you promise. she looks up at you confused, "if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you. . . and I'm sure it's not easy as the antler queen, especially with whatever shauna and mari have going on."

nat erupts into laughter, shaking her head. "don't get me started on those two," she replies, before her laugh fades to a small smile. she places her hand on your shoulder, "but I like the idea. we look out for each other."

"You'll be the queen and I'll be your—wait what is it called. . . the people royalty lean on for support. . . oh, concubines?" your face drops when you notice nat's face. her eyebrows are raised and tries to cover her mouth and stifle her laughter.

nat can no longer hold it in and burst into laughter again, "that doesn't mean what you think it does," she teases.

"oh, that's the sex one. isn't it?" you mutter, lowering your head to avoid her gaze. nat tucks her hair behind her ears, making you think about how she managed to rock the grown out look. she suited blonde, brunette and a combination of both.

nat notices you watching her intensely, "what? is there something in my hair?" she asks, raking her hands through it swiftly.

"no, no. just wondering if you miss the blonde?"

"well, it's still there, isn't it?"

you snort, "yeah, but the full blonde?"

nat shrugs, "more important things to worry about," she replies candidly.

you reach out to play with the blonde hair, twirling it around your finger. unknowingly, you'd accidentally brought her face closer to yours. she didn't seem to mind, but once you realise your cheeks burn and you shuffle away from her. "sorry," you mumble.

"come here," she replies, grabbing the back of your head and pulling you close.

your lips connected seamlessly, like your lips were made for each other. she kisses you softly, a reassurance that she was here for you, while her fingers tangle themselves in your—already tangled—hair.

after what felt like only a minute—but could have been longer—nat gently pulls away, a string of saliva all that connected you two. she runs her thumb over your bottom lip, cleaning away the evidence, and offers you a wonky smile. "I suppose every queen needs her concubine after all," she jokes.

"that was amazing," you whisper, still in awe. she laughs again, resting her forehead against yours.

[bwat5-blog]

Slapping Down Some Nonsense: Caitlyn & Ambessa Edition!

**Spoilers For Arcane**

Good morning my friends. As you may have seen I have especially strong feelings towards this bizarre erasure of Ambessa's role in the events of season two particularly in regards to the impact on Caitlyn Kiramman and her story. These people's argument is that those of us who factor in Ambessa and her manipulations into analysis of Caitlyn are essentially giving Caitlyn a pass.

Keeping that in mind, I was surfing the #Caitlyn Kiramman tag and came upon a re-blog of those ever so creative Arcane Critters giving their thoughts on this topic.

I am not tagging them. I am not screenshotting them. But I have not blocked them. So, if you see this and recognize your points and want to have a discussion, I'm game. But let it be known I am not calling you out specifically or dog piling you. Just your take.

States that Caitlyn defenders are "ignoring how Caitlyn was gassing Zaun before she had ever even spoken to Ambessa"

You are failing to mention that the only reason the strike team goes into Zaun is the memorial strike, which Ambessa causes. Before that, they were still going in with the whole invasion plan and all of the Enforcers. But it goes deeper than that. Before the memorial attack Caitlyn is still testifying that the murder of her mother and the other councilors was "the work of one deranged individual" and she protested that innocents would be hurt. But after the attack she grows considerably angrier. So not only would Caitlyn have not been there if it were not for Ambessa, but Ambessa's actions clearly and irrefutably contribute to Caitlyn's rage.

But um, it is also worth noting that Caitlyn's alternative (as you say "gassing zaun") is a less violent, more controlled and structured operation with unquestionably less bloodshed involved than what the council was going to do. So.... thanks Ambessa?

"She is a grown woman. She should know right from wrong, especially because she was supposed to be a good, moral person in season one"

Correct! All of those things are true. I mean she is fairly young: 23-24 years old per Arcane Wiki. And while of course she is an adult and not too young to be accountable for her mistakes, I think a little perspective given everything she goes through is important. She's in the age range of the average college student.

Also because she grew up in peace and privilege, she has no experience dealing with such violence and death before it all starts happening and her whole world changes. So while your statement isn't wrong it is extremely simplistic thinking. There is a universe of factors that influence her decision making.

Repeatedly almost killed by Jinx

Abducted by Jinx from her childhood bathroom nude

Almost killed by the leader of the organization she believes in while people who are supposed to be her peers stand and watch

Has to listen to Jinx try and convince Vi to kill her

Knocked out by Jinx after she spares Jinx at Vi's pleading

Jinx kills her mom and 2 other councilors, maims 2 others, and destroys the chamber

The memorial service is attacked and many are killed

The whole task force operation: Forgive me I don't know you so you may be aware, but violence leaves a mark on you no matter the reason you do it. I understand she went down there. I'm simply saying that even that would impact her mind.

Survives fight with Sevika trying to kill her.

She held her shot for Vi the first time, it cost her her mother. Vi swears she is ready to end it this time, then stops her again (even for a very good reason- Caitlyn isn't a good state of mind)

She is grieving, isolated, angry, and feeling betrayed, and a conniving war monger more than three decades her senior takes advantage.

Now we run down a little list of her supposed crimes:

"She should know not to use chemical warfare- a war crime- on innocent Zaunites": Good news, she didn't! She targeted the chem-barons and their soldiers in a manner confirmed to be "strategic to a pinpoint". Now of course anything that travels through the air can't be completely controlled but given that Vi is there, that Ekko was in Zaun and didn't step in, and that there is no evidence whatsoever of any innocent Zaunites being harmed I think we are solid. Also, there is no metric for a war crime in Arcane because ya know.... none of this is real. But! I have also put The Grey through its paces using real world standards and even if it were real it still wouldn't qualify. I'd be happy to share that with you if you are interested.

"She should not get to repeatedly hit Vi": So I suppose she technically did hit Vi more than once. Although it was only the first time there was any sort of issue. The second time she didn't know who Vi was- ya now the whole sneaking, obvious surprise, fact that Vi looks radically different and they haven't seen eachother in a bit thing. And the third time was literally their joint plan.

"She should know to get physical when she feels she is losing an argument": So again right on the money! Except.... this is sort of the most simplistic take on what happened possible, and ignores every aspect of her current mental and emotional state. It isn't that it makes it okay. But you are essentially standing in front of a raging forest fire and calling 911 because some embers caught a contained dumpster on fire. It isn't that you are necessarily wrong, but you mightttt wanna look around some more.

"She should know not sleep with TWO of her subordinates": Okay, well the first one is Vi. Who was with her before the Commander thing, and is literally her canon relationship that was planned and developed from the beginning of the story. And the other one was Maddie. A spy. Who was ordered to infiltrate Caitlyn's bed and take advantage of her. Under false pretenses. So..........

"She should know not to impose martial law on Zaunites": Ambessa convinces the elite to declare martial law before Caitlyn was named commander. But I agree Ambessa shouldn't have done that. Very rude indeed.

"She was not faultless because the writers told us- they never actually showed us- that Ambessa manipulated Caitlyn"

I agree! She was not faultless. Fortunately no one has ever actually said that as far as I have seen. But it's the complete misrepresentation of her faults I take issue with. Hence my time here today.

You allege the writers didn't show you how Ambessa manipulated Caitlyn. Yes they did. This isn't really debatable. Perhaps you did not understand it or comprehend it. Don't worry I'm here to help! This is just a rough summary. I have a few in-depth posts if you ever see this and want to discuss I can share them.

She comes to Piltover with clear purpose of starting a war to weaponize hex tech

She orchestrates the memorial attack to exacerbate the conflict

She calls Caitlyn up after stoking the assembled elite's fear and rage and promises her mother justice

She has her spy infiltrate Caitlyn's bed to keep an eye on her

She expertly keeps Caitlyn off balance both praising her strength and scolding her lack of trust in their interactions

It goes on of course. As I said it's really more in-depth than that.

Conclusion:

All in all I really cannot understand this sort of take at all. It isn't supported by the content in any way. My personal recommendation should you ever see this is a good thorough rewatch! Just ya know, don't leave the room for snacks every time Caitlyn comes on screen. You will be AMAZED what you missed the first time.

[juchily]

Yellowjackets S3 Ep1 thoughts

Spoilers below ⚠️

not them buttering us up with the cute fun scenes like them playing tag so they can hit us with the horrible stuff later... I see you showtime

edit: MARI CALLED SHAUNA GAYWAD WHEN SHAUNA TACKLED HER?? ALSO JUST IGNORING THAT SHAUNA IS COMPETITIVE IT WAS INDEED VERY GAY THE WAY SHE WAS MANHANDLING MARI

Taivan taivan taivan taivan!

taivan broke up after rescue ��

Travis is one of the girls ✨🧚

Shauna's freaky as shit... But like 🙇

That whole scene with Melissa and Shauna was gold, "You have a personality?"?? Be fr the extra gets her first real line and the writers write in a character pointing it out this is so funny

Melissa being so eager to suck up and impress Shauna, two girls telling each other "yeahhh", Melissa wants that cookie. Genlissa shippers it's OVER

what do we think Nat got arrested for when she was 24?

Love Callie for that... I've never hated her be real she's too much of an icon to hate

Im going to be real, when those girls talked about the girls eating pig blood and then having a druggy orgy I did infact go "we all wish" because do we not?? The writers KNOW what we want at this point lol

did Shauna know pre crash that Lottie was schizophrenic? Did she find the pill bottle post crash? If she knew this, would this be a fuel for her hate for Lottie because of her visions, miracles, etc

Lottie being a therapist... God she's too much of everything I can't even begin <3

Lottie and Travis as a duo are so cute (AS NON ROMANTIC, I HATE THEM ROMANTICALLY THAT)

...i thought Van and Tai were going to go at it in the restaurant bathroom ngl, dining and dashing and fucking in an alley is cool too

also that scene in the restaurant where Van seems to be feeling weird... And then right after that the waiter guy dies (supposedly) and we see that onscreen effect go away... Just saying

Id eat the shit (read: spit) out of that soup...

Mari and Shauna getting treated like misbehaving dogs... They low-key are. Poor Mari honestly. And Shauna gaslighting...

SHAUNA AND CALLIE BONDING OH MY LORD CALLIE'S A MINI SHAUNA AND I DONT KNOW WHETHER I SHOULD BE SCARED OF THAT

i can believe Ben finding a war/apocalypse prep container especially considering Cabin guy's insane amount of ammo, but I find it odd that the case is pristinely clean despite being covered in a pit of dirt and dust. Maybe they just didn't bother making it look weathered and I'm looking into it too hard.

NAT HALLUCINATION PLUS CHERRY BOMB 💥💥🎉

Honestly I think Walter may have lied to Misty, on the other hand Van and Taissa were getting down and dirty and Shauna was actually bonding with her kid for once

they make memorial for Javi, then Jackie, then Wilderness baby, im just confused on the fact they don't mention Laura Lee? Especially that Lottie of all people wouldn't mention her. Also the five lanterns I still think that's a clue to a death count this season (past and present, maybe just past timeline)

Ben is up to some evil shit... I don't think Mari dies in that hole though from some of the teasers we've seen

callie pocketed that tape... Didn't anyone tell you not to open other people's mail young lady 🤓

CAKE, they played CAKE, oh I can die happy

Ending thoughts:

Wtf is that sound Travis heard? Does the sound have something to do with being drunk? He hears it first when he's high, and the other girls hear it after the feast (they had like wine or something).

The no eyed man... come on let's get a good look at 'im

Who left the letter? Will the other Yellowjackets get a letter like the one that was supposed to go to Shauna?

What will happen to Mari? What is Ben's purpose of making that trap and what does he plan to do now that he's catched one of the girls. Furthermore, this would prove he knew they survived the cabin fire. Will this lead to the girls finding where Ben is?

Laura Lee erasure... 😭

[rouge-the-bat]

yo would anyone be able to help out and send me and my girlfriend ( @ashtwinproject22 ) some money for some kitty-wellness?

TLDR; we need help to get 3 female stray cats fixed asap as its mating season, and get one of my cats lump checked at a vet before fixing him too. this all can cost anywhere from approx $157 to $253+ the unknown price for potentially removing the lump. if you can help, my girlfriend's cashapp is $nalathequeen2186 and paypal is @nalathequeen2186 !

(also please check the reblogs when you can, in case i have any updates about prices, if we reach the amount we need, changes to the situation, etc. will also show updates of the kitties when we can get them fixed/to the vet, to prove were getting it all done!)

the strays weve been trying to help out ⬆️

my sweet silly boy with the lump (ft. me) ⬇️

full explanation under the cut:

one of my brothers and his girlfriend moved in with us until they can find a place, and they brought over the cats that were living under their house that theyve helped take care of, but theyre mostly stray, and unfortunately my brother is very "let nature run its course" about outside cats 🙄

its 3 sister mama cats, and we already took in their 3 surviving babies, and have gotten 2 of the babies fixed and have the 3rd one scheduled to be fixed in less than a week. so atm, we have 7 cats in this house, and as much as i would love to, we just cant take in the 3 mamas as well, even though theyre incredibly sweet.

im unsure what our full plan will be about the 3 mamas, especially since im unsure what my brothers plans with them will be once he and his gf move back out (were not exactly on speaking terms right now since hes been a total piece of shit about me and my gf struggling with mentall illness- which he doesnt even believe is real 🙄🙄🙄). im hoping we can get them nice homes, but at least for now were wanting to get the three of them fixed so there wont be more stray cats, and especially not more kitties dying out there. and unfortunately, mating season slipped my mind and is now upon us, so we REALLY need to get these mamas fixed ASAP.

and in addition to that, one of my cats has this large-ish lump on his right side that were wanting to get checked out, and get him fixed as well. i suspect that its nothing serious, considering it doesnt seem to cause him any issues- he'll even lay on it without a problem- but im worried about it nonetheless, and we'll need to get it checked out and potentially removed before we can get him fixed in case it could cause complications during the neutering.

unfortunately, as you can imagine since im making this post, we dont really have the money for this. my mom, who we live with, rarely has much extra money and certainly doesnt atm, and me and my girlfriend have been struggling with too many mental health issues- and for her, physical health issues as well- to get a job for a while now. things will be improving soon now that we have adhd diagnoses, but my gfs insurance is dragging its feet to finally get her adhd medication approved, and i only JUST finally got my own a few days ago, and am basically playing extreme catch-up with trying to get stuff done around the house right now and help out my mom more.

im really not sure exactly how much everything will amount to, but so far ive figured up getting all 3 mamas fixed should be either about $75 if a certain program the spay/neuter clinic nearby has for strays/ferals can be used, or if not itll be between $111-171, and getting just an exam to check out my cats lump would be around $55, and i dont know how much a potential fixing/removal of the lump could be as i cant get an estimate until hes examined. then itll be $27 to get him neutered.

so if this is all right, and were able to use the program, theres no health risk with the lump, and no other additional charges for anything else, all of this can cost about $157 or so as the minimum, OR it could be around $253 PLUS however much it may cost to fix up the lump.

(also as a bonus pic, heres the 3 precious babies we took in that the mamas were collectively taking care of. theyre living a nice cozy indoor life now and are very happy and SO sweet <3)

[numberonetacostan]

Me and my friends joke about this all the time, like, if the II contestants aren't immortal anymore, there are a few people on the list who need constant care to not die. First, obviously, Balloon. He can so easily be popped. It seems like most people have gotten over his season 1 attitude, so I don't think anyone would do it on purpose. But all it takes is someone to be a little too forgetful or careless, and he's gone forever. Two, OJ. He can shatter from stress. And he's glass, so I imagine he's pretty fragile. Three, taco. Oh, she's dead so fast, I fear. She's one anxiety attack away. I feel like now that she knows she can die from stress, she'd be a lot more willing to go and look for help if she feels stressed or scared, against her pride. Four, Test Tube. I think it's more likely that she has some sort of reinforced glass, though, considering she holds literal acid. And oh my god lightbulb. She shatters SO MANY times. All it takes is for someone to not look where they're throwing things for her glass to shatter. As a more minor one, Box seems very accident-prone. She keeps getting caught in water and falling down high places; I seriously doubt it won't happen again.

(this is assuming what ever the Prime Shimmers gave them ISN'T a recovery center. I know that's a pretty popular theory)

Hi Moldy!!^^ Welcome back, and thank you for sending in an ask!! :]

Yeah some of the contestants are kind of fucked? Like when Suitcase was telling Balloon that they weren't helpless, I was sitting in the cinema like "I love your girlboss attitude and confidence but he is a balloon" and then I cried some more but that's not relevant to this ask.

But speaking of Balloon!!! He can never go outside again. I have a Balloon that's months old, but that is because it has been in a closet for months. Balloon will have to go back in the closet to survive :( </3. But yeah!!! He's so very vulnerable to literally everything.

I'm putting OJ and Taco in the same spot here, because I'd (in a biased manner, of course) argue that they're the two in some of the most danger because they don't really need anything external to die!! If they spiral too hard, it's over for those gay bitches!! Balloon could at least stay nice and safe in a closet, but at literally any moment OJ or Taco could just fucking snap. At least OJ has his boyfriend, Mepad just fucking died. Taco has earned a couple crash outs after all the bullshit she's been through, I just hope they're not fatal for her.

Testy, I think will be okay, since whatever she's made up is strong enough to hold whatever wacky science liquid is in her, like you said. And she can probably invent something to keep her glass from cracking. Maybe OJ could even get in on that action too!!

Lightbulb... oh dear sweet lightbulb... yeah she's definitely at risk too. Though Painty would certainly be keeping a very close eye on her after having watched her die and all that. Lightbulb is well protected!! And since she's made of glass, Testy could help reinforce her too :)

We have already seen Box eat shit time and time again both alive and as a corpse. She is so accident prone and must avoid all bodies of water and steep hills at all costs. Though, with all that's happened I'm sure she'll be very careful.

(As for what the Shimmers gave them!! Yeah, it could be a recovery center, but as for my thoughts at least, that seems a bit... boring? Obvious, maybe? The crew has mentioned that they're probably not gonna bring Mepad back because it would take away from the emotion and depth of his original sacrifice, and it feels like it would be a similar case for the Shimmer machine. Yeah, it could be a recovery center, and it's not as though I'll be disappointed if it is, but it would negate some of the depth of the sacrifice Mephone4 and the contestants made, yeah?)

[applecidershauna]

Inaccuracy in Yellowjackets – Lazy Writing or Intentional?

Lately, I’ve seen so many posts complaining about inaccuracies in Yellowjackets—more than ever. Why do they keep adding characters? How did they build their little village after losing everything in the cabin fire? What were the lanterns even made of?

Personally, I can live with minor mistakes or unexplained things if they move the plot forward or add something cool, but I’ve seen people justify them with another theory: that the teen timeline is unreliable because the characters have repressed or forgotten details about their time in the wilderness. This usually comes up when people talk about background girls suddenly appearing or getting bigger roles.

And while I get why that’s an interesting theory… I don’t buy it. Let’s talk!

Season 3: The Village and the Outfits

One big issue people seem to have this season is the matching outfits and hoods the girls are wearing. But honestly? I don’t think that’s unrealistic at all. You’re telling me none of them knew how to sew? Please. We already know they have assigned roles—some cook, some hunt, so why wouldn’t someone be in charge of making clothes? They clearly share skills and teach each other, too.

As for the materials, I’ve seen theories that the hoods are made from plane seats, and yeah, I totally see it! Super smart catch. Also, people forget how much time these girls have. Like, they are out there bored. Making clothes is probably something they enjoy or at least a way to stay busy.

The village itself? Honestly looks pretty realistic to me. Those stick-and-grass shelters make sense, and building shelter is literally a basic human survival instinct. Considering Tai was mentioned as being involved, it makes even more sense.

The lanterns from the solstice scene? If you look closely, you can see writing on them. So they could be made from schoolbooks, but I think they were probably from plane manuals or something like that. Oh, and the ducks and rabbits? Adorable. Completely believable. Moving on.

The “Suddenly Appearing” Background Girls

I’m not getting into recasting—that’s not intentional, that’s just what happens when actors have scheduling conflicts. But let’s be real: no one is actually appearing out of nowhere. People have already pointed out that during the funeral scene in the pilot, there were way more survivors than the ones we focused on. That’s just how background characters work. If they’re not important yet or don’t have lines, they won’t always be shown. Simple as that.

Some girls just weren’t as central at first and became more important over time—like Melissa, for example. Shauna even says in S3E2 that she didn’t realize Melissa had a personality, which basically confirms that she (and probably the other core girls) weren’t paying attention to everyone equally. They weren’t all besties from day one.

And let’s not forget: Yellowjackets, like every other show, has main characters—Natalie, Shauna, Lottie, Misty, Tai, and Van. The story is built around them. That’s just how TV works.

The “Unreliable Memory” Theory

The biggest reason I don’t buy the “trauma repressed memory” theory? I have zero reason to believe that what I’m seeing on screen isn’t the truth.

Yes, the teen timeline is often tied to the adult timeline, but the adults aren’t narrating it. Not all the time, at least. Sure, I believe they’ve repressed things or forgotten details, but this is still a TV show. If something happened, we see it. If the show wanted us to question the reality of what went down, they wouldn’t have shown things like Doomcoming, eating Jackie, or Javi’s death so directly.

And don’t even get me started on the “supernatural” events—the bear, Laura Lee’s plane crash, all of it. If anyone wants to talk about that, I will go off, but for now, I fully believe it’s all real.

[evilbookworm]

Hot take for the milkvans but El definitely could’ve saved Max without Mike telling her he loves her. It’s the back half of the speech anyways that refocuses her, not the front. The part about “right now, you need to fight.” The front part just kinda seems to distract her ngl.

Genuinely, I think 1. El still would’ve turned and seen Max suffering and refocused even if all Mike had said was, “EL, KEEP FIGHTING, YOU CAN DO THIS, I BELIEVE IN YOU, YOU NEED TO FIGHT,” 2. El knocks Vecna back but she doesn’t actually “end” him. It’s the combo of Murray flame-throwing and Hopper beheading the demogorgon that wakes Vecna up because of the immense hive mind pain, and then teen crew’s Molotov cocktail & shotgun attack does his physical body damage

El stopped Vecna from full-crunching Max and then restarts Max’s heart so yes she is absolutely vital and badass

But it’s not like Mike’s monologue made her any more powerful than she was lifting the NINA tank. And we don’t need to hear Mike saying he doesn’t think she’s a monster because he already rejected that idea earlier in the season and she also rejected that idea to Brenner so like why are we rehashing this—oh wait! It’s because Mike doesn’t know El went on an emotional field trip and came to love herself on her own without needing him to validate her worth and personhood!

Honestly, yeah. El’s love for Max is what saved Max in the first place. That’s how Max survived. Mike didn’t save her. She even pulled her down, I think.

[tizeline]

I keep coming back to the turtle pile post, and see Cass in particular. What’s her relationship with April? What’s her relationship with Donnie? I know she and Raph sparred together, but how about her, Leo, and Mikey? What about junior? And splinter? Is her dynamic with Draxum similar to in the show or different cos he has kids? Tell me about Cass in your au pretty pleaseeeeeee

Got this ask just a little bit before I posted that Capril post so I suppose that answers your question about Casey and April lmao. At first they don't get along, basically exactly how it is in canon, until after season two which is when they start getting to know each other properly and then get all gay for each other lol.

Donnie thinks Casey is very very (that's two verys) annoying. She's loud, impulsive and way too hot-headed. Casey thinks Donnie is annoying cause he's a condescending know-it-all who is also way too hot-headed. Needless to say, they fight a lot XD. They start getting along better eventually and honestly become very close friends, but they still bicker all the time, that's just their dynamic now.

Mikey initially hates Casey purely because she's human and he thinks she's a bad influence on Raph (which maybe she is a little bit sometimes lmao let's be real) but he starts liking her more after he let's go of the whole hating-all-humans thing. I'm not 100% sure what Mikey's or Leo's dynamic with Casey looks like after they all start getting along better honestly. I think they both like Casey's craziness in limited amounts, but can quickly grow tired of it too. They do eventually both befriend her, but they're not as close to her as Raph is.

Casey's dynamic with Splinter is basically the same as what we see in canon honestly. With Draxum however it's different, they kinda bonded a bit in canon when Drax was working with The Foot, but Raph kinda steals that role in the AU so Draxum and Casey never really interacted much, if at all. After Raph and Casey starts to properly hang out as friends around season 2, then I'd imagine he gets to know her a bit better. Similarly to Mikey, he kinda views her as a bad influnence, but eventually starts appreciating her and Raph's friendship.

Then we get to Junior! In the bad timeline, while Casey does still die before CJ is sent back in time, she survives quite a long time. I'm thinking she dies when CJ is around 15-16 or something? A few years before the resistance falls but she's around for most of CJ's childhood. Which you know, it's nice for CJ to have his mom around, until she dies, and because she's been such a big part of his life before then her death arguably effects him more. By the time CJ travels back to the past, he's had a few years to deal with his mom's death, but by "dealing" with it I mean he's mostly been ignoring his grief cuz he straight up didn't have time for all that in the middle of the apocalypse. So when he ends up meeting the present timeline's Casey it's uh, it's a lot, and he's suddenly forced to confront all of that unresolved grief. I still need to figure out more of the details of exactly what their dynamic looks like, but needless to say is that CJ acts VERY awkwardly around Casey in the present timeline initially cuz that's just straight up his dead mom but also she's his age and also doesn't know him and it's weird XD I will say though, as soon as Casey figured out who CJ is she immidietly goes "FUCK YEAH that's my SON" so there's that

[gayofthefae]

Thinking about this post I just made about how though their feelings are mutual and have been, they only ever mutually flirt in a single two line exchange - "I didn't say it" "you didn't have to" - with completely logical following reactions of "shit, I didn't think I'd get this far" and going awkwardly silent for a second before moving on with the original conversation topic. And that post dives into that moment and motivation for the painting from Will's side...

But now I'm thinking about it from Mike's side. Now I'm thinking, as I periodically do, about the timing of Mike's behavior and the shift in it after El leaves.

Not just after she is physically absent, because he was not this way when they broke up in season 3, but much more akin to season 2 - a time where he also did not expect her to come back to him. "A fight we can't come back from" seals the deal on this perception being the motivation.

Mike becomes more romantically-coded with Will following his belief that they'll break up, we know this already, but I had never before tracked that that wasn't something he'd done before in this way. He had not flirted with Will before, not really.

Their past encounters were 'if we're both having trauma hallucinations, at least we're together <3' 'i'll protect you and make sure you're safe' 'you're the best thing i've ever done' 'you won't replace me, right?' and immediately following this 'i deeply miss you in my life and the unknown is less scary with you'

But they've never had just a little banter-y exchange in this tone like this. What happens every time is Mike gives a borderline love confession and Will says "yeah" or "cool", Will delivers a line a little flirty and Mike just beams, but never responds.

But this time Mike responded. That is yet another sign of what point he's gotten to in giving up on his relationship. It plays as a repetition - not in a bad way - of his past behaviors and heartfelt speeches towards Will. But it isn't. It's a step further. And the timing of it being a step-further is not to be overlooked, because they didn't step them forward one step every season consistently. They didn't do so in season 3. But they did it here.

Here, they had Mike say he did not believe his relationship with El would survive then not only immediately flirt with Will, but in a way he never had before. That changes it from coping or escapism to action. It could have been passive. It could have been entertainment. It could have been fantasy...if he had ever done it before. Because if it were fictive to him, there would have been no consequences to doing it before either

But the withholding of it makes it new and makes it a choice. Mike picked up what Will was putting down in this capacity for the first time. Love may be strong but it's ambiguous and flirting is a hell of a lot more direct. Mike shifted tactics here when given the opportunity.

Whether he knew it consciously or not, he gave up on El enough to pursue Will. By very definition, pursue means to advance. And he advanced into something he had not done before. He responded.

[glitterfairy-21225]

As THRILLED as I am about Shaunahat, I do think it’s very possible that Melissa may be a red herring for Hillary Swank’s character. I mean, they're certainly implying it, but my thought process is why not just say it outright???

Like, comparing it to the other two survivor reveals, we have "Who the fuck is Lottie Matthews?" Jaw-dropping, earth-shattering, lives were changed. On the end of the spectrum, I saw on Twitter that Van's adult actress was announced on an official account's social media, and she literally appears in the title sequence in the episodes before she showed up in that timeline.

So, when it's supposed to shocking, the show makes sure IT'S SHOCKING, and when it's not, they don't bother hiding it. So why not just say Hillary Swank is Melissa? It's no longer shocking after episode 2 heavily implied it.

This is what makes me suspect that Melissa is a decoy for her sister r something. The line "What did she like?" felt like meta commentary on how dedicated the show is to matching counterparts, and the creators know that the audience knows that.

Now, I do think context is important. Lottie's reveal what meant to set her up as a major driving force in season two. Van's was meant to introduce her back into Tai's story, and she wasn't really do much to the adult timeline outside of that. Also, there was a lot less mystery to her teen version than there was for Teen Lottie at the end of s2, so meeting her is like meeting an old friend. I'm sure plenty of people already expected her to be alive just from s1.

We don't know shit about Melissa and we know Hillary Swank's character is stalking Shauna. It makes sense that there's an air of mystery. But also, she's not as big a character as Lottie. And don't get me wrong, kissing Shauna is a fucking amazing feat on its own, but the writers probably expected more hype for the psychic lesbian. So Melissa being revealed as alive can't have that same mic drop effect bc Melissa as a character doesn't warrant a mic drop. But that doesn't mean her survival can't be justified.

She's the replacement goldfish, the one Shauna kissed when she didn't Jackie, the one who stayed alive. I think the set up for her survival is good, which I was worried about, because Melissa??? How are you gonna basically introduce Melissa and justify keeping her alive in season 3?

But I think that Melissa being Shauna's ex-girlfriend showing up to cause trouble for her might be enough to justify her survival. Because now she's more of an accessory to Shauna, like Jeff, and she was never meant to be the familiar face that Van was or the total game-changer that Lottie was. My current theory is that Hillary Swank will introduce the killer mentioned, might be helping them, but won't be the season's big bad.

And it sucks that a character who literally didn't exist in season one gets to be the eighth survivor, but at this point, the teen timeline isn't really drawing tension from who's going to die, but what the characters who survive are going to do. Melissa surviving poses the question of what shit Shaunahat is going to get up to.

Either way, I still won lol.

[rainebownerd]

You guys he was being so plain because he knew!!!! He knew that if he went all out all the time like Aabriya, we wouldn't survive it

[nicorobinphd]

stg, being an enjoyer of jane twdg is like being forced into an expert-level course on the way misogyny manifests in video game spaces.

god forbid a woman be complex or difficult or provably mischaracterized (see tags) at the end of her arc to service the culmination of a man’s storyline.

[hanzajesthanza]

dandelion is indeed the worst but if he’s not present in the next book i would legitimately be sorrowful as the whole thing will become a slog . you basically cannot have the “short stories” era-of-the-timeline iteration of geralt without dandelion, it would be like eating unbuttered bread.

though it’s not like season of storms did them dirty, i wasn’t disappointed with it (… with regards to them), but since it’s literally been over 20 years since the saga was finished i’m trying to prepare for any potential reality

[fromtheseventhhell]

The worst part of the GOT and HOTD adaptations is that they remove any sense of narrative or themes being explored from George's writing. The showrunners rewrite characters and change plotlines on a whim and remove any sense of cohesive storytelling. There's just...literally no point to the story and the writers struggle to come up with sensible explanations for the changes they've decided to make.

[saltpepperbeard]

me realizing i’m going to have to endure the “i’m seeing how this character is going to look and it’s almost sending me into cardiac arrest” thing for almost everyone in s2

[silverselfshippingchaos]

a reminder that h.iroto canonically texts with a shit ton of cat emojis