#she has to live with the character too (i assume this extends all the way to 'el fili' if she has to finish The Tale

[michyeosseo]

Ano bang ginawa kong mali? [ t/n What have I done wrong? ]

Barbie Forteza and Julie Ann San Jose as KLAY & MARIA CLARA

MARIA CLARA AT IBARRA (2022-2023) 1.36

[ambrosiagourmet]

Rin Masterpost

Rin! Rinsha Fana! Beloved side character I think about far too much (or maybe not enough?)

I decided that it might be nice to put together an informational post about Rin, since she has some of my favorite background details of any character in Dungeon Meshi. This is partly as reference for myself, and partly for anyone else who might be interested in her but not know where to chase down the tidbits we we get of her, both in canon & extra materials. There’s also a little bit of theorizing and analysis sprinkled in for fun.

If anyone spots something I missed, please let me know and I will add it in!

Alright. Time for ultimate #rinposting

History and Timeline:

We don't have an official timeline for Rin (even in the expanded Adventurer's Bible, sadly), but we can put a lot of pieces together based on Kabru's timeline & their respective ages.

Rin is 2 years older than Kabru, and they met when he was 9. Assuming that he met her soon after she was taken to the elven capital, that means that the elves took her when she was 11.

Before that, she lived on the Northern Continent. Interestingly, when Mickbell asks about Shuro, Rin says she was born "here."

Since "here" doesn't mean the actual Island itself, it must mean simply "not the east." She is described in the Adventurer's Bible as having "no real knowledge of or attachment to the East," so maybe that's why she draws a "there" verses "here" line.

I'd also like to add a note here that the elves don't seem uh... they don't seem great about respecting the value of other cultures, especially those of short-life species. Milsiril seems to have discouraged Kabru from eating or remembering food from his hometown, at least, and that's even as an adoptive parent who cares (at least in some way) for her child. As I will touch on later, the "care" that Rin was under probably had even less respect for her history or ties to either Eastern or Northern culture.

That is all to say, considering that Rin spent many years with the elves, I'd take her having "[no] attachment to the East" as more of a comment on how she feels now, and less as a definite choice she made. She may genuinely have chosen that approach and opinion for herself, she may have been pushed towards it by the elves, and she may have had little choice at all in the matter - all are valid interpretations, though I personally lean towards the thought that it's unlikely the elves didn't have at least some hand in it.

Anyway, Rin does seem to know at least a bit about her heritage - she can presumably name and identify the specific island her parents are from, and she recognizes that "Shuro" isn't a name used there. She also knows that different places from the Eastern archipelago speak different languages, so she knows at least a little about the other islands as well.

Some additional extrapolations I'll make based on these facts: she never mentions, and probably isn't in contact with, any family from her island. This may be because her extended family died, because her parents didn't (or weren't able to) maintain contact, or because she lost contact when she was taken by the elves. Somewhat relatedly, she also prooobably doesn't speak the language, at least not fluently, though her being able to comment on the state of language in the archipelago makes me think that she at least learned a little as a kid.

Anyway, Rin's parents were refugees from the archipelago, though we don't know what specifically caused them to leave. There is this little tidbit of info we get (from the cover of chapter 48, of all places), though:

So yeah, that seems like it would be the backdrop of Rin's parents fleeing. As I said earlier, it's unclear if Rin might have any living family left back on her island. The listing she has for “family” in the Adventurer's Bible is just a dash, but so is Izutsumi's, for instance, and we know that she was taken from her family with no knowledge of who might still be out there. It's possible everyone else was killed, it's possible they were separated... it's possible that Rin's parents didn't even know.

As an additional note, and this is speculation on my part, but I think there is an argument to be made, with this tidbit from the cover as well as the Nakamoto clan's specialty in espionage and use of ninjas, that the politics of the archipelago are partially based on Sengoku era Japan. Not necessarily super relevant here, but I think it's interesting context for all... of the archipelago characters, honestly.

(Especially considering it seems like the Nakamoto clan is in a relatively comfortable position, and yet clearly are involved, or at least prepared to be involved in larger conflict. How stable is their position, really? How is Shuro's father viewed by the wider region and archipelago as a whole? What about his lord? NOT THE POINT THIS IS A POST ABOUT RIN. BUT IT'S VERY INTERESTING TO THINK ABOUT.)

Okay, back to Rin's parents.

Whatever caused them to leave, they made their way to the north, where they made their living with their magic for a time. There are no specifics about what kind of magic they used, but we know at least some examples of jobs that magic can get you, based on the flashback to Laios and Falin's childhood in chapter 26. Laios proposes that Fain could use her magic to be a priest, gravekeeper, or wandering exorcist. Though these are specific to Falin's affinity with spirits, they give some idea of the shape of the work that might be available. It's important, but it is also on the outskirts of society - not necessarily admired or appreciated by the average person.

And Rin’s parents were killed by vigilantes for that magic. It's not entirely news that superstitious villages in the area would sometimes kill magic users - we see a small drawing of people being burned at the stake in a panel towards the end of the manga:

Nonetheless, Rin is the only person in the main cast who has experienced this brutality firsthand. And she did experience it firsthand, having been found by the elves as the sole survivor within the burnt ruins of her home.

It is unknown exactly how she survived, or what happened to her parents before and during the fire. Rin lived, and they did not.

The elves came some time after the fire, intending to investigate reports of ancient magic. They (and we) don't know if Rin's parents actually did use ancient magic, or if the reports and murders were simply spurred by general fear and superstition. Rin was the only piece of "evidence" that remained, and so she was taken back to the west with the elves when they left.

We don't know much about her time on the Northern Central Continent (where the elves/Canaries are based), but it doesn't seem like she was adopted or taken in by anyone the way that Kabru was. According to the Adventurer's Bible, after being taken into custody, "under their care she was treated as a captive animal would be." I would guess that means very basic food and shelter, little to no education. Probably the most social contact she got was from Kabru, as well as maybe, occasionally, from elves treating her as a curiosity, such as in this bit in the Adventurer’s Bible:

Assuming she left with Kabru (which seems like it is the case, there's no info about them having separated during that time), she spent 9 years with the elves, and has been with Kabru on the Island in the 4 years since then.

She also stays in the Golden Country after the end of the story, apparently working as an apothecary.

Additional Details (& Speculation):

What does she remember of her family and home?

I'd like to take a moment here to explore a little of what Rin might remember of her parents and home.

For reference, we can look at Kabru. The canaries came to Utaya when Kabru was 6, and he arrived in the capital when he was 7. He remembers the events of the tragedy in his home, and has some memories of his mother and life in Utaya, including memories of local dishes.

Rin lost her parents and home at 11, so she presumably has much clearer memories of the events that lead to her being taken by the elves... or she might, assuming that they haven't been completely blocked by her trauma from the event.

Yeah, I am fairly damn sure that she's got some memory issues from trauma and PTSD. For one, this is the state she was found in:

As already mentioned, she was also treated like something of an animal by the elves. She probably didn't have a lot of contact with other people, which would further perpetuate that sense of isolation and dehumanization. What I'm getting at here is that Rin probably didn't have much to help pull her out of this place, or heal these wounds. She had Kabru, who was also a kid and even younger than her, and she had herself.

Obviously trauma leaves different scars on everyone, and everyone responds and copes in different ways. But I do think it is interesting that we never hear anything about Rin's parents or life before the elves, and there are no real details about it given in the Adventurer's Bible the way we have for Kabru. What's presented is more surface level facts: they were refugees, they made a living with magic, they were killed.

I'm inclined to believe that things are laid out this way because that's how Rin holds on to these things. She knows things about them, but possibly remembers them more as things she was told/knows to be true, rather than actual memories she can picture herself experiencing.

Rin's Magic

In an interesting counterpoint to her potentially spotty memory, I do actually think Rin may have learned magic from her parents (or started learning, and was self-taught from there). She never attended a magic academy, and actually has a bit of grudge against people who did - owing to the social protection afforded to "upper-class mages," which her parents did not have. She also almost certainly wouldn't have been taught by the elves, who not only treated her as an animal but also knew her parents may have been involved with ancient magic.

Falin began to show signs of magical talent at 8, and was sent to the Magic Academy at 10, and that was as someone who had absolutely no guidance about or exposure to magic in her home town. Raised by two mage parents, I think Rin absolutely could have been learning some things by the time she was 11.

In terms of continued learning, I'll add that Rin is able to identify Marcille's magic as being A) from an Academy student, and B) cast by an elf:

This makes me think that she continued to study magic on her own while held by the elves, and probably even more so after leaving with Kabru. They didn't form the party until two years after they left the elves, which would give Rin plenty of time to try and learn from other adventurers on the Island, or to study up on her own. She'd probably be able to pick up some dungeon-crawling basics (like the water walk spell), as well as become familiar with the skill level and expression of skill common in different people with different backgrounds (hence why she is able to comment on the "textbook" academy wards).

Much like Marcille, Rin also seems to rely on a 'one size fits all' Big Boom method of dealing with monsters: lightning. We see the best example of its power in the fight with Chimera Falin:

But we also see her cast it pretty recklessly in a few other places, including the end credits of the new anime ED, which I think provides a good example of the downsides to such an approach...

Yeah, it is very much a 'get out of the way or get zapped' spell.

Especially since Marcille's offensive magic is self-taught and works very similarly, this definitely reinforces the idea that Rin figured most of this stuff out herself.

Outfit and Character Design

Dear sweet Rin of the Red And Black... how I love her design.

First of all, her clothes are damaged. Despite the fact that Rin looks relatively well put together overall, her outfit is worn out. I have some theories on why this is that I'll get to in a bit, but for now I'll just touch on what this design communicates in general about it.

I think, just like with Kabru's horribly messy room, it creates a sense that there is something more complicated underneath the surface. Something that isn't being addressed or seen to, just as the dress hasn't been mended or replaced.

It also reflects her not caring a ton about her appearance. She's neat, but she's not concerned about being pretty, so she doesn't bother with fixing up her outfit after her dungeon crawls. This also fits with her perpetual scowl (which I will talk more about in a bit), and slightly disheveled hair.

Next: the gloves. At first I thought they might be a sort of uncomfortable-with-touch thing, but after skimming through the manga and some bonus content, I have another theory. Rin takes the gloves off to eat, as well as a few other instances, such as when working on a spell with Holm and Marcille in chapter 36

This one is especially interesting because she has them on in the next chapter, during the fight with Falin. Since she also isn't wearing gloves during some of the Daydream Hour art of her outside of the dungeon, that leads me to believe that they are specifically for combat.

What does she need them for, though? Most other casters we see don't wear gloves. Well... just look at the other half of the page where she attacks Falin with lightning:

She is enveloped by this spell. I said it before was pretty reckless magic, but maybe its not just a problem for her teammates, but for her as well.

So here's my theory: maybe the gloves are rubber, or some other electricity-resistant material? They might help protect her from her own magic. I don't know why a caster would need gloves for combat otherwise.

I also think this might be why her dress is tattered at the bottom, by the way. Especially since the Daydream Hour genderswap design doesn't have a similar problem with his outfit, since the tunic isn't as long.

I will admit this is a bit of stretch/guess, but I think it's a fun one, and I wanted to share. I do think I'm right about the gloves being for dungeons/fighting specifically, at least. That seems pretty consistent throughout all of her appearances.

I also mentioned her scowl, so I'll touch on that briefly as well. The (fairly confirmed) explanation for Rin's expression is that she intentionally wears a frown to prevent her other expressions from showing through. I think it's important to emphasize that it's not just smiling that she is trying to suppress here - it's any strong emotion:

Anyway, because I can, here is the art of Rin smiling.

Rin and Kabru

I have talked a bit about Rin and Kabru's history, but I think it deserves its own section.

I think it's very interesting that Rin is pretty much the ONLY character in all of Dungeon Meshi that has explicit canonical romantic interesting in someone. It's literally part of the main summary sentence in her character profile.

This could be sort of reductive as a way to describe a female character (and in some ways it still is), but I think in part the simplicity and directness of it actually is part of what makes it so interesting. Especially when on the very next page we see the comic about her backstory. "This mage is in love with Kabru" -> one page of a horribly traumatic event and a child frozen in shock with no one to comfort her. What does that do?

Well, in my opinion, it shows how much Rin focuses on Kabru as something to keep her in the present. In contrast with the immense loss she has experienced, her love for Kabru is current and alive. He has presumably been her anchor for years, and I think that her love is part of that anchor.

Adding to this, in contrast with how explicit her feelings are, she never seems to actively pursue Kabru. She complains about his potential interest in other women, but she doesn't really flirt. She doesn't let herself smile around him any more than anyone else, and she doesn't hide her bitterness or anger from him to present a more appealing persona.

As much as she craves Kabru's attention, and has stayed by his side for years, I don't know that she really wants to possess him. He seems to know about her feelings, more or less, and she seems to know that he knows. Maybe she believes he doesn't reciprocate and is respecting that, maybe she's afraid of what she could lose if she tried to change things, or maybe the change itself frightens her. In any case, though she's not exactly happy with the way things are between them, she doesn't seem to be trying to change that status quo.

A specific thing I'd also like to talk about with their relationship, beyond Rin's love for him, is her fear for him. As the Adventurer's Bible puts it, "she worries that his knack for dealing with whatever life throws at him might lead him to get too full of himself and end up in serious trouble."

Rin is an interesting mix of restrained and explosive, herself. Her magic is destructive, her temper seems to run hot (she gets annoyed easily, at least), and her feelings for Kabru are apparent. At the same time, she doesn't let her emotions show on her face, she is the one who bluntly states that the group has hit the limit of their abilities, and she doesn't act on those obvious feelings for Kabru. It's interesting, then, that what she fears for Kabru is that he won't restrain himself.

And a small personal idea about that as well: I wonder if she somewhat blames her parents for getting killed. Again, this is very speculative, but I think it's interesting that her fear for Kabru is that he will get too full of himself. Take up too much space. It's never really stated what Rin thinks of her parents, but it can be easy in grief to search for control, and control often means blame. If they hadn't been so confident, so flashy, would they still be alive...?

I don't know if she's ever thought like that, and it could well be that her fears for Kabru come from a totally different place. But it's an interesting connective thread between her past and present - the idea of "getting in trouble" for taking up too much space and being too confident in one's own abilities.

Miscellaneous Tidbits:

On that note, I'd like to wrap up the main part of this post, and move on to a few extra things that I couldn't find another place for.

Rin plays with her hair when she's stressed

Using stressed as a pretty big umbrella here, because I think it's hard to perfectly pin down all the emotions at play, but it is a habit of hers. Best displayed in chapter 32, but it shows up in other places, too.

Her design contrasts with Marcille

This is a small thing, but I just love how much they are visual opposites.

Rin wears red and black and has dark hair, Marcille wears blue and white and has light hair. Marcille cares a great deal for her hair and puts it up in elaborate hairstyles, and Rin's is mostly loose and a bit messy. Marcille was even educated at the Magic Academy, which Rin dislikes. They both have little capelets. Also they both look very cute in each other's clothes.

Rin knows Flamela (and they meet again in canon)

Nothing much is done with this in canon, but I think it’s super interesting that Flamela's squad are the ones that find Rin as a child and take her away to the west, and then they end up stuck in the dungeon together for a bit.

Two days??? I'm so very curious what things were like between these three.

Aaaand I think that's all I have to say about Rin! For the time being at least. There's a lot more analysis that could be done about her and Kabru especially, but for this post I wanted to keep things at least somewhat anchored to canon facts, with only a layer or two of speculation on top.

If it isn't already obvious, I think Rin is a super interesting character with a ton of potential depth to explore. She mostly interacts with Kabru in canon, but has ties to a bunch of other characters: she and Marcille fill similar roles in their parties but have differing personalities and histories, she and Falin (and Laios) have been tremendously shaped by xenophobia and fear of magic common in the Northern Continent, her parents fled from conflict in the same region Shuro and his retainers are from, and she has history with Flamela and some of the second canary squad.

Her temper, her fear, her love... her repression and passion - they all inform her character, even in small ways, even with as little time as she spends on the page.

[shadowed-dancer]

Villains and Their Fates - A Tragedy Would Have Been Fine By Me

I've seen a lot of people who try to write off frustration with the league's fates by saying "you just wanted them to survive" or "you're just upset your favourite character died". And while that may be true for a few people, I know that it's at least not true for myself (which must mean there are others who feel the same way). So today I'm here to share my thoughts. Despite liking the villains and wanting them to be redeemed, I was also willing to accept a well written ending if they died. I just wanted to ramble a bit about the three main villains (mostly Toga) and how I felt a tragic ending could have been improved.

The only villain I felt should have lived is Dabi, but that's more because of the awkwardness his unconfirmed death caused for Shoto (read this beautifully written analysis for more). If Dabi had to die, he should have died on the battle field OR in the hospital surrounded by family where he gets a few last words in. Leaving his fate unconfirmed leads to the ruined Shoto arc, but is also just weird for a character who has existed for so long. You're telling me that even Overhaul gets a confirmed ending but DABI doesn't?

I've also talked a bit about how Endeavor's survival ruins the subplot, and in 426 he continues by making Touya's final appearance about him (rather than the two brothers) but that's something I've talked about too much. If Endeavor has to be alive and hogging screen time, the least Hori could do is imply Touya will survive rather than die, so at least Enji isn't literally stealing time from his other family members to have some interaction with Touya.

If Touya has to end up in that machine, an ideal ending would have been the doctor saying "it will be a gruelling and near-impossible uphill climb to recovery" and then Shoto can smile and say "he's done it before". Boom. Simple as that. Leave it open, but at least on a positive note so we can assume that the family will have plenty of time to reconcile, as opposed to an unknown (but limited) amount of time that Enji vows to use to talk to him (yeah I know it's supposed to be a sweet gesture but even Touya calls bullshit on it). Let Shoto and Touya eat their soba, damn it!

For Shigaraki, my grievances extend to the writing of the entire final battle between him and Deku. As such, I don't have much to say aside from that because it really is just a product of poor writing. Neither were really allowed to talk before the big moment (hell, the vestiges were narrating Deku's emotions half the time like "he must be upset, this quirk meant so much to him". Why not let him tell us???) and the back-and-forth of Shigaraki being destroyed and then not only to be destroyed again was too much. It felt sloppy and hard to follow, and once you figured it out it just felt dumb. It's as if each chapter needed some massive reveal, but the story had done it so much at this point that it just felt tired and like it was happening "because Hori said so", and that should never be what drives a story.

Speaking of "because Hori said so"...

Oh Toga. Out of all the villains, I actually liked her confrontation the most. (Lies. If Dabi vs Shoto was the end of Dabi's fight, THAT would have been the best. But the Endeavor fight ruins it). Despite having limited screen time, Toga and Uraraka had a surprisingly well-built dynamic. Their few interactions were actually meaningful and created a strong foundation for a fight, and at the very least they had more of a personal connection than Deku and Shigaraki ever did. I think that Toga giving her blood to someone she loves (as opposed to drinking/taking their blood like she had said the whole series) is a beautifully tragic end to her character, but still something that could have fit.

To me, the problem comes with how she died. Let me replay the scene for you: Toga stabs Uraraka in the stomach and Uraraka bleeds too much because she keeps moving around. Toga then realizes she doesn't want Uraraka to die. To save her life, Toga has to do a blood transfusion with herself as a donor and she dies because she has to give ALL her blood.

Now... sure. Ok. Fine. Yeah. Maybe by real-world logic this makes sense. I guess. Whatever. But within the world of MHA, this setup is laughable.

Here's a list of things characters survived (or at least, they survived LONG ENOUGH to get to a hospital rather than dying on the battlefield): Deku shattering his bones with 1 million percent, whatever happened to Best Jeanist when AFO attacked him, Nighteye getting a massive spike through the torso, All Might with "his entrails strewn across the ground", Bakugo becoming Swiss cheese, Grand Torino being punched so hard a crater forms beneath him, Touya being a literal flaming skeleton, Bakugo's heart exploding, Edgeshot becoming a worm. Mirko getting a limb ripped off and then running full speed at Shigaraki. That's just off the top of my head, I know there's probably more.

But you want to tell me that Uraraka getting stabbed and then moving was a fatal wound that required ALL TOGA'S BLOOD? ALL OF IT? The reason Toga's death bothers me is that the setup cheapens the actual moment of sacrifice. It feels preventable, so when she tells us that Uraraka is going to die without her blood, all I could do is roll my eyes because I'm not allowed to use critical thinking skills, I have to just accept what Hori says and take it at face value.

If the author wants you to live as Edgeworm despite saying you were gonna die, you can. But if the author needs a stab wound to be fatal and require ALL of someone's blood? Well tough luck bud, that's just how it goes. Mirko can run and move all she wants after having a limb ripped off, but moving a bit after one stab wound is fatal. Why? Because I say so.

If Uraraka's wound was actually serious then this ending would have been a beautiful tragedy. But as it stands now, the ridiculousness of her wound makes it all feel preventable.

Oh, there's also the fact that Toga switching blood types when she transforms was never established, but I've rambled enough.

That's it. Thanks for reading!

[citrus-writing]

Hello, i think i have a funny idea for some headcanons or drabble(s).

What if darling is yandere too?😈😈

I’d like to read young!Silva’s reaction on this, If you have inspiration, you can write about some other characters

(Sorry for mistakes, eng isn’t my first language. I hope I haven’t said anything rude!! (´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀) )

(I went ahead and added kikyo, illumi, chrollo, and hisoka cause i had some ideas for them!) 

This was a fun one to write! I just gave my general thoughts on a couple of the characters with a yandere darling. Silva was also a fun one to choose for this because i headcanon that kikyo is a yandere in canon, so Silva already knows how to handle a yandere wife. 

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

Yanderes who would be thrilled to have a darling who was also yandere for them, it fuels their obsession with you- 

Kikyo- kikyo is a yandere who will never hide her obsession with you, no matter how she chooses to express her love, she always commits to it completely. So when she finds that you, her most beloved darling, feels the same way for her, she’s ecstatic. It’s the single greatest thing to ever happen to her, and it fuels her feelings for you, encouraging her to act more and more boldly. 

Chrollo- he’s perfect at keeping his more deranged feelings a secret, so it’s unlikely you would be able to tell how he really feels for you before he kidnaps you. And that makes it even sweeter if you were a yandere for him before he took your away- in fact, maybe he wouldn't even have to. Having a yandere partner perfectly fits into chrollo’s fantasy of a perfect romance with you. 

Yanderes who are mostly indifferent, it allows you to live almost like a normal couple, and they’re grateful for that- 

Silva- assuming this is either in a universe where silva and kikyo don't get married, or before they meet, silva has never felt for anyone what he feels for you- the affection, but also the overwhelming obsession, and at first he’s wary of that. His feelings aren't normal, and he is lucid enough to know that. But when you start to display a similar intensity in your feelings for him, it furthers his devotion and obsession with you. He’s also the type of yandere to let you get away with a surprising amount of freedom, and that freedom is extended as you prove your devotion to him. 

Yanderes who wouldn’t like to have a yandere darling, it takes all the fun out of thing when their darling is too comfortable with their behavior- 

Hisoka- hisoka wants you to be afraid of him, he wants you to cower and shake and tremble when he comes too close to you, he wants you to beg him to leave you alone just so he can press closer despite all your attempts to dissuade him. Having a yandere darling throws a wrench in those plans, and while he can adapt, maybe even make you chase him down, he’d much rather be the one chasing you down. 

illumi - illumi is completely unaware of how strange and unhealthy his feelings are, he’s convinced he’s completely normal and this is simply what love feels like. However, when you start to show yandere traits, he can recognise that those feelings aren't normal, and will try to curb those habits as they arise. It can be hard for him to accept the full spectrum of his darlings emotions, but it’s possible that if those feelings are love for him he could grow to accept them with time. 

[sexiestpodcastcharacter]

Sexiest Podcast Character — Unscripted Bracket — Round 1

Propaganda

Pickman (Friends at the Table: Sangfielle):

She's a middle aged knight who is also a cowboy if the dragons/horses were evil and/or haunted and/or cursed trains! She went to (evil?) heaven and hated it BUT she was beloved by all the queer artsy women around. When she was a kid she got kidnapped by a train and lived on it for like 15 years before getting out and joining the people who kill trains. She has zero social skills, zero patience, zero charm, but she's SO hot and gruff and no nonsense and she Looms to be supportive

massive goat woman wearing armor made from the bones of a sentient train. kinda person to run a mcdonalds like it's the navy. went to heaven and said "fuck this, actually," invented pointillism and introduced evil fucked up trains to heaven and left. butch icon love of my life

SHE’S A GIANT BUTCH GOAT LADY WHO WEARS KNIGHT ARMOR MADE OF TRAIN PARTS AND HUNTS TRAINS THE WAY KNIGHTS HUNT DRAGONS. SHE’S ALSO A COWBOY. AND HAS A BIG GUN. SHE SPEAKS IN SENTENCES 10 WORDS LONG OR FEWER AND ROLLS HER OWN CIGARETTES.

She's butch, she's a knight, she has a big gun, she once convinced a skeleton to give her his sword

you used multiple fatt examples in your intro, so I assume you already Know

massive butch goat woman with a gun

HOT EMOTIONALLY DISTANT BUTCH GOAT TRAIN-KNIGHT

she's a goat! she's tall! she has a gun but doesn't know what a ranged weapon is! she's so autistic! AND she won my sexiest friends at the table player character tournament, she absolutely deserves to win this one too!!

Pickman is a big butch goat woman who smokes and fights supernatural trains. Self-explanatory

Have you seen her.

Giant butch goat knight who kills trains. The perfect woman.

She s so sexy shes a goat lesbian.please.

ITS PICKMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

she's a gruff muscular goat woman who hunts trains and wears train armor, she's perfect butch husband/wife material

“Ah, that sexy trains podcast character” “You mean that sexy trans podcast character?” “🐐no🚂”

The Shadow Man ('Til Death Do Us Blart):

The Shadow Man is a conjectured entity found in the gaps of the script of Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 who seemingly exists to torture Paul Blart, Kevin James, the viewer, and particularly the podcast hosts. The closest to a canonical appearance we have is the pianist during the bird fight scene, but the Shadow Man's reach surely extends to every scene and every Blart watching experience.

[jackdaw-sprite]

Hi, @ep-10 ! I was your truce gifter this year for @phandomholidaytruce and I decided to use your prompts for a Japanese ghost--kinda, but mostly for a biopunk fantasy au. You're getting some character designs for a biopunk fantasy AU set in a world suspiciously similar to Sengoku era Japan! And also backstory. Mostly backstory, really.

Warning for someone getting baked alive in a kiln.

I mean, we all know who.

Jack and Maddie Fenton are a married pair of researcher/alchemists who've been brought into the country with the influence of an old friend of theirs, Vlad. He wants them to figure out the secret to producing porcelain, an expensive and magically versatile ceramic with a production process that's a closely guarded secret in a nearby, much more economically powerful country.

To this end, Vlad has supplied the Fentons with enough wealth and resources to not ask things like "where did you get this?" and "what exactly is going to happen when it gets out that we're trying to make porcelain?"

As it turns out, this is a very important question, because together the pair piece together how to build a kiln that burns hotter than any they've ever seen before and for the very first time make the coveted porcelain.

The victory is short lived: their son Daniel goes missing that very day, and then their search for him is waylaid by another discovery: some of the porcelain is coming to life, animated by a horrific amalgam of flesh and vitriol. They must find Danny, but first they must make sure the monsters they've made are destroyed…

So! The three big players in our cast of characters here are Jack, Maddie, and poor, poor Danny. They are coincidentally the only ones I had time to do a character design for, so let's look at Jack first, who is holding an experimental porcelain vase:

That's quite an outfit. It's, uh. Not quite standard in the Sengoku: while he's wearing a hitatare, it's been modified, and he's chosen not to wear pants because it's technically not, like, a crime. I chose this for him because Jack:

a) Does not care about what everyone thinks of what he's wearing, or he wouldn't wear a jumpsuit all the time in canon b) Hates the feel of most clothes

Hitatare were growing in popularity during the Sengoku because of how comfortable they were, so it seemed a good fit for Jack. They didn't necessarily need to be worn with hakama if you were of a lower class, but it would be frowned upon to go without if you were off a higher class.

The modifications he and Maddie have made to it make it even less restrictive than a standard hitatare, and a bit more suited to their work of experimenting with kilns and clay.

The obi is stitched into place, so it doesn't actually act like a belt and put a line of pressure across Jack's stomach, and they've added a button to the side to hold the hitatare closed, instead. The stitching around the sleeve openings is pretty archaic by this point, but they've kept (or added) it so he can draw the openings closed when he wants, and a second draw string runs along his sleeve to let him draw the sleeves away from his hands when needed, while still letting him let them extend to their full length to act as a barrier between his skin and unpleasant textures.

He's got some leather gloves and a pair of very early goggles to protect his hands and eyes from the heat of the kilns.

The geta act as an additional layer of protection against bad textures, since they should keep him above mud.

Maddie, here holding a shattered fragment of porcelain, is dressed far less eccentrically, because this (left) is before the porcelain came to life. She's just wearing a kosode with hakama and a leather apron. (She has gloves too, they're just tucked away at her back) The smaller sleeves stay out of the way while she works, and the hakama are roomy. She's wearing waraji, because she prefers what I assume is more stable footing and a lower center of gravity.

This is especially true after they start fighting the porcelain. Pictured here, you can see she keeps her hair out of her face with a standard low ponytail, and the Fenton Anti-Creep stick manages to still exist in this world, despite all odds.

This Anti-Creep stick is a bokken with embedded teeth of broken porcelain for a better shattering potential--metal, especially enough metal of sufficient quality for a sword, is expensive, and they're dealing with something that's only a stronger ceramic…

Which brings us to the kiln. And, to his great misfortune, to Danny.

This is a multi-chambered climbing kiln. While I don't think it's the first kiln that allowed firing temperatures to reach that required for porcelain in Japan in our world, it's the most common and appeared around the same time as that first one. The design of it encourages airflow in a way that traps and directs heat to build it on itself and distribute it reasonably evenly.

The kiln chambers would get filled with the pots to be fired, then they would set a fire in the little step down in each chamber. Then they would seal the kiln chambers entrances with fire bricks, except for a small stoking hole to keep the fires fed.

Then they'd light the main fire at the mouth to the first, lowest chamber called the stoke hole and the fire box respectively.

And then they would keep the fires lit, and feed them, wood upon wood upon wood…

Until eventually, the kiln warmed, grew sweltering, grew hot, hot like fire, like iron in a forge and then hotter still, until the whole of the inside glows.

Like the center of the earth.

…

At the lowest, porcelain requires a firing temperature of 1000 degrees. Celsius.

Brass melts, at that temperature. Porcelain itself gets its strength from melting.

And Danny…

Danny tripped. Danny was loading one of the chambers, and he tripped and he hit his head and by the time he woke he was sweating.

He tried to crawl away from where he knew the fires were. The flue, where the spent air left the kiln, has charred finger marks where his burnt away after the carbon dioxide and heat drove him unconscious a second time.

It was a mercy.

By the time he woke again, his body was cooling.

You see, the Fentons enchanted the kiln to make it try to repair pieces that were falling apart during the firing process. And, if one piece was destroyed in the firing anyway, to use the fragments to reinforce the other pieces in the kiln.

Danny was in the kiln. Danny's body failed.

Bone ash is not a critical ingredient in porcelain, but its presence makes it much, much stronger.

Danny woke up made of porcelain.

His sandals left black on the soles of his feet and the fingers on one hand that had burned looked skeletal. But he woke up.

And he ran.

Later, he'll find help. Later, he'll find a way to fight the other things in the kiln that day, and the results of later firings. Later, he'll meet a boy who loves puzzles and information and who teaches him how to use a bow and arrow to keep his fragile body intact. He'll meet a girl who loves foraging (partly because it gets her away from her parents) but loves justice more.

(Whether he'll stop wearing his clothes like a corpse is another question.)

Danny here is wearing something hitatare adjacent and hakama, along with a yugake.

Happy truce!

[iamhereonlytobeanunstableshipper]

(First of all, English is not my first language so sorry if there are some mistakes long essays are hard to write djhdsfs)

HELLO GOOD MORNING CHERIK FANDOM SO the other day I made this post about a very hurtful and surprisingly overlooked parallel: Cherik not being able to shoot each other. Aaaand that second scene from DOFP where Erik is unable to shoot Charles has been keeping me awake at night for AGES and I really feel like we don't talk enough about it. So, here I am. Still being pissed off because of some fictional characters not kissing in some movies made years ago lol

So, here's an extended extract from that scene:

So. Erik's plan here is to kill Raven, bc you can't use Raven to create evil war machines if there's no Raven am I right lol. Charles, before Erik can shoot his sister, puts himself in between the gun and her (btw shoutout to Charles for being brave enough to put himself in front of a gun again after what happened in Cuba and the ptsd he 100% has bc of it I love you muac).

Let's make things clear here: There was nothing stopping Erik from killing Charles in this scene. He could've done it. Erik's mission at that very moment was to kill Raven, and Charles was getting between his mission and him. And we all know how things end when something gets in Erik's way when he's completing his mission. Erik does not care about collateral damage. For fucks sake, in this very same scene, he was willing to kill Raven off just bc it was easier and faster. He doesn't give a fuck about who has to die in favor of the greater good.

And I mean, technically, Erik should be more willing to kill Charles than Raven. Raven was his right hand for a while before he went to prison and she was his canonical lover. Charles, at this point in time, was his enemy. Both of them are very powerful mutants, with the difference that Raven is usually by Erik's side, and Charles is one of the only people in the world able to stop Erik thanks to his mutation. If Erik was willing to kill Raven, he should be willing to kill Charles too, if not as much, then more.

So... Why not? Why not shoot him, and once Charles was down, kill Raven too? Why is he able to attempt to kill Raven (his former ally and EX LOVER) and not Charles?

🤨 🏳️‍🌈 ❓ 

ALSO, now that we're here: Let's talk a bit about Dark Phoenix, too.

So, let's face it, DP is a bad movie. Overall, it's boring and that's pretty sad counting the masterpieces FC and DOFP are. But, hey, I can live with a boring movie. It's fine. What I CANNOT live with are things that are out of character. Especially when my fave characters are out of character. Ok maybe I'm being a bit too over dramatic here but I'M NOT

So: Let's talk about how Erik wants to rip the world apart over Raven's death in Dark Phoenix bc he's just so destroyed bc the love of his life died or whatever. Dude. I'm sorry but I don't buy it.

Correct me if I'm wrong here bc there's been a while since I don't rewatch Apocalypse or Dark Phoenix (again, meh movies), but from what I understand Erik didn't spend more time with Raven, apart from that bit in Apocalypse? Because after DOFP, Erik distanced himself from anything related to mutant wars to create a family, and then after Apocalypse Erik created Genosha and Raven stayed at the mansion, isn't it?

Assuming that this is correct, they're trying to tell me that between the scene where Erik was willing to kill Raven over the greater good in DOFP and the scene where he was willing to rip the world apart bc of her dying in DP, Raven and Erik only saw each other once. Riiiiight.

And, look. I'm not saying that Erik wouldn't feel sad about Raven dying. Of course he would. He's not made of steel (bc most steel is not magnetic. Get it? Magnetism, Erik... Imma shut up lol). Obviously he would feel bad. And I'm not saying that love can't last that long if they haven't seen each other in a long time, bc c'mon. I'm a cherik shipper. Of course I believe it can.

What I'm saying is that I can't believe that Erik is so devastated that gets blinded enough by his broken heart to hunt down a teenager that's being haunted by something she can't control. I can't believe it bc 20 years ago, it was him who was trying to kill Raven (and almost succeeding), a time that was way closer to their partnership and relationship than when DP takes place. If anything, he should be more affected in DOFP. Instead, he goes from almost killing her himself to wanting to rip everything apart bc of her death.

It. Doesn't. Make. Sense. So, Dark Phoenix's Raven x Erik plotline can suck my dick lol. If it doesn't make sense with the character's previous actions, it's not canon. That's how this works lol I don't make the rules

Summing up: Erik willing to kill Raven but not being able to shoot Charles in DOFP is EXTREMELY fruity and romantic, and Dark Phoenix's romantic plot between Raven and Erik makes 0 sense and is forced as shit

End of rant, thanks for hearing my ramblings on these gay old men and I hope y'all enjoyed it!!

(Also, of course, happy new year!!!)

[billpottsismygf]

The Devil's Chord! This was my most highly anticipated episode of the series because of The Beatles - who I'm very nostalgic for, sue me - but they had a much smaller part than I expected. That may be for the best, as the actors don't look anything like the real deal, but they did an admirable job considering the circumstances.

I love the idea behind this one. I'm a musician myself and love things about music. Music being important, music being holy, I love it all. Everything from Maestro playing us into the theme tune, to the way it aligns with the characters' established personalities (the Doctor's jukebox and Ruby's band), made me very happy. The music battle was especially cool. Very The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Out there, but I liked it a lot.

Maestro was also a lot. I liked them, though. Great costumes, great performance. A campy villain in the best way. They're the Toymaker's child, which is interesting in itself, and I like that the rules around fair play seemed to extend to them as well.

There was a lot of series arc stuff here. So, Ruby has Carol of the Bells deeply ingrained within her. There was some important figure (another of the Pantheon, presumably) at her birth - is Ruby herself a child of the Pantheon? More snow, as well. There's also the One Who Waits coming up again. It all feels a little too self-conscious and crammed in - "remember, there's pay-off coming for these random mysteries that you have no context for!". I know we live in an era of heavily serialised media, in large part because of streaming and the binge model, and obviously Doctor Who has been semi-serialised since the revival, but it just seems like a lot. Maybe even too much, especially since the first episode was quite heavy with it too.

Although, I did wonder if this one was meant to be later in the series. First Ruby saying "you never hide" and then "you always know what to do" signaled a far longer association with the Doctor than she has had, but then it was especially jarring when she said it was hard to keep track of when her time is and it could be June or July... That sounds like someone who's been travelling with the Doctor for a while, not like someone who's on their second trip. And it was Christmas for her only last episode. Obviously there can be off-screen trips, but usually for the first couple of episodes we want to feel that this is the start of their journey as the audience gets to know them. Did this get plucked from later in the series and dropped into the episode 2 slot? Because it seems a bit of a shame, if so.

There was a lot of fourth wall breaking in this one as well. There was a wink to camera each from Maestro and the Doctor, as well as the Doctor's comment about thinking the music was non-diegetic (a nice little moment that probably a lot of people will miss). I do quite like a meta moment, and particularly loved the Twelfth Doctor's partaking in them, but I wonder if these serve a particular purpose, because we also had Mrs Flood talking to camera at the end of the Christmas special. Since RTD seems to be going with a theme that the rules of the universe have changed and become a bit more magical, I wouldn't be surprised if the meta elements tied in somehow.

Then, this is less meta and more fully surreal, but that whole ending musical number was... odd. I don't know what I think about it yet. The Doctor with his wink and "there's always a twist at the end" seemed to signal that we were leaving the normal reality of the show, but then... Did that musical number literally happen? How about the Abbey Road zebra crossing acting like a piano? It's part of my specific brand of autism that I struggle with surreal things when it's not clear how/whether they relate to the more realistic things going on, so maybe other people love it. It just made me feel confused, though, and slightly annoyed. I expected a musical number because the trailers showing this made that fairly clear, but I'd assumed it would be explicitly connected to the strange happenings of the episode. Instead it's just plonked at the end after everything has been fixed.

A lot of this latter stuff sounds quite negative, but overall I really liked this one! As I said before, the music stuff speaks to me personally very much, and I'll withhold final judgement about the serialisation stuff and even the meta/surreal stuff, as it may well pay off yet.

Small things

Love their outfits so much, and obviously we've known about them for a while, but it was funny they were worried about blending in when both of them (especially Ruby) were wearing pretty 60s adjacent outfits at the start. The Doctor was more 70s, but I don't think many people would have looked askance.

Ahhhh, Fifteen mentioning that One was in the junkyard made me exceedingly happy! The speculation about what happened to Susan also has me hoping beyond hope that this might be set-up for a Susan return.

I loved that extended instrumental scene where Ruby just played on the rooftop and people listened. It was quite moving!

Love hearing the word "lesbians" on Doctor Who <3 - I don't think even Bill explicitly got to use that word!

Just the general queerness is really nice. Ruby writing a song for her friend's gay break up. Maestro being they/them and it not really being a thing beyond their introduction. Ruby's mum having a "girlfriend" who was a Beatles fan that makes me wonder if that's in the platonic or gay sense.

I want to know the behind the scenes details of how they chose the music they did, especially when it comes to the chords that both summon and banish Maestro.

Henry the child is real and alive at the end! (Though it's during the musical number, so I guess real is dubious.) When he vanished into nothingness (and his music teacher didn't seem to care), I had thought he wasn't real. Does he have his own world-ending powers?

The Doctor referring to bigeneration as having had his soul "torn in half". Hmm, don't like that! I won't rehash my feelings on bigeneration here, but this implies that there is not continuity between the end of Fourteen and the start of Fifteen, which mucks up one of the only ways I could hold onto being just about okay with it.

[sukibenders]

https://www.tumblr.com/sukibenders/753357046866411521/seeing-marina-gush-to-penelope-about-how-in-her

marina knew Pen feeling towards Colin. I know probably you had been in love and the other person doesnt love you back but i did. And it so painful to see another person making fun if that love you have. marina did that with the unrequited fantasy line . And now, don`t play it like marina really care or love Pen. There, Marina was making fun of Pen too, she was wishing her a life without love. it was Eloise wish to remain spinster but not Pen, she wanted love with all her heart and marina want her to be there watching her married with the man she loves with her friend being a spinster!! BE FOR FUCKING REAL!!!!

(This is going to be long)

No, no, no, let's not solely villainize Marina and go "Oh, sweet Penelope" as if she [Pen] isn't grown enough to know the extent of some of her actions. That's a big reason why I can't stand her character is because of the way fans deny her actions having consequences in comparison to others. I've never said that Marina wasn't wrong for what she did, such as attempting to marry someone and pretending their kids are yours, that's wrong on a lot of levels. But this is set in the Regency era where women don't have many choices, especially in her standing. She was literally about to be thrown out on to the street if she didn't find a suitor. And I'm supposed to care more about Pen getting her feelings hurt over a crush that, sorry, was unrequited at the time? I don't think so. Again, painting Penelope as the poor victim gets really annoying because, okay yeah, she has a crush. Everyone does in life. But that doesn't give her a right to act entitled to said crush's feelings at every turn (nor does it give the fandom the right to do so either), it doesn't give her the right to try and sabotage any other attempts said crush might have with other people behind their back, and it doesn't give her the right to expose their information on a public gossip sheet for everyone to see (both Marina's and Colin's). People get so caught up in Penelope's feelings, and demonizing Marina in the same breath, but also don't take into consideration the impact, while not as severe as Marian's, of what Penelope did to Colin as well (when they aren't busy villainizing him) I'm sorry, but me personally, I wouldn't want to be around someone who leaked private information about me (and someone I was close too) and then continued to talk about it on their gossip sheet, reaped the financial benefits of it, and gave me fake sympathies knowing they were the cause just because they had a crush. Would you? Let's be for fucking real, as you say.

And I'll be honest, I do extend a little more grace towards Penelope now than I did back in the day, but not my much. I would be more inclined of her ending up with Colin if her actions were rightfully called out and she had to work through the consequences of them. But no, that can only happen in fanfic because, apparently, it's wrong to view her actions under anything but a sympathetic lens. And, back to your point, correct me if I'm wrong, but Marina gushing to Penelope earlier in the season about Colin, after their first dance and no realization of Penelope's crush, held no mean attributes to it. Her statement was meant to create a loving bond because, whether you like it or not, Marina and Penelope were close because Marina didn't make fun of her or downplay her at every turn like her mother and sisters. Marina knew exactly how it felt to live under that household, saw a perfect opportunity for escape, and in that escape, not only, thought of bringing Penelope with her or at least providing her shelter, but with her best friend, of whom we can assume Marina knows more about Eloise than she did Penelope's relationship with Colin, because that wasn't revealed until later. So no, Marina did truly care about Penelope. Bringing it back to Colin, who made it clear that, at that point, he had feelings for Marina (and don't deny that he did) why should she throw that away over some crush? Like yeah, what Marina said was a little harsh (and she does apologize later for it), but you're ignoring the fact that, prior to this, Penelope made every attempt she could to be spiteful and rain on Marina's joy (again, before the crush was found out), even turning any positive compliment that Marina gave her as some form of pitty, which it wasn't. At that point, I'd be annoyed too and Marina was far better than me at those points. Now, again, I state this was the Regency era and Marina was running out of time with the only good and less dangerous option of a good life growing farther and farther away, she has to make tough decisions because it's not only about her but her unborn children as well, and I'm supposed to feel more sympathy for Penelope? Her calling Penelope's crush a "childish fantasy" came about when Penelope was trying to withhold Marina from doing something that could have ended up with her finding a good life because Philip showing up was something that no one expected and she was led to believe that Goerge no longer cared for her anymore. But she was supposed to throw that away over a crush? And calling it what it is, even if it was harsh, was not Marina making fun of Penelope. Let's not.

Yes, I have had crushes before, but in no way did I act THAT entitled to someone as a person, especially enough to where I purposely risked someone's life and have said crush still not even consider my feelings. And even if they did, that still doesn't warrant that behavior, and I'm tired of people justifying what Penelope did. I've had a crush on someone, they didn't know about it, moved on with different people one being my friend and you know what I did? Worked on moving on too, because they both were happy for however long they were together, the crush wasn't entitled to returning my feelings, and I knew at a certain point that I had to let go. Was it kind of sad to see Marina diss Penelope's feelings like that? Yeah. And would it hurt if someone did that to me? Yes, but I also won't lie and pretend that that could have been a reality check for Penelope if the show did right. I would have wished that Penelope didn't realize that so late, but sadly that didn't happen. And it's also sad that the fandom to won't let her have an opportunity to move on because, what do you mean Marina was denying her love? I'm sorry, but love exist in many other forms, which Penelope had, and even without Marina in the picture, Colin is clearly shown to not reciprocate Penelope's feelings that way. It's sad how dependent Penelope and some fans feel about that, when it's been shown that, when she tries (get into that later), Penelope can attract people outside of Colin. Personally, at a certain point way before s3, I would've been trying to do that a long time ago. Now, because you said that Penelope didn't want to be a spinster, the statement is kind of laughable because, until s3, we hardly see Penelope make any attempts to find a match with someone who isn't Colin, who still isn't returning her feelings. In fact, we hardly see her with anyone who isn't Eloise, and there are more scenes of her dodging attempts to find a suitor than actually looking for one. She literally uses Marina as a shield in s1 to prevent from doing so so that she can spend time with Eloise! (Ngl, if my friend did that for most of our lives, I too would think that she would want to be a spinster, but Eloise still could have talked about it more with her). It also ignores how, when Colin entered Marina's life again and basically went "Hey, I'm not against playing the second step daddy" Marina still went and pushed him to go and be with Penelope, even though, from what we can assume, they probably haven't seen each other since Marina got married and had her twins.

The reason I don't care much for Polin is because I hardly get to see much growth on Penelope's side at all in the ship, especially due to the fandom making it their life's mission to make Colin grovel for every little thing (some in which he really shouldn't). We got to see opportunities even before s3 of her associating with other characters, one being with Marina and the other being Edwina but they all get thrown out the window as soon as Colin enters the fray. Heck, even when around Eloise, as soon as Colin is mentioned or shows up she's eager to dip and make her way over. She wanted love with all her heart WITH COLIN. She had opportunities to be with other people, but she wanted Colin so bad that she was willing to do anything. Perhaps if the fandom addressed this, if they stopped trying to paint her actions as overly sympathetic and let her be morally complex, then I could get behind it. But no, we have to put the blame on others.

[spookykoolkat]

the red j.m | chapter two

CHAPTER TWO: HELL ABOVE

series masterlist | main masterlist

previous chapter | next chapter

pairings: older!joel miller x plus sized!younger!reader

chapter summary: it's week one staying jackson with none other than joel miller himself, and it's nerve wracking. in a new town, with new people, and living under the roof of the most intolerable man ever—you struggle to feel comfortable, to feel like you belonged. joel doesn't make it easier on you either.

warnings: mean joel, mentions of death, grief, loneliness, and mentions of su*cidal ideation and attempt.

wc: 4k-ish

na: this is like the slowest burn i've ever done BUT I HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYS 🖤 the next chapter will be out soon but omg tysm for all the love i enjoy every comment i get and feel so warm when i get reblogs i love u guys i promise SMUT soon!!! heehhehehe they're just stubborn these characters 🤦🏻‍♀️

YOU

november 20th, 2024.

it was your first week staying in jackson, under joel’s watch. maria decided it was best you had people around you while you were here, and it seemed like the person you could tolerate the most was joel.

they were wrong unfortunately. even after your breakdown in the infirmary, you wanted nothing to do with joel or anyone here. still, you were so adamant on being alone. without wanting to admit it, you knew you had demons that were bigger than the people around you. every time you went down, you dragged people down with you. now you’re expected to live in a community with good people that want to help?

joel wasn’t too happy either, fighting with his brother about the fact that whether he liked it or not, he could talk some sense into you regardless. he already had ellie to watch for, to take care of, now he has to babysit you. it wasn’t that he hated you, he hated the fact that you and him were too much alike. he hated the fact that he wanted to leave you there first. not only that, but ellie took a strong favor to you. He was barely getting used to having ellie in his life, and now there’s another body walking around the empty house.

maybe the universe played into your favor when you found out joel lived with a small girl, ellie. you assumed if joel of all people could have a daughter and be a father, there was some good in his heart. but you knew it only extended for her and his brother. you knew joel was just as dark souled as you, maybe even more.

you walked behind joel passing the buildings, homes, and people as they build and construct around the area. you were nervous, as joel nodded towards tommy who was standing on a tall platform.

“tommy ain’t putting you on patrol for a while, not sure they can trust you with a gun,” joel said as he took a suitcase filled with essentials that maria packed for you a few days after she made sure you were a little more clear headed.

he finally stopped in front of a two story house that looked like it had wear and tear, but you saw the small fix ups that were patched up or replaced on the house, like how the gutter’s not matching the same shade. the entire neighborhood was painted in snow though, everything was frozen while there were some small christmas decorations people found. it felt real to you, safe.

“guess i’ll just get bit by those fuckers if they find a way in,” you rolled your eyes as you gripped the cuffs of your black sweater.

“or killed by raiders or something, you know, shit like that.” you couldn’t help yourself, it was coming out before you could stop and joel just gave you a hard look. but you knew he knew you were right, which is why he shut up and led you into the house.

the two of you walked inside and you took in the scent of coffee and smoke. smelled better than rotting flesh. it was a rustic home, dark and near gothic, but something you’d see in a movie about vampires maybe. you liked it. it felt warm and safe, inviting but with an edge.

“it’s okay you can borrow one of mine,” a girl said coming from the back hall, hair tugged into a ponytail and wearing a long sleeve shirt with jeans. ellie heard the bickers from the window, and decided to take it upon herself to save you. you smiled at the girl, assuming this is the ellie joel mentioned.

“no, ellie, i mean it,” joel demanded, grabbing your new belongings and dragging it upstairs.

“i’m ellie, are you the girl they found? said you almost died,” ellie said nonchalantly and your lips quirked up into a small smile, heart warming at the young girl. something was a little off though, you could sense a small unwavering tension between the girl and joel.

“i am the girl they found,” you said and introduced yourself, a hand reaching for hers.

ellie doesn’t take long to show you around the very rustic house with intricate detailing on the trim, a fireplace in the average sized library, the only two bathrooms in the house and the backyard patio as well. ellie also makes it known that half of the things that seemed like they were here before, weren’t and it was joel who rebuilt the roof and the patio outside. also noted that joel is the one who cuts their firewood even though she’s insisted she can do it.

“he doesn’t trust me with much but, i find my way,” ellie smiles and you smiled with her.

“you and me both.”

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

you settled in your room, not too small but you weren’t really in the mood to care where you were. as long as you had a bed, a toilet, and a fan. which you did. it didn’t take you long to rummage through your backpack for the walkman that maria fixed, sliding in the cassette and listening through the dainty headphones. it was etta james, your mother’s collection of music that you managed to steal on your way out of your childhood home.

you thought about your mom a lot. your family of course, but your mom the most. you were the only child, and when everything happened your mother protected you with her life. your father took the manly duties of hunting and looking for things you needed to survive, trading, leading the two of you to the QZ just to be somewhere that was safe.

but it wasn’t safe. and your mother knew it. arguments would erupt about it, your mother wanted to leave but your father didn’t. you didn’t know who was right. you didn’t know how to survive on your own, you weren’t ready to lose your parents.

you just stared, your eyes drying up from the lack of blinking. you were too deep in thought when joel knocked on your bedroom door, not getting a response and it worried him. he walked in slowly announcing himself so that if you would know, but still nothing.

you didn’t even notice joel standing in your room, waving his hand trying to get your attention.

“jesus, what the fuck?” you said slipping off the headphones as you sit on the edge of your bed.

“we’re all goin’ to the diner for dinner, so come down,” he said and you shook your head.

“i’m good here, thanks,” you said and he scoffed.

“you ain’t got a choice.” you rolled your eyes and huffed, looking down at your feet. you felt like a fucking kid.

you just wanted to sleep, you wanted to stay holed up in this room until you figure out where you’ll go after this. you knew you didn’t want to stay too long here. you stayed quiet as you walked downstairs, and you stayed quiet on the way out of the house and into the small neighborhood of houses. lights hung over the area, snow fell down slower to you here for some reason, and you heard the unbothered chatter and laughter throughout the street. it was strange.

everyone called it the diner, but really it was like just a dinner hall. a place where food was served for breakfast, lunch and dinner and occasional snacks like nuts and berries. it sufficed, and it was the best reminder of what it was like being a civilized community. you just couldn’t help but feel so out of place, so unwanted. you knew tommy and maria wanted you to stay, but joel was a little hard to get used to. It’s not like you haven’t been unwanted before, you just didn’t know why it felt so different coming from a man like joel.

joel and ellie were in front of you chatting about his new patrol route, and when’s the soonest she can start settling into her own. he says something about her being too young to be put in classes for it right now, and you absentmindedly laughed at it.

“somethin’ funny back there?” joel said, turning his head to you quickly before looking back to the buildings passing by.

“no such thing as being too young in this world. she’ll learn sooner or later, hell she probably already knows.” you said matter of factly and he looked at ellie, then looked at you and stopped. you almost ran into his back before you stopped yourself.

“ellie, go on inside tell tommy we’ll be there in just a minute,” a part of you wanted to ask what part of texas he was from, maybe you were from there too. his southern accent was one of few, including yours.

you looked at ellie and she put her lips into a thin line, looking a little apologetic before leaving to walk a few more steps and into a brightly lit cafeteria.

“if you’re gonna be stayin’ with us, i don’t want none of this shit. just because you had it rough being a kid in this world don’t mean she’s got to.” he said firmly, pointing slightly in the direction of ellie. you furrow your brows, looking at the snow past him.

“i’d rather my kid know how to protect herself in case this little bullshit fantasy world you got here turns to shit.” you spit and looked back at him. he was almost fuming now. you could see the heat rise to his cheeks as he clenched his jaw.

“she ain’t my kid, and it ain't up to you.” he said, stepping back from you.

“i don’t care if she was your sister, everyone needs to know how to protect themselves. especially a little girl like that. even if you do have a safe world here in this little town, there are still evil fuckin’ people.” you argued and tried to walk past him, but he lightly gripped your arm.

“look, just, keep it to yourself a’right? she’s got enough goin on, don't need you in her ear makin’ shit worse for her.” he said coldly, making you wanted to back away from him and retreat.

“of course, because i’m the one you need to worry about, get off of me,” you said and looked away, snatching your arm away from him and walking into the diner without him.

you didn’t know how to feel about joel and this new arrangement. a part of you was taking it out on him when in most people’s eyes, he’s trying to help you. it just didn’t feel like help coming from him. it felt like it was his obligation, he had to, and if it was up to him you’d be frozen food for animals wandering around the commune.

and he made it fucking hard to like him or feel grateful. it feels like you got stuck with the asshole neighbor to babysit you, in fact that’s basically what it is.

it was a large place, chairs and tables put in rows while leaving a walkway to the line for food. you spotted tommy, maria and ellie sitting at a long table with a few other people, and your tummy churned. you hadn’t been around other people in a long time, not like this. maybe since you were a kid, other than that you walked around and hid and fought by yourself, or you had someone and they didn’t make it. you always ended up alone, in every scenario.

“c’mon,” his gruff voice said behind you, ghosting his hand over your back to guide you to the table. you jerked away from his hand, and he noticed. he pulled his hand back quickly and created a distance between the two of you.

“this is too much,” you breathe as you slowly walk to the table with him still behind you.

“you gonna stand there and panic or what?” he taunted and you huffed. fucking asshole.

the anxiety bubbled up within you again, realizing you haven’t been around this many people in a long time. but you were here, there was no going back. you kept walking and finally reached the table where they looked like they were waiting for you two. tommy and maria gave you a smile and you returned one back, going to sit next to ellie while joel sat in front of you, next to tommy.

“how’d you settle in?” maria asked, hand on her belly with the other entangled in tommy’s.

“fine,” you said and looked at her, “thank you for the suitcase, by the way. i appreciate it.”

it was genuine. you did appreciate it because only god knows you needed more tampons and underwear. fuck, just basic hygienic items. you were more than grateful, but still weary. you felt on high alert, honestly the right term was paranoid. and everyone saw it.

you were practically hugging yourself tight in the chair, almost fearful for someone to come close. joel saw it too.

“of course, anything you need you let me know, and tommy or joel,” maria said and smiled as she got up, leading tommy to stand as well. you weren’t sure how reliable joel would be to you, but you just nodded anyways.

“let’s eat, yeah?” she said and before anyone else could stand, ellie stood and immediately walked into the line to get a plate. you followed after tommy and maria, and joel followed you. he just kept watch on you. nervous and like you, paranoid.

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

“so, where are you from?” ellie asked as she dug into the mashed potatoes, stuffing it in her mouth.

“ellie,” joel warns and she looked at him, defeated.

“what? i just wanna know, she sounds like you,” she observed and maria smiled at ellie’s usual behavior.

“i’m uh, from texas. i was born in el paso but moved to austin when i was 3.” you responded. you figured it didn’t do any harm, if anything maybe it’s best the people that are letting you stay with them know who you are and where you’re from.

you noticed the shared glances between joel and tommy, then looked back down at your plate to poke at the broccoli.

“that’s weird, joel and tommy are from austin too,” ellie pointed out and joel looked at ellie hard, a second warning.

“how did you and ellie find each other, joel?” you asked, a little comfortable to ask your own questions. tommy looks at you with a look you can’t necessarily decipher and begins to open his mouth before joel talks first.

“mission gone wrong. ended up back here afterwards, bout a year ago.” he said curtly and you nodded, eating your dinner. he wasn't one for talking, and neither were you, but he seemed so irritated by your new presence.

you noticed the shared look between joel and ellie. it was unsure, weary.

more conversations erupt afterwards, tommy going into how maria’s appointment went and occasionally saying hi to those who pass by with their plates. you don’t pay much attention unfortunately, you kind of stay in your own mind after mentioning where you lived.

you were still sitting next to ellie, and maria sat on the other side of ellie, tommy sat in front of maria and joel sat in front of ellie. you felt a little emptiness as you realized you didn’t have much to say when thinking about when it all happened. it’s like you can’t move on, like you can’t get your mind around it.

you wished you could move on and accept the small beauties in this life, admire the new growth of plants and grass, enjoy the christmas like feel of the town in the snow, accept that there’s people wanting to help you. it felt too good to believe, so you were hesitant.

you felt joel’s eyes on you most of the night, flickering between you and ellie as the night fell longer. you wanted to ask him why he was looking at you so much, why he was so tense and angry looking. maybe that’s just how he looked.

it wasn’t long before everyone parted ways and maria pulled you to the side before leaving.

“how are you holding up? is joel treating you okay?” she asked and you stuffed your hands in the pocket of your black jacket.

“i’m okay, joel’s fine. not the most cheerful man but who is?” you said and gave a small smile, watching maria watch you. you were lying, and she could tell so she gave you a small pat on the arm. you flinched away from the touch but she still did it anywaye.

“if you want, and if you’ll stay, i can let you take patrol classes to be out there again next month. if i can trust you.” she said and you looked at joel who was talking to ellie, waiting for you.

“is it worth it?” you asked her, expecting her to know what you mean. “like, going back out there. finding other places. is it worth it?”

she thought about it a little. “only if you want to be alone.”

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

you thought about it on the way back to your new living space. did you want to be alone? was it worth being alone? you didn’t know and as you sulked on your bed, looking outside of the window directly across from you, you wondered what your life would’ve looked like if the world never ended.

to you, it ended. you wanted to believe it was judgment day rather than an incurable fungus. maybe it was god, the universe, maybe it was meant to happen.

but how? babies, kids, teens, mothers, fathers—dead and gone and for what? you were so angry at the world still. so angry for losing, so angry for being powerless in all of this. maybe the world would suck less with someone in your life. maybe if you had something to fight for, like joel said, it’d make more sense.

another knock on your door and without moving, you murmur a small come in. joel walked through the threshold, letting the door stay open a crack as he sits on the ottoman pressed against the wall of the window.

“you feelin’ better?” he choked out slightly, looking at you. he looked like he was almost pushed in here by someone, forced to say things he didn't want to say. maybe it was ellie who told him to check on you.

“are you asking if i still wanna kill myself?” you asked, leaning against the bed frame at the end of your bed.

“no, i don’t.” you said, referring to both questions. joel waited a bit before he responded.

“being angry all the time ain’t changin’ nothing you know that right? spending your days mad at the world, it’s still gonna be the same tomorrow and the next day.” this was his way of comforting, kind of stating the obvious.

“being that angry is just gonna kill ya,”

but he was so cold it was like trying to get a hug from a cactus. you eyed him, wondering if those are the words he should choose right now. you didn’t take him for a happy man.

“when you left austin, you were angry right? angry at the world?” you asked, looking at the wooden floor.

“yes, but-” he began but you cut him off. you weren’t letting him win this.

“and how old were you?” you asked. he knew where you were going with this. he knew it wasn’t the same.

“you had time to process it. you had the chance to be angry when all of this shit first happened. i was five, joel. i didn’t have time to be a kid, i didn’t have time to be angry then. i didn’t know what the fuck was happening. until everyone around me died,” you paused and looked at him. his gaze was still hard but he looked like he was thinking.

“i was her age when everyone around me died, and i had to be on my own. and i’ve had people in my life after. not all of them good. i’ve been hurt, violated–i didn’t have a protector like she did. does. i know everyone has their sob story. i’m allowed to be angry.” you finished and sighed, rubbing your forehead.

you didn’t know what else to say. you were just so angry, now at him.

“i’m sorry. you didn’t deserve that, you know. you should’ve, y’know, been able to be a kid.” this wasn’t his thing. you could tell. but he was trying, and he really didnt know what to say either.

“yeah,” you agreed and finally acknowledged that it was just him and you in this room. the silence made it too obvious, and you kind of pulled your body into yourself.

“i’m gonna get some sleep, be best if you do too,” his southern accent sounded thick, sounded so sharp that you felt like you could listen to it for hours. you always enjoyed the southern twang of your own accent, but hearing his felt different.

“should i stay, joel? would you leave, if you were me?” you asked before he grabbed the handle after standing up, and he turned to look at you.

“i don’t know,” he said. he wasn’t going to be the blame for you making a mistake that you regretted. he wasn't going to be anything more than a provider while you were under his watch, he wasn’t someone to give advice.

“goodnight, joel.” you said coldly, moving off the bed and crawling into the covers. he stepped out of your new room, saying nothing. you wanted to cry. everything was so cold around you, so uncomfortable.

you were confused. and you were alone, at that. your loneliness never felt like this before, and it hurt. you missed your mother, you missed your father. you missed normalcy, you missed not having to fight for yourself 24/7. you were tired and joel was humbling you. he was waking you up to reality, that nobody will be there for you other than yourself.

he was showing you that not everybody cares about sob stories. if your pain outweighed another person’s pain. he was showing you that you only have yourself in the end, to depend on and fight for.

a part of him did want you to stay. he knew all too well what the world held for you outside of these walls. he knew you'd get yourself killed out there, and for some reason he felt too guilty to not encourage you to stay. he wanted to somehow keep you safe too, even if it’s not him doing it. but a part of him wondered if he had to keep you safe from yourself, if you were the biggest threat to your own safety—or if he was.

you knew what the world held for you too. absolutely nothing. you felt like you were living in hell. it held nothing for you, nothing but constantly battling to fight for your survival. it felt like hell because it seemed like your worst days were on repeat, replaying for you to relive it all over again. your days felt the same. still not a day went by without having some sort of blood shed.

constantly being paranoid, wondering if there was someone in the darkness of the woods watching you like prey. you hadn't known peace for such a long time, and here it was in the guise of a bitter old man with a pretend daughter.

he didn’t know how long it’d be before he was the reason you were hurt, lost, or worse.

there were things you didn’t know, things he didn’t want you to know and if you did, you’d flee again. as you should. he was a monster. but he was scared, and he’s been scared since ellie came into his life.

he was feeling it again. the attachment, the tugging at his heart and lungs. seeing you, he was uneasy again. he was worried if he’d be the reason for things going wrong after deciding to stay. he didn’t know if it was the best thing, to trust him.

he didn’t know if it was the best thing to trust you.

[all-pacas]

any thoughts/hcs about kutner? you have really interesting takes on the other characters, was wondering if that extends to my current fav guy ^_^

as usual, i don't really but i'm happy to make them up on the spot!

I kind of feel like he's somewhere on the aro/ace spectrum. But in a very it's 2007 and he has no idea what those words are way. He assumes he's straight, because why wouldn't he be?, but also doesn't quite get what the big deal is with sex and girls and whatever anyway.

He's pretty lactose intolerant but eats dairy anyway.

Despite how openly nerdy he is, he's pretty into sports. Baseball especially — he used to go to games with his (adopted) dad. That said, he's not very good at sports. He jokes he went into sports medicine because it was the next best thing.

He's gone by Laurie as a nickname for Lawrence with his friends.

He was a bully in middle school and high school, mostly lashing out at being teased by "teasing" others. He wasn't the "give me your lunch money" type, he was the "I'm just joking" type. He feels awful about it, of course.

If you asked, he would vehemently deny he's depressed. It's normal to think about dying all the time, right? He's happy most of the time. In a lot of ways he lacks self awareness. He really tries not to self examine.

He thought 13 was just. Super cool. I mean, who doesn't. But no, he thought she was Neat. He and Taub took a little longer to really hit it off. He really loved working for House and his team. (He and Chase, had they ever spoken, would have gotten along great, actually. Bonded over aliens and stuff.)

He wishes he'd had siblings, either biological or adopted. He likes kids generally but is kind of awkward around them, despite his best attempts. He just comes off as slightly how do you do, fellow teens, lol

Kutner has dabbled in dozens and dozens of sports and hobbies and after school activities. Almost none of them stuck. He keeps losing interest and failing to stick with things long enough to form habits, but he absolutely hyperfixates on things. Med school was Interesting. He didn't get fantastic grades, although he wasn't a bad student.

He's a pretty good skier. People are usually surprised to hear this.

Growing up, he had a pet iguana. He wanted a snake but his parents said no. He had ant farms, too. He was a Bug Kid.

Despite being a doctor and Knowing Better, he basically lives off of hot pockets and sugary cereal.

He doesn't really like coffee. He drinks it, because it does its job. But he doesn't care for it at all.

[tiger-is-a-certified-idiot]

Hey [fairly long] little Arcane something I’ve never seen anyone point out…

VIKTOR IS JUST AS EGOTISTICAL AS JAYCE IS!

(And I can prove it)

.

.

.

Showing this is the entire point of Sky’s existence in the show…she was always there for him, there was always another person who wanted to be there with him, but he never noticed because he was always to focused on himself.

Then, when he’s finally an adult, he claims his life’s dream is to “make the world a better place” and that the work he is doing is to help the undercity. But before any of that, it’s “do you think it was my life’s dream to become an assistant?”

And it is worth noting at that point, that Sky is Still There. She follows him all the way to the top, and he still doesn’t notice. Instead he, entirely in his own interest, seeks out Jayce. Someone he has never met or talked to before, simply because his story intrigued him.

Sure, Jayce signed every page of his notes, he assumed he was a moral exception to the city’s safety regulations, he thought a little speech could change the councilor’s minds, he abandoned his work for his girlfriend.

But Viktor isn’t a selfless martyr, and id argue he’s really not much better than Jayce. He worked his way out of the undercity because he “believed in himself,” not in his city nor his family, he wanted to prove HIMSELF. And he did, and it wasn’t enough for him. So he decided he was a moral exception to breaking and entering laws. And what do you know, that wasn’t enough. He kept raising the bar. True, he didn’t go on stage, but it’s because his ego doesn’t involve his image the way it does for Jayce. He doesn’t care who knows his face, but not having his invention shown was brutal to him. It isn’t enough. Eventually he realized he’s dying and immediately decided he would pour every ounce of his life into extending it rather than going out with a bang. He manages to kill Sky, symbolically proving just how little other people mattered to him compared to his own life. When he pours out her ashes, he talks to Heimerdinger, and he’s starting to realize just how badly he fucked up. But all he can find to talk to the professor about is the unfairness of death and the professor’s opinion on his own contributions. Not his and Jayce’s, or on Humanity’s or anything like that. At the end of his rope he still can’t let go of this overwhelming fear that he hasn’t done enough. It’s always personal.

Breakdown of their final scene:

Now this is why I love that final scene with Jayce and Viktor sitting in the skull-shaped pipe above the gorge Viktor grew up playing in. Viktor sees the place he had never thought was good enough somehow drained of all the life and color he hadn’t noticed was there. And Jayce, more afraid of death than anything else in the world, is sitting above a valley symbolically teeming with it. And they both finally come to the end of their egotist character arcs. It’s no longer Did I Do Enough. It’s no longer How Do I Fix This. It’s “We lost ourselves, We lost our dream, in the pursuit of Great, we failed to do Good.” They realize they’ve both fucked up, together. They’ve both been terrible, together. They know that nothing, not one thing they have done to this world has improved it. They are killers, egotists, villains. Their dreams are dead and their visions of their lives and of themselves are dead. Yes, Viktor is dying too, but I don’t think that’s the point. They set themselves the one task of saving lives and all they managed to do was kill.

So they, now changed men, make a vow. They’re going to make it right. Or Viktor does, anyway. But Jayce promises him he’ll destroy the hexcore which I think could mayyyybe possibly mean he’s tied himself into the promise as well i Sincerely Hope.

Have they made up? Yes, I think they have. They are not naive anymore at the very least and are going to handle both their relationship and their respective jobs responsibly and like adults. Does this mean they will manage it? I doubt it, to be honest. If we do end up getting the Machine Herald in any similar way to League, Jayce does have to be his narrative foil, and I don’t think the little moments of going behind each other’s backs and doing things the other wouldn’t approve of + their bridge argument are going to just not affect their relationship. I would be incredibly surprised if the Divorce doesn’t happen. Will they resolve it? No idea. I haven’t decided if I’m in camp Arcane Will Have a Good Ending or Arcane Will Have a Bad Ending yet. Either way, I do hope their relationship stays layered and complex and that they never lose respect and admiration for each other. They are narratively Two Halves of a Whole and it would honestly break my heart if they were to stop being written that way. I do hope they make up in the end, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

Thank you for reading! I am aware that my analysis are very opinion oriented and not particularly objective at all, I enjoy sharing my interpretation of the show as much as I can. That being said, there is a lot of room for discussion here because it’s all opinions, and I would love to hear yours. <33

[hypnotisedfireflies]

I am re-reading Drifter's Dawn and in the chapter when Tess tells Joel the actual story of what actually went down when the outbreak hit with Mike and Nico, I couldn't help but wonder how Joel would react in that situation. (Basically just slotting Joel in for Mike, with Nico)

I think Tess and Joel's near-telepathic sympatico stems from their chemistry but also their circumstances, having to fight for their lives and get very good at it very quickly. So obviously that wouldn't have developed on Outbreak day, but there would still be a strongggg underlying understanding they would have between them.

All this is to say, may I please request a one-shot re-imaginging of that Outbreak moment where Joel and Tess are married and Nico is their son. (Sarah may or may not exist in this universe)

Thank you kindly!

Oof, what an ask, friend!  You are requesting my brain to do some seriously tricky rewiring here.  And it’ll be kind of weird too, given I’ll be taking the script and changing a character.  I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.  But some mental gymnastics never hurt me so … let’s give this a go!

For this to work, let’s assume all the following are true for the exercise:

Tess and Joel are married and living in Detroit – as you say, just swapping in Joel for Mike (ouch)

Sarah is Tommy’s kid and they’re still in Texas (just to uncomplicate it a little)

Up until now they have lived an ordinary life within their ordinary careers and nothing live-changingly traumatic has happened to them (ie, they have not been tested as they have in Driftersverse) but, as you say, they still have that powerful current of understanding

Let’s not question why any of the above is true and also not hate on Mike too much for what happened in Driftersverse canon :p

I wrote this really fast so I didn’t overthink it, and then proofed it just as fast, so please forgive any errors.

Thank you for the prompt! I hope you like it. <3

Okay ... here's an alternate universe version of the first chapter of Drifter's Dawn:

A low rumble infiltrated Tess’s consciousness.  She let it in, let her mind mull over what it might be … and then let it go as the inviting temptation of deeper sleep engulfed her.  She turned on her side and took a deep breath.  A truck, or someone revving their motor too late into the night.  Tess heard it again and thought even less of it now the noise was rationalised.  She slid her arm over Joel’s waist and felt him bring her hand up to his chest. 

His warmth suddenly lurched from her grasp.  Tess blinked in confusion and sat up on an elbow. 

“What are you doing?”  The words lay thick in her mouth.

Another rumble came as Joel, dressed only in his shorts, raised the blind.  The bedroom was cast in acrid honey light and this time, Tess recognised the rumble as too deep, too long for any truck or car.  As the blind came up Joel was silhouetted completely by unnatural light. 

The next sound was no rumble but an explosion.  The boom swallowed them up and Tess heard herself scream, saw Joel duck down and extend his hand out to her to stay back.  She could hear the windows rattling.  Nico began to cry in the other room. 

“Jesus Christ,” Joel moved back from the frame, still in a half-crouch.  “Stay there.  Stay where you are.  I’ll get him.”

“What’s going on out there?”

“Just stay there!”

Tess watched him go with some kind of amazement.  In her sleep-addled, scared mind it seemed Joel had somehow done this, or that he had answers that he was denying her.  She came up to her knees and leaned toward the window.  She could see smoke buffeting up into the sky.  Something was gone.  What was over that way?  Tess flinched as she heard another explosion, further away. 

She was still looking toward the window when Nico’s cries drew closer.  Joel had him:  the baby was bothered enough to be twisting himself about, flinging his arms and legs and making him hard to hold on to.  But Joel’s hold was inescapable, and the security began to calm Nico even as Tess watched.

Tess slapped around for the remote control.  She extended her arm like a wand to turn the TV on and it came alive across the other side of the room.  An explosion that big was surely breaking news.  Maybe there’d been a trash crash, or a bad fire …

“What the fuck …” she breathed. 

It took Tess a moment to realise that she wasn’t watching a movie.  She flipped two channels ahead and then went back again.  She was seeing the same kind of footage on every station.  People rioting, buildings going up, the army deployed.  A police car on fire.  People were screaming about rabies and terrorists, but all Tess could see in every single shot was masses of bodies rushing and falling all over each other.  She didn’t notice that Nico had gone quiet.  They lost track of time as they watched the same news on every channel. 

“That’s Chicago,” said Joel.

More cities they recognised played out before them, seized in chaos, dense under thick smoke and the screams – the same screams everywhere, on every channel, on every camera.

“What is this?  Joel, are you seeing this?  Joel?”

“That was Houston,” he said.

She tore her gaze from the screen.  Joel was balancing Nico with one arm against his body – the baby still grizzling – and thumbing the buttons on his Nokia with the other.  He pressed it up against his ear, shook his head furiously, and tried again. 

“Come on, Tommy.  Tommy, pick up.”  He finally threw the phone on the bed in disgust.  “It’s not connectin’.”

Tess scrambled out of bed and hurried to the dresser, rummaging around for her jeans.

“What are you doing?  Tess?”

“Getting dressed.”

“What the fuck is going on, Tess?”

“I don’t know.  Get dressed.”

Joel deposited Nico on the bed, where he immediately began to burrow.  They pulled on clothes, passing pieces that belonged to one another back and forth, and then were drawn back to the TV like magnets.  It was increasingly terrifying – two stations went off-air even as they watched, one of them when the camera itself suddenly careened sideways into the out of focus floor, but the screaming was unmistakable.  They discussed what they saw in fractured sentences, trying to make sense of it.  But the message from all authorities were the same:  stay indoors.  Joel kept trying Tommy.  He tried his father.  Tess, slow to the party, found she was unable to reach anyone when she tried, too. 

“Take him.”  Joel passed Nico into her arms.  He was sleeping now, and didn’t protest.

“What are you doing?”  Tess leaned forward, moving Nico to her other shoulder. 

Joel was in the wardrobe.   He reached up and shifted a few boxes around and it took her way too long to realise what he was doing.  He had a handgun which Tess didn’t much like, stored away at the back of the closet.  He’d kept it so casually in the drawer for years but once Nico started moving around, Tess had insisted it be put away.  She watched him take it out and load it up with ammo from a separate box.

“Joel …”  Somehow, this sight was more terrifying than anything else she had seen so far.

“We’re not gonna need it,” he told her.  “It’s just in case.” 

He stuffed it down the back of his jeans and sat before her.  He smoothed his hands through her hair and cradled her face.  He kissed her soundly.  “It’s just in case.”

A new report on TV caught their attention, and they both turned to watch a terrified woman reporting from the back of a news van, which seemed to be speeding through the night.

Tess stood abruptly.  “What the fuck are we doing?”

“What?”

“Joel.”

“Oh, shit.”

It was so surreal, watching the world crumbling on TV.  They had been so engrossed in what they could see in the box that they had forgotten it was meant to be everywhere.  They stood on either side of the bed and stared across at one another, hardly able to believe they had both missed the obvious.  And then a long scream came from somewhere outside, and they ran.

They pounded down the hall.  At the top of the stairs Joel grabbed Tess and pulled her to him to make her stop, and then thrust her back.

“Stay up here with him.”

“He’s fine.  No.  No.”

“Stay up here.”

“No.  No, no.  No!” 

Tess wouldn’t let him go.  Every time Joel freed part of himself, Tess grabbed him again, and he eventually had no choice but to take her hand.  They went down together, quieter now.  Their blinds were already closed.  They went to each door and window and checked the locks and then, by silent agreement and pointing, began moving furniture in front of the doors.  There was not much they could do about the windows.

“Are we doin’ this wrong?  Wait, let’s just think.”

Joel came around the couch they had just lugged into place and grasped her elbows. 

“Let’s just think a minute.  Should we be goin’ somewhere?”

“… where?”

“I don’t know.”

“Go where, Joel?”

“I don’t know!”

Tess pressed her hand to her mouth and took a long, steadying breath. 

Think. 

They were scared.  They’d been woken in the middle of the night to … something, and they didn’t know what was going on.  Not really.  They didn’t know anything except that it was apparently everywhere and the authorities were saying they needed to stay inside.  Now that they were still, Tess could hear other sounds outside, too.  Between the screams was the angry hum of traffic, crashes, alarms.  Her head was buzzing with it.  Tess shook it off.

“This will pass,” Tess told him.  “This is crazy.  We just need to lay low a minute, and it’ll – burn itself out.  Whatever this is.”

Joel was nodding, reassured.  “Okay.”

“We wait.  We just wait here and – the phones will clear and that’ll stop,” she pointed vaguely outside, “and if we have to leave, then the army will come and evacuate us.  Right?  That’s what they do.”

“Yeah.  That’s what they do.”

“Okay.  Let’s – we can wait it out, right?”

“Sure.”

“It’s the right thing?”

Joel pulled her in close.  She could feel the tension vibrating in his body.  “You’re right.  We just wait it out.  Let’s – let’s bring up some things, we’ll wait upstairs.  Stay good and quiet.  Upstairs.”

“Okay.  And – and we’ll pack for when the army comes,” Tess added.  She could feel the uncanny hysteria trembling at the edges, but a plan helped put it in its place.  “One bag each.  That’s what they always – that’s right, yeah?  We pack one bag each.”

The activity kept Tess sane.  They swept up everything they thought they needed from the kitchen (panic shopping – they would make two more trips later in the day) and then packed three small bags.  Tess laboured over it for hours.  She couldn’t decide what were the most important things they should take.  She had visions of their luggage being tossed aside and losing important documents.  There was no sentimentality in her packing.  She left out Nico’s favourite toys until Joel reminded her that those might be a good idea, and she almost lost it because she’d just gotten everything organised in a way that made sense to her.  She snatched the toys and pushed Joel away to repack without his meddling. When she was done, she took them downstairs and placed them by the front door in readiness.

He stayed with Nico.  He paced with him or sat up in bed, talking to him like nothing was going on out there.  They divided up the duties of parenting and packing without even talking about it.  Nico’s bond to Joel was stronger, anyway.  Things had been improving for Tess, especially in the last few months as Nico grew older, but in times of distress Nico was better off with Joel.  He could calm him ten times faster than she could.  Tess had no doubt that were she holding him right now, all her fears would transmit directly to him and he’d be wailing and terrified.  His big, brown eyes were uncertain and wet, but he was quiet.  His fists were balled in Joel’s shirt.  He couldn’t have handed him over Tess even if he wanted to. 

She sat with them only when she couldn’t fuss around with the packing any longer.  Tess thumbed Nico’s hot cheeks. “We’ll just wait it out, yeah? Little holiday at home, we’ll just wait it out.”

The night passed.  All the channels had gone off air and the phones still weren’t working.  They kept the blinds down and agreed on silence, regular patrols downstairs to check everything was all right.  They thought they recognised some of their neighbours out there and had a quick conversation about whether they should check it out.  But when they saw one tackle another at high speed they quashed those plans, and never brought them up again.  Sometimes the air was thick with shouts and screams, the squealing of car tyres and crunching metal.  Helicopters pounding overhead, explosions near and far.   And then it would go eerily silent for awhile and that was worse, waiting to hear something.  Then there would be pounding somewhere and breaking glass, more shouts, gunshots.  So many gunshots. 

“We did the right thing?”  Tess asked not long after the power went off.

“Someone will be along,” Joel promised her, but it was hard to believe him.  “Why the fuck are all the lines down?”

He tried Tommy again, tried his father.  He got nowhere both times and lost his temper, tossing the little phone across the room.  It hit the wall and the casing split open. 

“God-fuckin’-damnit.  Oh shit – no, baby – come on.  It’s all right.”

The tantrum had been stewing in Nico for hours, and they had only just managed to keep it under control.  Now it unleashed, and he was arching his back and wailing.  Tess hurriedly passed him over to her husband but Nico was too far gone, and not even he could bring him around.

And then the pounding started at the back door.

“It’s okay!”  Joel held out his hand to Tess.  “They’re locked, we – we barricaded them up.”

The pounding began at the front door.

“If they get in, there’s nowhere to go,” Tess said.

She had been unable to contemplate any alternative other than the turmoil dying down or the army coming to get them.  Going out in the car was unthinkable.  They had no place to go.  And all night they’d heard collisions, honking horns, squealing tyres.  Maybe if it had been the two of them they would’ve tried going somewhere, but not with Nico.

Who was still bawling.

“They’re not gonna go away,”  she added. 

They’d seen that play out in the house across the street. People – these possessed, angry people – mobbing around doors until they got inside.  It had sometimes gone on for hours.

“Quietly,” Joel said, which was stupid given the noise Nico was making, but she understood.

As they went down the stairs the pounding grew worse.  Tess was pacing herself through what was next – the luggage, the garage door, Nico’s seat.  Should they even bother with that?  She could drive, Joel could hold him. But that wasn’t safe.  Was there time, though?

And then windows broke somewhere in the house. One side or another – it was hard to say – but they were shattering inward and Joel was pushing her but Tess could already see it was too late.  As they neared the garage door the first of the figures – bloodied and torn from the windows, presumably – lunged toward them. 

The gunshot was so loud at Tess’s ear that for a moment she didn’t know what it was.  Joel emptied the entire clip into the shapes – there was more than one, how could she not have seen that – and cut them down until they lay strewn on the carpet laid only four months ago.  Tess looked back at him.

He seemed more shocked than she was.  Nico squalling on his hip, the gun still pointing off into the living room.   Tess pushed his arm down and urged him into the kitchen, thinking of the garage and the steps they would need to take to get out. 

Another figure threw itself at them.  It must have come through the other side.  She could see glass in the man’s hair and it tinkled in his wake like fairy dust.  Joel tried to shoot but he was out and then it was on him.  Joel turned Nico away and threw up his arm. 

The kettle was in Tess’s hands before she could think.  It was the first thing within reach. She swung it straight at the head – maybe she shouted, maybe not – and it took three tries to crack the exterior and drop the attacker.  Springs bounced across the kitchen tile.  Tess hit him two, maybe three – maybe ten more times when he was down until she was sure.  She might’ve kept going if Joel didn’t grab her.

“Come on!”

“Are you okay?!”  She clutched at him, at Nico.  He was shocked to silence, gaping at the carnage.  Perhaps he was finally, properly scared.  “Is he okay?”

“We’re okay!  Tess, come on!”

With her free hand, Tess snagged the entire knife block – all seven that had been a wedding gift from Julian – and tucked it under her arm. Joel pushed her into the garage and she had time to grasp just Nico’s bag.   They threw it in the back.

“What’s that?!”

“The knives!”

“What?!”

“You’re out of ammo!”

“I got more!”

“I didn’t know!  Get the door!”

“His seat – ”

“There’s not time!  You’ll have to hold him!”

Sounds inside the house again, a thump against the closed door.

Tess pointed.  “Get the door!”

They pulled out of the driveway moments before the kitchen door crashed inward.  Tess pulled out and stopped with a jerk when she hit something –

“Letterbox!”

“It’s on the other side!”  She cried.

“Just fuckin’ go!”

Tess turned the wheel hard and they sped into madness.

[puffyducks]

DCRC Week #9 (Part 2)

Oh shit!! Is these ducks on the road??? YOU BET YOUR SWEET ASS THEY ARE!!! Anyways we're reading Ducks on the Road now which I'm super excited for because it features not one but THREE characters we've barely seen in the book club so far!!

This comic is LONG (I guess it's technically like 5 comics but we're reading them all in one go) so I'll probably end up having to extend this post with a few reblogs! So look out for those.

They're in.... VIRGINIA???? NOOOOOOOOOOO (person with irrational hatred of Virginia cause my whole extended family lives there so I have to travel there every holiday and it just kinda sucks there idk what to tell you. Also if Virginia is for lovers why is it called VIRGINia hm?? riddle me that BATMAN)

SCROOGE PAY YOUR FUCKING WORKERS also I love this outfit and haircut for Daisy she looks so cute here

Does this imply that Donald was living in Virginia beforehand because the implication that I'm only 1 state away from Donald is kind of frightening ngl. also Virginia sucks.

Did they hire Tuskerninni's cousin what's going on here. Actually this is the 70s it could probably BE Tuskerninni in an earlier life

I'm so used to talking about DT17 Gyro within my circles that I see Regular Gyro and it's like oh right!! He actually has joy and whimsy in his heart!! He's actually just a funny invention man who has totally not accidentally committed any atrocities in Tokyolk before!!!! He's also changed his hair color like four times

DON'T EAT THE GARBAGE SANDWICH WHAT ARE YOU DOOIIIIING

can somebody please help him he looks like an anxious chihuahua

How do you even leave piles of money on the floor to be blown away like that HELP I'm so stressed. Dickie get it together girl.

shoutout to these two and their cool accompanying text

HOW IS SHE SUCH A PUBLIC MENACE SHE'S LITERALLY JUST KINDA MID AT PLAYING GUITAR

She kissed him then IMMEDIATELY friendzoned him it was like a speedrun holy shit

Did he just headcanon Dickie and Daisy as lesbians? Because me too.

WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT AFTER AN EXAM WHY'D THEY DO HIM LIKE THAT 😭😭😭 nice presentation you LONELY IDIOT.

DICKIE YOU CAN'T PAINT A FUCKIGN RENTAL VAN OH MY GOD

Ah yes my favorite sign on the highway. The big one that just says "WEST"

YOU GUYS I AM SO STRESSED DICKIE IS GONNA GET THEM ALL KILLED IN A HORRIFIC ROAD ACCIDENT. ALSO HOW DID THEY ALREADY GET ALL THE WAY TO OKLAHOMA-

NVM THEY'RE NOT GONNA CRASH THEY'RE GONNA GET SHOT BY THIS GUY FOR HARBORING CRIMINALS

DAISY YOU CAN'T SAY THAT WORD. also i want these two guys dead they were mean to her >:(

GET A JOB STAY AWAY FROM HER

dork ass nerd and his dork ass math pajamas. and what I assume is a plush of Albert Einstein or something. NERD.

Oh ok so we're just not gonna acknowledge what they do about their tires being gone. Ok. No it's fine I guess that's like irrelevant information they probably just like... found some new tires on the side of the road or something..... yeah....

Anyways this is the part where I briefly end the post so I can attach more reactions with a reblog!

[eeblouissant]

Hello, if you are up for it I would love to know more about your headcanons for Rose being autistic. It makes so much sense to me, and I'd like to more 😊

I’d love to talk about my rose hcs :D here’re a few !!! this became a bit all over the place so bare with me lol

(some of you may have seen / seen me talk about these in the past but shhhh I like talking about things over and over - I love her so much it’s insane where do I even begin)

Firstly I think it’s important to note that rose obviously has/would have been autistic her whole life. The way an autistic person who has lived longer than you or I with their autism and autistic traits is going to deal & cope differently, and have more experience with managing/regulating - or at least in my head! We have to look at rose differently because I don’t believe she would experience autism the same way you or I would anymore; nothing is really new to her.

Until she moves in with Blanche, that is!!!!

I think rose, after being in the same spot for so long (st. Olaf) learnt on her own how to manage & cope with being autistic because she had a “life long” routine that never really changed until Charlie died? From the bits she’s shared about her at home life during her marriage it all sounds meticulously planned & never changing, which is one of the many reasons why I hc her being autistic actually. Charlie also seemed to have a similar routinely-ness about him but I don’t know enough to properly headcanon him (although, rose having an autistic partner would have brought her great comfort im sure. The idea sits in the back of my mind - however, I could definitely go on about Blanche & Dorothy being their own kinds of neurodivergent haha)

I think roses most “obvious” autistic trait is how oblivious (?) she can be, and very often is. She has moments where it’s made very clear that rose is not stupid, because she isn’t!!! She’s very clever and it’s crucial that point is underlined often!! She does tend to have things fly over her head, or taken too literally. We know that and it doesn’t need repeating - But another thing that really stands out to me is her lack of filter when speaking!!! This may just me be projecting, but I’ve noticed that most of the time, when she drops some wild out of no where (and sometimes slightly out of character) comeback at one of the girls, it comes out straight and with little thought. Innocently, almost? Like a thought just breached containment, you know 😂. I’ve seen a few autistic people talk about this but it really can be a problem - it’s something I personally struggle with and that has caused very angry fights between friends & family. It’s that, “if you didn’t want my opinion why ask?” thing I guess? But also just speaking your mind. This extends to her interests as well, and often in an “anger” of outbursts we don’t ever expect from her. ie: the scene where Blanche has accidentally given away her teddy bear & rose snaps. It’s a bit jarring the way it comes out of nowhere! But I’ll touch on her interests later.

I don’t think rose overly struggled/struggles with masking, because I don’t believe she’s ever really felt she had to (This adds onto my last point about lacking a filter). She grew up in an environmental where she always very closely related to the people around her, and that had mostly known her for her entire life (that she had grown up with). So I would like to assume that to them, this was just rose. The only rose that they had ever known. Nothing would be out of place to them because what else do they know! So naturally there would be no room for judgement = rose feels no pressure to conform. St. Olaf sounds like my autistic heaven, no wonder rose misses her hometown so bad 😭. Anyway the first time she’d ever get a strange look would’ve definitely been that first moment her & Blanche met. Blanche was a little startled by roses definition of being “a wild woman” and rose seemed completely lost by it - because she had never experienced that before! She even asked, panicked, why Blanche was putting her flyer back up. I could over analyze that scene forever. Dorothy was a separate shock to the system for her but I feel like that’s a whole post on it’s own. I really want to write out my thoughts on Dorothy & Rose warming up to each other one day because it’s not expanded on much :’) they’re soooooooooooo important to me.

Roses main interests also inspired this headcanon. Many autistic people tend to have “weird” or “childish” interests, regardless of age or gender. Lots of autistic people don’t tend to view age and gender the way someone who’s not autistic would - they’re not as concrete & restricting. Rose definitely has interests that would be considered strange for her age! Her protectiveness of her stuffed animals, Disney, even (what I consider to be her special interest) St. Olaf could be considered by some, outside of Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia, kind of odd. I think these things can be seen as less-so because Rose is a woman, which I’m sure would’ve been a lovely thing & saved her many uncomfortable questions.

Rose often self soothes/stims when she’s feeling particularly out of sorts or if she’s run into a slightly uncomfortable situation. One of my favourite examples is that clip where she’s taken two sock puppets & acts them out to be Blanche & Dorothy. Dorothy walks into the kitchen without her noticing &, once rose says something with her sock puppet that she’s not very fond of, hits her over the head (lovingly) with the paper. Rose repeats “bad puppet” to herself & knocks her wrists together. She also turns to the girls (but mostly Dorothy I think?) when she needs to self soothe or regulate. Another example that I think about all the time because I just love the clip so much - that bit where Blanche was on a diet for whatever reason she felt she needed to be & rose had accidentally eaten the food Blanche had prepared beforehand. Blanche explodes & rose immediately goes to hide herself behind Dorothy. Hinting at autistic traits or not, that scene is so damn precious 😭 be still my heart.

(the clip in question … I couldn’t help myself. Excuse the quality it’s been sitting in my camera roll for a while)

These are just some of my thoughts :D if anyone has any specific questions about my headcanons (or examples of autistic traits that I haven’t mentioned yet) pleaseeeee send them my way !!!!! I love love love talking about rose !!!!!!! <<<33333

[datcrazyanniegurl]

Tell us about you know what please.

YES. Be prepared, it’s a long oneeeee!

I’ve known of LiS since the game came out due to the advertisements, but I didn’t think I would be interested in it at the time. Fast forward just over a year later, and I was watching all the big gamer guys and I kept getting recommended to watch their play throughs, so eventually I did. I watched MessYourself’s run of the game on my tv on two school nights lol. A whole cinematic experience. It also helped a lot that he also did a lot of choices that I would’ve clicked on too ahah.

As for, the you know who? I definitely did not like them immediately, and rather shipped Max with Warren and Chloe. It was mainly because I thought there was no way whatever fandom there was (oh boy, I somehow assumed there was next to no fandom for LiS at one point lol), would support the ship. Which even though I was rooting for Nathan since the moment he appeared on screen to be a scapegoat or a red herring the whole time, I thought was 100% fair because of all the crap he did to her and her friends.

I skipped over half of chapter three because I was watching all of it in one sitting, so I didn’t get to see their interaction in the diner. Big mistake. Because I wasn’t ready at all for the confession on the phone in the final episode - andddd as dorky as it sounds I was pretty much on the verge of tears because, while it obviously doesn’t justify the crimes he committed, I felt so bad for him and it felt pretty obvious to me that he never stood a chance to become a better person with his family, mental health struggles and family reputation pinning him down. In certain ways, I was able to relate to that. From that exact point on, I was more opened to the possibility of Caulscott actually being a thing.

I started reading fanfics out of curiosity on how their relationship would be justified in a post Save the Bay world, and it made me realise that shipping them together wasn’t as fair off as shipping her with Chloe in certain ways. Both relationships are about extending out second chances, and giving the lonely person an example of someone else (Max) showing them she cares, and giving the person room to eventually better themselves because they want to.

To me the whole game was about the different stages of mental health affecting different people and redemption, and who deserved to have it. That people are a lot more complex and complicated than what they may seem on the outside, and no one is truly just a ‘stereotype’; and that includes Nathan. It’s especially prevalent to me when Before the Storm came out that was the intended message with his character, at least. A ‘doomed character’ that might have a chance to finally live for the first time after doing something unforgivable? Yes please, I loveeee those cliches done right!

Didn’t help that in BtS Chloe literally made a comment about Samantha being a more shy version of Max and looks and behaves pretty similar. Also, the comments Nik Shriner has made over the years just further conforms my perfect delusion that they belong together lol.

So in conclusion, I’ve basically been shipping Caulscott pretty much right away for eight years straight now. No one has been able to stop me a boarding on this ship lol.