#so in love with the pieces they've revealed so far!

[ichigoera]

水辺に浮かぶ花

光を浴びたシャボン玉...

それはまるで妖精の楽園の入口

Fairy Shabon Eden ( Mellfy Memory Summer 2023 Collection )

[drchucktingle]

Hi Dr. Tingle,

I just wanted to say, as someone who has been in the Homestuck fandom for a long time, that I'm so sorry people connected to the game and the comic have been so unnecessarily unkind to you, and that they've carried on this bit so far past the point of decency. Homestuck as a piece of media is deeply saturated with a very particular brand of early 2010s online irony, and there are some folks in the fandom who just refuse to let it go.

I think there are a lot of people out there who choose to take your sincerity as mockery, because to do otherwise would force them to confront their own cynicism and irony-poisoning and commit to self reflection in a way that they're not willing to do at this point in their lives. I'm not saying they're inherently bad people, because I don't believe that and (based only on the limited snapshot of yourself that you give to the world) I don't think you would either, only that they're making unkind decisions out of a fear of difference. Your work is both delightfully fun and incredibly meaningful, for me and a lot of others, and I just wanted to say that.

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this, so I'll just say that I hope your day is going well if/when you're reading this.

Respectfully,

Ray/cultivating-saplings

P.S. I would classify Hussie as a light scoundrel, in a 'season 1 villain who you can tell is eventually going to move into the heroes' apartment later in the show and hang out eating all of their chips' sort of way.

P.P.S. I like your lab coat :]

i do not have a lot to respond with other than I LIKE THIS MESSAGE and i think you are correct not just with this way of a specific fandom but with a HUGE PORTION OF THE INTERNET and a certain age range who trotted up in online forums and various websites.

there is a deep deep deep irony poisoning going on with some of these buckaroos and i think my trot kind of short circuits that and it is difficult for these folks to grapple with it. i think when you are used to every single thing on the internet being drenched in irony and every big reveal of an online presence being some keyboard goofball 'trotting for the lulz' it can be very difficult to see chuck and just accept that i am sincere. i have empathy for this.

i should also add that, of course, not all irony is bad. too much can be very destructive though.

all i can do is keep creating my art and being sincere about it, and i think the longer that continues to more irony poisoning will drain from some of these veins. that is one way i can prove love is real i think.

[bones4thecats]

┗ They're Mine; TFA! Cons × GN! S/O ┛

Characters: Megatron, Starscream, and Shockwave (Transformers Animated) *characters aren't shipped together A/N: This was actually fun to write, I made the idea while ago but never had any energy to write it out. Thank goodness I did, though. I love this, by far one of my most enjoyable pieces to write. ⇘ Summary: After returning from a mission with Shockwave on Cybertron, you attract the attention of Lord Megatron and his second-in-command, Starscream. But, after becoming more comfortable around the Decepticon team, they're shocked by the realization of your status with your spy-partner.

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👑💫 Having one of these mechs on your aft is hard enough. But having both of them? Oh, I feel bad for you.

👑 Megatron doesn't hesitate to show his disdain for any of his fellow Cybertronians, or really anything in general. But, because of this quality, it's easy to tell when you likes you around. Examples of this is Shockwave.

💫 Starscream on the other hand is the exact opposite. He never really shows he likes anyone. Probably because he doesn't, but I regress.

👑💫 However, when you came around, these two changed their actions almost fully. They're still just as unstable as before, but they do try to tone it down when you're nearby. Starscream does this better than the anger-issues having warlord.

👑💫 You were terrified when you met the warlord. You may have been a Decepticon who followed him for many years through the war back home, but actually seeing him face-to-face was totally different.

🧪 During Shockwave's time on Cybertron, you were right by his side. You managed a lot of the background parts, you made sure there were records of a Longarm and Hillcrest being created and being raised on the planet. Longarm being Shockwave's alias and Hillcrest being yours.

👑🧪 When you both were revealed as traitors, you fled to Lord Megatron as quickly as possible. He wasn't happy you both failed, but the way you somehow managed to go that long and get quite a bit of information, did please him.

👑🧪 You stared up at the mech as he looked blankly at you. Shockwave looked back at you with his singular optic, before motioning for you to come closer to him. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and introduced you to your shared boss.

"Lord Megatron, I am pleased to introduce you to Y/N. They've been my right-hand during my time on Cybertron. Their knowledge almost surpasses my own, it's quite jarring."

"My Lord." You bowed, nervously staring at the ground as Megatron stared down at you.

"Rise." He demanded, to which you obliged and looked at him with slightly-widened optics.

"So," he began circling around you as he spoke. "You're the infamous Hillcrest Prime, leader of the Cybertronian Defense. Impressive work weakening their defenses on the inside without Ultra Magnus discovering."

"I-uh, thank you, my Lord. Though, Shockwave did do quite a bit of work himself with that." You chuckled.

"Oh, I'm sure he did." He purred, making your cheeks flare with a slight blue tint.

💫 Your first time meeting Starscream was far different. You actually knew him from before the war. He was one of your best friends as you aged. Starscream enjoyed being around you because you helped feed into his ever-growing ego.

💫 He always said you were adorable when you were young, but seeing you and how you aged was shocking. You stood alongside Shockwave, trying to put a few things together before Lugnut began to spout off about Megatron once again.

💫 You looked at Lugnut and blinked annoyingly, a scowl on your face as he kept rambling. He was pissing you off and both Starscream and Shockwave knew this, but didn't bother trying to stop you. They both understood your anger far to well.

"Lugnut. Please be quiet. Shockwave and I must continue our research into the ship and getting information out of Arcee."

"Are you saying you don't want to hear about our glorious leader, Lord Megatron?! How dare you insult him in such a menner?! Why-"

💫 Your optic twitched as you, without hesitation, stomped on Lugnut's ped, kicked him on the side of his face, and pushed him out of the room.

"And if you don't want to listen, stay out!" You yelled, slamming the doors shut.

👑 Megatron heard the noise and went to the room, only to find Lugnut pouting outside of the room.

"Lugnut? What caused that loud boom?" Megatron asked.

👑 The green and purple Decepticon stood up abruptly and bowed to the stoic mech before telling him the story. Only for you to yell back that you heard him and he should stop acting like a sparkling unless he wanted you to come out and throw him out the nearest exit.

👑 Megatron was slightly surprised. When you first arrived, you were on the shy-side, not really speaking unless necessary. But, perhaps that was how Hillcrest acted around people of authority and not Y/N? Most likely.

👑💫 Megatron entered and looked at Starscream, only to see the mech talking to you like he knew you for eons. Of course he did, but the warlord couldn't give a scrap. His second-in-command really knows how to make Megatron want to cut each cable in his system, doesn't he?

"Y/N, can you grab some supplies from the back?" Shockwave asked.

"...Huh? Oh- yeah. What do you need?"

"Just some lubricants and extra cords." He answered, antennae moving around as you smiled and nodded.

👑💫 Megatron and Starscream glared at one another, but they looked at you as you whipped off your servos and laid a cloth down for Shockwave to do the same later on. Come to think of it, the only Cybertronian they saw you always positively and freely interact with was the scientist...

👑💫🧪 Just as they began to go through the few memories they shared with you in the team, you stepped up slightly and pecked the scientist on the side of his helm. His antennae moved slightly upwards as he leaned his helm on yours for a slight second before you left to grab the materials he wanted.

"Did that just... happen?" Starscream mumbled, Lugnut beside him with his jaw dropped open.

"Uh- Shockwave." Megatron called.

👑💫🧪 Shockwave looked at his leader and hummed, wordlessly asking for the larger mech to continue.

"Are you and Y/N a... couple?" He strained out.

"We started acting lovingly while undercover in Cybertron's ranks, those small actions are practically in our average movements now." He replied.

"That doesn't answer the question!" Starscream yelled, servo balled in a fist as he yelled.

"To sum it up...

They're mine."

[faeruy]

Tarot Time - Agatha All Along, Episode 7 - "Death's Hand in Mine" Part 1

HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS EPISODE. There's so much to talk about with regards to the Tarot used in this episode. I had to take a couple of days and watch it a couple of times to catch everything. First off, all of the kudos to the writers - their use of tarot is inspired, the way they connected it throughout the show was BRILLIANT, and I honestly didn't see the reveal that Lilia was seeing her final reading coming. I am legitimately in awe of these writers.

So lets talk about it, as this is mostly going to be me trying to wrap my head around everything that happened. As always, I'm an amateur, so I may get things wrong. I'm also splitting this up into two parts because there's A LOT. First part is Lilia's Reading, the Second part is going to be all of the other cards drawn in the episode.

First up; Lilia's True Reading. I'm starting with this one because I've already talked about a number of the cards and what they mean, although even they take on some new aspects now that they are revealed to be part of the final draw. If you haven't read my earlier posts, there's links at the bottom of this one. This is also going to be tough for me, because while I have a decent familiarity with what each card symbolizes, I've never been particularly strong when it comes to layouts, and how to take in the cards as a whole reading instead of individual pieces. But also, someone can correct me if I'm wrong, "Safe Passage" is a layout that - while visually is based on the Celtic Cross - is made up for the show.

The Traveler is The Queen of Cups - Lilia. She described this card in the show - Full of intuition, but also calm, compassionate and nurturing. Warm hearted in tune with those around her - though in this case not consciously, since earlier callouts of the cards were done involuntarily and out of time. She has some aspects of a Reversed reading; her gaps and out-of-time phasings indicate a bit of emotional insecurity, and by her own admission she's bottled things up so she doesn't have to deal with the pain of seeing the future. But the Upright has been stronger with her by far. The fact that she put a sigil on Billy to give him time to come to terms with who he is speaks volumes about her compassion. It's a card that fits her to a T. I also love the modified card - for the most part, they're using a bog-standard Rider-Waite Deck, but most of the cards are in this drawing are modified. The Queen is usually depicted sitting in a throne, but this deck has her in front of a table - ready to divine and interpret and intuit. Less above her people than the normal card, and more of an equal.

What's Missing - Three of Pentacles - The Coven. I talked in depth about this one before. The only thing that changed is who the reading is for - in the first episode it showed up, the reading was for Agatha. But she wasn't the only one who lost her original coven, Lilia lost hers too. She needed them as much as Agatha did; after all, what is a witch without her coven? And as much as they bicker and lack trust in each other, they have become what they've been missing. This card is modified by making the figures standing in a group look like the Coven - Lilia, Agatha, Jen, Billy, Alice, and yes, even Rio. Oddly enough, not Sharon, suggesting either a) the art department didn't have enough room to fit her in, b)she was never a true witch, therefore not part of the Coven, or c) she was close enough to death even before the Road that Rio was essentially following her - metaphorically.

Path Behind - Knight of Wands - Alice. I talked a lot about this card in episode 5, and I don't know that there's a lot to add here. Lilia goes for the simple definition; a knight full of fire and energy. She leaves out the impulsiveness, but probably has to do with sentimentality and choosing to remembering her heroism. Path behind is obvious; her death was significant, and affected the Coven strongly. Since this is Lilia's reading, I think Alice's death is maybe the catalyst for her to start really confronting her own mortality, and her own Path. Again, the card is modified, depicting a knight holding a staff (interchangeable name for Wands) in the same stance Alice was using to save Agatha. Normally it's a knight on a reared-up horse, with the staff held upright. Both versions of the card indicate a very aggressive, action-oriented person, which Alice very much is.

Path Ahead - The High Priestess - Jen. This one is making me FERAL. So the card here is barely modified - the only difference is the High Priestess looks like Jen. And I've talked about what that means in the first post I made about tarot in this show. What it means HERE, however, is super interesting. First of all, Lilia uses the phrase "unwilling or unable to use it" which specifically refers to a Reversed reading, even though the card itself was drawn Upright. And we know that while Jen succeeded in her Trial, all it really did was help her feel confident in her knowledge of the craft; her origins as a root-worker. It didn't remove her bindings. So in some ways, she's not yet the High Priestess Upright, But given that this is the Path Ahead, I think it means she will be. But what does it mean that she is the Path Ahead? I have a guess, but stick with me here. First of all, The High Priestess is the master of the unconscious and spirituality. Secondly, the Path Ahead is for the Traveler, meaning it's specifically LILIA'S Path Ahead. Also, There's a line in the Ballad about "Spirits as our Guide." So my guess, is at some point, Jen is going to be unblocked, and when she is, she's gonna call on the spirits of those who died on the Road - including Lilia. There's a reason Lilia was okay making the sacrifice she did, and why she was so insistent on Jen specifically getting out of there. I could be wrong, but I think the signs are there, and I cannot wait to see if I'm right.

Obstacles - Three of Swords - Agatha. Interesting, this one probably has several implications. Three of Swords represents heartache and grief. For Lilia specifically, one of her biggest obstacles has been her grief over seeing everyone she knows and loves die well before they do, and being unable to stop it. It's stopped her from using her power to it's full potential and kept her from connecting with and caring about people. She's needed to let that go, accept that Death comes for everyone, and that her visions having meaning and purpose, even if she can't change them. The card is mostly the same, they've just put a figure in the foreground that doesn't normally exist, aka Agatha. So it also kind of implies that Agatha, specifically Agatha's own heartache, has also been a giant obstacle to Lilia, and probably the coven as a whole - continuing the theme that actually, Agatha is her own worst enemy, which tracks.

Windfall - Tower Reversed - William/Billy/Teen. I've already talked about how this relates to Billy, but this reading is for Lilia. So the personal transformation is HERS. Violent and disruptive, but she'll become something new. What will she become? A spirit, maybe? Something else, something more? Or is it that in her final moments, she becomes the strongest, most complete version of herself? I'm inclined towards something beyond - she looks almost ecstatic when she draws it, and tied together with her Path Ahead being The High Priestess, I think she realizes while she may die, she's not done, and she's gonna be GLORIOUS. The card here isn't significantly modified, I believe it might be, but it was so quick I couldn't catch exactly how.

Destination - Death - Rio. And we get the (highly telegraphed) reveal that Rio is Death. Normally the card is Black Knight on a White Horse, but here it's just Rio in Grim Reaper guise. Makes sense, given that in this universe she predates Tarot, so in this deck, the card is based on her. Reading superficially, it's just that all roads lead to Death. But the card is more complicated than that and Lilia knows it. Because the Death card isn't just about physical death. It's about embracing the endings and accepting fate so that something new can begin. The personal transformation promised as the Windfall cannot happen unless one is willing to let the old self end. And Rio is the original Green Witch. A flower cannot grow without nutrients, and soil is enriched by what dies in it. So Lilia knows at this point she has to die. But it's okay now, because it's not an end, it's a new beginning. And I'm crying as I'm writing this. And I think the writers were SO CLEVER that the last shot we see of Lilia is of her as young girl, with her mentor saying "Let's Begin".

I think overall the writers have been very good with their use of tarot, and their layout is very cool. I also think it's very smart that they've associated certain cards with certain witches, and that the words Lilia was using in association with the cards were their basic definitions only. It makes sense; we're talking about a visual medium, and the way she did it was punchier, and more dynamic than doing an in depth interpretation of the cards. But what it didn't do was give us the reading as a whole, and almost tricked the audience into forgetting or dismissing the idea that the reading was for Lilia alone instead of the coven, and that the cards are working together to paint a fuller picture. But this episode has also shown that somebody on the writing staff knows their tarot, or at the very least did a lot of research. And I think there's a deeper interpretation to be had; Lilia's died, but she is not done.

I'm so excited for the last two episodes. I don't know if we'll see more cards after this, but I'm not ruling it out as a possibility. I also have the rest of the cards that were drawn this episode, which I'll go into in Part 2 of this (maybe 3, who knows, there were a LOT of cards). It should be up soon, but I need a bit of a break after writing this one. hope you all enjoyed it!

Here's the Links to Past Episodes

Episode 1-3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Part 2

[noneorother]

The grand unified theory of Good Omens S2 hangs on - you guessed it - a double meaning (and art). *Part 3*

Part 1 l Part 2 l Part 3 l Part 4 l Part 5 l The End? This is major spoilers for season 3 territory. You have been warned. I'm also going to split this into parts because wow, I have so many ✨Clues✨! My peeps, before I show you the prestige, we need to discuss Maggie. Maggie is SO WEIRD.

Right up top we get her telling us this. Who loves something since they were a baby? Since you were a kid sure, but how can you remember loving something since you were a baby?

This one's fun. The double meaning here is 1) I was a huge uptight nerd so I never went to parties and/or 2) I wasn't a human teenager so I never got to go to your earth parties. But check out when Nina and Maggie *first* meet in her coffee shop. We spend a lot of time in this scene, because it's framed as a meet cute, but it's also full of weird dialogue.

So i'm not a writer, someone feel free to tell me I'm wrong, but Maggie is remembered by Nina AS A COFFEE. She IS a skinny latte. This works on two levels again. 1) You're not important enough to me to remember you as a person, just as an order. 2) You do not fit into my memory of people I know, but subconsciously I remember you as NOT a regular human.

And then again when she leaves the shop, Nina isn't paying attention and just sort of subconsciously replies:

Again, two meanings. Maggie is unimportant to her, Maggie is also a *coffee*.

Which is weird, because as far as I can tell Maggie never drinks a coffee, or anything for that matter. Sure she orders stuff in the shop, and is offered food and alcohol, but we never see her actually drink or eat any of it. She stirs the tea but never takes a sip.

So what IS Maggie then? Many people have pointed out that Maggie and Nina are a coffeeshop AU of our heroes. Their visual presentation seems to be screaming Nina = Crowley! and Maggie = Aziraphale! And they *work* on opposite sides of the street and everything! So is Maggie just a stand-in for Aziraphale then, to make the parable work? Cool, then what's the parable?

Uh oh. What possible AU fiction ends up with the main love interests breaking up with their toxic ex, dancing in a ball and fighting demons together and then... just not ending up together? An AU written by kind of a bad writer who wants to show the two lovebirds he's trying to separate that it will never work. Oh hey look The Metatron is here:

Now, I think the same guy that has been adding bits and pieces in the past would have no problem adding stuff and/or people in the present to make a point. Maggie also seems to be pretty sure about quite a lot of things that I wouldn't be sure about, given the context.

Maggie's knows it's not going to do any good, but she has to tell them anyway? Tell them what, that Nina and Maggie talked it out and never ended up together? Wow, what a great message. Thanks Maggie. Maggie isn't just a downer of an example though, remember she's also A COFFEE! Shoved in Aziraphael's and Crowley's faces, asking them to take it and help her since the beginning.

There's a concept in magic tricks called a force, where it seems like someone has free will ; to put a card anywhere in a deck, or pick a number, or volunteer, but actually the outcome has been chosen for them by the magician for the trick to work. The actual trick is about getting the person to think they've freely chosen to participate in the trick, not the act of revealing the card. The real trick was never making Maggie and Nina try to fall in love, it was getting Aziraphael to think he had freely chosen to help Maggie get this whole thing going. And if we know one thing about Aziraphael, it's that he's actually terrible at magic. Aziraphael has been primed to take the coffee in S2E6, because he's been taking the coffee the whole season. Ready for the prestige reveal after the force? We're going right to The Metatron in Part 4.

[ghouldtime]

That anon ask about what Konig would do if his neighbor/love interest was jeopardized was so sad omg and it got me thinking.

What if they just confronted him on his distance? At that point in that scenario they have no idea he was even involved in the slightest. To them they just went through something so put of pocket and traumatic and the sweet guy they've assumedly fallen in love with has started packing his things, not talking to them so they go to him and ask if they are okay, if he's okay.

Que the tearful (but not over dramatic for the love of god) trauma dump about what happened to them and how they miss him and crafting nights. Would he come clean, so to speak? Would König still leave or would he try to work through it? Would he coldly reject them and tell them to just forget about him?

Oh hell, what if they piece it together?? Like you mentioned they saw his eyes beneath the mask and thought he sounded ever so slightly familiar, would they say anything?

Though i agree that it would be a massive reach for the whole thing to be able to happen in the first place, like you said unless there's a rat in KorTac or he some how slipped up, which tbh doubt it highly. You'd have better luck shooting a straw up the ass end of a gopher from 100 yards away. Homeboy probably doesn't even keep his gear and mask at his personal home, keeps it as far away from his civilian life as possible, I'd wager.

I'm going to break your hearts more - you don't even GET the chance to talk to him there.

Basically, your stuff is being already packed, you're being told to zip your mouth and not say anything to anyone. Your old identity is being erased, you're given a new one. They're not going to have that jeopardized because you wanted to talk to someone. You're just going to have to "Disappear". Which means new phone number, no contacting people from your old life (minus family if that's even applicable and they're feeling generous), and you're going far, far away.

As far as the world is concerned, you've fallen off the edge of it and disappeared. Giving you contact to ANYONE in your old life can jeopardize that. Trying to talk to ANYONE from your old life to reveal or ask anything - jeopardizing that. Refusing witness protection after THAT would be a really, really terrible idea and quite frankly, not worth it.

Not to mention, König wouldn't give them that chance either. You're not getting back and lounging around and having the luxury of time or goodbyes. The reality is, they're getting you out of there and you can't talk to anyone - they're already far in motion packing your things and shipping you off. König isn't going to make his appearance known, he isn't going to try and approach - you won't even see him. Your number and email are blocked, he's not letting you take that risk and possibly get another chance to be hurt because of him.

That's just the reality of going through something like that. You have to leave everyone and everything behind. You're not getting a chance to say goodbye or to confront him. That's it, what's done is done. Not his fault because that's just witness protection 101. I mean, he's not helping but he won't interfere, he knows how important it is and he wants you to have the best chance at life.

If they even tried to approach him during the initial rescue while they're still flying back to base after having been saved, he's not coming clean. He's not saying anything. He'll just deny and tell 'em to go away. It hurts, yes. But it would be even worse to have that confrontation and to put things together and have them confirmed.

"But doesn't he want to say goodbye?" Of course he does. But that only makes things harder. Like I said, he'd rather stick in your memories as the person you loved and lost due to circumstance than the person who did this to you.

What good would that do? He'd still have to leave you. You're not allowed to contact anyone and going back to him would literally just be putting you back in the ring of fire. He's not going to let that happen. That would feel even worse.

It hurts beyond anything else, but he's doing the right thing in his mind. A goodbye isn't worth tearing you up apart even more. You know in movies when someone has to let an animal go and ends up having to throw things at it and yell to get them to leave? Yeah. That's what's happening here.

There's not going to be a happy ending or scenario for this. There's not going to be closure. There's not going to be a chance with him.

Which is WHY he specifically put so many safety measures in place to ensure that this wouldn't happen. He doesn't want his work life encroaching on his domestic and he never wants to bring it back or expose you to it. Like I said, literally everything would have to go wrong. He's a careful man, he knows what the world can do. He's preparing specifically so that will not happen to the best of his ability. If he even thinks there's a compromise, he's acting. Better safe than sorry Also I love that gopher saying 😭

And you're correct! He doesn't keep his gear at home. The 'just in case' box which has some spare gear is locked up with a chain and all, shoved away in a back corner in the basement, and covered. He has 0 reason to have that stuff with him in civilian life. What's he going to do with it there? That's not to say he doesn't have weapons and guns hidden, but he doesn't have anything personal that would give his identity away. Everything work related stays at work, he's very serious on keeping them separated. If they needed to call him in, he'd have to go there anyways, so it makes sense to just... keep it there where it can be secure.

And just saying, I'm never writing that for the neighbor! Au because it's not happening. It's extremely improbable and I want to give him a happy ending 💚

[pluralthey]

is there a good place to start if we want to learn about idletry? im very interested in the story and all the bits and pieces revealed so far but i dont know if youve like, stated the basics both about the characters-in-story and how you’re releasing the comic

hi there. unfortunately, idletry became a passion project very abruptly and many details were added very quickly without regard for how long the project would take. once i did realize how large the project was, i decided that i would not even kid myself on the idea of holding in spoilers for the next 5 years, and those two factors combined make the information available very chaotic and slapdash -- somewhat intentionally.

i don't even have the comics tagged separately for easier access among the idletry content -- although, i could go back and give them a separate tag.

i can summarize the story and say that it's about a funny little talking honey badger/tasmanian devil named jessie gaylord who has for the last 10 years of her life been on heavy psychiatric medication in an attempt to mitigate a pervasive delusion that the world is a fictional story. she also has a notorious aggressive streak. these medications work primarily by leaving her so tired that she sleeps most of the time.

the story begins when her medical team has run out of typical medications to try, and they must order an older, more aggressive type of drug which is not commonly used anymore, and has a lengthier process to manufacturing and approving the drug. during this time, she is not on any medication, and she becomes more urgently fixated on convincing people that the delusion is true.

she ends up attempting to contact the writer, who is referred to as God, and she receives a response. she immediately attempts to write the story herself, and she's granted the ability to do anything within the story so long as she can write it out. (the intricacies and limitations of this power have been elaborated upon in a bunch of fragmentary posts, so i won't try to condense it here)

at the end of the first act, she kills the first writer and becomes the new God of her world. the rest of the story is about what she does after acquiring omnipotence, and it heavily features a character named fate -- or shiloh, as jessie calls her -- with whom she enters an intimate relationship.

she has a happy loving family composed of a father named adam, a mother named evelyn, and an older sister named emily. there is a later minor subplot about a cult following who worships her after she becomes God, and this cult is initially organized by an ant called samanthuel -- or samwich, as jessie calls them. these are usually the other characters i mention and i am too lazy to link them right now

the comic itself is currently being written. the script stands at around 51,000 words at the time of writing this as i work on the second act. after it's written, i will let it simmer for a few months and then write a second draft to start to relieve the story of its bloat. depending on its length at that point, i will either need to write a third draft, or i will start drawing the comic.

chances are, during the second draft, i will start to thumbnail or sketch scenes which receive little to no editing, as i know they will likely remain relatively unchanged even through multiple drafts.

the sketch strips are to tide me and an eager audience over in the meantime, but they've sort of dried up as i focus all of my attention on finishing the first draft and taking care of a puppy that was kind of just forced onto me.

i've made a couple of full-length comics before and they have taken years. it is, unfortunately, just the nature of the process. for idletry, i plan to self-publish the comic. i've never published something in print before, so that is the most daunting part for me.

the plan at the moment is to crowdfund this, but, to be frank with you, i no longer pay rent, and i care very much about having this comic as a printed book. i have no issue with paying the cost of printing out of my own pocket by the time it's done and am even anticipating that outcome ahead of time, despite having a pretty reliable audience by now.

i'm on the fence about releasing a digital book version, as i very much want to retain digital color versions of the pages that are more vibrant, but due to the explicit adult content of the story, i don't want it to be free-access.

tl;dr: it's about a lesbian incel with anger issues who's given omnipotence.

i'm still working on the story because i want it to be good.

i'm planning on printing it as a physical comic book once it's done.

[radical-thots]

The way people are treating and infantalizing Neil Gaiman and excusing, justifying his actions and talking about how its ok to still love his books and separate the art from the artist, are a bunch of fucking hypocritical misogynist. Jk Rowling is casually harassed and posts wishing for her death have more than 10k notes, yet Neil , who's crime is far worse than Jk Rowling will ever be—a woman who refuses an ideology because it is inherently anti feminist vs a man accused of sexual assault by two very different women—is treated with grace and is allowed room for everything. He's not harassed or sent death threats, there are no posts made wishing his death, people aren't harassing his family and showing up the places he's eaten like they did with Jk Rolwing? Liberals are so fucking hateful misogynist pieces of shit who still care more about fear mongering about TERFS than about the poor women the man raped. Liberals reveal their corrupted morality everytime it comes to women, especially those that disagree with their deranged ideologies. American liberals are so fucking braindead, brainwashed and privileged that they've convinced themselves they're oppressed and even worse don't seem to realise that out in the real world, all women are terfs. All women, whether they believe in feminsm or not, are terfs because every women in the real world recognises (to some extent) that men are our oppressors and that sex based oppression exists.

[itsjustbyler]

If the byler actually happens, it will be rushed. The GA won't understand, they should have done this before. They've been building Mileven for so long that they couldn't change everything last season.

Sorry, but it's the truth.

Well hi there... (this is going to be a big one, sorry)

See, I'll never understand this argument that it's going to be rushed and that the last season doesn't have time to build Byler or whatever. You've never seen films or series with a single season in which a couple meets, falls in love and ends up together?

I can give you the example of Eyewitness. Several people in the fandom like to talk about this series and I have to thank the bylers for presenting it to me.

The show has 9 episodes, at the beginning we meet Lukas and Phillip. Lucas suffers from internalized homophobia. This series managed to introduce us to the characters, make us understand them, make us understand the reason for each one's actions with just 9 episodes and still in the middle of a murder plot, with several horrible things happening and other characters developing.

And the series is simply wonderful. I highly recommend it, so that people can learn about internalized homophobia (which we theorize Mike has) and how far it can go. Maybe you even recognize some parallels with Byler. Remembering that eyewitness was on the inspiration board for one of the seasons, i think it was season 4.

"They have been building up mlvn for 4 seasons", well... they also did that with byler. The advantage of Stranger Things over eyewitness is that we already know the characters, we already know the dynamics between them, we know the problems in each relationship, there will be no need to waste time on that. The building up for byler its at its peak by the end of season 4!

The season ended with:

Mike and El not talking to each other after the monologue that was supposed to save the relationship

The truth about Will's painting yet to be revealed

Will confirmed to be in love with Mike

Mike is still oblivious to Will's feelings

Eleven didn't say anything about the monologue and what she thought of it all

Will is already sure that Mike doesn't like him and he tried to help Mike and El's relationship, which didn't work.

Mike doesn't know that Eleven doesn't actually feel what Will said she feels and that those were his words

As I said, we already know these characters. We know Will lied, we know El doesn't feel that way. We know that Mike feels inferior in the relationship because El doesn't seem to like anything he likes and ignores his interests, which is why he thinks he's just a random nerd. Mike only knows how to praise El by associating her with her powers, something El doesn't feel comfortable with. We know about the ambiguous relationship between Mike and Will and that Mike seems to separate Will from all the other members of the party, including El. We know that Will is in love with Mike. Everything is waiting for it's conclusion.

Also, we still have some questions hanging in the air like: Why write Will in love with Mike if he already has a girlfriend? Why not give him a boyfriend in Lenora, which seems to be a freer place with mlm and wlw couples going on public dates in the middle of Rink o Mania? Why not have Mike reject Will in season 3 so Will can move on, like they did with Dustin and Max? Why the painting and the meaning behind it? Why constantly separate Mike and El throughout the seasons while strengthening Mike and Will's bond? Why, instead of having Mike the whole season saying that he needs to find El and telling her that he loves her and that she's amazing, they decided to have Mike complaining about his relationship and how bad he feels about it? Why did this love triangle reach season 5 still without a clear solution?

They just need to pick up the pieces. If you think they can't do that in a single season, remember that St*ncy ended the first season together but we clearly knew something was wrong and in the second season they perfectly managed to end St*ncy's relationship and start J*ncy's even with Jonathan dealing with everything that was happening with his brother and everything else.

And hey... give the GA some credit. I clocked byler without even knowing it was a thing and I had never been in a fandom before. They are not stupid. They just don't engage with fandom disclosure but that doesn't mean they are oblivious to everything that it's happening. They just don't care or have heterormativity blinding them.

Now could the writers just ignore everything they had been building up and send it to trash? Damn right they could. However, we will have to wait and see...

ty for the ask, sorry for the big one <3

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

Avatar: The Last Airbender Live Action Thoughts!

-First of all, ya'll need to leave those child actors alone, they are babies and they didn't write the show, nor was it their idea to do it. I have seen way too many people body shaming children; leave them alone they all did well!

-I think Gordon makes Aang just as cute and small and powerful as I always saw him as!! He manages to joke around and be fun even when the storyline is a lot darker and more serious.

-I really wish Sokka was able to be more of his goofy and silly self. I understand why he isn't, and his humor is more sarcasm and dark jokes, but I saw glimpses of him in there! His excitement when he was with the Mechanist, engineering and getting to do something other than be in charge. Also when he has any older brother convo with Katara or Aang. I'm hopeful with time he'll be able to loosen up!

-(Speaking of the Mechanist, my boy Danny Pudi was SO GOOD, I love him, him and his little son).

-I wish Aang would practice waterbending with Katara :( those scenes of them practicing together were always some of my favorites in the series. Just beautiful kataang moments. I'm glad they addressed it but I missed those moments.

-I don't understand how you guys can't be having fun watching this, I get so excited waiting for little moments of lore, or when Jet and Katara were fighting in the forest I was sitting in front of the TV like "WHERE'S SMELLERBEE AND LONGSHOT. OH MY GOD NO IT'S PIPSQUEAK!" It's just so much fun! The colors are beautiful, the effects are gorgeous, and the plot and characters are entertaining. Think about the piece as it's own thing and enjoy it!

-Adaptations are just that; adaptations, and things will be changed! I think so far I haven't minded their changes, I understand why they've been made. There are things to criticize, but I think this is pretty well done.

-Zuko is fantastic; I think all the child actors are fairly good but Dallas' pissy attitude and the faces he makes are so so fun! I feel for Zuko and I'm scared of him when he shows up, and he's just as annoying and bratty as ponytail Zuko should be. His physical motions are fantastic!

-TEO WAS SO LITTLE?? Oh my god, like as a kid I thought the cartoon version of him was kinda hot so when they wheeled that tiny baby in I was HORRIFIED.

-Idk why YOU ALL weren't scared of Lizzy Yu's Azula, but her little smile in her intro scene gave me a lil chill. Maybe it's because I was away when the show first came out so I saw post after post about how bad she was, but I just.... Thought she'd be worse?? She did really well! Ya'll better be careful though or Gaten Matarazzo will come for you, that's his girl.

-So far the mushing of plots has made sense to me. Yes, I miss the silly filler episodes and the traveling the Gaang did, but it allows us to sit in a scene longer, and to colorize the world better, when we're in one place and one plot for longer. I think that's important for this type of medium and this amount of episodes. They might be able to justify more next season if this show does well enough.

-I am OBSESSED with Zuko and the 41st division oh my god, what a fantastic and well thought out addition. The reveal, and they're bowing for him when he comes back was DEVASTATING.

-They we're GIVING us Sokka and Katara best sibling moments, I loved all of them. They are so cute, they just mean so much to me.

-I don't feel Appa or Momo as characters like I did in the cartoon. I'm hoping this can change, because rn they surprise me every time they get on screen. I'm like "WHAT- oh it's Momo, he's here." How are we going to feel Appa's loss as much as we did in the cartoon if they continue to like barely be in it.

-Ken Leung SLAYED as Admiral Zhao, I watched him go literally insane as the episodes went on.

-Aang's imposter syndrome and feeling of failure being focused on I will always enjoy, even if I hope he can be silly next season too. His entire character arc this season just made me want to cry.

-Bro the coloring during the the Siege of the North was A M A Z I N G. The way the color faded in and out with fireballs and the monster koi passing nearby, just so pretty. It looked awesome.

-Making Yue a waterbender? The best. Her freezing Sokka in place so he can't stop her? Heartbreaking.

-Iroh and Zuko paddling off looking for bestie Lt. Jee?? Okay.

-They really grew this show up for us adults that watched it in 2005 and focused in on the really painful moments, themes, and details.

[ddarker-dreams]

HngnGNhnngn thinking about. scarlet ribbons and how unused the members of bucciarati's gang are to being doted on. or just cared for in the slightest really. all of them have experienced being cast aside at some point or another. that's why your kindness shines through like blinding rays, engulfing them with warmth that makes them realize just how cold they've been all along.

for giorno, it's reminding him that he doesn't have to be the infallible don of passione around you. giorno giovanna wears so many masks that he sometimes forgets his true face — if such a fabled countenance exists any longer. he always needs to be three steps ahead of both his allies and his enemies. this habit would exhaust anyone else, yet he's so used to it by now, that the weariness is mistaken for normalcy. you maneuver past the cracks in his façade and remind him that a person still exists behind the innumerable walls he's built up. without your reminders, it's likely he would forget. it takes time and diligence on your part. however, piece by piece, he'll reveal to you a more vulnerable self than he's never shown anyone else. in the dead of night, he'll quietly admit his fears. you don't need to present him any solutions, you just need to listen, hearing him out and withholding judgment. the resulting lightness where heavy pressure once oppressed his chest amazes him. you amaze him. you become his lifeline as much as he's been yours.

for fugo, it's simply engaging in his interests. his enthusiasm for learning never disappeared. he's been shut down in the past, his ability to quickly grasp the most complex subjects at a young age earned no shortage of envy from his older peers. due to this, they never cared to engage him in conversation on academics. consequently, his mind is buzzing with things to say that he figured no one would ever care to hear. when you don't just inquire what book he's reading, but really dig in with some specific questions, he can barely contain his excitement. you might not understand astrophysics or quantum mechanics but the way he lights up at your genuine investment is beyond endearing. by the time he finishes his explanation, he'll flush, murmuring an apology for getting carried away on something you likely could care less about. you adamantly refute this claim. he's at a loss. especially now, as you scoot next to him, pointing to some term he briefly mentioned and asking if he wouldn't mind expanding on it further. he has to bite down on his lower lip to stop the toothy grin that threatens to overwhelm his features.

for bruno, it's asking if he's been remembering to take care of himself. whether or not he answers in truth is subject to chance, since he doesn't want to worry you. still, if he brushes off your concern, guilt travels through his system like a poison and is expelled only when he confesses that he can't remember the last time he slept for more than five hours. your worry transcends anything he expected. you don't just give him a sorrowful glance and murmur how unfortunate that is, no, you act. advocating for his well-being when he's always considered it a second-rate concern. you're beside yourself, flitting to and fro, making the necessary arrangements for him to properly relax. he offers the slightest resistance just to relish in the guilty pleasure of how indignant you get for his sake. it's adorable, you're adorable, and if his heart was anymore full with love, it might burst. he scoops you up once you've finished lecturing him for not attending to his health and insists you'll be his personal remedy.

(nara, mista and abba under the cut)

for narancia, it's enjoying a homecooked meal. the poor boy grew up food insecure. even now that he has a job and livable income, he still mostly sustains himself off restaurant leftovers and takeout. when you make a point of asking what he's had to eat so far that day and he responds with something like a bag of chips or a slice of cold pizza, he doesn't understand your aghast expression. from his perspective, that's a solid diet, considering he used to rummage through trashcans for scraps. when you're still in your roommate era with fugo, you go against his wishes and start inviting narancia over often. you've become acquainted with some folk willing to share the produce their gardening hobby yields. narancia is in pure awe at the sight of freshly squeezed orange juice and waffles made from scratch on the first morning you had him over for breakfast. gobbles it down despite fugo chastising his poor manners. narancia becomes a regular at your doorstep after that point, pitching in to help with groceries. you teach him how to make some staples and he eagerly soaks in the knowledge. he thinks you're an absolute beauty with your little apron, shining and radiant.

for mista, it's just being down to vibe. he's a chill dude with a curious mind. the other guys tend to groan when mista introduces his wild hypotheticals or strange questions, so when you reciprocate his enthusiasm, he knows he's found his soulmate. wants to propose to you right then and there. it goes both ways, too. you could chat for hours about the most inane things and he'd find it absolutely riveting. time flies by unnoticed when the two of you get together. the sun will be high in the sky when he asks you about aliens and it'll be night when you ask him which animal he thinks is the most catholic. it's no exaggeration to say you're his best friend. whenever he calls you, he does that thing where he twists the phone cord with his finger. he's smitten and he has no complaints. mista couldn't get tired of you if he tried, you both just gel together perfectly.

for abbacchio, it's showing up at his dingy apartment uninvited and breathing life into the desolate space. he doesn't even remember giving you a key. regardless, here you are, chastising him for his empty fridge and swearing that you'll shrivel up and die if he doesn't go grocery shopping with you. he rolls his eyes, calls you dramatic, yet concedes anyway. he always does if you're the one insisting. you're not exactly rolling in cash but you purchase little trinkets that make his home, well, a home. a framed picture of the two of you by the bay. a candle for the kitchen windowsill that has a scent you know he's partial to. matching frog mugs that he swears he finds unsightly (he doesn't). a welcome mat, an ornate mirror found at a thrift shop, this pink blanket that feels as soft as a cloud. abbacchio's particularly fond of that last one, since it smells like you. what used to be four walls with a roof is now this vibrant space that screams you at every corner. he might grumble about your unsolicited redecorating but he wouldn't have it any other way.

[saiiboat]

behold. the poly fuga au relationship chart that i have spent way too long on. transcription under the cut because wow thats a lot of small text

cell and felps' background and dynamic inspired by @wsdanon's hcs!

from left to right,

Pac and Mike: soulmates. childhood friends. mike has to look after pac and pac trusts mike to look after him. pac takes cues from Mike in most situations; this was true in their childhoods and carries on into their dynamic in the prison and their relationship with cell. pac trusts mike 100% to stop either him or cell if they decide to like. stab each other or something. they've been through it all together and their experience in prison has only brought them closer. When they escape and find a place to call home, it doesn't take long (a week maybe) for the small kitchen counter to be made into a lab in the kitchen table to be made into a workbench. they work in tandem and are never far apart. while there is a lot of mutual guilt (mike getting pac into this mess and pac attempting to sell mike out), felps helps them work through it and they come out stronger on the other side with not only more faith in themselves as a duo, but also in themselves as individuals. they tend to blast music way too loud as they work often forgetting less pressing or time sensitive projects in favor of bad dancing and even worth singing. It's this that evolves into karaoke night.

Mike and Felps: at first, in alcatraz, mike only knows felps as the guard that cell keeps in his pocket and has blackmail on. after the escape any theyre settled down and felps finds them and sticks around, mike is mainly curious why felps came back after he was used by them and cell. it doesn't take much prodding for felps to reveal how he knows cell and why he became a guard in the first place. while mike doesn't totally understand felps and cell's relationship, he's at least glad to see it heal. they eventually become very comfortable in eachother's space, feeling completely at ease with one another. they're frequent confidants and enjoy casual displays of intimacy with eachother. one of mike's favourite things to do for felps is to stand behind him and guide felps' hands as he teaches him something mechanical. felps originally falls a little-bit a lot-a-bit in love with mike after getting to know him (though pac is what brings them together at first, their mutual enjoyment of eachothers company brings them closer), and while mike doesn't reciprocate romantically, theyre both perfectly happy with their situation. they dont make out or kiss on the lips, but they are both very happy to kiss eachothers faces, hands, or any other exposed skin. they fucking kick ass at karaoke and get very serious about the whole thing together.

Mike and Cell: Acts as a balance for pac and cell. pac will let cell do literally anything to him and they both know that mike will stop them before they do anything they'll actually regret. it takes a while but mike eventually ends up trusting cell implicitly, more so than anyone else does. Mike may think cell is creepy and gross but cell is their creepy and gross. cell on the other hand would kill for Mike like a cat would drop a dead bird on your bed. he's pac and mike's protector. their benefactor. he's the hound that gave Mike the controller to his shock collar. after Alcatraz and they're allowed to be actual people, they have the chance to grow extremely fond of one another, and are often found over an enigma or piece of tech, providing entirely unhelpful comments about whichever the other is trying to complete. worsties. besties. they watch bad movies together and laugh and throw popcorn at the screen

Pac and Felps: while felps and pac dont interact much in alcatraz due to being on opposing sides of cell's favour, felps does start to carry a small flame for pac that doesn't have time to bloom before the other 4 escape and felps is left behind to leave on his own. after felps finds cell again (saintly intuition), his world brightens up even more when he discovers that pac lives here too. while sharing a livingspace and with the other 4 already in an established relationship, it doesn't take much for pac and felps to come together, too. felps' introduction to the polycule is what balances everyone out, pac's infatuation with cell fading to affection and the entire group settling into a new normal around them. felps' willingness to simply share space or tangle their hands together is incredibly healing for pac who bases his worth so much on what he can do for others or what he can let them take. felps thinks that pac is incredible, and is enamored with everything pac says or does. theyre both stupidly in love for the world to see

Pac and Cell: ohhh my goddd they want to see each other covered in blood. in Alcatraz and for a period of time after their escape, their relationship is built on their mutual obsession with each other; cell's possessiveness over pac and pacs infatuation if given the chance, cell would do anything to pack impact would let him, and their ability to coexist rests on cell bearing his throat and allowing mike to be the one to pull him back. after alcatraz and felps gets added to the mix, their dynamic and relationship becomes much healthier and balanced as cell learns to function outside of highly traumatic situations and pac starts to see himself more as an individual. they're both still freaks who both fantasize so about that one time they killed jv together and they dream of doing something like that again. maybe to each other. But with distance from prison they are able to heal together, and eventually become rather domestic. pac makes coffee for cell and does his best to drag him away from late nights solving enigmas and when mike's work table in the kitchen out as many papers there in the kitchen so he and pac can share space as pac messes around in his makeshift lab.

Cell and Felps: though through the duration of their stay in alcatraz cell mostly just wants to make felps suffer a bit, perceiving him becoming a prison guard a personal betrayal (not knowing that felps became a guard to continue seeing him), things between them settle after felps finds him again (saintly intuition) and theyre mostly just elated to have eachother again. they were physically affectionate before prison, and while it takes them a bit to get back to that point, they're both much less awkward about it now as adults. they're extremely comfortable in each other's presence and this only strengthens as they both heal. cell learns to laugh when felps covers his face and kisses and felps relearns the joy of cell being the one to initiate shows of affection. their relationship has already hit rock bottom once, there's very little that could tear them apart. now. The best of friends, there's so much love here

Mike and Guaxinim: mike and guaxinim find common ground and bond over their mutual power over cell. while mike pulls the leash and lets cell know when to back off, guaxinim is the one to stand chest to chest with cell, unfazed as cell lets loose on him. they both handle cell very differently but. well. they still handle him. guaxinim and mike also really are just two blokes who share a hobby. they're in completely different areas of engineering but still talk about it together for hours on end and will sit in the garage or lab or boatyard and work and share ideas. while they originally became somewhat of a unit due to their dynamics with cell, they become people that genuinely enjoy spending time together and wouldn't give up the others company for the world. they have a Words With Friends game that does not break a daily streak for 3 years. the only time it happens is because pac catches the house on fire and they have to worry about not being found out by the authorities

Guaxinim and Felps: guaxinim and felps have a shared history through cell, knowing of eachother for years though never interacting in depth. when felps finds them after they escape, it's guaxinim who discovers him at the door and lets him in. he's seen how felps looks at cell enough times to know that felps isn't here for trouble. having nowhere else to go, felps is only a couch crasher for an hour or so before cell gets home and theyre able to reconnect, felps graduating within the same day to sleeping with them on the two large mattresses they had pressed together. guaxinim works at a local boatyard and as an olive branch, he invites felps to come with him and maybe even learn some things about boats and how to fix them. felps wouldn't call himself particularly good at it, but he enjoys the process of learning and watching guaxinim work. romantic attraction between the two of them is odd, somewhere between strong romantic attraction and none at all, often bouncing between the two poles. typically neither of them feel the particular need to initiate acts of affection or intimacy with eachother unless as part of a group, in which case they will engage happily, whether in public or in the privacy of their own home

Cell and Guaxinim: for cell, guaxinim has been his anchor in prison for years, and he continues to be one for him outside of it; a pillar of familiarity that he can rely on. guaxinim knows cell better than anyone and cell takes comfort in knowing hell never have to explain himself to guaxinim. guaxinim is endlessly fond of cell. he knows what and who cell is and doesnt need or expect him to change, loving him even (and sometimes especially) at his worst. while guaxinim is mildly upset about jv's death for minute, he does not hold this against cell, pac, or mike. happens! when given the chance to heal and exist as people outside of prison, they're very much an old married couple. they nag eachother constantly; after a stretch of time as cellmates they have pretty much shame around eachother and will generally be horrifically embarrassing to the others while having their own fun

Pac and Guaxinim: pac and guaxinim really are the same and that they both think that cell is the hottest thing to ever walk this earth and they wholly bond over this fact. their relationship definitely isn't hurt by guaxinim also having a "dangerous appeal" to pac with his inability to back down even against cell, as well as simply being a muscled guy that likes to wear tank tops while covered in sweat and grease. pac is only so strong. guaxinim doesn't understand much of what pac talks about in their makeshift lab (the kitchen), but he's an attentive listener and pac loves and appreciates his questions. guaxinim is pac's worst enabler and somehow they've only had to evacuate the apartment twice. their relationships to cell, while different in a few ways, allow them to strongly bond. after felps is added to the mix and pac's infatuation for cell settles to affection, pac and guaxinim fully settle into their own relationship and dynamic. they aren't overly showy with affection and are more likely to press their shoulders together slightly or lean against each other than to walk with hands held or to hang off each other throughout the day. they both love cuddling though and are perfectly happy to drape against the other on the couch either on their own or with the whole group

NOTE: transcriptions were done via voice to text because i made this entire thing in ms paint without saving the text. so if you spot any mistakes like bizarre misspellings of guaxinim please let me know LMAO

[sequinsmile-x]

Burn Forever : Chapter Three - Joy

She looks at herself in the mirror for a moment before she turns around, entirely overwhelmed by how her day had started in comparison to how it had ended. How she’d gone from waking up next to a man who she’d fallen out of love with several months ago to standing in the bathroom of the man she’d loved for years.

It's been months since they've spoken, but when Emily calls him, Aaron answers, and they spend December together as she picks up the pieces of her life.

A Young Hotchniss AU

Chapter 3/4

-x-

Hi besties,

Thank you so much for the continued love for this fic. It's tickling a very specific part of my brain, so I am so glad you're enjoying it.

Oh, and I don't think I've said it so far - but to set the mood for this fic, listen to The Bleachers "Merry Christmas, Please Don't Call" when reading!

As always, let me know what you think <3

-x-

List of tags are on the master list

Words: 5.2k

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

She stays. 

She doesn’t want to go home, can’t bear to think of the apartment she’d shared with Ian as home, so she stays. Aaron doesn’t ask her to leave, doesn’t even hint that he thinks she should, so she stays. 

They don’t talk about it, like they didn’t talk about so many things. They don’t talk about how she stopped talking to him for 6 months. They don’t talk about her nightmares, and the fact they now fall asleep wrapped up around each other every night, the pillows they’d used as a divider abandoned on the bedroom floor. 

It felt suffocating. The weight of it all heavy and oppressive on her still healing ribs, but she doesn’t know where to start, doesn’t know how to tell him everything without it all falling away, strips of glue and paper she’d wrapped around her weary heart to protect it pulled to pieces until she revealed what she’d always kept secret from him - that she was in love with him. 

Sometimes she found herself wishing she’d told Aaron how she felt years ago, that she’d saved them from all of this, but then she’d remember he didn’t feel the same way about her. That she’d have lost him anyway. Ian always used to tell her that Aaron didn’t love her back, that it was good she’d cut him off when she did because she wouldn’t have to watch him marry someone else. 

There were moments, fleeting seconds first thing in the morning when she’d wake up to Aaron’s arm over her waist and the smell of him surrounding her when she’d forget that this wasn’t her life. That his gentle touch wasn’t hers to keep and reverie like the precious thing it was. Then one of them would move, and her ribs would ache and she’d remember the reality of it all - that the man who had claimed to love her had hurt her, Ian’s touch as rough and violent as his words in a way she never could have anticipated when she first met him. 

Whenever she thought of him, of the battle that was ahead, it made her panic, fear she hated him for filling her lungs as she was reminded this wasn’t all over yet. He’d pled not guilty which meant she’d be faced with a trial in the near future, and the only solace she could find in any of it was that no one had paid his bond so he was still in jail. She’d been his meal ticket for the last two years. He’d spent her money like it was his and now he was faced with the reality that the only person in his life who could bail him out was the one person who absolutely wouldn’t. 

She sighs as she settles onto the couch, a cup of tea in one hand and the remote in the other as she prepares to watch It’s a Wonderful Life as she waits for Aaron to finish work. He’d called to say he’d be late home, something she knew he’d done to assure her he was okay, that something hadn’t happened to him to make him late, and she decided to watch a movie to pass the time. She’s about to press play when there’s a knock on the front door. She jumps, spilling some tea on her lap as she does so, cursing herself for still being so skittish as she hisses at the hot water against her skin. She’s patting herself down with a dishcloth when there’s another knock at the door, reminding her why she’d covered herself with tea in the first place, and she blows out a breath as she walks over. Her heart seizes when she looks through the peephole and sees who’s on the other side of the door, and she heaves in as deep a breath as she can manage before she pulls it open.

“Haley?” 

Haley’s eyebrows shoot up and she swallows thickly, “Emily,” she says, her gaze flicking to her now yellowing bruises, making her face throb in a way it hadn’t in days, “What…what are you doing here?” 

“Ian and I…” she says, grasping the door handle tightly, the whole truth lodged in her throat before she clears it, “We broke up. I needed a place to stay.” 

“I didn’t realise you and Aaron were speaking again.” 

Emily smiles tightly at her, “We weren’t,” she says simply, and then she steps back to let Haley in, “He’s still at work.”

Haley hums, “Figures,” she says, looking around the apartment, her gaze flicking between the tree, the decorations and the advent wreath on the mantle, “It kind of looks like Christmas threw up in here.” 

Emily chuckles, her hands wringing in front of her in an attempt to dispel some of the nervous energy thrumming in her veins, “Yeah, well, Aaron kind of let me do what I wanted decoration wise.” 

Haley looks back at her, her eyes fixed on Emily’s bruises. A grim pattern against flawless skin she’d always envied that told her everything she needed to know, and she wonders what it says about her bad that she found herself resenting Emily’s beauty even now, “Are you okay?” 

Emily smiles politely, “I will be,” she clears her throat, “Did you want me to pass a message on to Aaron?”

“I needed to give something back to him, it got mixed in with all of my stuff when we moved out of our old place and I’m only just getting around to bringing it to him.” 

“Oh,” Emily says, her arms tight across her chest, her lungs stuffed full of awkwardness that she wasn’t used to feeling here, “I can give it to him, if you want.” 

“No,” Haley says politely, shaking her head as her purse gets heavier over her shoulder. Weighed down by a ring she’d never worn, a ring that had led to her second, and final, break up with Aaron, “It’s okay. I’ll give it to him another time,” as she trails off the air between them is thick. They’d never disliked each other, but they’d never been close. Emily had always been Aaron’s friend, not Haley’s, and when she looked back on it now she knew it was because she was jealous of Emily. That she held her at arm's length because she knew that her boyfriend was in love with her, “I’m glad you’re here.” 

Emily furrows her brow and tilts her head, almost as surprised by Haley’s outburst as she was, “You are?” 

“I mean I’m glad you’re…safe,” she says, watching as Emily folds in on herself, embarrassment she shouldn’t feel colouring her cheeks, “And I’m glad you’re in contact with Aaron again. He missed you. A lot.” 

Emily blows out a shaky breath and nods, “I missed him too. It was never about him, Ian…” she clears her throat, stopping herself from admitting to something that Haley was sure she already knew, “Things were complicated.” 

“I’m glad they aren’t anymore,” Haley replies, “I should go.” 

“Okay,” Emily says, “I’ll tell Aaron you came by.” 

Haley nods, but doesn’t turn to leave, “This might sound ridiculous, since we were never close, but can I hug you?” 

Emily chuckles nervously, trying to remember a time she had ever hugged the other woman, but she nods, “Sure.”

Haley doesn’t miss the way Emily winces when she wraps her arms around her, and she immediately loosens her grip, “You’ll look after him, right?” She asks as she pulls back, her lips pressed together when she looks at Emily, “He doesn’t like to think he needs looking after, but everyone does.” 

A smile flashes across Emily’s face and she nods again, “Of course.” 

“Good,” Haley says, squeezing her elbow before she steps away, her gaze drifting around the decorations again, at the colour Emily had brought back into Aaron’s life in what could have only been a few short weeks. She opens the front door and turns back to look at the woman she’s sure will one day say yes to the question she’d said no to, “Merry Christmas, Emily.”  

“Merry Christmas.” 

___

The last person he expects to see when his boss says he has a visitor in the conference room is Haley. He pauses in the doorway before he closes it behind him, not missing the flash of amusement in her eyes at his confusion before he steps towards her.

“Haley,” he says, clearing his throat as he comes just short of sitting down next to her, “Is everything okay?” 

She nods, “Yeah, I went to your place to return something,” she says, her lips pressed together as she roots through her purse. She blows out a breath as she pulls out a small box and places it on the table in front of him, “I thought I’d come here before I lost the nerve.” 

It’s the small box on the table that makes him sit down, the weight of everything that it and the ring that was nestled inside of it signified forcing him into the seat next to her, “Haley. You don’t have to give that back. I got it for you.” 

She laughs wryly, “Well, considering I said no, I’m not sure it’s right I keep it.” 

He didn’t know when he’d decided proposing was a good idea. It felt like the next step in his life, his love for Haley pushing him forward as their 30th birthdays came and went. He bought the ring, planned the proposal and at no point ever considered that she’d say no. It was only when he was kneeling in front of her when it occurred to him that she might, that she was going to, her eyes shining with sadness and regret as she simply shook her head. Later, when the embarrassment wore off, he’d realise she was right, her words that it wasn’t fair on either of them because he was in love with someone else ricocheting around his head again and again. It was only now that he realised that embarrassment being his overwhelming feeling at the time was also a sign, sadness something that chased it shortly afterwards. 

“I didn’t know Emily was staying with you,” Haley says, speaking again when he says nothing, his eyes fixed on the small black box sitting between them. 

“You told me not to call,” he says, finally looking up at her, his jaw tight as it always was when he thought of Ian, “And if you saw her, you know why she is.” 

Haley nods, and then swallows thickly, “Is she okay?” 

Aaron hesitates, knowing Emily would never want anyone else to know how much she was still struggling at times, but also aware that Haley could read him like a book, that lying to her was pointless. “She’s…getting there.”

She hums, “Can I ask you something?” She asks, and he nods, “Why did you get back with me if you were in love with her?” 

Her question, and the way she says it, steals the breath from his lungs. They’d talked around it after she turned down his proposal, neither one of them keen to bring up the name of the woman who had broken his heart by going no contact, but they both knew Emily was the person he was truly in love with. 

“Haley…”

“Don’t try and deny it. I know you love her. I’ve known since I first saw you together, but I know you love me too. And you’re a good guy so…I stuck it out,” her lips shakes as she blows out a trembling breath, “And I knew, when she eventually got back in touch with you that you’d do everything to make sure she was safe. Even if we’d still been together…we both know you would have dropped everything to go and see her.” 

Their shared concern about Emily’s relationship with Ian and the direction it was heading in was another thing they’d talked around. Vague conversations that reminded Aaron entirely too much of his childhood and the things he’d hear people say about his mother. 

“Yeah, I would have,” he says, seeing no value in lying, “Did you speak to her?” 

“A little,” she replies, hesitating for a moment before she says what she thinks she should have said years ago, “She’s in love with you too, you know.” 

He laughs, the sound caught in his throat at the idea as he shakes his head, “No, she isn-”

“The only people who don’t know you and Emily love each other are you and Emily,” Haley says as she cuts him off, shaking her head as she chokes on a laugh, looking at the ceiling so she doesn’t let tears spill down onto her cheeks, “It would be funny, if it wasn’t so fucking heartbreaking.” 

He swallows thickly, “She doesn’t-”

“She does,” Haley says, cutting over him again, “Even Ian knew it,” she adds, and she watches as his eyebrows furrow, his anger poorly covered as he sits up a little straighter, his shoulders wound so tightly she’s surprised his suit jacket doesn’t rip at the seams, “I’m not saying in any way that means that she deserved what happened. Far from it. I hope he rots in jail for what he did to her,” she smiles sadly as he sinks back a little, visibly getting smaller now he no longer feels like he has to protect Emily, and she aches for a time when she was the person he’d fight the whole world for, “But if you want to know why she disappeared from your life, I don’t think you’ll have to look much further than him using her love for you against her.”

Time slows down around him, and the only thing he’s aware of is the sound of his own heartbeat. The pulse of it in his head dragging him backwards as he goes over every moment he’d ever had with Emily, every look she’d given him, every time she’d smiled at him, now different. Bright and beautiful and full of love that he’d convinced himself wasn’t real. Love that he’d convinced himself was one-sided. 

He could have saved them all from so much heartache if he’d simply just said something. 

“I…” he clears his throat and shakes his head, nausea rolling through him as he looks back up at Haley, “I’m sorry.” 

She smiles sadly, her lips pressed together so she doesn’t say something she’d one day regret, so she wouldn’t look back on his moment and know she had been cruel, when his only crime had been being in love with someone who wasn’t her. 

She shrugs and clears her throat, “You have nothing to be sorry for Aaron. Like I said, you’re a good guy,” she chuckles and shakes her head, “This whole thing would be a hell of a lot easier if you weren’t.” 

She stands up, and he does too, his need to be a gentleman so deeply engrained with him that he does it without thinking, and he’s already walking over to the door to open it for her before she has picked up her purse. 

“I hope you…” he clears his throat, “I hope the next guy you fall in love with deserves you.” 

She smiles at him, her teeth sinking into her lower lip before she leans in to kiss his cheek, something that makes them both freeze for a moment before she pulls back, putting the distance he’d created back between them, “I’d say I hope you find the woman like that for you too, but I think you already found her. Just make sure you’re patient with her, okay? I don’t know her as well as you do, but she’s always been…quick to protect herself. Now she’ll be even more prone to it.”

It feels weird to be getting advice about love from the woman he’d once thought he’d marry, but he nods. He holds the door handle tightly, desperate to make sure he respects the boundary she’s clearly put in place and doesn’t hug her even though this feels like a permanent goodbye this time. It feels more set in stone than either of their breakups had. There was no anger. No love corrupted into harsh words that couldn’t be taken back. It was just acceptance and that, he realised, was endlessly more painful. 

“I will,” he says, “Thank you.” 

She nods and goes to leave, but she stops, turning to look at him, “Just one more thing,” she says, “Please don’t call.” 

He laughs, the sound catching in his chest as he ignores the looks it draws from his intrigued co-workers, “I won’t. Merry Christmas, Haley.” 

She smiles at him and turns to leave, walking out of his life with a greeting that feels far too casual after everything they’d been through. 

“Merry Christmas, Aaron.” 

___

Their conversations with Haley become yet another thing they don’t talk about. 

He mentions it idly when he gets home, the ring box heavy in his briefcase as he sighs and tells Emily his ex had been to see him. She says that she saw her too, but that’s all they say. Their conversations with her weighing heavily on them both as they become something else they both have to get their heads around before they can even begin to think about talking to each other. 

It feels like too much. Like it’s weighing on her chest and she needs to tell him something before she simply blurts out that she loves him. She waits until they are in bed one evening, her head on his shoulder and his arm around her, a strange kind of safety in the darkness of his room because she knew he was there, and that Ian wasn’t lurking in the shadows. She doesn’t know what to say, what part of herself she’s finally going to lay bare in front of him, but she knows she has to start somewhere. 

“He told me he would hurt you,” she says, as if they are mid conversation, as if the half a thought she’d set free wasn’t the only thing either of them had said in almost ten minutes. If his grip on her hadn’t tightened ever so briefly, she would have thought he’d fallen asleep. 

His chest barely rises and falls as he shifts a little to look at her, only just able to make her features in the dark room, “What do you mean, Em?”

“Ian,” she clarifies, “He told me if I didn’t cut off all contact with you that he’d hurt you. And Haley.” His grip on her tightens again, and he reaches out for the lamp on his nightstand, but she stops him, her hand around his as she shakes her head, sure she’d lose her nerve with the room bathed in light, “Don’t.” 

“Okay,” he says, squeezing her hand as they drop down to his chest, their fingers still interlinked even though he wasn’t going to try to turn the light on again, “Whatever you need, Em. You know that.” 

The admission sparks something dangerously close to hope in his chest, Haley’s words from when she came to see him a couple of days ago echoing in his head. It feels wrong to feel it now, when Emily is finally speaking about something she’d kept to herself since he’d walked into her hospital room, but it simmers near his heart, warming the space he’d carved out there for her a long time ago.

She nods against him and sucks in a breath. They fall into silence for a few seconds, the only sound the rasp of his hand against her t-shirt as he rubs a circle on her back, as she tries to work out what to say next. 

“The last time I saw you, before…before I told you we couldn’t speak anymore, he’d already started…” she trails off, her voice catching in her throat. Somehow saying it outloud made it more real than the fading bruises she’d force herself to look at in the mirror, the shame and embarrassment she knows Ian should feel, not her, burning in her gut, “He’d already started to hurt me.” 

“You wore a sweater that day,” Aaron says, still running his hand up and down her back, “It was summer.” 

She hums, “I had bruises in the shape of his fingertips on my arms,” she replies, and the casual way she says it makes him ache, the resignation in her voice enough to break his heart, “Looking back on it I think he knew you’d worked out that something was wrong.” 

“I should have said something-”

“I don’t know how I would have reacted at the time,” she says, tilting her head to look up at him, her eyes shining in the darkness, a beacon he’d always follow, “Anyway, he said he’d hurt you. And Haley,” she repeats, “And I needed to protect you from that, so I did as he asked,” they fall into silence again and she sighs, “I’m sorry.” 

He can feel his heart crack in his chest, the parts of that having her back these last couple of weeks had started to slot back together falling apart again, the tape and glue that was her smile and presence giving way as she apologises for something she doesn’t need to apologise for. Familiar anger aimed at Ian swells in his gut but he ignores it, his love for Emily and his desire to comfort her endlessly more important.

“No, Em,” he says his eyes searching hers in the dark, “You don’t have anything to apologise for, nothing at all. I’m sorry for not trying to do anything to try and help get you out of there.” 

She chuckles humourlessly, “Maybe we should reinstate the agreement we made in the hospital about not apologising for things we can’t control,” she rests her cheek against his shoulder, “And maybe add on not being able to apologise for things we can’t change.” 

He sighs and rests his cheek against the top of her head, and he stops himself from planting a kiss there, settling on simply breathing her in instead, “Okay, that sounds good to me,” he says, pausing for a moment before he carries on, his hand still drawing mindless shapes on her back, “Thank you for telling me that.” 

She nods against him, sure he must be able to feel the heat of her cheek through his t-shirt, the embarrassment from feeling so exposed burning her from the inside out, “Thank you for listening.” 

“Always, Em,” he says, closing his eyes to revel in the feel of her so close to him, committing it all to memory for when she inevitably left him and his bed, and their friendship returned to what it had once been, “Always.” 

___

She insists on him baking cookies.

He stands on the other side of his kitchen counter and watches her, a happiness he hadn’t felt in a long time thrumming under his skin as she all but bounces around his kitchen, clearly enjoying herself. 

“I haven’t baked in forever,” she says as she bends down to get the baking tray out of the oven, “Ian never…” she trails off, shaking off the thought as she stands up straight and places the tray on the counter. She wasn’t going to let him be part of this, she wasn’t going to let him seep into any other part of her life, “So I might be rusty,” she says, looking up at Aaron, “So be nice.” 

“They look delicious - ow,” he says, furrowing his brows when she lightly slaps his hand, “What was that for?” 

“I literally just took them out of the oven, Aaron,” she says, raising her eyebrows at him, “We can’t have you burning yourself. You can wait a few minutes.” 

He frowns, forcing a pout to watch her roll her eyes and fight a smile. It’s a fight she loses, her dimples carved out deep in her cheeks and he wonders, not for the first time, if his thumbs would fit perfectly over them as he kissed her, “But they smell good.” 

She hums and looks at him like he’s a small child, “Why don’t we light the candle and watch an episode of Star Trek, and then you can eat as many cookies as you like?” 

He nods in agreement and follows her over to the wreath, “You and your love of nerdy TV shows.” 

“My nerdiness is one of my deepest secrets,” she quips, throwing him a look as she grabs the lighter from the mantle. She quickly lights the first two, taking a moment to think of their meanings. Of the hope and the peace she’d found exactly where she knew she would with Aaron over the last few weeks. She looks at the solitary pink candle, standing out amongst the purple ones around it and the white one right in the centre of the wreath. Joy. She wasn’t entirely sure she’d found that yet, but she was on her way to it. She laughed and smiled and felt more comfortable than she had in a long time, and that was enough for now, “So this week’s candle-”

“It means joy, right?” He asks, smiling when she turns to look at him, her expression a mix of surprise and delight. “I got handed a pamphlet by some carolers the other day. I gave it a read.” 

She hums, “Very impressive,” she says, lighting the pink candle and standing back to look at the wreath for a moment, “It feels like it’s been forever since you brought this home, and no time at all at the same time.”

He tries to ignore the warmth that spreads through him at her casual reference to his apartment as home, “I know what you mean,” he says, settling down onto the couch, “We didn’t even have the tree when I got it.” 

She smiles and sits next to him, “Did I tell you when Haley came by she said it looked like Christmas threw up in here?” 

He chuckles at that and shakes his head, “That sounds like something she’d say.”

Emily smiles and grabs the remote, and he watches as she idly flicks through the TV channels until she finds the right one. He thinks of her admission the night before, how she’d told him something important unprompted, and it makes him want to do the same in return, to offer out a part of himself that he’d kept hidden for so long. He knows if he does, it will open up Pandora’s box, and everything he’d ever kept to himself about how he felt for her would come spilling out - for better or for worse. He almost talks himself out of it, but then she’s complaining about an iced tea commercial featuring a baseball player he vaguely recognises, and it tips him over the edge, his desire to be the person she complained about tiny, insignificant things to overtaking everything else. He wanted to be the person to hear about the big things. To be the one she turned to because she knew she could.

He wanted to be the one to love her, and he could only hope that Haley was right. 

“You asked me the other day what she wanted to give back to me.” 

She turns to look at him, her hand holding the TV remote still frozen in midair, her thumb hovering over the volume button, “What?”

He smiles, realising he’s done the same thing she did last night, only half verbalising a thought as if they truly could read each other's mind, “Haley,” he says, “You asked me what she brought over.” 

“Oh,” she says, switching off the TV entirely, “I…you don’t have to tell me.” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know, any insight into his relationship was painful to take even though she knew she had no right to feel that way. 

“I want to tell you,” he says, clearing his throat as she looks at him expectantly, “It was a ring.” 

“A ring…” She repeats, trailing off as she realises what he means, when the final puzzle pieces fall into place. It hurt more than she thought it would, her chest hollowed out by the news he’d proposed to the woman he’d loved, “Oh.” 

“It’s not what you think,” he says, and she scoffs, anger she knows he doesn’t deserve filling her lungs until she can’t breathe. 

“Right, of course not,” she says, standing up, desperate to get away from him before she starts to cry, “I’m tired, I’m going to-”

“Emily, no,” he says, grabbing her wrist and immediately letting go when she flinches, horror and disgust at himself washing over him like a wave, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“No, I’m sorry,” she insists, holding her wrist against her chest, chasing the warmth left behind by his skin, “That wasn’t…that wasn’t about you,” she says, swallowing thickly, “I know you’d never…” she drifts off and blows out a shaky breath, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to recentre herself, “What is it?” She asks, opening her eyes to find him standing up now too, just a few paces away from her, “If it isn’t what I think it is, then what is it?” 

He wants to make sure she’s okay, wants to pull her into his arms but he stops himself, letting her take the lead as always, “I did propose to her.” 

“So it’s exactly what I think-”

“And she said no,” he says, and this time she stops, her eyebrows furrowed as she tries to figure out why Haley would say no to him. He was Aaron. Kind and sweet and soft Aaron who wore his tough exterior like armour. “She said no because I’m in love with somebody else, and I couldn’t deny it because it’s true. So we broke up.”

She swallows thickly, her head swimming with possibilities as hope spreads up the back of her neck. Warm and welcoming and something she finds herself not wanting to run from for the first time in her life. 

“You’re in love with somebody else?” She asks, wondering why she sounds so breathless, and he nods, purposely keeping his distance so he doesn’t spook her, “Who?”

He chuckles dryly, “If I have to say it Emily, I’ve gone about this all wrong,” he says, and she simply carries on staring at him, gun shy from everything she’d endured, and he knows he has to be brave one more time. “It’s you, sweetheart,” he says, finally taking a step forward, joy that feels pre-emptive sparking in his blood when she doesn’t take a step back, “I’m in love with you.” 

[killsandthrills]

i know there's only like a dozen or so people watching monarch: legacy of monsters, but does anybody wanna hear my theories about wyatt's character (because i love him)?

theory one: i think lee has gone through some weird aging thing (something to do with radiation maybe?) that's made him look younger than he actually is. they've mentioned his age/looks 3 times so far for that not to be relevant, and those monarch people even mentioned lee being on ice for years. seems kinda sus, especially since he's supposed to be 91 freakin' years old and doesn't act or look it at all.

theory two: i feel the entire point of the 50's flashbacks is to reveal that lee was either in love with keiko but billy stole her away from him, and/or (and this is a long shot...) that lee is actually kentaro and cate's bio grandfather. because i'm sorry, but lee spends way too much time staring at keiko, semi flirting with her, and hating on billy (which old!billy even mentions in his goodbye video!) for him not to be in love with her. even old!lee still seems kinda in love with her... he looks longingly at her photo, seems taken aback that cate looks just like her grandmother, and even quotes her once (old!lee: "this is a secret, cate. not a lie" keiko: "a lie and a secret are two different things"). and he never got married! my biggest piece of evidence for this by the way is from the very first scene when old!billy is recording that goodbye video for lee. billy says he knows that lee may never forgive him, but he can't go back and fix the mistakes he's made. and i mean, just look at this:

lee was in love.

also this scene... am i the only one that thought this was an odd conversation for these two characters to be having?

like excuse me?! i almost want to think that lee and keiko had an affair or something, because my evidence for lee being kentaro and cate's bio grandfather gets stronger every episode tbh.

[pinkeoni]

What Exactly Do I Mean When I Say "Will is Jesus Christ?"

(or Why Will is the Chosen One)

Do I mean that Will is actually the second coming of Christ? Well, no, at least not in a literal sense. All I mean to say by this is that—

Will is the chosen one, and he is the hero of the story who is meant to save the world from the apocalypse.

Apocalypse imagery and references to Revelations is all over the place in season 4. The four victims representing the four horsemen of the apocalypse, Henry "One" effectively being a God-like figure, references to Revelations 1:8 regarding Henry, hell I'll go as far to say that Robin playing the trumpet at the beginning of the season is a nod to the sound of trumpets that is meant to signal the beginning of the apocalypse.

The important thing about Revelations being that at the end of the day, the second coming of Jesus Christ, the chosen one, saves the day.

This really robust old post that I made, which was also one of my first theory posts, goes into detail on how Will fits the criteria of a Christ-figure, or a figure in literature or media that is allegorical to Jesus Christ. Will's biggest piece of evidence being his full on burial and resurrection in the first season.

If I'm talking about Christ-figures in the show then I should probably talk about El, who admittedly has much more in your face Christ-coding than Will does. Walking on water, performance of miracles, the mother who got pregnant out of strange circumstances, along with her own resurrection and so-on.

So then, if El clearly has more Christ-coding than Will, why am I placing the title of Jesus onto Will? Is it just because I like him more than El? Is it because I see Will as a more important character than El?

Just as a general disclaimer, I will admit that I do have a major Will bias, anyone who follows me knows that. He's been my favorite character since I first watched the show. Although, my labeling of him as the chosen one has nothing to do a dislike of El or a belief that she is not an important character. I love El, and it's plain to everyone that watches the show how important she is. However, I just don't believe that the chosen one who saves the day is what her arc is building towards.

They've been building up El's chosen one status while also quietly breaking it down in the background, in the same way that they've quietly been leaving bread crumbs pointing toward Will's Christ status while also seemingly suggesting that he isn't that important of a character. Why have a character tell El that she's "the cure," then make a point that she loses against Henry at the end of the season? Why sideline Will for the past two seasons, but throw in lines of dialogue pointing toward his involvement with the Upside Down?

What I believe they are going for is a classic bait-and-switch to subvert expectations in the final season. Lead the audience to believe one thing, while still leaving clues to suggest the other so that when the twist is revealed it doesn't come out of nowhere.

So what is El's arc actually about? I won't deny El's role in the final battle of the show, it's not like she's going to be completely sidelined, but I don't think that her saving the world on her own while everyone else watches is what her arc is building towards. The real core of her arc is El discovering who she is as a girl, rather than becoming a superhero.

I actually made a post awhile ago talking about El’s monster/superhero dichotomy, and it’s actually incredibly important to my argument. The post itself is more in depth, but tl:dr: El believes that she can either be a superhero or a monster, and bases her worth on her ability to save the world and others, an unfair expectation to place onto one girl.

If at the end of the season, El single-handedly saves the entire world, wouldn’t it feel counterintuitive to her arc? She needs to learn that her self worth doesn’t rely on her ability to save the world, and if she ends the show this way, it wouldn’t create a solution for her cyclical train of thought.

Furthermore, wouldn’t this ending be a bit expected, and even boring? This is what El has been doing for the past four seasons of the show. Continuing that pattern would only feel anticlimactic. From a writer’s pov, if you wanted the ending of you show to be dynamic and interesting, you would want to do something new.

So why do I think that Will is the chosen one?

It’s not like I’m pulling the chosen-one-Jesus-Christ label out of my ass just because I like Will. I actually do have many reasons to believe this.

The first one is the confirmation that Will is going to be a big part and focus for next season. It’s been theorized that this means Will is going to become a villian, and while I do love a good Will villian AU, there are many reasons I could list off as to why he wouldn’t become a villian. Without going into it all right now, let’s just say that it would not only go against what Will stands for, but also what the show itself stands for.

Even in show, we have signs pointing toward Will’s chosen status. Let’s start with the fact that Will is the one who kicks the entire show off in the first place, when he is taken by who we later learn to be Henry. Now, this could have just been wrong-place-wrong-time kind of thing, but given how much has been revealed has actually been part of a larger plan constructed by Henry, I highly doubt that mere coincidence is the case.

Let’s look at some more evidence within the fourth season. Let’s talk about the fact that, despite not even being present in Hawkins and gone for much of the supernatural action, Will is still being brought up by name and even implicated in the strangeness of the Upside Down.

Do I think Will is gonna solo-kill Vecna in the climax of the show? Chosen one doesn’t mean only one. No, despite all my rambling about El not being the hero, I’m not gonna deny her importance to the supernatural plot. I think something else the show keeps building upon is the importance of support from friends and family— saving the world is likely gonna be a group effort. I do think, however, that Will possesses some kind of unique ability that is going to be crucial to winning.

What would being the hero mean for Will’s arc? Well, it would give him a sense of control that he hasn’t had before. Will has had a lot of agency and autonomy ripped from him in past seasons, and this would be his way of reclaiming that. It would be the perfect subversion of expectations as well. The character that everyone expects to be just the helpless victim, or hell even the villian, is the one who rises to become the hero who saves the day in his own way.

[assiraphales]

HELLO HI let me start this off by saying i love your posts so so much they are so silly

Anyways since opla season 2 has been confirmed, what are some things you REALLY want to see? Im genuinely curious

so i'm assuming they will start off with loguetown and end with alabasta. i'm hoping that since the first season was so successful netflix will order a FEW more episodes (ideally ten or more) but I have to stay realistic so I know every detail won't translate to screen

a lot of the anime loguetown arc was filler (zoro mopping the marine's floors, luffy running around lost and drinking milk at a bar, sanji entering a random cooking competition) and I know there's a few things they're unlikely to skip (zoro aquiring kitetsu & hopefully throwing the sword in the air to see if it'll chop his arm off, luffy on the executioner's platform, smoker) but i really they have time for

-nami n usopp bonding. especially the moment where usopp faced off against daddy the parent bc not only was nami there supporting him/willing to fight for him, but it also was a glimpse into his complicated relationship with his father. daddy the parent quit his job so he could spend more time with his daughter, while yasopp completely abandoned usopp. it was also so cute when they were fangirling over sanji together -i'm so excited to see inaki laughing with his head in the stocks seconds away from death I just know he's going to devour that scene -there probably won't be time but it would be funny if we see luffy n zoro on their lunch date with a combined zero dollars in their pocket and buggy ends up covering their bill without knowing who they were -i'm can't wait to see who they cast as smoker!!!! their casting has been honestly great so far so i'm looking forward to the reveal

laboon the giant whale. LABOON THE GIANT WHALE !!! I know in the grand scheme (at least from a standalone season perspective) he's not that important to the plot. but by god !!!! give us the depressed whale that luffy gives the will to live back to!!!! practical effects are very important to the one piece team I think they can figure it out

whiskey peak is going to be controversial but I hope luffy n zoro's fight goes EXACTLY like it does in the anime & manga (aka they're so in sync that they're punches are meeting in the middle and they're yelling in unison & five minutes later they're laughing about the prospect of meeting a warlord). this arc also requires the writers to let zoro have his funny guy routine because him hecking the agents is so good

while I don't know if we'll see zoro fighting a triceratops and saying "oh so u do three sword style too" we NEED to see him do his stupid pose in the wax. season ruined if not. (jk but its very high on my list)

chopper my wittle cutie. I know we'll see him no matter what but I'm banking on a puppet. i'm pretty sure its already confirmed that they're using practical effects for him, but I heard maybe prosthetics which could be a hit or a miss

nami and vivi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! karu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm truly on the edge of my seat to see how they'll handle zoro n sanji's rivalry considering they've made the decision to base it around their relationship with luffy. the girls WILL be fighting

similarly excited to see live action sanji fawning over not only nami but also his little meow meow luffy (fantastic change from the anime imo)

crocodile better be the greasiest motherfucker I hope he's absolutely vile. i can't wait to see him wearing a FUR lined coat in a desert

I also know they're going to go off with pell's character design

ACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!