#thinks about all the balloons that just get let go and fly into the sky

[threeacttragedy]

Entry 17: The One About All the Hot Air

Oh, hey, hey, hey – what is that over there?

No, not that –

That!

Ah, fuck.

Is that what I think it is?

Yeah, yeah, it looks like some sort of hot air balloon.

Ugh, it’s that fucking wannabe Wizard! Get that manipulative shit-fuck outta here!

Seriously, don’t let it set foot on land. It’s not welcome on this side of Oz.

Someone release the flying monkeys! Like, now. Knock it out of the sky.

Wait, I thought the Wizard liked green. This weirdo has a red balloon.

Bitch, I didn’t say it was the Wizard; I said it was a wannabe Wizard.

Oh, no wonder it’s steering that balloon like a fucking clown.

Hell, I don’t even think we need the monkeys. That idiot is going to crash and burn itself straight into the glass walls of the Emerald Palace.

Well, you know what they say when you start throwing stones in a glass house…

It is slightly amusing (and a tad concerning) to me that children are always led to believe that the villain of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is that bitch of a Witch of the West when the worst character traits are actually portrayed by the Wizard himself. And, by “worst character traits,” I mean that he was a master manipulator who conned an entire city into believing he held some form of great power.

Did you know that in the original story the Emerald City wasn’t really that green? Sure, it was made from green glass and emeralds, but the Wizard required everyone to wear green-colored glasses so that everything appeared greener than it actually was. Weird, that. And, even more weird, people bought it! “Here, put these glasses on and you’ll see everything exactly the way I want you to see it.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m fully aware “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is a work of fiction, but the idea that people can be easily manipulated – especially by someone with “power” – is not fiction.

That’s what today’s piece of “hot air” is about – fandom manipulation and the power of suggestion. And who better to manipulate an entire fandom than the media? It’s unfortunate that I have to give the media power in this story – and even more unfortunate that I have to give it to rag-mags and social media – but the reality is information is power, regardless of whether it’s misinformation. In fact, MIT Sloan did a study in 2018 demonstrating how false information spreads through social media, namely, Twitter, six times faster than true information. Disturbing, right? I don’t even want to know what the going rate for misinformation is in 2025.

And, of course, since I opened today’s story with a visit to the Land of Oz, we may as well take a day trip over to Australia. Remember how I told you Australia deserved an entry of its own? Well, this is it. No, not really. I did say this was a day trip, not a sleep-over, so it’s not going to be chucked full of shiny bracelets or ways to “keep a good girl down.” It’s just our starting point today.

In my first entry, I briefly described what brought me into this fandom. It was something Luke said – and not really what he said, but how he said it – that left me intrigued. He was being interviewed on the Bowral red carpet by “Gretchen from the Philippines.” Yes, that’s literally how she introduced herself! Could I instead refer to the nice lady by her real name (Gretchen Fullido)? Sure, but “Gretchen from the Philippines” is far more fun. Plus, it sounds kind of whimsical. Any ways, Gretchen (from the Philippines) asked Luke if, “in real life,” he’d support friends-to-lovers. Luke’s response was, well, a bit jumbled, which was what sparked my curiosity because his previous answers that day were, for the most part, articulate: “I would – I would support friends – I feel like it’s not something that – that I have in my li – that I resonate with – that I’ve experienced. But, you know, if my – if my friends wanted to explore a relationship with one their friends, go for it. I’ll support it.”

Something in the way Luke answered that question was like suddenly being able to see the forest for the trees. At that moment, I was convinced Luke had always been in love with Nicola, and everything else that went on during that particular red-carpet event (and thereafter) simply christened the USS Lukola. However, that comment by Luke – and a subsequent one he made in New York – would result in the addition of a lot of trees to our enchanted forest.

Now – I apologize – we need to borrow a hot air balloon, preferably one that can travel through time, and jump forward to November 5, London-time. I promise, we will return to Oz momentarily.

Oh, fuck.

What now?

That ridiculous faux Wizard is right behind us. I thought I told you to send in the monkeys!

Dammit, you said we didn’t need them! I left those fuckers back in Oz.

Well, umm, I think we might need them now.

Why??

Uhh, do you see those four-legged beasts on the ground chasing our balloon?

Oh, you mean those coyote-like creatures?

Yeah, but we’re not in the Americas – and those ain’t coyotes…

Ah, here we are: November 5, Claridge’s, London. This was the evening Nicola attended the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year awards. We’re only stopping in real quick to steal a piece of the speech Nicola gave that evening. Okay, got it! Let’s get the fuck out of here!

The part of the speech I wanted to share was this: “I did a six-month press tour for Bridgerton, the show which I love, and I’m so proud of. The amount of inappropriate questions I got asked about my appearance, about my relationship…”

Hold up. Relationship? What relationship?

Did she say “relationship” or “relationships?”

Does it fucking matter?

Well, I guess not. But what does it mean?

I could tell you what I think it means… Wait a hot-air-balloon-minute – where the fuck have you taken us? I told you we needed to go back to April 21, Aussie-time. This looks like Soho in January.

Shit, sorry. Let me fix that. Here we go…

>>> 

Umm, hey, where’s that weird little red Wizard? I swear it was just behind us…

Eh, probably got stuck in Soho, hahaha. Guess it missed its exit.

Do you think that’s a good idea?

Yeah, sure. It’ll be fine…

We’ve returned to April 21, Bowral, Australia. Now, at this point in the timeline, World Tour interviews were already well underway. In fact, the first two parts of EmEdits on YouTube are entirely pre-Australia interviews, making up roughly 6 ½ hours of screen time. I’m not the least bit surprised that “Gretchen from the Philippines” asked Luke what his thoughts were on “real life” friends-to-lovers. The chemistry between Luke and Nicola was hard to ignore.

The Australian red carpet also introduced the hand holding, which – if we took another magical mystery tour over to May 9, Italy – Nicola and Luke agreed was a sign of “love.” I suppose I could buy the excuse that one or both had so much anxiety they needed the other’s hand to remain calm on the red carpet. But, nah, I wouldn’t buy that at all – for one very specific reason. When Luke and Nicola were seen leaving (I believe) the Milton Park Country House on April 23, Luke instinctively reached for Nicola’s hand as they were descending the steps. Why? This reflex by Cool Hand Luke was as natural as a pregnant woman touching her stomach. I ask again – why?

There’s only one answer.

It’s the answer that fits with the Claddagh ring. It’s the answer that fits with the side jaunt to Galway. It’s the answer that fits with their natural chemistry, the hand holding, the canned “shared experience” and “unique relationship” responses, the playful sexual innuendos. It’s the answer that fits with Luke’s “the best foundation for love is friendship” bracelet. It’s the answer that fits with Nicola’s remark about “[t]he amount of inappropriate questions I got asked…about my relationship…” It’s the only fucking answer that makes sense.

But, the real kicker is, why don’t people believe that is the answer?

Why is it so hard to believe that Luke and Nicola could be in a real-life relationship?

That’s easy – because the Man Behind the Curtain told us so.

Who is the Man Behind the Curtain? Well, that’s also easy. It’s collectively the rag-mags and the social media creators on the prowl for a following. It’s the spread of misinformation at its worst and it’s so incredibly easy to do with, say, a pair of green-colored glasses.

Like I said, “…put these glasses on and you’ll see everything exactly the way I want you to see it.”

There was one major plot twist that came out of the World Tour, and you already know what that is. The seed was planted with a New Year’s Eve kiss, fertilized with blurry pictures, a compulsory hallway hug, and copycat photos, and encouraged to grow with a bit of junk news and a lot of social media innuendo. Now, I’m not saying the video and photographic evidence that was presented was fabricated; I’m simply suggesting the narrative that came out that evidence was skewed. The media, namely, social media creators, pushed us to plant Lutonia trees while Luke’s actions (i.e., not acknowledging the existence of Lutonia) told us to “pay no attention to the Man Behind the Curtain.”

Uh, so, what you’re saying is we shouldn’t have left that wannabe Wizard in Soho?

Ah, shit! I forgot about that fucker!

The unfortunate thing about the Lutonia narrative was that it was bolstered by insinuation that Luke would never be interested in Nicola. Now, whether these remarks were deliberately planted, or they were simply seedpods carried away by a storm, they were not overlooked by Lukolas – or Nicola. In fact, Nicola herself brushed upon it in her Harper’s Bazaar speech: “The amount of inappropriate questions I got asked about my appearance…” Yes, I’m referring to the suggestion that Luke preferred “brunettes” over “blondes.” Somehow this narrative was conveniently supported by the existence of – lo and behold! – the brunette “friend of a friend” Antonia, who happened to be slender. Again, whether it was intentional or not, the push by, initially, social media creators (and later gossip rags) to link Luke to Antonia inadvertently called the blonde in our story – Nicola – fat. I refuse to dance around that word because it is exactly what this disgusting narrative implied when it chose to compare Antonia to Nicola. Regardless of whether these gossipmongers “corrected” themselves by replacing “thin” with “brunette” and “fat” with “blonde,” the implication was that Luke would never be interested in Nicola because she had thick blonde hair. This was incredibly upsetting and confusing to many Lukolas because it was contrary to Luke’s behavior towards Nicola throughout the World Tour (and in Bridgerton behind-the-scenes clips).

I decided months ago that Luke was incredibly transparent. And, by that, I mean he’s terrible at keeping secrets. Luke himself admitted his “tell” to this was pulling at his ear – now go watch the World Tour with that information in mind. It’ll give you something to do, at the very least. Luke’s sincerity is also why the blonde versus brunette nonsense just doesn’t take flight for me. Any ways, as I hinted at earlier, Luke’s comments on the Bowral red carpet and his later comments in New York City about friends-to-lovers would – again, unfortunately – give the Man Behind the Curtain ammunition to debunk any real-life relationship between Luke and Nicola. Luke was quickly labeled as being “…dismissive of something ever happening between him and Nicola…” Those are literally the words The Tab used in an article dated May 22 to explain Luke and Nicola’s differing commentary about real-life friends-to-lovers. In fact, the article is titled, “Luke Newton has revealed the reason he’d never date Bridgerton co-star Nicola Coughlan.” Oddly – but not really given the source – Luke never actually said he would never date Nicola. But that fact didn’t stop it from becoming a theme of the World Tour – Luke didn’t believe in friends-to-lovers therefore he would never date Nicola – even though, by the end of the tour, Luke’s stance on this had seemingly changed. That’s not to say the rag-mags misquoted Luke – they didn’t – but the narrative they coiled around his words attempted to shut down the idea that Luke and Nicola would ever date in real life because Luke wasn’t interested. But what Luke was saying was that he believed in love-at-first sight. “I actually don’t think friends-to-lovers is something that happens in my life. If I meet someone, I know immediately.” Now, take that statement with the fact that Luke has repeatedly stated he remembers everything about the moment he met Nicola.

The above examples of gossip and innuendo are simply par for the course. The media manipulates facts all the time – whether it be through social media chatter or rag-mags putting their own spin on ordinary commentary – but this type of manipulation is not what puts the fandom in danger of itself. In fact, most of the gossip and innuendo that took root during the World Tour would have dissipated almost immediately after it ended – if it hadn’t been for Papsmear.

Yeah. That was disastrous.

Come to think of it, it was awfully convenient, too, don’t you think?

Absolutely. And you know what else was convenient? That little wannabe Wizard was –

Oh, yeah, I heard that, too! That clown has been trying to hand out green-colored glasses ever since!

Yep. Tried to give me a pair and I told it to go fuck itself and its little glass cat, too. I mean, they weren’t even name brand glasses. Fake ass, bitch.

All jesting aside, if you haven’t noticed already, I do, on occasion, use my writing to call out the fandom, usually as a whole. I mean, we are in this together, right? Actually, no; we ceased being Collectively Delulu after a few unsavory characters were bitten by the Hunter’s Moon and followed Nicola through the streets of New York and London. There was a major – and rather unexpected – shift in the fandom when the rabid Jakolas appeared from the dark corners of our enchanted forest. And I’m sure you’ve realized at this point in my story that I have one particular – oh, shit, I just realized I don’t even know to which fandom our wannabe Wizard belongs. Ruh-roh. Regardless, that motherfucker is in my peep sight because it is a perfect example of how fandom manipulation has reached a new level of toxicity.

Typically, I don’t care what part of the fandom you’re on. My general attitude is, to each their own. If you’re a Jakola and you find yourself spending an average of 15 minutes each week reading my Lukola blog, I applaud you for peeking outside of the den hole. Best not let Alpha find out, though. It’s all in good fun, right? I often find myself getting a good laugh from Jakola stories, especially when they theorize on the Woman Behind the Curtain. Question, though – did you find her? In all seriousness, if I didn’t consider Jakola and Lutonia perspectives, I would be borderline Conscientiously Stupid, now, wouldn’t I? After all, the desire for knowledge is what ultimately gave our Scarecrow his brain.

However, what I don’t find “in good fun” is when social media creators prey on more than one side of the fandom under phony pretense, namely, that they “just want Nicola to be happy.” Oh, these Cowardly Lions may argue that they’re simply being “neutral” – and, yes, I’m sure some instances of this do exist – however, neutrality does not embrace openly ridiculing one fandom over another, especially on a platform that is touted by its owners as being a “safe space” for everyone. The problem with these so-called “neutral creators” is that they’re only here for social media engagement – the clicks and the giggles – and they defect to the other side when the going gets tough. If you, too, take issue with this kind of creator, be soothed in knowing that when you play two sides, you find yourself with two-times the number of enemies.

What makes these so-called “neutral creators” – actually, let’s just call them the “Defectors” – so poisonous to the fandom is that they are made from the grease drippings found at the bottom of the barrel of the Conscientiously Stupid. The Conscientiously Stupid are one thing – they are the ones using their platforms to spread misinformation because they choose to ignore exculpatory evidence (i.e., they’re headstrong in their beliefs) – but the Defectors are typically the ones creating the misinformation and feeding it to the Conscientiously Stupid and then hanging them out to dry when the information proves to be false. The Conscientiously Stupid who refuse to “lose the battle” then resort to bullying (more so than usual) the Sincerely Ignorant of an opposing fandom. And in defense of their Sincerely Ignorant comrades (or simply because they’re sick and tired of the Conscientiously Stupid preventing anyone from having nice things), the Fact Finders – unceremoniously, I might add – have taken their own place on the battlefield (oh, yes, they are absolutely your tactical commanders). Now, the entire fandom is at war with each other – all because some wannabe Wizard – a Defector – convinced people to look through a pair of shiny, green-colored glasses. More than once.

Is it appropriate – or perhaps a bit catty – to put “ceasefire” here?

Ah, yes, well, uh, we have found ourselves a bit far from Oz at this point, haven’t we?

I suppose – but we are trying to help Dorothy find her way back home, and at least we now have an idea as to how she got lost.

Maybe one day we will get her back to Kansas.

Yeah, maybe.

Oh, silly me! I forgot to sneak in a sly reference to Dorothy’s third companion – the Tin Man! He’s perfect for the end of our story. You know, in the book, the Wizard was just an ordinary man who stumbled into his Ozian existence on a magnificent hot air balloon and took advantage of the power that Emerald citizens bestowed upon him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Wizard preyed on the naïve using deception and the power of suggestion and invoked fear in anyone who dared to question his authority –

Uh, where are you going with this?

Give me a minute!

Like I said – shit, where was I? – Oh, yes, the Wizard was just an ordinary man, and ordinary people are flawed. We all make mistakes. This is where our Tin Man comes in as he represents love and empathy. Yes, empathy; the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, to understand and forgive, to take into consideration someone’s redeeming qualities –

You know that Wizard defected in his hot air balloon before taking Dorothy home, right?

Wait, what?

Okay, okay. It was Toto’s fault but the Wizard sure as shit didn’t come back for her!

Hmm, you’d almost think Toto knew the Wizard’s true colors all along…

“Au revoir, Wiz.”

[chaos-chloe]

The Great Gaming Fiasco

Summary: Grizzy rage, I think you already know this<3

TW: Established relationship, rage. anger, warzone moment, kissing, cursing and screaming, lmk if I missed anything

This fateful night started like any other, with the trio gathering their keyboards, their spirits high and laughter echoing through the room. “Ready to beat some noobs?” Grizzy hollered as he loaded up the game, the anticipation crackling in the air like static electricity. The familiar battle sounds filled the room, and they dove into the chaos.

“Why doesn’t that work?!” Smii7y bellowed, fierce frustration spilling from his lips like a dragon's fire, slumping dramatically in his chair as his avatar met an untimely demise. He banged his hand on the desk with a sound akin to thunder.

“Ello Grizzy!” Puffer sang with a comedic flair as Grizzy was unexpectedly reincarnated, flinging his parachute in a desperate bid to return to the sky. But alas, the parachute refused to open—like a deflated balloon. Grizzy’s frustration spiraled as he began to rain blows on his keyboard, resulting in a dramatic self-kill that could only be described as tragicomic.

“WHY WOULD YOU KILL YOURSELF?” Puffer cried out, the desperation lacing his voice as if they were in a high-stakes war council. “I COULD’VE REZZED YOU! WHY?!” 

With a dramatic flourish, the keys rained down like confetti, creating a chaotic storm of letters and symbols — a keyboard glitter bomb exploded across his desk! Each key had its own story, its own mission to fulfill in the kingdom of Warzone, and now they lay shattered in despair.

The keyboard chaos continued, keycaps flying around Grizzy’s desk like tiny meteors in a galactic explosion of rage. The comical scene escalated, with Smii7y unable to stifle his laughter. “I think I need a new keyboard,” Grizzy declared with a resigned sigh echoing through the room, a solemn testament to his fiery spirit, as if he had just climbed Mount Doom only to find it was a mere hill.

“He just lost all his keycaps.” Smii7y said with a smirk growing on his face, while Grizzy fumed, the air tinged with both laughter and despair. “Oh my god” Puffer moans in emotional pain in the background. “Bro it aint working today.” Smii7y responded to Puffer's distress. “Nothing’s working.” Smii7y joked about how each bug felt like a monster stalking them in the night, ready to pounce at any awakening moment.

“I’m kicking over the key caps, I’ll clean that mess later.” Grizzy growled, “It's a problem for another day.

 “What do you mean mess?’ Puffer aspirated at Grizzy

“Wait, can you even use your keyboard? Did you go get a new one?” Puffer asked for content

“I got a new one- well i stole __’s” Grizzy responded “Ugh-let me straighten my desk” Puffer laughed at Grizzy’s misery. 

“Yeaahh” “What the fuck happend?” “What happened to you?” Smii7y and Puffer asked.

“The situation where you're gonna pull your parachute and it says “NO”” Grizzy explained as annoyance seeped through his voice. “Yeah! That literally just happened to me as well.” Smii7y agrees with Grizzy’s annoyance at the game with their bugs. They exchanged stories of their own gaming disasters, an unwritten pact of camaraderie knitting them closer amidst the chaos.

“Yeah so then I decided to slam my keyboard, which killed me, which made me even more angry. So I just clapped my keyboard together, ‘til everything came off.” Grizzy tells the replay of what just happened.

“Were you doing a last second one?” Smii7y asked. “Uhh-no i pressed it like 3 times before landing, it just didn't pull.” Grizzy answered with a slight tone. 

“Like right now.” Grizzy placed ___’s keyboard down with some force, as he was clenching and unclenching his fist, storming off, as the trio couldn't help but spiral into a cyclone of banter, laughing yet again at Grizzy’s misfortune. Grizzy stormed off out of frame towards his right office door which was left open. 

In the midst of the laughter, the mood shifted. A loud crash resonated from Grizzy’s office, while I was in the kitchen. Quickly followed by a blood-curdling scream that sent shivers down their spines. 

“FUCK!!!”  Grizzy’s roar thundered through the house, slicing through the laughter like a lightning bolt, a haunting call of despair that made everyone freeze. After that there was an eerie unusual stillness lurking in the house. 

My skin jumped as his scream blared to life, roaring like a thousand ghosts at once, sending ice down my spine. I gasped in shock, my eyes popped open like saucers, my adrenaline rushing through my veins. In a flurry, I leapt out of my statue like a state.

With curiosity piqued, I tiptoed towards the scene, every step echoing with anticipation. Approaching cautiously, I soon found myself colliding with Grizzy, his frustration evident and his door hanging askew like a battle-worn shield, leaning on the doorframe. “Let me guess... warzone moment?” I quipped with a smirk, but concern laced my words like a thick fog that hung in the air.

“Yeah, I didn't know how else to take my rage out of my body, since I already broke my keyboard. I was most certainly not breaking your keyboard, yes I stole it after I broke mine. I knew how much time and money you spent on that keyboard.” Grizzy explained while I was giving him the “mom” look. As we stood there, I couldn’t help but chuckle. The chaos of gaming had turned into a comedic rendezvous, where gaming mishaps became fodder for laughter and camaraderie.

 “Well I appreciate  you not breaking mine, but now I have to fix your office door babe.” I say walking out his arms towards the closet of tools/storage that they have. 

As I set to fixing his door, the banter resumed. “Is it possible to rage hard enough to break a door?” I teased while wielding my tools. Grizzy sheepishly scratched his head, his triumph of rage slowly fading into recollection of the bond we all had. 

I heard Grizzy walk back into his office, as my hands were full of tools and glue so I could repair the holes in the wall. “I’m done, shut the fuck up. SHUT THE FUCK UP! I’m done, I’m done.” Grizzy repeated. “I just broke my door with my hands, now ___ is fixing it. I’m FUCKING DONE.” He screams in anger and slaps his hand on his desk.

“Sorry, baby, I'm not mad at you.” Grizzy apologized to me, as I was trying to make myself as small as possible. I was putting toothpicks and wood glue together in the holes, where the screws used to be. Grizzy ended the stream right after he apologized to me. 

“You’re fine babe, is there anyway you can get the sandpaper that i left on the counter. Also maybe the wirecutter in the tool box?” I asked him a favor, I felt my phone buzz in my butt pocket.

Hey ___ you okay? Grizzy okay? -Puffer

Yes we are both okay, he is calming down now as we are both putting the door back together. Try to tell, chat that too. You know how shit can spiral out of control. 

Will do, and okay we were just making sure

Its all good! I’m probably gonna make him, go get us food in a min

(read)

Moments passed as I tuckered away at the door, awaiting Grizzy’s emotional cooldown. “After all this fixing, how about a nice dinner?” I suggested with a smile, already picturing a delightful feast to reward ourselves after the wild night.

“C’mon babe, let's get your fine ass off the dirty floor and go find a nice restaurant.” Grizzy nodded enthusiastically, offering his hand to help me up, grinning ear-to-ear. As I stood up with his help, I gave him a kiss on the lips and started tugging him to the door, laughing together. 

[gleefullypolin]

Stacy's Tipsy Musing's - Colin Bridgerton Hot Takes - Part 4

Ok boys and girls, we need to have a little chat about Colin Bridgerton.

Part 2 has been out now for a couple of days and there have been a lot of hot takes to come out of the season. A LOT of hot takes. I’m going to break this down into 4 parts. 4 questions that I'm seeing really bad hot takes about Colin.

Now none of this is new, I gotta say before Season 3 aired Colin was a hot button topic anyway. He seemed to be the Bridgerton brother that lots of people love to spew hate takes on anyway. But damn I gotta say its painful seeing the Polin fandom have so many bad takes falling from their lips.

So, I figured...having a little drink tonight, sitting down for Father’s Day (Happy Father’s Day, Colin) I’d give you the opinion on some of these takes that you didn’t ask for...Mine!

Last time we talked about Colin’s entrapment statement to Pen and if he truly meant it.  Question 1, Question 2, Question 3, now lets get to Question 4:

How could Colin refuse to listen to Pen and just jump in to fix the situation with Cressida?

Colin “Hero Complex” Bridgerton to the rescue! This one is the easiest to answer because it has been coded throughout all 3 seasons to his character.

Season 1: Needed to save Marina from ruin. Even after finding out that she lied to him, tricked him, was pregnant with another man’s child, he STILL would have married her if she had told him she loved him. Like the boy had hero written on his chest and wanted to rip his shirt and fly into the sky to save her. He was the star of his own action story until it all came crashing to the ground the moment the damsel told him she didn’t love him. She thought him a foolish child.

Season 2: We have a couple of hero moments in season 2. He’s still stuck on there being a chance at redeeming himself at saving Marina, visiting her to see if she is happy, if there is anything he could have done differently for her. And once again he is told to stop living in a fairytale. The damsel is not in distress.

Our second hero moment comes in Jack Featherington. This time he gets to be the hero; he saves the ladies Featherington from his schemes. He proves him to be a fraud and runs him out of town. He has no idea that Portia is actually in on the scheme or that it has put the Featherington house into its own ruin at this point, but he rushes in to save the day without thinking ahead of anything else. Damsels in distress, Colin to the rescue.

Season 3: Ok, Pen needs to find a husband, Colin to the rescue. Balloon in Pen's path, Colin to the rescue. Pen is in danger, the Queen has advanced on her, and now Cressida is threatening. Colin does not even hear Pen the moment she speaks, all he hears is danger and he begins to act. His wife is in danger, and he will protect her. Hero mode activated. Again, Colin does not think ahead, he only thinks that his purpose is to protect. So he does not stop to listen to reason, he doesn’t hear Pen’s words or even sense, he just takes action.

The action at hand was apparently to go have a therapy session with Cressida Cowper, because that is what he did. A passionate plea with a woman who had no empathy. It was one of the best scenes however, because it was interesting to me that Colin was unable to tell Pen how he was feeling, but he opened up to Cressida and spilled his thoughts. Why? Because he did not care about her judgement, he did not care about her feelings toward him.

He admitted to feeling loss when Pen did not respond to his letters, he admitted to becoming a fraud, a shell, a person who closed himself off to feelings because he lost the person who opened him up to that piece of himself. He spoke of Pen’s treatment, he also tried to separate her once again from Lady Whistledown as if Pen was simply working for the woman and not actually the person holding the quill.

But Cressida was quick to pass her judgment, she clocked his jealousy immediately. He tried to appeal to her about love, family, fairness, and loneliness. Things he incorrectly assumed she would understand, but Colin, just like Eloise, is a sheltered Bridgerton’s who do not always understand how lucky they are, and he misjudged her reaction.

And our hero returned defeated by our villain. He faced the consequences of rushing in without listening to his wife. She thanked him for his counsel and his heart sank. Once again, the damsel did not need him. Once again, his purpose was gone.

It is only when she tells him she does not need him to be her hero, she simply needs him by her side that he understands his purpose. He doesn’t need to rush in to be her hero. He simply needs to love her. Sometimes the damsel saves herself. Colin truly is that wonderful romance hero I dream of.

Stick around for a bonus question....

I can’t believe Colin was going to just take 20,000 pounds from the Bridgerton funds, he doesn’t even have a job to take money from the family?

[thetombedspirit]

So... I could be totally wrong, but based on the new promo pictures for Avatar 3, I think the Ash People are going to be less of a tribe and more of a cult.

I mean, just look at this image for starters. The ones one surrounding Varang are wearing some freaky looking masks, and Varang seems to be wearing an outfit made entirely of Na'vi braids. That is insane and defiantly makes me afraid of this woman. So no wonder she and Quaritch team up at some point.

You can actually see glimpses of Lyle and Quaritch in the back here as Varang introduces a new kind of creature, which is also pretty dope.

In fact, you can see a LOT of Na'vi here weilding guns, like WHAT?!?!

Which brings me to another image that I think really proves that not only are these people a cult, but they're a cult that worships the Sky People.

Yep. They have air balloon ships. We literally have Na'vi Sky Pirates.

All jokes aside though, what I think is going on is that the Ash People are a Cargo Cult, a group of indigenous people who see bizarre looking strangers coming from a foreign land (or in this case, planet) and basically liken them to Gods (for better details, I recommend watching Game Theory's Minecraft Cult video.)

Anyway, what I'm getting at here is that Na'vi like Varang probably were inspired by the Sky People and their giant metal ikran that could fit more then one person, and their weapons and tried to recreate them, disregarding the way of Eywa, which likely didn't go over well with the other Na'vi. Especially after Grace's School; they were probably banished when those particular Na'vi still supported them after the fact.

But when the RDA was first defeated and sent away, Varang and those Na'vi, like the Cargo Cults of Earth, tried anything to get them to return. They wear masks over their faces, they recreated their ships, they teach themselves how to use their weapons and basically making menaces of themselves to other Na'vi.

And so, Varang become the Olo'eykte of a new clan. A clan that worships the innovations and technologies of the Sky People.

And I bet they would be very excited if they were ever to come across Miles and Lyle, humans that have been reborn into Na'vi, hence why they start working together, which would be a scary thought to think about.

But it would make sense too, because, before, when I still thought of the Ash People as a legitimate clan, I never understood why a clan would be supportive of what they're doing if they worshipped Eywa and help them attack other Na'vi. Like why side with Quaritch when he wants to help the RDA perform a hostile takeover and not Jake, who wants to preserve the Na'vi home and way of life. But it does make sense to me, if they were ostracized by their people for their continued adoration of their techniques.

In fact, if I was to really dig into this, this might explain Teylan and his fascination with human tech too. If others are just as intrigued by their tech, then so would he.

So yeah, that is my reasoning for why I think the Ash People are a cult and why they would align themselves with the RDA. Please let me know what you think and I can't wait to see this movie!!!💙

EDIT!!

So these airships...

What I may have misinterpreted as a Ash People replication of ships may actually belong to another tribe that's to feature in the film. The Windtraders.

And that makes sense with this image of Neytiri and her Ikran flying beside them. The Ikran's calm, Neytiri has no weapon ready, so I can only assume that the Windtraders are a tribe of nomadic merchants, who travel from place to place and, as the name implies, trade with other clans.

Maybe one such clan they trade with is the Metkayina, and that's how we'll get introduced to this clan and their way of living.

I still %100 believe that the Ash People are a cult, but I just wanted to clarify my mishap.

And who knows? Maybe the Ash People are scheming to steal their ships so that they can really imitate the Sky People and that's how the Sully's confront them.

Be a good way to kick start the plot is all I'm thinking.

[moongothic]

You think Crocodile's gonna blow his stack when he finds out how shitty Luffy's upbringing was? His baby boy repeatedly got tossed into the jungle to fend for himself against wild animals, as well as off cliffs and left to float into the fucking air on balloons all courtesy of Garp. He got left alone for long periods of time possibly as early as infancy, also cuz of Garp. And oh yeah, he was tortured by pirates, almost burned to death in a giant garbage fire, and went through the trauma of losing a brother.

Like, no matter how stern or distant of a parent Crocodile may be, I don't think he would be content to stand by and let any of that happen to baby Luffy. Also also, Crocodile witnessed firsthand Garp impeding Luffy's attempts to rescue Ace. The Cross Guild wants Garp for his bounty. Crocodile wants Garp for REVENGE.

With Garp I feel like it could go either way because like, let's be real for a second

This is 100% played for laughs.

Like if we're being serious then yes, in the Very Real World this is absolutely child neglect and abuse, Garp's parenting would NEVER fly (🥁) in our Very Real World. But just like Nami can physically abuse Luffy and co for laughts and get away with it, Garp's "training" is very much the same tonally, a Cartoon Slapstick Gag (made even more obvious when Toei animated Baby Luffy flying off into the sky going "UGYAAAAA" (that clip lives in my head rent free it's so funny??)) and a reflection of how this ridiculous old man (who might've been through even more ridiculous training in his childhood) views how a small child can be trained.

And so like. I could imagine Crocodile being like "who the fuck does that to a small child, are you insane" at Garp if he found out how Garp had been raising Luffy, but I think whatever reaction Crocodile might have would be played just as much for laughs as Garp's original comments were

Like IDK if Crocodile and Garp did have a relationship I think it would end up being similar to how Zoro and Sanji interact. Like Crocodile would to some degree be indebted to Garp because Garp did look after his son when he couldn't, and Garp wouldn't have a precious grandson (whom Garp sincerely does love, deeply) without Crocodile, so like. I think there could be like this mutual respect and gratitude for the other. But also it'd be kind of a begrudging gratitude and they would also hate each others guts and what they stand for and probably bicker. Lots. But in a funny way. (Like Zoro and Sanji)

Also I feel like even if Crocodile personally hated Garp's guts I don't think Crocodile would ever try anything to harm Garp. Like he saw how Luffy absolutely shattered after losing Ace, so even if Luffy and Garp's relationship wasn't the strongest, if Luffy loves his grandpappy then I don't think Crocodile would want to take his son's only grandfather, his family, away. Crocodile isn't in any kind of position to "take revenge" on the man who did look after his son for him (even if his methods were questionable at times) (Same for Dadan and the bandits too arguably)

The convenient thing of me letting this ask sit in my ask box for 20 days before actually responding is that I managed to post this thing the other day, and I want to continue an observation from that post; While I do agree Crocodile would probably be horrified to find out about all shit Luffy went through as a child... In the end, what's happened has happened, and I think Crocodile might believe that if he had wanted to ensure his son wouldn't have to go through things like that, then he should've raised the child himself. That Luffy's childhood not being all sunshine and rainbows is kind of his fault.

[pinkhairandpokemon]

rp thread starter for @touya-san

“Come on Fwoofy! You can do it!”

“Blake, it’s been almost an hour,” Hop sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he watched his friend repeat words of encouragement to their Cosmog over and over. Beside him, Reshiram stood, eyes following his trainer with a dumbfounded expression plastered on his face. “You realize they can’t understand a word you say, right?”

“Yes they can!” Blake insisted with a pout, shooting him an annoyed glare over their shoulder.. “They’re still just… figuring it out! We’ll get it eventually.”

The Cosmog in question, however, was currently occupied with exploring in the tall grass, happily chittering to itself as it floated about and very much not trying to do whatever it was Blake wanted them to do.

“Uh huh,” Hop nodded, voice dropping with sarcasm. “Real hard worker over there.”

With a defeated groan, Blake ran a hand over their face as they rose to their feet. “Okay, yeah, this isn’t working.” Scooping Fwoofy back into their arms, they turned to face Hop. “Let’s try something else! There’s gotta be a way we can-”

A strange snort from Reshiram made everyone draw their attention towards the legendary dragon, and they all looked up to see him awkwardly scrunching his nose at nothing in particular. Raising a brow, Blake reached a hand out towards their Pokémon in concern as he squeezed his eyes shut and reared his head back. “Woah, buddy, you okay-?”

ACHOO!

The sudden, booming sneeze from the feathery creature made everyone nearly jump out of their skin, and made Fwoofy quite literally go flying straight out of Blake’s arms. With a frightened squeal, the little sentient ball of clouds spun about in the air like a stray leaf, a blue glow encasing its tiny body.

“Woah, Fwoofy-!” Blake exclaimed, both them and Hop simultaneously moving to run after the Cosmog. Before they could even take two steps forward, though, a dazzling explosion burst forth from Fwoofy and swallowed their fields of vision.

Blake had hardly realized they’d been sent tumbling backwards by the blow, until they opened their eyes to find themself collapsed on the grass. With a groan, they placed a hand over their head as they sat up and looked around. Sparkling residue still lingered in the air from the blast, but by the looks of it no one seemed to have been hurt.

After stumbling back onto their feet, Blake moved to help pull Hop from the ground and pick Fwoofy back up. “Okay, that was weird,” Blake remarked, giving Fwoofy a look of worry when they noticed how exhausted it suddenly seemed. The Cosmog let out a weak little trill, deflating in its trainer’s arms like a balloon. “I’ve never seen them do THAT before…”

“Maybe Fwoofy just learned a new attack?” Hop suggested with a shrug, momentarily glancing over at Reshiram, who still seemed a bit disoriented himself.

“I-” Blake opened their mouth to reply, but stopped when they suddenly noticed Reshiram’s head jolting up from the corner of their eye. “Reshi? What’s up?” They asked, turning to see what had gotten the Legendary’s attention.

Reshiram let out a roar towards the sky, a particular sound Blake had come to recognize whenever he was calling for his counterpart. Thinking N had come to see what they were up to, Blake followed the dragon’s gaze, expecting to see the black silhouette of Zekrom approaching on the horizon- but instead they spotted… another Reshiram?

[phoenixcatch7]

Thinking about possible totk dlc again... Listen, we all know we want it XD.

Thing is, I've read the interviews, and I think Nintendo is right. There's just no more mechanics they can add to the game without completely breaking it. Totk is maxxed out on mechanics and options and playability. There really is nothing more they can add ability wise without bogging the whole thing down and causing a million problems, both for themselves and players.

But that's not all there is in a game, is there?

There's master mode, for one. Gold enemies are missing from totk entirely, never mind all the craziness of regenerating enemies, new mob camps just floating around, the gleeok they'd probably put on the great sky island. People loved master mode in botw, there's no reason not to at least drop that button back in.

But... People do have a few complaints. There's stuff they're missing, stuff that leaves loose ends, stuff that wasn't explained well enough. It all mostly boils down to one thing.

Story.

We could have an answer to where the divine beasts and all the sheikah tech went. We could find a giant scrapyard at the bottom of a new/old chasm because hyrule tossed everything in that could be pried up. There could be like five remaining active guardians, just so we can mess them up like we did in botw. There's voids where water is on the surface, there's plenty of space! It'd solve both the 'where tf did they go' and the 'man I wish we still had guardians' issue in one fell swoop.

We could get casual dialogue that all the divine beasts were driven out to sea and sunk! I don't know! Some sort of closure! We could talk about generational trauma responses! The instinctive fear of sheikah tech if there is one! Link is certainly canonically traumatised, did you see him with the first sky tower??

We could get wolfie back! Update his teleportation code so he can keep up with our stupid endeavours and not get caught in crossfire! Make him immune to zonai tech, idk.

We could get a resolution to kass and Penn! That whole storyline ended so sadly, and the lack of kass is straight up disturbing. We could rescue him from the depths where he fell in or smth idk!! Just because you're a bird does NOT mean you can fly a kilometer + straight up in pitch black through a narrow cylinder with lethally toxic sides. Now he's got enough material for life! (and probably trauma. The only food down there is stuff the yiga brought, which - well, it's not like they'd worry about thieves down there.

That stupid chef from lookout landing who ran off to the castle. That's TOTALLY a quest come on :(. Let him come home.

More lookout landing expansion, if you're desperate for stuff that isn't 90% dialogue! Please let me install bigger towers and a bathing area and more shops or SOMETHING. Little outlet stalls from every capital! Let me rebuild the first home in castle town! I! D! K!

More newspaper news! We could randomise it like the spider man ps4 news feed, that was hilarious. Absolute hogwash rumours and stupid feuds between neighbours and the results of pumpkin growing competitions! Mix it up, traysi had bonkers stuff, it was so good. What does life look like from inside the world?

Hylia gossip? We know she doesn't keep strictly to her 'find shrine rewards for increased gains, link' thing. Let her ask link for random stuff for 'power buffs' and give him, like, a random buff that lasts precisely 24 minutes.

Maybe even a 'now we opened the plateau again, people want to investigate' side plot. No one wanted to see :(. I didn't like that the only people up there were yiga :((. Send some new research team dude to wax lyrical and beg link for photos of different areas or symbols.

Gloom hands should be able to attack link in the depths. This would solve nothing and in fact make things much worse, but it happened to me twice and it was so much worse than on the surface lol.

Maybe some idiot managed to make it to a Sky island with balloons but now they can't get down, whoops lol. Some of them really aren't that high up and there's a lot of very determined people XD.

Someone's been captured by the yiga and link has to do a full infiltration and smuggle them the keys to their cell. Come on, the yiga base is underutilised!!

The gerudo stable was being shut down because of the sandstorm turning away travellers. After we solve that, maybe we could help reopen it? It made me so sad...

Link vs the flower lady. She wants a sample of every single flower in hyrule to get it all nice for her majesty! She remembers his crimes...

Link and the new sages could have a silly bonding quest each! Let him test his mettle against them in a spar! I don't know!

The ability to pet dogs and horses! An idle sitting animation that makes link sit down properly to enjoy the view!

Heck, a master cycle equivalent....

There's just a almost infinite amount of options available for real, actual content, it doesn't just have to be new mechanics and new dungeons. Yes, it gets the adrenaline going, but neither the fans nor Nintendo want nor need more of that.

We know the story is more lacking in botw/totk than previous zelda games, an understandable and acceptable sacrifice when you're working with such a huge and complex open world as this, but this is the perfect opportunity to fix that, Nintendo, don't you see? Give that incredibly elaborate coding a break and give the writers something else to chew on.

Tag what quest line or question you want answered in the comments or tags!

[love-bigboss1fan-me]

Journal #25 trigger warning for Abuse and Death

Thank you @thosetwistedtales for letting me use the audio 💜

Subtitles: My mama entrusted me to her brother, so he had no choice but to raise me best he could. Say what you will about the man, but he had himself a sense of obligation. He might even have harbored a measure of affection for me, but whatever was in his heart he expressed with his hands. His fists.

Any hopes and dreams he might have had for me— for us— fell by the wayside pretty quick. We slipped into a daily routine of warnings to stay the fuck inside, bookended by beatings to drive the point home. I think sometimes he sincerely believed that was the only way to protect me, but I wasn't about to go on living like that. Can't cage a young boy's spirit. If I'd stayed, I'd've died, body and soul. I had to get out. Started hoarding supplies in secret, but he caught on.

That was the beginning of the worst beating yet. He was grabbing anything and everything within reach that could be used as a weapon. Tearing our shelter apart, smashing furniture, all the while wailing like a wounded animal, tears streaming down his face.

He pinned me down, tears and spit flying in my face as he blubbered on about me not understanding his pain. His fucking pain. His hands round my neck, darkness creeping in from the corners. His fucking pain. His fucking pain.

The kitchen knife in my hands. In his neck. His hands, his fucking hands, they grow weak, and he just... deflates. Like a balloon, all over me. I roll him off, and I look into his glassy eyes, filled with his fucking pain and our steel sky.

[baileypie-writes]

My 16th birthday is coming up very soon!!! (5th of April) so I was wondering if you could write something with Joker celebrating the readers birthday?

(Platonic pls :3 like either the reader is some random kid he adopted forever ago or pierrots kid, idm which!!!)

A/N ~ RAAHH HAPPY BIRTHDAY(early or late, whichever it ends up being). Here’s a special present, just for you! Hope you enjoy!

~Happy Birthday~

Joker + Kid!Reader

Fandom: Smile Pretty Cure!

Fanfic Type: Oneshot

Reader: Gender neutral, kid

Relationship: Platonic

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1,176

Synopsis: It’s your birthday, and Joker has special plans.

Warnings: Joker gives Reader a platonic kiss

~Masterlists~

~Smile Pretty Cure! Masterlist~

Soft snores escaped your lips as you slept soundly on your cushy bed. The moonlight seeping through your window, and onto your face didn’t even cause a stir. You were thriving in your unconscious state— if you were aware, you’d never want to wake up.

However, someone had special plans for you. Plans that required you to be awake.

Joker made his way up to your room where you slept. Though the sky was in a constant state of darkness— the moon never leaving its position at the peak— it was morning. And not wanting to waste a second, he set his plan into action.

When he reached your door, he knocked three times with a single knuckle. After hearing no response, he let himself in. Even the door squeaking open didn’t wake you.

He took in the sight of your sleeping form. All snuggled up in the soft blankets and pillows, only your head was visible. Your face was so relaxed, an expression that was most likely only possible in such a deep slumber. It was so precious, it made even his ice cold heart feel warm— something only you, his special child, could do.

Seeing you so content in your unconscious state almost made him feel bad for what he was about to do. Almost. But of course, the trickster in him dominated his senses. And a sly smile crept onto his lips after being reminded of the reason he was there.

He took a few steps closer to your bed, but staying further enough away to be able to stretch his leg back, so his foot could reach the light switch. He then summoned an obnoxiously large party popper out of thin air, already prepared to use it.

After clearing his throat— readying his voice— he flipped the light on with his foot.

Groggily, you sat up in your bed, rubbing your eyes— still barely awake. “Ugh, what-“

Before you could question anything, Joker pulled the string of the party popper— exploding confetti all over you. “Happy birthday!”

You jumped, your sleepiness being scared out of your body. “Ah! What the heck?!” You screamed.

“Surprise!” Joker chuckled, watching as you dusted the bits of colorful paper off yourself in shock.

Finally being able to comprehend what was going on, you let out an annoyed sigh. “Joker, why’d you wake me up? You should let me sleep in on my birthday.” You crossed your arms in a pout.

“Because I have marvelous things planned for you! You shouldn’t waste your special day sleeping.” He said, walking over to the side of your bed. He picks off a piece of confetti you missed, before patting your head.

You grumbled, eventually giving in to his words. Without another complaint, you hopped out of bed.

“I’ll wait outside while you get dressed.” Joker said, and left the room— closing the door behind him.

~~~~

After putting on your favorite outfit, Joker led you to the kitchen. On the table, a bunch of your favorite foods were prepared. One of the chairs had many balloons tied to it— so many, that it looked liked it was about to fly away.

“Sit, sit.” Joker said, pulling out the chair. “Your birthday breakfast awaits!”

You chuckled, and sat down. “I don’t think any of this counts as breakfast food.”

“I think you know by now that we don’t abide by normal rules here. So you can expect even less normality on your birthday.” He said, patting your head.

Out of thin air, Joker spawned a large platter. He set it down on the only clear spot on the table, which happened to be right in front of you. “The main course.” He announced.

Lifting the lid, he revealed the dish underneath. It was a cake— your favorite kind, to be exact. Numerous candles— the same amount as your new age— lined the perimeter. In the center, in fancy piped letters, read “Happy Birthday (name)!”.

With a snap of Joker’s fingers, the candles were lit. “Would you like me to sing?”

“Please no.” You immediately tried shutting down the idea.

“Oh, I think I will.” He smirked deviously, completely ignoring that he had asked you.

You groaned, and endured Joker singing that overused, annoying happy birthday song for the next few moments. He made sure to make it as dramatic as possible, just for your suffering.

Once the song was done, he gave a low bow. One that came with no applause. “Go on. Make a wish!”

You rolled your eyes, and pretended to think hard. You actually did come up with a wish, but you weren’t going to tell him that. After a deep breath, you blew out all the candles. Well, at least you thought you did. But right after, a single one relit itself. You saw Joker try to hold in his laughter. Typical.

With another snap of his fingers, the cake was cut, and a piece was already on a plate for you. Grabbing the fork next to it, you wasted no time digging in.

“Do you like it?” He asked.

You could only nod— mouth full of cake. But that response seemed to satisfy him just fine. “Good.” He said, patting your shoulder.

“Now, for your presents.” Then— seemingly out of nowhere— he held some cards in his hands. “Pick one!”

Your eyes gazed at them for a moment, before you eventually made your choice. The fifth of spades. You turned the card around, showing it to him.

“Great choice! Now, where did I leave it?” He pretended to look around the room. “Oh, who am I kidding?” With a chuckle, he snapped his fingers yet again. This time, a box appeared, landing right in your hands.

The wrapping paper was in your favorite color, right down to the exact shade. A ribbon wrapped around the sides, tying at the top with an obnoxiously large bow.

You went to untie it, but stopped yourself. “This isn’t gonna explode or anything, isn’t it?” You questioned the jester.

“Now why on earth would you assume I’d do such a thing?” He held a hand over his heart, pretending to have his feelings hurt. “No, it won’t explode. At least not this one.” He said the last sentence with a cheeky wink.

You scoffed, and untied the bow— albeit with some struggle. Joker really knows how to tie complicated knots. But you eventually did it.

You lifted the lid slowly, just in case confetti or a jack-in-the-box were to fly out. But nothing did. After a sigh of relief, you peered inside.

“No way!” You gasped, seeing the one thing you’ve been wanting for ages. “How did you get this?!”

Joker chuckled. “I have my ways. I take it you like it?”

“Yeah! Thank you so much!” You jumped out of your seat to give him a hug.

He squeezed you back, before taking your face in both hands, and placing a paternal kiss to your forehead. “Of course. But remember, you still have more cards to go through.”

Dividers by @cafekitsune

~~baileypie-writes

[analogskullerosis]

Thoughts on the Doom Patrol Finale

"It's okay. I made it home."

I thought the finale was wonderful. It was a perfect send off for the show and I think all the main characters got a good conclusion to their stories, even if I think some had bigger flaws than others. I think the show came full circle and did exactly what it wanted to do. While I would've liked to have seen a fifth season, I'm satisfied with what's here. I would say the theme for the final episode of Doom Patrol revolved around "breaking the cycle" and realizing that the only way things get better is by embracing change and to stop running around in circles. Let go of your worries and just be what you're meant to be.

Vic's ending was simple but sweet. The entire show he's been struggling to find his purpose and how he can help people in a way that isn't joining the Justice League or being a comic book superhero like Batman or Superman. Becoming a teacher with Derrick for the next generation of students pave the way and teach them valuable skills via robotics and prosthetics work (which Vic's Cyborg parts basically are) felt like the best ending for him. He wanted to be a hero and he is, it's just in the more subtle, usually unspoken/unthanked way that teachers can be viewed as "heroes".

Rita's death was sad, but necessary in order to help the rest of the team move on to their final destinies. It's often said that mothers (or grandmothers, in Old!Rita's case) are what keep families together. With her death, the Doom Patrol also died with her. She died beloved and with her family by her side... although she was embarrassed that her family only seemed to think of her by bringing her favorite alcohol... and her body blobbed up and popped like a slime balloon afterwards... But being reunited with Malcolm in the afterlife was a lovely conclusion for her. Being reunited with her lost love in a garden felt like something out of an old movie. Perfect for Miss. Rita Farr. The rest of the team paying tribute to her and watching her movie Secret Rendezvous was a lovely way to remember her. Their Lovely Rita died a star.

Speaking of dying as a star, Larry! Larry went nuclear!! Him flying into the sun during the Bad!Future at the beginning of the season was wild, his future with Rama here at the end was beautiful and it was the ending Larry deserved. He broke the cycle by not having Rama be the same "What If?" that John Bowers had been. He freed himself and was able to truly love without fear or hesitation again. Turning into a bright star in space was perfect for Larry because the entire show he had been introverted and shy and reserved. He made it a point to hide for as long as he could and never let anybody see him. His journey was all about a man embracing the things that make him who he is and to let the world see him in his glory, no matter what they think. Joining with Rama in space and becoming a star (which is how I interpreted their joining to signify) means that for the next couple thousand years, Larry can be seen shining bright in the night sky, whether people like it or not.

Jane becoming Kay again (or simplty, K., as Vic suggested) was the ultimate win. The underground was destroyed and K. found her peace. Her going to space with someone who she could find comfort in and explore with was a lovely ending for her. She wanted to leave Doom Manor and explore the world, now she can. Admittedly, I wish her relationship with Casey Brinke would've had more time devoted to it, but it's not a pairing I mind. As much as I wish she could've found her way back to Shelley Byron, I suppose I treat Shelley as an unreachable fantasy (she is fog, after all) whose role was not so much to be an endgame romantic partner to her, but to be a guiding hand and help Jane/K. begin to become comfortable in her body and sexuality again and ultimately help her reach her ending. Her conclusion had flaws, but her journey was still very very satisfying and I can be happy with her having Casey Brinke, her painting, a ship with a view, and a nice cat (so long as Casey doesn't... you know.) Her ending felt like it answered the ending Grant Morrison gave her after their run of the comics. "There is another world. There is a better world. Well... there must be." The show's answer is, "Yes, there is. She found it."

Laura's ending was my second least favorite (next to Dorothy, who just flat out fucking disappeared!!!) and I wish she had gotten a little more, but I got to see Michelle Gomez wield a flamethrower and smile bigger than a child on Christmas Day, so I can't be too mad about it. If you believe in fire as a thing that cleanses things and allows people to start over, Laura's ending worked for her character. The place that really and truly broke her is about to be violently burned down. A woman like her needed violence to heal her and I think burning down the Ant Farm was just that.

Cliff's ending was the one that got me the most. "I thought I came home to live, but I think I came home just to die." The gift that Isabel/Immortus gave him was a sweet gift. He gets to see the cycle be broken right before his very eyes. He gets to see Rory's whole life play out and while you fear he's repeating his grandfather's actions, those fears are quickly put to bed when you see that he's perfectly fine and everything works out. He doesn't become RJ Steele, he doesn't fall into the same traps and vices that hurt Cliff Steele, he becomes a different man. Rory Steele is there for Clara Steele and he gets to meet his own grandson as a flawed, but supportive and good man. When Cliff powers down and it hangs on that shot of Cliff's robot face, I broke. The journey is completed. Cliff was in an accident and spent the whole series trying to get home. He did just that. It was the most beautiful way Cliff Steele's story could've ended. I loved every minute of it.

I was happy that the Immortus plot and the Butts plot was wrapped up in about five minutes with no explanation. It didn't need one. This show was never about them. It was a show about a bunch of misfit-assholes-turned-superpowered-weirdos who had to learn to care for one another, helping each other guide through trauma and pain and become better people at the end of it. They did just that. Larry was right: every single threat the team dealt with was created by them in some way. If there's no Doom Patrol, then the world is safe for another day. The only way this all ends is by the Doom Patrol disbanding for good. If you view Doom Manor as one giant therapy/rehabilitation retreat, then all of the members of the manor were stamped and cleared to leave. They left and they all found their own happiness, happiness that would be strange and weird and nonsensical if it was any show other than Doom Patrol. In the end, the cycle was broken and the characters became free to explore the world beyond the manor. No more chaos, no more fear, only peace.

The only cycle that never seems to break is the one where the Doom Patrol dies at the end of almost every iteration of the comics... until some weirdo (Grant Morrison, Rachel Pollack, Gerard Way, etc.) comes along and resurrects them, brings them back to life. I suspect the Doom Patrol will go through that cycle again. They will die, the team will be disbanded and gone for a while, then some weirdo will lovingly make up some way to get them all together again. It doesn't have to make perfect sense, just so long as they're all together again somehow.

There's so much more to say, but I'll leave it with this for now: Doom Patrol has become one of my favorite shows of all time. It's hilariously ridiculous, wonderfully weird, delightfully strange, and the most beautifully human show about superpowered misfits coming together and helping each other find brighter days after experiencing nothing but the darkest ones. They're my new go-to example of what a found family should be and I think the finale was satisfying. I think the show wrapped up the best way that it could've and I think every person that had the pleasure of working on it should be proud of what they've unleashed onto the world.

Long live the Doom Patrol.

[hazbinjuveniles]

The Hazbin Juveniles: That's Entertainment- Part 1

Hell, a place where the damned reside. The place where rotten souls judged not worthy of Heaven are tossed into this pit to suffer through the worst imaginable torture: each other. And if that isn't bad enough, every year, angels descend from Heaven to slaughter them all because Hell apparently has an overpopulation problem. Who knew that there would be so many shitty people in the world?

Next, we see the clock tower in the city center begin to ring its bells. The ringing means that the annual exterminations are over. Many exorcists stopped what they were doing and began to fly back to the portal in the sky to Heaven, while leaving massive devastation and countless loss of lives behind. After the portal in the sky closes, a bunch of demons begin to poke their heads out from their hiding places, checking to see if it’s safe to come out.

Not long after that, Charlie, the princess of Hell, came out from her hiding spot and let out her fireworks, which provided confirmation that the extermination was officially over. After that, demons begin to come out from their hiding spots and go back to their normal lives. Turf wars have already started up, with many demons attempting to grab territories for themselves.

On one of the quiet streets caught up in those turf wars, there was a small pink motorbike, all decorated, being ridden by a kid heading down the road. The kid pulls up his bike to the side of the road and takes off his helmet. This kid's name is Angel Dust, a pink fluffy spider with long legs and a famous child actor known all throughout Pride.

Angel puts down his helmet and proceeds to the nearest drug vending machine. Following that, he went out and bought the drug known as "Angel Dust" from the machine. Then, out of nowhere, some no-good punk just swiped his drugs and took off.

“Hey!” Angel shouts as he spots the punk making off with his stuff, the punk just taunting him in return, and yells back. “Up yours, you little twerp!”

Just as Angel is about to give chase, a boulder falls from the sky and crushes the punk. Angel was devastated. “Oh my gosh!!” he yelled, leaning down to grab what was left of his pack of drugs. “My drugs!!” They were all crushed. 

“Damn it!” he exclaimed, looking up at the sky where a blimp was hovering, packed with all kinds of weapons, and it was shooting off rounds in every direction.

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Inside the blimp, there is a small snake kid. The kid starts monologuing to himself about how he's going to take over this territory and become an overlord, imagining all the respect he'll get when he pulls it off. Additionally, tiny egg creatures that appear to be ship crew members are roaming about everywhere.

“Ahahahaha! Those cowardly grown-ups dare not hinder my territorial takeover! A wise decision! The power of my machines is unmatched!” The snake kid laughed as he continued to talk to himself. "At this rate, I will seize control of this entire territory by the end of today!"

The kid pressed some buttons and made a couple of guns fire a few shots down below. “And all of Hell will know the name of Sir Pentious!! The second child sinner who will become an Overlord of Pentagram City!!” 

This is Sir Pentious, a young genius inventor with a strong talent for inventing and making weapons. The egg creatures are his little minions, and he likes to call them “egg-bois.” Sir Pentious is still talking to himself about how he will take over this place and become an overlord when a bomb is hurled at his balloon.

“Hey! Tween-Edgelord! Heads up!” was all Sir Pentious heard before the bomb came crashing through the blimp window.

The bomb goes off, leaving an opening in the airship for someone to jump into. This person then playfully challenges Sir Pentious, saying that this is her territory, and if he wants it, he’ll have to fight for it. 

“Well, well, well! Look what we have here? A little kid thinks that he can play with the big leagues,” the person teased, making silly, mocking motions toward Sir Pentious.

Meet Cherri Bomb, an older teenage cyclops girl who's got a real talent for explosives and a fiery passion for pyromania. She is currently entertaining the kid by having to "battle" him.

“Why don't you get this toy of yours off my turf before I smash it!?” Cherri taunts before tossing a bomb in a random direction in the blimp, “More??”

Sir Pentious stammers and turns a little red before pulling himself together. He confidently claims he was aware of that and is just about to gear up for a fight. 

“Yo-o-o-u, don’t scare me! I am a rising overlord who does not back down from a fight! If it’s a fight you want, then it’s a fight you’ll get,” Sir Pentious replied to Cherri, despite his stammering.

“Alright, let’s see if this toy of yours can really do all the things you say. You know, the big leagues are a whole different ballgame, right? Our playtime is way past your bedtime!!" She playfully teases Sir Pentious, daring him to bring it on.

They both then start fighting.

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Meanwhile, over at 666 News Station on the other side of the city, Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench are covering the latest news right after the exterminations. They are saying that with how recent the exterminations have just ended, there are now many unclaimed territories that are now up for grabs. Demons from all over hell are already duking it out to gain new territories.

It’s complete chaos out there as always, right after the exterminations. Heck, even the kid sinners are even going in for it.

“Right, you are, Tom; those little shits waste no time taking what they want. Many robberies and riots are now happening thanks to those little brats. But hey, this is Hell! When there is no riot or robbery, is that not happening? Those pea-sized dipshits just make everything worse,” Katie says, her voice dripping with fake sarcasm and a peppy tone.

“Speaking of it, Katie, it looks like there is a live report of a turf war happening downtown. With the notable pint-sized Carmilla’s brat, ‘Sir Pentious,’ and the spunky teen ‘Cheri Bomb.’” Tom adds in right after Katie.

They switch on the live TV, and there it is—those two kids are really going at it, launching bombs and firing death rays everywhere. As they fight, they destroy the turf area and surrounding streets.

“Well, Tom, there goes that neighborhood. I will be surprised if there is anything left standing at all; you know how kid sinners are. In other news, we have the Princess of Hell making a big announcement about her brand new passion project. More on this after the break," Katie says, before signing off for a news break. 

In the meantime, Charlie and Vaggie are preparing to deliver Charlie's program on live television backstage at the studio. Charlie is really excited about this! Her project is about to get some attention, and she just feels that a lot of people will be open to it. Charlie thought it would be fun to add a musical element to introduce her project, but Vaggie wasn't having it and insisted that Charlie should stick to the script.

“Come on, Vaggie! I know what to say! I just feel like we need to...I don't know, make things sound more exciting!” Charlie gasps and turns to Vaggie, saying, “Hooo! What if I sing a song about it!!”

Vaggie gently reminds Charlie that this isn’t a musical but an important presentation of their project, and it’s really important to take it seriously if they want people to pay attention. 

“Life isn't a musical; sinners won’t take kindly to someone who is happily singing about their suffering and life in Hell.” Vaggie then warned her girlfriend, "They might hate you for this."

Charlie assures Vaggie that she has this under control, but she believes that some music will lighten the mood. Vaggie is once more asking Charlie to really take this seriously and to follow the script they've prepared. 

“Don’t worry so much, Vaggie! I have this under control! I just thought…you know…want to connect sinners with music! Everyone loves music!” Charlie says being her optimistic, cheerful self.

Vaggie pinches the bridge of her nose and says, “I don't think it's that simple. Just please follow the talking points we went over.” 

“But—” was all Charlie managed to say before Vaggie grabbed her and turned to face her, saying, “And do NOT sing!”

Charlie gives in and decides she'll stick to the script, trying to hold back her musical instincts.

================================================

The interview started off pretty well, with Charlie following the script and sharing details about her new project, The Happy Hotel, a hotel that aims to rehabilitate sinners. Charlie shares her thoughts on wanting to find an alternative to the overpopulation issue in Hell, without needing to go through the yearly exterminations. She aims to help sinners find redemption so they can make their way to Heaven.

After Charlie spewed out her idea, nobody spoke, indicating that everyone was shocked by how absurd it was. 

Charlie, wanting to connect and share her thoughts, adds, “Look, every single one of you has something good, deep down inside. I know you do!”

After a brief pause, she snapped her fingers and said, “...Maybe I'm not getting through to you.”

Charlie, feeling like she hadn't quite reached the sinners, starts singing and dancing about her hotel, while Vaggie lets out a groan in the background. 

It was a fun song, to say the least.

================================================

Of course, once all of that is over, everyone starts laughing at her. Her idea of redemption is considered ridiculous and naive, and many sinners just lost a lot of respect for her, not that she had any to begin with. 

Katie, laughing, mocks Charlie as she asks, “Why would anyone in the nine circles of Hell give two shits about becoming a better person?” She then said, “Nobody wants to be a good person just for the sake of it.” 

She also points out that there's no proof that this experiment will actually work or that someone is dumb enough to participate in a bogus project like this.

"That's where you are wrong; in fact, I already have a client, and he is quite famous among Pentagram City," Charlie tells Katie as she cuts her off.

Charlie mentions that her hotel is currently hosting a well-known client, the famous child star, Angel Dust. Katie quips that it’s not really an achievement, saying, “That tween brat will go anywhere if you dangle enough alcohol and drugs in front of him.” She also asks, “Is the princess really that desperate for a client that she’s resorted to babysitting for one?”

Charlie replies, “Sure, Angel might be a kid, but he’s been a really good boy these last two weeks. He's been doing well, keeping himself out of trouble and staying clean. Besides, he is just a harmless kid; he can't do much damage to anyone.”

“Are you talking about the harmless kid who's just casually wrecking a city block at the moment?” Katie asks with a big smile on her face. It seems that during Charlie’s rants, she received a new update from the current turf wars.

There they are on live TV—Angel Dust, Cherri Bomb, and Sir Pentious—going at it and entirely wrecking a whole city block. Katie reports that a new player has entered the turf war, and it appears to be the famous child actor, Angel Dust. Charlie begins to panic; the interview is officially a disaster. Everyone is laughing at her and her idea, and her only client is behaving in the opposite manner that the hotel is intended to represent. Instead of a well-behaved kid, we see a kid getting rowdy and participating in casual destruction of public property.

Tom and Katie are having a good laugh; this kind of on-screen disaster is sure to give the ratings a nice boost. It seems like the project is being labeled a failure before it even gets a chance to start.

After that, Katie insults Charlie by asking, "How does it feel to be a failure in both babysitting and being a Princess?"

Charlie shot back "How does it feel to need to have lipo just for your face? You might want to consider covering up those noticeable wrinkles since competing with child actors can be tough when your face doesn’t quite match their youthful look. BITCH!!"

There was this brief pause, followed by Tom making a quick getaway. Katie then reveals her true demon form and lunges at Charlie.

A brawl breaks out between these two women.

================================================

Meanwhile, back at the turf war, Angel and Sir Pentious are having a good time battling it out on the streets. Both of them are letting go and releasing all of the pent-up energy that has built up over the past few weeks. 

Cherri then asks Angel, “So, where have you been, anyway? I thought you up and died or some shit. Not that I was worried, of course!”

“Don’t get ya’ panties in a twist. I've been staying at this crappy hotel on the other side of town.” Angel tells her as he hands her a bomb for her to throw. 

“Some broads are lettin' me stay rent-free if I play nice.” Angel says, ducking in response to approaching gunshots. 

“That means behaving like some goody two-shoes kid, no pranks, no drugs, no booze, and no problematic language. It’s drivin’ me crazy! All those stuffy rules and no fun!”

“Ho-ly Shit!!” Cherri laughed in disbelief.

Angel has a lot of pent-up energy that he wants to release after two weeks of being clean. Luckily, there is another kid here who’s happy and willing to duke it out with him. Sir Pentious, on the other hand, wants to impress his obvious crush, Cherri Bomb. He believes that if he can defeat Angel Dust right now, she will be quite impressed with him.

Cherri then asks Angel, "Aren't you worried you'll get in a lot of trouble because of this?" Angel just shrugs and says, “What’s one little brawl going to do?”

================================================

Back at the news studio, things are pretty intense as Charlie and Katie Killjoy keep going at it, while Tom Trench is on fire. 

“WHY WON'T ANYONE HELP ME?!” Tom screamed as he was literally on fire.

================================================

Later, a limo is seen traveling across town, towards a hotel with a large sign that reads ‘The Happy Hotel.’ Inside the limo, it was super quiet; nobody was talking, but one could definitely feel the tension in the air. Charlie looks really upset as she gazes out the window, while Vaggie shoots a glare at Angel Dust, who's just messing around with the buttons in the limo.

Vaggie then yells at Angel, asking, "What the fuck were you DOING?!" Angel casually responds, “I am helping out a friend. Isn’t that a ‘redeeming quality,’ helping friends with stuff?”

Vaggie chastises Angel, saying, “Helping a friend DOES NOT involve destroying a whole city block!!” She then adds, “Your actions today made the hotel look like a fucking joke!!”

Angel snaps back, “What the fuck ya’ wan’ me to do?! I've got a reputation to maintain. Can you imagine what would happen if people found out I was turning all goody-goody?!”

“The hotel's rules are boring, and there isn’t anything fun to do there; with all this pent-up energy and nowhere to release it, I had to find a way to let it out.” Angel says as he continues to push all of Vaggie’s buttons.

At least he didn’t destroy the hotel, but that’s mostly because if he did that, he would have no place to stay.

Vaggie yells at Angel, “Your reputation?! What about the hotel’s?! Thanks to your actions on live TV, no one in Hell will take us or the hotel seriously!! All due to your selfish bullshit!!”

Charlie tries to remain optimistic and reassures Vaggie, saying, "Hey, come on. We don't know if things are over yet! Try to relax, Vaggie.” She places her hand on her shoulder, offering a reassuring smile. “I-it'll be okay!”

“Besides, Angel is still a kid,” Charlie points out, “We can’t be too harsh on him; he is still very young and learning.”

“Kids like him could use a spanking or two.” Vaggie points out. “Ya’ might end up on a watch list if ya’ not careful,” Angel jokes back. Vaggie lets out a low growl as she tries to calm herself down, settling into her seat in silence as the limo nears its destination.

[worlds-least-responsible]

HAHA SIKE, I GOT MORE

Wait a second. Check it out.

Hey, those are Pollen Jocks!

Wow.

I've never seen them this close.

They know what it's like outside The Hive.

Yeah, but some don't come back.

Hey, Jocks!

Hi, Jocks!

You guys did great!

You're monsters!

You're sky freaks! I love it! I love it!

I wonder where they were.

I don't know.

Their day's not planned.

Outside The Hive, flying who knows where, doing who knows what.

You can't just decide to be a Pollen Jock. You have to be bred for that.

Right.

Look. That's more pollen than you and I will see in a lifetime.

It's just a status symbol.

Bees make too much of it.

Perhaps. Unless you're wearing it and the ladies see you wearing it.

Those ladies?

Aren't they our cousins too?

Distant. Distant.

Look at these two.

Couple of Hive Harrys.

Let's have fun with them.

It must be dangerous being a Pollen Jock.

Yeah. Once a bear pinned me against a mushroom!

He had a paw on my throat, and with the other, he was slapping me!

Oh, my!

I never thought I'd knock him out.

What were you doing during this?

Trying to alert the authorities.

I can autograph that.

A little gusty out there today, wasn't it, comrades?

Yeah. Gusty.

We're hitting a sunflower patch six miles from here tomorrow.

Six miles, huh?

Barry!

A puddle jump for us, but maybe you're not up for it.

Maybe I am.

You are not!

We're going 0900 at J-Gate.

What do you think, buzzy-boy?

Are you bee enough?

I might be. It all depends on what 0900 means.

Hey, Honex!

Dad, you surprised me.

You decide what you're interested in?

Well, there's a lot of choices.

But you only get one.

Do you ever get bored doing the same job every day?

Son, let me tell you about stirring.

You grab that stick, and you just move it around, and you stir it around.

You get yourself into a rhythm.

It's a beautiful thing.

You know, Dad, the more I think about it,

maybe the honey field just isn't right for me.

You were thinking of what, making balloon animals?

That's a bad job for a guy with a stinger.

Janet, your son's not sure he wants to go into honey!

Barry, you are so funny sometimes.

I'm not trying to be funny.

You're not funny! You're going into honey. Our son, the stirrer!

You're gonna be a stirrer?

No one's listening to me!

Wait till you see the sticks I have.

I could say anything right now.

I'm gonna get an ant tattoo!

Let's open some honey and celebrate!

Maybe I'll pierce my thorax. Shave my antennae. Shack up with a grasshopper. Get a gold tooth and call everybody "dawg"!

I'm so proud.

We're starting work today!

Today's the day.

Come on! All the good jobs will be gone.

Yeah, right.

Pollen counting, stunt bee, pouring, stirrer, front desk, hair removal...

Is it still available?

Hang on. Two left!

One of them's yours! Congratulations!

Step to the side.

What'd you get?

Picking crud out. Stellar!

Wow!

Couple of newbies?

Yes, sir! Our first day! We are ready!

Make your choice.

You want to go first?

No, you go.

Oh, my. What's available?

Restroom attendant's open, not for the reason you think.

Any chance of getting the Krelman?

Sure, you're on.

I'm sorry, the Krelman just closed out.

Wax monkey's always open.

The Krelman opened up again.

What happened?

A bee died. Makes an opening. See? He's dead. Another dead one.

Deady. Deadified. Two more dead.

Dead from the neck up. Dead from the neck down. That's life!

Oh, this is so hard!

Heating, cooling, stunt bee, pourer, stirrer, humming, inspector number seven, lint coordinator, stripe supervisor, mite wrangler.

Barry, what do you think I should... Barry?

Barry!

- 🌻

Are you actually going to send the entire bee movie script.

[demons-and-demigods]

Demons and Demigods Part Eleven: Written Scene #6.5: Sparta

Look, I'm not sure if I should classify this as a written scene or not, so I'm just gonna call it both lore and a scene, but there is a fair bit of proper writing in here, it's just split up between a bunch of hand-wavey bits lmao

Pylos and getting the poison from Frank’s ‘cousins’ goes the same, they get back to the Argo II, chat about Piper’s visions and wtf the deal is with the chained god’s heartbeat in Sparta, Percy makes his comment about ‘send Leo, he’s immune to fire. Shit, I’ll go with some fuckin’ water balloons, Ares and I have tangled before, I’m more than happy to pummel him again,’ Annabeth reigns him in since Piper’s vision showed the two of them, they table the discussion for the moment and decide to just get going. The sea serpent is eyeing them, they decide to fly instead of sail. Off they go to Sparta!

They arrived in Sparta. Piper shared her dream about the giant waiting for them and shit, and Percy crossed his arms. His face darkened, lips twisting into a snarl, and all the pipes in the ship burst. Piper jumped. Somewhere else in the ship, she heard Leo yelp. 

“Carajo mierda! ¿Qué carajo, Percy!” Leo cursed loudly in Spanish as water and various other liquids started to leak through the walls. 

Percy didn’t react. 

“That’s it,” he said darkly, his voice lower than Piper had ever heard it. It rumbled from deep in his chest and she swore she could feel it in her bones. “I’m coming with you.”

Piper tried not to let on just how terrified she was. Percy had always been scary, even without trying to be. But ever since he and Annabeth had returned from Tartarus, it was like Percy was barely able to reign himself in anymore and Annabeth had taken to just watching him with a knowing glint in her eye whereas before she would have stopped him before he went too far. Percy’s mere presence set Piper on edge, her fight-or-flight instinct rearing its head the moment he entered a room. 

Piper knew that he would never hurt her or any of their friends on purpose, but after what Leo had told her about what happened with Nike, well. She just hoped they didn’t ever get caught in the crossfire. 

Right then, Piper was barely resisting the urge to flee as Percy glared at her and Annabeth, daring them to tell him no. Piper tried not to let her legs shake. Annabeth just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms right back. 

“Absolutely not, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth said sternly and raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend. “Piper and I are more than capable of taking care of ourselves, and as much as I don’t want to leave your side either, Percy, we have to remember what the Giants said. They need the blood of a man and a woman to wake Gaea. If there really is a Giant waiting for us down there, we can’t send one of each; we’d just be giving them exactly what they want.” 

Percy growled low in his throat and Piper jumped when thunder cracked though the sky. 

“I don’t like this any more than you do, Percy, but the thunderstorm and exploding pipes are unnecessary. Honestly, if you don’t stop blowing up the plumbing, I think Leo might strangle you.” Annabeth said with a light laugh as she stepped forward to place her palms flat against his chest. 

Piper watched with wide eyes as Annabeth met Percy furious gaze with an indulgent smile, completely at ease even as the ship rocked from the force of the winds summoned alongside Percy’s storm by his anger. 

Annabeth bounced up on her tiptoes to give Percy a quick kiss. Percy let out a resigned sigh as his face melted into a soft grin. He slumped at the fight visibly drained from him and shook his head. 

“One of these days I’ll remember how futile it is to try and argue with you,” he said with a chuckle, and every trace of his frightening display of anger and power washed away by a kiss from his girlfriend. He sighed again. “I really, really don’t like this,” he said pointedly, “But I know you’re more than capable of handling yourself and I have no right to stop you.” He leaned down and kissed Annabeth languidly, one hand coming up to cup her jaw and the other tangling in her hair. “I guess I should go apologize to Leo and help clean up the mess I made,” he said when they finally parted for air. “Promise me you’ll be safe, Wise Girl.” 

Annabeth smiled. “Of course I will, Seaweed Brain. You’re still not getting rid of me that easily.” She gave him one more quick kiss before waving him off as they both laughed. She watched her boyfriend disappear around the corner with a tender look on her face. 

Then, she sighed and turned to Piper, her face settling into a determined mask. “Come on,” she said. “We’d better get going before he decides he’s coming anyway, my reasoning be damned.” 

Annabeth and Piper head off to do their thing. Very little changes here. Their conversation on the hill goes a little differently since Annabeth isn’t afraid of Percy and the Akhlys thing (actually she thought it was pretty hot, Percy offering to kill a goddess for her). Annabeth had told Piper some of the stuff that happened Down There, but the ‘ranked list of scary things that happened’ is more Piper’s thing than Annabeth’s. Annabeth was scared, of course, never of Percy, though, but rather of y’know, the possibility of dying and not making it back to their friends and losing Percy and stuff like that. When she talked about scary things Percy had done, it wasn’t with fear, it was always with admiration and love and a lot of ‘gods, I love him’s thrown in. Piper was the one to label his actions scary. Annabeth mooned over them. 

So when Piper is like “You’re thinking about Percy,” and they have their little feelings talk, Annabeth doesn’t talk about how he scared her standing there at the edge of Chaos threatening a goddess, but instead she talks about how incredible it was to watch him reduce a goddess to begging for mercy, how much she loved him for being willing to do whatever it took for them to make it out of there, how thrilling the knowledge was that he’d have killed Akhlys if she’d asked him to, how exhilarating it felt to have that kind of power and control over a situation. 

Piper is trying very hard not to freak out. Because seriously. What the fuck, Annabeth. But she manages to keep her cool (at least outwardly) and then there’s the surge of fear and the topic shifts and Annabeth mentions how terrifying it was to be blinded and separated from Percy by the arai, the bone-deep fear she’d felt when Bob healed her and she saw Percy on the ground, covered in blood and barely hanging on as he struggled to breathe, learning that he was dying of gorgon’s blood and there was nothing Bob could do to help him. Piper comforts her and then they notice the flame geysers. 

They go to check those out, Annabeth is frustrated she can’t find a pattern, Piper figures out they’re not logical, they’re emotional, and she jumps down the hole. Annabeth follows a moment later after she anchored a rope and Piper cut off the dragon head spouting the flames. They realize it’s a temple of fear, not just of Ares, and it’s fucking with their emotions. The Giant appears to taunt them, and they take off running. 

Annabeth is spiraling, she is definitely having a Very Not Good Time. Piper is doing her best to snap Annabeth out of it, but Mimas is Not helping and it's just a rough time all around. Mimas keeps taunting them, Piper keeps quipping right back. She talks about her godly brothers, Deimos and Phobos, and then Mimas makes his mistake. 

He insults Damasen. 

Annabeth attacks him in a fury and does some serious damage in her rage. 

Things go south for them again. Piper coaches Annabeth to stop trying to plan and just feel things, listen to her gut. Annabeth admits that she doesn’t think she can do that. 

Piper tells her to focus on getting revenge for Bob and Damasen. 

Annabeth is quiet for a moment, and then she says, “I’m good now,” and commits terrible acts of violence against Mimas <3 

Piper makes her sacrifice to the makhai, only since she doesn’t have the cornucopia, she instead slices her forearm and lets her blood drip onto the statue. Then she frees the makhai, they make their deal with her, and Mimas dies. 

Piper and Annabeth haul ass back to the Argo II and then they continue on their way. 

A few days later, after heading back out to sea and deciding to sail instead of fly while Jason was down for the count, they got caught in a massive storm. 

[objectingtotheobjects]

One Piece Episode 150

So they kidnap the birds to find the island and the birds hold contempt over this? The bird controls the bugs with its call. And pigs some how?

Spring spring just needs a kick into the sea

I feel like no one in this series is this over the top evil without some intense tragic backstory though. Everyone is justifiable in their own eyes at some point

The straw hats are on kill a man mode. Luffy can handle it in an hour and a bit

UPDATED WANTED POSTERS!! THE CREW FINALLY GET TO SEE EM!! (Or not maybe just the town)

Let's go 100, 000, 000 bounty boy

Episode 151

If looting is what pirates do, don't object when your ass is handed to you and you are looted

He's great at taking a hit, but he's even better at handing em out

Is this fight gonna be kinda funny and goofy? Please? Springy boy and rubber boy sounds so silly

Nope he's getting mad. This is about to be badass

Oh the hit

OH THE IMPRINT AND THE BLOOD DRIPS

10 minutes of some of the best art I've seen yet in this series. Love the simplicity of the fight, love the pure casual violence that really proves luffy is dominant when it comes to power in the area. Really gotta love the effective threat from the remaining blood on his had when he points to the sky, this is just such good main character energy from a character who let's me forget hes the main character in certain side character driven episodes

WELCOME BACK MIHAWK

I LOVE YOUR TINY SHIP

7 warlords, I should pay better attention here. Doflamingo intro!!

Bartholomew bear man!

Someone has strangling powers

White beard looks different than I'd pictured. A lil taller

Lafeet belongs to blackbeard pirates, is that who the familiar guy from before is?

Yes apparently

He's got a D too? Cool, I hope he's not a problem

Episode 152

Do they finally go up in this epsiode?? I feel like Larry in the silent film from VeggieTales (that's a mildly niche reference that maybe doesn't overlap here much, oops) I've been waiting so long

SHE GOT A MAKE-OVER (yay ship Dr appointment)

A chicken goat is my new favorite Mythical creature in one piece

LOVE the pile of stress cigarettes beside old man chestnut

Never stop believing!! No one has ever disproved it as much as no one has ever proved it

The Going Marry is so tiny compared to the new average of ships we see, so cute

The bird is tormented by its biological compulsions vs petty urges and rage I relate though I don't point south

RIDE A SEA KING UP BOYS, YOU DONT NEED THE STREAM. USE A MONSTERRR

(Jokes on the straw hats, this was a long con to destroy the boat so monkey bros can salvage it, they never had good intentions haha)

OH I LOVE HOW SCARED THEY ARE I LOVE HOW THAT DROPPED

Go chicken marry!

FLY!

Or not

Cockblocked

They finally know!! Yasssss!!

AND NOW WE FLY!!

Oh this feels good. I like this clima

THEY REALLY FLY

They left the jet stream! Oh this is hype!!

Episode 153

Everything takes so long to do but it also always feels like a big pay off

Blackbeard's pirates are good natured and evil and I love them for it

Did Usopp just do a suicide

Would the devil fruit water weakness activate in clouds? Or is that still submerged in water? The characters seem to think so but has it been tested?

👁 SHE CAN PUT HER EYES ON THE HANDS WOAH WHAT DOES HER DEVIL FRUIT ACTUALLY DO????

Monsters made of air to float in the sky ocean? Are they balloon monsters? Sky fish apparently

And they're tastey

It's hard to fight in thin air. Luffy should be able to expand his lungs. I like the soldier for hire

White sea, blue sea, white white sea

Got it.

So its pretty much "Yeah we rawdogged up the ancient way" most of them should have died??

I love sir sky knight and Pierre. Pierre is an abomination ♡♡

The scenery in this place is so pretty

That's a gate alright. YAY AFTERLIFE METAPHORS

"Can we say all of the above" got a solid cackle from me. They are truely there for an all round experience

Do they have to count chopper as a person? They could get a discount (also lucky they added those wing handles for Mr grabby hands the lobster)

I love this angel's voice ratting them out to make them go on evil rollercoaster to heaven

[mariamermaid]

Joelle- Chapter 1

Summary: Joelle Coleman lived, since she could remember, in the circus. In the year 1936 there was a time, where the circus la d'or rosé came to New York, where it pitched its tents and planned on staying there over the winter break. For exactly three months Jo would stay in New York and go hunt her little adventures. The winter of 1936 in New York changes everything and her fate becomes entangled with that of the so-called Winter Soldier.

Words: 1.4k

Warning: Swearing, Alcohol

Masterlist

15th November, 1836

On the 15th November James Buchanan Barnes had finally persuaded his best friend Steve Rogers to go with him to the evening performance to the circus. Since a few days the circus had arrived and so, the two would not only be witnesses of a white lion and many other exotic animals, but they would witness Joelle Coleman as well. Never have they seen anything or anybody that glided through the air so elegant and feathery like her. She seemed to be a magical elf flying in the night sky of the big tent. Her expression was strong, charismatic and unforgettable.

Her mother called it the Joelle-effect; in 1933 Jo wandered through the streets of London and summed a song called Summer Love by an utterly unknown band. After this fateful day, the song ballooned to the top of the charts and became a real hit. In Paris she was able to buy a cyan dress in a boutique for 40% cheaper (the salesman was not able to concentrate in her presence) and a few weeks later, nobody was able to explain, why the color cyan was suddenly so popular. With her performances she was able to cast a spell on the whole audience and for them, it seemed like a wonderful dream. And after the show they may talk about the exotic animals, but in the end, they'll think back who the girl behind a mask of make-up was. 

That was the Joelle-effect, which was experienced by Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers on this evening. After the show, they strolled through the animal enclosures, where people were allowed to see the animals again. Neither of the two friends said it, but they both thought back to the mysterious girl. 

"What do think how she did it?" Bucky asked his friend and didn't even need to mention, who he was talking about. "I think she used a special fuel. It's probably made out of..." 

"Hey look!" Bucky interrupted his friend and shook him on his shoulder, until Steve turned into the shown direction. Behind a few enclosures was a slit of the tent, that lead into a different part of the tent. And there she stood. A thin coat covering her costume, her hair up in a lose ponytail. "Come on let's go talk to her!" Bucky exclaimed. 

"What? But Buck..." Steve wanted to complain, but then they already stood in front of her. With furrowed eyebrows Jo examined the two young men. 

"What do you want here? Spectators are not allowed to be here." She said in a monotonic voice. "How do you wanna know that we're spectators?" Bucky asked and his lips formed a charming smile. Her lips twitched, then she put on a smile as well. 

"Ahhh..." She said with an understanding undertone, while raising her eyebrow arrogating. "You must be the lion feed that I'm supposed to give Charlie." She said with a bittersweet smile. Steve swallowed hard when thinking about the Lion and even Buckys laugh sounded unusually nervous. He raised his hands in the air, yielding and then sighed. 

"All right, doll. You win, we are spectators." He admitted and smiled truthfully at the girl. But she kept her cool and didn't let herself be ruffled by Buckys flattering way of complimenting her. That was new to Bucky. She kept going and doing her work, while ignoring the two boys who followed her. "Actually, we just wanted to stop by saying that you're show was really amazing." Jo barely listened. Of course, it was nice to get compliments, but at the end of the day, she could spare them. She was still on her way feeding animals and arrived at the enclosure for the zebras. She stepped into the enclosure while Steve and Bucky waited outside. Bucky didn't give up and casually, he put up his right foot onto the metal bar and his elbows leaned on the upper pole. He tried to compliment her again with well wrapped up verbalizations, but Steve recognized that it didn't work. 

"It was a special fuel, right?" He interrupted and for the first time this evening, spoke up in Jos presence. She immediately gave him her full attention. Buckys jaw fell down and confused he looked between the two. Normally girls were oh so flattered by Buckys charming smile and they didn't even deign to look at Steve. Finally, she spoke up again, her eyes still laying on the small boy. "Yes." Then she waited, seeing if he was actually interested and then kept speaking. 

"It is Gustav's special recipe." Her head nodded towards the direction of a dark corner, where a tall muscular man with a dark beard stood. In his hands he played with a few knifes, his eyes laying dangerously on Steve and Bucky. Steve couldn't even think about how long he had stood there. "But actually we're here for you." Bucky said and brought the attention back and her mysterious eyes met his blue ones. Joelle put on her smile again and with her angel like shape and her sneaky smile, she seemed like the devil herself. Beautiful and dangerous. "And what exactly do you want from me?" Barnes hoped that she couldn't tell that his hands were shaking, but without lowering her eyes she realized it and her smile began to grow. 

"Well we wanted to ask if you wanna go out with us?" 

"And what could we possibly do?" Bucky's mouth got dry and usually the words slipped out of his mouth so elegant with ease. "Ice skating." Steve answered quickly and the moment those words left his mouth, Bucky wanted to take them back. Because James Buchanan Barnes could not ice skate for the life of his. But now it was too late. 

"Alright." She consented and elegantly she jumped over the fence. "I'll go with you ice skating."

Since it was certain that they were going ice skating, Bucky was unusually quiet and from time to time he gave Steve an evil glare. Steve shrugged innocently right before Joelle stepped out of her trailer again. Instead of her costume she wore a modern red coat, a loose skirt and high boots. She had taken off her make-up and her skin was glowing. Her hair was still up, now hiding under a cap. She smiled at the two boys, who replied with a sheepishly grin. She walked down the stairs and the last two she jumped down, then she linked her arms with Steve's and Bucky's. Steve was taken by surprise by her action, habitually he was not even existing for girls and now for the first time in a long time, he wasn't ignored.

"So, Steve", she looked to Steve. "Bucky, what are up to these days?" She looked over to Bucky, who was taller than her. 

"We're planning on joining the army, Miss." Bucky explained. She laughed. 

"Oh for god's sake! You can call me Jo!" Bucky watched her from the side. "Jo?" Her laugh softened, but she was still smiling. 

"Joelle, I was born in France. My dad is American, my mother is French." Bucky nodded understanding. "There is the ice rink." Steve explained and showed the direction with his finger. It was a small frozen lake. Above the shimmering ice hung lampions and fairy lights, which were reflected by the lake. An older man greeted Bucky and Steve and by all appearances, they knew him. They greeted each other like old friends. Steve and Jo were quick to stay on the ice, but Bucky took his time to put on his skates. He bent down to tie his second skate when Jo slid towards him. 

"Hey Bucky you coming?" She asked challenging, but when looking in his eyes, she softened. Bucky didn't answer. 

"Hey if you wanted to talk to me, you need to skate with me. You wanted to talk to me, didn't you?" She grinned complacent again. "Or are you afraid?" That was enough to break down his reserve. He knew she was tricking him, but he still gave in. One foot after foot he sat them down on the ice. Steve was already skating more rounds while watching the two in amusement. There was something about Jo he really liked.

Since it was a lake, there were not boards to hold onto, so Jo put out her hand. Bucky looked at her, the sparks in her eyes told him that she meant it and her warm smile gave him bravery. He took her hand and his finger interlaced with hers. The first steps were shaky, but it didn't take long until it already improved. Jo could easily skate backwards, which wasn't surprising at all, but with time she could skate next to Bucky, her hand still holding his. If someone one of the three fell, they laughed but then they helped getting up again. And that's how they all became friends and their friendship would last longer, then they could imagine. 

[miss-andromeda]

Andi's Birthday

-Side note, I own none of these pictures! These all came from Pinterest 💜-

Here's what to be expected between Donnie and Andi - after they finally start dating 💜🩷

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And now the blurb, called Chopsticks and Conspiracies 🩷

As the day started to wind down, Andi was laughing as she and Donnie were on her rooftop, eating some takeout that they had ordered from Murakami’s restaurant. She tried not to choke on her miso ramen as she leaned against him, still giggling over the story he had just told. “So you’re telling me that Shredder’s henchmen, who’ve had years of training and were arguably 100 times stronger because of the mutagen…they were taken down by Mikey throwing a water balloon into a leaking van of chlorosulfonic acid?”

When he nodded with a bright smile on her face, she stifled another laugh as she rested her head on his shoulder. “Only you guys could get into such…dumb situations, I swear.” 

She smiled as Donnie kissed the top of her head. “Friendly reminder that we were saving you in the process, so I wouldn’t have such an attitude.” He teased her, making her roll her eyes. “But it’s fine, I’d save you as many times as you needed.” He added, intentionally making his face sound as saccharine and sappy as possible - which only made her laugh again. 

“Stop making me laugh so hard, you’re gonna make it impossible for me to eat.”

Donnie abided by her wish, merely smiling at her as he went back to eating his pizza gyoza - still the only item that he and his brothers ordered from Murakami’s. “I’ll never stop trying to make you laugh, enchantress.” He told her after swallowing, only making her smile back. 

“Not when I’m eating. And especially not when I’m eating something as amazing as Mr. Murakami’s miso ramen.” She clarified, trying (and failing) to eat the aforementioned dish with the chopsticks Murakami had so graciously supplied her with - so she could practice. But it wasn’t working the way she wanted, and Donnie could see on her face that she was getting frustrated. 

“Here, let me help.” He smiled softly, setting aside the gyoza and turning to her. He adjusted her fingers so that she was holding them properly, then leaned in to kiss her temple. “Want to try now?”

When she nodded, she tried to bring her hand down to pick up some noodles - but then her hand spasmed and the chopsticks went flying, hitting herself in the face and making her groan in exasperation. 

“Don’t be upset, you just need a little more practice.” Donnie assured her, kissing the spot between her eyebrows where the chopsticks hit, then took the chopsticks away from her and smiled softly at her. “I’ll go get you a fork.” He offered, then stood before she could protest and climbed down from the roof to go into her apartment. 

He grabbed a clean fork from her silverware drawer, then made his way back up to her on the roof. He handed it to her with a little smile, which she lightly sent back as she used that to stir the ramen in the plastic container. 

“Thanks. I guess that’s one thing I need to learn before I finally become an adult.” She remarked as Donnie took his place next to her. “Is to use these accursed things..” She glared at the now discarded chopsticks lying next to her, making Donnie snicker. 

“How about I teach you at another time? When you don’t look like you want to murder two pieces of wood.” 

Andi couldn’t help but smile at how ridiculous that sounded, but he had a point. “All right, all right.” She then started to snicker as she took another portion of her ramen. “You know what I’ve actually been thinking about that’s kind of stupid?”

“What’s that?” Donnie asked with a curious smile, before popping another gyoza into his mouth. 

Andi tried not to choke as she looked up at the evening sky, her eyes going right to the beautiful sunset. “What if, like, our lives were being watched by some unknown audience? Kinda like a reality show, but we have no idea we’re being watched?”

Donnie snickered as he swallowed the gyoza. “You’re right, that is kind of stupid.”

Andi playfully gasped as she lightly hit his plastron. “I’m insulted you would actually agree with me!” But she quickly deteriorated, giggling against his shoulder. “I don’t know if I’m just tired or what, but just imagine…”

“I think this is just your mind being excited about your birthday, and you’re using that energy to come up with some type of conspiracy theory.”

Andi hummed in acknowledgment. “Maybe.” She smiled when he kissed the top of her head, then glanced up at him softly. “I appreciate you putting up with my dumb theories, though, professor.”

Donnie only smiled back. “It’s not ‘putting up,’ it’s just enjoying your company and accepting that as my girlfriend, this is what’s to be expected.”

“That’s still putting up, though.”

“You know what, don’t question it and just kiss me, birthday girl.”

Andi laughed at his sudden bluntness but did as he asked, kissing him softly on the lips and reveling in the smile that broke out on his face.

And as they pulled away (and both their faces started to become bathed in the golden afterglow of the sunset,) she met his eyes with utter sincerity - and nearly melted when he pushed some hair back and smiled at her. “Happy birthday, Andi.”

Andi's eyes melted as her smile turned as warm and inviting as possible. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

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Happy birthday to my girl 🩷

@tinkabelle19 @red-phoenixxx @android-cap-007 @eveandtheturtles @m1dnyt3-w0lf @thelaundrybitch @happymoonangel