#this is about the change of a specific one. he was someone before and he will be someone after

[starsintheskyandtheeye]

"So why the fluff piece," Jimmy asked, leaning up against the shelves by Lois's desk. Since ghosts didn't show up well on camera Perry had him working with Cat on a high society wedding over making the article look like a product of cheap ghost hunting. This was the first time he'd seen Lois, or Clark, since before they'd gone back to what was apparently ghost central station.

"You mean instead of talking about the near literal war going on between LexCorp and half a dozen religions? Or those religions spinning desperately with the fact that ghosts are real and don't want to talk to them? Or something about the scientific discoveries that lead to this mess, or the ones since? Or literally anything other than a fluffy morality piece," Lois answered, spinning slowly in her chair as she did, to stare pointedly at her partner. "I don't know Jimmy, why don't you ask Clark."

Clark smiled beatifically at his partner's sore loser behavior and it showed in his voice as he spoke directly to Jimmy. "Those are the headlines topics in all the other big papers right now, yes. But do you know why those are the big topics?" Clark saw Jimmy's confused look, and Lois's eye roll, and said, "Wait, I'll rephrase, do you know why all the other papers are reporting on the fallout from the news?"

"Ohhhhhh," Jimmy said, understanding. "Very clever CK. We've got the only published interview with an actual ghost, and they're all focusing on boring old humans.

"Still though, why the general fluff instead of a specific point?"

"Do you know how hard it is to interview a teenager," Lois answered, annoyed at the memory. "Much less a dead one," she said, a little more subdued. "We were originally going to focus more on Phantom's life and death, or the nature of the afterlife, or on how exactly the crossing over happened."

"So why didn't you? Those both sound like your usual stuff."

"Like she said, evidently the teenage ability to avoid the subject remains after death," Clark said, remembering the way the kid had managed to politely, firmly, and slightly desperately changed the subject every other time they asked a question. He hadn't heard someone change the subject that many times in one sentence since he'd asked Bruce how Selina was doing on her trip to Themyscira.

"And, much as I hate to pin my name to anything sweet and fluffy," Lois said, "It's the right article to write right now. Public opinion is fickle, showing people the humanity of these guys important. You've seen how much emphasis LexCorp is putting on the dangerous aspect and those mad scientists having so much of their work focused on studying them like animals."

"This changes the tone," Clark said, picking up the thread where Lois lost it to future story threads. "People will read it because it's the first ever verifiable interview with a ghost. And while they're reading it they'll see something a lot calmer than anything else being published right now. A story about a different culture, and a very relatable person on the face of it.

"It makes sense," Jimmy acknowledges, "but I'd hate to be in between Lois and her next story. Especially if she goes after Luthor like I heard Perry talking about." Lois focused on Jimmy at that, with a hint of the look that made him so concerned for her next story subject.

"Did Perry okay me to write another piece directly about Luthor?"

"Not sure, I just heard him saying something about the Ghost Investigation Ward with your name, his, and 'inevitable.'"

Lois's grin was downright predatory. Jimmy winced a bit and looked to Clark to support. Clark was smiling softly at his partner as she whipped her chair back to her desk to begin typing.

"Oh that reminds me Jimmy, did you get those pictures of LexCorp's water treatment facilities? Perry's busy and I think he'll be okay with it if I pick one to go with my article about lead pipes in Metropolis."

"Yeah CK, I got them like you asked, a couple where the sign is front and center and a couple where it's mostly pipes with a few branded junction box type things. I'd go with the pipes, it looks technical and gets your message across more subtly."

Clark grinned a smaller version of Lois's scary smile. He thought a moment then told Jimmy. "You should go with Lois next time. You're the best photographer I know. I'm sure you can get something usable, or at least interesting from the ghosts."

"Just Lois? Not you both?"

"Probably not no. Superman was there last time, and said that he'd be working a lot in Metropolis soon," Clark coughed a bit then said, "Apparently he went with us to take a look at what LexCorp was doing. We found some leads so I'm going to be staying here to report any developments as they happen."

"I can't decide if you're a great guy for giving Lois all the scoops on literal ghosts or a very smart guy for finding a way to keep all the scoops on what our own literal alien celebrity is doing."

"He's a menace and I'm so glad you're finally noticing Olsen," Lois chimed in without looking up.

"Oh definitely a great guy," Clark said. "Just a simple farm boy right here."

Respect for the Dead

By Lois Lane and Clark Kent

1,436 words

By now most of the world has been shaken by the news.

Ghosts are real! And ghosts are in danger! The original publication written by Lois Lane can be found here but we are not here to follow that well trodden avenue of discussion.

Here at the Daily Planet we have elected to focus on speaking to the ghosts themselves, rather than debate their existence alongside our fellow papers. During the hunt for the new source of Kryptonite that sparked this discovery Lois Lane made contact with one Danny Phantom. Originally he chose to anonymous but since the outpouring of support from much of the world he has since chosen to come forward publicly.

Given that the ghostly teenager is operating as a hero similar to our own Superman much of his personal history could not be shared. What was safe to share however was very different from what this reporting team had been expecting.

We had gone in prepared to hear the story of what caused a ghost that looks like a schoolboy to lead a life of ghostly vigilantism.

What we got was sweetly sarcastic individual giving us amusing anecdotes of his start as a hero, descriptions of the stranger habits he's gained since his death, and many many tips on how to politely interact with a ghost. At our confusion (who knew there were so many different types of ghost!) Phantom went on to explain and correct several common misconceptions about ghosts. So without further ado; here are the highlights of that discussion.

We begin with what was given to us as the number one rule of human/ghost etiquette. Never ask the individual, be they glowing werewolf, ghostly lunch-lady, or undead rock star, about the circumstances of their death.

It seems simple does it not? A matter of everyday politeness, and yet that is the number one reason for communication breakdowns between ectoplasmic entities and still living humans. Fortunately for the health of the interview this reporting team did not make that mistake. Phantom did not explain the nature of the offense but did not need to. It was clear that the, until then, friendly conversation would have ended abruptly if we had gone any farther down that path.

What we were encouraged (and warned) to talk to a ghost about was their obsession. As Phantom explained, "It's what drives a ghost, why we are still here, or why we formed at all."

When asked about his own obsession Phantom laughed a bit and said, "I'm a bit young for a ghost, so I don't really have one yet, I bounce around a lot. My doctor, he's a yeti, says it's normal for me though! The options are all over the place though. I know one ghost that haunts the high school to prevent bullying, a really nice guy. Another just wants to have her music heard by the world. Unfortunately her music brainwashes people to love her so we aren't super close. Or another that is all about granting wishes, but not in a singing blue genie way, in a fairy tale way, it's a mess whenever she gets over here."

That seems to be a common theme in ghostly/human interaction. Ghosts largely mean no harm but the pursuit of their own obsessions can have devastating effects on any that stand between them and their goal. Something to keep in mind if you're ordering pizza when the Box Ghost is at large.

Hoping it wouldn't cross into the realm of ghostly faux pas we went on to ask how old Phantom is. Once again Phantom seemed somewhat awkward although no more than what seemed to be his baseline when talking to (self claimed) famous reporters, saying only, "Time works differently in the realms. It can be really weird sometimes, you'll be talking to someone that looks like a toddler only to learn that they were last in a human world during the 1400s or something."

As Phantom continued to share however, the everlasting aspect seemed to be the least interesting part of the Infinite Realms, or the Ghost Zone as the Doctors Fenton, previously mentioned as ghostly experts here, call the place where the vast majority of ghosts dwell.

Ghostly yetis practicing medicine, while certainly not the least of the inhabitants were just the start. Phantom went on to share with us a sampling of the being he has encountered in his travels, medieval women moonlighting as temperamental dragons, the very concept of time, a warden of any ghosts that cross his path, and of course the ubiquitous creepy toddler so often featured on the silver screen.

According to Phantom up until extremely recently (whether by ghostly or human terms we were unable to determine) the Infinite Realms was closed off from our own home except for the occasional haunting. Which was explained to us by the telling of what was, to Phantom, a very funny joke about pop culture influencing ghost culture as people died and brought it over with them. From this we can glean several things. That the realms of the living and the dead have never been so far apart as it would have seemed to the living. That the near future will hold many changes as major religions, governments, and the common people hear what the dead have to say as they weigh in on what respect for the dead really means. And that while many things do translate, ghostly humor is not one of them.

Although of course that may be that, despite his real age being possibly many times our own - combined, Phantom is still eternally a teenager. And a teenagers jokes are often incomprehensible to any who do not share that state.

When asked about the sudden ghostly interest in our own living Earth Phantom had this to say, "Lots of ghosts want to go to the lands of the living. Especially anyone that used to be alive themselves. And anyone that didn't is curious what the fuss is about. Earth is so different from the ghost zone but it's still where a lot of us came from. If someone gets a chance to hop through the portal they'll go, to see how things have changed, or to keep things from changing, or just to stretch their obsessions. Really it's a chance to go home, just for a little while," he said, reminding us that for all they look like aliens ghosts are just as human as you or I.

With a few caveats.

The portal Phantom spoke of is an invention by the Doctors Fenton, Ectobiologists. Up until recently Jack and Maddie Fenton had been the worlds foremost ghostly experts, building a portal to the "Ghost Zone" in order to study what up until recently had been considered to be a non-sentient classification of emotional ectoplasmic imprintation.

We spoke to the researchers after our interview with Phantom, at his request. Despite the recent evidence come to light the couple remain the foremost (living) human scientists in the field. When asked about the setback to their work they had this to say, "We were devastated of course. To learn that we won't be able to study spooks -" Jack Fenton broke off there, at an extremely well executed elbow jab from Maddie Fenton who then said. "We got an extreme tunnel vision, a hazard of obsessive science. We were told we were wrong about the existence of ghosts for so long that we forgot to check that we were correct about their nature. We look forward to pivoting to ghostly anthropology and human/ghost interaction technology."

Ultimately we did not learn any groundbreaking secrets, but then if a ghost willing to go on record ( a written record at least, our recorded transcript of the conversation was near unusable due to static) you sit down and listen. We can never anticipate what a reader will take from an article but if we could make a suggestion? In this reporting teams opinion, the balance of ghost and human realms is not unlike the inversion of a mirror. We are reflections of one another. Opposite, yes, and dangerous to one another for it, but ultimately we are all the same. After all what is a ghost but emotion and ectoplasm (according to current science)? And for all that we try to rise above it, what is a human but emotion and flesh?

Fin.

Coming Soon!

Keep an eye out for top ten tips on ghostly interaction and interviews with the Justice League on diplomatic efforts with GHOSTLY ROYALTY!!

[alacants]

The source of those rumors is a guy from Carlos's family's tennis club who is close to Kiko Navarro & knows some members of Carlos's team & is a regular collaborator with Punto de Break. According to him (he's said this before) Carlos & Juanki had a significant fight towards the end of 2023. But the claim that they nearly split up back then came from someone else who's less reliable.

As for 2025, the first guy says Carlos's dad has apparently not been happy with what Juanki is doing for a while... but it seems like Carlos doesn't agree. If things don't turn around after clay season his family might push for changes to the team.

From my perspective it's hard to understand the coaching strategy sometimes. Like you said Juanki's strength is not tactics but it seems like that's what Carlos really needs. This is just one example but I think it's crazy that he sat on court in silence for three sets without suggesting Carlos change his return position v Djokovic - Carlos eventually figured it out... in the last game of the match. And that was honestly the main factor in him losing. You could argue Juanki wanted him to figure it out himself but why on earth did they not discuss that beforehand when it also cost him massively at the Olympics (which Carlos said he didn't even think about before the match?)

I know Juanki's whole thing is treating team like family but there are a lot top coaches who say that after 5ish years a coach has nothing to give a player anymore & I wonder if their partnership has run its natural course. Carlos doesn't seem any more tactically equipped than he was two years ago & his technicals have mostly not improved either (return... backhand...).

thanks for this background - after replying to some earlier asks i dug around and saw some folks citing punto de break but not any specifics so this is appreciated. this does immediately increase the credibility to me bc i know pdb values their access and would not jeopardize it for nothing lmao. tho if it's like, a guy who sometimes writes for them and is mostly posting on his own time... i guess that's somewhere in the middle. (btw i still haven't seen anything other than reports of reports of reports? if you've got links i would very much appreciate them!)

as usual i think we're looking at two questions here: could carlos benefit from a different coach, and does carlos want a different coach.

i think we are all in agreement that for carlos to continue to develop as a player he needs something he's not getting at the moment, whether we're thinking in terms of incorporating a new addition to the team or making a wholesale switch. and i don't disagree with you at all about the natural lifespan of a coaching relationship. i've cited this before in discussions of juanki's own career (stuck with one guy; was it a mistake?) and of ferru's (split but waited too long; chalked the delay up to personal feelings).

but as long as it's presented to carlos as an all-or-nothing choice i don't think he's there yet and i would not be surprised to find out that his recent post-match declarations were a message. (tbc it very much MIGHT be an all-or-nothing choice, regulars here know i have plenty of thoughts about the academy lmao.)

the thing is that at this point the unknowns are still really, really risky. if you've had the same coach for most of your teen/adult years and you're ready to strike out and try something new, then that's exciting and stimulating and you're in a good place to make the best of it. but if you're dragging your feet? if you feel like you've been pushed? maybe someone else could give you more, but you have to be ready to receive it, you know? if you're an environment that you know enables you overall to perform at a high level (4 grand slams), where you feel overall confident and supported even if you're lacking direction in some big matches, where you get value from your coach's presence above and beyond the specifics of tennis--it is inherently going to be a risk to make a big change and if you're not all in on doing so the risks will be even more likely to find you.

that's why i keep saying is that i don't see it happening unless carlos' results gets much worse than this--or, potentially, unless a voice that holds as much weight with him as juanki's (so, his dad) gets strong enough that he listens to it. that might be where we're headed!

(incidentally i have feinted at this without saying so explicitly, but there is an unbelievable amount of money riding on carlos' success or lack thereof--i don't mean prize money, i mean his brand as a star--and it would be naive to pretend that's not a factor in decision-making. that's one of the reasons i've pointed to a sustained slump, rather than one or two disappointing slams. when the results start to affect the brand.)

just talked this over with friend who compared the ideal set-up to darren/simone for jannik--supervisory coach + tactical/court coach. if so, then the question is whether they come to that same conclusion and get the set-up in place before the decision is out of their hands, so to speak.

[27spoons]

CRUSH | NATALIE'S INTERLUDE ONE

pairing: natalie scatorccio/fem!reader

summary: Natalie just convinced you to attend a party. She honestly didn't expect you to say yes. She mentions it to a friend at practice.

wc: 920

warnings: none

a/n: pre/no-crash lottie was an awkward loner but everyone knew who she was. u arent changing my mind sorry its canon now (sorry for repost forgot to add like a chunk)

ao3 / masterlist

PREVIOUS - ACT ONE: DO I WANNA KNOW?

NEXT - ACT TWO: RIBS (WIP)

NATALIE

"Hell yeah, you will. Maybe I'll even convince you to crack a beer or two. Smoke a cigarette. Real delinquent shit." Nat laughs at that as she begins walking off toward the gym, "See you tonight, Princess!" She calls from over her shoulder, "I'll text you the address!"

In her most calm and collected saunter, she walks out of your view before vanishing behind a wall and immediately letting a tiny, satisfied grin appear on her face.

I didn't think she'd actually say yes. Nat thinks to herself as she walks a familiar path to the locker rooms. I didn't think she did anything besides stuff her nose inside a textbook for fun… 

The blonde grins wider at her inner dialogue—because she'll be damned if she's not constantly the funniest person (aside from Van) in the room. 

It's only when she's opening her gym locker that she realises she's still smiling, which draws a specific teammate's attention, one with a mess of wavy black hair and a narrowed glare, "Why are you smiling?" Comes the voice of a certain Charlotte Matthews—Wisaykok's High School resident "popular loner".

"Not allowed to smile?" Nat quips back, slightly flustered. She was caught grinning like a dumbass. "Or am I only allowed to smile when drugs are involved?" She cringes to herself at the sharp comment because she doesn't even know what the hell possessed her to say that. She knows Lottie didn't mean it like that.

And Lottie knows Nat knows that. "That wasn't what I meant." A slight frown graces the taller girl's features, and she gives a barely perceptible shrug, "Just don't see you smiling like that often."

Now Nat feels terrible. "No…" She sighs, running a thumb over her eyebrow, "It's… I know you didn't mean it like that. It's…" The girl sighs and returns the shrug, clearly her way of an apology. "Didn't mean to snap at you. Not used to people being actually curious."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Lottie murmurs back, having seen her own share of cruel comments over the years about her behaviour. 

An awkward silence passes over the pair as Natalie grabs her cleats and shin guards from her locker before the blonde finally decides to break the tense atmosphere, "Just… invited someone to the party tonight." She shrugs, trying to act like her face didn't begin burning at the admission. 

Lottie notices it, unfortunately for Nat. "Seriously? Someone other than your usual crowd?" She pushes herself off the locker, "Who? Anyone I—"

"Nope!" Nat cuts her off, closing the locker too loud to play it off as anything other than her being flustered. "No one you know."

"Does he go to another school?" Lottie rolls her eyes, "Come on. Give me something."

"She," Nat clarifies, "goes to this school."

The olive-skinned girl's eyes widen in slight shock, "She? I thought you said—"

"I know what I said." Nat snaps as she sits down on a bench with a huff, "I dunno. There's just…" A frown appears, then vanishes just as quickly as it came, "Something about her. I wouldn't say she's… cool…" The blonde waves one hand as the other slides her shin guard on, "But she's… different."

"Different, how?"

Nat shrugs as she puts her other guard on, "I don't think she gives a fuck about what the rumours say, for starters." This is obviously something that weighs heavily on her, based on how her tone quiets at the words. "I mean, yeah, she's mentioned it a few times, but it'd honestly be weird if she didn't, y'know? It'd be like…" Nat hesitates, thinking of a good analogy that would describe the situation best, "Meeting Al Capone and not asking about all the shit he did during Prohibition."   

A beat.

"Did you seriously just compare yourself to Al Capone, Natalie?"

The groan that's pulled from Natalie's throat might be the most grouchy sound she's made in her life thus far. "That was not what I meant, and you know it." 

She finishes tying her cleats and stands up, walking out to the field alongside Lottie, "I just meant… I'd probably ask questions about me, too. Ninety-nine percent of the population only knows the fucking rumours." 

Nat huffs and crosses her arms, then forms a deep scowl when she sees some kid with a camera walking out to talk with Coach Martinez. "And now we need to take fucking team photos. Are you shitting me? They couldn't wait until soccer season starts? Had to do it when we're just running practices?"

Lottie rolls her eyes and grins faintly at Nat's annoyance, "You know you'd complain about it if it was during the regular season, right?"

A sharp elbow to Lottie's side, earning a choked laugh from the taller girl as Nat mutters a curse under her breath, "Not the point." 

When Lottie recovers, she gives Nat's shoulder a short push and nods her head towards where the team has started gathering, "For the record, we'll be talking about this later."

"No, we won't." Nat immediately replies in an irritable mutter, "We will never talk about this again."

"Mhm, whatever you say, Crash."

"And I told you to stop calling me that. It was one time!" Nat shoves at Lottie, but it's hard to fight the way her mood has shifted for the better at the teasing. This, at least, is familiar territory. 

"One time too many, Crash."

"I hate you."

"Sure. You're standing next to me, by the way."

"...fine."

a/n: by the end of this fic i promise i'll learn something about soccer

[starberry-cupcake]

I'm trying the post-it method and it's really messy but, if it helps, I'll keep it up, because I feel like live-reading doesn't help me out with processing this as much as going back on notes does...god, I sound like palmolive...

previously, in nona del 9:

this happened

this is the general tag for all the recaps I've done

CHAPTER 8 (third house skull, which, I guess, but tangentially)

sriracha girlie from school is still on the case and asks nona to up her game in the surveillance task and pretend she's on a radio call

she doesn't elaborate but I doubt it'd help nona understand much anyway if she does

she's just happy to help

nona has to put little boots in the six-legged dog's feet before going out into the scorching heat, though

it's the summer here, so I feel you, noodle

(bonus info: our new puppy apparently has been aptly named because she has 0 fear and is trying to jump into the pool head first like a maniac)

so nona, because she has no preservation skills either, just like our puppy, thinks is a good idea to pretend like she's talking to coronabeer

she still calls her "crown", but it doesn't make me feel any more ok with her pretend calling coronabeer of all people

wasn't she with BOE and whatnot? what if the enemy is listening?

she invites her to her birthday party on the beach

and I might be too cautious but I know better than to share so much information in the wild outdoors where someone could listen

like 'I'm gonna be in this location at this day, please come steal from me or whatever'

maybe it's just my latine self talking, but be careful out there

how do they trust this girl to not be a hazard on her own?

she's like 8 years old

oh, great, I sound like mercygirl now

nona starts drowsing off and a bible chapter comes in, which people have told me is her sleeping

gonna remind everyone I didn't find that out on my own

that's not a victory for me

JOHN 15:23

"Whoever hates me hates my Father as well" is the bible verse in this one

well, then

I haven't read the bible this much since I was in my second school (out of 4)

so here we are again with dr. reverend emperor john buttface's monologue

there's a distraction tactic possibility to get him killed, if we ever need one

he mentions the eye color change as things get weird with their experiments

and says cassiopeia?? potentially? or cyrus? told him he looked like edward cullen "from that old movie twilight"

like I'm not gonna clock dr. reverend emperor john having read twilight with his own two changing eyes

so dr reverend emperor john the menace and his terrible lyctors start doing awful things to the corpses that aren't rotting

allegedly due to dr reverend emperor john "loving them"

whatever that means

and the corpses remain undamaged

what I'd like to point out here is that these people are deranged and god awful even when they hadn't been 25 million years old

this is them brand new from the package and they're all either terrible or complicit in being terrible

I think cassiopeia is the only one visibly suffering but still, man

these people were always like this, this isn't some "we've been out in space so long we've lost touch with our humanity"

happy out of touch thursday, this is you, this has always been you

dr reverend emperor john starts talking about touching the corpses' hands and feeling them even when they aren't there with him

mercygirl is doubting his sanity

yet still they all followed him to hell, so who's crazier here

they picked two corpses, a guy and a gal, to make more specific experiments on, and he named them ulysses and titania

titania after the shakespeare character

ulysses not after the greek hero

and by controlling their hands from across the room I guess they discover necromancy

he's still talking to harrow through all this

CHAPTER 9 (sixth house skull, but at what cost?????)

sriracha girle tells nona that, after her imaginary phone call with coronabeer, the ceaseless watcher left the building

literally

nobody knows what this means but sriracha girlie is still on the case

then they start hearing shots outside and everyone has their safety precautions but they're all bored about it instead of afraid

wish this was just a fiction thing and not the current world

so everyone gets picked up except for sriracha girle, as ush

camilla comes to pick up nona from school and gets pastries (aka facturas, where I'm from)

camilla is doing the lord's work here

she got them by selling out pyrrha's cigarettes, apparently, which I find a great exchange but I don't smoke, so I'm obviously team facturas

then, we get a nona flashback from a month prior, about the Event which prevents them from going swimming anymore

they used to go to the sea at dusk to have some private time with the water

and by them I mean nona went swimming, because the sea is filled with deadly jellyfish, so they'd kill a regular person, but not nona

she can swim with the jellyfish, which sounds beautiful, actually

the whole swimming description is so relaxing and beautiful and I am hating this heat but I'm grateful for the swimming opportunity it provides

swimming is great

swimming with jellyfish without dying must be great

relaxing moment for 3.5 seconds for everyone

of course things can't be relaxing for too long, this is tlt we're talking about

nona sees some people surrounding camilla and guesses it must be the police

which, in every universe, is a Problem

tons of police men surrounding one woman, yeah, doesn't look great

but I was fine because this is camilla fucking hect we're talking about

no cops at pride, just camilla and knives

nona can't hear their conversation but, at one point, she can hear camilla say "speak House"

which ??????????????????????'

doesn't sound good AT ALL

nona sees one of them pointing a gun and warns camilla, which earns nona a shot through the shoulder

so then, when nona resurfaces, she finds everyone lying motionless and camilla squatting on the sand

and I was like "of course my baby did that"

but then nona looks at her and she's got one camilla eye and one palmolive eye

and is talking like camolive is some sort of dragon ball fusion

they ask nona not to freak out

I'm freaking out

camolive's timer starts going like crazy and they ask nona to drive them home

camilla comes back to herself at this point BUT

she's bleeding everywhere

like, blood coming out of her skin

it's everywhere

nona asks her to get palmolive but camilla says they can't

so nona has to drive them home in the middle of the night with the blood and the salty water and the potential police following

nona thankfully can manage and pyrrha says camilla is in thanergy shock

she says they can never do that again and that if palmolive wasn't sharing a body with her, she'd be kicking his ass

AND I WOULD BE TOO

PALMOLIVE, I SAID IT LAST RECAP, MAN

YOU HAD ONE JOB

KEEPING CAMILLA SAFE

WHAT ARE YOU DOING??????

camilla asks them to not tell palmolive she was "weak"

pyrrha drinks in camilla's honor while she's recuperating and nona asks her why she said goodbye to her if she's gonna be fine

to which pyrrha asks how does she know she was saying goodbye

basically, camilla is not dying but she's also not fine

which I got from the very heavy bleeding, thank you very much doctor pyrrha

if something happens to camilla I swear to whatever god that isn't the monologuing prick in the sleeping chapters I'm gonna go feral

PALMOLIVE I'M GOING TO CHASE YOU DOWN

AND THAT'S IT FOR THIS RECAP!!! I think the post its system is better for me?? I'll figure it out as I go. See you on the next one!!!

[mintmatcha]

miiiiiint, you are cooking with this spollen dynamic! Oooof, Iiida really got hit with that pollen at the right time on reader's relationship with Shouto. I spent the entire time I was doing laundry thinking about what could happen next. i SAW that 'night before it happened' bit. I SAW THAT. i KNOW you're thinking. and i know this could really just blow up in everyone's faces.

so, stay with me, i got to daydreaming about all the ways this could blow up in reader's face. and i got to thinking... you know, reader's really been hanging in there with her relationship with Shouto. She's been with him through all the odds, the stresses of being with a pro hero, and the dynamic with Shouto himself. She's really waited for him. She's worked hard on herself and has been fighting for this relationship to work.

But the comment he made at that dinner... starts to do something to her. Gets her mind turning in a new direction. because it's one thing to think or suspect that your boyfriend might not want a commitment.

especially if it's been wishy-washy, not really spoken of kind of thing. where the most she could get out of him is a vague 'i'm not interested in that right now' where Shouto isn't really motivated to change anything about their relationship dynamic.

except reader always thought he could. that he might be interested in that. someday, maybe.

it's just that Shouto has never been this specific about not wanting a commitment before. and it hits her.

not immediately, maybe as she reflects on things after all that happened that night, after getting away from iida for the night, and has a sudden, startling realization.

Shouto has never wanted a committed relationship with her.

Of course he's never fought for their relationship. this whole time she's thought that he's been fighting for this relationship alongside her, seeking a happy ever after with her. and maybe he has been.

but what he's been fighting for is for her to be happy with their dynamic, happy with their lack of commitment, or more likely for her to just settle into it.

to just get over it.

why would he have been fighting for what she wanted? he's already got what he's wanted with her. the most he had to do was encourage her to get used to it. to deal with it. because that's all this ever was. this is all he ever wanted it to be.

because making changes to ensure their joint happiness has never been his ultimate goal.

his goal has been getting reader to change to maintain his preferred relationship dynamic.

and you know what? reader might be stressed out by all of this, she might be overwhelmed by Iida's insistence and how she keeps going along with the cheating. and she might not be in a solid enough headspace to figure all this out very quickly.

but what if? what if she did?

what if she realized that she and Shouto wanted different things? and of course she cared, of course she loved Shouto.

but constantly giving up your wants and dreams for someone else hardly puts you in a loving frame of mind.

and she wants out.

she knows she can't--won't--get what she wants if she stays with Shouto. but she wants to do this right.

nothing about this has been right, this whole time.

and her relationship with Shouto wasn't right for either of them. but wouldn't it be better, maybe even for the best, if she could make a clean break with Shouto and put a lid on things with Iida for the time being.

she gives it time, comes up with a plan.

she's going to break up with Shouto. for the right reasons.

she's going to do it for her, not to just dump him to get with Iida. she wants to be with iida (she thinks she wants to be with iida, she's just not sure what they could be. she's so confused and likes all his promises to her and is happy to be satisfied by an eager, devoted man for once in her life), but she wants to do it right.

she's going to break up with Shouto and tell Iida that she doesn't want to immediately jump into dating him. she wants to take a break, from all of this, from the lust-filled glances to the fucking in risky places to the constant, distracting steams of his advances on her.

three months. she wants to take a break for three months. and if by the end of that iida still wants to be with her, they can start dating. like, really dating.

not just feverishly hooking up and whispering promises of a family, of a baby, of a wedding, of anything before they really get to know each other and what they're like as a couple.

and she's all got it figured out in her head. how she's going to settle all this before it blows up in her face.

but iida beats her to the punch.

after all, he can give her everything that she wants.

he's the only man that can make her cum, after all.

and he wants Shouto to know it.

I almost think Iida would do it out of guilt, if anything.

hes so smart, so calculated... I don't know if his pride would get in the way of what he wants.

....but guilt might send him there...

[ilovedagain]

A story about Damian Wayne's ties to Ra's al Ghul, an aging grandfather.

*note: this story doesn't follow any timeline where Ra's caused Damian direct harm.

Death changes you. Damian knows that. Whether you brought about the death of someone, or someone around you dies, it changes you. No doubt it does. Though, Damian has to wonder if death is necessary—if grieving is necessary—to have a healthy heart.

Death does not touch the al Ghul family. And Damian has to wonder when that blessing turned into a curse. When it was that the green waters bringing life started to bring something different. Something twisted, unnatural, a shade of its former being.

Damian had watched as every time Grandfather emerged from those waters, slightly different. The waters gave life, it did, and took a piece of himself for itself. It took, bit by bit, the pieces of his grandfather that Damian loved.

"Master Damian, would you like another cup?"

Damian looked up from his tea mug. Alfred was standing behind the kitchen island, an exquisite china set laid out before him for polishing. It was a rare thing indeed that he would let Damian linger in the kitchen while the man worked.

Damian didn't realize he was lingering. He took a sip from his tea, stalling, and suppressed a grimace at how cold it had gotten. It tasted inexplicably like acid.

Damian swallowed. He barely thought as he spoke, too focused on holding back words like, 'The green waters back home taste like acid.' "No, thank you. I. Was wondering if, perhaps, I could assist you?"

Alfred set down a porcelain spoon gently. His face betrayed nothing as Damian waited to be dismissed, on account that it was 8 pm on a school night. But maybe Damian's face betrayed something because Alfred said, "Of course, Master Damian."

Damian stood beside Alfred, elbow-to-elbow—well, more like elbow-to-hip—and polished the china. The only sounds between them were the shifting of their clothes, the mild squeaking of cloth on porcelain, and Alfred's occasional instruction.

Damian stole glances at the man to watch him as he worked. Gloved hands with movements precise like a sculptor, or perhaps a swordsman. They didn't tremble from the throes of aging. And that shook loose something in Damian's chest he didn't know had tightened.

On a good night, Damian's mind would hone in on the simple task. It was not one of those nights, and it had not been a good night since he received something in the mail from home five days ago.

Aging no longer meant hands shaking with painful joints, no. It meant patience running out, kindness turning twisted, blood flowing cold, love burning cities.

It meant less time spent mulling over his daughter's words and more time spent criticizing her. Less hours lost in tranquil silence and more hours spent plotting against empires. Less thought spared for strangers and more thought put into how to use them. Less embraces warm with grass-stains and more embraces reeking of acid.

Less, less, less of himself. Damian has to wonder where his grandfather went, the man that loved Damian without it being at the cost of others. That loved him with a delicate love, like the first paintbrush he gave him, or the butterflies he perched on Damian's fingers. Not like a love that flowed like blood, settled thick, and used a boy as spare parts for Damian should his grandson be injured.

Aging meant a grandfather slowly losing himself to an inhuman sickness, a daughter watching over a different version of her father, and a grandson at odds with life and its opportunities, and death and its mercies.

Death changes you, Damian knows. Grandfather dies a little more every time he goes into those waters.

"Master Damian, are you alright?"

Damian has to wonder—well. Maybe he doesn't have to wonder.

"Pennyworth, could I ask you a difficult question?"

"Of course."

"As you get older—not you, specifically, rather people generally speaking—" Damian swallowed. He took a calming breath. "Is it natural to grow self-centered and care less about others? Or is that a quality that has nothing to do with aging?"

Alfred stopped polishing. He set down the plate. "Ah. I believe we grow more cynical, to an extent, as we age. That is natural. Growing self-centered, however, is not."

Damian looked down at his hands. So it was true, then, that Grandfather was not simply aging; he was troubled in his mind.

"If I may, Master Damian. What is it that begged the question?"

Damian's eyes snapped up. Alfred's polite indifference is the only thing that kept his eyes from flitting away. It would not be polite to speak with his eyes on the corner of the room. And maybe, perhaps, Alfred is impartial enough not to mind a subject as explosive as Damian's family.

"I was...thinking, is all. About Nanda Parbat and...Mother's side of the family." When nothing suggested disgust or apprehension in Alfred's calm demeanor, Damian continued. "In truth, I don't know if I should cut my ties with Grandfather."

"Oh, dear boy," Alfred breathed. He took a moment to think. "Do you care for him, Master Damian?"

Damian nodded, a slight tilt of his head.

"And does he care for you?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn't tell you to freely keep in touch as if he has never upset you. Nor could I, in good conscience, tell you to cut all ties with him."

Back to where he began, Damian's mind hurtled down the same thoughts. Too aware of the package upstairs in his room, under the bed, hidden as soon as he received it.

Alfred paused his anxiety when he laid a hand on his shoulder. He met Damian's eyes. "Why, losing all contact with a grandson is not something I would wish on any grandfather who loves his grandson."

He rolled the words around in his brain for a moment, the weight in them. The meaning behind them. Something pricked behind Damian's eyes. "Even if that grandfather is...difficult? Troubled?"

"Even then. Whatever decision you come to, you should remember that I shall be there for you, Master Damian. As will Master Bruce. And Masters Jason and Dick, I imagine.

"If you decide to keep in contact with your grandfather, he too should remember you are not alone."

And Damian had to wonder. Why was Ra's so afraid of aging? What is there to dislike about gentle lines radiating from the corners of eyes that smiled, gray rings around irises like halos, soft creases in a face that weathered life until one day it beheld one grandson, then two, then four?Damian returned the smile.

"Of course. Thank you, Pennyworth."

Upstairs, in his room, he reached into the darkness beneath his bed and pulled out the package he received five days ago. He swept away the fine layer of dust on the wooden chest. The same chest he saw in Grandfather's chambers so long ago. Small and innocuous on his nightstand, Damian had never paid it any mind. Funny how, as soon as it was mailed to him without explanation, it suddenly became the only thing on his mind.

He opened it for the first time.

And found a stack of the messy drawings of his five-year-old self. With the note: Cherish them as I do.

Damian swallowed the knot in his throat. He took out the note. He held it and stared. Maybe Grandfather wanted to do something pure and meaningful for Damian. Maybe the gesture had an ulterior motive, like tugging him back home. Damian didn't know.

Damian stowed the chest in his closet. He put the note in his nightstand drawer, beside Mother's photo. He laid down on his bed, staring at the ceiling without seeing it.

Grandfather was reaching out his hand. A hand that tousled his hair many times, guided his grip on katanas and paintbrushes alike. A hand that held death in its palm, dripping acid and blood.

Will Damian reach back?

[princess-charlie-of-hell]

honestly the show should have gotten charlie to put her foot down and tell her dad that he can't permanently stay in the hotel because 1. He's literally the king of hell, any potential residents might be scared shitless of his presence and drive them away, 2. Again, he's the king of Hell, he has a job to do, running Hell, that he didn't do correctly cause he's been stuck making rubber duckies. I know he's in a state of depression due to Lilith's absence and it's reasonable that he's not in the right place but it's not an excuse to ignore his duty to fuck around the hotel and make his daughter, who he neglected for a long time, uncomfortable. He's a grown adult, I'm not gonna baby him because of his condition (unlike the majority of the fandom cuz he's their poor sad uwu baby 😒) and neither should Charlie. Forgiveness doesn't happen overnight, if Lucifer wants to do right for Charlie, then he should get off his sorry ass, take responsibility by being an actual king and help Charlie in any way he can while giving her the space she needs.

Hardly agree, I don't think that Lucifer living in the there is neither good for the hotel or his relationship with Charlie

Like you already he said he could scare potentially residents away and I think people there could be uncomfortable with having the literally highest ranked person living there, like image being an ordinary person and the king of England is living in the same hotel as you

Also Lucifer and Charlie barely had contact for 7 years and then suddenly living together again? Like the hotel is huge but it is still a huge change living in the same building as your parents. I have a good relationship with my parents and still live home with them but i image after not living together with them for years and then suddenly moving back together would definitely cause some problems

Was there even a conversation between them where the two talked about how it would be when Lucifer lives there or did he decided it by himself to move there and didn't even ask her? We didn't saw anything in the show, so i could image both happening

How he handled his duties in the 7 years is something i ask myself, I don't image that he took care of them in himself so did he told someone to do it for him? We see in Helluva boss that Satan took practically over as the boss in court but i don't think he took any other Tasks from Lucifer at least nothing we know about. And we know that Satan uses his absent to tell lies, like that he ruled before Lucifer so that kind of backfired

Like the other sins probably rule their specific rings themselves without Lucifer, i can also image that before Liliths disappearances she ruled over pride ring with Lucifer and took care of the sinners there as we see that Lucifer didn't really seem to care about them

I personally believe that the ars goetias and Overlords also have a huge influence in pride. I personally headcanon that Paimon took over many of Lucifer's tasks as in the mythology he was describing as his most loyal servant (off topic but why isn't there more fanart of Paimon x Lucifers this is the real old man yaoi and not RA) and is the only "King" from the goetias we see in hellaverse

That with babying of Lucifer is something i agree especially that in my opinion Charlie forgave him too fast but that probably was because of the fast pacing of the show. But i don't really want to criticized him too much because of his depressions because i am not an expert in it and don't want to say anything wrong. One thing which annoys me is just when people use the excuse that he is too hurt because of Lilith disappearance and there for completely blameless for his bad relationship with Charlie and blame anything on her and ignore the fact that She was Charlie's mother and Charlie is hurt too

But in the end i don't think that it is going to be a problem in the show, simple because the writers won't probably make it one. Like i think they want Lucifer too bad to be part of the main cast and will ignore the theoretically problems which he could bring with him. Why focusing on the female characters of the main cast who didn't had much spotlight in the first season, just let us add a new male one who will steal the spotlight from them anyway especially his daughter, remember Charlie? The actually protagonist of the show!

Like we will have 3 woman in the main cast (Charlie, Vaggie and Nifty) and 6 men (Alastor, Angel dust, Husk, Lucifer Baxter and Sir pentious). It are double so many man than women there. At least i think it was said that Baxter probably will take over Sir pentious place in the hotel and that pentious background how he ended up in hell will be showed. Remember when people said that helluva boss is a male lead show and Hazbin hotel a female lead one?

[iztarshi]

Viktor observations (S1, Act 1)

I've given into the blorbo feelings and just started taking notes on all Viktor's scenes. Rambling ahead.

Viktor starting out reading Jayce’s blackboard is such a fun way to foreshadow him getting involved. “I believe someone should have said that earlier” is snarky, but ���what happened here?” may well be a genuine question. He does want to know.

Viktor does not seem remotely nervous around Enforcers. He has no trouble breaking into the conversation between Jayce and Greyson, nor any issues with being here to arrest someone. He’s right in both cases, he’s not in any danger and neither is Jayce, but there’s no undercity instinct of fear or distaste.

“I’m assistant to the Dean of the Academy, who it may serve you to remember is also the Head of the Council.” Viktor throwing absolutely all of his borrowed authority into one sentence there. Jayce wanting to know who the hell he is isn’t entirely unreasonable, since as far as Jayce knows there’s a random snarky guy in academy uniform assisting with his arrest, but Viktor seems to take it as a challenge.

Viktor does seem to genuinely disapprove of Jayce at this point, which is fair since Jayce obviously thinks it’s really unfair that he’s in trouble for keeping explosives in his house.

*

I am fascinated that Viktor’s first impulse as he gets caught up in the idea of magic is to ask Heimerdinger if he could make Jayce’s theories work. It’s an interesting relationship because there’s warmth there and despite knowing Heimerdinger’s disapproval of magic, Viktor’s not worried about letting on that he’s interested (although he definitely downplays how interested) and there’s a feeling of familiarity, a sense that Viktor has brought his interests to Heimerdinger before. Heimerdinger doesn’t seem to take Viktor very seriously, but then he treats all his students like children.

Viktor’s also, sort of, under Heimerdinger’s protection. As we saw with him throwing Heimerdinger’s titles at Jayce, without a patron or a house name the fact that he works for Heimerdinger is what gives him any kind of status in Piltover.

*

Viktor’s approach to suicide prevention is really funny. He starts out being sarcastic, seems genuinely surprised when Jayce reacts badly to that, and then treats Jayce being about to jump off a building as an unfortunate obstacle to discussing his theories. I don’t think he’s intentionally being mean, but he came here prepared to have one conversation and it was not one about Jayce’s feelings. He softens up a lot at Jayce’s sincerity about how beautiful magic is and “no one believed in me” obviously strikes a chord with him.

“Poor, cripple, from the undercity” hits a lot harder in the wake of season 2. Viktor says it defiantly here, it’s what other people think of him, but it obviously has shaped a lot of how he sees himself. And notably I don’t think it’s how Jayce sees him at all - even when he didn’t like Viktor in previous scenes he was thinking he was an asshole, not any of that. I don’t think poor or from the undercity are even things Jayce could tell, and Jayce doesn’t react to Viktor needing a cane. (He’s very solicitous of Viktor in Act 2 but that seems to be a result of knowing Viktor for seven years and also Viktor’s failing health.)

“I want to help you complete your research” is also something where the specific phrasing hits now, because Viktor wanting to help is at the root of so much. I’m not sure there are any relationships Viktor forms where he’s not helping (think of “can I help?” to Singed about Rio) except maybe Heimerdinger and there he’s a literal assistant, but he is getting paid for it.There’s a mixture of ambition - as he says later, he doesn’t want to be an assistant all his life - and sincerity here. I don’t think Viktor was expecting to get anything out of helping Jayce, necessarily, but he still wanted to create magic for its own sake and for the sake of the people it could help.

“When you’re going to change the world, don’t ask for permission” is such a cool line and also probably a warning about how far Viktor is from being grounded about anything ever.

The main impression Viktor gives so far is that he’s really intense. Whether he’s intensely disapproving, intensely interested, or intensely encouraging.

*

While a great deal of tragedy has been happening to Vi’s family, our scientists have clearly been having a great time filling this blackboard.

I have questions about where Viktor is from… well, no, not where he’s from exactly, the answer is the undercity, but is he from an immigrant community? Not only does he have an accent no one else shares but his reaction to the phrase “crank it” comes off as if English (or whatever they’re speaking) might be his second language. None of our other Zaunites are remotely unfamiliar with slang.

The “crank it” exchange is so adorable, not for what they’re saying but for how they’re animated. Jayce giving Viktor a look of blatant admiration for figuring it out and Viktor’s startled little smile as he realises he and Jayce are enjoying one another’s company. They’re both lonely, Jayce gets along with people but I think he has trouble really connecting to people when so many dismiss the thing he’s built his life around as dangerous nonsense even before he nearly got banished for it. They want to be friends so badly.

The timing of Viktor pulling out the keys to Heimerdinger’s lab is amazing and hilarious.

*

The scientists are very cute, attempting a break in their academy uniforms and being bad at it. The vibe is definitely more misbehaving students than hardened criminals.

I wonder if Viktor’s blue flashlight is chemtech? It somehow looks more undercity than like anything we see in Piltover.

Viktor’s reaction to Mel is interesting. I mean, aside from “this isn’t my bedroom”, once she and Jayce start talking it’s Viktor who answers her question about why Jayce can prove it now when he couldn’t earlier with “we figured out how to stabilise it”. He’s very much not inclined to keep quiet or let Jayce handle things.

I don’t think Mel means “You’re the professor’s assistant” to be demeaning, I think she’s trying to figure out what on earth Viktor is doing here. Jayce is immediately protective though.

“Heimerdinger will recognise the potential,” Viktor says. Viktor’s going against Heimerdinger here - robbing him, in fact - but he assumes it’s something that will be all right afterwards. If he can just make Heimerdinger see then of course proof will win him over.

“Piltover, the land of progress, equality, innovation,” says Jayce, completely without irony. Which is probably part of why Viktor is looking less than happy about the way this is going.

The other part might be that Jayce and Mel have a rapport that decidedly leaves Viktor out. Mel wants to use science to put Piltover on the map, but she deals in people. Earlier she baits Jayce into revealing what he was trying to do in front of the council (and nearly gets him exiled), here Jayce tries the same thing more clumsily. First baiting her when she says Heimerdinger and the council are scared by asking if she is, and then with an appeal to emotion - and to the benefits of having Piltover be the place to develop this technology, which is decidedly the right tack to take with Mel. He probably didn’t need to convince her, and certainly can’t manipulate her, but the fact that he responds on her playing field makes him interesting to her.

Viktor does not like any of this and gives Jayce an absolutely disgusted look for being smitten with her.

The lines are already laid out. Mel wants to put Piltover on the map and make it more prosperous, Viktor wants to help the people who need it most, Jayce wants both and is not ready for the contradictions.

*

Viktor’s expression in response to “are you sure you know what you’re doing?” is so funny.

He is sure enough to tell Jayce to trust him instead of turning the machine off, though. Viktor’s really in charge of this whole venture.

They’re so smitten with the magic itself. Bright-eyed and fascinated.

Viktor using his cane to bar the door is one of those things that really highlights how much things have changed by act 2. Here he needs it sometimes, but as long as he’s in a single room he seems to be able to move around without it and plans around that.

Jayce ís copying the mage’s actions from memory when he activates the crystal. Knowing the mage was Viktor I wonder if some of the theatricality was to make the gestures easy to copy? Not that making hextech easier for Jayce to crack actually helps with the apocalypse but I’m not sure what the mage was trying to do, and if he’s leaving Jayce with runes he does seem to want Jayce to be able to use them.

I don’t really have anything to say about the floating. It’s amazing and they’re so happy. Just pure wonder.

“This is not what Piltover’s future looks like, my dear boys.” Heimerdinger really wants them to come down so he can scold them. They’re his dear, wayward pupils and he’s very fond of both of them, far too fond to really be angry.

[ancientbygone]

and everything that's here is rising in tone and saturation it's an aching, it's a violence, it's a longing to erase the separation

a companion piece to Cicadas, of sorts. closeups under the cut:

[wutheringmights]

also i really shouldn't have written stp because now i have a million ideas for spirit's adventures in new hyrule that I will never have time to actually write :((

[witheredgardenparty]

Every now and then I see the discourse circulate on this hellsite, and I wonder if people know that the term 'yandere' used to have an extremely specific definition that no longer holds up to how people use it today

[pa-pa-plasma]

i don't think i'll ever get over how people treat kids that aren't good in school as worthless no matter what. "oh it can't be that bad" my guy idk how to tell you this but the last time i went to a normal high school the principal called me into his office to brag about how he failed me in all of my classes before the semester was even finished & i should quit while i'm ahead cuz i'm too stupid ("officially" diagnosed as such by a school counselor & a psychiatrist!!) to succeed. & this is considered normal

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

"i mess up things and then i don't have the energy to fix them up" yes brain true sentence but no brain the appropriate response is NOT "therefore i should kill myself (and here's how)"

[sysig]

What you’d least like to hear (Patreon)

[thewhizzyhead]

being a busy ass student with student journalism gigs on one hand and comm academic shit on the other is very interesting because with the jam-packed life I live I only really get to breathe at like late lAAATE night when no one can bother me about my responsibilities other than myself. that being said that's also when creative brain goes into overdrive and now misfits finally has the final draft of its opening number woo

[autism-corner]

they want me so bad (<- asked me for my pronouns)