#whos probably more than a little traumatized by the whole battle

[phoenix--flying]

everyone talks ab the campers going up and down the Olympus elevator while 'Stayin' Alive' plays but can we talk about ethan nakamura in that elevator with kronos

[thosewildcharms]

i'll be thinking about 1x04 for the rest of my life probably, but currently i'm thinking about how genius it was that instead of the episode being about convincing rick to fight the CRM, as I originally thought it would be, it ended up being a battle to bring rick himself back to life. it's both rick and michonne fighting to revive a dead man who is doing anything he can to stay dead.

the show had already established that rick metaphorically killed himself and made okafor's mission his own instead of committing suicide and that from the moment she arrived he went into panic mode and was doing everything he could do put himself between her and the many threats aimed at her. like, we knew all of that going in.

and then this episode blows that wide open in the first, what, ten minutes? the CRM thinks they're dead. they can leave. and still, rick clings to okafor's mission. and in the hands of lesser writers, in the hands of any other production team who did not understand these characters as profoundly as danai and andy understand them, that's where it would have ended. rick would have genuinely been fully brainwashed and have been coming from a place of misplaced egotism, and they'd be having a very different fight. it would be rick insisting he had to fight the crm alone and michonne arguing that they can fight them together with nothing deeper than that going on.

but of course that's not it, because that's not rick grimes, and this is danai gurira's pen. he's not brainwashed, he's broken. he's so deeply and profoundly traumatized that clinging to this mission as a way of maintaining his own metaphorical death has become the last and strongest wall of his self-defense mechanism. and he spends the whole episode desperately trying to keep that wall up, and failing.

when he sees michonne's scar, he immediately looks for the PRB. because the physical proof of how much danger she will always be in reminds him of how much he can no longer bear to witness it. when michonne tells him about RJ, he asks her to give him the PRB and when he learns that RJ calls himself Little Brave Man, he doubles down on okafor's plan. because he can never lose another child (the way he lost carl twice) if he never knows or meets him in the first place. when michonne blows up about how scared and guilty she feels about not being with their kids he goes completely cold and blank and tells her to go back home. because if they're all out of sight and together they'll always be alive in his mind. because he's already dead, but they don't have to be. he becomes truly recognizable to michonne, to remain unmoved in the face of her pain like that.

and yet. he lasts about ten seconds before sprinting after when she leaves the room. he fusses over her when she can't stop coughing and refuses to leave her side when she's in danger. several times michonne checks in, to see if her rick is still there ("do you still love me?" "I just needed to hear you say it") and confirms that yes, he is. he's emphatic that he has never stopped loving her and never will, that she never has to thank him ever, for saving her life or for anything else. over and over, his love for her wins out even though he's trying so hard to keep that wall up. to remain dead so she will leave and keep living. he's trying to convince both her and himself that he's already gone, but always breaks at the last minute because the immediacy of seeing her right in front of him is more powerful than his own fear. tries to shut himself down, can't resist her, rinse and repeat.

and god, michonne. i've been yammering about the intensity of rick's love for michonne for weeks now, but michonne has done nothing but prove that she's right there with him, if not more. to reveal that rick is the only person who has ever made her feel safe, only to have him continually reject her and be a stone wall against her anger and pain and fear and confusion was so fucking heartbreaking to watch, and still she spends the whole episode banging and scratching and tearing at that wall around him, begging to understand why he's lying to her, why he's being so antithetical to the man she loves. and once she figures out that there's something else going on, that the rick she loves is undoubtedly still in there, she knows exactly what to do to save him. she forces him to say how much he loves her, how much he can't bear to actually let her leave him, so both of them can hear it and then reminds him of how he loves her. this woman spent a decade alone, afraid, raising their kids and facing horrible trauma herself, almost dies trying to find her husband only to meet a stranger once she does, and still does not give up on him. fucking incredible.

i said in a previous post that the only thing that could keep rick grimes from doing anything to get back to his family is a threat to their lives. and it's still true - his grief and trauma is so profound that even the nebulous threat of losing them is so horrifically terrifying to him that he's refusing to go home to them, keeping himself dead to protect himself from their possible deaths. but ultimately, michonne's love for him is even stronger than that. it took almost a decade for the CRM to break him, and michonne brings him back in a day. because the love they have for each other is more powerful than anything. as she says, it can't be denied.

it's honestly the most romantic hour of television i've ever watched. there's so much more that i can say that i haven't even touched on here, and i'm sure i'll be thinking about it for a very long time.

[makeste]

So... How was watching that episode?

I meant to do a post on this sooner, as opposed to late on a Friday night hours before the next episode drops (eta: well apparently there's no new ep airing this week after all so that makes my timing slightly less atrocious), but yeah. basically I loved it. it hurt in all the right ways.

music was incredible. no shot it was ever not going to be incredible. Hayashi Yuuki thank you for always making my emotions your bitch.

there are admittedly a couple of moments in the anime which I felt weren't quite as impactful as they were in the manga. one of these is the moment when Jeanist, after seeing that Kacchan is (he thinks) traumatized and crying, immediately shifts gears from trying to hype him back up to return to the battle, and instead starts reassuring him that he's done enough and he doesn't have to fight anymore and they'll figure out a way without him. when I first read that part in the manga it absolutely slaughtered me. it's so rare to see media that stars young adults as the protagonists, and portrays them as capable young warriors, and yet also acknowledges that even so, they're still just kids. and to then surround said kids with adults who aren't dumbed down, and who are actually smart and capable and who are actively looking out for them and trying to protect them even though the kids are more OP than they are.

so to have a character that looks at someone like Bakugou and sees past how powerful and determined and ferocious he is, and instead just sees a kid who has been so incredibly brave and who they've asked so much of already. and to have that character make the on-the-spot decision to pull this kid out of the fight, regardless of the consequences, even if it means they might LOSE, just because he thinks the kid is hurt and scared and past his limits, and he needs someone to look out for him. that moment says everything about what kind of person Jeanist is. just, that one part got to me so much.

BUT, in the anime it all happens much faster and the moment gets kind of lost because Kacchan almost immediately starts doing his Deku-style muttering, and Jeanist quickly realizes that his initial read was wrong and this kid is actually FULLY AND COMPLETELY LOCKED IN MORE THAN EVER. which is exactly what happens in the manga as well, to be fair. but in the manga I got to read and absorb it at my own pace, whereas the anime just keeps on going with no concern over whether you've had enough time to process everything that's going on. and so that moment just kind of slips by, and almost isn't even noticeable unless you're looking out for it. it's not really a complaint, because there isn't really any other way the scene could be adapted, probably. but it does give me a good excuse to write a mini-essay about how much I love it, so yeah.

moving on though, in spite of my wishing we could have somehow lingered on that part a second or two longer, I did absolutely love the reveal of Kacchan mumbling and analyzing Deku-style. the first of many outstanding Okamoto Nobuhiko performances in this episode. full nerd powers activated. we'd already seen him do this in Bakugou Katsuki: Rising as well, but this is where it really stands out and it was awesome.

and by the way, shout out to the Big Three who are fucking great. eventually when I get around to posting my manga recaps for this part of the story, those will get more into their antics. for now though, I'll just say that everything was very well adapted. and the part where poor Mirio is all "???? sorry????" when TomurAFO has his brief little Tenko outburst was everything I hoped it would be, and Mirio's actor absolutely nailed it. like I knew it was coming and was anticipating it, and it still slayed me. easily a top five funniest moment in the whole damn series.

Kacchan standing up and telling Jeanist to look after the others filled me with just as much dread as the first time I read it. and the first time I read it, I had already been spoiled. so what I'm trying to say is, knowing what's about to happen does not in any way lessen the intensity of this moment. if anything it just enhances it.

the reveal of Kacchan's powerup was so incredibly badass. I can't even describe how badass it was. just, BOOM. now you see me, now you don't. LA DEE DA, HERE I AM! and the narration in the background talking about his quirk. chef's kiss.

no matter how many anime characters I see pulling off the omae wa mou shindeiru, I will never, ever tire of it. it's the single most badass thing anyone can ever do. especially when they were being underestimated the entire fucking time, and now all of a sudden they're out here scaring the shit out of the big bad himself. no one is faster than Kacchan. KACCHAN CAN RUN FASTER THAN ALL OF YOU. HE CAN FUCKING FLY!! HE'S BEHIND YOU RIGHT NOW!! GOD I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

and then Nobu hits us with the coup de grace. "Izuku… can I still catch up to you?" fellas is it gay to spend your last thirty seconds of life having an imaginary conversation with your beloved rival even as you're zapping around like a bolt of lightning, kicking more ass than anyone on earth has ever kicked.

and I was already dead by this point, but then the All Might vestige scene kicked in and resuscitated me so I could die again even harder. worth it.

so what really killed me nineteen times during this part was the way that Kacchan sounded so completely and utterly different from how he has ever sounded before. this is a scene that's taking place entirely in his head (or… in OFA land… maybe???? goddammit Horikoshi still owes us an explanation. THAT VESTIGE SHOULD NOT BE THERE I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYBODY SAYS). there's nobody else around. nobody to perform for. nobody to show off or look tough for. it's just him, and this big mysterious yellow All Might ghost thing.

and he sounds like an entirely different person. nervous, shy, sheepish. no crudeness, no insults. just, aw shucks. hand to back of neck. avert eyes. so this is kind of awkward, but... the thing is, I always wanted to... but I was such a brat when we first met... and I just never found the right moment after... anyway yeah I'm sorry and it's really dumb. but I really just. wanted to get your autograph.

just. this is him at his most sincere. this is who he's always been, all along. the one and ONLY time we've ever gotten a glimpse of him with absolutely no walls. and he is NOTHING like what he presents himself as to the outside world. he is sweet, he is gentle, he is self-effacing. he is painfully vulnerable, which is doubtless why he never dares to show this side of himself to anybody, ever. and he is ultimately so calmly accepting of this one last regret during what he believes are his final moments.

anyway. so yeah. it destroyed me. what else is there to say.

and then it happens. and once again, not to shit on the anime at all because this episode was fantastic, but this was another part that seemed much clearer in the manga. particularly that one page where we see that everyone else -- Jeanist; Mirio; Hadou; Tamaki; even Mirko -- tried to save Katsuki from that final blow, but they were all just a split second too late. the anime did its best to show that, but I think it was just harder to convey in that format. whereas the manga did it beautifully in a way that couldn't really be replicated.

but on the other hand, one thing the anime did VERY well was showing Kacchan's ragdoll body just flop lifelessly away afterwards. holy shit. I watched like a half dozen reaction videos to this episode on Youtube, and in most of them the anime viewers didn't quite realize how bad of a hit it was at first… until they showed that. then they were like, D: D: D:

and then last but not least… the image that broke the internet so hard that it spoiled me even in my paranoid social media isolation. Kacchan lying lifelessly on the ground. it's such a well-drawn panel in the manga, and the anime absolutely did it justice. having him be so pale was a wonderful touch. you see him, and you just immediately know. there's no room for doubt at all. it's powerful af. the Youtuber reactors all lost their minds. one woman actually started sobbing. phenomenal cinema.

so yeah! needless to say I thought it was spectacular. pour one out for the anime-onlys though. and now their watch begins.

[evelynpr]

bakugou for the character ask game?

Truly the teenage boy, shonen deuteragonist, love interest coded, gay asshole, of all time.

My first impression - Woah I did not understand why people were so into this guy. Like I get it, he's a flawed and loud pretty boy, he gets character development, and probably gay, but seriously him??? His mouth is so fucking foul and he is so up his ass. - I was meh with this character, enjoyed him in fan content, but just did not get why people were sooo into this guy.

My impression now - I cried in "Light Fades To Rain". Twice. - My god his growth...his will, his persistence, and by god his love for Izuku is so ridiculous and powerful I just cannot help but admire the little shithead. - He is also a lot more to me than I expected, with the whole "foul mouth shit", "high expectations bullshit", "violent urges", and "dedicating your whole life and love to someone you love and admire" and that...that makes me feel quite conflicted.

Favorite thing about that character - The thing about Bakugou is that...you just cannot help but wish you had the same kind of persistence, strength, will, and power that he does. I love how all this is initially so shallow and selfish, then grows to wanting to be a better and truer hero. He really learns and changes and is just an unstoppable force of nature, it's genuinely incredible and beautiful to watch.

Least favorite thing - I wished that the overall writing did go harder in making him stop bad-mouthing people and...everything so much. You can tell he did grow to respect and care for people around him more, but by gods he is sooo bad at communicating his feelings right now. (tbf, he is so fucking young and traumatized) - Also, really please stop hitting people. I get a knee-jerk reaction to that kind of physical violence sometimes ngl.

Favorite line/scene - There are so many. I already mentioned his death in "Light Fades to Rain" so I'll mention a different one - Team Bakugou in Class A vs B was so goddamn good, for being a monumental milestone of his character. How much he trusted his teammates and put himself in danger to save others, winning in the end. No injuries, no failures, truly a perfect beautiful victory. How he also pushes Deku to keep getting better afterwards in his usual constipated-ass language too. Man I just love that battle to death.

Favorite interaction that character has with another - (me pulling out scenes that aren't bkdk centered here hahaha) - I fucking LOVED the Bakugou vs Ochako fight. It made me love Ochako so so much as a kid. I really wished we had a follow-up to that battle, and it genuinely changed my life. - I love how it really shows just how focused and rational he is in battle. How he truly respects his opponents, Ochako in this case, and the sports festival really establishes so much about him.

A character that I wish that character would interact with more - Speaking of which...OCHAKO VS BAKUGO 2 COME ONNNN - There is SO MUCH these two need to talk about. How to save people, who they want to save, who saved them, never underestimating each other, how they changed and grew. I just love these two characters to bits, that's why I need them to FIGHT AND TALK SO BADDDD - Additional: Also Toga (see my post on Toga right before this one lmao), Shoto (because I still don't really get their friendship but its hilarious, and I love Shoto)

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character - I legit cannot think of anything here...like for Toga...I am so sorry my brain is blanking T__T - It's hard to be a massive anger-issue filled, victory-focused, die for their lover (twice), amazing chef, all at once, kinda guy...you know?

A headcanon about that character - I am a believer in trans!fem Bakugo in the future. He's so ridiculously angry for some reason, voice always cracking, and just on-edge for some reason. Idk I just think its hilarious and satisfying if he transed his gender in the future and became happier and more comfortable.

A song that reminds of that character - I also have a Bkdk playlist in the making! Here's some bkg focused songs in character development order: - Boys will be Bugs, President Perfect, Top of my School, Oh No!, I'm Gonna Win, The Last of the Real Ones, Skyfall, Die For You, Set Fire to the Rain

An unpopular opinion about that character - Like Toga, he actually isn't possessive. I think he quite well understands and accepts that Izuku is a very loving person that many people are easily drawn to (I mean, he'd be a hypocrite if he didn't understand that). - He is protective instead of possessive. He keeps an eye out for anything and anyone who could possibly actually hurt Izuku, but he doesn't hold him back at all in hanging around with others, and when other people fall for Izuku either. - He is actually quite skinny, and doesn't have the big thick buff guy build. Those go to Izuku and Iida more imo.

Favorite picture - I never really thought of this much??? I love art of him being softer, more solemn, quiet and contemplative even. I guess I'll go pick out some favs right now...

Here they are! Hope you enjoy the post lmao

[ladykailitha]

Batshit Soulmates Part 6

The second one today. I'm trying to get through my backlog because I have almost twenty chapters that are finished and ready to be posted. And that isn't counting the fact that with my daily goal of 400 words a day, I'm definitely going to have more than that the longer it takes for me to post.

This here is my schedule for the next two weeks, but as I said, since I'm always writing, that "return to one chapter a day" on the 11th? That's probably a pipe dream. So I might end up adding a fourth day to my posting schedule so that I can at least put out a chapter a week for each of my WIPs.

We'll see.

For this chapter we have fun times at the Wheelers (heavy sarcasm), that talk and a cliffhanger? Yeah, a cliffhanger.

In Medias Res| Prologue|Pt 1| Pt 2|Pt 3|Pt 4|Pt 5|

****

They had been traveling awhile when Eddie decided to get the lay of the land by getting higher.

Which was great in theory until he saw the vast expanse of...shit he didn’t even know how to describe it other than evil. And it stretched as far as he could see.

He turned around to get back down when Nancy called out.

“Don’t step on the vines!”

Eddie froze. “Uh what now?”

“They’re connected to the Upside Down,” she said with a huff.

Eddie looked to Steve to translate.

“They’re part of a hive mind,” Steve explained. “You step on a vine and basically you’re stepping on Vecna and basically everything else in this hell hole.”

“Shit!” Eddie hissed as he tried to come up with a way to get down without waking up the whole Upside Down to their presence.

“I was thinking that now would probably be a good time to get my guns,” Nancy murmured.

Eddie finally decided that fuck it, he was just going to by pass all the vines jump down.

He landed deftly on his feet and as he pulled up his jeans a little he said, “You, Nancy Wheeler, have guns at your house? Guns as in plural?”

Robin pointed excitedly at her. “I know, isn’t she bad ass?”

“I have a Russian pistol,” Nancy said with a cock of her head, “and a revolver.”

Steve huffed out a laugh. “You almost shot me with that one.”

Nancy smiled back and with a teasing lilt to her voice replied, “And you almost deserved it.”

TWAP!

Steve stepped back with the force of a denim vest being thrown in his face. He looked up at Eddie in shock.

“For your modesty, dude.”

Steve looked down at the vest in confusion. “Wha–”

Just then there was great big roar and the ground shook. Robin tumbled into Eddie and Steve barely managed to catch Nancy before elbowed him in the side.

Steve and Nancy were able to keep on their feet but Robin and Eddie fell to the ground.

Eddie looked at Robin and then back at where the noise came from.

“Guns are really starting to sound good right now,” Eddie muttered.

Robin looked back at him and nodded. “Oh yeah.”

Eddie was rubbing his shin as Robin’s heel had kicked it on her way down but his brain turned off when he saw Steve walk by as he pulled on Eddie’s vest.

Shit. He had miscalculated on that one. He hadn’t wanted Nancy Wheeler to ogle his soulmate but he didn’t take in the fact on how hot Steve would look wearing his battle vest. He only barely managed to help Robin to her feet before he was hoping forward to catch up with Steve.

His little lizard brain lighting up with, “Hot boy! Must follow hot boy now,” as his feet danced around the vines to be by Steve’s side.

And just maybe Steve wanted it too, because as Eddie fell in step next to him, Steve blushed and ducked his head.

Eddie grinned up at him as they made their way through the darken forest of the Upside Down.

****

Eddie kept looking over at Steve, who was looking like he had merely taken a tumble in gym instead of being eaten alive.

And yeah that was hot, it was also worrying as fuck. Eddie was starting to think that maybe Steve wasn’t a dick, the dude was just traumatized.

Robin and Nancy walked slower behind them to give them some privacy. Finding your soulmate in the middle of the end of the world, again, sucked.

“Hey, I wanted to thank you for saving my ass back there,” Steve said, softly.

Eddie bumped their shoulders together. “You saved your own ass, man. What you did there was very Ozzy.”

“Who?” Steve asked, confused.

“Ozzy Osborn? Black Sabbath?” Eddie prompted. Steve’s confusion only deepened. “He bit the head off a bat on stage.”

“Wha?” Steve said, rearing his head back. “I don’t know you’re talking about.”

Eddie smiled faintly. “It’s okay. All I was saying that that was a very metal thing you did back there.”

“And metal is...good?” Steve asked, unsure.

Eddie chuckled. “Very.”

“Thanks,” Steve said, grateful the dirt and grim of the Upside Down hid his blush.

They walked on for a few moments in silence. “I was so jealous of you, by the way.”

Steve reared back his head. “Me? Why?”

“Dustin talks about you all the time, man,” Eddie said. “Like all the time. Never shuts up about you, in fact. The kid worships the ground you walk on. Called you a badass on more than one occasion.”

Steve scoffed. “Dustin thinks I’m badass?”

“Oh, yeah,” Eddie said thoughtfully. “I think I just couldn’t accept that Steve Harrington was a good dude, you know? Rich parents, popular, good with girls, not a douche? There was no way. It just flies in the face of life, the universe, and everything. Including my very own Munson doctrine.” He twisted the rings on his fingers nervously.

Steve reached out and gently took his hand.

Eddie took a deep breath and let out it slowly. “I’m still jealous because you’re the real deal. I’m learning that outside DnD, I’m no hero. I see danger and I turn and run. Or at least that’s what I discovered about myself this week.”

Steve squeezed his hand. “Hey, give yourself a break. There was nothing you could have done about Chrissy, okay?”

Eddie let out a shuddering sigh. “The truth is that if those two ladies hadn’t dived in after you, I would still be up in that boat. I don’t know how you managed to get the loyalty of two of the smartest girls in school, especially with one of them being your ex, but holy shit dude. Nancy just dived in no hesitation.”

But before Steve could answer another rumble ripped through the Upside Down.

“Jesus!” Steve hissed as Eddie said, “Here we go again!”

They clutched each other as they struggled to remain on their feet. Steve looked up at Eddie and his breath stopped in his chest, tightening like a vice.

They were so close that Steve could taste their mingled breathes. He yearned to just lean forward and–

Robin tapped his shoulder. “Come on, let’s get to Nancy’s before another quake hits us.”

****

When they got to Nancy’s room, their hope for salvation turned to ash like the dust falling from the sky.

“What do you mean they don’t exist?” Eddie hissed.

Nancy looked like she was going to cry. “The Upside Down is stuck in 1983. Most likely the day Will vanished and I didn’t get my guns until after.”

Even Robin looked disappointed at not being about to see Nancy’s guns.

It truly seemed like all was lost when Steve suddenly stopped.

“Holy shit!” he cried. “Can you hear that?”

Nancy and Robin shared a glance.

“Hear what?” Nancy asked.

“Dustin!” Steve said happily. “I can hear Dustin! And Lucas! And Max!” He giggled.

“It’s like they in the walls!”

Eddie grimaced. The pain must be really getting to the guy if he was hallucin–

But then he could hear it too. Steve and Eddie shared a look and they turned, booking it for the door.

They thundered down the stairs and they noticed the golden light glittering around the chandler.

But now the girls could hear the kids too. It sounded like they were in trouble.

All four them were drawn to the light. It was warm and comforting. And god, Eddie couldn’t stop touching the light.

“It’s warm,” he muttered.

The other three reached up and touched the glittering glow. Steve and god, how Steve seemed to watch to reach out to him as well.

“Does anyone know Morse code?” Nancy asked, trying to figure out how to communicate with the right side up.

Steve shook his head and even Robin wasn’t clueless.

Eddie licked his lips. “Um...does SOS count?”

Nancy nearly screamed at him, but let Eddie do his thing. They managed to communicate with Dustin, Erica, and Max, who had somehow gotten themselves under house arrest. Or whatever the hell the cops wanted to call keeping children against their will.

They managed to find a way to communicate with them through Holly’s LiteBrite. And so Dustin rambled at a million miles per hour about gates and murders and Vecna.

“Does anyone understand what he’s talking about?” Nancy asked.

Everyone shook their heads. So she simply sent back a single question mark.

“How many times do I have to be right on the money before you guys trust me?” Dustin screamed.

Steve sighed. “Jesus Christ, this kid has to get his ego in check.”

Eddie leaned over so that he could talk to Steve around Nancy.

“It’s his tone, right?” Eddie asked.

“Yes!” Steve agreed, happy that he had someone who understood what a menace Dustin was at the best of times.

Basically it boiled down to needing to get to the nearest gate. Eddie’s trailer.

“Which great and all,” Eddie huffed. “But let me tell you, Forest Hills is no easy walk from here.”

Nancy looked around at them like they were stupid. “The kids left their bikes here. There should be four of them in the garage.”

Steve rolled his eyes. But they all dutifully followed her out to the garage.

The bikes were tiny. God, are they minuscule. They all climbed onto the bikes and rode all the way to the trailer park.

And if Eddie hung back to watch Steve’s ass all the way there... fuck you, no he didn’t. The view didn’t hurt, though.

They made it his trailer and they laid down the bikes in front of it. Eddie began to shake. Frozen in fear. He couldn’t go back in there. They couldn’t make him.

They could find another ga–

Suddenly there was a warm hand on his shoulder. “I know you don’t want to go in there. But we need to get back to the Right Side Up, breathing the shit down here isn’t good for you.”

Eddie gulped, but nodded.

“I’ll be right beside you,” Steve continued softly. “If you need to, take my hand.”

Eddie instantly latched on to Steve’s hand as he led the group into the Upside Down version of Eddie’s home.

He stumbled a bit as he saw the great, big, red, pulsating...wound.

“Shit!” he whispered, a little awed and a lot scared. “That’s where she died. Like right where she died.”

Steve squeezed his hand gently. “I’m sorry, Eds. We just need to find a way to contact the kids and get us out of here, okay?”

Eddie looked around at his home and just wanted to cry. Nothing was where it was supposed to be and yet exactly where it was supposed to be. And that really fucked with his head.

Nancy looked up at the gate. “It’s too high. There’s no way we can get to it without help.”

Steve and Robin looked around trying to see it there was something that could be used to pry it open from below.

Eddie knew he should help them. He knew where things were kept. But he just couldn’t move. All he could do was stare up at that red wound in his ceiling pulsating with a sick twisted form of life.

Just then something poked through it and Eddie screamed. He didn’t mean to, but the sound had escaped his mouth before he even knew what it was.

What it was when Steve got him calmed down enough to actually see it, was a shovel.

It didn’t make him feel any better, until that curly little mop of hair stuck through the now decent sized hole in the ceiling.

“Henderson!” he cried in relief.

“There you are!” Dustin called back. “Do you think that you guys can work it open from your end while we work it open from our end?”

“Is everyone okay?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Dustin said. “Let’s get you guys out of there, okay?”

Between them, they were able to get the Gate open and a mattress set up to catch their fall.

“What are those stains?” Robin sneered.

Eddie looked up at them and licked his lips. “I, um... I don’t know what they are, honestly.”

Robin’s lip curled. “Gross.”

The truth was that Eddie really didn’t know. He had gotten it used a couple of years ago when his old mattress fell apart. They could have been there from its previous owner for all he knew.

“So who’s going up first?” Steve asked.

“Not you, pretty boy?” Eddie teased.

Steve blushed. “I want to make sure everyone else gets up there okay.”

Robin eyed the sheet rope and then said, “I’ll go.”

Steve nodded and watched carefully as Robin scaled the rope. She flipped around and landed on the mattress with a flomf!

Dustin helped her to her feet.

“That was quite fun actually.”

Back in the Upside Down, Eddie looked at Nancy and Steve, but neither one moved, so he shrugged. “I guess that means I’m next.”

This was Eddie’s least favorite part of gym, climbing rope ladders. He didn’t ever see the point. Though getting detention for pointing out it was part of the military industrial complex was one of his best days in that class, so...

Up he went. It wasn’t that he couldn’t climb the damn thing, he just loved ranting about having to.

“Okay, Nancy,” Steve said. “You’re next.”

But she didn’t answer. Steve turned to her but she was just standing there. He called out to her again.

“Nancy?”

Eddie’s head immediately popped back over the gate. “Shit!”

Steve shook her shoulders, but she remained immobile.

No, no, no, no...

Not Nancy!

****

Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Epilogue

Tag List: @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @emly03

@spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie

@chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @danili666

@goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

@justforthedead89 @vecnuthy @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690

@anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

@cinnamon-mushroomabomination @dragonmama76 @scheodingers-muppet @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt

@useless-nb-bisexual @angels-of-hades @mugloversonly @y4r3luv @greeniebean911

@birbsauce @acingthecounts @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars @chameleonhair

@tinyplanet95

[kingmaxstatic]

In Defense Of Lanolin, A Post About Perspective, Flaws and Development. (Part 2: Lanolin's Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice.)

Read Part 1 Here!

Like I said, the OG post was so long with JUST me bringing up the specific events I had to, eventually, make a part two. In this part I'm gonna be discussing Lanolin as a character! Moreso why she's probably the way she is currently! I'll also be discussing her role as a character.

Posting this here as well! I'm not saying that people disliking lanolin is bad but I do think the hate is over done!

Lanolin was introduced to us in issue 2 (WOW she was early in) She didn't really have much of a role at the time. She was a background for a while before being being re-introduced with a whole new look and personality during the Urban Warfare arc!

However she does go through more than that! In multiple arcs you can see her in the background. Most note worthy being her outfit change becoming more battle ready more time you see in the metal virus arc!

Her sense in style goes from something you'd wear during the summer time for a nice day out to something you'd wear for battle. I think that says a lot about what she went through. She goes from the jittery little thing to someone more strong.

So let's get this out of the way, Lanolin is traumatized by the badnik raids and probably even more so by the Zombot virus (and EVERYTHING ELSE she was caught up in)

"I never wanted to feel so helpless and unprepared again."

I feel a lot of Lanolin's "bossy" and "brashess" comes this. She acts the way she does because she doesn't want herself feel that way ever again. Trauma changes people, speaking from experience.

Whisper is also an example of this being shown in IDW sonic. She seems much bubblier in the past but now she's quiet and reserved because of the death of her team mates. I also want to add something ELSE to this (not to pull these events out again).

"I didn't want ANYONE to feel that way."

cut to me in a therapist chair. I believe a lot of the causes of Lanolin's biggest blunders does come from a place of not wanting anyone to feel helpless in the way SHE did. It's why she goes to protect the "new scared guy" (and manipulator with years of experience). It's why she reacts with such fear when the track breaks. It's all done out of this desire.

It's her moral code.

Also I think whenever she fails this it sends her into a pit of self loathing and I have the panels to prove this check this out. Take a look at this.

THAT right there is Lanolin's guilt. Can we talk about Lanolin's Guilt? PLEASE sonicblr I've been dying to talk about Lanolin's guilt with you ALL DAY okay?/ref

Lanolin openly acknowledging that she's afraid of failing others (in the sense of making people unsafe) in Urban Warfare (I feel at least) is a small but important key to understanding Lanolin's mindset. Lanolin feels GUILT every time she's done something to hurt others. It's why her eyes go so ghost wide when the track breaks.

Because she's put people in danger.

NOW I think Lanolin's biggest flaw is that she's not only blunt but I think she forgets that she can ALSO put people in danger (on accident, of course). When she realizes it I think it mentally comes crashing down for her. Girl DOES NOT handle failure well.

(screenshot added because it's cool, her powers are cool)

Lanolin's role in the comic is pretty clear as day, at least to me. She's the straight man! (Well probably not straight and not a man) Basically a straight man in media is someone who takes things seriously. It's their job to point out the utter bonkers stuff going around them and go "what?????"

Which is one of the first things we see her do in the first scenes she's in! I personally love how much her personality clashes with the others, adds some nice chemistry to the mix!

Characters that are typically characterized as "serious" will ALWAYS clash with the goof balls. It's the charm of the dynamic.

I don't know why people hate her so much, genuinely. She shares a lot of character traits with some fan favorites! I do think there might be a uh... bigger reason as to why people hate her.

"Max. What the hell are you talking about?"

Haha. Well. There's two characters I want to discuss for this that do share traits with her and are fan favorites. Other than characteristics.. there is one key difference I want to discuss between Lanolin and these two characters. And this is the hard part where despite the meme I talk about more difficult subject matter.

"What's the main difference between lanolin and these fan favorites?"

ah! Well uh.

Their Genders.

(and well alliance for Starline shurgs very loudly)

Yeah this is unfortunately discuss fandom sexism. It's not lost on me that people absolutely ADORE Shadow and Starline. Characters that are often ones to resort to whatever tactics they deem necessary to achieve their end goals. These tactics can include violence. Hell we know Starline is down right PETRIFIED of failure (issue 50). Shadow is also known for taking charge on things and boldy assuming stuff (SA2). Hell he even assumes himself to be an android at one point.

These are both characters that share a LOT character wise with Lanolin. I know for a FACT if Shadow was the one who kicked Silver out of team dark he'd still be loved. If Starline was in Lanolin's place you'd have people going "Oh guys hear me out owo,,". You know it's bad when I've seen more genuine hate and vile spread about the traumatized teenager than the grown man who canonically helped caused a zombie outbreak (and so much more!!!). I'm saying this and Starline is my favorite Idw character! Keep that in mind while reading all of this!

People would've adored Lanolin if she was a guy. I'm betting it RIGHT now. She wouldn't be "bitchy" she'd be "determined and strong". She wouldn't of "gotten what she deserved" there would've been posts about how it "wasn't his fault <:[[[[".

Why do I say this? Because I've seen this happen in fandom.

Again

And Again

And AGAIN.

HELL Even to the extent that people have called Mabel Pines, A 12 YEAR OLD. A Manipulator. Princess Bubble gum wasn't being nice to Finn she was "leading him on". Rose Quartz wasn't a morally gray figure she was "a reckless person".

Lanolin isn't "just doing her job and making a mistake" she's "being a bitch and getting what she deserved".

I'm gonna keep it real with you guys, I was considering deleting this last part of the post but I genuinely think it needs to be said, Lanolin's hate feels SO deeply rooted in sexism. Espically with all the talk of her "getting what she deserved". I'm so stuck on that because it feels so... gross. Saying you want her cooked. Saying you want her dead. Feels so gross. She's a teenager, most likely. Even then she openly acknowledges she's inexperienced.

She's learning, let her learn. Like everyone is letting Surge learn.

Am I saying everyone who hates Lanolin is a sexist? No. Am I saying that Lanolin would've been given more slack if she was a man? Abso-fucking-lutely.

WHOA that got super serious real quick haha! Well!!!! That's the post! Sorry guys I tried to keep this one light hearted but I genuinely felt like I had to get that last part off of my chest. I really hope the next "character deep dive" I make is more light hearted. Thank you for reading!

[susagnon]

Class 1-A band

One last band reunion... before they're all shipped of to war.

I have wondered about this group’s dynamic:

Kaminari, Jirou, and Yaoyorozu first established a bond through surviving USJ together.

After that, Yaoyorozu and Jirou are often seen together, and the two of them might be each others closest friend in 1-A.

But Kaminari is probably the only one, who's friends with all of the band members:

I don't think I need to elaborate much on Kaminari and his electric bond with Jirou. Semi-canon shipping aside though, they're definitely friends.

Same with Bakugou. To him, Kaminari's probably the second real friend that he made in his life. (Or rather, Kaminari made himself Bakugou's second real friend.)

Tokoyami and Kaminari apparently got closer to each other through the band. Tokoyami's thoughts during Kaminari's big (that should've could've been more elaborated on) badass scene during the Gunga Mountain raid, outright stated, that he views the latter as a very good friend.

In one of my previous posts, I headcanon that Kaminari is one of Class Mom's favourite children. Canonically, Kaminari and Yaoyorozu are actually depicted as laughing with each other in the background more than a few times. I find KamiMomo to be an underrated background friendship, as I can see them being good for each other: Both are sensitive souls and often try to encourage others.

Kaminari also was the one, who immediately interupted Yaoyorozu, when she attempted to give 1-A and 1-B the "you are not obligated to fight against a lethal opponent with me" - speech. He instead assured Yaoyorozu that she would not face off against Gigantomachia alone.

But the rest of them? Aren't really close to each other.

...

Let's move from the most easy-going to the most difficult 1-A band member. In contrast to Kaminari, I feel like Jirou, Yaoyorozu, and Tokoyami would have a more “normal” reaction to the snappy Pomeranian.

As in, backing away and leaving it tf alone.

Because most people can't/ don't want to put up with unwarranted anger and disrespect repeatedly – understandable, especially if there's little to no positive feedback ever.

After the cultural festival arc, Bakugou and Jirou were put into the same team during the joint training arc. In which they were not shown to interact in any manner, that could be interpreted as significant to the relationship between them. No, I don’t count Bakugou saving Jirou by stepping on her, as a sign for a budding friendship.

I headcanon that Bakugou feels slightly uneasy around Yaoyorozu, ever since her assessment of him at the start of the school year. I don’t think that he held a grudge against her for that. But Bakugou is a very proud individual, even after his extensive character development. Having someone - especially someone who’s not a senior but a peer - rip apart that superior self-image he had of himself with such laser-sharp accuracy and soberness, seemed to have been… kinda traumatic to Bakugou and his gargantuan ego. I feel like he would subconsciously avoid being alone with Yaoyorozu. As in, if they happen to find themselves alone with each other in the common areas of their dorms, he will try to leave quickly.

Beyond each other's battle prowess, I don’t see Bakugou and Tokoyami having much respect for each other. Or to put it more mildly: Neither of them has patience for the other's antics.

Tokoyami is not amused. Funnily enough, in the gag comics, Dark Shadow - in the form of a little girl - made a ranking list of who/what she likes the most: Apparently, Bakugou ranks third, just behind Tokoyami himself, and Todoroki.

In short: Kaminari gels with everyone. Bakugou gels with no one... except those, who just blend out the majority of his verbal abuse.

No surprises here.

What about TokoJirou?

These two don't interact a whole lot, but the drama CDs gave us Tokoyami accompanying Jirou to a haunted house alone (Kaminari chickened out). It includes Jirou asking to hold onto the hem of Tokoyami's uniform and him reassuring her fears. (It's all very cute, go look it up on yt!)

Main media-wise, Tokoyami and Jirou had a moment of joint badassery during the final war. From that sole interaction, I’d say his dramatics and her snark go well with each other - be it directed towards each other, or united against the big bad.

Aside from that, we haven’t gotten much of Tokoyami and Jirou together, unfortunately. However, I believe they get along well. Based on the drama CD, it could even be inferred that they are friends, and most of their friendship just never made it on-screen.

What about TokoMomo?

We know that Yaoyorozu's self-confidence took a critical hit, after she lost against Tokoyami in the sports fest at lightening speed. She seemed to have been very shocked about how the match play out. We could assume, that she had been relatively self-confident previously. But we actually don't know, if it used to be more stable. And while Yaoyorozu's match with Todoroki against Aizawa gave her back some self-confidence; from then on, we're privy to more of her thoughts - most of them centered around self-doubt.

So either she'd never encountered a roadblock before losing against Tokoyami, and their match was to her, what her own assessment of Bakugou was to the latter. Or, Yaoyorozu has always been prone to second-guess herself a lot after encountering setbacks.

While he probably didn't pay half as much mind to his quick victory against Yaoyorozu as she did, we know that Tokoyami can be quite observant. I would have find his thoughts about their match, as well as the resulting consequences for Yaoyorozu's self-confidence, interesting.

How would these two interact, if they were to be alone with each other? How could they become closer friends?

During the festival, Tokoyami called Yaoyorozu "Yaomomo", using the affectionate nickname given to her by their classmates. Albeit not close, this might suggest a warm relationship between them.

Tangent: In contrast, Tokoyami still uses "Asui" instead of "Tsu-chan", despite Asui calling him "Tokoyami-chan". On the other hand, "Yaomomo" doesn't sound as intimate as "Tsu-chan". Thus Tokoyami might feel more comfortable using one nickname, but not the other. - Tangent end.

[dark-elf-writes]

Master of death Harry at UA who accidentally summons Oboro’s ghost and doesn’t get why Shota and Hizashi are crying but doesn’t say anything as they cry

I read this as MoD Harry as a student doing this which makes this funnier and also more heartbreaking.

Like Harry leaving after the battle and needing to do something different, something that doesn’t involve a castle of ghosts and the memory of blood on his hands and screams in his ears, he ends up, through a letter sent to him at exactly the right moment courtesy of Nezu (and how he managed to get a letter delivered to an unplayable address Harry isn’t sure he wants to know), as the oldest member of 1-A.

He doesn’t really know what to claim as a quirk because his magic is fucked and telling people is illegal but then he summons a ghost (the previous tenant of his apartment who had a heart attack and Merlin he is going to have words with his realtor) literally the night before and decides “Necromancer” is close enough. Besides the dead flock to him now (had they always?) whether he wants them to or not, it’s only fair that he gets something out of it other than a terrible sleep schedule and the world’s first anti-ghost ward outside his bathroom.

And UA has no shortage of ghosts. Students, alumni, and former teachers alike follow Harry’s every step from the moment he enters the gates a day before everyone else (for a meeting with his new teachers to “see where he places due to his unique circumstances” which sounded like kind way to say “we know you have a year four education in non magical subjects”) but one in particular shoos the others away with a smile and whisper of… something herding them off. He doesn’t fully manifest, invisible to everyone but Harry, as he follows his steps.

“Hey, kid, you’re the transfer right?”

If Harry was less used to ghosts he would be a little offended about being called “kid” by someone who looked the same age as him, but Ghosts were frozen as how they were when they died. For better or worse.

At least when around Harry they didn’t show their death wounds. Instead appearing whole and unblemished.

The meeting room was full when Harry entered, the ghost at his shoulder, and he fought the urge to check for exits. He didn’t need a window to get away with his magic, didn’t think any of the people here were strong enough to stop him if he wanted to leave, quirks or no, not since he had collected the hallows and everything changed.

“Er, hello.”

Well, maybe not everything changed.

Several of the teachers smile, one with the most ridiculous hairstyle he has ever seen beaming particularly brightly, but it was Nezu that drew his eye.

Nezu who smiled at him and gestured to where a steaming cup of tea waited at the empty space on the table. “Potter-kun. How lovely it is to meet you in person.”

Harry had barely made it to table when he felt the familiar yank of his power slipping the leash — less common now but always at the worst moments — and a moment later the ghost still following him gasped as color flooded him.

Huh. His hair was blue. Teddy would like that.

The blond teacher stood so quickly their chair flipped behind them followed by two others wide eyed and disbelieving as they stared at the ghost. The ghost who watched them with eyes just as wide, wiggling his fingers and gasping when their eyes followed the movement.

“You can see me?!”

Harry froze, not daring to breathe. Fuck this was bad, but the question was how bad.

Then one of the teachers, the woman who Harry was very careful to not look below her shoulders, sobbed.

Right… this was… not a great way to start a new school. “Traumatize your professors” was usually a term four activity for him not before school had officially started. Still it couldn’t hurt to let them talk for a while. He could always send the ghost away if things went south… probably… maybe… eventually.

Harry sank into his seat and drained his tea in one long swallow. This was going to be along day.

[threestripeslider]

The peepaw multiverse is so funny to me because like, how did this happen? Why are they all together? Why is their immediate answer to everything to either band together to protect thier children using thier collective skills and battle strategies or just to simply Cain instinct the hell out of it? Most importantly, why do Leonardo and Leon constantly attempt to kill each other? What provokes them so much about each other than any of the others? I have so many questions and not enough answers

oh boy is it already time for a history lesson SKJDJKDHFKJ–

OKAY! let’s see if i get this right – disclaimer; i am pretty sure i got the whole thing rolling but i am obviously not the sole contributor or uhh idk. the CEO of the Peepaw Multiverse? whatever, i dont hold a monopoly over it KJDBKDHB.

so. obviously a bunch of F!Leo fics started popping up and everyone was just doing their own thing. as i wrote odd man out, i was partially inspired by MNMC – Mutant Ninja Midlife Crisis through which i met CJ. we get to talking and basically just kind of pick each other’s brains a lot when it came to our fics lmao so we started joking about the differences and similarities between Leonardo (OMO) and Leon (MNMC) to which i started making silly little doodles bc those two should actually never meet; they would make each other worse (or better), they are Worsties, they are Besties etc etc etc

anyway. i start posting these doodles just to be a little clown and ppl kind of picked up on it – artists who are fans of either or both fics started contributing to the fun. obviously not all iterations are super accurate, which is pretty fine since honestly? the Peepaw Multiverse is just a fun little separate thing as a kind of reprieve from the emotions the fics might give you LMAO yknow, just kind of a breather.

now, honestly, we have no idea why our Peepaws are the way they are together but idk what do you actually expect from a bunch of traumatized middle-aged men who are suddenly in charge of way too many kids and are now meeting several other version of themselves. in my mind, i think they all just loosen up a lot when it’s just them – without trying to put up a front for the kids, they just. idk. they all just become a lil unhinged i guess LMAO some just want their peace & quiet bc god knows if they can ever get it in a house full of teenagers at their height of puberty, some just want to hang out with guys who actually understand what’s bothering them. they could do group therapy or, yknow, make each other worse, idk you choose i guess, whichever is more entertaining RIP.

as to Leonardo and Leon specifically...in short; Leonardo is annoying with his Fake Smiley Bastard attitude doing the whole Conceal, Don’t Feel bit, so Leon just kind of tolerates him. unfortunately Leonardo kind of just never leaves and starts to grown on Leon like mold HJASDJHB all in all they have a very Cain Instinct-induced friendship in which Leon would sell Leonardo to Satan for one corn chip, but also if anyone other than him bullies Leonardo, Leon will kill you probably.

[h-harleybaby]

Another stick of truth request because

Grand Wizard Cartman x Princess Reader Romantic Headcanons

But like. A girl boss princess??? She kicks ass. She'd kick my ass, she'd kick your ass,,

And cartman is just completely enhanced

- men kisser anon

Literally perfect I love it

Jen says Cartman would be mean and wouldn't let you be a princess but I don't care because it's cute

Grand Wizard Cartman x (badass) Princess reader

• Honestly, Eric was really reluctant to have you as a princess at first because Kupa Keep already had princess Kenny but after Kenny literally begged Cartman to let you be a princess he finally agreed

• (Like in the other hcs) So you're Princess Kenny's sister, tbh you wanted to be a thief but Kenny wouldn't let you. Princess Kenny desperately wanted for someone else to be royal too to take some of the heat off her

• So you ended up being a warrior princess, much like your sister princess Kenny

• And because you're a princess, Cartman almost immediately said he would be the one protecting you rather than a knight (because he has a big ass crush on you which is a huge part of the reason why he kept bothering you to join them in roleplaying), honestly you didn't need it tho considering you had a battle axe

• If anything it slowly started becoming you protecting Cartman but he refuses to admit it

• Tbh he really just wants a reason to be around you/follow you around without seeming like he has a crush on you

• Anyways- no one even knows where the hell you got a battle axe but no one is questioning it, especially because you know how to use it REALLY well

• The first time you guys got ambushed you beat the elves asses before Cartman even got the chance to try doing a spell (cough hitting them with his staff a bunch of times cough)

• He probably takes any and all credit for any elven forces that were defeated but you don't mind, it gives you the element of surprise

• Honestly tho, Eric's probably a little scared of you. And ya know what? He should be

• You're probably some sort of cracked healer tho, and he makes you heal him all the time

• He refuses to let anyone else heal him and you can't for the life of you figure out why

• Hear me out, he made this a thing but your kisses heal him. He just really wanted to find excuses for him to get you to kiss his cheek

• Even when he's almost full health, he won't stop bothering you and taps his cheek until you kiss it. He's purposefully tripped or got punched so you can kiss him and he plays it off by saying your kisses are gross but he loves them and you know it

• Whenever y'all start dating, Cartman refuses to let it be known in game. He probably says it's so you don't get kidnapped but everyone knows you guys are dating

• He keeps trying to be sneaky and kiss you when he thinks no one's looking, but there's always someone

• You're the older one out of you and princess Kenny (by a couple of months) so that means you're technically next in line for queen or something, so ofc someone has to be watching you

• What's funny is that instead of you getting kidnapped, it was actually Eric who got kidnapped!

• He hated it and was cursing and yelling the whole time

• And he sulked the entire time you fought Kyle for him

• He was the one supposed to be saving you! Not the other way around... stupid Kyle and his stupid logic

• Of course you had Kyle beat tho, no one really expects you to be as strong as you are considering Eric for the most part uses you as his personal healer

• One time you and him were making out and Kenny came to check on you, poor Kenny. The princess was traumatized and had Eric yell at her to get out while you were laughing at her

• Another time, Kyle had sent Stan to go kidnap you so he could trade you for the stick of truth but that backfired

• It was a complete disaster

• Not only did Stan fail to get you, you beat him up AND Cartman teabagged Stan because he thought it was funny

• He then sent Butters to the elf kingdom to send a message more or less saying "suck my big fat hairy balls -the grand wizard AND the future queen of kupa keep <3"

• Tbh he probably wasn't the happiest that you signed it as the future queen of Kupa Keep but he couldn't argue with it since you technically were

• We know he's consistently lost the stick of truth and almost every time you would have to beat up on the elves while he tries stealing it back

• It never works out and you always have to heal him

I don’t think there’s any spelling mistakes but most of the time I was proof reading this and writing it I was half asleep

[longsightmyth]

Honestly one of the biggest problems here is that everyone has the same bland, stilted dialogue, and it's all designed to hit every beat of every tortured romance ever without giving us the tortured romance. There did not used to be anything getting in the way of Kelsey and Ren banging outside of my own deep conviction that he was gross, but the characters don't share that view.

So when all the characters speak exactly the same way, it makes them all blend together. When they all speak like wikipedia pages or like a ten year old wrote a conversation they think adults would have, it just adds to the bland and emotionless effect.

Observe.

“Hmm, maybe you have PTSD.”

“What’s that?”

“Post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s a condition you get when you’ve been exposed to terrible trauma and high stress levels. Soldiers in combat usually have it. Remember when you told Kishan that when you heard my name, all you could picture was Lokesh torturing you, questioning you?”

“Right. There’s still some of that, I guess. But now that I know you better I don’t associate you with him as much anymore. I can distance that from you now. It wasn’t because of you that it happened.”

“Part of your symptoms with me might still be related to that. Maybe you need a therapist.”

Ren chuckled, “Kelsey, first of all, a therapist would put me in an asylum for claiming I was a tiger. Second, I’m no stranger to bloody battles or pain. It wasn’t the first time Lokesh has tortured me. It was definitely an experience I wouldn’t want to go through again, but I know that you are not to blame.”

This is by no means the Wikipediaest of sections, but bear with me.

(Also the Tiger question could be resolved by simply turning into a tiger, and even if the therapist did think you were hallucinating or having delusions and good therapist would still try to help you with your ptsd)

(How does Ren know about asylums but not shellshock/ptsd)

(Undergoing similar traumas does not mean you can't have ptsd from one or both)

ANYWAY BEAR WITH ME.

"Maybe you have PTSD," I said, almost to myself.

"PTSD?" Ren asked, sounding out the letters clearly and individually rather than running them all together.

I winced. "Post-traumatic stress disorder. It's a thing a lot of soldiers get, from combat and all the other trauma."

Since I didn't have a whole lot of expert knowledge on the specifics of PTSD, I added quickly, "You told Kishan that when you heard my name, all you could think about was Lokesh torturing you. That's a thing, I think? A flashback."

"Oh, shellshock." Off my look he pointed out, "I was alive during the Great War, Kelsey."

"Right."

"Anyway, that doesn't happen anymore," Ren assured me a little too quickly, and when I frowned at him clarified, "Not often. I know it wasn't your fault. I can tell myself that and it works sometimes."

"I think it's pretty clear you're going to deal with that for a long time," I said, trying not to sound as hurt as I was. "You probably need a therapist."

Ren cracked a laugh. "I'm sure a therapist would believe me about the curse. I'll recover. This isn't the first time I've fought for my life, or even the first time I've been tortured."

I didn't think how many times somebody was tortured mattered much in the grand scheme, but I also didn't think I was going to convince an ancient Indian prince who's been living as a tiger for more than a hundred years to go to therapy in one night.

Even in a linear conversation there's going to be give and take outside of specific circumstances. In a first person narration, you get to add an internal monologue to circle in and around for more fun hijinks. Since this specific conversation is a slow one happening without particular urgency, breaking up the dialogue can convey a thoughtful or slow discussion. Giving the characters specific knowledge or different knowledge or the same kind of knowledge under different terms because the characters have different backgrounds informs the characters and makes them distinguishable from the others.

Anyway. This isn't the only way to rework this bit, but it's A way.

[twothpaste]

lucas & kumatora's friendship is everything to me. while the game doesn't flesh it out with a lot of concrete dialogue, there's loads of rich details that're so telling. how they first meet when lucas is peak traumatized-crybaby-10-year-old, but he earns her utmost respect anyways, rescuing her with the drago stunt. that he was probably inspired by kuma (and wess), to realize he could stand up and make a difference too. how when they meet again in chapter 4, he's become reserved and sullen, and she's more harsh and leery than ever. but she doesn't hesitate even a second to help him out, and as soon as they get a moment alone, they just chill the fuck out and talk. it's like they have this innate understanding that they can trust each other, even as the whole world turns treacherous around them. kumatora - who doesn't seem like the sort to defer to anyone - puts faith in this kid's leadership, just 'cause he's so goshdarn earnest and perseverant.

psi is brand new and probably kind of terrifying to lucas - thank god the most badass psychic in nowhere is here to show him the ropes. the way they can tag-team stack buffs & debuffs in battle to bring down some of the most challenging bosses. how despite her tough front she's got low hitpoints & defenses, so kiddo's there to protect her with shields and lifeup. how they alone suffer from psi fevers, sometimes concurrently. that funny bit where kuma forgets boney's name and she & lucas exchange little whispers about it. the lonely trek up snowcap mountain, where it's just the two of them (and boney), with the weight of the world on their shoulders. how he's almost definitely terribly reluctant to pull the needles, knowing what it'll do to her family - so she refuses to wallow in grief, urging him to hurry along anyways, at her own expense.

how she's probably bolstering his bravery & confidence all the way through the story, while he's reminding her that giving yourself room to be patient with your feelings is important too. that he misses his brother so fuckin' badly, but he's got another lovably brazen sibling right there to help him through it. that she loses her whole family by the end of it, but her new found family understands her like no one else ever had. it gets me right in the chest, is all i'm sayin!!!

[the-pjo-analyst]

Chapter 21 - I Settle My Tab

Theme of the day: Family

Kind of the perfect theme for this chapter, because there’s so many layers and different versions of family that appears (I can already tell this will be a long post lol). There’s the gods’ version of family, found family between the trio, Sally and Percy, and the Jackson household as a whole. Since it was very brief, I’ll start with the trio and how close-knit the three became. Percy says a line about how hard it was to send them away to CHB after all they had gone through together and it makes me so soft,,,, they’ve been through so much in those ten days, arguments, monster battles, traumatic experiences, but they ALWAYS had each other’s backs. They formed an unbreakable bond that carries over this series and beyond 🥺

The gods are a bit strange to analyze in terms of family, because it’s such a loose concept for them, but they also understand it in different ways than mortals. Like Zeus and Hera are siblings but they’re married. Kronos ate his children so they wouldn’t usurp him. Hades is exiled from Olympus just bc he got the short end of the stick. Gods and demigods call each other cousin and uncle and such but it’s really just a title. It’s strictly blood relations and obligations and not really about bonds between two people. Zeus says “for the sake of peace in the family, I shall let you live” like ok Zeus. You just accused a child of stealing your stuff, sent him on a dangerous quest to get it back, and then you say you did me a favor ig so I’ll let you live 🙄For the sake of peace in the family. The definition of someone who cares less about family and more about appearances.

I think the only god who truly has a holistic sense of family is Hestia, and interestingly the hearth is mentioned a few times in the chapter. There’s a huge hearth in the gods’ throne room and Percy talks about how he can hear the fire crackle and feel the warmth from it. I could probably go on a whole rant about Hestia and her representing the concept of home and her leaving the Olympians but that’s a talk for another book lol. In this instance, I’d like to think that Hestia is quietly supporting Percy here, and not out of some sense of duty or obligation as a “family” member, but because she actually cares.

It’s interesting how Percy knows exactly how to handle Zeus and Poseidon. He respectfully walks up to Poseidon and greets him first, and remains silent for most of the scene unless he’s addressed. When Zeus grumbles about not being greeted first, Percy doesn’t react, likely as a learned trait from all the strict adults and bullies he’s dealt with all his life. Percy specifically says he kept his head down and waited. He knows that this is either Zeus egging him on or just him complaining to complain. Reacting would make the situation worse. Like Poseidon said, obedience doesn’t come naturally to him, so this would be something Percy has learned, but part of it is probably also self preservation lmao. It’s a little sad that Percy knows what he should do in this situation, and it’s also a little jarring considering how much attitude he’s shown other gods.

Now onto Poseidon and Percy. There’s a moment when they meet where they size each other up, not knowing what to think of the other, bc although they’re father and son they don’t actually know each other. Poseidon has been watching Percy all his life, but Percy also represents a broken pact for Poseidon, something unforgivable. He calls Percy is wrongdoing and a mistake. Well he doesn’t specifically call Percy that, just the very act of the affair with Sally, but it still insinuates how Percy shouldn’t have been born. Not a great thing to hear whether you’re a child or not. I get the sense that Poseidon doesn’t regret the affair, but feels bad for the consequences it caused, i.e. Percy being the demigod of the Great Prophecy and what that entails for both Percy and Olympus. And for Percy, Poseidon is his non-present father, someone he thought had died up until a month ago, only to learn that he chose not to be part of his life. But Poseidon also helped Percy on his quest when he asked for it. His very voice stirred warm memories in Percy he associated with his father. And in the end Percy is also glad to have a frank father who doesn’t give empty apologies or promises, Poseidon doesn’t pretend if he cares about Percy or not. Which in the long run is so much better for their relationship, because it gives a more solid base for them to become acquainted with one another. In a sense, it’s kind of a clean slate; they’re not letting their past, indirect experiences form their opinions.

I think children of Zeus and Poseidon especially have it rough in terms of parental..... guidance and interaction. With other gods, they are much more free with their gifts and visits. Being the two gods with joint rulership over the cosmos, they tend to be more aloof and distant, maybe bc they need to be. Idk how to properly convey this, but being the top two gods, there’s bad implications with showing favoritism? And their domains are so large that it’s hard to always keep tabs with their children? I think this is also addressed in later books so maybe I’ll hold off on this. Hades doesn’t really have this problem since he rules over a realm separate from humanity and he’s also separate from Olympus itself, so he’s also a bit more free to have a greater presence in his children’s lives. It seems like Poseidon wants to this too but can’t, otherwise he wouldn’t have looked sad when Percy almost asked him to see Sally with him.

Circling bad to Poseidon’s comments on his “wrongdoing,” I can’t help but think about how this really wrenches a knife into Percy’s insecurities. Percy already struggles with feeling wanted and being good enough, and then in his first interaction with his father, he’s told how he shouldn’t have been born because of the potential trouble he’ll cause. BUT Poseidon also reiterates that he’s proud of him and claims him as his own. We don’t get Percy’s immediate reaction to this, but I think it’s due to him having mixed feelings, just like after he was claimed at camp. He’s bitter from Poseidon’s words of remorse, but also can’t help but feel happy from being acknowledged.

Lord I’ve written so much and I haven’t even gotten to Sally and Gabe sdfjdhdf. Tbh I don’t need to talk about Sally and Percy since I’ve already talked extensively on that, but their reunion!!! It makes my heart clench. In every sense, Sally and Percy are a family. Gabe is just a sorry excuse for a human being who’s only role was to help Percy hide from monsters. Percy’s interview with the media will never be not funny bc not only do the journalists eat up his sob story, he also managed to get a jab at Gabe with offering everything free appliances 😂 It’s really sad how many journalists don’t really care about the truth and more about what will sell. They love drama, which is why they easily accepted Gabe’s story of Percy being a delinquent, and also Percy’s seemingly heartfelt story. But the fantasy Jacksons the media ate up and regurgitated is far from the real Jackson household. I honestly forgot that it was confirmed that Gabe physically abused Sally. I think by the way Percy reacted, Sally managed to protect him from that, although you could still infer it. But this is also Percy we’re talking about lmao, he’d never mention it. I want to think that Sally would’ve drawn the line, like you can hurt me but stay the fuck away from my child. Sally and Percy are really two of a kind huh. What a fucking bastard though, for making Sally go to work to “makeup a month’s worth of rent” right after she returned and treating her like his housemaid, among other much worse things. He really deserved getting his head chopped off by Riptide. But it really shows how much Percy has grown as a person when he hesitates sending Gabe to an early grave. He thinks about how it would fit into a hero’s story, how it always ends in tragedy, and how he’d seen the terrors of the Underworld and how he wouldn’t wish that on anyone. And yet, he would still do it for his mom. Because he’s incredibly loyal to a fault and would do anything for her.

I love how Sally has this conversation with Percy as an equal. She doesn’t treat him like a child and tell him “I’m the parent I can’t let you take care of me,” she gives him the same answer she told Poseidon when he basically offered her the world: you can’t solve all my problems for me, I have to do that for myself and find my own strength. Sally gives a life lesson to Percy here, how one can’t rely on the gods for everything and blame them for everything. It’s dangerous to believe one can solve every problem with a wave of their hand because they have the power to. And this is the very reason why Percy is never tempted to join Kronos, because unlike Luke, he doesn’t form a resentment towards the gods have and haven’t done and leaves it at that. Percy looks at a problem and think how do I fix this for the better, in a way that looks at the long term and not the immediate satisfaction. It’s from Sally’s influence and especially this talk that Percy doesn’t form a superiority complex; in the end he recognizes that Sally is strong enough to take care of herself, in the same way he recognizes other people’s strengths and validates them both in this book, and future books. It’s part of why he makes such a great leader, why he could give Luke the knife in book 5, why he’s a good foil for Annabeth as her friend and partner.

Small things:

Percy being like oh that kid is cool to fictional media Percy ahaha

I wonder if Percy’s fear of flying is specifically bc of Zeus or bc he just naturally is freaked out by it. Maybe it’s a child of Poseidon thing, like they’re hardwired to hate flying.

Percy’s interaction with the Empire State desk clerk 😂 Like yes I think Zeus will want to see me immediately *shows off Zeus’ weapon*

Also Zeus is so fucking pretentious, “I have to remove the human taint from my weapon.” Ok Zeus. whatever.

Someday I would love to make a full post on the symbolism of Sally using Medusa’s head to break free from an abusive relationship

Previous: Chapter 20 - I Battle My Jerk Relative

Next: Chapter 22 - The Prophecy Comes True

[purplekoop]

I feel like I should have Agent headcanons if I have Splatoon OCs. so uh. yeah first pass of ideas let's go:

Captain 3: Any/all but leans they/them. Incredibly tired to the point where almost everyone says they look like a corpse at least once. Extremely burnt out after their agent days both mentally and physically so doesn't do much nowadays. Missed out on normal late teen/early adult years. Stays with the Cuttlefish family, who are more than willing to help them out after all they've done. Somewhat tall in a gangly way. Nonverbal and most people always misinterpret the looks they give as death stares.

4: He/him. Goober who tries not to think too hard. Has the default Splat2 girl haircut. Still helped with agent business after the Splatoon 2 campaign but never really did anything useful and so kind of just enjoyed the rest of their teen years peacefully. Big turf wars guy but passionately detests ranked battles. Not good at turf wars but still has fun along the way. Most talkative of the agents by a LOT. Very bad at keeping the agent stuff a secret but nobody believes him when he mentions it. Still really close to Callie and Marie even after not seeing them for a while. Somehow hangs out with 8 regularly and none of the rest of the squidbeak splatoon knows how they met. Still the shortest out of the entire splatoon, sometimes gets confused for a teenager but doesn't take offense to it. Probably will be less traumatized after Side Order than you'd think.

8: She/her. Settled into Inkopolis civilian life after reaching the surface and didn't really look back on the agent stuff. Acted as sort of an online celebrity to other octolings during the first big integration into inkling society. Naturally quiet but more talkative than Cap. Marginally above average height. Has put on some healthy weight since settling down. Not ready for Side Order.

Neo 3: She/They/It. Inkling. Splatlands survivalist that somehow happened to get roped in to the agent stuff on a supply trip to Splatsville. They thought it was a paid gig sort of thing and didn't get to ask Cuttlefish about it before falling into Alterna, and complained under their breath the whole way up to the end of that campaign. The most fit of the agents by a significant margin, and roughly as tall as Captain 3, though appears to stand taller due to slouching less. Kind of a sarcastic ass to pretty much everyone at first. Still doesn't like Deep Cut but it's for petty reasons they won't elaborate on. Tolerates the rest of the squidbeak splatoon. more or less. Considers Little Buddy an adopted younger sibling. Gets along with salmonids better than inklings and octolings, and can even speak their language. Wasn't allowed within 500 feet of any GrizzCo operations before the campaign for reasons officially cited by the company as "property damage, among other transgressions too numerous and specific to detail". Banned from the battle lobby tower for two years on account of violently whacking a 13 year old on the head with a tri-stringer. The kid was on her team.

Anyways I uh. wrote this out at like 4 AM and I'm just now posting it so people actually see it. Might draw these soon and connect at least one of them to the other characters. maaaaaaaaybe.

[thatmomentwhen345]

Hi I know I never post personal stuff on here but I’m just having disconnected thoughts and I feel like you can say anything on tumblr and someone will connect with it, plus it has to do with pokemon so it’s relevant to ppl who follow me (presumably)

Don’t tell anyone I want it to be a surprise to the people who will actually see it but I’m working on a video right now of me ranking all of the different Pokeani dub opening songs and

HALT here is some important context before we continue

1. Last year (2023) I spent 7 months binging the entire pokeani

2. I livetweeted the whole thing for some reason (and subsequently left Twitter a few months later)

Anyway, so I’m scrolling through my ridiculously long twt thread to get screenshots and clips and be reminded of important plot beats so I can talk abt them in the video and I’m reliving some of these moments and

Yesterday I was looking for the episode where May loses her second chance at winning the Grand Festival during the battle frontier

I found it and I rewatched the end so I could record the clip I wanted.

Ngl, that was one of the strongest emotional reactions I had during my initial watchthrough. May’s breakdown was just so raw and EARNED and idk I haven’t cried a lot in the last few months but rewatching that bit over a year later that same powerful emotional reaction came back and it was like. Really cathartic

Last year was a rollercoaster for me and the Hoenn gang (Ash, Brock, Max, May) was with me during a somewhat traumatic period of the year but I don’t think about them as often as I do characters from other regions (namely the Kalos gang who I have a nostalgic connection to). But god I miss them and that period of my watchthrough (but not the period of my life LMAO)

And today I was reading my tweets from the Sun and Moon and Journeys period of the binge, reliving all the touching moments and it’s really weird because I dont think I’ve really processed much of the latter part of last year bc it was another weird time for me (turning 18, getting my first job, starting my first year of college) and

I’ve scrolled through that thread so many times since I finished that endeavor. But it just doesn’t compare to actually going back to the episodes themselves and seeing the little details my brain forgot or my thread didn’t mention. In fact, I think because I made the thread my brain chose to forget about everything that ISNT in the thread because it takes up less space in my head that way, but now that I’m committing so much brainpower to it again and actually rewatching some of those episodes is finally actually taking me back to last year and helping me process some of the stuff that happened? Or I could be bullshitting but idk

I said once my binge of the anime was over I was going to do so many creative things in relation to it but I think by the time I was finished my brain had had enough and so I kinda moved on quicker than I thought I would, or even wanted to. But now I’m finally revisiting those creative ideas I’m being reminded of just how much that stupid adventure meant to me and especially the characters yknow

The May example is just one of them. There are plenty of episodes I could go back to and the same thing would happen but I’m not ready for all that. I was just curious enough about the May clip because I didn’t remember it and because May basically didn’t show up at all after Sinnoh aside from a few second long cameo in Journeys but Fuck. It was even more heart wrenching than I remembered. Genuinely one of the realest moments in the show. I miss May, I miss the Hoenn gang. I miss all of the characters. I miss the escapism and the emotions

Anyway that’s enough rambling. I needed to talk about this somewhere and I think it would too out of place in the very first video I’ve ever done where I’m actually talking.

I know I said I livetweeted the entire thing but it was on my priv twitter and it was probably extremely annoying for the people who did follow me over there so like even though I was constantly talking about it, I didn’t really get to talk To anyone about it and I think that’s another part of why so much if it has gone unprocessed so if anyone is interested in hearing more of my thoughts on that experience I’m eager to share. And I suppose I’ll let you guys know when the video goes up if you’re interested. I’m planning to post it September 8th (2024), the anniversary of the English dub ending so keep an eye out if you’re interested

Thanks for listening tumblr people

[vodkacheesefries]

A little black and white doodle to send 2023 off of when Wyll realized maybe he could like Gritty as more than a friend, and Gritty wanted to help him feel better about the whole “im a devil now” thing

(I really do wish there was dialogue options as a tiefling to be like “I promise you this party of tieflings is not scared of or repulsed by your appearance because you are a tail short from being one of us”)

Gritty’s text under the cut if anyone wants to know what they’re saying. They’re really good at just talking, and Wyll is really good at listening. They make a good pair.

“So horn care is actually pretty easy. You don’t need anything fancy. Some folks like to use a balm or lotion to keep their horns softer, but for adventurers like us that isn’t super ideal. Just make sure you keep them out of the way of any errant maces or battle axes and you’ll be fine. I’m unsure if devil horns are the same way, but much like cow horns, if i break one of my horns it won’t grow back. Like Karlach’s!

The most annoying things in my opinion are when the tips snag on things and finding comfortable sleeping positions. I thankfully was able to get used to it because I grew up with them, but you might have a harder time. But don’t worry! We’ll find you some pillows or blankets you can cushion your head with and the horn caps that I’m knitting for you right now will take care of any potential snagging as you sleep. You can find fancy metal ones if you wanna be extra, but we’re pretty similar and I’ll bet you find them as sueperfluous and unnecessary as I do. I think they’d look pretty good on you though, so maybe next time we run into the tieflings we can have Dammon make you some!

And listen, I know how you acquired the horns was really frustrating and traumatizing, but for what it’s worth, I don’t think you look any different from the average teifling. You might have to deal with some extra shit from humans now, but if anyone gives you grief just let me know and I’ll drop an ice storm spell or summon some spiders on them.

Anyway, any breaking aside, your horns will likely grow your entire life. If you feel like they’re getting too long you can sand or buff down the tips, but find someone who knows what they’re doing. It’s easy to mess it up and then you’re In the same boat as Karlach. Has she told you how she broke it, yet? I’m so nosy and I want to know, but I know it can be a sore spot for some tieflings and she’s already been through so much that I don’t want to bring up anything that might upset her. She’s pretty good natured though, so maybe it would be okay.

Have you given any thought to how we can get rid of Mizora yet? I know killing a demon on the material plane is impermanent, but that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t hurt and if we can get you out of your contract, I say we let ourselves get a little creative with it. I’ll bet Karlach would help. Astarion, too. You need help getting rid of someone and he’d probably just say “who, what, when, where, why?” Hahahahaha! Anyway, let me know if you lose these. They’re quick and easy to make. I have to make myself at least one each month.”