#<- do i need to tag that separately?

[johanna-swann]

You know, I get that Eddie was annoyed with Buck over going full passive-aggressive remarks / petty mode, I get that he was probably trying to convince himself the move to Texas is a good idea when he was talking to the potential renters, I get that even if Buck didn't scare off those renters on purpose it was still a serious problem for Eddie.

But. He also said a whole lot of bullshit, really hurtful bullshit about some of Buck's worst fears and insecurities. And while Buck did everything and I do mean everything by the end of the episode to make it up to Eddie - apologising, calling out his own bad behaviour, admitting the insecurities it all stemmed from, renting Eddie's house himself, telling him he was of course right to do whatever he can for Chris and organising a farewell team dinner as a gesture of goodwill to top it off - Eddie did fuck all. He barely admitted that he isn't in love with the idea of leaving LA and that was it.

I didn't expect him to grovel or get on his knees and thank Buck for his generosity (that's ridiculous), but he didn't acknowledge that he behaved badly at all? What he did was dig his grave deeper. Instead of saying "I didn't mean that thing you overheard" or "of course you matter too, but I don't feel like I have a choice here" he went the opposite direction and accused Buck of spying and trying to get Eddie to pick him over Christopher??? Eddie sweetheart, I know repression is your middle name and you can get tunnel vision because of that, but holy fuck. You're acting like an arsehole. Get some perspective man.

(Elaboration on that tunnel vision thing under the cut.)

On the one hand I'm tempted to blame this on the overall shit writing for season 8, but this kind of has precedent going back many seasons. When Eddie maneuvers himself into a tight spot, he represses his doubts, puts on his blinders and doubles down on the path he chose.

He did it when he started hanging out with Kim last season, never thinking about what the hell he was doing and only told Kim the truth / decided to stop seeing her after he was confronted by Buck. He didn't think about how insane that situation was, how it wasn't fair to Kim, how (even if he was only trying to be her friend, nothing more) he still lied to Marisol to sneak around with a woman he didn't want her to know about, how this could blow up in his face if Chris got wind of it. And then it did blow up in his face and he expected Buck to fix the tension with Christopher for him "like he always does". He did admit he fucked up and he is making something of an effort to repair his relationship with Chris, but he still isn't in therapy, still doesn't talk about Shannon and still does only what he thinks is right instead of asking literally anyone for advice.

During season 5 he distanced himself from the team, refused to talk to Buck about how he was doing because "he has moved on and so should Buck", quit his job basically over night, his mental health worsened and he only stopped charging ahead blindly when he had a major breakdown. I'm not blaming him for this per se, mental illness is a bitch, but it is another example for a well established pattern of behaviour.

Season 4 and 5, he's in a relationship with Ana and he doesn't love her, but she's a nice girl and a good girlfriend who gets along well with his son, this is what he is supposed to do, right? It is Buck who has to sit him down and tell him to maybe consider Ana's feelings, how shitty she must feel or will feel when she realises how invested she is in a relationship with a man who doesn't love her.

Season 3, the "divorce arc" / fight club era. Buck didn't sue Eddie personally. He sued the boss who unrightfully kept him from his job and the institution he worked for. He had lost his job, was probably hanging out 80% less with his entire social circle than before the bombing, had almost died twice and was still recovering. This had nothing to do with Eddie personally and yet Eddie got majorly pissed. Didn't even try to see Buck's perspective. And personally I don't think Buck should've sued. I think he should've gone to the union or tried talking to Bobby again or at least get one of their mutual friends in on this to get their advice (Hen or Chim maybe). But Eddie while in a rough spot himself went full tunnel vision again and put all of the blame for basically everything that sucked about the situation for him on Buck. Who later apologised unlike Eddie who only gratiously forgave Buck.

Season 2 Eddie had an affair with his wife who he was separated from at the time while refusing to let her see their child. He treated her like a dirty secret, had her sneak out the back door, only contacted her to begin with because he needed something from her. He eventually started being nicer to her and they started spending time as a family again, but Eddie did all of this with his "this is how it's supposed to be" goggles on. She was his wife, they had a kid together, this is the path they're supposed to take. No other options to be considered. Even 6 years later he still hasn't really accepted that Shannon didn't want to be his wife anymore and he ignored his Shannon complex for years.

This is a well established pattern. When Eddie has decided that he is in the right and that his plan is the best one then he sticks to it no matter what, he stops considering other opinions and will trample over other people's feelings in the process.

Not saying he isn't overall a kind person who wants to do right by other people, but he has this particular flaw and for someone who expects his best friend to always have his back no matter what he sure neglects reciprocating that sentiment a lot.

[yeah-thats-probably-it]

Hot take maybe but I think Bertie would be FAR more likely to survive the first two months of Dracula than Jeeves would be. Bertie has a healthy sense of self-preservation. Jeeves consistently underestimates how dangerous a situation might get (Steeple Bumpleigh, the club book) because he’s overconfident about his level of control over any given situation. He'd handle Dracula masterfully if they faced off in England, but on Dracula's home turf? Much more doubtful.

I realize this might be a tough sell, so I will explain further (or it's not a tough sell, and I'm going to explain further because I want to). (criteria taken from @canyourfavesurvivecastledracula) Without further ado.

Would Jeeves and Wooster survive Castle Dracula?

Jeeves

Jeeves' survival will depend on how long Dracula finds him more entertaining than irritating. On that basis, I don't think he's long for this world. On the one hand, he has a huge wealth of knowledge about English society and culture that he can recite perfectly from memory. That should buy him at least a little time with noted teaboo Dracula.

On the other hand, he would be absolutely no fun as a vampire plaything. Jeeves cannot be got. Sneaking up on him while he's shaving will yield zero reaction (though that's at least good for his short-term survival--given that, although he DID take the crucifix from the old woman out of politeness, he certainly isn't going to wear it. The rules of fashion don't go out the window just because you're in a spooky castle). Then, although managing the whims of rich jerks is not an insignificant part of a valet's job, Jeeves usually does this by bending his employers to his will. Dracula is not the sort of employer this will work on. It'll just add insult to injury when on top of being impossible to scare, NOW Jeeves is telling Dracula that his favorite cloak is several centuries out of fashion and he's not allowed to wear it anymore.

Jeeves will 100% go exploring in the areas he was told not to go-- though to be fair, he MIGHT actually get away with this, what with his superpower of appearing in rooms without being seen or heard. Said superpower might save him from the brides as well (though this is by no means guaranteed). Since I find it doubtful that Dracula would come to rescue his annoying ass, not being noticed is his best defense.

There are a couple other things working in Jeeves's favor; the question is just whether they'll be enough to save him.

He DOES know shorthand, and could try to send coded letters. He might even have the foresight to squirrel away some extra stationary where Dracula can't find it. But could he get them posted? Would it even do him any good?

He certainly has enough cultural literacy to figure out what his new boss is pretty quickly. If he didn't chuck the crucifix out the carriage window, he might start carrying it around in his pocket.

Psychology of the individual, sure, but the individual in question is a 400-year-old vampire who lives in an isolated castle in a foreign country and is regarded as a terrifying mythological figure in the surrounding villages. Jeeves has never come up against anything this alien before, he's cut off from his normal resources, and opportunities to play people against each other are limited.

He probably has enough upper body strength from all that shrimping and fishing to climb the wall, so he COULD escape if he wanted to, if he survived long enough. It's just, again, that overconfidence, and also Dracula has a vast library full of rare old books that are entirely at his disposal. He's keeping his eyes and ears alert for potential escape strategies, of course, but I don't see him being as desperate to get out as Jonathan was.

There are just a lot of "depends on"s here, and I'm not convinced that luck would shake out in Jeeves's favor, all things considered.

Bertie

Bertie is so perfect for the job of Castle Dracula Prisoner it's like it was made for him. Think about it. Being held against his will in big manor houses comes more naturally to him than breathing. He's afraid of things that are scary. A lifetime of dealing with Aunt Agatha has made him the world's preeminent expert in "curl[ing] up in a ball in the hope that a meek subservience [will] enable [him] to get off lightly." He will NEVER go exploring in places he's been warned away from if nobody is forcing him to (Rev. Aubrey Upjohn's office notwithstanding. There were biscuits in there). He's both fun to talk to and easy to toy with (and extremely English). A+ prisoner. Dracula adores him.

In my opinion, Bertie is at Castle Dracula either because Aunt Agatha got some wires seriously crossed and thinks he’s going to meet an eligible potential bride (I mean, there are certainly brides there), or because Dracula has something Aunt Dahlia wants him to steal (far less likely, given that one of Dracula’s THINGS is famously not owning anything silver). Either way, he's shown himself entirely willing and able to escape down drainpipes if a sitch gets too scaly.

He DOES take the crucifix, and DOES wear it (which is what will save him during the shaving scene, because you KNOW he's going to jump a foot and cut himself like the dickens). He's read enough supernatural goosefleshers to be genre savvy about terrified old women cryptically pushing crucifixes into one's hands. I also think his sunny disposish endeared him to the villagers, and they were particularly vehement about urging him not to go. He doesn't speak German or Romanian, but he's empathetic enough to recognize Pure Terror. So by the time he actually gets to the castle, his imagination is already running wild and he's plenty aware that he is in imminent danger.

I think the biggest risk to Bertie will be the brides; whether or not he's susceptible to trances, if he thinks they're trying to marry him, it's against the code of the Woosters to turn them down. But that only becomes an issue if he comes face to face with them, which, luckily, I think is unlikely on account of the aforementioned "won't go exploring" (and if he did, Dracula would definitely rescue him).

I'm inclined to say due to his drainpipe-escape habits that he WOULD be able to climb the wall and MAY attempt to sneak into Dracula's room to look for the keys if his desperation grows to outweigh his fear. Whether he does or not, though, he does NOT have the stomach to attempt shovel murder, and therefore won't get magic brain fever, and may very well simply walk out the front doors when the people come to take the boxes away. OR he climbs his way out like Jonathan did. Either way.

When Bertie tells this story at the Drones later, Tuppy will say that no doubt it's been greatly exaggerated and all that probably happened was that he spent a couple months in an oldish house entertaining a weird loner.

[tumatawa]

I wish she had more scenes... Whateva

[that1notetaker]

An unfinished conversation exchange. Next part when.

[w1f1n1ghtm4r3]

got absolutely possessed over the past few days, finished planning out the remaining last life designs i had yet to do, and then drew all of them again to make one big lineup with everyone. no one could stop me from making last life a fantasy monster au and so i did it. i love drawing creatures

version with species labeled below the cut

please note that this follows my own monster au species and rules! some things are things i simply made up (the bug/animal/birdfolk stuff. if youre curious why theyre the way they are, bugfolk are fae relatives, animalfolk are lycanthrope relatives, and. well birdfolk isnt something ive used before. idk what theyre an offshoot of yet) and some are my own (sometimes slightly strange) approach to designing various creatures.

if you have questions about my reasoning behind any of these choices or about my monster or last life worldbuilding in general my askbox is always open and im happy to answer questions :D i love to talk about creatures

[xxplastic-cubexx]

just wanted to make a color ref for Brain Therapist Magneto from 309 but i needed lights too for some reason

bonus The Flats Only Version

[veifei]

the little insights we got into veifei are so interesting to me — xia fei actually having a temper that vein has to assuage; xia fei seeing vein as warm hearted, and him being the very first person he thinks to call when in a bind...at the same we know xia fei owes a lot to vein, we know (from the character profile) that xf hates owing people favours. we know that in the grand scheme of it all vein is using xia fei in spite of also taking such good care of him

also there's something about the introduction of their dynamic: xf turning down food, because his boss doesn't like him 'sneaking snacks.' there's that implication of control under the guise of care, and the timing of vein calling at that moment too, reminds me of xf's pv — one as the watcher, the other being watched.

anyway all this rambling is to say veifei toxic yaoi goes crazy in excited to see what's in store for them...

[lemonyinks]

Because they are on my mind, please accept one of my favorite Wangxian moments of all time.

Chapter 87

In my opinion, this is one of the most important Wangxian scenes in the whole novel. It is very special to me. It made me tear up when I was doing my read through.

Time and time again, Wei Wuxian has fallen, he's gotten hurt, people have failed him. The people who were supposed to be there for him have either left, he's lost them tragically, or they've betrayed him at some point in his life. His life has been one of loneliness and loss.

He has never had someone who he could rely on so heavily. He has never had a solid safety net before, someone on equal footing to him that he could fall back on and rely on. If anything he has spent his entire life being a safety net for other people. He has spent his whole life being strong for others.

Now, however, Lan Wangji is that safety net for him.

For the first time in his life, he has someone to truly catch him when he falls. He can let himself fall and still be safe. That "thank you" isn't just about Lan Wangji catching him after he fell from the tree, its about everything.

[keferon]

Monster hunter AU suggestion

Hello! It's me! The one that wrote the one-shot about Brainstorm's incorrect wanted poster appearing in a conspiracy show.

So! You said something about the imaginary camera panning out to Quark in the future and him watching a cursed version of the plot, right? I think I got a better idea.

What if Quark actually READS about a cursed version of the events?!

Like how with time history gets changed and twisted in different regions? What IF the cursed version is someone actually finding Roddy's memoirs and making a cringy graphic novel or a very inaccurate comic on the time period and Quark just happens to read it? Imagine a mess of a story with inaccurate translations, exaggerated characters, vampire romance level of cringe and so on while in the meantime, Brainstorm is fighting for his life in the past, trying to find a cure for Quarks and find a way home, unaware he's being portrayed as a silly, humanoid cyber-chicken in some bit-brained wannabe author's quick cash grab?

LMAO OH THIS IS BRILLIANT

You know what else would be really funny? Quark reads the novel and then another chapter unfolds and weird fictional version of Brainstorm appears and Quark is like "heh I like this one for some reason. He's so silly."

And then fictional version of Perceptor is introduced and Quark just looks at them and goes "yeah I ship that".

No one else understands his vision btw Simpatico is his personal rare pair👌

[tracys-slumber-party]

im mixed on how this turned out but hiiii smth for the mark fans out there happy summertime i guess

[rainee-chu]

My dumb nullstat comics because I think they’re so funny

[renthedevil]

hot rods short squad dooble

[steblynka-draws]

kiss your girl goodnight

[mashandmartinis]

Thinking about how every man Margaret has been in love with was a personification of the army in one way or another:

First we have Frank, Major, patriot and a stickler for military rules. Annoying, not nearly as masculine as the other men Margaret is attracted to later on. But he symbolises army values, the patriotism that forms a driving force in career military personnel.

Then there's Lieutenant Colonel Donald Penobscott, emphasis on the Lieutenant Colonel (as Margaret herself rarely fails to mention when she talks about her husband) who symbolises rank and status, and (as shown during the Olympics episode) a certain amount of athletic masculinity associated with the military.

Enter Scully, soldier gone AWOL, officer, private, manly and (the first time Margaret sees him) covered in front line grime. Scully symbolises the very basic traits associated with the army: masculinity in a very specific soldierly way, carrying the front line on his skin and uniform, ranked (until he isn't).

Margaret has never loved men. She's been in love with the army all along.

[turtleblogatlast]

[ cw: trauma / mind control / separation anxiety / autophobia / ]

Something that kills me is that there’s no way in hell that Raph’s debilitating separation anxiety isn’t infinitely worse after the movie. The trauma of being Krangified like that, all alone, would probably regress him so hard.

Not to mention his worries of getting “weird” would likely get mixed up with his experience while Krangified - aka, he loses full awareness, and when he’s brought “back” it’s to the understanding that he attacked his own family (of course not to his own fault at all, but how much of that does he believe?)

The fear of being alone would take on another layer and become a fear of himself.

[thirstkanaphan]