#Aw hell yeah WORLDBUILDING BABY

[eyesthecolorofarson]

Soul healing

Damian was angry.

He was one of their best fighters, knew the layout of Arkham like the back of his hand, AND was on good terms with both Riddler and Ivy! Why wasn’t he allowed to help in the breakout? What was the point of making him babysit!?!

Father had said he was to keep the child safe but he’d neglected to say why. And honestly, the child was three months old. Who would be hunting down an infant, why would they be hunting down an infant, and what would they do with an infant? If anyone was after the child, that is.

The infant in question was babbling incoherently and rolling around on her stomach. She squealed and he huffed. All he knew about her was the information in her file, which was surprisingly little. Three months old, no name and orphaned, she was of Brazilian heritage and her blood tests located her place of origin as Blüdhaven. She was moved to Gotham to be fostered, which is one of the stupidest decisions he’s ever heard of.

The foster parent in question was Daniel ‘Danny’ Nightingale. Nightingale showed incredible intelligence, graduating upper primary school two years early and high school in two. Currently a student at Gotham University Nightingale was double majoring in chemistry and aerospace engineering when he decided to apply for a New Jersey foster license, which he was given due to already having one in both Wisconsin and Ohio as well as his incredible record.

Nightingale was in the room with him and the infant. He was 14 years of age and had short black hair much like himself, but Nightingale was disturbingly pale and had almost ultramarine blue eyes. Nightingale was sitting with the child in front of his place on the couch. There was a gate in a circle connected to each end of the couch that contained a multitude of children’s toys and a few books. The infant was currently playing with a keychain-like toy while Nightingale entertained her.

One part of him wanted to sit and stew in his contempt, but the other, the son of the Bat, was deeply curious. What was so special about this child that it warranted him–an Al Ghul, Robin, heir to the mantle of Bat and Demons Throne–to act as bodyguard? Was it her heritage—correction, what was her heritage, because there was no other reason for her to be hunted. What else could it possibly be?

But when he began paying attention to the infant, it made him realize that the child was not the oddity he was sent to watch, but Nightingale. Nightingale acted normal for the most part, but when the infant made a certain sound–a loud shriek–his pupils would retract and slit before expanding again, like a cats. That wasn’t the oddest thing he noticed.

Nightingales teeth were sharp, and the more he babbled and cooed at the infant the more teeth Damian could see. It appeared all his teeth were canines except for the teeth in the normal place for canines. Those four teeth were long and thin, like a vipers. When the light hit his eyes his pupils shimmered, like a cat or an owls. His ears, which were slightly pointy, twitched every now and then. His nails were noticeably sharp as well, and his voice would sometimes distort. As if a record player were malfunctioning. And the infant would respond! Respond in that same distorted tongue. That loud shriek would turn into a two second wail that made his heartbeat rise to his ears and his vision blur. Then she would giggle or coo and it would end. He had to do something. Those wails were coming more and more often now, and she was starting to lose shape.

“What is this?” Damian snapped. “Don’t worry,” Nightingale told him gently, “this is normal for her species.” He blinked and processed his words. Species. She wasn’t human. “I’m surprised the Bat picked up on it,” Nightingale continued, “Humans aren’t usually susceptible to this sort of thing. But I also sorta expected it? Because he’s, y’know, Batman.”

Nightingale smiled sweetly as she shrieked again, her outline blurring and walls shaking. He could feel his teeth rattling in his head. Suddenly Nightingales jaw unhinged with a quick clicking sound, as if his bones were straining and breaking, and an even louder whistle-hissing sound came from between his now many, many teeth. She stopped, her mouth in an ‘O’ and her eyes wide. He didn’t notice before, but an infant her age shouldn’t have teeth. Especially that sharp. And her eyes were a light yellow color, like straw.

Then she giggled, and began babbling like she didn’t just use a sonic voice ability similar to Black Canary’s. “Dawww,” Nightingale cooed, tickling her, “she’s developing quickly! Garalings usually only start fawning when they start walking.” Damian watched warily. He didn’t want to get any closer, in all honesty. His ears were ringing.

But he was curious, so, so, curious. What was a Garaling? What was fawning and why did they do it after they began walking? Could all Garalings do this ‘fawning’? Compared to other Garalings, exactly how fast is she developing? Is early development common?

Start with the most important. “What is a ‘Garaling’?” Nightingale smiled at him again. “Garalings are an extradimensional species that reside in a place called The Valley. They act as lords of nature and patrons of a chosen plant or animal. Her fawning,” he tapped her nose and she giggled, “will soon turn into either an animal sound or a sound of her own.”

“Fascinating,” he muttered, “is it an attack?” “More like a call to arms,” Nightingale leaned back, relaxed, as the infant shook her toy. “Gathering her chosen animal or plant for whatever she needs.” Damian watched her chew on the toy, drooling and babbling.

“What are you?” “I’m dead. Well, sort of. How to explain this…” He thought for a moment. “Think of me….as the line between life and death, but not exactly limbo. More like I move the line. Sometimes more dead, and sometimes more alive. But always a bit of both.” Damian couldn’t help but be reminded of Todd. And himself.

“Your not from this earth.” Nightingale smiled sadly. “I used to be. But not anymore. Even so I can’t bring myself to fully leave, though I probably should.” “Why? What makes you stay?” Nightingales eyes drifted away, back to the infant. “I want to continue the life I never got to finish. Experience the things I never got to experience. Do what I always wanted to do, even if it’s too late.”

He could understand that. Nightingale looked to be his age. To be ripped from life so soon was something he worried about constantly. Knowing that Nightingale was…..He understood wanting to stay, to pretend to be alive.

“What brought her here?” Nightingales face tightened. “Cultists.” He sounded annoyed. “They exist in every world and their always fond of sacrificing children. Even though my summons specifically say if I’m offered children or anyone unwilling I’ll destroy the cult.” It took Damian a moment to understand the implications.

“….who are you?” Nightingale smiled at him again, and for a second his outline wavered like the infants had. “I am Danny Phantom, High King of the Infinite Realms, the afterlife dimension. I rule over everything and everyone who’s died, if they’ve stayed dead or not. I am The Warm Winter, The Space Between, The Brightest Star. I act as Defender Of The Undead.”

“And what do you plan on doing with her? Why did you take her if you do not accept living offerings?” It was suspicious. Even though Nightingale–Phantoms titles painted him as benevolent, and his stance on sacrifice was very pacifistic, Damian knew better than to trust him just on those facts alone.

But he was being very honest, and it made him wonder why. Compared to Phantom, he was microscopic, a nuisance even. Why was he answering all his questions with seemingly endless transparency? “Because her parents were apart of the cult that offered her, which is unfortunately a common case. I had to bring her here because I already have another offering child going to school here.”

“Another?” He tilted his head, eyes narrowing. “How many children have you kept?” He suddenly had a feeling. Not a bad one, just…a feeling. Phantom thought for a moment. “Well the first was Sirius, she’s from a dimension where people are made completely out of star matter. She doesn't live with me anymore since she’s all grown up now, but she’s a really popular singer in the Realms! I can see if she set up her inter dimensional and universal site, her music is great!”

“Casey is my second, he was offered when he was about ten and he’s from a universe that’s essentially the same as this one but everyone has magic. He’s currently in his home dimension in school as well. He specializes in hydrokinese but he’s trying to learn Essokineses. He’s a really quick learner but has a tendency to either give zero or a hundred, no in between.”

“A few months after that I was offered a pair of twins in their twenties. Well, they were built to look to be in their twenties, their actual age is, as of now, seven. Their from a world where hyper realistic androids have no rights and are destroyed if they develop sentience, so when they did they were offered to me because they thought it would get through my rule. They named themselves Poppy and Posies. They don’t like to leave the Realm so their being homeschooled. They really enjoy learning and playing, and Poppy’s favorite thing to do is dance and Posies is jewelry making.”

“I got another infant from a dimension where everyone’s a centaur a few weeks ago. I named her Amaranthe and her lower half’s a sheep! She’s so cute. She’s not the best at walking yet but she loves jumping whenever she can. She likes playing perk-a-boo with the handmaidens. And the child going here is Aiden, he was offered a few months ago. He was originally from Kentucky but everyone in his hometown was apart of the cult and Lady Gotham likes me so we’re here now. He’s still rattled but being on earth helps him so he can stay as long as he likes. He wants to get into a trade school.”

“And this—“ Phantom tapped the infant on the nose, who giggled and grabbed his finger. “Is Velvet! Like I said she’s a Garaling from The Valley. I literally got her two weeks ago so her fake identity is pretty rushed and I think Batman could tell which is why you’re here. But I need to be here for Aiden, so she’s probably going to stay with me for at least another four weeks or until her room in the Realms is ready.”

“You have an adoption problem,” He groaned. God forbid his Father learn about this even though he knew he had to show him the footage being collected from his mask. Phantom laughed. “Probably. But it’s not like I could just give them away to someone else. Well, I could. But I don’t want to. I don’t have any family other than my sister, and she’s still alive. So it’s nice to have people running around the castle.”

He respected it. Even though he was suspecting Phantom was older than he appeared, his physical appearance was probably the age he died at, he was still going out of his way to take in not only traumatized adults and children but infants. He’d never dealt with infants but he had no doubt that they were a handful, even though Phantom said he had handmaidens he didn’t seem like the type to let them do everything.

“Have you had any problems with vigilantes such as myself? I know Batman can be quite forceful and rude if he encounters something he does not understand.” Phantom allowed Velvet to shake his fingers with surprising strength. “Nope! I’m very good at staying under the radar. That’s why I was so surprised when Batman sent you. Like I said, humans aren’t usually capable of picking up on things like the undead. But it’s probably that contaminated ecto you and him are covered in. Can I ask you about that, by the way?”

Contaminated Ecto? “Whatever do you mean by ‘contaminated’? What is this ecto?” Phantom held his hand up and Damian watched, fascinated and horrified, as Lazarus water bled from his skin and rose into a ball. “This is ectoplasm! Every ghost is made of it. It’s our blood, flesh and atoms all in one. Judging by the look on your face you’ve seen it before?”

Damian cleared his suddenly dry throat. “Uh, yes. We call it Lazarus water, and it comes from Lazarus Pits.” Phantoms eyes narrowed. “Pits? Like, a natural or artificial hole in the ground? It doesn’t move or flow in and out? It just sits there?” Damian told him yes and explained the way the League used the Pits, the effects of being revived or healed by the water. By the end Phantoms carefree attitude had left and in its place was someone who held himself like a king.

“Let me put Velvet to bed.” He waved his hand and the gate and various toys began to float and put themselves away as he picked up Velvet and walked away. He was alone for a few minutes, watching as the toys stacked neatly in a toy box and thinking. There was a whole species of people made out of Lazarus Water. Ectoplasm. Pure ectoplasm. What he’d experienced, had contact with, was apparently so corrupted that Phantom had noticed it.

Phantom came back and sat next to him, running a hand through his hair. “Ok, so; ectoplasm has a mind of its own. It connects with and enhances emotions. That’s why a lot of ghosts are angry or sad. Because the ectoplasm connects with the feelings they had when they were dying, and that’s why ghosts are so emotional. It’s all we’re made of. Some people don’t become ghosts but their emotions do. We call those blob ghosts.”

Phantom looked disturbed. “Ectoplasm can’t just sit there or else it’ll start to deteriorate, mold. It’ll become poisonous, borderline radioactive. It needs to be moving and connected with more ectoplasm to filter it out. Yes it does having insane healing properties but it’s not supposed to hurt you. Never supposed to hurt you. Again it has a mind of its own. Most ectoplasm wants to create new life, heal and help. If this Lazarus water is hurting people, it’s because it wants to. And that’s really, really bad.”

“You said it was boiling?” Damian nodded. “That’s also not good. Ectoplasm is supposed to be cold. That’s why most people who contact ghosts feel cold or the temperature drop. I’ve never heard of ectoplasm boiling before.” Phantom looked very troubled. “You said these pools are controlled by the League of Assassins?” At his nod he waved his hand and a small white circle appeared next to him.

Through the circle he could see only what appeared to be a bookshelf. Phantom traced the spine of a few before pulling one out and closing the circle, flipping through the book. Damian leaned over to read. It seemed to be a list of people. At first he didn’t recognize them, but then the name The Sensei appeared at the top of a page labeled ‘The Demons-Al Ghul’

It was a family tree. One he’d seen and studied more than a million times. It showed his ancestors, great grandfather, Ra’s, his Mother, Dusan, Nyssa, even Mara and I’son. And him. Phantom pointed at his name. “Is this you?” He swallowed.

There wasn’t any real point in lying. He already knew, but if his Father found out he’d get in trouble despite the recording showing Phantom had figured it out himself. “Uh, yes. Yes it is.” Phantom nodded then flipped more pages before coming across a map. He folded the page out and Damian saw it was seven small but detailed maps. Maps of the locations of the Pits.

“Holy shit,” he muttered, “Phantom you can not let anyone find this book. If this got into the wrong hands—“ Phantom laughed. “Don’t worry, Damian. These kinds of books are only in the castle library. No one other than me and my family can get in there.” He flipped through a few more pages before coming across one with a sketch of the Lazarus Pits. Phantoms eyes scanned the pages quickly, growing more concerned the more he read.

“Do you have any of these symptoms? The anger, lost time and enhancement?” Damian bit his lip. “I…used to. The Pit rage and blackouts faded after time and I have no enhancement that I know of. But, one of my brothers, Jason Todd…” Phantom muttered the name, opening another circle and pulling out another book. He flipped through it quicker than before and pointed at a page near the back.

“Jason Peter Todd-Wayne?” Damian nodded. Phantom sighed again. “He’s a revenant, an angry spirit that was put to rest and then forced back into life. It’s no wonder these symptoms stuck with him; this Pit probably attached itself to his barely formed core. It’s a miracle his body’s still functioning.”

“What’s a core?” Damian leaned over and red more names in the book, all unrecognizable. “A core is a ghosts soul. Each core has a sort of unique elemental power or structure to them. I have an ice core.” Phantom opened his hand and Damian watched as wisps of ice and snow rose out of his palm.

“Ok, so; a ghosts age depends on how long they’ve been dead for and how developed their core is. So someone who dies at a hundred will suddenly become a newborn ghost. Ghosts get more powerful with time, and depending on how violently they died they might become newborn ghosts who are already really powerful. I was one of those instances.”

Phantom opened another circle and pulled out another book. “Every new ghost will usually search for or be found by an older ghost who’ll become their caretaker or ‘parent’. These ghosts are supposed to teach the new ghosts about their powers, what type of ghost they are, how their religious beliefs will affect their afterlife. I had a really, really old ghost named Clockwork.”

Phantom flipped through the pages again and showed him one. It seemed to be a medical diagram of a ghost. It was fascinating; they didn’t appear to have muscles or organs, but rather this core acted as not only their stomach and heart but their brain. In fact their whole body seemed to be one big vein, the whole thing circulating this ectoplasm throughout it.

“Finding a new ‘parent’ is really, really important. Like I said before ghosts are nothing but emotions. So when we get lonely, it’s like a major depressive episode. We start hurting ourselves and others, we do things that go against our beliefs or moral codes, we do anything to bring any sort of attention to ourselves. Is this similar to anything Jason went through after being forced back?”

“I believe so? I don’t know what he was really thinking, but he definitely did horrible things that he would never have done before.” Damian didn’t miss the wording Phantom used. Forced. Todd didn’t come back to life, he was dragged back. Ra’s wanted to come back, his Father wanted to come back, he wanted to come back. But Todd had been put to rest somehow. Todd had moved on.

“If Todd had moved on before being forced back, why would he react so violently? If he’d been at peace, why all the anger?” Phantom closed the book and pulled out another, flipping through it to another diagram, but this time it was of a core. It was cut up the way he’d seen cells be in schoolbooks. “I honestly don’t entirely know, and I would have to see Jason or take him to one of my doctor's, but I think it’s because of the Pit.”

“As I said, ectoplasm is slightly sentient. But if this Lazarus water is working the same way normal ectoplasm does but maliciously, then Jason’s entire core might be made out of this corrupt ecto. It might have connected with one of his dying feelings, anger, and blew it out of proportion.” Damian bit the inside of his cheek. Todd would not be happy to learn his new soul is made out of mold and corruption. He’d take it the completely wrong way.

“How would we fix something like this? If a core is every organ, how would we get rid of the Lazarus water his very soul is now made of?” Phantom thought again. “Maybe we could flush it? Like, get him pills or an IV of pure ectoplasm and try to push it out. I don’t really know, but I know a doctor who might.” Damian hesitated before speaking again.

“…Would the Lazarus water fight back? Is it sentient enough to do that? What if by doing this it inadvertently harms him?” Phantoms made a displeased sound. He snapped the book closed and put it back in the portal before turning to him. “I don’t know, but I can find out. The book said there’s one of theses Pits in the Batcave, is that true?” He saw where this was going.

“My father would never let you in,” he started, “But you can bring me some.” Phantom finished. “I can get you some transport-safe tubes from one of my doctors, and they can look it over and find out how it works. If we find out a way to purify it, we may be able to use that to purify all the pits.” It was optimistic, but hell, he could use some hope in his life. And if he got caught, the mask footage would be his saving grace.

“If it is for the purpose of curing Todd of his Pit madness, then I will do whatever needs to be done. Where will you get these containers?” Phantom smiled and opened another portal, this time showing what looked like a laboratory table filled with beakers and containers with a green tint. Phantom grabbed five vials with stoppers and tongs. He handed them to him, and then grabbed a rack and gave him that as well.

“Want me to open one to the Batcave?” “If you wouldn’t mind.” That’ll make it far easier to get to and from, and lessen his chances of getting caught. Phantom stood and opened a much larger white circle, and it showed the closely guarded Lazarus Pit that was deep in the cave. He quickly filled the vials and went back in the apartment. “What now?” Phantom secured the tops with ice before replying, “Now I take this to the Far Frozen. That’s where the best doctors in the Infinite Realms are, they’re a group of Yetis.”

“How long will it take you? How long will it take for them to test it?” “I don’t know,” Phantom opened a larger portal, showing a frozen tundra. There seemed to be a large cave of ice in the distance. “But I’ll be back as soon as possible. We’ll find a way to get rid of the Lazarus Pits, and purify your brother. I promise.” He said it with such certainty and confidence that for a second Damian fully believed him.

In a flash of white Phantom’s hair had turned a snow white and his eyes Lazarus–ectoplasm green. He was wearing a black suit similar to a superhero’s with white gloves and boots, and he had what looked to be a crown of northern lights. He had a white cape that’s inside showed stars, and the absolute power he radiated almost knocked Damian down. Phantom smiled at him, reassuringly and calm, then stepped into the portal. It closed without a sound, and Damian was left with his thoughts.

[d3pressed-caffiene-addict]

Hazbin Hotel Ep 5&6 Oh My God (Major Spoilers)

I am having so many thoughts, this is just a brain dump

-LUCIFER. He’s so pathetic I love him

-Jeremy Jordan you fucking legend. I’m a big fan of a lot of his work and was excited to see him in this but I was slightly unsure if he was the right casting since I expected Lucifer to be more of a high and mighty/snobby figure, but with the way they characterised him HE IS PERFECT.

-“TAKE THAT DEPRESSION”

-The Lucifer vs Alastor rivalry is beautiful

-“Ha ha, fuck you.”

-Father figure Alastor

-HIS EARS GO BACK LIKE A CAT WHEN HES ANGRY I CANT

-MIMZY’S ARRIVAL. I know most of us know the lore about her and Alastor being developed as a couple before it was scrapped but I really like how they are in the show

-Even if it’s just crumbs I’m so excited to be getting snippets of Alastor’s lore. It’s wild to keep going back and forth between “aw he actually cares for and protects his friends” and “oh my god he’s a fucking psycho”

-Speaking of that the scene with Husk holy shit. Poor man looked terrified

-The confirmation that Alastor’s also stuck working for someone, it has to be Lilith surely. I know some people will call it predictable because a lot of theories are coming true but personally I think it’s from good worldbuilding/foreshadowing

-ALASTOR IN FULL DEMON FORM JUST ANNIHILATING EVERYONE and then he just goes “Ah that was fun, now back to it”

-I kinda like the parallel between Al and Mimzy & Angel and Cherri where they invite their friends to join them if they want to, even if neither of them take it up initially maybe we’ll see them join the hotel in the future?

-BABY CHARLIE

-I really expected Lucifer to be a dickhead and a shitty dad, but he seems to be an overall better guy than most people in hell

-CHERRI BOMB ARRIVAL! And she’s Aussie now fuck yeah represent

-I still love her and Angel’s friendship even if she is a terrible influence. Everyone’s got that friend who’s solution to a bad day is just self-destruction but they mean well at least

-DARREN CHRIS TOO, THE MUSICAL THEATRE/BROADWAY ACTOR CASTING IS STACKED

-Emily is so sweet I love her

-The Molly cameo is so sweet, I was waiting for her to appear somewhere but lowkey forgot she was in heaven. Honestly though how did she get there when the rest of her and Angel’s family got condemned for what they did together? Maybe she left the mob or something idk I just hope we get to meet her properly at some point

-Heaven’s real fucked up? Yeah not shocked

-VAGGIE?? FALLEN ANGEL REVEAL?? AND SHE WAS AN EXTERMINATOR???? I know most of us called it but holy shit I didn’t expect it to be confirmed this soon

-Adam is such a dick but he’s so much fun

-I love that Charlie was gonna start her court presentation with definitions like a high school essay

-“Consent is a good name for a sex club” the gentleman Husk truthers gonna have fun with this one

-Pentious hitting on Cherri is hilarious and totally not the same level of subtlety I flirt with when I’m drunk

-Hearing more and more about how Val treats Angel is so sad especially with how casually he talks about it since it’s just another day for him

-Him parenting drunk Nifty is beautiful

-“You wanna play with the kitty?”

-Valentino is my #1 enemy

-Seeing Angel stand up to him to protect his friends is making me feel feelings. Like he knows that he’s gonna be treated even worse for it but I think he’s reaching his tipping point and shits gonna go down soon

-Also I know there’s a popular theory that he’s gonna die soon and a lot of the theories are coming true so I am scared. I kind of don’t think this one’ll happen though since he’s the fan favourite and its just too soon to take that much of a risk. Plus Vivsie’s admitted he’s the best written character and it’d be such a waste of all that development

-More sweet moments between him and Husk, they’ve gotten me so invested in this ship so fast

-The fact that most of heaven didn’t know about the extermination?? Wild

-Idk how I feel about the timeskip between Ep 4&5, they’re only a month away from the extermination now. Yes it’s making the stakes feel higher but I do wish we’d been able to see more of that time for the relationship development, all the characters seem much closer than before and we’ve only seen bits of how they got there

-I really wish they’d greenlit more than 8 episodes to pace things a little better but I’m glad we have season 2 confirmed

-That last minute ‘reveal Vaggie’s past to Charlie, boot them out of heaven and then cut to credits before she can react’ is gonna torture me until next week

-I don’t disagree with past criticism that Vivzie’s female characters can feel a bit underwritten but I think it’s getting better

-“We’re coming to the hotel first” plus all the theories that someone’s gonna die are fucking stressing me out man

Anyway hope you enjoy the brain dump, this show has once again consumed my thoughts

[phoenix-downer]

Just This Once (for Vash/Meryl Week 2023)

~2340 words. Vash/Meryl. Set post season 1 of Trigun Stampede, but draws elements from Trimax as well as the 1998 anime to inform some worldbuilding elements and Vash's motivations. Scars, Light Blood, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Fluff, Mutual Pining. For VashMeryl Week 2023 Day 1: Indirect Kiss.

Summary: Vash patches himself up after a fight and Meryl offers to help. In spite of vowing to never become romantically involved with anyone, he finds himself drawn to her all the same.

Just This Once

Vash was used to people acting like his body was a scientific curiosity, a freakshow, or something to be pitied thanks to all the scars. It was why he covered up and hid that he was an Independent whenever possible.

The stares, the looks of horror, the repulsion, the lack of understanding…he’d seen it all and then some. To the people of this planet, his body did things it wasn’t “supposed” to do, which made them freak out and reject him more often than not. And sticking to his way of life came at a cost. His face might look like he hadn’t aged a bit, but his body was a testament to the years he’d spent on Noman’s Land.

Yeah, he could heal himself like Nai did, but it didn’t feel right. It would be like forgetting all the things that had led to those injuries, those scars. And healing himself would drain his life when he’d rather use his abilities to help others.

He sighed and carefully dug the latest addition to his body out of his side: a bullet from yet another scared person who’d fired his gun prematurely. Rem thought he and Nai were angels sent by God to help humanity. Going by that copy of the Bible Nai had found in the ship, Vash guessed it wasn’t surprising that people tended to freak out when they saw him and Nai. Angels sure seemed like terrifying beings with way more wings than what humans were comfortable with.

He set the bloody bullet on the banged-up bedside table next to him and reached for the bandages he kept in his gear. He’d gotten used to patching himself up the old-fashioned way, and the process was rote and mechanical at this point.

But then his routine was interrupted by a knock on the dingy hotel room door. He hesitated. It was probably a friend because an enemy would’ve just barged in.

“Who is it?” he asked, just to be safe.

“Vash? Are you alright?”

Meryl. What was it about her that wormed its way beneath his defenses? Was it her dogged pursuit of the truth? Her determination to do the right thing, even when it cost her? How she hadn’t judged him when she’d stumbled upon him using his powers, just given him a look of awe and wonder when so many people would’ve stared at him in fear and revulsion and hatred?

Or was it because she’d rescued him back in July? He’d heard her voice calling out to him, and it had pulled him out of Nai’s illusion and snapped him back to his senses. Something about that, something about how weak and powerless she was in comparison to him and Nai and even Doctor Conrad, and yet had been the bravest of them all, staying and fighting for him every way she could despite the risk to her own life—

No. He’d vowed to himself years and years ago to never get involved in any romantic entanglements. That would only end in heartbreak, for him and for her.

“I’m fine,” he replied. “Just patching myself up after that fight earlier.”

“Can I come in?”

He hesitated. He didn’t want her to see him like this, but it would be nice to have someone help with stitching up the wound. He was such a baby about that kind of thing still, and it hurt like hell to do it himself. He’d done it countless times because he had to, but if Meryl was offering…

Plus, maybe this would get her to give up on trying for a romantic relationship with him. No woman would want to be with a freak like him. Seeing his body would repulse Meryl and keep her away. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about breaking her heart.

“Yeah,” he finally said, “but I have to warn you, it’s not a pretty sight—”

The door opened, and Meryl was standing there, wearing a tanktop and sweatpants, her hair damp. Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open as she took in his scar-riddled torso. The telltale look of horror and revulsion was written all over her face.

Vash chuckled darkly. This was working out exactly as he wanted it to. He would be an object of pity and loathing to Meryl now, but not of attraction or worse, love. “See? What did I tell you?”

She clasped a hand over her mouth, her eyes shimmering with tears. “Oh Vash…I had no idea…”

“Sticking to my ideals comes at a cost,” he said, wincing as he pressed the bandage against the bloody wound.

She rushed over, the door slamming behind her. “Here, let me help,” she said as she sat on the bed next to him, her gentle hands taking over. He tried to ignore how nice it felt when her fingers brushed against his, how good and healing her touch was on his injured side as she carefully cleaned the wound.

“How’d you get so good at this? Were you a doctor in another life?” he asked, half joking, half serious. If he could act like this was just her being good at patching people up in general and had nothing to do with him, then he could pretend his reaction to her had nothing to do with her.

If he couldn’t fool himself, he could at least try to fool her.

“My father’s a doctor, actually,” was Meryl’s reply. She reached for the needle and thread he’d set out. “I always kind of blew him off when he tried to get me to learn more than just basic first aid because I wanted to be a reporter instead, but after July…well, I took his advice a lot more seriously.”

Her lips pulled into a taut line and her eyes were hard. Vash’s heart felt heavy. She still blamed herself for Roberto’s death, didn’t she?

“And your mom?” Vash asked, trying to get her mind off of that.

“She’s my hometown’s schoolteacher…and sheriff.” Meryl carefully threaded the needle and examined his wound as if she were calculating how much thread would be needed to stitch him up.

“So that’s why you’re so tough.” Vash regretted the words as soon as he said them. He was supposed to push her away, not flirt with her.

Meryl chuckled. “Hardly. I was so sheltered, so naive. My family’s status protected me and my town was peaceful. I knew how to shoot a gun and how to handle basic first aid, sure, my parents made sure of that. But I never really had to use those skills until I became a reporter.”

“You don’t have to live like this, you know. You could go back home and live out your days peacefully with your family.” It was an option Vash didn’t have so long as Nai was alive, and he envied Meryl for it.

“What kind of person would I be if I knew what was happening on this planet and did nothing about it?” she said. She smiled ruefully. “I know I’m small and weak compared to the people you’re up against, but I can’t just stand by and do nothing. It wouldn’t be right.”

Vash just stared at her. She said she was small and weak, and yet she had more courage and inner strength in a single moment than most people do in an entire lifetime. Rescuing him back in July was proof enough of that.

“Hold still, this is going to hurt,” she said, and he braced himself. A moment later the needle pierced his skin, and he winced and bit his lip, clutching the old faded blanket on the bed.

Meryl worked quickly and methodically, sewing together the torn skin as if she were simply repairing a ripped jacket or mending a hole in a pair of pants. The blood and the scars all over his body hardly seemed to faze her now. When she was done, she carefully wrapped fresh bandages around the wound. He avoided her eyes because he was worried she’d see just how vulnerable this was making him feel. Touched and taken care of instead of shot at and slapped, punched and pierced, hated and harassed.

She was getting under his skin more than he cared to admit. Was he that starved for love and physical affection?

“If you’d like…I can come in tomorrow morning to put on fresh bandages,” she said softly, her hand lingering on his chest. “I know it’s tricky to change out bandages like these by yourself. Plus I want to make sure the wound doesn’t get infected as it heals.”

What should he say? No? But then who else would do it? Wolfwood’s body did that quick healing thing thanks to his experimentation, so Vash wasn’t sure if he knew how to help patch someone up the normal way, and Milly he didn’t feel comfortable enough around yet to ask for this kind of thing. She was a nice girl, sure, but—

I want it to be Meryl, don’t I? The insight cut through his meandering thoughts like a bullet grazing past his head. This was going down a dangerous path, but a part of him was tempted to say forget it all. Forget it all and let me have just a few decades with someone who cares about me and who I…who I…

“Thank you Meryl, that would be nice,” he said. Meryl was just one person in a long line of people he cared about. That was all. And saying no would hurt her feelings and leave him with the issue of “who else can I ask to do this.”

Still, he couldn’t let her get too close. Nai already despised her in a way that made Vash fear for her life. Despised her the way he despised Rem and Luida for “taking my brother away from me.” So he had to keep her at arm’s length. He had to.

Meryl smiled.

He didn’t want to.

She ducked her head, her cheeks flushing as she tucked a strand of damp hair behind her ear. “Vash, if you don’t mind, there’s one more thing I’d like to do before I go back to my room.”

“What’s that?” he asked, the possibilities raging through his mind right now not at all things he should be saying out loud.

“Oh, just a silly little thing humans do to make an injury feel better. I can’t say it does anything from a medical standpoint, unless we’re counting placebo effects of course, but it’s good for the heart.”

“Oh, um, sure—”

She leaned close and gently kissed the bandages covering the wound. He froze. Sure, it was an indirect kiss because she’d kissed the bandages instead of his actual skin, but still. She’d kissed him. Meryl had looked at his body, horrible and grotesque and littered with scars and old wounds, and thought it deserved to be kissed. And even though her kiss was chaste and sweet, it still felt pretty damn good.

Shit. This was bad. This was really, really bad. He was gonna fall for her at this rate. No, that was a lie. He already had. He had fallen for her ages ago and had just been deceiving himself about it ever since.

And what was worse was that she had feelings for him too. How was he supposed to keep her safe now? She wasn’t gonna leave on her own, and he didn’t want to break her heart to get her to leave. But if Nai suspected just how deep his feelings for her ran, if Nai ever found out—

Meryl leaned back. “There, to make it feel better,” she said softly. She smiled at him again, then stood and carefully cleaned up the supplies they’d used to patch him up.

He was silent. She had no idea how much better he felt. Better and worse at the same time. He couldn’t enjoy what had happened this evening because the fear that Nai would hurt her was always there, lurking at the back of his mind. The fear he would outlive her screamed at him not to get involved. But he already was involved. There was no putting that cat back in the bag, and tonight made that very clear.

“Goodnight, Vash,” Meryl said at last. She was at the door now with her hand on the handle, and she seemed a little wistful.

“Goodnight, Meryl.” He could manage that, at least.

Silence settled over the room for a few moments, then at last she said, “I know you’re probably self-conscious about how you look, but I don’t think you should be. Those scars just show the lengths you’ve gone to save people. They’re nothing to be ashamed of.”

So his plan had backfired on him harder than he could’ve ever imagined. Meryl, instead of being repulsed by him, was more drawn to him than ever. He was more drawn to her too. She accepted him as he was instead of treating him like he was some repulsive monster. It was hard not to be drawn to someone like that after everything he’d been through.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said at last, allowing himself a small smile. “Thank you.”

She returned the smile, and with that, she was gone.

Vash leaned back against the bed and sighed. He was both relieved he was alone and wished she’d stayed. What a mess. He wasn’t sure how he was gonna get himself out of this one.

Well, he could worry about that tomorrow. For one night at least he’d let himself enjoy whatever it was that was happening between him and Meryl. The plotting and scheming about how best to keep his distance and protect her could come in the morning. Right now he was injured and vulnerable and just for tonight, just this once, he wanted to enjoy a little comfort from someone who loved and accepted him as he was.

Would that really be so wrong?

[israbelle]

A Conspiracy theory about the Epilogues

Alternatively titled; "Isn't it fun to take the stupid plot holes seriously sometimes, just to see what happens?"

So - The hemospectrum. I have often been taken out of the story by how little they mention it in the Epilogues and HS^2, just sort of... handwaving it away as a solved, purely cultural issue. Doylistically, they seem to be endorsing the popular "caste differences were just an enforced social norm by the Condesce and Lord English so trolls hate each other more" theory. It's been a glaring hole in the worldbuilding for a while now, and I never had a satisfying answer to it.

First off, psychics and psionics. I will talk about those more later, but... *gestures* Yeah. Second, and more relevant to the idea that the caste system is a, how do you say, natural state of troll society that has to be actively worked against to avoid falling down the pit of oppression; lifespans.

That sentence sucked because it's 4AM and it's quite difficult to think straight while listening to Mouth Moods. But anyway.

There is a popular headcanon that the Condesce, puppeteered by Lord English to create a tougher landscape, and using her Thief of Life powers, artificially shortened the lifespans of lowbloods (or maybe lengthened the lifespans of highbloods?) and had they not been under her control, they would all live to the same age and have no physical differences. This is explicitly non-canon:

Everybody say "Thank you, Kankri Vantas!" Aren't you so glad he's right about everything he says all the time and everyone always listens?!

There would be seadwellers - no, there would be ceruleans who remember the dawn of history. Can they live normal lives? Do you think that one violetblood grub Karkat holds in the credits remembers his touch? Did they hang the snapchat photo on their hive wall as one of their baby pictures? Do they brag about it?

This world would be quite different from the one shown to us today. Screw "trolls' birthrate is higher than humans" being the crux of the population issue, what about how half these trolls literally never die?! Highbloods would naturally have trouble relating to or empathizing with the lower castes they outlive dozens of times, a natural "immortal being loses touch with its humanity as it sees the cycle of life repeat evermore without ever truly experiencing it" trope, and the hemospectrum would reinvent itself and simply slot humans in at the bottom.

Which leads to the big question: why isn't this what happened? Why are humans the dominant force, while trolls seem to have been metaphorically (so far, thanks Jane) neutered? And why are they losing the war so hard when they have all those dang psychics?

You know, the psychic powers that let you shoot killer lasers and throw things around from afar and commune with beasts and fly-

...And fly?

As far as I'm aware - with the exception of Vrissy, who is a clone of an Alternian troll - there have never been any mentions of psychics on Earth C. Even when she talks about them, her information is wrong, almost as if it was only ever a historical afterthought in class instead of a reality of her life. Isn't that curious?

Apologies in advance for the hats. Tinfoil really is an awful material for garments, you know. But with all the evidence laid out as it is, there's really only one* reasonable† explanation: they did something to trolls. They flattened them all out into one homogenous mass, stripped them of nearly everything interesting and alien about them, neutered them into the Grey Humans we've all tried to fight against this whole time! And they did it with slime!!

*There are most likely many other possible explanations, and there is not a shot in Hell that this is what was intended in the text. †This is a completely unreasonable claim.

It could've been an accident, it could've been a well-intentioned impulse enacted by a bunch of teens who don't understand what eugenics are, but it happened in the ectobiology room, and I think the "how" of it is that they mixed together the troll and human slime. This flattened the curve of lifespans to be about human average, and either highly reduced the chance or outright deleted the ability for psychic powers to form. Reproduction stays the same, because that involves way too many complicated biological changes rather than just flipping a handful of proteins.

The great Alternian trolls of yore are but a distant memory, replaced by these tragic, broken copies, failed by their masters; chained to the ground with their wings torn off long before Candy Jane ever entered the scene.

[syrinq]

another bonus of being late diagnosed w/ any neurodiversity is that you get to play the fun little analyser and go ''how the FUCK did NO ONE NOTICE THIS SHIT''

aka sy thinks about all the fun little phases and collections i had as a kid mostly. or at least the ones i remember because i'm 99.9% sure there's a fuck ton i'm missing or plainly won't remember until it's dallying in front of me. anyway rediscovering joys of then & bringing back your inner child in your 20s for the fucking win baby!

SHIT I COLLECTED

particular pharmacy pamphlets on various illnesses just because it had cover arts of a cool green snake on it. my 6yo ass was running into the pharmacy every fucking time just to grab 1 copy of each new green snake pamphlet and get the fuck out

rocks. gems. beach shells. boxes of them after scouring them from the beach. markets. etc. my favourite remains (looks at wiki) donax variabilis because the shells were so fucking smooth

plushies of literally fucking anything but mostly animals. catch my 11yo ass upset that my room was empty as hell after my cat caught fleas

littlest pet shop. the headbobblerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. my stupid ass could already smell the cat & dog mould bias and thought it was so much fucking bullshit. my ass did not heal from selling most of my lps during my ''i'm so fucking cringe i need to grow up'' era. but rebuying and growing my collection in my 20s did :)

schleich figures. specifically horses because that's what they usually sold most of back then. i didn't even like horses all that much. what

other animal figures/toys etc. etc. because I LOVE ANIMALS AND THIS WILL NEVER LEAVE ME

my own art technically. aka drawing shit tons and shit tons and shit tons of shows/comics/animals/etc. i liked and having that shit plastered all over my room. fucking awesome

donald duck comics. those were the fucking shit & that was the only reason i looked forward to any sort of mail once a week

virtual pet animal things. when they had plushies. started with littlest pet shop vips at the bottom now we still at the bottom because every pet site fucking died < never got a webkinz

shitty 10 point deviantart adopts. that was such a good era. and then later that evolved into a general interest in writing ocs + worldbuilding. massive W

music. aka ever since i first got a hold on earpods i've never been the fucking same. NO BACKGROUND SOUND BABYYYYYYY GOOD NOISE INSTEAD i'll be dead in a ditch if i can't ever listen to music every single day of my life for the rest of my life

LE RANDOM XD PHASE (FOOD)

strongest longest living contender is cereal for breakfast 99.9% of the time since the age of 11 (basically 15 years ago at this rate)

raisins on their own as a toddler. nowadays my ass can't eat any raisins unless it's already in something else eg. my beloved cereal

noodles

noodles with cheese

noodles with a seafood mix abomination from iceland (THE UK STORE)

throat candy because the taste was nice even though i didn't have a sore throat but pop off king

peppermints for many. many. many years in middle school i was fucking eating these like drugs

nuts. specifically ones advertised as japanese/seaweed ones. this one had its resurgence in late 2023 and then fucking died off again

penne pesto from this one specific pizza joint because they just Did It Really Good. and also in a nice bucket

skittles & cup a soup (NOT TOGETHER) to get me through the horrors of high school. i also spilled cup a soup on myself like twice and then i smelled of chicken the entire day. awful behaviour

oh yeah. jelly beans too

oranges and tangerines. it's the Juice, Ok

these particular sugar cookies shaped like chicks from one specific brand store that were only sold during easter

doritos. but not the actual triangle doritos but the tiny bite-sized ones that looked like dog food pretty much and were sold in odd tubular bags

and to top off the gamer gg vibes there was also a mountain dew phase after i got tired of fanta

finally after 843920840923 years i got into regular hydration habit and now i'll freak out whenever i'm out and i don't have any water bottle on me regardless of being thirsty

LE RANDOM XD PHASE (EVERYTHING ELSE)

random XD phase that still lingers today because my humour is absolutely dogshit (affectionate)

mint toothpaste because the taste was good & then i was forced to get rid of it because UK prices for this specific brand and flavour were fucking abysmal (talk £7 a tube)

rage comics + lolcats phase after i freshly discovered the wonders and horrors of the internet

minecraft. one of such staples of childhood gaming moments

by that extension also papercraft because glueing together little cuboid creatures was fucking awesome

something about making tiny figures out of tin foil

pictures with 4382948329023 instagram filters slapped on

live laugh love tumblr girlie phase (god it hurts)

astrology phase for approximately 3-4 months

phineas and ferb (this one is very nostalgic). my little pony. gravity falls (this one i love legit). steven universe. we bare bears. miraculous ladybug. yeah in that order and yeah i got most of these from tumblr (skull emoji)

undertale. dark souls. fromsoft games in general. gundam stuff. monster hunter < lucky that i'm still into these

warframe is something that'll have to be ripped from my cold dead corpse to be dropped

HOW COULD I FORGET ABOUT MY MANS BLINGEES

browser game pet party was such the fucking bomb i legit made like 50+ alt. accs to fucking funnel FREE REAL DIGITAL FURNITURE to my main acc and it was so fucking awesome. and then the game died. i know party town exists but it's Just Not The Same

turning into a cat person with cat behaviours after getting my first cats because it Resonated So Well. headbutt will never leave my soul

watching isopods during recess under these specific tiles at school from approx. ages 6-9. usually? accompanied by other kids. bug watching party was awesome

okay that's all i remember tedtalk over. Bye

[qzwrites]

idk how this plays out in the main continuity but i'm going to have to figure it out now! bc i love this awful trans woman i came up with!

i was playing around with the idea of jaz and sasha meeting earlier than in canon, except due to worldbuilding reasons i have already established, sasha assumes jaz is a sex worker and is like. hi hello are you working tonight? jaz is ready to tell him to fuck off, except then ze turns around and sees him and is like. for you? yeah sure

a joke about him hiring zem as his personal escort/sugar baby snowballs into sasha swearing jaz in as a man*-at-arms, because it's much easier to get the work papers handled that way

the reason i am including this backstory is because it is the only set of circumstances i can imagine winding up with jaz actually getting to fuck !bothari, which ze very much enjoys and honestly has a positive effect on him and his. sex trauma (one problem with being a sadist and not trusting yourself is. boy you sure will not try anything fun unless you're sure your partner can handle it and potentially take you out if you go too far)

anyway eventually sasha is like "jaz what if you never left. and also married me", after which !bothari refuses to fuck jaz anymore. at first jaz is sad, but then delara and emil talk to zem and are like "sweetheart sometimes people have boundaries for good reason" except then emil is like "wait are you SURE he's just been having totally vanilla sex for twenty five years???" and gets on board with finding a uhhh healthier method of dealing with shit than "only repression"

however the number of not-men who would be into having consensual violent sex with this ugly man is like. not high. especially since they also cannot be nobility. (jaz doesn't even really know maksim in this continuity yet but maksim would definitely be like, well there go all my ideas, where the fuck else are you going to find a pervert like that???)

anyway one night jaz witnesses a large, clocky trans woman kick a guy's ass, throw him into the street, and call him a faggot, then glance at zem and say "no offense" and jaz is like. ma'am are you single

anyway !bothari completely fails to clock that she's trans until she talks about having won some enlisted man's prize fight, and is like ohhh you used to be a man? she's just like jfc dude it's not like i pass. !bothari shrugs like, i thought you were just ugly. she actually thinks that's funny as hell, but also is like. wow, ugly and stupid. at least you're strong.

they have a heteroerotic fight and determine they could at least give sex a try. they are completely inseparable after this, despite not seeming to like each other at all.

helen is kind of offended to be completely left out of the quest to find her dad a girlfriend but as soon as she meets maria she texts jaz like >wow, nailed it. i cannot stand this woman. she is perfect for papa. i'm so glad they did not find each other when i was still a kid.

[ghost-town-story]

*stares at Astral*

I really need to figure out exactly A.) how to steal somebody’s name, and B.) what it does besides remove the person’s ability to hear their name

*shifts gaze to Jake*

You were supposed to be the easy one

[lehdenlaulu]

Okay, SaB S2. I'm groggy as hell and only have time for a couple of episodes, but here we go. Ep1.

Alina looks fantastic but I have to wonder where'd she find a curling iron in the middle of the sea. Unless the ship had a convenient tailor on board.

Aw, they cute.

I'm still impressed with the visual worldbuilding and production design so far.

Yeah, the Crows' brooding cello 'theme' still makes me immediately think of 'Vodka Inferno' by Diablo Swing Orchestra, if the overall vibe of the show didn't already.

Kaz backstory here we gooo.

Wow, very well-funded police force if they can afford purple uniforms. Assuming dyes work the same way they do in our world. Which I do, since that kind of thing has to be a conscious design choice.

Aw baby.

Hi Nikolai. I don't know you yet but I know who you are.

Huh, I thought Kaz had known all along and Jesper knew he knew. But I guess they needed to spell it out for the audience.

Damn, Mal. I'm not sure if that's just fancy editing or if we're supposed to believe he's Special somehow. (I know he's supposed to be but not like that I guess??)

And these would be the twins, yes? Hello there.

And here's the dude with the Finnish name and the Scottish accent. Hah.

And Wylan. Hi, Wylan!

Nina! Nice save, babe.

"Funny guns and angry hat." 😂 Perfect.

Poor Genya.

Nice acting from Dani on the 'love of my life'. The realization when she said that out loud.

Ep. 2

There's something about Nikolai I'm not buying. Maybe it's the acting, maybe the whole pirate angle is a little much and the balance of the vibes isn't quite right. Hmm. 🤔

Like, I get that the character is probably playing a part to a degree, but... yeah. Let's see how it unfolds.

Well done with the ship, though, it's actually properly cramped instead of absurdly spacious like in many films/shows.

I still really love the lighting of this show. Especially in comparison to so many other things recently.

I like that we're seeing Kirigan in human light as well, not just as the mustache-twirling villain cliché. The scenes with Genya are fascinating and disturbing. Great job Ben and Daisy.

Honestly I'm so glad they've aged these characters up. I would never believe they're teenagers. I mean, Wylan, maybe.

Huh, flashback or fantasy? I was under the impression they hadn't gotten to that part yet in the last season.

I wish the show had explained the amplifier thing a bit better, tbh. And did we even know about the Sea Whip and the Firebird last season, at all? And if she's been dreaming of them, shouldn't we have seen those dreams?

Ooh, an Alkemi! A cute one. Very... hmm. He might make a great Armand, actually.

Am I supposed to be feeling something between Alina and Nikolai? Because I'm not. At all.

And that would be a Tidemaker, I guess?

Well, that one definitely is one.

Wylan's acting a bit like jilted ex, which is weird and sort of funny. I suppose there's a reason.

Okay, no, everyone's apparently fighting like that now, not just Mal.

Ep. 3

Yeah, I doubt you'll take the Fold down in the third episode, my darling.

Okay, Nik, let's see if I buy you better now that the charade is over.

Aww babies.

Nadia! Hi! Wait, is that the same actress? I don't think it is.

Hi Zoya, good to see you.

Yeah, I thought it was something like that about the jilted ex behavior.

I guess Jesper is musiciansexual. 🤭

Kaz and Inej are better this season, I'm starting to buy it. Well, it helps that Kaz is starting to open up a bit, of course.

I love Nina and Inej, though. Inej needed someone like her around.

Well, everyone really is fighting like that, huh? It's getting sliiiightly unbelievable, but at least it looks awesome.

He's hot all bloody and disheveled I must say. 🤷‍♀️

Get it girl get it.

Listen, I love that Mal is supportive and they're very sweet but especially contrasting with the scene immediately after, I don't really care as much as the show probably wants me to. And that's not some shippy opinion, either, I don't really have a horse in this race.

Oh that's a very good shot of Kaz. Good job with the lighting and colors and blocking.

No, I honestly think Kaz is scarier than Kirigan.

Ooh, Tidemakers have green keftas? Yup, that's the one for me then.

Heh. I wrote this. Almost, anyway. Mine was slightly less creepy.

Well, that last scene felt familiar. Hah.

Okay, now some sleep, last four tomorrow night.

[rattyarts]

Huge-ask post (I am VERY funny)

Because I have so many questions that can be answered with just text, and I have mentioned my dislike of filling my art blog up with Words Words Words... let’s get them all done in one go!

(You guys can blacklist #rattytalks if you’re just here for the draws, btw)

A shit ton of asks under the cut!

Anonymous said: So for the center of the world, what with it being forcefully PG and all Bad Thoughts TM being prevented, how does having kids happen? Do parents just black out and wake up holding a child in their arms and vague memories of the last 9 months?

Ever seen a movie where they do that “and one day... a baby was born!” thing and a kid just appears offscreen with no explanation?

(This is how it works everywhere, Edgelands included; no one does the do or gets pregnant in this setting.)

Anonymous said: Hello! Quick question, and sorry if you’ve answered this before, but can other elves see the “intangible” bits of one another? Big fan of your work btw!

Nope! And thank you!

Anonymous said: Leopold was in my dream last night but I sadly cannot remember any of it.

I am SO sorry. I will try to keep my stinky murder men out of your head in the future.

Anonymous said: are the floaty bits stuck in one spot, or could the one they are attached to learn to move them around their body as long as its still within a certain distance? like, someone with the Floaty limbs, lets call him Ray, can move his limbs all over his body, allowing him to do all sorts of neat things that others with their attached limbs probably couldn't?

Whatever you want, honestly. As a general rule of thumb I don’t like putting down TOO many hard rules that prevent people from having fun with this setting. (Please ignore and scrap anything you think is stupid, I do this all the time and enjoy keeping this setting inconsistent and contradictory)

Anonymous said: Do elf names work off of Death Note rules, or is it like, if you know one elf’s name, all elves with that name are now unable to harm you? So if all the elf brothers are named Martin, for example, does it only work with blue?

I think it’s prolly just the one! Probably? Idk, might change if I think of something funnier.

Anonymous said: Can elves do magic on themselves or does thst go against the knowing name rule

Most people tend to know their own names, lol. So in my opinion, no, but don’t let me stop you if you got a fun idea.

Anonymous said: Could an Elf stitch on parts from another elf and have them work? i.e an Elf's finds the arm of another Elf. "Hey, free arm, might as well put it to good use", so they attach the arm and now they can give three high fives at once!

Same deal as previous questions, I personally would say no, but I also encourage people to do whatever the hell they want. It’s more fun that way!

Anonymous said: I bet elves are greasy to the touch.

They’re very powdery! Like if you rolled them in flour. And by flour I mean nasty glowing elf dandruff.

Anonymous said: Can elves fly or are their wings just for show?

No flying!!! (Unless you’re a mousefly)

Anonymous said: Something tells me that the elves would LOVE Obatzda.

Had to look that up, but definitely!

no1fan15: Not sure if someone asked already- Does Edgeworld have any equivalent to demons and angels? Like the old rubberhose cartoon kind?

Demons, yes! That’s what imps are: basically any demon, devil, or generic monster, but tiny! Even a couple of pop culture critters in there, there’s probably a very small gillman or robot monster running around there somewhere.

Angels, not so far. 

Anonymous said: How come Margaret hasn't yeeted George's jar into the Edge yet

I’d say being locked in a closet is good enough! (and also I need him for plot reasons, don’t tell anyone)

Anonymous said: If elves have knees bulges in the front then do they have butt bulges in the back?

i do not want to think about elf bulges

Anonymous said: So if you find a baby Therewoof and you say "aw you're so cute", their true name is So Cute?

Yep!

Anonymous said: Since a Therewoof's true name can be something like "cutie pie" or "dingus", does their name have to be spoken with "intent" for it to doggo-fy them? Or do they just have to live with the reality that any casual conversation/flirting can make them lose up to a month to Doggy Mode? My mom has little terrier dog named "Sweetie" so that got me thinking 'bout Therewoof names. & Anonymous said: here's a good question: If someone says a therewoof's true name, but not reffering to them, does it still affect them?

Just saying it will do! It’s based on those old werewolf stories where calling out the person’s name will change them back into a human/cure them, and a lot of the time it was by accident.

(My favorite is the one where they slam the door on the wolf’s tail and then say his name, and the dude ends up with a wolf tail for the rest of his life.)

Anonymous said: Would Seeing eye Therewoofs be a thing?

I... guess? Probably? Since regular dogs can turn into woofs, yeah. You might have to start paying em once they turn into a person tho. 

Anonymous said: Was ChalkZone ever an inspiration for you? Because I just love the silly world of ChalkZone and I noticed getting that same warm feeling when thinking about Edgeworld.

Maaaan, I wish. I’ve only seen about three episodes or so, but it seems really fun!

Anonymous said: So I saw your mimic post, and even though I don't think I've seen any other of your art before I was absolutely HAMMERED with an indescribable sense of slightly unsettling strangeness and comfortable familiarity. Your art feels like something from like, an old point and click computer game I would have had formative memories of before accidentally losing or scratching the disc therefore making me unsure if it ever REALLY existed. Sorry for being weird but I love the wacky nostalgia feel here

Aaaaaah, THANK YOU! That is SUCH a cool comparison and I appreciate!!!

Anonymous said: If the Edgeworld is based on cartoons then is there a Reverse Edge-world that’s based on anime?

Lol, I mean I DID have an anime phase for a while there, so...

caydebug: Man I’d love to see this as a cartoon some day

Honestly, same. Best you’re gonna get is the occasional animatic or gif, tho.

Anonymous said: Does anyone..."go" in Edgeworld? or is it like Pleasantville where bathrooms exist but there are no toilets in them because acknowledging it is yucky?

Oh god I keep getting asked this and have been avoiding it like the damn plague. But... Uh. No. No they do not. I am begging you all not to send any followup questions.

Anonymous said: Have you considered putting computer viruses or illnesses in with the buggymen? Since those are typically called ‘bugs’

Sure!

Anonymous said: are there any limits to what an Animimic could posess? i.e if they were in a costume of a Buggieman with multiple arms, could they control all of them? what about a small Mousefly costume? can multiple fit into one costume like a clown car? and what about in pitch black darkness, where you can only see the lights of their eyes and not their bodies? could one fit inside the pocket of a jacket you are wearing and help you steal things/wield a gun like a living turret?

Since clothing fills into the body type of the intended wearer, they would indeed be able to control all arms/legs in buggieman clothes.

Size restrictions is one of these things I wanna try to be vague about: I personally have been imagining them sticking to hiding in things no smaller than, um. Maybe imp sized, but really, whatever. It’s a cartoon eyeball critter!

You can put multiple animimics in one outfit!

They can move around just fine in darkness without being off screen, yeah!

And sure why not. lol

Anonymous said: I know you have been asked this once before, and you said nah you don't, but with a few more months of worldbuilding, do you have an idea for what could be down the edge now? 🤔

Not really! It’s not super important, honestly. I’d say any fan theory is about as valid as anything else I can come up with.

ps2polpo: I doubt you’ll ever elaborate on The Edge but I like to imagine there’s just one dude there like the Nowhere Man from the Yellow Submarine movie. Mostly cause the thought of someone accidentally winding up there being like “where am I?” And there’s just a guy casually waving at him like a friendly neighbor is funny to me & Anonymous said: The implication that the Edge is the physical manifestation of edginess so there’s probably like, Trevor Henderson monsters hanging out down there.

See above question! Valid! I also accept falling forever, getting erased from existence, ending up in another universe, getting stuck in limbo with thousands of other people, whatever you want, really!

Anonymous said: " he has very few bones and weighs basically nothing, " "Fastball special" trope, but with Leo?

YEET THE NASTY MAN

Anonymous said: did you ever watch dragon tales as a kid? because george and margaret make me think of murderous zak and wheezie from that show, and i love it to bits

I did not, but I would have loved it. Definitely up my alley!

(watched Quest for Camelot a loooot, though!)

Imma go ahead and stop here! There’s more but I’ve been writing for well over an hour and I have things to do. If your question is missing I’m either saving it for later, wasn’t entirely sure how to answer, or it’s spoilery.

Will probably do another one of these at some point!

[weddinggrinch]

my thoughts on every black mirror episode*

*these are just the things i wrote down after watching each episode so i'm sorry if they're a little harsh oops :) feel free to discuss!

the national anthem - so fucking weird, honestly the worst choice they could have made for a pilot episode lmao. i'm just glad i kept watching because they got so much better than this ew

fifteen million merits - this one wasn’t good either. i hated the entire concept of it, one of my least favorites

the entire history of you - hot damn this season was horrible. i'm literally so surprised that i kept watching because it was horrible. plus i hadn’t been desensitized to tv violence yet so the whole razor thing bothered me a lot, and i hated the main dude

be right back - this one was fucking devastating oh my fucking god. yeah this one was horrible (i don’t mean in quality) but it was fascinating to watch; just slightly disturbing.

white bear - biiiiitch oh my fucking god this one is a goddamn cinematic masterpiece. my friend telling me about this episode is what made me start watching the show to begin with. this is literally amazing and the plot twist holy fucking shit i'll never get over it jesus fucking christ

the waldo moment - oh this one was just fucking awful. awful plot, horribly boring, and the waldo puppet thing was so fucking annoying, my least favorite

white christmas - this one was fantastic. it was literally the most horrifying thing ever, and the artificial conscience thing fucked me up. the amount of different technological plot elements that combined in this was insane, and it was so fucking cool. one of the most disturbing ones i've watched, but one of my favorites

nosedive - this one was weird and kinda sad. the wedding scene was physically painful for me and i honestly just really didn’t like this one

playtest - oh my god this one was so fucking messed up on literally so many different levels. the ending thing where it was like fifteen different things happening inside his head was crazy, and it fucked me up

shut up and dance - holy fuck the most disturbing one i've seen yet by far this one fucked me up so bad and the worst part was it wasn’t even faintly unrealistic. like it literally could happen. i hated this one but it was pretty damn good, it just scared me so bad

san junipero - this one was fucking beautiful and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it i loved it so much. it was constantly so aesthetically pleasing and gorgeous and it was so happy and beautiful. it took me a little while to figure out what was going on, as with most of them, but once i got it it was fantastic. plus the girls were amazing. i literally have nothing bad to say about this it was beautiful. it's my absolute favorite and i've watched it multiple times now

men against fire - this one was weird. i didn’t like it that much, but it was okay, i guess. the whole MASS thing was weird, and i didn’t understand the concept of the roaches or why they were so bad, because they weren��t actually mutated or anything, it was just the MASS. yeah just weird

hated in the nation - oh my god this one was amazing. honestly literally just 10/10 no comments. the crucial aspect of the bees i didn’t realize was crucial, i thought it was just worldbuilding, and then they came in and it was amazing. compelling plot, fascinating storyline, lovely characters, i loved it. i can't rewatch most of them but this one was just as good the second time around

uss callister - god that one was so fucking scary. not because of the plot or anything, just that dick daly who was introduced as the protagonist and then revealed to be a massive fucking creepy ass psychopath. took me a hot minute to understand what was going on as usual, but once i got it, i was very invested in that weird ass plot. even better the second time

arkangel - that was very good but the feeling it gave me was awful. i felt so bad for the girl sara and i hated the creepy mom. i had no clue how it’d turn out and it was very sad.

crocodile - motherFUCKER i did NOT like that. that poor baby he was so cute. the uh, homicide count in that one was a little higher than usual, but thank god for that cute lil guinea pig, i knew he was gonna be important. motherFUCKer.

hang the dj - that was the most heterosexual goddamn bullshit i have ever seen, and the one (1) girl (i think) that they stuck in there for amy just made it more heterosexual oh my fucking god. the twist ending was super cool tho, and i liked the whole 998/1000 thing

metalhead - what the hell was that? no explanation, no backstory, and they died for a box of fucking teddy bears. that was the most hopeless thing i have ever seen oh my fuck. honestly not bad though.

black museum - now that was very interesting. i love letitia wright she's so good. tbh i don’t know what i was expecting the black museum to be but that was not it. that was very interesting indeed.

striking vipers - that was GAY. took me a second to understand the ending but i actually like the way it turned out. very interesting

smithereens - that was very good and i fucking LOVE andrew scott. yeah that was really good i genuinely had no idea where that was going

rachel, jack and ashley too - that was fucking fantastic. if jack got down on her knees and proposed to me i would say absofuckinglutely im gay for her goddamn. also the end with ashley fuckn o in the club with jack that was amazing. one of my favorites for sure. im glad they chose that for possibly the last black mirror episode jesus. also miley cyrus is an icon and it was just as good rewatching it thats all

[daturanerium]

i’m finally all caught up with @thepenumbrapodcast​ ‘s juno steel stories! here are my discordant thoughts on the story and the characters.

(i did this with the magnus archives season one, too! check it out here.)

SPOILERS FOR JUNO STEEL from s1e1 to s3ep2

general plot stuff:

this show. THIS SHOW. is written so well. the characterization is top-notch. the characters are fleshed out and interesting and engaging and they all grow and change and are affected by people and environments and time and events. they’re not static in the slightest.

i haven’t come across a story that deals with depression and suicidal idealization so well. i’m thoroughly impressed with how the writers both portrayed them and how well they have (so far) portrayed the healing process. wowowow.

THE LGBT REPRESENTATION IS OFF THE CHARTS. QUEERS LISTEN TO THIS SHOW. they have a nonbinary politician?? mlm romance and kiss in the first episode???? main character is nb with he/him pronouns??? SO MANY BADASS SAPPHIC SPY/MAFIA COUPLES.....IT TUGS AT MY HEART. the big strong guy is asexual??? i could go on for days but spoilers! just know that genuinely, you will not be disappointed.

this show has two main focuses/themes: trust and the future. it’s been so fantastic to see how juno and the other characters view both themes and how they changed themselves and/or others while encountering those themes in their everyday life.

ramses o’flaherty and the entire plotline that came with him was absolutely top-notch. it blew me away. ramses is a true complicated character, a grey area that makes you question everything you believe in. the storyline tackles politics, morals, and values while keeping it exciting and entertaining. it’s definitely one of my favorite storylines ever.

the writers are truly incredible. i’m really in awe. they inspire me!  i wish i had the energy right now to give them the praise essay that they deserve but i’m really tired and i want to get this posted. someday!

the worldbuilding is the perfect balance between two extremes that a lot of scifi authors really struggle with. juno explains how a (sort of) functioning mars city works in a way that feels natural and easy to understand, and the world he describes is both familiar and fascinating. although the environment is different, the audience is all too familiar with corruption and capitalism and classism. they keep the world relatable while giving it some really new and funky details (do i want a cat with six eyes and a stinger? of course! do i want to step outside for more than five hours and get radiation poisoning? that’s up for interpretation). they also chose a great route in making this story take place in the aftermath of (what seems to be) a galactic war instead of taking the traditional Save The World, End The War scifi route. it’s refreshing, and again, relatable (especially to me: i was born after 9/11 and have lived through the entirety of the war in afghanistan so the underlining feeling that hyperion city has that Something is Going To Go Wrong....i feel that).

there is so much more i want to say but this has been sitting in my drafts for weeks and i want to get it posted!

tl;dr: juno steel is really a fantastic work of art. it’s engaging and relatable and teaches valuable lessons about healing, trusting, and moving on in ways i have never seen another piece of media do so successfully. please give it a listen if you have a chance!

some character/character arc thoughts under the cut :)

juno:

god so dumb. just so fucking stupid. i love him.

i’m going to be honest. s1 and the beginning of s2 Juno was really hard for me to listen to. the way he treated others obviously was, to put it lightly, not the best (the monitor incident with rita comes to mind; i really hated that). it almost got repetitive, and since i’m already not a big fan of the depressed-asshole trope i was kind of hanging by a thread by the time ramses came around.

god am i glad i stuck around. his character growth and maturity within the second half of season two and the beginning of season three has been so satisfying! it hasn’t been perfect, but that’s part of the reason why it’s so good--it’s realistic and believable. he’s realized where his faults lie and is making a physical and mental effort to better himself. he’s even doing it verbally, explaining to people he trusts (rita) that he’s trying to be better and then actually acting on it. too often we see the depressed-asshole say the “i’m trying to be better!” line but don’t see any actions following it that signify that effort--that was my fear going into this. but that’s really, truly not the case here, and it’s such a breath of fresh air. plus, in-canon-wise, i’m so happy for juno he’s come so far!

okay nonbinary king i see you

GET THIS LADY A CAT PLEASE.

that moment during the end of s2 when he found that baby rabbit in the sewers.....god.

juno appreciate rita challenge (accepted!)

his voice......is so soothing. except when he yells but he’s better now we’ve established that

i LOVE how as soon as he figures out that he likes you he sticks to you like glue. that’s super funny and cute and also fits him perfectly

miss dahlia rose if you’re out there.....

his complicated relationship with ramses was so fascinating and important. i loved listening to that storyline.

juno: “there’s no way in hell i’m doing this, fuck off” juno, five minutes later: [is doing it]

that’s pretty much the beginning plot of every episode lol ur so valid juno we love u

he’s ability to make the dumbest decisions continues to astound me. he likes to talk about how mick is always getting himself in trouble but god juno you’re really not one to talk

the fact that, in a world that literally runs on tech, he has no idea how a coms works. that’s so fucking funny. if you ignore the backstory that comes behind it.

did juno ever tell alessandra that he made it out of the desert alive or is she just out there in hyperion city somewhere mourning him with her wife?

i already sort of wrote on juno’s backstory but it’s so good. so good.

he’s so fucking soft. he loves so much!!!! and that scares him!!!! but he’s working on it!!!!!

rita:

is she the love of my life or do i just relate heavily to her? who knows

actually no we’re gonna talk about this

rita penumbrapodcast, queen of adhd. queen of oversharing. queen of tangents. queen of love. queen of excitement. queen of caring for her friends more than herself. queen of incredible intelligence shown in an unconventional way. queen of being underappreciated.

s1 and the beginning of s2 really stung me because i’ve been in rita’s positon--used as a punching bag by someone i care deeply about because it’s better me than someone else, because i’m willing to sacrifice my own health and safety for the sake of giving them an outlet. we put it under the guise of “helping”, but we don’t realize until later that it’s really not; we’re just letting them get away with hurting themselves and hurting us. the monitor incident comes to mind again. i actually had to pause and take a step away after hearing juno yell and the glass break--although my abusive friendships thankfully never got violent, that kind of unbridled anger was all too familiar and i was begging out loud for her to leave. she handles it like a champ, and i honestly can’t say whether or not that’s a good or bad thing: good because she knows he doesn’t mean it or bad because she’s used to it? because it’s later revealed that juno’s treated her poorly from the first day they met. i was really worried that their relationship was going to end up being static, “depressed-asshole bullies quirky female sidekick and she never fights back because she loves him” trope. but, thankfully, they’re not!

towards the end of s2 and the beginning of s3 we didn’t just see growth in juno, we saw growth in rita. she confronts juno through a thetabot down in the sewers, calling him out on his self-destructive tendencies and his habit of doing important things without anyone else’s help (in this case, disappearing for weeks without telling her where he was). she points out that maybe the only way for him to appreciate her is for her to do the same thing--disappear for weeks, forcing him to realize just how much he needs her. thankfully, this is after juno’s Big Realization, and he sincerely apologizes for his treatment of her and assures her that he’s trying to be better. (and, side note, but that apology was a good one. a really good one. he verbally acknowledges his many mistakes, including the one rita specifically mentioned, acknowledges that he does not deserve her forgiveness, tells her what he’s trying to do to be better, and then apologizes and asks for her help. that’s good. take notes, people.) later that season, she takes initiative for what seems to be the first time, coming up with a solid, well-thought-out plan, enacting it on her own, and saving both an entire city and her boss. you could probably hear my cheers from wherever you are on earth, because they were there and they were loud! rita saving the day mixed with juno breaking through the mind control with his overwhelming love and appreciation for her.....god. good stuff.

rita buying juno’s office as a surprise for him.......i Will cry

literally she’s just so wonderful i love her so much

every time she talks i’m like [one billion heart emojis mixed with like forty crying emojis]

RITA SPINOFF WHEN. i come from the critical role community so yall know for a fact i’ll back it on kickstarter

once her and juno’s relationship reaches a healthy balance (and they’re already well on their way which i’m so happy about!) they’re going to be so good together. so powerful. the Ultimate cheery vs broody relationship (although juno is less broody at this point and more....gentle asshole. we love growth). they were unstoppable before, but now? god help the galaxy lol

the fact that rita can just casually hack into literally any system in the galaxy is so.......impressive? hot? yeah.

please get this woman a girlfriend and a cat

rita x franny xoxo

RITA BACKSTORY WHEN. PLEASE KEVIN AND SOPHIE PLEASE AS A RITA STAN I AM POLITELY BEGGING YOU.

rita is now in space, which is an interesting development. i just.....”rita in space” is not something i would have ever guessed at a week ago

wait oh my god.

i was sitting here thinking rita has some sort of trust fund/is secretly rich and that’s how she bought juno’s office and kept it afloat, but with the most recent episode’s developments it’s probably equally if not more likely that she either hacked into the nearest bank to give herself the creds needed or hacked the person she was buying it from to make it seem like she had made the payments. i literally adore her whoops

the little rita episodes make me so happy and i hope we get more of them!

tldr: i love her and she deserves the world and more, i’m glad her relationship with juno has changed into something a lot healthier with juno’s Realization mid-season-two, i hope she realizes the hero she already is in season three

peter:

.........oh how the turntables.

peter, season one: juno come with me so we can be together forever and travel the galaxy! i think i love you! juno: aw babe i wish i could but i’m sad and the city needs me :( peter, season three, when handed the opportunity to travel with a healing juno through the galaxy on a silver platter: actually fuck this lol i have One Job and it is to Only Think About My Current Assignment. this is smart and healthy.

this man.....this man right here officer. stole my fucking heart.

i don’t really have an essay for him because we haven’t seen enough of him to really gauge his character development beyond an obsession with debts and his aging. i’m guessing that will change this season though

the debts....what are they

can rita hack in and pay them off

god wouldn’t that be so funny. he spends his entire life trying to pay off these impossible debts and it’s stressing him out to the point where he feels he can’t focus on anything else. and one day he comes to the fam and explains everything and rita’s like “oh shit that’s easy i’ll take care of that right now!!! why didn’t you say something sooner” and hes like “what” and she’s like “yeah!” and he’s like “holy shit” and then he gets married to juno and they live happily ever after the end.

no but real talk

these debts. there’s a lot about them and the way he talks about them that really worries me. i feel like having them be simple money debt would be too easy, so maybe it’s something medical? that would explain both his obsession with his aging and his uncharacteristically excited reaction to the healing mother prime (i think that’s what it was whoops).

he also mentioned someone else before juno, someone that had some pretty strong romantic undertones. maybe they’re sick? but peter doesn’t seem like the type to throw away a relationship like that so quickly, so it doesn’t really match up that he would have someone sick and waiting for him but he’d still go after juno in season one. hmmm.

this one’s a real mystery lads. you think you have something figured out about peter nureyev but it just gives you more questions.

peter is the one mystery juno can’t solve. god, that’s good.

his voice is so good. i don’t remember who his voice actor is but they’re doing a fantastic job thank you!!!!

i actually don’t picture peter like how he’s portrayed in the official art and fanart? i wish i was an artist so i could draw him the way i see him but alas. (i still really like his official design tho!)

listen. you give me a mysterious thief that doesn’t exist and i am Forced to love him. i have a type.

thankfully peter seemed to come around during the most recent episode (s3e2 the man in glass) so i don’t think we’re going to get a repeat of season one. these debts, whatever they are, are definitely going to cause problems. i can’t wait to see what the writers do with this.

(my only fear is that it will end up fitting the “gay character has a sickness parallel to aids and it is incurable” trope. although the writers have so far done a fantastic job of writing queer characters and worlds as well as turning tropes on their heads, so even if it may seem like that’s the case in the beginning, i’ll most likely stick through it to see where they take it. i trust them).

peter i know you’ve never had a family in your life but. im gonna tell you a secret here. found family is cool and good and you’ll like it if you give it a chance.

i love him and as soon as i cut my hair short i’m gonna cosplay him. fashion king

peter nureyev makes me want to fall in love

watching (listening) to juno grow and mature was already fantastic, but to see it through the eyes of someone who respects him, cares for him, and loves him deeply? good lord.

the way peter talks about juno.....yeah.

and peter as an individual....WOW. master thief, yes wow impressive! but his growth is already focusing so much on trust and it’s been written so well. i can’t wait to see how much he continues to grow and learn to trust this season!!!

i would love to see him continue to narrate s3. i think it’s a really strong change of pace and it also puts some extra emphasis on juno’s growth while focusing on peter’s motivations and inner thoughts. i’m genuinely fine either way tho!

tl;dr: i love u emo boy i love u i love u

[whatisthisnonsense]

Okay you know what I am gonna talk shit in a proper well-thought-out manner because I’m salty and stressed and I may as well channel it into something fun like yelling about anime in an over the top display of angery as befitting this cesspool of a social media platform. This being said I’m gonna do it under a read-more ‘cause most of ya’ll ain’t got time for no negative nonsense and some of you genuinely enjoy Tri, and you know what, I respect you, you’re valid.

Okay so to explain how much I want to throw Bandai into a dumpster, we first need to go back and explain Adventure and the fiasco that was 02.

Digimon Adventure came out in 1999 (March 6th in japan and August 14th in the states, which coincidentally means this show came out exactly on my sixth birthday!) and lasted for about a year, with 54 episodes. The plot was simple; seven punkass grade schoolers turned out to have been chosen by fate to defend the Digital World, an alternate plane of reality created by various forms of digital information (the wee baby internet of the era, for example), mostly to kind of justify Bandai’s V-Pet (Tamogatchis but they’re gross and can FIGHT) and sell toys. So like, Transformers but with more human characters and kickass monsters and sometimes a lesson about the Power Of Friendship. Later, they find out they were chosen because they saw their neighborhood get wrecked by two monsters and Inexplicably Forgot This, as well as the fact there’s actually a missing member of their group (which less than surprisingly turned out to be the leader character’s little sister, who had already been seen in a prior episode and had also been involved in that early monster attack). It was hokey, the english dub generally bordered on that of a proto-abridged series if not aggressively sanitizing things (turning sake into green chili sauce, for example) and it was just good dumb fun and in the end everyone was crying anyway because dammit, while it was dumb fun you still cared about these characters and loved how they grew up. And then came 02.

Hoo boy. Digimon 02 came out in 2000 (April 2nd in japan and August 19th in the states) and lasted for another year or so. While sometimes listed as a second season, in truth it was a sequel series and it had...some interesting ideas, lets say. And I mean that sincerely! They did have some good ideas! But it was pretty clear from the lack of direction and the constant roller coaster of serious and stupid that it was being a sequel for the sake of being a sequel. For example, a whole new super secret crest turned up out of nowhere, which brings up a lot of questions in the lore but is mostly used to prove Ken isn’t irredeemable because he’s a Chosen Child ,as well as the questions about how this Crest is still present and useable and then literally gets no use. No Ultimate Form Wormmon for you, folks, NORMAL digivolution is out! I think I and @yunisverse have made our opinion on how to use that crest better clear while we’re being salty over Wizardmon, ha People have said that it’s big draw was that it had a heavier focus on character development and...yes and no? On the one hand, Ken and Cody’s arcs were genuinely enjoyable, Kindness shenanigans aside, as was occasionally exploring TK and Kari’s trauma, something often brushed over in the original series. On the other hand, more or less the whole of Adventure centered AROUND character growth where in 02 it’s...sporadic. Sometimes even random. However the main two reasons everyone was mad at 02 were these;

The original digidestined that were not Kari or TK got shunted onto the backburner, usually using excuses as they had given up their crest powers sometime between Our War Game and the present (despite that A) this is otherwise disregarding the fact they were supposedly not able to enter the digital world again until 02 and B) the power is literally inside them as part of their core, not something the digiworld actually gave to them, and while it could be diminished it could never actually be removed) or that it was the New Kids turn, often with wildly out of character personality developments. (Looking at you, Sora’s new docileness and Mimi’s lack of involvement in most of the plot period.)

The epilogue, which not only gave everyone really weird future jobs (why is Matt an astronaut?!) but also seemed pretty much out to be as aggressively Happily Ever After without actually stopping to think about any implications or actual lead-ups.

02 usually gets a pass from riding on the Adventure coattails, but everyone still tended to be at least disappointed in what had occurred. Also, more serious takes on Digimon, such as Tamers and some of the games, had been growing in popularity.

Thus Bandai, in it’s infinite wisdom, decided to cash back in on Nostalgia by focusing on the Adventure kids, making them closer to 02 so they’re older and they can therefore do more serious mature takes like Tamers, while also trying to rectify how they would even begin to come around to their epilogue jobs. They do this by killing the 02 cast in the first two minutes.

Welcome to Tri folks! Okay, so the 02 cast isn’t actually dead, but we don’t know where they are for six movies. Six movies!! The most we know for a few years is Ken, for some reason, has reverted to evil! And he has Imperialdramon, which implies Davis is brainwashed too!

He is basically doing this most of the series (which was initially going to be a mini-series before becoming a series of movies which then proceed to often be cut up into episodes, which that alone should tell you the problems BEHIND the scenes much less on screen) and we find out what he is (not actually Ken but an evil Gennai clone which is also out of nowhere) and what he’s doing (apparently bringing Yggdrasil, long time lore big bad of various digimon continuities and also god, into the Adventure storyline) not by efforts of the kids. Oh no. They’re too busy playing with their new friend Mei!

God I wish I was joking. The original squad literally shows no concern for where the 02 gang is until halfway through, and it’s a handwave at best and quickly moved on from. Hell, they barely react to “Ken” and CHEER on defeating Imperialdramon! More gravitas was given to having to kill the plot coupon of the day, Meicoonmon, than someone they actually know and should be upset about. Also making Tai NOT want to rush into a fight (what?), Turns Out Homeostatis Is Also Evil Or At Least Amoral (why), a reveal one of the backstory five original digidestined went mad with grief (no), and also I guess for some reason the kids and digimon were separated again given their reactions despite 02′s ending? That’s. That’s not even keeping your own continuity. Why are you like this. Also connecting to the epilogue just seem to be on a whim (not metaphor, Matt decides to be an astronaut on a whim), the general lack of gravitas in most moments followed by moments of SEVERE gravitas (which is the 02 problem but Worse), and bad jokes. I don’t mean Good Bad Jokes like Adventure, just really not funny jokes. And the real bitch of the matter? It had a few things that should’ve made it AWESOME! Like listen, I miss these idiot kids a lot, and the concept of a virus forcing a reboot on the digiworld and thus having to explore, finally, the digimon as characters and what they would be like without the kids? That’s cool! The idea of undoing all the Perma Digideaths (like WIZARDMON goddammit, and in this own show friggin’ Leomon again) with said reboot and thus having a pretty legitimate reason to allow it? Also cool! Worldbuilding about the previous five digidestined? Neat! And lets be real, you all cried at the cast version of Butter-Fly. You know you did. But the thing is they didn’t DO anything with most of this, or did it in a sloppy way. Example; the virus was basically a means to an end for waking up Yggdrasil (I’m not calling him King Drasil, that’s stupid), right? Why? When the Adventure-verse, often to it’s own detriment, is actively tied to the Milleniumon mythos, you could just pull in that eldritch horror and finally have Ryo make sense everywhere not japan. Or heck, the Dark Ocean! Remember the Dark Ocean? Where literally cthulu is and also Daemon now? Apparently neither do the script writers since that would’ve been a golden opportunity.  Of course, this would be asking for continuity, which Tri has issues with within its own narrative. Remember when I said the reboot should’ve undone all permadeaths? Yeah, Wizardmon still shows up as a ghost later to lead Kari out of trouble. No lines or anything, just pops up facing away from the audience and leads her out, and then vanishes, despite the fact that according to the rules they made up for the reboot, he should be a cute little Mokumon in Primary Village at the moment who remembers nothing. Also it kind of low-key has the vibe that growing up is terrible and results in having to make awful decisions? Which I’m not sure is what they meant to do, but it does pretty much have that end result. And that sucks! Even Tamers didn’t do that! Growing up is HARD, sure, but there are GOOD things about it too, and being Adventure one would think that would be the main focus! Nope. I just. This should have been good and when it was announced I was super excited and now I’m pretty much exasperated by its mere existence. And now we’re getting a sequel after ANOTHER timeskip.

Bandai if this is how you give us a nostalgia feels trip, do us a favor and let Adventure die. You’re just making the sugary memories of childhood have a bitter aftertaste. Or, if you must, just do a proper reboot. Tie up things that actually WERE wrong with the original series and do some clean ups but otherwise leave it untouched. We all know you’re trying to capture the magic twice, guys, you’re not even trying to hide it now. TL;DR, The only parts I like about Tri are Butter-Fly (cast version) and the fact Tai and Matt are gayer than ever

[laughingpinecone]

Yuletide letter

I am laughingpineapple on AO3

Aw yeah, Yuletide time again, here we go! I love all these characters and canons and, barring DNWs, I'm interested in any story about them you might already have in mind. Here's a list of ideas if you prefer to start from a prompt.

Likes: worldbuilding, slice of life (doubly so if the event the fic focuses on is canon-specific), missing moments, 5+1 and the likes, bonding and emotional support/intimacy (platonic too!!), loyalty, casefic, surrealism, established relationships, future fic, hurt/comfort or just comfort from the ample canon hurt, throwing characters into non-canon environments, banter, functional friendships/relationships between dysfunctional individuals, unexplained mysteries, bittersweet moods, journal/epistolary fic where applicable, dreams and memories and identities, and did I mention worldbuilding

Cool with: what-ifs, AUs, any tense, any pov, any rating, plotty, not plotty, IF, nerdy canon references, unrequested characters popping up

DNW: bleak endings, rape, PWP, non-canonical children, unrequested ships, canon retellings

***

Ghost Trick: Jowd, Cabanela

The fandom that got me into Yuletide to begin with! I love the whole cast and their intricate connections, but Jowd and Cabs are my forever faves. I ship them dearly, and I ship them dearly with Alma when she's alive, but I'm also always interested in gen about them as long as the bond between them is central in the fic. I didn't request her because if you're down for, say, case fic with or without Sissel's help, I didn't want to make any additional characters necessary. I just want the fic to star Jowd and Cabanela but also feel free to use the whole extended family aka her, Sissel, Pigeon Man, Kamila, Lynne and/or Missile at will! Or Emma or whatever.

Cabanela has Jowd as his whole motivation, and while Jowd's family comes first for him, we know they were close and he cares for his BF(F) in his own way. I love Cabanela with his endless energy and confidence and Jowd's fatalism, their occasional role reversals (who'd have pegged Cabanela for the hard-working guy and Jowd for the one who'd swoop in and get all the merit!), their banter and trust and tacit understanding, how after five years of not talking to each other and thinking Cabanela hated him, Jowd got that watch and understood what it meant and came through for his friend. I love their tragedy and the prospect of a happier life in the new timeline, with Sissel watching over them (and chasing Cabanela's scarf which is clearly a fantastic cat toy). I love their design, their clothes and the shapes and details of their bodies, so if you ever want to indulge in physical details, not necessarily in a sexual context, stuff like a very soft hug with a majestic ticklish beard, either of their hair getting in their eyes when wet, or Jowd stepping on the damn scarf while Cabanela is hopping downstairs, please do indulge to your heart's content.

I think the game implies that Jowd, Sissel, Yomiel and Missile have their memories of the old timeline, while everyone else does not, so I'm always interested in stories set in the new present that use this imbalance – maybe Cabanela eventually gets briefed on what happened, but it's still not the same as remembering.

A story could be focused on those weird presents they reportedly gave each other – surprise me, or maybe in the new timeline Jowd gifts the framed gun to Cabanela, that missing piece of evidence that would've proven his innocence, now that Cabs doesn't need it and doesn't even know what it's for?

Or maybe it could explore a what-if scenario where Yomiel is stopped and redeemed on the Yonoa, but there is no timeline reset, and Jowd and Cabanela are left to mend what's left of their lives.

Or any slice of life plot in and around Jowd's household is always welcome. Cabanela with his unwavering loyalty and enthusiasm, and that absolute confidence that can be charming or off-putting depending on the person and situation, and Jowd and Alma allowing themselves to be on the receiving end of that much affection, and giving him a place to rest. And at least Jowd has a personality that’s sturdy enough that Cabs can bounce off it, a charismatic presence of his own with his rough humor, physical prowess, brittle emotional sphere and occasional stonewalling.

Obduction: Caroline Farley

I was sure I'd fall in love with the puzzles, I wasn't sure this brand new world would captivate me as much as D'ni ever did, and yet here I am. There's so much to explore about Hunrath's unique setup, with people coming in from more than two centuries, adapting, sharing their memories of Earth. The tree and all the questions and philosophical views that come with it, the seeds and that starry expanse at the heart of it all... and then Soria and then Maray and Kaptar, which we know so little about.

I'd like to see it all filtered through Farley's eyes because she's my fave, and also because I think her background is pretty interesting in and by itself, having been pinecone'd away from Earth when she was three years old. It makes for an interesting counterpoint to the born-and-bred Earthlings like CW with his nostalgia (for the record, I'd read platonic banter between these two for days), but she's no Hunrath native either. And the way her house got swapped into such a central position and became a hub for the community... cool stuff. And what about the mysterious deceased John Farley, who can't be her blood brother because we're told the only relative who came with her was her grandmother, who is highly unlikely to be her husband because of the way “Farley” seems to be used as her maiden name (the house she was swapped with is “Farley's house”...) and who is buried next to a man? An adopted brother maybe? What made her end her stint as a mayor so suddenly? What's a meditation with the Arai feel like, how does it change her outlook on her daily life? What weird thing happened on Hunrath one day? What’s daily routine over there? What required a team-up with dear Josef and did she think a little higher of him afterwards (I'll love Josef if Cyan won't, he wasn't the right mayor during those trying times but the man has his merits damn it)? I nominated the three main characters because they’re the only ones who get fleshed out properly but feel free to include any of the other people we see mentioned!

Twin Peaks: Albert Rosenfield [TWIN PEAKS THE RETURN SPOILERS. Final Dossier prompts to be added asap, I'd like Mark Frost to know that dropping new canon right after signups two years in a row is highly yuletidephobic)

Ships: Albert/Dale, Albert/Harry and Albert/Dale/Harry.

DNWs, mostly in the sense of topics fraught with complicated fandom opinions I wouldn't risk in an exchange: Albert/Constance and hell God baby damn no we ain't talkin about Judy.

So the story ends (or, ahem, artistically cliffhangers, as it does) with the fiery pacifist locked behind a tired, stoic mask, shooting a friend with shaky hands and taking pride in it, and not being even greeted by the man he set out to find before the asshole disappeared again. Cheers to the FBI. Needless to say, I'd like to see my favorite character find himself again, on his own or with the aid of any combination of characters of your choosing. It's never too late to shovel yourself out of the shit, Albert!

I could see him resigning on the spot (especially if Gordon and Diane also disappeared?) and staying in town to heal. Does he go to Harry, does he end up adopted by the Trumans, does he find some of his fire back by shouting at Doris and bonding with her that way, to remarkable mutual benefit? Does Frank, in all earnest and from personal experience, recommend him a hat to cover the hair loss? Or does he end up bonding with Hawk, how would their snark and general judgeyness complement each other? Does he make it to Bookhouse Boy eventually, and what kind of adventures or simple late night chats at the Bookhouse could take place then?

In a year or two or five, does Hawk find Coop like Margaret predicted, under the moon on Blue Pine mountain? How do they reconnect after so long? Do they fall in love again, as changed, tired men? I find it an interesting Albert/Harry and eventually Albert/Harry/Dale scenario, filled with bittersweet possibilities. An Albert/Dale option could be that Albert does not stay in town and Coop goes to find him, and they start again wherever Albert lives now.

Whether he resigns or not, does he keep in touch with Constance? Do they exchange punny second opinions and gallows humor in general over Skype?

He and Denise are on a first name basis, how did they bond, what's their average night out like, or what happened in the Philly office back when Gordon was still their boss that Gordon could absolutely never find out about?

Ditto Diane, it's so easy to picture them smoking together and presenting a united “fuck this and fuck you” front in the office, so what was their friendship like, how did it continue after Diane [got tulpa'd and] resigned? Onto even more painful territory, if Diane didn't disappear in pt17 or if she eventually comes back on her own, how would they rebuild their friendship? Do they come to terms with that horrible day when he shot her? Does she remember those 20 years of their friendship and therefore also dying by his hand, or does she not remember, and so he did kill 'a' Diane along with all their time together, and found another one he didn't even know he'd lost so long ago?

Tammy is pretty much his padawan, what's her apprenticeship like? I love how she's technically Gordon's protege but he's the one who takes time to talk to her and /know/ her (like the fact that she gets carsick). Does she ever get to make him talk about himself? About what this search for Coop means to him?

Did he... did he ever run into Wally by accident in any random corner of the country, and how'd that go down? Like, ignoring the Andy and Lucy connection (although I do adore Andy and Lucy), just Wally as his own very peculiar person, bumping into Albert or being involved in a case or whatever.

Ditto Jade – she's got her brand of pragmatism and of managing to come out unscathed and unflapped by supernatural nonsense, it'd be fun to bounce her off another rare sensible soul like Albert who could easily turn up in Vegas working on a blue rose case.

Much to Albert's chagrin, feel free to double down on the canon-appropriate weirdness! But also on the canon-appropriate cheese...

[maychorian]

Weekly Voltron Fic Recs #28

Rules: You can find past weekly rec lists here, and non-list recs in my general fic rec tag. This is stuff I like, and I have a huge bias toward Lance, hurt/comfort, and general fluff, in that order. Gen unless otherwise noted. Please comment on the fics if you read and enjoy them!

Secret of the Blood by exclamation Words: 30,685 (WIP 13/?) Author’s Summary: AU version of season 2. When Keith and Shiro were thrown from the wormhole, they crashed by the Blade of Marmora headquarters and were captured. When the Blade reveal the secret of Keith's heritage, Keith must decide if he can trust these people... and if he can trust himself. My Comments: Really well-written canon-divergence AU. I love all the things that change because Keith meets the Blade of Marmora before he and Shiro can warm up to the idea of there being good Galra out there through Ulaz. It makes a HUGE difference, for them and for everyone else as well, and I love the way the idea is being explored.

The Color Of Our Planet From Far Far Away by LonelyGirlInSpace Words: 13,942 (WIP 3/?) Author’s Summary: A story in which Lance and the team has a lot of difficulties, because they don't sleep and sometimes make poor choices as a result and others are forced to suffer more than they deserve due to those poor choices. Or Lance gets hurt because the team didn't listen and everyone desperately wants to fix it. My Comments: Lance is a little too perfect and the rest of the team is a little too mean for my tastes, at least in the first chapter, but this is a well-written and poignant hurt/comfort fic, and it’s gen, and the third chapter almost made me cry, and I’m very, very hooked. Can’t wait for more.

with quiet words I'll lead you in by strikinglight for goukyorin (sashimisusie) Words: 5,216 Author’s Summary: “You were screaming,” Keith tells him. “I heard you through the wall. ”That wall, Lance wants to point out, is supposed to be soundproof. It shouldn’t let you hear anything, no matter how hard you listen. What he says instead is “I can’t breathe.” “Take it slow.” Keith’s voice is steady, but as Lance’s eyes struggle to focus his face is a blur. The image goes shaky and then comes clear, shaky then clear, like looking into water. “Pretend it’s low tide. Tell me about the ocean again.” My Comments: Klance, but reads platonic to me. Really lovely hurt/comfort fic about kids caught in a war far, far away from home.

Disappear Completely by Bandity Words: 7,053 Author’s Summary: Lance knew something was wrong with him. He thought it would pass on its own eventually, but as time went on, and the pain continued, he realized that something inside of him must be very broken. My Comments: Possibly my favorite fic this week. So far I’ve read it three times. Lance’s trauma is so awful and visceral, and the aftermath is realistic and carefully handled. There are no easy solutions, but things do get better, and everyone is doing their best to help.

Space Mall Take 2 by CondensationOnGlass Words: 3,618 Author’s Summary: Shiro won't stand for the Paladins looking like no-good troublemakers. And with the Galra Empire so spread out and with such a gripping hold, they may need more than what they have. And for some reason the mall seems like the place to get it. And it seems like a great place to have more trouble pop up. Aka: Where Shiro has to play the big brother and apologize for the others making a great big damn mess, and nearly has another one on his hands for picking today of all days to do it. My Comments: Equal parts comedy and hurt/comfort, and a joy to read throughout. Poor Lance.

Nomenclature by Awkwardly_social Words: 7,885 Author’s Summary: It took almost five months to find Lance after the wormhole. And when they finally do, they're stuck on the planet until the castle can come get them. Lance takes the opportunity to teach the team a little about the planet and a little bit about himself along the way. My Comments: Lance has had a rough time, and the gradual way the others find out is really well-handled. Plus the worldbuilding is just really neat. Also read the sequel for some great aftermath and Lance with PTSD.

It Is Enough by nadagio  Words: 1,020 Author’s Summary: Nowhere near close to finding Shiro and uncertain what he should do now, Lance spends some quiet time with the Blue Lion. My Comments: Really sweet fic with Blue helping Lance deal with his grief and figure out what to do next.

mostly void, partially stars by dakhtar Words: 9,403 (WIP 3/?) Author’s Summary: “Werewolves can’t be astronauts,” Derek’s annoying voice had grumped. “Werewolves can’t be pilots. Werewolves can’t be fighter jet pilots, Lance, for God’s sake, Werewolves can’t pilot giant space robot cats that join together to become a giant space robot man and fight an evil purple bat-cat empire!” Well, he hadn’t said that last part, but Derek totally would’ve. (Alt title: seawolf) My Comments: Teen Wolf crossover, but I haven’t seen a single episode of that show and I’m enjoying this fic very much. The worldbuilding is really cool, and I love this take on Lance and the relationships he wants and needs and is trying to build.

Going Up! by Olive_theCat Words: 2,373 (WIP 1/?) Author’s Summary: When Sendak is chosen over Shiro to pilot the main engine test of the new Kerberos shuttle, he's got to take up an offer that Matt gives him: To be a camp counselor at the Galaxy Garrison summer program!Of course, herding five super-smart teenagers through some simulated astronaut training can't be all that bad, right? What could go wrong? Well, with the help of a malfunctioning little robot named Beezer towards the end of the summer...It turns out a lot can.SpaceCamp AU (movie and real life), constructive critisism is welcome! My Comments: Space Camp was one of those movies I watched over and over as a kid, and I can’t wait to see what my favorite space kids do in that setting. The author is having a lot of fun with it, and I am too.

Trust Fall by Pidgeon_Online Words: 2,869 Author’s Summary: Pidge usually dealt with her issues on her own. No one needed to be bothered with her problems when she could easily deal with them herself. Especially when it came to this. There was no way she would ask anyone for help with this. Because she was fine. She didn't need help.or Pidge definitely needs help before her body turns completely against her. My Comments: Poor Pidge, but I wish I had a whole team of adorable boys trying to help when I felt like this, so also not poor Pidge at all, I am jealous.

Uninvited Guest by YukiSkyes Words: 3,375 Author’s Summary: The most interesting stories about Glasycus Mountain, said to be the gateway between Earth and the Abyss, were the ones about the black dragon that guards it. There was no end to the people stupid enough to try to find Shiro and Keith would do anything to protect him and help hide his existence. One evening, Keith comes home to someone already inside. My Comments: This is the first of a series of nine stories so far, with the paladins in a fantasy AU, some of them not human anymore. It’s really fun, a lot of great worldbuilding, and some great character interactions. I’m really enjoying it, and I subscribed to the series.

The Once and Future Snore by hufflepirate Words: 980 Author’s Summary: Allura and Coran think about the past. Coran can't figure out how to tell Shiro he's as welcome to affection as all the younger paladins. Everybody ends up in the same nap pile anyway. (Note: Everybody (on the main team) is in this, but I only individually tagged the people who do something besides trap Coran in the middle of a nap pile while he's too asleep to know how they got there.) My Comments: Absolutely ADORABLE cuddle puddle fic focused around Coran. And can I note how wonderful it is that cuddle puddle fic is practically a genre in this fandom? Because it is.

The Home You Make by rednight16 for psyraah Words: 1,304 Author’s Summary: Sometimes the ones that end up close to you are the people that you least expect. My Comments: It’s so wonderful for Shiro to have friends who he is not responsible for, who can just talk to him as adults and have conversations that don’t have anything to do with saving the world. Yet another reason I would have been happy to have Thace and Ulaz stick around on the show.

shades of blue by behestha Words: 1,104 Author’s Summary: Eventually, Shiro's scales reach a tipping point. OR the one where Shiro has a panic attack and Lance gently helps him. My Comments: I love these two supporting each other in any situation, and this is lovely. Hinted Shance at the end, but reads as gen to me.

Trap by macShitFuck Words: 1,272 Author’s Summary: Alt title: Hell or High Water You don’t consider the amount of pain and panic an animal must go through when they’re caught in a leghold trap until you’re in one yourself. My Comments: Oh man, Hunk whump. This is brutal, but I love how he tries to calm Lance down even while he’s in horrible pain.

Turnabout is Fair Play by CondensationOnGlass for taylor_tut Words: 7,623 (WIP 2/?) Author’s Summary: Iconic pranks, blistering fevers, and fair play.Or, where some of the Paladins pull a joke and then get slammed with guilt about 8 hours later, and for others it is much more immediate.Based off a tumblr post by @taylor-tut. Might change the title. Multichapter, and in progress. I'm slow to update. My Comments: Probably my second favorite fic on this list, and yes, I read what’s available twice already. It’s a very indulgent kind of hurt/comfort that I adore, and I can’t wait for more. The prank the others pull on Lance really was harmless and cute more than anything, but he just happened to be in the middle of developing a terrifying and dangerous fever, so yeah. There’s some guilt there, poor babies.

Swallow the Sun by valkyriered Words: 1,934 Author’s Summary: Shiro has a panic attack. Kolivan tells him a story. Very background Shiro/Ulaz. My Comments: The worldbuilding here is freaking GORGEOUS, holy smokes. Just read it.

Defying the Odds by Mists Words: 13,562 (4/?) Author’s Summary: *Voltron Season 3 AU* Also known as: The Continuing Adventures of Space Dad Cat! Let's just say, a certain cockpit is not quite as empty as the paladins believe... "Highly improbable. Especially for this reality," he haughtily said with a self important air. "The odds of which being: one trillion, seven billion, eight hundred thousand, point three, two, eight, five-" SLAV! New chapter now up! The Voltron Paladins play "Dungeons and Dragons!" Poor Hunk tries to save his campaign from Lance and Pidge. While Keith and Shiro are helplessly along for the ride. Let the craziness begin! Deep character exploration. Friendship, Humor, Team as family! My Comments: Crack alert! This story is super fun, and I’m not just saying that because the most recent chapter has the kids playing DnD with Lance as a bard and Pidge as a rogue, nope, not at all.

The Pizza One by taylor_tut Words: 1,268 Author’s Summary: Like four people requested an AU where Lance is a pizza delivery man and delivers a pizza to the other paladins (modern, college AU) while running a very high fever. They make sure he gets taken care of. My Comments: This author just uploaded a whole CATALOGUE of Lance sickfics, so yeah, definitely check the author profile if you’re in the mood for a whole bunch of short fics featuring Lance injured, sick, feverish, or otherwise in need of care. I certainly enjoyed reading through the whole bunch. Picking this one out as my favorite for the way the others take in lonely, sick Lance who is just working way too hard and needs someone to look out for him. I love it.

Senmō by TheOtakuWithHazelEyes Words: 4,399 Author’s Summary: While under the effects of an alien fever, Shiro dreams of another time when he was sick. Confused and ill, he cries out for the only person he thinks can aid him- his mother. (A moment of Shiro bonding with the paladins stemming from him being sick, and a look into his thoughts.) My Comments: Really sweet hurt/comfort for Shiro, and some backstory that is poignant and lovely.

Day at the Beach by JackieNeedsMoreSleep Words: 1,804 Author’s Summary: The team takes the day off to go to the beach but Pidge has to deal with Lance and some other asshole's shit. My Comments: Really cute, fun teamfic.

Intrinsic by buttered_onions Words: 1,219 Author’s Summary: The first time Shiro felt the Force. My Comments: Miss Onions just writes the BEST AUs, gah. This is full of powerful moments. I’m so proud of wee Padawan Shiro.

Lost in the Fog by oldmythologies for melonbug Words: 2,395 Author’s Summary: Each one of them gives him something on his way back to them. My Comments: Great take on what happened to Shiro in the S2 finale and how the others get him back.

Allura's Twelve by windscryer Words: 2,217 Author’s Summary: The Paladins learn that while there are a great many differences between Earth and Altean culture, movie genres are not one of them. Some things are just universal. My Comments: Cute, fluffy teamy goodness. Just a pleasure to read.

Part of the Team by wingedflower Words: 3,785 Author’s Summary: After a training session gone terribly wrong, Lance finally reaches his breaking point. Luckily, Coran knows exactly what to say. My Comments: I just really really really love downhearted Lance and supportive Coran, gah, just give me all of it, just pour it over me, it’s SO GOOD.

Sweets at 7am by JackieNeedsMoreSleep Words: 1,223 Author’s Summary: Keith walks into the kitchen to find his friends baking. My Comments: Really cute, fluffy teamfic.

Emergency Lessons by Kalira Words: 3,210 Author’s Summary: Pidge, Lance, and Keith land in several 'emergencies' and pull each other through them. My Comments: Really lovely teamfic with a trio you don’t usually see put together. The second chapter was my favorite, but it’s all absolutely delightful.

Five Times: Keith and the Dads of Marmora by EdgarAllenPoet Words: 4,816 Author’s Summary: [Bonus, one time it literally saved his life and he really didn't have a choice but to roll with it]. So actually, this is a 'seven times' fic, but that doesn't quite have the same ring to it." 'If you want to rest more, I will stay. You are safe.' Keith wondered quietly how the person talking to him now was possibly the same leader he’d met at the Blade of Marmora." My Comments: I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. Parts are funny and parts are poignant, but it’s all good start to finish. Favorite line: “Antok, listen. Listen, Antok. They are toddlers.”

and yet by achieving elysium (Ogygia) Words: 1,194 Author’s Summary: After the Castle of Lions is reclaimed from Sendak, Coran finds himself left alone to his thoughts— guilt and sorrow for children who do not belong in a war. written for voltron angst week on tumblr | day one: smile My Comments: Oh man, Coran angst always gets me in the throat. Really good stuff.

7 Times They Noticed by the_unoriginal_fox Words: 5,549 (WIP 5/7) Author’s Summary: Lance was alright. He was happy. He was fine. Except when he wasn't.“Listen. Are you alright?” “Uh…are you alright?” “Are you okay buddy?” “Are…are you in good health, paladin?" Are…are you okay, paladin?" "Hey. You okay?"His team mates, his second family - they noticed. My Comments: It’s a genfic with Lance being supported by his entire team. I love it.

The Great Escape by Eastofthemoon Words: 2,619 Author’s Summary: Keith did not like being cold, but he hated being chased by the Galra even more. My Comments: The latest installment in one of my favorite Voltron fanfic series. Read it all if you haven’t before.

Previously Recced Fics That Updated:

Love and Other Questions by squirenonny familiar by achieving elysium (Ogygia) When You Reach Me by writterings Shifting Sands by Cardigan_Quincy A Dream Away by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) Here Stands a Man by awkwardCerberus A Song of Storm and Ice by BreakTheDawn Gate Keeper by MoonlitPaladin (MoonlitStardust) for cupcakelevi Masks by TiedyedTrickster As Color Fades Away by IcyPanther Must Surely Be Learning by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) Someplace Like Home by squirenonny The Meadows of Asphodel by Genesister (papirini) (now complete) Taking One For The Team by ShiningRegalia Little Lions by MidnightCreator (now complete) Truce by kyanve This Is New by TheHomestuckWhovian The Garden of Heaven by Genesister (papirini) It's Getting Darker But I'll Carry On by CamsthiSky A Million Stars Apart by SerenePhenix Coming Undone by Emerald_Ashes

[krakenator]

CHAPTER 19 aka “Time Out”

SPOILERS are sprinkled around extremely liberally for The Property of Hate

Masterpost here

Dude, Hero’s schism got fucked WIDE open my god. Then again, running directly into a storm of Nothing can’t have done anything good for it

Clever girl solves the equation. Immediately sets out to test it despite fears because it is GOOD SCIENCE

But chickens out when source of experiment shows signs of vague consciousness. Fair enough

BUT- turning his dial to TV mode is supposed to knock him the fuck out ENTIRELY. RGB is supposed to JUST be a TV and nothing more. Negative once again out there breaking all the set rules, like the menace he is. Even if its just sleep-talking

Aww- the amour took a real beating, but it did a MARVELOUS job protecting her- the bottom half of her face is pretty much 100% fine! Thank god for turtlenecks

More speechbubbles directly from the mystery man himself! So, Negative’s text is white and his bubbles are rectangular static

And once again… the flower dies once it has fulfilled its purpose

the actual petals are sticking around this time... this is gonna be one heckuva beautiful but incredibly weird ruin people come across. that the Idea and snail will come across

WHY IS the Idea following them, anyway???

Hero you precious bean I would kill and die for you

But YIKES her voice. Don’t do Nothing, kids

Lovin’ these parallels. Both times RGB’s finished being Negative Hero’s had to drag him places, sings, and wears his hat. Last time it was sad, this time its funny

Look at how tall the fence is. LOOK AT IT. I don’t CARE how much we’ve established that RGB is a secret muscle boy, how the FUCK did he throw her 50 feet in the air

I mean its possible the Nothing shifted around the sand bordering the fence so much that sea level dropped a bunch but STILL. HECKUVA YEET

About this door though… was it always here? Did it just... appear for them? It’s also the only one here. Back when first entering, the door RGB used was amongst a bunch of them. Time’s hangout also has a bunch of these doors. 

having said that... hold on. hold the fuck on

its the same goddamn place. we’ve come full circle, baby! and, even MORE evidence-

same doors! 

Oh, OH! New suit!

PAN FLAG PAN FLAG PAN FLAG

WE STAN ONE DISASTER PANSEXUAL ON THIS BLOG

RGB thinks he’s a distinguished pan but we all know the truth

Have I mentioned before loving how Hero’s thoughts are shown as a kids drawing? If so I’ll say it again, because I love it

Something tells me RGB’s gonna reach for the nightmare Hero just threw about willynilly and find it missing at a super unfortunate moment. it’s basically got it’s own panel, this si gonna come back to bite us

Are you ever LATE to anything if you’re literally Time? Asking for a certain white rabbit

Interesting that fire in this story has so far only been a destructive force- the sun’s scorching nature and its association with light, the burning iron to RGB’s face that killed him, how Nothing is reminiscent of a forest fire; and yet here, to burn Hero’s tongue is to restore her voice

TIME’S DESIGN THOUGH

I love how he’s basically three people/perspectives jammed into one body all interacting with each other. It’s bonkers

How he interacts with himself across pages

His speech is black box, echoing white text (so, kinda the inverse of RGB) and I love how clock hands act as tails, joining boxes from one to the other to easier follow the flow of his speech

His domain is apparently outside of the Make Believe? like, in this weird inbetween-

motherfucker

THE CHAPTER TITLE IS “INBETWEEN” GOD DAMNIT

HIS THORAX IS AN HOURGLASS

Time is helping them, giving Hero back some color and draining RGB of some festering emotion. Time heals all wounds

Time’s candle’s are also growing throughout the entire interaction- they begin as uneven stubs on page 364... and finish as full antlers

BUT BACK ON TIME’S HANGOUT BEING INBETWEEN WORLDS- Hate’s hangout is also like this. we enter/exit the Make Believe through these golden doors, Dial ALSO exits the comic by walking through a door. a far more hidden one, but same principle. Makes you wonder if Time also has a method of cutting you out of the story like Hate did to Jules and Melody

Is Time literally telling me that the reason RGB bleeds out of his face is because he is emotionally constipated on a chronic level? That’s amazing. That’s incredibly on brand for RGB

So, honestly, paying for Madras’ wares with pints of color is probably kinda good for him. Let out your feelings a little

BLOODLETTING IS A LEGIT MEDICAL PRACTISE, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST FOLKS!!!

But back on that joke way back where music lesbians were ragging on RGB about what he tastes like; considering it’s literally an almost incomprehensible mashup of his bottled up emotions, “sharp”, “sour”, and “cheesy” are probably real, literal, and canon

The canonical answer is “awful”

Color restoration, go!

Time’s heating up the colors using one of his candle flames- distilling it? And what’s getting sprinkled in there?

i think the crunched up stuff is the star he pulls down on page 367?

CONFIRMED on next page: the medicine was ‘starlight, feelings, and regret’

So if they had’t run into Time and RGB had woken up, do you think he would have solved Hero’s coloring dilemma the same way? “Here, Hero, come now, drink up. It’s only my blood”

Huh- so acknowledging the contradiction of the fire to heal Hero. And flame is used once again to heat up the sand sprinkled into the drink so it wasn’t frozen

So RGB is never fully dead. Interesting.

eeeey, Hero’s schism has also knitted back together a bit- we’re back to what is, at this point tbh, the usual baseline of schism

Y O we’re gonna see Madras again!! yes!!!! now the question is- is Time just saying “yeah you’ll run into her again soon” or “i personally will expedite things so you run into her soon. its juts a lil time travel”

Hate took/will take Time’s eye? Bruh. At least my exes never poked out my eyes. Are we getting set up for an eye for an eye pun here mod? Are we? Did Time poke out one of Hers first or are we gonna get to see Time come in later to exact equivalent revenge?

alternatively, ‘she’ is Madras. after all, we can’t tell if Time is speaking with with capitalization here, since ‘she’ only appears at the beginning of sentences. either way, it’s looking like we’l be going back (or forward?) to the House of Paint!

this is also a super neat example of using page composition to tell us which Time is speaking, and using the growth state of antlers as another visual cue.

Time is... a hare...... has antlers....... that’s a fucking jackalope

ADDITIONALLY the antlers are candles, which......... JACK O’ LANTERN? REALLY MOD?? I LOVE THIS

She loses WHAT

MOD? HELLO? WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU PLANNING FOR MY PRECIOUS DAUGHTER HUH

More exposition on why Hero entering the Make Believe kills her “waking” identity

(dreamy sigh) mod, I know I’ve yelled at you a lot throughout this entire reading but please now it is out of deep, reverent love for the story and worldbuilding because mod, modmad, uncle mod, sarah jolley- you are hitting exactly on all my favorite story setting tropes. Hero’s out of her mind. God. Fuck. I love it. this might be my favorite page

i f uckign- love this panel? reinforcing that Hero’s home is so close, and yet so far- it’s under their feet, but unattainable. she can’t go back, and ‘home’ is looking far more like her thoughts and scribbling than it is a tangile reality. she’s just. in the clouds n-

her head is in the clouds >:(

TIME PLEASE. DON’T BLAME ME FOR HERO’S PREDICAMENT BY STARING OUT AT ME WITH THEM BEADY EYES

Time, snidely: They know who They are

I love the full antlers. how far we’ve come in just like... jesus christ, did all this manage to happen in just 9 PAGES? this has been........ a lot lmao

Dgsafjkghf Time LITERALLY ROCKS HER TO SLEEP that’s amazing

Time wtf the fuck do you mean that’s the same word twi-

...I gotcha

RGB is going to wake up so confused. Where did this weird glass boat thing come from? Why are all the tricks up his sleeve littered all over the floor what the hell. HERO WHY ARE YOU COLORS FADED. WHAT DID YOU DO. Damn, at least I’m in my swankiest suit of all

The moon starts to wane as Time spins it! Neat detail

well that only took forever! we’re caught up to the comic at this point in time- I mean, chapter 20 is like 5 pages underway but I kinda like the format of just doing it all in ONE BIG GO, so I guess we can expect the next one’a these to be when Cut To concludes. that’ll be a while, but hey, good to marinate on stuff for a while

there’s already so much going on in chapter 20 oh god thINGS ARE HAPPENIIIIIING

Next time on TPoH we’re checking in on all those other cool cats of the comic

[maternalcube]

fics i want to reread but im not ready

you ever read a fic and youre like... i love this. i love this a LOT. but if i read it again i will literally die.

yeah.

this probably counts as a rec list so. i linked things. its all klance or sheith  except for one gen thing lmao. also kinda spoils a lot of the fics but like not badly. like probably nothing you couldnt glean from the tags anyway...

Ignorance is Bliss by YouAreInAComaWakeUp (Nikanaiko)

ship: klance summary: As it turns out, learning that your house is haunted makes the ghosts a lot more aggressive. Who knew? Ah, well. At least one of them is hot. And he's the less-evil one, too, so that's always a plus. why im scared to reread it: listen. i realize this is a ghost au. but keith almost fucking died. im not ready. (A+ worldbuilding tho)

Alabanza by vanitashaze 

ship: klance summary: A lot changes in Lance's life over ten months. Or, Keith and Lance make a baby and learn how to talk to each other, in that order. why im scared to reread it: where do i even BEGIN. the first fic is full of FEELINGS and then it gets WORSE and then KEITH ALMOST DIES (and then they fuck) and then there are MORE FEELINGS. i havent finished how the dead live. im not strong enough.

Routine Maintenance by VelkynKarma

ship: none summary: Being an amputee with a prosthetic limb is difficult enough. Having a solid metal alien prosthetic forced on you by another species entirely is even worse. OR: Five times Shiro’s Galra arm caused him trouble in some way and another member of the team helped him out with it, and the one time the same arm is the only reason any of them survive. why im scared to reread it: yknow, most of this fic was fine. lances chapter fucked me up a lil but like otherwise? fine. and then the last chapter happened and my brain was replaying the part with keith over and over for like weeks and. it was good. but i will probably never be ready to reread this fic, or at least, the part where everyone (but especially keith) almost dies. aw fuck i thought about it too hard writing this fuck lets move on

The Watcher by stickylips14 

ship: sheith summary: My name is Keith Kogane, and I am the person who takes down the things that go bump in the night. It's a hard and unrewarding job, but when you're living on top of an active hell-rift, it's a necessity. On the plus side, sometimes I meet cute guys in bad situations, and sometimes I manage to not make a bad situation worse. Sometimes. why im scared to reread it: i love this fic more than life itself but hey guess who ACTUALLY dies? keith and shiro too and hey have you noticed a pattern yet

time out of mind by aknightley

ship: klance summary: Keith and Lance wake up married. In the future. why im scared to reread it: ok so iirc no one dies in this one except me, of secondhand embarrassment. i remember the ending just absolutely making it but for full impact id have to read all the stuff before it too so uh. its shelved for now.

Hearts Don't Break Around Here by klancekorner

ship: klance summary: Lance and Keith have been best friends since first grade. Lance’s brain is always on overdrive and Keith’s blunt, realistic ass can never keep up. They both come to realize that sometimes you can learn a lot about loving yourself by loving someone else. why im scared to reread it: ill be honest. this is a long ass fic and yet i remember very little of what actually happens in it. but what i DO remember is downloading a .mobi of it onto my ipod and then furtively sneaking moments to read it while like, restocking k-cups at my workstudy job last year. like. i couldnt put it down. what important thing will i ignore in favor of rereading this? im scared to find out.

go alone, and never speak of this again by arahir

ship: sheith summary: The ghost of what Shiro's lost haunts him. Keith tries to find a way home. why im scared to reread it: take a wild fucking guess

and a special shoutout also to foreign scenes by bwyn and never saw you coming by dimpleforyourthoughts (both klance), both of which recently made over to the I Was Scared But I Reread It list. the latter i put off long enough to forget that keith and lance almost die. the former is just a Commitment lmao.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯