#? eh we'll go with it

[crustyfloor]

Luka is very good at keeping himself composed on stage, mostly with the help of maintaining track of his heart rate, but during Mizi's attack in ROMH he seemed to slip up, not only was the red background a tell-tale sign of Mizi's violent intentions but it was a more symbolic way of showing Luka in quite visceral fear. Even if for only a second.

I'm not convinced Luka will be as continuously calculated as he normally comes off, it all seems too fake to me. Because it is. It’s a similar case to Ivan who can't feel, isn't normal, isn't human enough so he makes a persona to blend in. So Luka, whoever he is, makes this version of himself to cope with what he has to live through, pretending like he's on top of it all to survive in this world.

So in round 7, I think something drastic will happen to make him 'snap' in a way.

It's safe to say that we don't know Luka. We don't know who he really is. We don't know his real desires. But we do know one thing--he is scared. he is afraid of the aliens. That's why he appeases them--being their trophy. He's only kept around for his purpose as an entertainer and nothing else and he's very aware of that. He knows very well that a dented trophy will be discarded; with that mindset, he's been able to get so far, and he's scared of losing. That's why he holds any little thing he can get his hands on close. And an important extension of that fear is his fear of losing power.

Till should be the more likely in this position, given he's such a rebel. But isn't that just too predictable? Keep in mind, that Till is a strong person. Even after all he's been through, even after he's been beaten into something more manageable for the aliens--He still hasn't lost his spark. Till is a raging storm. subdued but nonetheless a force to be reckoned with.

Round 6's effect on Till is greatly ambiguous for now but at this point when the time for round 7 comes, Till has been put through so much hell. Whatever Luka does to provoke him probably won't work, he and Luka are equally talented individuals and will make for an intense battle, and at the end of the day, the numbers won't lie. Exactly that is what Luka is ready for but scared of--a worthy opponent for the throne. Someone capable of stripping him of his power. (Is fear what makes Luka so dismissive?)

It would be so aggravating that this 'pest'. who is so indignant, so rebellious (in a way Luka envies.), could so easily destroy everything Luka has worked for, disregard every pain Luka has been through to get to this point, and Till doesn't value this throne as much as Luka does, and Luka doesn't want to feel the pain of death anymore. If his facade is as destructible as I think it is, that will be what ultimately brings out Luka.

This idea may be flawed. Luka is so perfect, too perfect and confident and experienced for something as little as that to break him, just think of all the training Luka went through to get to this point. I'm positive he's very aware of what playing unfairly will lead to. But isn't there always room for a wild card?

Just remember what happened to Hyun-woo.

What happened here isn't fully explained (and probably will be in round 7) but imagine Luka: "Trophy child, goody two shoes" Luka possibly killing another human. Whether by accident or not, what happened?--what and how did Luka feel in the moment for the repercussions of whatever happened to be that bad?

A Luka that is secretly greatly insecure, pliable, and defensive enough that in a spur of emotions, he can’t help but lose his cool in a way he hasn’t in a while because he’s afraid—just to try and prove he is still valuable. That is the type of character I theorize we'll come to see in round 7.

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Alright, I’ve been sitting on this for a while and I think i’ve managed to sort out my thoughts so it’s not just agonized internal screaming. Time to finally talk about Monkie Kid Season 5.

Quick Disclaimers before we get started: please keep in mind i’m probably gonna be a little negative here. I’m not going after the animators or the writers or anything of the sort, I just need to get this out and slapping it on my blog just makes sense so people have the option to ignore it. Yes, I’m still grateful we still have the show, yes I’m still happy we have the same VA’s, don’t come at me. I’m not gonna get too salty cause I’ve gotten most of that out methinks and too much salt is bad for ya health, but I still do wanna talk about it and I’m still gonna be at least a little salty. If you’re not interested in hearing anything negative about the future of season five please don’t feel obligated to read. And please DO NOT take this as an invitation to bash on the new studio or anyone else in the replies, I really don’t wanna see that, go make your own post if you want to do that. I’m going to keep it under the cut so it’s easy to scroll past.

Welp, if you’re here to read, buckle up and here we go!

To start off, let's get the big personal bias thing out of the way: I strongly dislike puppet animation.

I say ‘strongly dislike’ and not hate because, while I hate most puppet animation, there is Bluey which is the best puppet animation can offer. I didn’t even know it was puppet animation for a while because of how beautifully it’s animated, so, puppet animation does have potential, I’m not gonna deny that. However, I hate that it is always used to replace 2D animation. It’s the cheaper, faster option and I can’t even begin to count the amount of shows that have started off with the plans for being 2D before being ultimately scrapped in favor of either puppet animation or 3D. Monkie Kid was the outlier in all that for me. It was 2D and it felt right. It was gorgeous and good for my brain to look at, it made me excited for animation and for art. It really was so incredibly special to me in a way it just can’t be anymore without Flying Bark’s animation. I probably won’t stop watching but, because of my dislike of puppet animation, it might be a bit of a struggle to get my brain to focus on it the way it used to, (we’ll see.) Absolutely no shade to Wildbrain (the new animation studio) they have worked miracles in the short time that they’ve had, they’ve managed to very closely replicate the style of monkie kid, and they are excellent at what they do, but when things are rushed (LEGO, [derogatory]) it makes it very hard to maintain a high standard, especially when we have something like Flying Bark’s animation to compare it to. And listen, please don’t tell me it looks similar to Flying Bark’s animation, please don’t send me shots and tell me but look how close it is! This one’s gorgeous! Because, at least to me… it’s not.

I’m the kind of person who sits in a room and I see a picture is crooked while no one else in the room notices. It could be off by centimeters but I still notice. It hurts my brain to look at and I go a bit insane until I can get up and straighten it, which usually makes people laugh and honestly yeah it’s kinda funny, but I really can’t stand things looking off, and, despite Wildbrain’s valiant attempt and excellent replication of the style, everything in the trailer we got looks off to me. From the framing, to the animation, to the design of the new characters; from the perspective to the coloring, everything is off and my ‘PLEASE LET ME STRAIGHTEN THE PICTURE’ brain hurts looking at it. I’m not trying to rag on the animation, I know they’re doing their best. Off things just hurt my brain to look at.

That’s why I loved Flying Bark’s animation so much. From Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Monkie Kid to Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Flying Bark’s animation has scratched that itch in my brain that has desperately wanted things to look right. Everything is just so shaped!!! AAA!!!

Now, there are episodes of monkie kid that I’m not as big of a fan of. Impossible Delivery is one of them. I’m not a fan of how some scenes are drawn in it, so I tend to avoid it a lot. And that was done by Flying Bark so, this new animation for Monkie Kid is really doing a number on me.

…that being said: I still aint’ about that ‘flying bark started out awkward too’

Once again, ABSOLUTELY NO SHADE TO WILDBRAIN, (or anyone who’s said this at any point, I ain’t coming for your kneecaps,) they have done a SPECTACULAR job replicating Flying Bark’s style in the time that they have and I’m sure LEGO has been putting them through the wringer and rushing them through stuff (which I’ll complain about in a minute) but that’s the thing… They replicated Flying Bark’s Style. Style and animation are two completely separate things. This same drama was used by critics to bash the crap out of ROTTMNT when it first came out; they kept saying the animation was ugly, but it wasn’t, the animation was gorgeous, it was the style that they disliked because, most shows right now start off clunky and a little ugly and that’s just how it is. (Also the promotional material for Rise dragged it through the mud. I will always be salty about that.)

The pilot of monkie kid’s style wasn't all the way there, I’m not gonna deny that. The crew at flying bark were still figuring things out how to draw lego, BUT. The perspective, the framing, and the animation were all on point and just as gorgeous as the rest of the series. When I hear the argument that Flying Bark wasn’t great at first either it makes me want to tear my hair out because it WAS great. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY GREAT, FROM THE BEGINNING, THEIR ANIMATION HAS BEEN GORGEOUS IN MONKIE KID SINCE DAY ONE. The style is what was off. With this new animation we have the opposite experience. Instead of an awkward style with a god tier animation, we have a pretty excellent replication of a good style with an animation form I personally am not a very big fan of. It’s jarring. And even though I’m sure wildbrain will indeed get into their own groove, it will likely never be as earth shattering as Flying Bark because Flying Bark is Flying Bark and what they did was possible because of 2D.

Onto yelling at lego here we go: 'Be grateful it wasn’t canceled'

I’ma be real, this one bugs me the most.

The animation industry right now sucks. There’s no denying it. We have incredible artists left and right being messed over by studios and companies, entirely completed series being deleted, artists being ripped off, overworked and underpaid, outsourcing in every way they can, the disrespect of A/I, and 2D animation especially being dragged through the mud, even with groundbreaking 2D+3D movies like Spider-Verse and award winning movies like The Boy and the Heron, proving 2D is far from dead. Shows are being canceled before their second or third seasons, ideas are being recycled, so many people have watched their favorite things end too soon, and I’m one of them. Bro I was into DRAGON BOOSTER as a kid. Do you know that show? Probably not. It was canceled after one season YEARS ago and ended on a cliffhanger that makes me hurt to this day and I was a kid back then. (Incredible show btw you should give it a watch.) This cancellation thing isn’t new. I got on board with Rise only to see it sniped because Nickelodeon is stupid. Legend of Korra got messed over by Nickelodeon too. I have experienced cancellation/rushed endings before and it sucks. And it fills me with rage to see the bar is so low, that we should all just be okay with what happened because ‘at least it wasn’t canceled.’ I’m not mad at the people saying this, I’m just upset that this is what the reality of animation is. Heck I'm allowed to be upset about it.

And, let’s be real for a second here… Monkie Kid is LEGO’s product for China. It’s making them money. Canceling monkie kid would be shooti ng themselves in the foot more than anything else. LEGO is not hurting for money. Ninjago ran for FIFTEEN seasons and is still running today in this soft-reboot with even better animation than before. LEGO has the means. They don’t need to rush animators to finish things or underpay people. Flying Bark is in big demand right now because more and more people are noticing how good their stuff is. I’m willing to bet their schedule is packed, (they’re working on the ATLA movie which I have mixed emotions about but at least the animation’s gonna be BANGER and last I heard a stranger things animated series??) and when you’re in that high of demand you have to raise your prices, that’s just how that works. But even with that, given enough patience, time, and proper pay, I have no doubt they could have done Monkie Kid as well. We know Lego was pushing them way too hard to animate Monkie Kid and that animation is INSANE and not cheap. LEGO can afford that. But they decided it wasn’t worth that.

Okay don’t quote me on that last bit. I really didn’t want to start going off about conspiracy theories but I admit I get really frustrated when I hear the ‘at least it wasn’t canceled’ thing because I know there’s more going on behind the scenes, people just aren’t transparent about it. Studios and companies right now don’t really care about the quality of things, it’s the artists and the writers and the creators that care about the quality. There are other 2D studios out there but LEGO chose to go with puppet animation because it's faster and cheaper. I am always going to be upset about that. Am I grateful Monkie Kid wasn’t canceled? Sure. But at the same time I don’t want to feel grateful for the bare minimum. I’m angry at the state of the animation industry that no one in the higher-ups of these industries seem to respect 2D animators or 2D animation in general, that no one seems to understand how much skill it takes to animate and how worth investing in it is. And seeing people tell others upset by this that they should be grateful they have anything at all just rubs me the wrong way.

And the audacity to change the animation is ridiculous to me because a huge part of the audience for LMK is here because of the animation. It’s not like Ninjago, which started off with low budget 3D and slowly got better and better over time with a few dips here and there. We started off with one of the best 2D animated shows of all time, (in my monkey obsessed opinion,) animated the way it was to draw in an audience, and suddenly for no reason at all and no prior warning we’ve dropped down to what every pilot of every puppet animation children show looks like these days. It feels like a crummy thing to do. Yes, I’m aware we’re lucky we still have a show, yes I’m grateful we still have the same VA’s and the same writers. But this is a big and abrupt change and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t suck.

Okay, onto my biggest concern: how the writing of the show will pair with this new animation.

With all due respect and love to the writers, Monkie Kid is awful when it comes to biased narration in their storytelling. It has relied so so heavily on visual storytelling to fill in the gaps and tell us what’s actually going on while the dialogue is lying to our face. If you’re not looking, it can lead you to woefully misunderstand the characters and what is happening. It’s a style of writing that I’m not a super big fan of, BUT I, for the most part (aside from fandom craziness,) enjoyed it! Because the animation helped it hold up. What made the storytelling work was the nuance and incredible detail in Flying Bark’s animation. You could analyze every expression, every style difference in flashbacks, and it would tell you so much; I am a SUCKER for that kind of stuff--drawing expressions and emotions is something I love so much--and Flying Bark served it to me on a silver platter with a golden spoon and crystal clear mountain water. The scope of what Flying Bark was able to do… I just don’t know if it can be replicated in puppet animation and that scares me a bit storytelling wise. Because I don’t want to be stressed out by Monkie Kid and unreliable narrators have a habit of stressing me out. It’s not to bad as long as it’s resolved later, but Monkie Kid has a habit of blowing over things, especially in regards to the lies told about Wukong and the only thing that tells us something different happened are the visuals, which stresses me out cause it results in INTENSE fandom bashing my favorite monkey and it’s really hard to avoid. (This is why I stepped back so far from interacting with the fandom.) I don’t want something that brought me comfort in my darkest times to be twisted into something I no longer want to see.

Is this the worst possible thing to have happened? No, of course not. It’s definitely not all that awesome either. For me it’s like eating at a gourmet restaurant having their insane mac n cheese every day for years and then suddenly you’re served KD from the dollar store and told you should be grateful because it could be worse, all the while the restaurant keeps its gourmet title. There’s nothing wrong with KD but bro I want my mac n cheese--

The fact that there was no prior warning is what really makes all this feel so sucky. I know this isn’t the end of monkie kid, but the animation is one of the biggest things that made the show unique, it’s what drew so many incredible artists in, it’s what inspired me to create and make friends and keep living. The animation provided nuance to the characters when the writing sometimes fell flat. It gave insights and information that worked well with the face-paced storytelling and brought the incredible voice acting to life. It’s not really going to be the same without it.

There is ofc more than just the animation that made monkie kid great. The voice actors, the SOUNDTRACK, the sound effects are all off the charts insanely high quality but man. It’s not complete without it. There’s a big ol’ gaping hole in the show and in my heart and as much as I love the show, that’s really rough. Because it’s not as though this makes things better. The quality didn’t drop because people wanted it to be easier for animators to animate, Wildbrain I’m sure is having a time meeting LEGO’s crazy deadlines right now, just like Flying Bark did. There was so much reused animation in season 4 because of how hard LEGO was riding animators' tails and pushing them to get things out faster and faster and I was more than alright with the reused animation so the animators could catch a break. But instead of backing off and being respectful of the time it takes to animate, LEGO dropped Flying Bark like a hot potato and immediately went to the cheaper, faster puppet animation. (JUST A THEORY/VENT DON’T QUOTE ME.) It’s not like there aren’t other 2D animation studios out there but they picked the puppet. And that SUCKS. I would have been okay waiting another year for monkie kid easy because Flying Bark is WORTH IT. I understand how long things take and that if I want a high quality product its going to take skill and time. It hurts me to watch animators having it rough because no one else seems to get that.

Alright in conclusion: We’ve only seen a few seconds of the trailer.

It’s hard to judge what the entire show will look like based off of that little. It could be incomplete, Wildbrain could get better, they could find their groove, I ain’t gonna rag on the animation because it’s giving you exactly the quality--maybe even higher--expected of what it is. It’s puppet animation. I dunno what to tell you man. But it’s not about that for me. For me it’s about 2D. It’s about some of the greatest animation I’ve ever seen being replaced when it didn’t need to be and that sucks. Flying Bark gave us the world and we didn’t lose that for any reason other than money and greed and impatience. That is so discouraging and upsetting. It is something else to go from every frame leaving me breathless and staring and in awe over the quality of the animation to Puppet Animation. The change hurts. Honestly, I never thought I would be as devastated as I am. I’ve processed a bit but I think it’s always going to suck because of how important monkie kid has become to me. I miss flying bark so much already. I’m still going to try and watch the show, but we’ll see how my brain does with the puppet animation. Don’t go ragging on the animators, guys, they’re doing their best and I gotta respect em.

I do wish we’d gotten more time to mourn flying bark’s absence. I wish people had gotten a heads up when season 4 had ended so they could have time to adjust and then get ready for the new style, because watching everyone hype themselves up for flying barks’ animation only to be told they're gone by a trailer kiiiinda sucks. But I digress.

I do find it funny it took changing animation studios for us to finally get a trailer and poster on time before the eps drop. So in a way, I appreciate that much of a warning at least. Better than nothing! And we’ve always wanted a trailer out first lol HGLKJSDF

I ain’t even gonna pretend I ain’t spoiled as HECK by flying bark’s animation. Honestly without it, I don’t know if I’d be as attached to the characters as I am. Real talk, I don’t know if I ever would have even watched Monkie Kid without it. I’m gonna miss flying bark with all I have in me and it's going to make rewatching and enjoying the show hard because of all this. I’m going to miss the time when every part of this show was a comfort to my brain and soul. Flying Bark's energy is unmatched, they bring a life to things that I haven’t seen anywhere else and I’m always gonna be grateful for the time I had with them animating Monkie Kid.

This is it. No more more Flying Bark monkie kid. The end. And that’s going to sting for a while. And probably keep stinging throughout the new season because… well… I love monkie kid. So seeing it become something else is going to hurt, especially if you hold it so close to your heart.

These new animators are doing their best and we can’t fault em for that. It ain’t their fault the animation industry is what it is. It’s great we still have the show going when so many other things have gotten canceled but the fact the bar is so low can hurt like heck too.

We’re gonna miss flying bark for a long time. It’s so goofy that something as simple as animation could have burrowed so deep into our hearts but it has and that’s truly wondrous and the magic of storytelling. I love shows. I love movies. I love what monkie kid was, and I hope I can learn to be okay with what it will be now. (Even with my ‘STRAIGHTEN THE PICTURE’ brain screaming at me lol.) Wishing you all the best, don’t make fun of the animation needlessly or go after the animators, be kind to them and to each other. If you wanna be salty don't send it to me just make ur own post thanks ima drop this and then go try some positivity lol. Until next time! I’ll see you in Monkie Kid season 5

Knox out

[velvetwyrme]

🗞️💥💥!!!

A little comic based on my initial response to @wave-nine's post ;3c

[gracien-system]

Hey just to like. Make it clear. We follow a bunch of rp blogs (particularly rotomblr stuff) because we find the roleplays interesting, and because we've been in a perpetual state of "we should maybe join this" for like 3 months. We have character ideas we just have very little actual knowledge about Pokemon and also don't know if we'd be able to keep up consistently enough to really do much.

[necrotic-nephilim]

fan fact the only canonical world where tim is happy like batman is the future where he and cass are married and share the title

this is from solo #10, last story, written and pencilled by damion scott who was the first main artist of cass's run

THANK YOU FOR THIS OH MY GOD I WANT TO KISS YOU ON THE MOUTH.

i KNEW there was an Elseworlds story i had read where they ended up together!!!! but researching got me NOTHING and i half convinced myself i hallucinated it. i've always made the joke i think it's so funny Tim is the only Robin who's been with all of the Batgirls (Steph in the main timeline, Babs in the Arkhamverse, and Cass in this comic) but when i was trying to find it i doubted myself because i could find NO trace when looking it up, just reference to canon comics where CassTim was heavily implied. damn near gaslit myself.

anyways this whole thing makes me unwell. because i'm of the firm belief Tim could never be happy if he stayed a vigilante his whole life, *especially* if he became Batman. because that is canonically one of his worst fears. it's why i like Tim Drake of Tomorrow (Savior) so much, because it's a personification of those fears and the sort of proof that Tim becoming Batman would set him on a hyper-paranoid overly controlling path he wouldn't come back from. but? the idea that Tim could be happy and healthy as Batman if he was sharing the mantle with Cass? that makes *so* much sense. they represent very different aspects of Batman ('the noble detective' and 'the vengeful knight' pretty aptly display that) and her drivenness and dedication to the Bat as a symbol would be the thing that keeps Tim from falling over that edge. it'd keep him from self-isolating (a thing Tim is known to do when he's falling down a paranoid spiral) and keep him steady. meanwhile he would ground her, make sure she knows she's not alone. that's my only real gripe with Cass as Batman, is that she shouldn't be so alone and 'one man army' the way Bruce is. she needs to keep her support system she worked so hard for. she needs someone to remind her that she's human and treating herself like a weapon 24/7 isn't sustainable, something Tim has tried to get through to her. they're just so good at balancing each other out and DC would never go in the direction of exploring them again, but there was a time it really felt like we were on the cusp of them flourishing as a couple and tbh, i almost feel like we missed out.

[utilitycaster]

I can't claim credit for the idea - Imogen and Laudna corruption arc has floated around for a while - but honestly I'm not sure why this is coming up as some kinda gotcha for me? I'd fucking love that honestly. It would completely validate my statement that they are insular and toxic and often acting against the interests of the rest of the party AND either it would end with interesting character growth or with them departing and being replaced by new characters. I'd be excited for either!

[keeps-ache]

blood of the covenant

[janeway-lover]

just so we're all clear, the day that GOS3 gets confirmed, we're gonna have a fucking rager

[skyward-floored]

I want you to know I am angered as well on your behalf.

I literally watched the trailer yelling in my head 'No! Peggy already did this!!!' /literal

Sorry about the copyright infringement Nintendo is blatantly and aggressively targeting your fic I swear /hj

Thanks Luna, I'm just overall kind of. frustrated. which is silly because it's a coincidence that they match and all and though I've had Lost and his whole thing as an idea for literal years, nintendo probably has too, so it's just one big annoying coincidence. that's annoying. and coincidental. and these ALWAYS catch me when I'm already in a mood 😭

But yeah, thank you Luna, I do appreciate the anger on my behalf :)

[wraithsoutlaws]

[factorialsotherfandoms]

... TW: cannibalism, corpse, Philza being far more chill with the situation than I think he actually would be.

Yeah, no, this isn't getting where I need it to, so just have this as it is instead while I try hammer out something else for the scene/s I need for the Happy Ending AU. I even have the main dialogue for Philza and Cellbit, just not how to lead into it or what would cause Phil to bring it up to him >.<

"You doing alright, mate?"

The answer is, objectively, no. Bagi had said Philza should talk to Cellbit, yes, but he hadn't quite realised it had gotten this bad; he's seen his friend about a few times since then, exhausted and worn down and his jacket gone despite the coming winter, but not had a chance to talk, what with everything on the island.

Maybe he should have done more than wave hello and carried on to bed.

Maybe then he wouldn't be watching someone he trusted more than his limbs carve chunks from a corpse with his teeth and a knife.

Cellbit seems to have decided to ignore him, and Philza could swear about it, or make it somebody else's problem, but frankly he's not sure who else's problem he /can/ make it.

He wants to wash his hands of this, to turn around and pretend he didn't see, but what sort of fucking friend is he if he doesn't at least try? He knows Cellbit - or at least, he thinks he does - and, yeah, the man has the capacity to be terrible, and has been terrible, but so has Philza.

He's not going to support this mess but, at the same time, he knows what a trauma-induced relapse looks like.

Even if his own were never quite as messy.

"Are you sure you should be eating that?" he asks instead, trying to bribe Cellbit to look at him. "The whole faceless thing might be infectious."

That does at least get Cellbit to look at him, the man giggling a little, "what? Are you worried about me?"

"Well, yeah mate," Philza gestures. "You're kinda eating a corpse."

"Aren't you scared?"

Philza looks him up and down. "For you? Sure. Of you? I've known you for months, Cellbit, if you wanted to hurt me I'd know by now. And even if I messed that up, pretty sure I could take you."

"So you're here to give me the lecture, then? Tell me to stop? I'm not going to, Philza, so just... spare us both the time," Cellbit seems exhausted as he wipes blood from his mouth, sitting back with a sigh.

"Depends why you're doing it," he replies. "If you need the food that badly, I've toast in my bag."

"Heh," Cellbit's smile is not actually at all pleased. "I just... I need them to be scared."

"Hm?"

"I've tried everything, Philza, and it doesn't work. I've tried to investigate, I've tried to infiltrate, I've played their games and I've tried to host my own, only to find them twisted back on me. Every day we're here another person suffers - first it was Felps, who will it be next? I can't just leave them - I'm good at this, Philza, this is who I am, who I always was. I hunt, I kill, and people /fear me/. We have to bring the Federation down, if I have to be bloody again, I will - and now? Now? I feel happy again, the adrenaline, the chase... I'm going to kill them, Philza, and you're not going to stop me. And anyone... Anyone who gets in my way will join them." Cellbit pauses a second. "But they don't get it, they don't understand, I thought /he'd/ be proud of me, at least. Don't they see why I'm doing this? It's for them, it's always for them, I don't care if I'm the monster!"

"... Just so long as they're safe," Philza finishes for him, with a sigh.

He leans back against the wall, and looks at the cooling corpse.

There's a choice here, he supposes. He cannot condone the violence, not against the rank and file employees, but he understand the frustration. He sees what Bagi and Bad mean, but he doesn't know if they understand - has Bagi ever actually killed someone? Has Bad ever had a human morality? Philza's own is skewed, he knows that, and yet...

In a moment of revulsion his mind begs him to turn away, to cut Cellbit loose and call it a day.

The other part, the part that loves, the part he tried to kill so many years ago, says that Cellbit is his and that means with the good and the bad.

"I'm not going to help you kill random workers," Philza says, trying to pace himself. "But if you have a specific target you can explain a tactical purpose to beyond generic weakening the enemy? Then you have my support. And whatever way? If you get yourself into shit you can't get yourself out of, just comm me mate. I'll come by and bail you out, and I'm not going to ask shit. Just so long as you're safe."

It's a pittance, it's repulsive, but Philza knows what its like to be scum, the lowest of the low, and if it takes comprimising himself a bit to get Cellbit a safety net then, fuck it, he'll leave moral complications to Bagi.

Cellbit looks almost suspiciously at him, "you aren't going to tell me to stop?"

"Would it help?" Philza retorts.

"So you disprove?"

"I mean yeah, I don't think killing the maintenance workers is a good fucking plan. But I'm not the plan guy, either, so I've just got to trust you there, don't I? And I trusted you before."

"You hadn't seen me eat a dead body yet."

"Do you want me to fight you? Because I can fight you," Philza gestures a bit. "But there's no fucking point, and I'm too old for this shit these days. Just be careful, okay? Because the Federation knows us, and they know you don't give a shit about being punished - so they will go after your loved ones instead."

"I'll protect them," Cellbit replies. "Roier will protect them, too; we've agreed."

Philza doesn't believe for a moment that they'll succeed, and starts making plans to have Fit keep a better eye on Tazercraft. He can watch Forever, if Fit's gossip tree is right Tina will look after Bagi. As for Felps... He isn't sure, but the other Brazilians will come up with something. Richarlyson... When they find the eggs, Bad will be more than willing there - and all his other dads.

Roier, if Cellbit is to be believed, is already in on it. Philza makes a note to talk to him about what to do if he needs bailing out, too. Also Foolish, perhaps - he's not quite sure what's up there, but it's something.

The rest of the islanders, at least, are already on high alert, expecting to be blamed for the murders and kidnapped at any moment. He'd suggest a check in and buddy system, but that would mean complying with a buddy system.

"I'll keep an eye out too," he replies. "Just promise you'll call if you need me, okay?"

Cellbit shrugs, and it might be the closest to a promise he can get.

[darlin-djarin]

din "abu grogu" djarin

bonus grogu with a gun bc he deserved to have one instead of paintballs

he is judging you.

[necrotic-nephilim]

Fandom: Batman and Robin (Comics) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Underage Relationships: Dick Grayson/Damian Wayne Characters: Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne Additional Tags: Omega Dick Week (DCU), Omega Dick Grayson, Alpha Damian Wayne, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, First Time, Oral Sex, Dominant Bottom, Topping from the Bottom, Gentle Sex, Praise Kink, Soft Dom Dick Grayson, Control Issues, Unrequited Crush, Pre-Flashpoint (DCU), Dick Grayson is Batman Summary: Damian is pent up, lashing out, and Dick is just about at his wit's end about it. When he tries to talk to Damian about it, he learns that Damian is suppressing his own ruts to have some form of control over himself. Dick convinces Damian to give up control to Dick, instead. - Omega Dick Week 2024 - Day 7: Free Day

[crimsongrimoire]

they make me unreasonably ill in my brain i can't even articulate it

[ficoandleo]

How to get people to do what you want? I need uh..... some tips 🥺 (@mun: Congrats on the blogg :333)

"Have you tried asking nicely?" Leo asks, nicely. He scoffs a little, half amused by himself. "Most people aren't going to do what you want without incentive or without owing you something."

"Exactly. If you can convince them that something is in it for them--or that something is at risk if they don't, even if it's just their credibility as a person--then they'll be more willing to comply." Romeo crosses his legs and leans back in his chair. "Aside from that, power. Influence. Fear."

"For most people though I'd say trust sounds a little more attainable. If somebody likes you enough they'll pretty much do whatever you want. That's why companies pay influencers to advertise products. People are mindless like that!"