#{ marci - sisters to strangers }

[adrianasunderworld]

Malleus attempted to teach his and Isabelles children stranger danger

Malleus: What do you say if a stranger walks up to you and says "I am a friend of your father's, I'm here to fetch you."?

Malice: Call them a liar because you don't have any friends.

Malleus: I have friends.

Marcia: Yeah, Mali. Daddy has tio Silver and tio Sebek.

Malleus: Yes, see?

Malice: They don't count. They're our uncles. I don't count Marci or Mason as my friends.

Malleus: That is not a nice thing to say about your brother and sister, Malice.

Marcia: No, she's right, I wouldn't either.

Malleus: 🥲

@mangacupcake @marrondrawsalot @writing-heiress @the-weirdos-mind

[onthewaytosomewhere]

Sunday Sentences

Okey dokey artichokeys let's do this - it's Sunday now and well i'm still up (of course world-class insomniac after all) and i've got a couple tags from the lovely @hgejfmw-hgejhsf & @priincebutt so i don't even hafta start us off ❤️

I think I typed the last word of my 'lil ACD signs all the books fic - gotta sign 'em all - unless I find I missed something when I go do the edits - well other than whatever I come up with for a dedication since I was a dummy and have Alex read it lol - so any thoughts on a good dedication to Alex for Henry's first book let me know ❤️

so here we go -

“I am truly sorry for her. Every time I think she can’t get worse, she proves me wrong, but I love her more than my own sister, so I’m stuck with her.” Athena shakes her head in faux disgust at her friend. “It’s all good, and she is right. I’m more than happy to sign the book,” Alex extends his hand for it before continuing, “After all, I hear it’s quite the distinction to have both mine and Henry’s autographs.” He turns to the dedication page that he has turned to so many times and sees something he hasn’t seen before. There on the page is Henry’s signature, usurping some of the space he usually fills. He grabs the pen from his bag while laughing at the fact that, apparently, they are starting something new in this little book signing adventure. He reads Henry’s ‘Athena, hope this continues to bring you joy, and you get that other signature here you want’ with that ever-so-neat signature of his. Alex looks up and sees both of them smile before Athena says, “Yeah, I know you generally like to fill the page on your own, or at least that’s what I hear, but I wanted something to distinguish mine. I hope you're okay with sharing the page with Henry.” Alex thinks he’s more than okay sharing everything with Henry, so he’s more than happy to share this little thing, even though he knows it is something he won’t say to a stranger. Instead, he replies, “Of course, but you know that as soon as others find out this has happened, they’re all gonna want the same thing. But, you can be the one who starts the trend,” with a smile. He signs the book with a quip about sharing his space and his signature in a large flourish. The girls giggle when they read it, and he remembers why he is still doing this a couple of years after the book first came out. He’s prepared to spend at least a bit of time talking with them as he’s come to find that he doesn’t mind some of these moments and has plenty of time to spare before his flight leaves. That is not what happens as they stop giggling, and Athena speaks up, “Thanks so much for signing this; I am so happy right now. We’ll leave you to what you were doing. Thanks again.” He’s ready to tell them they don’t have to rush off when Marcy pipes in, “What Athena means is we need to sit in a corner and squee like silly schoolgirls as we re-read those bits you boys have written there. You really do not need to be subjected to that – it’s just embarrassing, trust me.”

some no pressure tags❤️

@adreamareads @agame-writes @anincompletelist @bitbybitwrites @dragonflylady77 @duchessdepolignaca03 @england-would-fall @firenati0n @firstsprinces @forever-fixating @heysweetheart-writes @inexplicablymine @itsmaybitheway @junebugclaremontdiaz @kiwiana-writes @littlemisskittentoes @lizzie-bennetdarcy @magicandarchery @nocoastposts @piratefalls @sophie1973 @stellarm @sunnysideprince @suseagull04 @taste-thewaste @typicalopposite & @oxfordslutphase

[hannahhook7744]

Represent!;

Summary: The story of how Hannah Artemis Hook, captain of the Stormbringer, became the Isle Representative and villain wrangler.

(It's Zee Snoops’ fault).

Written with @igetthedisneybox.

Series: Isle Representative Hannah Hook.

Trigger Warnings: Plans of manipulation, swearing, stranger danger, financial issues, mentions of death/child death, children acting in disturbed manners, children raising children, etc.

Lmk if I need to add to the list.

------------------------------------------------------------

Mentioned Character Info Sheet:

Zeep Snoops, daughter of Madame Medusa and Mr. Snoops.

Hannah Hook, adoptive daughter of Captain James Hook and Zarina the pirate fairy. 

Darius Foundling, son of the Pirate Pharaoh and mummy.

Willow Hawthorne, daughter of a Tree Nymph named 'Cherry Hawthorne.’

Elara Foundling, daughter of an unknown elf. 

Marcys Foundling, Centaur and son of Nessus. 

Skia Aoratos of the Underworld, daughter of Hades and Persephone.

River Le Beak, son of Beatrice Le Beak and Lord Fathom.

Lysander Foundling, satyr and the son of one of Chernabog's minions. 

Fiona Foundling, fairy child of an unknown individual. 

Noah Aoratos, son of Persephone and Hades.

Tommy Wonderful, daughter of Misty the Wonderful Witch.

 Luke Tremaine-Westergaard, Drizella Tremaine and Prince Hans Westergaard of the southern isles. 

 Tiger Khan, adoptive daughter of Shere Khan. 

Peachy Gothel, daughter of Mother Gothel and Captain Flynn.

Olivia LeGume, daughter of the Enchantress and Gaston LeGume.

Treycor Fae-Aoratos, son of Maleficent and Hades.

 Eduardo Frollo, son of Claude Frollo and a woman named 'Esperanza Ladrón’.

Darcy Aoratoes, daughter of Hades and Queen Narissa.

Alexander ‘Alex’ Aoratos-Sinclair ||, son of Helga Sinclair and Hades.

Isaac Cipher, son of Bill Cipher.

John Facilier, son of Ursula and Dr. Facilier.

Moxie Frankenstein-Van Helsing,son of  Elsa van Helsing and Victor Frankenstein. 

Rodrick Nathan 'Nate'  von Stiltskin, son of  Rumpelstiltskin.

D.E Anonymous, daughter of an unknown individual.

Hope Sid, daughter of Yen Sid and Banshee.

------------------------------------------------------------

“You look half dead.” Zee Snoops remarked as Hannah trudged over to her.

“Darius and Willow are sick, Elara won't stop crying, Marcys and Lysander aren't eating, and Fiona won't stop talking about the place with the trees that she came from.” The eight year old pirate captain groaned, slumping down in her chair in her room/office. “I FEEL half dead.”

It had been a long year since she had first taken Fiona (age four), Marcys and Elara (age 1),and Lysander (age 2) and since then she had taken in two newborns (Darius and Willow) from their dying single parents. 

That wasn't even counting Noah, also four, who spent the majority of his time with them like his older siblings did when his mother, Persephone, was gone for the Spring. Or little Thomasina 'Tommy' Wonderful, age five, who spent most of her time with them when her mother was too sick to care for her. Which, due to the magical barrier and her mom being a witch, was often.

Or the various funerals they'd been having to handle for their dead friends.

Or the comforting they'd had to do for their friends with recently dead relatives.

To say they were all exhausted would be an understatement.

Zee picked at her cuticle. “I don’t know what you were expecting, trying to parent half the island’s children.”

The smaller brunette rolled her eyes. “It is not half the isle’s children! And if I don't take care of them, no one will. The last thing the isle needs is more deaths.”

“We could pawn some off to your sister,” Zee suggested.

“No we can't. Harriet already had to take care of your sister, the wee smees, the Younger twoClayton brothers, Wyatt Wiggins, Na’vi, and the Lefou-LeGume-Bimbette children,  among others.” Hannah grumbled, frustrated. “And she's stressed enough as it is.”

“You’re stressed enough as it is.” She pointed out, deadpan. “And we have, like, no money left. At all.”

“We have enough money. We just need to make more and I'm sure we will figure something out.” She rested her head in her hand. “I just need to figure out what that is. Hopefully before Skia and Luke get off work and River gets out of school.”

Zee rolled her eyes. “Gee, if only you could get paid for being…you, Hannah. Like, negotiating with people, finding loopholes, and getting people to do the right thing. We’d be fucking loaded.”

An odd look overcame Hannah’s features. The same look that crossed that of Nya Kaminari’s  in Auradon’s Ninja Warriors when a light bulb appeared above her head. 

The only cartoon either of them had ever seen. 

The same look that both the cartoon ninja and Hannah always got before they got one of their crazy ideas that rarely ended well. 

“Ohhhhhhhh no. You got them crazy eyes again.” Zee leaned back from her friend, like she expected her to explode.

The smaller girl got up, suddenly full of the energy she'd been lacking lately. A slightly deranged smile slowly creeping on her face—one that made it easy to remember just who she was related to. “Zee?”

“....yeah?”

She clapped her hands together, before rubbing them against one another,  almost bouncing on her feet now. “I think I just found the perfect solution to all of our problems.”

Zee blinked at Hannah, before it finally sunk in what she meant. “Wait, you’re actually gonna try to get paid by being yourself?!?”

Her captain smiled innocently at her. “Something like that.”

------------------------------------------------------------

It was official: Hannah Hook had finally lost her fucking mind. 

And her first and second mates, Lucas  ‘Luke’Tremaine-Westergaard and Skia Aoratos of the Underworld, as well as her other close confidante, Bernard ‘River’ Le Beak, had lost their minds with her. 

“You’re all going to hell. Goodbye!” Zee had facepalmed so many times in the last few hours, she was sure to have a permanent mark on her forehead.

“Hey that's my line!” Eduardo Frollo, the main cooper of the crew, (who was one of the few other people present at the moment) protested. 

The others, on the other hand, just ignored her.

“You son of a bitch, I'm in.” Luke said, snapping his fingers after Hannah finished explaining her idea.

River mumbled “It's crazy enough that it might just work.”

“We should call a meeting and tell the others—” Skia hummed, bouncing Elara on her knee. 

“Pause. We shall not call a meeting to tell the others. Why do y'all motherfuckers think that this will work!?”

“Cause it will!” Hannah said, feeding a fussier than usual Darius with a bottle she had somehow managed to get her hands on in the twenty minutes that Zee had spent gathering all the crew members she could. “I don't know why you think all of a sudden that it won't. This whole operation was your idea.”

It was an awful bold statement coming from someone wearing pirate footie pajamas. 

“I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!”

Hannah paused. 

And Luke snorted. “Well, it's too late now. Hannah and Skia already started drawing up the plans and making risk… ass-ess-ments.”

“And if it doesn’t work, we can always bite them.” Tiger added from the rafters, startling all of them—except for Hannah, who somehow knew she was there. What bullshit. 

“Tiger no, we can’t just bite paying customers—”

“But I can.  I don’t have a problem with it—”

Luke nodded. “She makes a good point—”

Zee facepalmed…again. “Well, guess we’re gonna hafta see how this shitstorm plays out. Can’t wait to see it crash and burn.”

“I'll get my dad’s final rights speech ready.” Eduardo snickered, leaning on a mop. 

Skia shot him an unamused look, blue hair falling in her face. “Isn't it last rites? And you're still in trouble! Get back to mopping!”

“Tomato, Tamoto.” 

------------------------------------------------------------

All of the Stormbringer’s crew members were crammed on the ship’s deck, waiting for their captain to make her announcement.

Hannah walked out from behind the curtains she'd put up, tri fold board in hand and dressed in her finest clothes.

“Oh boy. Here we go.” Zee muttered sarcastically. Someone shushed her.

Hannah cleared her throat, setting up the board and grabbing her sword. “I'm sure you're all wondering why you're all here.”

“I mean, this is…our ship. So no, not reall—OW!”

The brunette sighed. “Thank you Treycor, but you really don't need to hit your brother to shut him up.”

“You're welcome, Captain.”

The pirate straightened up. “Does anyone else have any questions or remarks before we get started?”

Darcy raised her hand. “Uh, yeah. Why are you dressed like that, Cap?”

“Because this is a special occasion!”

“That’s never a good sign.” John muttered.

“You don’t know the half of it.” Zee stage whispered in response to him.

Hannah ignored them, readjusting her blood red doublet frock jacket along with her equally as red Bicorn hat. Trying to look somewhat serious and sophisticated. “I'll take that as a sign to start—”

“Go ahead, Hannah!” Peachy grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

The brunette smiled at her. “Thank you Peachy! Alright, so, Zee gave me a brilliant idea for how we can make a livin’—”

Isaac cringed. “That’s not a good sign–”

“Shhh. You've had your chance to talk—” Hannah waved the seven year old off. “—now, as I was saying, Zee gave me the idea to charge people for what I do. Meaning—”  A spot line shined down on the trifold board, revealing the words ‘Villain Wrangler and Isle Representative Hannah Hook’ written in big, messy, uneven letters. 

Words that were clearly written in crayon. With many, many, childish doodles strewn about the surface of the board, such as King Beast with his head cut off, Skia’s sister Mal with her hair shaved off, Gaston being eaten by a crocodile, and Frollo in a frilly princess dress.

Zee was on the defensive even before the crew turned to stare at her. “Okay, FIRST OF ALL–”

The brunette quickly continued. Cutting her off. “—that I am going to become the isle’s representative and villain wrangler with y’all’s help!”

Dead silence.

“...yay?” Peachy clapped a few times. “What does that mean, exactly?”

Hannah beamed at her. Clasping her hands together (almost stabbing herself in the process, as she was still holding her prized sword ‘The Nut Slicer’ in her hands). “I'm glad you asked! It means that—” 

She gestured at the ink stained, dirty, ruffled board with the sword. “—we need to make flies to pra-mote our new business and set up a phone line,” She moved the sword down before continuing “as well as make contracts and business cards after we decide what our terms and… con-ditions?”

Hannah looked at Yen Sid’s daughter, Hope— one of the oldest living member of the crew at twelve years old—to see if she was saying it right. 

She reserved a thumbs up and a reassuring smile in response. 

“So…you plan to make money from…what? Being nice to people?” Darcy wrinkled her nose.

Hannah shook her head, bouncing on her feet. “No, no. From manipulating people into doing what I want them to do to make our lives better and–and…” She paused for a long few minutes. Before settling on “And making their lives better in the pro-cess or making them think their lives are better if they're a big meanie.”

John nodded, like she’d just said something wise. “I like that plan.”

Treycor, on the other hand, did not like the plan if the way he had his head in hands said anything. Which it did. “Y’all are out of your Zeusing minds.”

Olivia, who usually just tolerated Treycor, was mirroring his pose. Looking like she was regretting ever joining the crew.

Moxie apparently agreed. “Zee, why did you put her up to this?”

And Nate? He just cackled from the crowsnest where he and D.E (who's face they still hadn't seen because she still refused to take off her mask and hood, and Hannah kept telling them to drop it) were sitting. 

Zee spluttered. “I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!”

Hannah didn't seem even remotely bothered by their reactions. “So… does anybody have any questions or suggestions?”

------------------------------------------------------------

When most of her crew left for the day (the ones that had somewhere else to go, that is), Hannah got out her colorful ink, favorite quill, and parchment paper and started drawing out plans.

Laying on her stomach on deck and kicking her feet up in the air, head in hand. 

“Whatcha doin’?” CJ’s voice was suddenly very close to her hearing aid.

Hannah jumped. “What are you doing on my ship?”

“I’m bored.”

“That’s not my problem and what have I told you about knocking!” 

“I did! You just didn’t hear me.” CJ’s all-to ‘innocent’ grin told Hannah that she did not, in fact, knock.

The younger girl scowled. “That's not funny and you know it! Only I'm allowed to make jokes about my hearing and eyesight! Daddy said so!”

“You can’t prove that I really didn’t knock! Because I did!”

Hannah tried to kick her. “Go away.”

“But I’m boooooooooored, Cradle Snatcher!” CJ promptly laid herself over Hannah, who swiped at her.

“And I'm working! Geeet off!”

“Working on what, a coloring book?” CJ snarked, decidedly not getting off.

“On a flier, assbeast! Now GET off or I'll kick you in the crotch!”

CJ snorted, but rolled off of her sister anyway. “That only works on boys, dingus!”

Hannah promptly kicked her in the crotch to prove just how wrong she was. 

“OW! Why you little–” CJ grabbed Hannah’s hand and bit it. 

Hannah yanked on her hair in retaliation and bit her cheek hard. 

CJ yelped and tried to smack Hannah, but her eyes caught the flier she’d been working on, and was instantly distracted. “What’s a ‘isle representative?’”

The brunette shoved her off of her and sat up, breathless. “My… new… job.. title! That I made myself!”

CJ wrinkled her nose. “What do you do?”

“I'm gonna make and enforce contracts between vks and vks, villains and villains, and henchmen and henchmen and so on. Mediate and negotiate. Oh and provide some ser-vices! Like… like a boss!”

CJ just blinked at her. “That's boring. You're boring.”

“I'm not boring, you're just stupid.”

“You’re stupider.” CJ stuck out her tongue.

“... My name is betterer than yours!”

“It is not!”

“Is too!”

“Is not!”

“Is too—”

[zelenxa]

1310 - The Kensingtons, Lottways, & Beaumonts

Marci wills a wobbly smile at Cassandra, nodding along, sympathy clear on her sister-in-law’s face. They both know well the feeling of losing a child, even after months have passed. It feels cruel to know the Watcher has taken not one but many children from her and her dear friend.

Marci lets her gaze fall away from Casandra’s for a moment to check on the twins. Her niece, Brynn, is currently (or very likely) teasing Emiliano. By the grin on his cheeks, he doesn’t seem to mind.

For the first time, the Kensingtons have managed to have the Lottways and Beaumonts in the present with one another. Last year round, trouble with traveling had rendered the Lottways unable to make it to the family gathering on time. Marci knows that not technically all the Beaumonts are here—really only one—but with the recent news she’s heard from Dayana, she expects her cousin won’t share the name for too long.

“Dayana Allaire would sound quite nice, wouldn’t it?”

A hour prior…

Kurtis arrives in tow with his wife and daughter, stepping foot on pathing as he maneuvers the girls off the bandwagon. Although not showing as much as she normally did with their past children, Casandra was once more pregnant. They hadn’t told anyone yet in fear things would turn out like last time, yet Kurtis suspected Mrs. Turner knew well already. The journey to the countryside had been rather troublesome this time around, though nothing like the delay of last year. He had visited a few months prior, earlier in the year, whilst in the countryside for an order his Ser had made for a local blacksmith around here, yet the visit was brief. Luckily for Kurtis, however, Ser Ager was a well-adjusted family man and had sympathized with Kurtis’ want to spend time with the only living relative he had. Kind, given how busy the city gets during Fall. He’s certain Ser Ager could use extra hands, especially his squire of which.

Speaking of his relative, Kurtis had immediately noticed a newly renovated part of her and Esteban’s home. The small house the Kensingtons occupied had improved slightly in space. Kurtis supposes it made sense given the four nieces and nephews he now had. A ting of guilt passes through him, and he ignores it in favor of ignorance.

“Auntie Marci!” Kurtis hears Brynn say, snapping him out of his thoughts. He watches the normally stoic little girl run up to hug Marci. He knew Brynn loved it here with her cousins. Huffing, he readjusts his grip on their belongings, following right along with Casandra.

“You’re Kurtis?” Dayana says, sitting down on the twins’ bed. The man beside her (who only vaguely resembled Marci in looks) looks upon Dayana with partial surprise, back straightening.

“Yes. You’re Dayana,” he responds, voice unexpectedly disinterested for a reunion with his cousin. Dayana thinks back. Had she ever met Marci or Kurtis as kids? Perhaps surely during her infanthood.

They sit in long silence before Kurtis cuts in, “I remember my mother speaking many words of her sister—your mother.”

“Oh,” she mumbles, hands fiddling with her dress to keep busy.

He hums, the sound nearly drowned out by the multiple of conversations occurring in the small house.

“Not good things I presume?” Dayana says a beat later, no stranger to the Lottways’ hostility to Gloria. Although maimed for different reasons, she knew her mother was never really a likable person. Not during Dayana’s upbringing at least.

Kurtis’ eyes don’t bother looking back at Dayana when he answers. He seems preoccupied. “No. No good things.”

His eyes cut to hers, just for the moment. His soft words do not dwarf his warning. “Do not do the same as your mother has to our family,” he says, tone even and unchanging.

He looks away then, and Dayana feels a distinct awareness that he is not only stating a warning but a clear indication he seeks no relationship with her. Sitting in silence, it is gutting, she realizes, to see her mother’s actions reflect on herself.

For the rest of the night, she does not try to prompt conversation with Kurtis any longer than she has to.

a/n: writer's block has been kicking my ass so I hope this isn’t bad! took me a while to even get to it and I just wanted to finish it to get it out. also, you might notice a different writing style in the next upcoming udc posts. anyway, I’m back! I’m committed to being active on tumblr so hopefully I’m back for good good this time around.

next (chrono) // previous

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things Into the Fire Review

WARNING: The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS from this comic and Season 4 of Stranger Things!

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things Reviews:

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger things Winter Special

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen

Synopsis: It's Spring of 1985, 7 years after Ricky/Three and Marcy broke out of Hawkins Lab. Constantly on the move for fear of being caught, the duo attempt to find closure by locating any other special kids that might have also escaped the lab. When their search bring them to Kali/Eight and her gang, they discover a dark secret: Jamie/Nine, Marcy's sister, who was presumed dead, is actually alive and locked away in an institution where she has gone insane. As Nine's powers begin to reawaken after years of suppression, Ricky and Marcy must now find and rescue her before it's too late.......

Observations:

I'm in two minds about this comic.

On the one hand, it's a big improvement from Stranger Things SIX. The artwork is vibrant, the story is more focused, the characters and their motivations are better fleshed-out, and there's more of a personal stake here compared to its predecessor.

On the other hand, the main issue I had with SIX which prevented me from fully enjoying it is unfortunately present with Into the Fire as well.

I'll start with my thoughts on the story and characters.

Unlike with SIX, where I found myself indifferent to Francine/Six due to her lack of a distinct personality and her bare-bones backstory, I was a lot more interested in Ricky and Marcy during their journey here. I enjoyed their sibling dynamic, with Ricky acting as the protective big brother to Marcy while Marcy acted as the impulsive yet supportive younger sister. Their interactions during the comic were sweet.

The plot with Ricky and Marcy discovering Jamie/Nine's survival and trying to rescue her was emotionally investing. The story is personal and smaller-scaled compared to the overarching arc of Stranger Things, but it works better than what they tried to do in the previous comic where they shoehorned in huge mytharc pieces from the show (i.e. the Demogorgon, the Upside Down, Terry Ives failed attempt to rescue El from the lab, etc) which not only screwed with the show's continuity, but also was poorly tied-in to that comic's story. Neither Ricky, Marcy, nor Jamie know about the Upside Down, and even Francine/Six who had brief visions of the Demogorgon while at the lab died before she ever found out what it all truly meant. The clumsy way those plot elements were incorporated into that comic made it feel out-of-place for a story focusing on minor characters who were never going to have a major role on the show.

Here, it's a lot easier to care because Into The Fire does a better job focusing on the relationships between the characters and how much they mean to one another. It doesn't need pieces of the mytharc to be interesting or relevant. The ending especially with Jamie and Marcy's reunion was one of the best moments, both visually and story-wise:

The core theme of Stranger Things has been about the ties that bind and finding people who will accept you for who you are. Whatever my mixed feelings about this comic are, they captured that theme well with Jamie and Marcy's reunion.

Adding onto this, the artwork is beautiful, especially in regards to Jamie/Nine's hallucinations, which convey a creepy gothic mood:

Kali is present in this story (as indicated on the cover), but unlike the previous comic where she and El were glorified cameos, she actually has a plot-related reason for being here: It's revealed she (inadvertently) served as the catalyst for Nine/Jamie's descent into madness. When Jamie/Nine became depressed after believing Ricky and Marcy abandoned her at Hawkins Lab, Brenner forced Kali to use her powers on Nine to create a fantasy world as a way of distracting Nine from what happened. Unfortunately, it worked too well, and an already mentally/emotionally fragile Nine bought into the illusion to the point she believed it was real, and any attempt to snap her out of it was met with hostility:

There's a depressing theme in Kali's arc, both in this comic, the show, and the novel Suspicious Minds, of Kali being used by other people to further their own goals. Is it any wonder she became embittered and angry later on in her life?

I am curious where Kali is currently on the show. Last time she was seen was in season 2 when her gang ran from the cops in Chicago. This comic has them hiding out in a barn elsewhere while they continue to hunt government employees who worked at the lab. At one point, Kali even offers Ricky/Three the opportunity to join them on their revenge quest. While he initially refuses, the ending of the comic where he compels Dr. Morris (the doctor who hid Jamie/Nine at a different facility) to commit suicide suggests he might end up taking Kali on her offer:

But that's in the comic's continuity. In the show...........it's unclear where Kali's story is going.

Something I've wondered about since season 4 is whether Brenner ever found out what Kali had been doing since she escaped. He was likely aware she was alive, but did he have knowledge of Kali's revenge quest against him and his colleagues from Hawkins Lab? I'm assuming he did since Brenner knew some of the orderlies and other personnel from the lab that Kali targeted and killed. On top of that, Ray Carroll (the orderly from "The Lost Sister") told El and Kali under interrogation that Brenner was alive, implying he was still in contact with him at that time. It makes me believe the top-secret silo where Brenner and Dr. Owens housed the Nina Project wasn't just off-the-grid because they were hiding it from Colonel Sullivan and his cronies, but because they were also trying to evade Kali and her gang.

However, this is just speculation. Whether or not the Duffer Brothers are going to bring back Kali for season 5 is unclear. I've expressed before in previous posts that I hope she comes back and her story gets the closure its been lacking since season 2. She's an interesting character, and I'll be sad if the writing lets her go to waste.

Speaking of Kali's story in this comic vs the show..............let's talk about the deviations in the Hawkins Lab arc.

I have mixed feelings about the way Hawkins Lab has been handled on the show vs the comics. On the one hand, I'm disappointed the show never truly expanded on any of the other psychokinetic kids besides El, Kali, and Vecna. Part of the reason I took an interest in the comics was because they did this with characters like Ricky, Francine, and Jamie. It wasn't perfect, but it was nice seeing different characters with a variety of unique powers. While I wish Kali had been given a bigger role (or even her own comic/graphic novel with a story centered on her), I am happy she wasn't completely forgotten about in supplementary materials.

On the other hand, I prefer the set-up for Hawkins Lab on the show. The backstory of Henry/One/Vecna, his imprisonment at Hawkins Lab for 20 years, his subsequent massacre of the other special kids, and his banishment by El to the Upside Down is one of the best story arcs in season 4, if not the entire show. Even before the reveal of the massacre, there had been implications that the other kids were no longer at the lab by the time El escaped. I didn't even mind the backstory of El being bullied by the other special kids when she was growing up since it's hinted at in her conversation with Mike in season 1 when she confronts him about being harassed by Troy and James:

From "Holly, Jolly" (Season 1, Episode 3):

Mike: I was tripped by this mouth breather, Troy, okay? Eleven: Mouth breather? Mike: Yeah, you know…..a dumb person. A knucklehead. Eleven: Knucklehead? Mike: I don’t know why I just didn’t tell you. Everyone at school knows. I just didn’t want you to think I was such a wastoid, you know? Eleven: Mike… Mike: Yeah? Eleven: I understand.

There was foreshadowing in the early seasons for the big reveals in season 4, which is why I accepted them when they happened.

While I'm not happy about Kali's limited screentime on the show, I still believe the Duffer Brothers plan to bring her back for the final season. Maybe my faith is misplaced and I'll be eating these words later, but considering they specifically went out of their way to spare Kali from Vecna's massacre, as well as how the Stranger Things writers recommended a few days ago that fans rewatch season 2 in preparation for season 5, it's implied she still may play a role in the final battle against Vecna.

And finally, there's the way Brenner ran the lab on the show vs the comics:

In my previous review of SIX, I mentioned there was a strong possibility that said comic wouldn't count as canon due to the way season 4 was written (as well as some major continuity problems in the comic itself). This sequel all but confirms that with the way they wrote Jamie/Nine's backstory.

In the comics, Brenner decided that because of the progress Eleven showed during her time at the lab, the other participants in the program were redundant and were straining resources. As a result, he ordered the staff at Hawkins Lab to dispose of the other special kids. One of the faculty members, Dr. Morris, worked closely with Jamie/Nine, and in an act of consciousness, had Nine transferred off the books to an institution where she was kept under a strict drug regimen to suppress her pyrokinetic abilities.

As of season 4, we know this isn't what happened on the show: Vecna is the one who killed all the special kids. Brenner was a monster and wasn't above manipulating the kids under his care to get results, but he never considered them liabilities, and he didn't "put all of his eggs in one basket" (as Dr. Morris accused him of doing) just so he could focus on Eleven. It wasn't until Vecna slaughtered everyone else and El was the only special kid left that Brenner turned his attention exclusively to her. Even then, it's later revealed that Brenner was using El to try and locate Henry/One/Vecna in the dimension El banished him to.

Personally, if it's a choice between Brenner's motivations on the show vs the comics, I prefer the show since his motivations there make more sense given the circumstances. They were also pragmatic compared to his short-sided decision in the comics to get rid of the other test subjects for not living up to Eleven's potential.

While there are things that could have been improved, I will take the Hawkins Lab arc from the show over the comics.

Overall, I would recommend this comic with some asterisks: If you're looking for something with pretty artwork and an emotionally gripping story set in the Stranger Things universe, then Into the Fire will meet your expectations. However, for reasons I've just described, the comic likely isn't canon due to how parts of its mythology differentiate from the show, and it should possibly be viewed as an alternate continuity because of that.

[megamindsupremacy]

Misc PJO fic recs (Part 2)

Tired head counselor nico by sundaysabotage

“I just don’t get it,” he huffs to Will as they put up holiday decorations in the unusually quiet infirmary, “they talk to me like I’m supposed to know stuff. Like I’m the new Percy or something.”

Nico expects Will to laugh at this, shrug off his concerns as unfounded and tell him he’s being over-dramatic like usual.

He is wrong.

“Okay, babe, don’t take this the wrong way. But, you kind of are the new Percy.”

-

Rivers by eridans

He's ten and ninety simultaneously, his mother was murdered and his sister is a stranger. He's got a deck of cards that he holds onto like a lifeline and an Italian-English dictionary that's old as hell and crumbling, but it's not as old as he is, and that makes him laugh.

The River Lethe was supposed to take away their memories, but Nico remembers his past, his days at home, the times he spent with his sister and mother at parades Mussolini hosted, where Maria sang the national anthem. The river tried to take away everything Nico cherished, and it could have been pure desperation or grief that made him remember his past.

Nico didn't know.

-

The wedding party by yrbeecharmer

Leo: I’m Leo, I’m the hottest groomsman in the place, literally [Leo makes finger guns at the camera], and I think Thalia, the maid of honor—eternal maiden of of honor, you might say— Piper [offscreen]: BOOOOOOOO! Leo: —is gonna get the drunkest at the reception.

-

Meg and Apollo's highly limited road-trip playlist by curiouser

Fourteen hundred miles. Four radio stations. Two friends trying hard not to kill each other, or to acknowledge the fact that in less than a week, they may never see each other again.

And Lizzo. So much Lizzo.

-

percy Jackson and the scrutiny of his coworkers by pqrker

Jim turned back to the tank and looked at Marcie the seal, who was now staring at the spot his coworker had been standing just moments before with that same strange look of reverence in her eyes.

Percy Jackson truly was the oddest person Jim Elpool had ever worked with.

or

5 times percy's coworkers were confounded by his fish magic, plus 1 time they try to figure it out

-

Build it bigger than the sun by furnaceglow

An eternity. And an end.

There are nearly unreconcilable differences between now and then, between boy and god, but one thing remains the same: the Fates can never let him stay, and they can never let him be happy.

This is no longer looking like a good idea. Apollo chooses to remain mortal. Surprisingly, it’s not the end of his journey.

-

War of Shadows by HonorH

Six years ago, Nico di Angelo disappeared, leaving Will Solace with a broken heart and no answers. Now, Nico has reappeared, badly wounded and covered in tattoos, and Will has even more questions than he started with.

-

Sand Dollar Child by withay

There's far too much divinity in Percy Jackson. It oozes from him, to the point where he's sometimes mistaken for Poseidon. Percy doesn't know this yet. All he knows is that this nereid is asking to borrow five drachmas.

-

and keep on walking, come what will by andromedabennet

annabeth sleepwalks, percy frets, and luke learns why you can't trust any immortals, no matter how much they promise you

(mostly) canon-compliant from the titan's curse to the house of hades

-

wisegirl is live! by larkofchaos

Fans piece together that popular streamer B4ckb1t3r's companion, Wisegirl, bears a striking resemblance to kidnapped seven-year-old, Annabeth Chase. Even down to the same name. Isn't that just crazy?

-

[laternenfischchen]

Ok. First time actually posting about something that bothers me about a fandom response to a canon scene.

The night billy beats steve at the byers' house. I'm absolutely not a fan of violence, i am not excusing the whole damn mess.. but i can absolutely see where he's coming from.

Billy has his father riding his ass about finding max. He goes out and searches for the step-sister who just got him into trouble and gets hit on by a grown ass woman (whole other can of worms, that.). He then finds his step-sister.. in the company of 4 guys, at a stranger's house. 3 boys and a adult. Alone, with his thirteen year old step-sister.. and steve lies to him about it. To his face. Repeatedly, despite billy giving him the chance to come clean... and even saying why the situation "gives him the heebie jeebies".

What did steve think was gonna happen?

What exactly should billy think is going on here? There's a lot of really ugly stuff happening in the world and i'm pretty sure Billy is rather more aware of monsters of the human variety than max... and no matter how much billy likes or dislikes her.. i'm pretty sure he doesn't want her to be a really unfortunate statistic.

They are from california. I had a wikispiral about stand-out underage murder victims in the US yesterday and let me tell you: the 70s and early 80s had horrifying statistics in california.

Just one example: In '81 a 14 year old girl was killed by a 16 year old boy in santa clara county in california. Marcy Renee Conrad if anybody wants to read up on it. The case got a lot of media coverage and billy was definitely old enough to have heard a lot about that.

He would have been aware of more than one or two stand out cases... and that's without the serial killer victims, the jane does that are still unidentified to this day and the dead kids that never made it on the wikipedia list.

Frankly? I would have been really damn wired, too.

The kids not realizing? Understandable. But steve could have had that penny drop at some point. Joyce and Hopper are parents. Hell, Hopper is a policeman with a daughter. There should have been somebody realizing how that looked to an outsider. Even if it was just later after everything calmed down a bit.

And the lucas mess.. well. Does neil hargrove strike anybody as a particularly tolerant fellow? Does billy have a problem with lucas being black? Or does billy have a problem because neil has a problem with lucas being black? Or is it just because lucas is too close to max? Hell if i know but he told max at least twice to stay the hell away from the kid.

Additionally this was the 80s and scaring/hitting a guy for chasing after his sister would have been much less of a horrifying thing for the people around him. Hell, i'm not nearly that old but nobody lost their mind over boys brawling when i was a teenager either... and nobody here needed racism to want to knock somebody out for flirting with the wrong girl. Coming from another city-part or from a town over was plenty of reason already if one was needed.

Looking at canon and judging characters without keeping the general attitudes of the time in mind is kinda... meh.^^

TLDR; billy had reasons to lose his shit at the byers' house. Not excusing it or anything... but it explains it and i'm sick and tired of people not actually thinking about what the whole evening looked like from billy's perspective.

[talesyettold]

Welcome to the Sublime🍁

You haven't listened to Strangers in the Wood yet??? Well, you're only missing out on one of the best actual play series that has ever hit your podcatchers. We've got the awards to prove it.

Illustration by @spookynest

“But what is it?” You ask.

Strangers in the Wood is the first season of our show, Tales Yet Told, which premiered on September 2021. The whole season is only 33 episodes, each sitting around an average of an 1hr 30min per episode. It’s weirdly fun, surprisingly vulnerable, and horrifically evocative.

Strangers in the Wood is possible because we’re playing Babes in the Wood 1e by World Champ Game co., a ttrpg heavily inspired by Over the Garden Wall. It’s a narrative focused game using the Powered by the Apocalypse engine to help facilitate a story of tense and intimate horror and it serves as the backbone of everything Strangers in the Wood is.

Strangers in the Wood follows the story of two foster siblings, Dorothy and Dakota, as they wander a mysterious forest ruled by a shadowy entity known as The Stranger. Thankfully they have their friend Walter, the talking weasel to be their guide. If this sounds like Over the Garden Wall…that’s on purpose

“But who is it?” You shout from the windows.

Kendo (They/He) as The Game Master Hi, that's me. I'm our narrative facilitator and arbiter of consequences. I've been playing ttrpgs as a semi-forever GM for about a decade now. I started in D&D 4e and have since fallen in love with the indie ttrpg scene. I have a love for character-driven stories and exploring ourselves and the world around us through collaborative storytelling.

Dr. Hilda (She/Her) as Dorothy Margaret Reed - (She/Her) Dorothy Reed is a shy yet stubborn 7-year-old with dark hair and blue eyes. She idolizes her foster-sibling Dakota as well as her bio-sister Hazel from whom she was separated when she entered the foster system due to their large age gap and Hazel aging out of the system quickly. She enters the sublime dressed as a pepper shaker for Halloween and also wears a hand-me-down blue coat and red shoes that she got to pick out herself. She is incredibly happy with her life at the Abbott's home and wants desperately to return to the only place she’s felt safe. Her biggest fears include spiders, dogs, and the dark.

Marcie (She/They) as Dakota Wallace - pre episode 21(She/Her), post episode 21 (He/They) Dakota Wallace is a fiery and hardheaded 15 y/o boy with short black hair and green eyes. He grew up with an only father who live a hard and fast life with Dakota being there for the worst of it. As he got older he learned that if he wanted his place in life he has to fight for everything. After his father had a particularly bad incident, Dakota was thrust into the foster care system where he began to feel like an outcast. He enters the sublime dressed as Ferris Bueller for Halloween. He is afraid of returning home to the Abbott's and that he will always cause destruction wherever he goes.

Gus (He/Him) as Walter Brookstone - (He/Him) Walter is a clever and snarky young man currently in the body of a small brown weasel. He entered the Sublime after running away from home, feeling like an outcast and a loner. Here, after some time, his transformation would take place. He is determined to return Dakota and Dorothy home, hopefully sparing them his fate, and maybe cause a little mischief along the way. Walter has no love for the Sublime and would see it in shambles if he had his way. His biggest fears include being a bad person, staying a weasel forever, and owls. And yeah…that’s all of the Player Characters. Of course, there are plenty of NPCs to latch on to as well, but you’re gonna have to listen to find them. 

“But where is it?” You scrawl into a dusty tome.

Lucky for you it’s everywhere you can get your podcasts! We have new episodes every other Wednesday! Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Goodpods | Stitcher | Podchaser

“But why is it (something I should listen to)?” You whimper.

Because you love good stories. Because you love ttrpgs. Because you love Over the Garedn Wall. Because you love autumnal aesthetics. Because you love talking animals. Because you love your siblings. Because you love a crisp breeze through the trees. Because you love wandering blindly into the woods. Because you love cars driving through school hallways. Because you love selling your secrets. Because you love long road trips. Because you love the feeling after the tears have fallen. Because you love the isolating horror of recognizing your body is becoming something you don’t recognize and despite the fact that your true self is struggling to make itself known and free society will continue to treat you based on the malignant skin sack that buries your soul beneath its unrecognizable meat and despite all that you can still be firm in the fact that you are the only person who can define yourself.

All of that is Strangers in the Woods. Are you ready?

[kiwibirb1]

Okay so what do you get when you combine a amphiba fixation and Ocarina of Time? A half-baked AU where instead of amphiba the girls ended up in OoT era Hyrule and the calamity gems are the spiritual stones.

No seriously the colors are like perfect. More details (like a lot more be warned) under the cut because I have a feeling I'll ramble.

Okay, first Marcy. She ends up in Kokiri forest, and immediately gets sidetracked by studying the Kokiri's biology and shit. Wit gem is now Kokiri Emerald. Has roughly the same relationship with Deku Tree as she does with Andrias, but no manipulation!! Wooo! Would be hilarious if she ended up in Link's role, but I have this idea of she lands there like 3 years before the events of OoT, so Link is just a little baby gremlin. Oooo she could be the one to teach him basic moves she copies from the Vagabondia games. Doesn't go and find her girls like immediately beacuse Kokiri do the whole "Everyone who leaves DIES" and she doesn't think to check this with the Deku Tree (who would tell her that's just kokiri she'll be fine). Gets lost in the Lost Woods a LOT. But makes new friends in the skull kids, so there's that!

Next up... Sasha! Strength here ends up with the big, burly gorons! Manages to build up a high temperature tolerance but still can't handle mild spice lol. Strength gem replaced by Goron Ruby, yada yada. I haven't made it far enough into OoT to see if sumo wresting comes up there, but even if it does, I'm taking it and saying she introduces them to it. Has the Biggoron sword wayyy early because she helped the dude make it and got impatient. (Link still gets it because the girls made it home by the time of his adventure, but even though it's made already, he doesn't get it till adult.) Doesn't leave immediately because uhhh rockfall! Yeah rocks blocked the way out of Death Mountain for a while. Has a Grime-ish relationship with Darunia but no jail time and less toxic on both sides. He's still like father figure but more chill.

Finally, Anne! Ends up with the Zora, and fends off flirting from Ruto (who is like seven, why is this seven year old so horny?) while learning to swim. Heart gem is Zora sapphire, you know the drill. Oooooo wait gotta figure out how that works with the box uhhh, time travel shit idk. Leaves for Castle Town almost immediately (like stays in zoras domain for like two weeks) and gets lost. Finds her way to Lon Lon Ranch and BAM found family trope betcha didn't see that coming, huh? So yeah she stays at Ranch for a while helping out, getting a new sister, taming horses. Eventually leaves for Castle Town with her own horse, where she manages to get an audience with the king. King agrees to help her find her friends if she babysits Lil Zel. (yeah sure trust the random stranger with the two year old princess that is VERY KIDNAPPABLE(Impa does not agree but eventually grows to like Anne))

The music box! I realized that it uh needed some revamps to fit so section for it now! Okay, so due to time travel shit the stones are in the music box but are also ancient artifacts of the regions. Basically music box ends up in earth because not Leif uhhh (I probably should finish OoT first huh) but yeah girls do the whole woosh thing but the stones get separated and end up in their respective regions like 100 years before the girls go. So they're still like the regions things. Since time travel they're colored and charged, BUT when the girls get there, they suddenly uncharge and go gray because now the times are synced up and stuff. This is how girls find the correlation and then plot and junk.

I have so many thoughts for this i will not be getting sleep tonight. I will also probably infodump more about this, so yayyyy

[tsc-malec]

Alec reached out and touched Marcy’s back, rubbing it gently as if this werewolf stranger was his own sister.

“She’s fine,” he said. “You didn’t—I know you didn’t want to hurt her, that you didn’t want to hurt anyone. You can’t help being what you are. You’re going to figure it all out.”

Alec Lightwood —The Course of True Love

[avocado-frog]

hey this is chance and here’s week 4’s prompt. how do strangers within the world view your protagonists? how would they describe them? and how does this contrast against how the protagonist views themself?

!!week four's prompt!!

Logan- gives kids at lemonade stands 100 usd. bakes cookies for new neighbors. he's well-liked and fairly well-known. he likes to think the rest of the neighborhood likes him, but he gets surprised at how many people Know him

Leo- banned from most public spaces. Makes children cry on purpose. Canonically she broke an old man's knees with a golf club. Rummages through people's trash for stuff. She's aware The other kids think she's a wet cat

Cass- adored by all. she's got the healing magic so people go to her instead of doctors sometimes bc she doesn't charge. Leo steals from them regardless. Makes flower crowns for people at the park probably. Hangs out with Dylan at the garden so the garden people know her. Very modest about this

Kai + Marcy- richest family in the whole goddamn town. Kai is a lot more polite about it than his sister. Marcy is Awful

Lily- That specific brand of hot cheeto girl who tell kids off for being disrespectful to the teachers. I think she's popular at school but because people like her/they like Logan and Jaxon and know they're siblings. She's confident + i think she's aware that the other kids like her. Leo does not believe that she's liked

Jaxon- he's soo friendly actually. Somehow, he's made friends with every kid in the city, and he volunteers at the library, and he also gets into fights a lot. Aside from that Reputation in school, people like him <3 hope nothing happens to him. Jax knows how good he is at making friends and uses his power for good

Dylan- my favorite fact about them is that they do community garden work with the old ladies and so i think the grandma community adores them. Dylan goes to bingo thursdays.

Ryan- very shy. he doesn't like to talk to people he doesn't know, and he hasn't made many friends in school, especially after he left with Leo in dahlia. He thinks he's the most hated child in the whole world

Sam- Nike kid. Sports boy. If a parent has a child who does multiple sports, they Keep Seeing Sam, because he's in karate, basketball, baseball, track, and soccer. No one knows how he does it Middle child syndrome

Elliot- Elliot's favorite hobby is making intense eye contact with strangers to make them uncomfortable and he likes to say just the most obscure shit. He just goes up to people and tells them about the rat in his pocket. Sometimes he hangs out with Dylan, so I bet he goes to bingo thursdays too lol. He also thinks he's the most hated child in the whole world

[naturally-dazed]

The next day, Julia came over and surprised Sally with a friendly gift of appreciation....a meat cube? and she hung out for a while.

Pictured here is sally feeling herself after making a gross joke. whatever floats your boat girl. yay friendship!! (ignore the change of reshade im conflicted about which one to use)

Then these little demons (or are they gods? cause im pretty sure sims worship gnomes man) started popping up all over the place, fucking harvestfest the next day. I put 2 of them in her inventory and decided to try and appease the naked winking one because he seemed more chill like he'd roll a j for you if you asked maybe

nope. naked winky gnome fried her tv. naked winky gnome fried her personally. naked winky gnome did not appreciate fruitcake as much as sally does. and here she thought they were kindred naked souls? damn. anyways, I got pissed off and sold him and the other 2 but I didn't want to make money from it so i reset her funds to what they were. i erased all traces of them.

where's your gnome god now bitch??? DELETED! ERASED! BYE SISTER!

I also changed the holiday tradition of gnomes to inviting people over instead, and immediately after I did that she got a call from nancy landgraab asking if she wants to come over to her place!

Sally, having gotten along with nancy really well and kinda romanticizing her and her life in her head decided to go - she enjoyed talking to her so much that she decided she likes hard working sims (which was not her preference before, boring people those hard workers but not nancy. She makes it seem fun?)

She looked like an excited puppy around a bunch of people who definitely dont match her energy but i dont think she really cared much, they had dinner together - debated politics, the usual holiday stuff..etc

he really gets heated about politics i guess, she lost the debate out of fear i think lol like chill, that was her sign to go home

I made a little invite only club with the girls she befriended so they can hang out more, tasks are basically all kinds of socializing, drinking at bars and dancing at home or any nightclub. She invited them over for the rest of the day and first thing she did was go try to talk to summer some more to get that blunder of a day last time out of her head and they got along great this time!

they spent the whole night till 2am together maybe and she thought it went great until something went missing

her useless criminal baseball bat! it was right there! turns out befriending klepto sims like Marci comes with the downside of...she will steal your shit lol imagine that

But how can she even say anything or complain when she agreed to a lifestyle where the next morning she lovebombs and picks the pocket of a random stranger herself?

random stranger has no idea either, and sally doesn't really care about that person, just that they didnt notice. But still! you dont steal from a criminal? do you? isn't there some kind of unspoken rule or something? a bond? anything?

nope, no there is not lmao her lowkey new idol and coworker whose family she just met and had harvestfest dinner with scammed her too, it doesn't end lol

SO she's kinda having an existential crisis right now, left with absolutely nothing in her household funds (but thankfully a couple of hundred in her savings account that she JUST made) & some pretty fake people around her, shouting *!# on the bathroom floor is a given

[theskyexists]

Another episode of longsuffering older sibling having to deal with annoying younger siblings messing up all their shit. These writers must be completely traumatised by the experience of having younger siblings. But at least these ones aren't like Polly and actually express some remorse for destroying shit. Apparently making sure that your younger siblings don't steal your extremely dangerous magic book to do some sort of plastic surgery on themselves is your responsibility as an older sister. That makes sense . But it's NOT your responsibility to entertain them to keep them from idiotic behaviour. Imo. But I guess that just goes to show I'm a younger sibling.

The funny thing is that I would be Marcy in this scenario but somehow she's my least favourite. She's alright. But she's not getting treated right by the narrative

So first temple is brain. And wisdom (Marcy)

Second temple is heart. I.e. selflessness (Anne)

Disobedient, foolish, impulsive

See? ANNE gets a whole temple episode dedicated to JUST her positive and negative qualities

Selfishness

Pronounced sense of justice

Incredible athletic ability

Lying, thieving

Learning from mistakes

Sacrificing for friends, strangers AND enemies

Empathy AND responsibility

Intelligence AND wisdom

I wonder what Sasha's will be

Ahh. Impulsive Anne retained some of her power by not fully charging the stone.

Huh...Sasha gives jester toad an out... uncharacteristic....ah she goes back on her word

Sashas positive quality is sheer willpower.

Her vices are always prioritising what she wants and her plans over other people's wellbeing

Willpower AND consideration...

Lift to enter brah LOL. I guess Sasha just proved that she could do that on sheer power of will. Now I need an amv to that classic for amphibia

How are they gonna charge the damn stone without Sasha. Really sad Sasha isn't gonna get her trials...

It's funny....I got it wrong apparently? Sashas first attribute is strength? Nah no way. The temple is just built to goad somebody like her

SASHA!!!!! SHES SO COOL!!! She went to look for Marcy and Anne ofc when she heard they were hanging out without her. Lol. While Marcy doesn't ever give a fuck about that and Anne is upset about the breakup

They're lying and leaving out the rebellion

Ok so apparently they switched tacks from season 1 and Sasha is now the strong one

So strength and teamwork?

Man... What the fuck. Sasha was NOT the physically strong one in season 1. They messed up the themes...

SASHA WAS WEARING SUPER HEAVY ARMOUR ALL ALONG AHHAHAHAHAHA

Strength and resistance... Ok...

'ill get this friendship back under control' what does that MEAN sasha. She probably doesn't really know that herself

The way they handle this reconciliation is crazy lol. The conclusion is that Sasha needs to recognise that Anne's changed? I don't know if that follows from this episode dude. I mean...Sasha is concerned about being left out and being unimportant to Anne. Anne is concerned about her killing people she loves and her being controlling and bossy

Ok actually this battle of the bands episode is much more clear about the dynamic. Sasha always wanting it her way. Anne not wanting that anymore.

Too bad they never realised that King Andreas is evil.

Honestly like Sasha a lot and what she did wasn't particularly bad but also understand Anne's fury

'redesign the political system so this sort of uprising never happens again'? She only realises that now. I wonder whether Marcy is thinking of Democracy.

At least Sasha and Grime know he's evil now. Too bad they're breaking him out now

Hmmm Anne did Sasha's move from season 1. It has no significance

'we were so focused on each other we couldn't see what was right in front of us'

Actually, you should have listened to Sasha. That was the real lesson. Or 'on ourselves' is the right term

ANNE GOES BACK HOME WITH HER PLANTER FAMILY??? WHAT??????

And Marcy died. And Sasha is still in Amphibia. Probably gonna lead a resistance. Oh my god.

Anne was willing to let Sasha stay in Amphibia forever tbh. Damn.

THEY ACTUALLY 'KILLED' MARCY. INCREDIBLE

YESSSS MARCYS GONNA BE AN ANGSTY VAT EXPERIMENT

[autism-swagger]

Here is the complete nightmare therapy group, compiled by me and my wonderful sister @stardustnightmaren ( ^ω^ )

Hunter (the owl house)

Azula (avatar)

Asuka (neon genesis evangelion)

Ellie (the last of us)

Abby (the last of us)

Eda (the owl house)

Chara (undertale)

Catra (she ra)

Sasha (amphibia)

Shilo and Graverobber (he’s just there to support her lol. His ass does NOT need therapy) (repo the genetic opera)

Sans (undertale)

Ocean (ride the cyclone)

Marcy (amphibia)

Jinx (arcane)

Stephanie (dc)

Jason (dc)

Bruce (dc)

Honestly just the entire batfamily

Wheatley (portal)

Entire cast of Infinity Train

Monika (doki doki literature club)

Michael (fnaf)

Quinn (glee)

Squidward (spongebob)

Pacifica (gravity falls)

All the Heathers and Veronica (heathers)

Syd (I am not okay with this)

Reagan (inside job)

Chloe (life is strange)

Janis (mean girls)

Clarissa (oxenfree)

Clarke (the 100)

All the liars (pretty little liars)

Annabeth (pjo)

Cheryl (riverdale)

Tori (solitaire)

Pearl (steven universe)

Steven (steven universe)

Lapis (steven universe)

Mike (stranger things)

Katniss (the hunger games)

Kuvira (the legend of korra)

The Umbrella Academy (the umbrella academy)

Guillermo (what we do in the shadows)

Kara (dc)

Ally (ahs: cult)

Alphys (undertale)

Spamton (deltarune)

Vakama (bionicle)

Meredith (gray’s anatomy)

[wndaswife]

i’m the same age as you and i have read a lot of rpfs up til now. but now I have to agree with the anon who messaged about real person fics.

i read your long reply to them & it really is just excuses that we make to carry on posting/reading rpfs. because it doesn’t matter that it’s “fiction”, i realise now it’s really gross to be posting smut about actual real people.

that anon had a point. how would you feel if strangers online posted stories about people having sex with you? or about sexual things happening to you? or dark!fics like murder or rape? or if a stranger was posting fics about a friend of yours? because i know i’d feel awful if someone was writing adult stuff about me or a friend.

we don’t know lizzie’s private life experiences so we don’t know if she has any triggers or if she’s ever been sexually assaulted or she’s had bad experiences with any of the adult situations that you write her in.

you’re now just choosing to be ignorant and disrespectful and selfish because getting likes on your fics is more important than respecting a real person who you’re meant to be a fan of.

and yes, posting smut stories about her without her consent is just as bad as taking photos of her without her consent like paparazzi or journalists writing lies about her and her family.

it’s about consent and respect. as a reader i realize that now. you don’t have her consent to post sexual stories written about her, and you know she would never give consent for strangers online to write sexual stories about her as a real person if asked for it.

aaaahhmm idk if us being the same age matters or anything like that but.. irregardless

u are being so weird for saying im trying to make excuses for likes and followers like mf who do you think i am 😭😭 this is a tumblr blog it’s not some hollywood pr stunt like i really write fics in my rented place on a couch in my living room like what do u think im doing this for.. it’s rly not all as serious as ur saying it is like im a blog on tumblr, “ur doing this for likes and follows” please check urself

that’s such a bizarre thing to say.. me writing a total of 3k words about a fictional version of lizzie with a character that doesn’t exist is the same as spreading rumours about her sisters including an eating disorder, stealing the olsen twins’ childhood and making websites counting down the seconds until they turn 18, bombarding their cars in public, following them home, sexualizing lizzie's sa scene in martha marcy may marlene, following them to private vacations, leaking photos of her from her icloud?? idk if u know how delusional you sound right now because if anything u are being so incredibly disrespectful and disgusting trying to compare some dehumanizing shit like that to tumblr fanfiction that's actually a little revolting.. those experiences that their entire family was and still is subjected to is NOT something u can say is as bad as 3k words on tumblr for lizzie x reader fanfiction like ur actually sick for saying something so ignorant that

u seem like you’re projecting because u just got out of your rpf phase and ur feeling a little guilty about it but that’s just my two cents !

im sorry to say this but after you're done feeling good about yourself for sending this because no one else is gonna do it for u lol you can unfollow me or block me or whatever, better yet u can even report the three (3) lizzie fics i've written on here (i'll even give you masterlist link so you can find them)

thank u for this spiel im glad u could get these terribly frustrating little thoughts off your chest

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things SIX Review

Warning: The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS from Stranger Things Six, as well as Stranger Things Season 4.

Out of all the tie-in comics, this is the one that caught my attention just by the cover and premise. When it comes to Stranger Things, I’ve always been invested in its mythology (i.e. the Upside Down, the monsters, the secret lab, the kids with special abilities, etc). So a comic like this, which centers around Hawkins Lab and Dr. Brenner (who’s one of my favorite villains from the show) was something I was looking forward to.

And the results have been..............mixed.

The story focuses on a girl named Francine/Six who came from an abusive home where she was exploited by her parents for her gift of seeing into the future. One day, she meets a boy named Ricky (AKA Number 3) whom she ends up developing a friendship with. After finding out about Francine's situation and how her dad beats her, Ricky introduces her to Dr. Brenner, who encourages both Ricky and Francine to come to Hawkins Lab under the guise that their gifts could help countless people if they were given an environment to develop their powers. However, during their time at the Lab, they realize Brenner and the people working under him don’t have their best interests in mind, and are attempting to weaponize them and the other kids. Meanwhile, Six/Francine begins having visions of a monster (AKA the Demogorgon) from the Upside Down. While she doesn’t understand what the monster is, she fears it’s part of a dark future for her, which only motivates her desire to break out of the lab before it’s too late.

Observations:

As far as comics go, it’s adequate. The artwork is decent, and the plot moves at a brisk pace. It should be a fast read for most people.

The characters aren’t as fleshed-out as they could be, but it’s still cool to see other psychokinetic kids get expanded upon besides El, Kali, and Henry/One/Vecna. Ricky/Three is the boyfriend of Francine/Six and has the ability to emotionally manipulate others into doing what he wants them to do. Jamie/Nine is gifted in pyrokinesis/heat generation. Jamie also has a twin sister named Marcy, who isn’t gifted but was brought to the lab since she and Jamie are orphans and as another way for Brenner to keep control over Jamie.

Francine/Six’s visions about the Demogorgon turn out to be a red herring. She never physically encounters the monster, nor does she ever discover the mystery behind it or the Upside Down. It’s mostly there to serve as a call-back to the show, and as one more motivator for Six to escape the lab.

There’s an implication that Six’s powers, as well as the powers of other psychokinetic kids, may be connected to the Upside Down. This is something that’s also explored in the novel Stranger Things Suspicious Minds where Alice Johnson (one of Terry Ives’s friends) was being experimented on at Hawkins Lab and began having similar visions of the Upside Down and the Demogorgon. I’ve had a theory for a while that the Upside Down is somehow linked to the powers that individuals like El, Kali, and Henry/One/Vecna harness. I especially think it could be true in Henry’s case when he moved into the Creel House with his family and began developing his abilities. I don’t know if there was some sort of crack between the Creel House and the Upside Down (not big enough that anything like a Demogorgon could get through, but small enough that a malicious presence on the other side could have influence a young Henry) but I believe something happened that activated Henry when he was near the clock, which allowed him to start using his powers.

I also find it convenient how El later banished Henry/One/Vecna to the Upside Down of all places once she tapped into her full strength.

I don’t know whether or not the Upside Down is directly responsible for these kids having gifts, but I believe there's a link between them. I wonder if season 5 will expand on this, or if it’s just a theory that won’t come to fruition.

The comic itself takes place in 1978, about a year before Vecna’s massacre. It's mentioned in an interview by the Duffer Brothers that when they first began writing the show, they already had the idea that all of the kids with special abilities (with the exceptions of El and Kali) were dead prior to the start of season 1:

MATT DUFFER: We always knew that the other kids with the exception of Eight were dead. We always wanted to explore that and exactly what happened. It became a challenge because we knew we wanted to tell that story but it’s basically an origin flashback story. How do you keep that feeling relevant to what’s happening in the season, so when you cut to it, you feel like there’s some sort of forward progression and a connection? We knew it was going to connect ultimately to One.

There was also this tidbit regarding the comics and Henry/One/Vecna:

ROSS DUFFER: It’s funny, because there are various comic books and side merchandise and whenever they come to us with those ideas, we would say, you can take any number but you cannot take One. One is ours. So, that’s been ongoing for the seven years we’ve been working on it, that just don’t do anything with One. We’ve been protecting that [revelation]. It is a relief to finally get him out into the world.

Based on this, I assume the Duffer Brothers told Jody Houser and Dark Horse Comics that if they were going to do a story focusing on the psychokinetic kids at the lab, it had to be set before 1979.

This remark from Jamie/Nine caught my attention when I was reading:

The implication I took from her "babies" comment is there were different generations of gifted people at the lab........which makes sense. It's been mentioned Brenner founded the MK Ultra program in 1953. Henry Creel would later fall into Dr. Brenner's care in 1959, Terry Ives and her friends wouldn't be experimented on until 1969, and El wouldn't be born until a year or two later. I'm assuming there were separate age groups in the 25+ years since MK Ultra was started, and that the "babies" Jamie/Nine was referring to were a group of special kids younger than them.

On top of that, the comic presents the idea that not all of the kids at the lab were kidnapped the same way El and Kali were. Ricky was initially a willing participant in the program, Francine was persuaded by Dr. Brenner to join them, and both Jamie and Marcy were taken in after a fire destroyed their home and killed their parents.

Brenner also claims that the United States isn’t the only country developing programs like the one at Hawkins Lab:

I'm assuming Brenner was thinking about the Russians when he said this, and (incorrectly) believed they also had kids with dangerous powers who were being weaponized against the U.S. It adds another layer to his motivations for pushing the kids at Hawkins Lab beyond their limits.

There is a major continuity error that bugs me: At the end of the comic, Francine, Ricky, and Marcy attempt to escape the lab. The reason they're able to is because Terry Ives (El's mom) breaks into the lab on the same day to rescue El:

The problem is that people who’ve worked on the show, such as makeup artist Amy L. Forsythe, have confirmed that Terry's failed attempt to rescue El took place in 1974. This is also supported by the twin actresses who played El in the season 2 flashback being about 3-4 years old when they filmed that scene (which canonically lines up with how old El should have been during that year). I can't tell if this was a screw up from the comic book writers, or if it's a retcon that came from the show. Regardless, it’s still a glaring plot-hole.

There’s also the fact that in season 4, all the kids (with the exception of Kali/Eight) are accounted for. Numbers 3, 6, and 9 are different from the ones presented in the comic. This is Six from Season 4:

And these are what the other test subjects on the show look like:

So unless Brenner somehow replaced Ricky, Francine, and Jamie with other kids who would take the positions of Numbers 3, 6, and 9 within a year before Vecna’s massacre of the lab, the implication is the events in this comic (as well as its sequel Into the Fire) never happened.

And this brings me to my biggest problem with Stranger Things SIX: Because it’s likely not canon given the direction the show went in season 4 (as well as the continuity errors present in the comic itself), it makes it hard to get invested in the story. Characters like Ricky, Jamie, Marcy, and Francine aren’t going to play any important roles in the show, and it’s doubtful they’ll appear in season 5. It’s possible to view this story as some sort of existing legend surrounding the lab if you’re looking for a way to tie this comic into the overall franchise (similar to the folklore stories present in the novel Hawkins Horrors) but that’s about it.

I do think it’s important to view this comic more through the lens of what it tells us about the ideas the writers had surrounding Hawkins Lab, Dr. Brenner’s treatment of the kids at the lab (which is just as abusive in the comics as it is on the show), and whatever connection supposedly exists between the psychokinetic kids and the Upside Down. On top of that, the Duffer Brothers have stated they plan to give more insight into the MK Ultra program under Brenner in season 5:

DEADLINE: Did Dr. Martin Brenner not know that this kid killed his family and framed his father, or did this kid’s sociopathic potential offer Brenner an opportunity to really mold a weapon without a conscience?

MATT DUFFER: The second, really. He knew what this kid did and also what he was capable of when he was young. Brenner’s going, how can I mold this character, but not just into a weapon? That’s really how he sold it to the government, but for him as a scientist, it’s like, what other worlds can this kid show me about how our universe works? So, he’s really just that scientist who’s not really thinking about the consequences. He just keeps pushing, pushing, pushing, and he’s using the government’s money by saying hey we can fight the Soviets with this kid. It’s something we will get into in Season 5. What happened to that program once Henry became involved and how Brenner evolved it into including multiple kids. We’re going to go back and see some of that in Season 5.

I am definitely looking forward to that.

Overall, I’m glad I read this comic (though I wish I’d gotten it for a cheaper price), but it’s not my favorite.