#hanging with dr z

[thekielbasanova]

standing on the hotel couch in my chucks and I guarantee that's not the worst thing that has ever happened to it.

Had a great time this weekend in L.A.

❤️ kielbasanova

[zifey]

moar eva x iz stuff

i imagine rather than running into the control brains hanging in a room like asuka, tak would instead run into a giant slammed shut door caused by zim, preventing her from taking the invader exam (or whatever it was) and that’s her trauma LOL isn’t it funny that asuka fucking hates kaworu too

nawt z*dr btw

[nitpickrider]

a bit silly, but if you had to fill an Avengers roster, who would you pick?

Wooof, oh me oh my. Let's lay down some ground rules before I do this. 1). Only people who have been Avengers at some previous point in time. Doesn't narrow it down a LOT but this list would be a jigsaw of my favorite Z-Listers otherwise 2). Limiting it to seven people. That's the magic number with superhero teams and it gives me a reason to stop

Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America: Sometimes you just cannot beat a classic and when it comes to Avengers line ups there is no one that I think is more integral than Captain America. The pathos that he brings to the table no matter what character he is interacting with is palpable and reading through his first big volume has given me a deep respect and love for the character. He's our leader for sure, the axis of solid, steady service I can hang my weirder picks on.

Dr. Walter Newell AKA Stingray: You all saw this coming and don't act like you didn't. One of my favorite if not my FAVORITE Marvel Characters of all time. He's a doctor with an interesting specialization. His "I'm only a part time superhero" hangup is even funnier and more interesting if forced into the limelight on THE hero team. Not to mention he comes with his own swanky Hydrobase we can use for an HQ and with his wife and four kids running around underfoot we have the kind of domestic adorability I think any good team needs.

Miguel Santos AKA Living Lightning: The first time I can ever remember reading about a comic book hero being gay, as just like, part of who they are. A tiny detail in their rich inner life. Not to mention the less respect a character gets the more I want to lift them up on my shoulders. He could be the sweetheart with a little chip on his shoulder from not getting the respect his objectively awesome powers objectively deserve.

Angelica Jones AKA Firestar: Something you may not know about me. The first piece of media that really opened my eyes as to the potential and depth and scope of the Marvel Universe was Spiderman and His Amazing Friends. It was cheesy, it was cheap and yet Angelica was the first character that I felt SPECIAL for knowing and caring about. She's happy, she's passionate, her simple classic costume kicks ass and the New Warriors need their goddamn respect. 'Nuff said.

Sersi, Just Sersi: What little I have seen of this character fucking FASCINATES me. This woman is chaos incarnate. It's like she is actively making on the fly decisions with everyone she meets whether she's going to kill them, screw them, turn them into a small mammal or some combination of the three. She's *Instant Plot Complication Just Add Water* because she saw a butterfly and that somehow translates to her blowing the entire team's cover.

Dane Whitman AKA The Black Knight: I love everything about him. I love his vibe, I love the fact that his backstory is built partially around recontextualizing the lore of a mostly forgotten Atlas fantasy comic. I love that he has a wickedly evil cursed blade that comes with the side effect of basically holding him hostage to a heroic moral code. And on top of that he's a dorky intellectual who can't see a social cue if it's blaring at him from oncoming traffic.

Jennifer Walters AKA She-Hulk: ...I do not feel the need to explain or justify this choice. YOU know Jen is awesome. *I* know Jen is awesome. She-Hulk does not need justification. She shows up in stories and makes them better by existing. Also yes this is the bodytype I'd use. Yes, I have an addiction. No, I don't feel the need to explain that either. RESERVISTS: Characters I really like but either don't know enough about or don't think they make good Avengers

Marc Spector and System AKA Moon Knight: One of my favorite dudes but does NOT play well with others. Was interesting for about 10 seconds as a member of the West Coast team but I'd prefer he never touch the ranks again.

Flint Marko AKA Sandman: Marvel did Sandman fucking dirty by never letting him fully reform and be the good guy. I want Sandman to be the good guy dammit

Maria de Guadalupe Santiago AKA Silverclaw: I know literally nothing about her outside of reference books but her powers are dope and I dig her vibe.

[inchidentally]

'what if the competition between Lando and Oscar turns bad?' between my landoscar post and comments on other SM content it made me want to get weird in notepad again

I'm tagging @481boxboxbaby and @twinkodium who've asked but I'm sorry if someone's asked to be tagged and I missed it! also tagging @huntscunt who's tags put this idea in my little head

(caveat that I'm a casual fan who happens to have been around F1 fans all my life so this is just my not remotely official perspective lol)

just to state I think it's a given that we're all so excited for McLaren's future with these two is that Lando and Oscar feel like generational talents. and they're also very different as drivers and every race is exciting to watch even just for them. also the fact that Oscar was the jolt of competition that Lando needed.

and honestly I'd be more worried about their future harmony if they hadn't already had so many highly competitive and charged moments in their first season together:

Oscar came in at a surprisingly even level with Lando apart from the obvious difference in experience. he's taken risks that have on balance landed decently on the side of ballsy/respectable vs total failure and the time spent as reserve driver hadn't deteriorated any of his ability. so it was fair to worry for a while if Lando would take the competition as motivation or frustration esp after the disparity between him and DR in 2022.

I really liked the sort of respectful if tentative camaraderie Oscar and Lando showed each other when the car was an absolute tractor. but I liked it even more the fact that the turnaround at McLaren by Silverstone saw them both still in such a good place while being very competitive. that was I think the start of us seeing that Oscar wanted to prove himself a real team player and good teammate by starting the habit of showing up consistently for Lando's podiums/qualis.

the pit lane ding-dong in Monza was definitely the biggest test they've had - and that a lot of teammates will ever have - and the whole thing was handled really well all around. Andrea did the right thing of being big bad boss and Lando was quick to say that it was prob down to misjudgement (which is what I always thought) and that they still respect each other the same. I wasn't as active then so I can't remember if Oscar was asked for a response but I do remember my friends/family telling me that it was impressive how that didn't cause any major damage between the drivers since that's a pretty major incident to happen so early in a new partnership.

side note here to say that the ppl around me who've been watching F1 since the 90s overall feel like the hothead in-fighting with teammates seems to be fading/getting less intense with the younger generations. maybe it's because alpha male mentality seems cringe to gen z or because awareness of mental health is way more prevalent. Gasly and Ocon are relatively young drivers but even there the situation is pretty rare and because of hanging onto childhood grudges. I don't get the impression that any of the people around me feel like the Norris/Piastri partnership is likely to blow up or generate bitterness just because they're competing so closely ??

it's fair to say that Oscar has seemed genuinely happy to acknowledge that Lando is the McLaren brand representative and the established fan favorite within the sport as well as the team's fanbase. he's extremely mature for his years and incredibly well-balanced in terms of ambition. he's almost tailor made as a perfect compliment to Lando. EDITED TO ADD: see Oscar's almost lifelong friendship with Logan Sargeant as an example of Oscar having duked it out on track with someone for years while remaining close friends the whole time. and this was Oscar interrupting his own victory radio message to say how awfully he felt for Logan crashing out early. and that this is what Oscar felt about his and Lando's partnership toward the end of the season.

EDITED TO ADD:

Silverstone is a perfect encapsulation of how Lando has felt about Oscar from the very start and this was so beautiful to say.

Lando has measured himself by Lewis Hamilton-level goals since karting. Oscar wants to qualify well and win races. Lando was brought into F1 extremely young coming off of huge expectations and has placed enormous pressure on himself since as early as his second year in F1. Oscar has taken a business-like approach to his career since he was 14 and his calm sense of focus and determination comes from focusing on the race ahead and not letting much else in.

Lando's emotions being driven by his superstar destiny/status and Oscar's ability to have calm perspective even during a race is as solid a foundation as you can get in an F1 partnership honestly. they'll absolutely have the same conflicts that all teammates do and the media and DTS will explode those out of all proportion (both of which I ignore anyway). but I really can't see Oscar suddenly flying off the handle or holding grudges and I can't see Lando becoming a driver who suddenly wants to sustain a bad relationship with his teammate after all these years. Oscar is very clearly not the type to develop a crazy ego and Lando genuinely has more of an insane high self-expectation complex than that big of an ego.

even setting aside the parasocial widely felt agreement that they seem to genuinely like and respect each other, neither of them are alpha types and they're not both superstars jostling for publicity and they didn't come up together with a ton of existing history. idk it's just not on the F1 cards that they become icy or resentful.

so while I know no one can see the future and they're both relatively young and could change I don't really feel apprehensive?? and it's way too early to know if either of them will split from McLaren or when. especially if the car stays competitive with RB and Merc then it's the best place for both of them for the foreseeable (and prob most likely since competitive openings elsewhere look to be scant for the next 5ish? years but pls correct me if that's wrong!).

.

.

side side side note: I personally would not want to see Lando at RB. I know he's itching to try that car but unless RB and Max change drastically before then, Lando would positively shrivel up there. he's a superstar and he needs to be someplace he can be a superstar. it's also why I'm glad Carlos and Daniel moved along bc that's why those friendships are still so strong. we saw what had begun to happen when Lando was eclipsing Daniel and I don't even want to think about Carlos and his family if Carlos was teammates with a dominant Lando.

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Examining Goku's Claims About Villains at the End of the Cell Saga

I have never liked Goku's reasoning for staying dead at the end of the Cell games. I still think the reasoning was superficial and hurt Gohan and his family more than necessary. But I want to go over each of the DB and DBZ villains that I can recall and validate Goku's claims because I am curious. This may not be 100% accurate since it has been a while since I watched the series.

Dragonball Villains

Pilaf - He wanted the dragonballs to rule the world. His quest had nothing to do with Goku. Bulma had more to do with the world domination attempt since she was the one actively looking for dragon balls. X

Red Ribbon Army - This army also was not a response to Goku. They were taking over the world and gathering the balls too. Goku kind of fell into the conflict. X

King Piccolo - Pilaf is the moron who released him. Maybe fear of Goku encouraged Pilaf's idea that he needed help to rule the world but I still would not blame King Piccolo on Goku. X

Piccolo Jr. - King Piccolo created Piccolo Jr. as a last-ditch attempt when Goku defeated him. King Piccolo, I believe, launched the egg away from the battle so it's not like Goku had an opportunity to destroy the egg. But let's say Goku is responsible for Piccolo Jr. Y

1/4 is Goku's fault

Dragonball Z Villains

Raditz - He came to Earth looking for his brother. Y

Vegeta & Nappa - They came to Earth because of the dragonballs. They don't seem to care much for Raditz so I am not sure they would visit Earth to seek revenge. X

Frieza - He came to Earth because Goku did not kill him off. So Frieza coming to Earth is 100% Goku's fault. Y

Androids - Dr Gero made the androids as revenge against Goku. Goku defeated the Red Ribbon army as a kid so you can't blame him for not being thorough. But still, the androids were due to Goku. Y

(Extra) Buu - It's a nasty coincidence that the Buu fiasco happened when Goku came back. Goku was the catalyst but ultimately it's not Goku's fault. It's mainly Vegeta's fault. And the Supreme Kai's fault for being so incompetent. X

3/5 is Goku's fault

Total: 4/9 is Goku's fault

So around half of the villains in Dragonball and DBZ are Goku's fault. And that was worth missing 7 years with his family?? What crap.

It's ironic. Goku hardly attracts villains when he is peacefully minding his own business with his family. And most of the villains that came to Earth that Goku was responsible for were due to Goku not finishing the job. Of course, you have outliers like Raditz. But if Goku did not seek out problems and eliminated villains without prejudice, everything would be fine for the most part. I am tired of people justifying Goku goofing off in the otherworld and leaving his family in the dust. These are the same people who defend Goku flying off into the sunset with Uub in peacetime, once again leaving his family hanging.

I love Father!Goku but only up till the Cell saga and dbz fanfiction. The Cell games took my rose-colored glasses off when it came to Goku's fatherhood.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Lucy Bannerman, James Beal, Eleanor Hayward

Published: Apr 10, 2024

The report should be the final nail in the coffin of Gids, the clinic that told thousands of children they were transgender

In 2009 the NHS’s gender identity ­development service (Gids) saw fewer than 50 children a year. Since then ­demand has increased a hundredfold, with more than 5,000 seeking help in 2021-22.

The sudden increase has gone hand in hand with the adoption of a model of “gender-affirming” care, which puts children on a life-altering path of hormone treatment. Services have been left overwhelmed, with vulnerable young people clamouring for medical interventions to help them change gender — despite a lack of evidence over the long-term effects.

It was against this backdrop that Dr Hilary Cass was commissioned in 2020 to examine the state of NHS services for children identifying as trans. Her final report, published on Wednesday, delivers a damning verdict on the medical path thousands of children have been sent down. It marks a turning point in years of bitter debate over how to help this distressed group of young people, confirming a shift towards a holistic model that takes into account the wider social and mental health problems driving the rise in demand.

Gen Z and online porn

The Cass report shines a light on the biggest unanswered question over transgender healthcare: why are so many Gen Z women suddenly wanting to change gender?

Cass paints an alarming picture of an anxious and distressed generation of digitally savvy young women and girls, who not only are more exposed to online pornography and the wider problems of the world than any previous generation but also consume more social media and have lower self-esteem and more body hang-ups than their male peers.

When Gids opened in 1989, it treated fewer than ten people each year, mostly males with a long history of gender ­distress. In 2009 it treated 15 adolescent girls. By 2016 that figure had shot up to 1,071.

Cass concludes that such a sudden rise in such a short time cannot be explained alone by greater acceptance of trans identities, which “does not adequately explain” the switch in patient profiles from predominantly male to female. She also says greater investigation of the “consumption of online pornography and gender dysphoria is needed”, pointing to youngsters’ increasingly early exposure to “frequently violent” online material that can have a harmful impact on their self- esteem and body image.

Gen Z is defined as those born between 1995 and 2009. Rather than focusing on the issue of gender in isolation, Cass looked at the context in which adolescents today, who have “grown up with unprecedented online access”, are experiencing such a disproportionate crisis over their gender.

“Generation Z is the generation in which the numbers seeking support from the NHS around their gender identity have increased, so it is important to have some understanding of their experiences and influences,” she writes. “In terms of broader context, Generation Z and Generation Alpha (those born since 2010) have grown up through a global recession, concerns about climate change and most recently the Covid-19 pandemic. Global connectivity has meant that as well as the advantages of international peer networks, they are much more exposed to worries about global threats.”

The report also focuses on 2014, when female referrals to Gids accelerated. Although this is not mentioned, 2014 was the year that CBBC, for example, broadcast I Am Leo, a video-diary-style documentary, to an audience of to 6 to 12-year-olds, showing the positive personal journey of a child who transitioned from female to male.

Throughout almost 400 pages, Cass argues that the gender-related issues of young patients should be treated in the same context as the wider mental health issues facing their entire generation. “The striking increase in young people presenting with gender incongruence/dysphoria needs to be considered within the context of poor mental health and emotional distress among the broader adolescent population, particularly given their high rates of co-existing mental health problems and neurodiversity.” Cass calls for more research into the “complex interplay” between these issues and a teenager’s sudden desire to change gender.

Lack of evidence for medical pathway

Rather than affirming children’s gender identity with medical treatment, the report calls for a holistic approach that examines the causes of their distress. It finds that, despite being incorporated into medical guidelines around the world, the use of “gender-affirming” medical treatment such as puberty blockers is based on “wholly inadequate” evidence. Doctors are cautious when adopting new treatments, but Cass says “quite the reverse happened in the field of gender care for children”, with thousands of children put on an unproven medical pathway.

Cass says gender care is “an area of remarkably weak evidence” and that results of studies “are exaggerated or misrepresented by people on all sides of the debate”. She adds: “The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress.”

The report finds that treatment on the NHS since 2011 has largely been informed by two sets of international guidelines, drawn up by the Endocrine Society and the World Professional Association of Transgender Healthcare (WPATH), but that these lack scientific rigour. The WPATH has been “highly influential in directing international practice, although its guidelines were found by the University of York’s appraisal to lack developmental rigour and transparency”, Cass says.

The report says the NHS must work to improve the evidence base.

Mental health

Mental health issues could be presenting as gender-related distress. Children and young people referred to specialist gender services have higher rates of mental health difficulties than the general population. This includes rates of depression, anxiety and eating dis­orders. Some research studies have suggested transgender people are three to six times more likely to be autistic than the general population, with age and educational attainment taken into account.

Therefore, the report says that the striking increase in young people ­presenting with gender dysphoria needs to be considered within the context of rising levels of poor mental health.

The increase in gender clinic patients “has to some degree paralleled” the deterioration in child and adolescent mental health, it finds. Mental distress, the report says, can present through physical manifestations, such as eating disorders or body dysmorphic disorders. Clinicians were often reluctant to explore or address co-occurring mental health issues in those presenting with gender distress, the report finds. This was because gender dysphoria was not considered to be a mental health ­condition.

The report finds that, compared with the general population, young people referred to gender services had higher rates of neglect; physical, sexual or emotional abuse; parental mental illness or substance abuse; exposure to domestic violence; and loss of a parent through death or abandonment.

Puberty blockers

The report says there was “no evidence” puberty blockers allowed young people “time to think” by delaying the onset of puberty — which was the original rationale for their use. It finds the vast majority of those who start puberty suppression continued on to cross-sex hormones, particularly if they started earlier in puberty.

There was insufficient and inconsistent evidence about the effects of puberty suppression on psychological or psychosocial health, it says, and some young females had a worsening of problems like depression and anxiety.

Cass says there is “some concern” that puberty blockers may actually change “the trajectory of psychosexual and gender identity development”.

Her report warns that blocking the chronological age and sex hormones released during puberty “could have a range of unintended and as yet unidentified consequences”.

It describes adolescence as a time of “identity development, sexual development, sexual fluidity and experimentation”. The report says “blocking” this meant young people had to understand identity and sexuality based only on their discomfort about puberty and an early sense of their gender. Therefore, it adds, there is “no way of knowing” whether the normal trajectory of someone’s sexual and gender identity “may be permanently altered”.

Brain maturation may also be “temporarily or permanently disrupted” by the use of puberty blockers, it says. This could have a significant impact on a young person’s ability to make “complex risk-laden decisions”, as well as possible long-term neuropsychological consequences.

The report highlights the “concern” of young people remaining on puberty blockers into adulthood — sometimes into their mid-twenties. This is partly because some “wish to continue as non-binary” and partly because of ongoing gender indecision, the report says.

Cass adds: “Puberty suppression was never intended to continue for extended periods.”

The report finds young adults who had been discharged from Gids ­“remained on puberty blockers into their early to mid twenties”. A review of audit data suggested 177 patients were discharged while on puberty blockers.

Cass says the review “raised this with NHS England and Gids”, citing the unknown impact of use over an extended period. “The detrimental impact to bone density alone makes this concerning”, the report adds.

A Dutch study originally suggested that puberty blockers might improve psychological wellbeing for a narrow group of children with gender issues.

Following this, the practice “spread at pace to other countries” and in 2011 the UK trialled the use of puberty blockers in an early intervention study.

The results were not formally published until 2020, at which time it showed there was a lack of any positive measurable outcomes. It also found that 98 per cent of people had proceeded to take cross-sex hormones.

Despite this, from 2014 puberty blockers moved from a research-only protocol to being available in routine clinical practice. “The rationale for this is unclear,” the report says.

Puberty blockers were then given to a wider range of adolescents, it says, including patients with no history of gender issues before puberty and those with neurodiversity and complex mental health issues. Clinical practice, Cass found, appeared to have “deviated” from the parameters originally set.

Overall, the report concludes there was a “very narrow ­indication” for the use of puberty blockers in males to stop irreversible ­pubertal changes, while other benefits remained unproven.

It says there were “clearly lessons to be learnt by everyone”.

Social transition

The report concludes it was “possible” that social transition, including the changing of a child’s name and pronouns, may change the trajectory of their gender development. It finds “no clear evidence” social transitioning in childhood has any positive or negative mental health effects, but that children who socially transitioned at an earlier age were more likely to proceed to medical treatment. A more cautious approach to social transition needs to be taken for children than for adolescents, it concludes.

The review also heard concerns from “many parents” about their child being socially transitioned and affirmed in their expressed gender without their involvement. Draft government guidance, published in ­December, stated that schools should not accept all requests for social transition and should involve parents in any decision that is made.

Despite this, there has been evidence of schools ignoring ministers and ­allowing children to change gender ­behind their parents’ backs.

The report makes clear that “parents should be actively involved in decision making” unless there are strong grounds to believe that it may put the child at risk.

It also finds that social debates on trans issues led to fear among doctors and parents, with some concerned about being accused of transphobia.

The interim report, from 2022, had classed social transition as “not a neutral act”. The full report explains that it is an “active intervention”, because it may have significant effects on a young person’s psychological functioning and longer-term outcomes.

In a strong warning to schools, the report describes the need for “clinical involvement” in the decision-making process on social transitioning. It adds: “This is not a role that can be taken by staff without appropriate clinical ­training.”

The report concludes that maintaining flexibility is key among those going down a social transition route and says a “partial transition”, rather than a full one, could help.

In decisions about whether to transition prepubescent children, families should be seen “as early as possible by a clinical professional”.

Rogue private clinics

Long waiting lists for NHS care mean distressed children are turning to private clinics or resorting to “obtaining unregulated and potentially dangerous hormone supplies over the internet”, the report says.

Some NHS GPs have then felt “pressurised to prescribe hormones after these have been initiated by private providers”, and Cass says this should not happen.

The report also urges the Department of Health to consider new legislation to “prevent inappropriate overseas prescribing”. This is intended to tackle a loophole which means that, ­despite the NHS banning the use of ­puberty blockers last month, children can still access them from online clinics such as GenderGP, which is registered in Singapore.

Detransitioning

Cass says some of those who have been through medical transitions “deeply ­regret their earlier decisions”. Her report says the NHS should consider a new specialist service for people who wish to “detransition” and come off hormone treatments. She says people who are detransitioning may be reluctant to return to the service they had previously used.

NHS numbers

The report recommends that the NHS and Department of Health review current practice of issuing new NHS numbers to people who change gender.

Cass suggests that handing out new NHS numbers to trans people means they risk getting lost in the system — making it harder to track their health histories and long-term outcomes.

The review says that this has had “implications for safeguarding and clinical management of these children”, — for example, the type of screening that they are offered.

Toxic debate

Cass has called for an end to the “exceptionally toxic” debates over transgender healthcare after she was vilified online while compiling her review. In a foreword to her 388-page report, the paediatrician said that navigating a culture war over trans rights has made her task over the past four years significantly harder.

She warned that the “stormy social discourse” does little to help young people, who are being let down by a lack of research and evidence. Cass added: “There are few other areas of healthcare where professionals are so afraid to openly discuss their views, where people are vilified on social media, and where name-calling echoes the worst bullying behaviour. This must stop.

“Polarisation and stifling of debate do nothing to help the young people caught in the middle of a stormy social discourse, and in the long run will also hamper the research that is essential to finding the best way of supporting them to thrive.”

Cass said: “Finally, I am aware that this report will generate much discussion and that strongly held views will be expressed. While open and constructive debate is needed, I would urge everybody to remember the children and young people trying to live their lives and the families/ carers and clinicians doing their best to support them. All should be treated with compassion and respect.”

The recommendations

Data collection

Gender identity clinics should offer their data to NHS England for review, and more research should be conducted on the impact of psychosocial intervention — such as therapy — and the use of masculinising and feminising hormones, such as testosterone and oestrogen. Cass recommended that the NHS should also consider data from private clinics.

Puberty blockers and hormone treatment

Cass recommended research to establish the long-term impact of puberty blockers, which is expected to start by December.

Assessment of other conditions

Cass said that children arriving at gender identity services should be screened for conditions such as autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions.

Criteria for medical treatment

When treating children with gender dysphoria, only those who have experienced “longstanding gender incongruence” will be able to get medical treatment. Even then, this will only be available — with “extreme caution” — for over 16s.

A holistic approach

Before any medical intervention, Cass recommends that children should be offered fertility counselling and “preservation” by specialist services. This formed part of a more “holistic” approach to gender identity services. Cass suggested the creation and implementation of a national framework and infrastructure for gender-related care.

Growing into adulthood

The review advised that follow-through services for 17 to 25-year-olds should be established to ensure a continuity of care and support when children grow into adulthood.

Detransitioners

The report proposed that NHS England should “ensure there is provision for people considering detransition”, while recognising that they may not wish to attend services that assisted in their initial gender transition.

[ Via: https://archive.today/7GxDe ]

[secretswiftymarvelfan]

Fixer Upper: A Long Day - Mechanic!Curtis x Reader

A/N: This is dedicated to @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​ as it was our conversation that inspire me to finally finish this wip that I was too tired to finish for months! Hope you enjoy this comforting Curtis

Summary: Curtis looks after you after a very long, tiring day at work

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: Fluff!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Masterlist / AU Masterlist

Walking into the break room you let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. When you reached your locker you rested your forehead against the cold metal fighting the urge to fall asleep right there and then.

“I think I might have actually died and come back as a zombie at hour 9” you hear Mollie say as she walks into the break room behind you.

You let out a weak snort of laughter lifting your head so you could look over at her “That was me at hour 7”

“Oh god yeah you had that Karen didn’t you? What happened in the end?” Mollie asks as she opens up her locker and pulls out her bag.

“Dr Roberts had to step in and you know she takes no shit,” you tell her, your head back resting against your locker.

“Did she do her worst-case scenario trick?” Mollie smirks knowingly.

“Oh yeah” you laugh nodding your head “threw in some Latin phrases too, Karen was quaking in her boots and finally let them do the procedure”

“What was even her problem to begin with? It's a simple minor surgery” Mollie asks as she shrugs on her coat.

“She didn’t like that Dr Roberts was a female, and demanded a male surgeon” you explain finally having the energy to open your locket and grab your bag and coat.

“Asshole” Mollie grumbles before smirking to herself “should introduce her to Mr Tanner”

You couldn’t help but snort with laughter at the idea of that “I would say that would be a match made in heaven but they both belong in hell so,” you say shrugging on your coat.

“Hell-born soulmates” Mollie chuckles as the two of you finally make your way out of the break room “So you got plans for the evening?”

“No I’m too exhausted to do anything, just gonna collapse on the couch and fall asleep,” you say shaking your head.

“Poor Curtis” Mollie smirks making you roll your eyes “I bet he wanted to get lucky tonight”

“Curtis knows well enough that after a 12-hour shift, I am dead to the world, he’ll probably just tinker in the garage for the evening while I get an early night,” you say shaking your head, wrapping your arms around yourself as you step out into the cold evening air.

“Ah, so that’s why I never hear you the day after,” Mollie says making you frown in confusion “You’re too busy getting busy” she smirks.

“You’re a nightmare” you state shaking your head.

“I don’t hear you denying it,” Mollie says in a sing-songy voice as she walks over to her car, you respond by just flipping her off while carrying on to your car “Love you!” She calls out.

“Love you too” you call back before climbing into your car.

The brief boost of energy you had gotten from stepping out into the cold evening air was completely depleted by the time you got home. Trudging into the house like a zombie. Jacques came running over to you instantly his whole body wiggling as he said hello.

“Hey buddy, yes hello,” you say tiredly, giving him a few pats.

“Hey, how was work?” Curtis asks as he appears from the kitchen.

“Urgh” you respond making Curtis chuckle as he walked over.

“Scale from one to ten how tired are you feeling?” He asks as he helps you take off your coat, hanging it up for you.

“Z” you mutter.

Curtis chuckles once more as he wraps his arms around you and pulls you into his embrace. You bury your face in his chest, breathing in his woodsy, smoky scent which was just distinctly him.

“It’s a good thing I already have dinner on the good, should be done in the next five minutes,” Curtis tells you, his large hand running up and down your back.

“Is it comfy food?” You mumble, your voice muffled by his chest.

“It’s mac and cheese so it's the definition of comfy food” Curtis chuckles “And afterwards I’ll run you a bath to soothe all the aches I know you’ll have and then we’ll stick on a movie you don’t care about falling asleep during and call it a night”

You let out a small hum “sounds amazing but I don’t think I have the energy to move past this point”

Curtis chuckles kissing the top of your head “not a problem sweetie, just hold on tight,” he says.

You were about to question what he meant but you didn’t get the chance. Squeaking in surprise when he bent down enough to hook his hands behind your knees, lifting you up and wrapping your legs around his skinny waist.

“And I’ll do all the moving,” he says kissing your cheek which with the added leverage was now level with his.

Curtis carried you into the kitchen before carefully setting you down at the table. He then bent down to untie the laces of your shoes and slowly slip them off. He put them out of reach of Jacques before cupping your cheek and softly kissing you.

“Relax, you more than deserved it,” he says pecking your lips once more as the timer on the oven goes signalling that dinner was ready.

You smile softly, resting your chin in your hand as you watched Curtis pull the mac and cheese out of the oven. He quickly served out two portions, placing your plate down in front of you with a kiss to the top of the table.

“Under the table Jacques” Curtis says as he sits down, Jacques running under the table and lying down so he was still in prime position for scraps but wouldn’t be staring you down.

You smiled over at Curtis as you tucked in, the mac and cheese being the perfect pick-me-up comfort meal, especially since Curtis had made it.

Once you had finished eating Curtis cleared up the plates, turning back to you he crouches down and moves your arms so they were around his shoulders. He murmured another “Hold on tight” as he picks you up, wrapping your legs around his waist.

You giggle softly, kissing his cheek before resting your head on his shoulder as he carries you through the house. He takes you upstairs and into the bathroom settling you down on the counter as he moves to run you a bath.

“Let’s get these scrubs off,” he says as he turns back to you.

“Will you get in with me?” You ask reaching out to tug at his light grey vest.

A smile tugs at your lips “You’re supposed to be relaxing” he points out as he pulls off your scrub top.

“And I can’t think of a better way to relax” you smirk making him chuckle.

“Fine but no funny business” Curtis says with a knowing look.

You hold your hands up in surrender “I’ll keep my hands to myself as long as you do” you say making Curtis laugh again.

“Sure, now c’mon” he grins leaning in to kiss the tip of your nose.

You watch with a lazy smile on your face as Curtis undresses and climbs into the bath. Sliding off the counter you finish getting undressed yourself and climb in with him, letting out a moan as you sink into to warm water.

Once you were seated Curtis wraps his arms around your waist, pressing a kiss to your shoulder “Feel good?” He hums.

“So so good” you sigh happily, leaning back into his chest.

Curtis hums running his hands up your arms before resting them on your shoulder and begging to massage your neck and shoulders. You couldn’t stop the moan that escaped your lips as he kneaded the knots away with his large skilled hands.

“Oh yeah right there” you moan, your head tilting forward to give him better access.

Curtis lets out a low chuckle, leaning forward to press a kiss to the back of your neck. He continues to massage you until all the knots were gone and you were practically slumped against him.

When the water began to cool you both climbed out, Curtis wrapping you in a warm fluff towel capturing your lips in his for a sweet kiss. You then got dressed into some comfy PJs and climbed into bed while Curtis went to make sure the house was all locked up.

When he returned he pulled you into his embrace and stuck on one of your favourite Disney movies. One that you’d seen so many times that you didn’t mind falling asleep during. Which was good because the cosy feeling that being in Curtis’ arms gave you meant it wasn’t long until you fell asleep in his arms. Curtis pressed a gentle kiss to the top of your head as you dozed off.

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Masterlist / AU Masterlist

I don’t have a tag list by follow @secretswiftymarvelfanlibrary​ and turn on post notification to keep up to date!

[accidentalshifter]

[March 17, 2024: Snoopin' around the Webb Manor looking for Lore.]

⚜️ TW: My Mikaelsons are a ✨️ problem ✨️ and don't play nice at all. Death, sex, blood, violence, manipulation, and dark themes will probably be present. I don't condone any of the actions taken by these vampires, I'm just recording them. For science.

Shifting Notes:

This session is just me figuring out the meta-mechanics of this DR (ghost mode vs. embodying my DR-self) and gathering clues. Since this is a 🚩 high stakes DR 🚩and also TVD, I decided on searching the Webb Manor. Half of the dramatics in the show happen because people are keeping secrets or don't have a key piece of info. Before I go running around Mystic Falls, it's best that I be as informed as possible. This entry might be a little boring to read, though.

Astrological Timing: Sun in Pisces, Moon in Gemini. Sun and Neptune are conjunct. Moon square Neptune in Pisces and Black Moon Lilith. The tension from the Square is providing the perfect dreamy energies for shifting.

⚜️ A couple of hours prior to shifting, I was starting to feel weird. Enraged, venomous... Mostly about my father. Which would make sense except that nothing triggered it & the anger felt outside of myself, but also linked to me. If that makes any sense?? I realized it was my DR-self (Zoey) and her feelings that I was sensing. I did leave her on read at her old childhood home, after all. When I realized it was her, the sudden outburst faded, and I was able to use it as a means of connecting with Z more. And in a weird way, it also felt like she was reaching out to me, too.

⚜️ I popped back into the TVD DR to see Z peering at her reflection in the mirror that's hanging up above the small accent table in the foyer. That's the table where I left all the stuff (box, letter, and map) on. Z is brushing back stray locks of her hair & making herself look tidy after what I imagine was a long ass bus ride into Mystic Falls. It's at this moment that I really take in just how opposite but the same to me Z looks. It's eerie. She has wavy brunette hair like mine but more sunkissed & streaked with blonde. Her skin is tanned like mine used to be when I was younger & doing swim lessons. Her eyes are bright green and shaped the same whereas mine are brown & dark. Z has a mole on her cheek just like me but it's in the opposite spot. And she wears her hair up, twisted into a bun while I almost exclusively wear mine down. It's like looking at my own "vitamin D friendly" twin...

⚜️ I take a step behind her while she grooms herself in the mirror. I see my own reflection, she doesn't see mine. Or if Z does, she does not react to it. To re-synch myself, I listen to "Secret" by The Pierces. I have no clue why but the lyrics of the song started playing in my head like it was a part of the background music to a TVD episode. By the time it ends, I'm back in 1st person perspective again, and piloting Zoey Webb.

⚜️ The Webb Manor is super creepy. It has a haunted vibe that I can't quite shake. Maybe it's Zoey's memories that's making me feel a certain type of way? Maybe it's that portrait of William Webb the 1st just drilling into me with his beady little judgmental eyes? I look at the cursed portrait as I walk past it, out of the foyer, towards the kitchen, with the box, and letter in hand. I figure there's gotta be a tool or a butterknife or something I can use to neatly slice open the letter (or the box). I could just rip the envelope open but...I gotta admit, the Webb monogrammed seal is legit as fuck. I didn't wanna ruin it.

⚜️ The minute I step foot into the kitchen, I see that it's empty as fuck. No food in any of the pantries or refrigerator, no silverware, or dishes inside the cupboard. I try searching the shelves near the microwave & get lucky. Amongst old leftover thumb tacks and dust, I find a butterknife sitting next to a singular bent fork. When I touch the knife, something shifts in the kitchen. The giggling of children drift into my ears. Suddenly, the kitchen I'm standing in is new again. No dust, no barren refrigerator, or pantries. I watch, eyes wide, as seven ghostly kids flicker to life (almost like a hologram) and run around the kitchen, playing. Meanwhile, the image of a ghostly maid stands by the microwave. She has the butterknife in her hand and is waiting for the snacks she's warming up to be ready to give to the kids. I notice that one of the kids look like me. Or Z. Or both of us, really.

⚜️ Just as quickly, the ghosts disappear. All goes back to normal. The kids' laughter still echoes in my ears, however. I think that was a memory that Zoey was replaying inside her head? Although, I really wouldn't put it past this house to be literally haunted. I walk over to the kitchen island, place the box down, & use the butterknife to slide it under the seal and open the envelope. Reading the letter, it doesn't have any loving sentiments that you would expect from a dying father writing to his daughter. It just has a set of numbers & a letter before it: D-9801.

Observation: Is this a combination number?? Is there a safe here? Is this a combination for a bank in Mystic Falls??

⚜️ Because I've watched so many episodes of TVD that my eyes are bleeding recently, I decide that the best thing I can do is set the letter on fire. If this information is important in any way in the future, then I need to make sure that nobody can easily access this info. Suggesting to Z that she needs to keep this code a secret, I feel my DR-self plunge her hand into her pants pockets and fish out a lighter. The both of us burn the letter paper over the sink, then wash the ashes down the drain. I wouldn't want any fire-based witches recalling this letter with a spell. *cough* Bon Bon *cough*. Although I'm sure if someone wanted it enough, they'd find a way. I'm just gonna make it annoying for them.

⚜️ Z seems to know where to stash the box. She walks out of the kitchen while I sit as a passenger inside her and to the foyer where a piano sits in the adjoining reading room by a window. Zoey strolls into this room & goes to the back of it where there's a door. Using the keys Mr. Pogue gave her, Z opens up the door to reveal a dusty office space behind it. It's an old, antique office lined from floor to ceiling with books and journals. Draped over the writing desk is a white linen sheet. Zoey yanks the sheet off with an edge of anger to the action. Thick clouds of dust fly into the air. Z & I both cough in unison. Z tries waving the dust clouds away by using the flat box in her hand like a fan. Suddenly, another ghost image manifests, flickering to life like an old movie...

⚜️ William Webb. The ghost of Zoey's father is sitting in the once-empty office chair and writing inside a journal at his desk. That kid who looks a lot like I used to when I was little suddenly runs into the office. She's holding a huge warty toad in her hands. She probably got it from the backyard or something. Little Z holds up the toad proudly to William. She's looking for some kind of good reaction from her Dad, but he gives her nothing. The maid rushes in & escorts little Z away, apologizing briefly to William. The ghostly replay ends at that point. The office returns to its previous, dusty state.

Observation: Wow, we have a William Afton Hargreeves from 5 Nights At The Umbrella Academy on our hands here, huh?

⚜️ I de-synch with my DR-self as she slams the flat box down upon the writing desk and sits in William's chair, then begins talking to him like he can hear her from the afterlife. Z tells him: 'Whatever crap is in this shitty gift of yours, I don't need it!! I couldn't care less!'. Z purposefully knocks some stuff (pens) off the desk, then gets up, locks the office door behind her as she leaves, & continues to talk to thin air. She is heading towards the foyer again. 'I'm gonna sell your pig sty of a house and be done with this place! Then, I'm gonna get back to my NORMAL life!! Without YOU or all or this! You hear me?!' Meanwhile, I roll my eyes at this and mutter: 'Those are some pretty strong words for someone now living in Mystic Falls. Idk, man.'

⚜️ Grabbing the canvas bag in the foyer, she walks up the staircase to the second floor, & ignores the William Webb the 1st portrait. As Z passes underneath it, the stairs squeak. I follow behind her. When the two of us reach the 2nd floor, another ghostly memory plays out. Seven children are lined up before their bedroom doors in the hall Z and I both stand in. William Webb (holding his journal) walks down the hall with a straight-backed gait like a military officer. He ignores every child but the oldest (boy) whose room is closest to his own; the master bedroom at the end of the hall. It has double doors. Will pauses before he retires to his bedroom for the night, says something. But the memory ends before the sound of his words hit my ears...

⚜️ Zoey enters the first room accessible by the staircase. This was the room her ghostly version was just standing in front of. I watch her flop onto her old bed with her bag & sigh heavily. This leaves me a couple of minutes to snoop around the room. I don't find much that's interesting. Meanwhile, Zoey looks like a deflated air balloon on that bed. She's not happy & now that she's back in her old home she doesn't know what to do with herself. Z just keeps swinging between fidgeting and listlessness. Her stomach growls. And in this moment, the "check engine light" comes on for me, and I feel my CR-body yank on my consciousness to come back to reality again or else. I decide to take the reigns and direct Zoey downstairs. Suggesting that Z should sleep in the piano room since she's not going to be staying in Mystic Falls for very long so there isn't a point in getting comfortable. Z follows the suggestion.

⚜️ There's a grandfather clock downstairs in the piano room that says it's nearing 6 pm. I get Z to start web browsing on her cell for a restaurant nearby (which I know will be The Grill) & wait for her to be distracted so I can dive back into pilot-mode. As soon as I get re-synched with my DR-self, I immediately exit out of internet browser, and go looking through her phone's texts. She still doesn't want to answer that text from "Angie" so I go right on over to her Gmail alongside looking at the current date on the phone. It's Aug 7, 2010. It's way later in summer than I thought it was. But I guess that explains the muggy weather?? Checking her email messages, I see that she has a BUNCH of emails from a "Dennis Martin" who is super pissed that she broke up with him last week. And also that she did it over this very email. Oof. There's a message from "Gabrielle" who simply asks: "Where are you???". There's the Mathewson email. And then there's the jackpot! An email from Will's lawyers about inheriting property and sending condolences over his "untimely death". I open the message and find that Z's family's lawyer is named Chelsea Remington and that her phone number is 555-8021. Lol, I guess 555 numbers are real in this dream...

Observation: So I realized this a day after but August 7th is actually an obscure holiday in celebration of handloom weavers. This links with my original fanfic lore that the Webb's were textile & clothing merchants in Mystic Falls. Zoey literally came to Mystic Falls on weaver's day, lol. Also. If this is 2010, then I'm probably in Season 2 of TVD right now. Which means I'll be running into Klaus soon.

⚜️ Last on my snooping agenda is Z's photo gallery. Time is running out but I figure that there would be a lot of clues in what pictures she's saved. It's mostly of her friends. 2 girls and a guy who I'm pretty sure is Dennis from the email, Angie, and Gabrielle. There's a pic of them at school, on the front lawns. One of them on a camping trip, roasting hotdogs & marshmallows. One of an obvious date with Dennis and several food pics. When I get to the date, I suddenly de-synch with Z as she sighs heavily again. Emotions hitting her in her gut. I think she regrets breaking up with him??

⚜️ The check engine light for my shifting is yanking at me again. I give re-synching with Z one last try and am successful. I dial the lawyer's number (Chelsea) but get her voice mail instead. I guess she's out of the office. I should've known, though. It's six pm. Either way, I leave her a message about wanting to go over the wording of William's will again & that I successfully made it to Mystic Falls in one piece. Zoey yanks back control after the call and goes back to looking up the Grill's menu online. She would've left for the Grill right then and there but I suggest that she should change clothes into something a bit nicer than something she just sat in for days probably on the Greyhound. She's wearing a ratty pair of jeans, worn out boots, a military jacket with patches, and a wooden hair stick that advertises a certain symbolism (hunter vibe) that I don't wanna advertise on my first day here...

⚜️ TVD hits really hard on their fashion and color symbolism so I want my DR-self's first experience at the Grill to be well thought out when it comes to what I wear. I have Z dig in her canvas bag for all her clean clothes and put them laid out on the couch in the piano room so I can inspect them. To be honest, I feel like my DR-self is like me when it comes to clothes...she'd rather be comfortable. All she has are an assortment of hoodies, shirts, and jeans that make me think she and Little Gil probably go shopping together. I groan. It's at this point that I feel myself get yanked back into my CR.

I guess my next visit, I'm going to the Grill in a pair of old boots and a hoodie...

[sobashahzadi]

HI HELLO everyone

I’m known as soba online

I made an account because tumblr wouldn’t let me endlessly scroll through Tokyorev hcs and well here I am, many lovely online friends and hundreds of posts later

I like to draw, both digitally (still kinda suck) and traditionally, I write occasionally but not often, I make silly memes and try my best to be involved my comfort fandom; inablr

inablr I would say is recently my focus on my blog but I do also love:

-dr stone (will forever be my favourite animanga of all time)

-tokyo revengers (my second favourite deffo, I love my guys sm)

-mob psycho

-and a mix of loads of other things, like, Pokémon, FNAF, Fruits basket, tbhk, mlb, I could really go on forever

as a side note, I am a minor 🚶‍♀️ so just to keep in mind, also if your a pro shipper than I’d really prefer if you dni, it just makes me uncomfy,

oh ye!! And some of the tags I use rn on my blog are

#sobaart- which is just my art and

#sobarant- for when it’s just a text post or I’m just talking about something or even memes

anyways y’all, I really hope you enjoy my mess of a blog, and if your one of my mooties just know I basically consider u my friend and love u dearly <3

I’ll edit this later mayb mayb till then, keep being the super cool person you are!

HEY GUYS

popping in here again to say that the Inazuma Eleven Tumblr Family discord is officially ready to go!

anyone obssessed with the sakka sillies are welcome 🤗

please read the rules and introduce yourself!

For any concerns you can dm me if you’d like, but with that said I hope you enjoy your time there

[cyberphuck]

ROYAL ASSASSIN ABRIDGED: PRELUDE

My friend Razz wants to understand my shitposting about the Farseer Trilogy, but doesn't want to actually have to read the books, so I'm summarizing them for them (and you)!

 Read previous entries

 LAST TIME, ON DRAGON BOOK Z: Fitz is a bastard who knows telepathy and talks to animals. He's taught to be an assassin, then goes up to the mountains on a mission and completely fails at it. His uncle tries to kill him. His OTHER uncle gets married.

 CAST OF CHARACTERS (holy shit there are so many characters in this book)

 THE FARSEERS

Six Duchies royal family, of which several members are now dead. This will include Farseers-by-Marriage (Dead or head-exploded characters will have their own category).

 FitzChivalry Farseer: The POV character, Prince Chivalry's bastard. Loyal as a K-Pop stan who still has a BTS McNugget meal preserved in their freezer. He possesses both the Skill (Professor X telepathy) and the Wit (Dr. Doolittle animal chats).

 Prince Verity: Currently King-in-Waiting, a lifelong second-in-command who was suddenly thrust into a leadership role when his older brother fucked off to be assassinated. Recently married, super strong in the Skill, does not ask for consent before mind-molesting Fitz.

 Queen Kettricken: Recently married to Verity, she came all the way from the Mountain Kingdom to clean up Buckkeep and be miserable because she's used to doing Crossfit in the snow and now she has to sit and pretend to laugh at other people's jokes.

 Prince Regal: The sneaky, moustache-twirling evil younger half brother of Verity. He killed like four people at Verity's wedding and tried to murder Fitz with a hot tub, and they just sort of let him get away with it.

 King Shrewd: The current king, currently pretty old and afflicted with some kind of wasting disease. Fitz is technically bound to him by a pact he made as a child, but they both kind of ignore that most of the time.

 Chade: King Shrewd’s older half-brother on the wrong side of the sheets. An assassin. Lives in the walls. Has a weasel. Came out of the wall into Fitz's room and taught him how to be an assassin. Sort of a father figure, but the kind that yells at you to hold the flashlight steady while he works on the car.

 Patience: Chivalry’s widow. Helicopter-parents Fitz whenever he comes within fifteen feet of her. The ADHD champion of the Six ooh is that a book on rare ferns?

 NOBLES

 Duke Brawndy: Duke of Ripplekeep, a pretty stand-up dude. Father to Celerity and member of the Fitz Fan Club.

 Lady Celerity: Has a big ol' fourteen-year-old crush on handsome, virile Fitz. She's pretty okay for someone who was named after a vegetable you put peanut butter on.

 Duke Kelvar: Remember him? He finally manned his fucking watchtowers at Neatbay. Fitz fanclub member. Husband to Lady Grace, his young hotness wife whose dog Fitz pulled a fish bone out of.

 CASTLE AND STABLE FOLK

 Burrich: Fitz's primary father figure, the kind that takes you to football games and Hooters to try to flush the Gay out of you. Stablemaster of Buckkeep, and also has the Wit. Used to be heterosexual life partners with Prince Chivalry. Took several blows to the head last book and seems to be okay.

 Hands: Fitz's stablehand friend. He's been relegated to background character.

 Lacy: Patience’s serving woman and bestie. Makes lace, nods indulgently and will stab you.

 The Fool: Albino freak-teenager with a special interest in cryptids and making up rhymes about farting. King Shrewd's jester.

 Justin: Part of the Skill Coterie. Hangs out with Serene most of the time, card-carrying member of the Fitz Sucks and Smells Bad club.

 Serene: The only female member of the Skill Coterie. Treasurer of the Fitz Sucks and Smells Bad club.

 Carrod: Local fop and member of the Skill Coterie. In this book he mostly sneers at Fitz and says cringe things while everyone else is trying to work.

 Burl: Part of the Skill Coterie... is Burl even in this book? I can't remember. Less dumb than you think he is.

 Will: Part of the Skill Coterie. Hangs out in shadows and stares fixedly at people.

 Molly Chandler: A candlemaker and servant who wants to go back to being a candlemaker. Girlboss. Fitz would buy her bathwater.

 Rosemary: Kettricken's page. She's just a little girl. So cute. What's she doing? Oh, she's coloring. Aww.

 Wallace: King Shrewd's servant and sometimes healer. One time the Fool calls him Wall's-ass.

 Bolt: A guardsman who shows up at the end of the book to punch Fitz repeatedly in the face. I only mention him here because he shows up in the next book as well.

 Blade: An older guardsman, Fitz fanclub member.

 ANIMALS:

 Cub/Nighteyes: A wolf soul-bonded to Fitz. Talks in italics. Possesses the single braincell out of everyone in the entire series.

 Sooty: Fitz’s horse. Best mare, perfect cinnamon roll and can do no wrong.

 Vixen: Burrich’s dog. Good dog.

 Slink: A weasel belonging to Chade.

 OTHER NOTABLES:

 The Red Ship Raiders: Mongolian Vikings who have been Viking their merry way up and down the coast, burninating villages and kidnapping people to be Forged.

 Forged people: Zombies. It's a tiny bit more complicated than that, but you don't find that out for another like, six books, so: they're zombies.

 Lady Thyme: A horrible old woman who is really Chade in disguise. The Elderlings: Who are they? What are they? No one knows. 

 DEAD PEOPLE:

 Chivalry: Dead from probably assassination.

 Queen Desire: Regal's mom, dead from drug use but Regal THINKS it was assassination.

 Rurisk: Dead from poisoning by Regal.

 Cobb: Dead from stab by Fitz.

 Galen: Dead from Skill-explosion by Verity.

 August: Okay he's not DEAD, but Verity Skill-megaphoned him and he went to live on a farm upstate.

 Smithy: Went back to his home planet after Cobb hugged him and told him he was a good boy.

 Nosy: Went back to his home planet after saving Fitz from dying in a hot tub.

 MAGICS (I know magic is not a character, but they do have to be explained somewhere)

 The Wit: The ability to “bond” with certain animals and speak with them, as well as sense life force and to do a kind of mental shove at people. You tend to act a little like the animal you’ve bonded to. Witted people are considered gross and animalistic and are run out of town or put to death.

 The Skill: Telepathy. Considered the “birthright” of the Farseers. Most people can sense it at least a little, but it takes inborn talent and a lot of careful training to do anything useful with it. Skilling apparently feels awesome but if you give in to the temptation to fully open yourself to it you can get sucked out of your own brain.

 NEXT TIME: Part one of Royal Assassin Abridged!

[thekielbasanova]

had a great time at Hanging with Doctor Z on April 8th (APEril APEth 😁) at Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles. @danagould is so funny and cool.

🦧watch Dr Z on Youtube HERE 🦧

📸 by justoffthesix (Andrew Max Levy)

❤️ kielbasanova

[iamthekaijuking]

Gigabash character overview: Thundatross

A genre often in close association with the kaiju genre is the mech genre, and indeed it’s common for a kaiju setting to have at least one titan hunting mech. Passion Republic Games felt the same when making Gigabash, and so they made Thundatross!

Thundatross is the tank of the roster, being super slow but hitting hard and most of his attacks have superarmor. He also has one move to close distance and a long range move. Skilled Thundatross players are the bane of my existence.

Design

Thundatross takes pretty heavy inspiration from mecha anime, so things like Getter Robo, Megazord, Big O and whatnot.

The primary reference is apparently Mazinger Z.

Unfortunately I can’t really find any concept art of Thundatross, just these snippets from their “behind the scenes” video.

As a personal aside, the only thing I really dislike about the design is the simple ball joints. Over six months of playing nothing but Armored Core 6 has spoiled me. But aside from that I’m a huge fan of Thundatross’s design.

Lore

Thundatross is the long term project of OtamaTEC, a megacorperation that began as a start up in 1991 by scientific genius and entrepreneur Dr. Otama Kazuo and later aided by Dr. Reiner (mentioned in Pipijuras’s overview) who eventually became second in command. The company was founded on the idea of the Gigatron Reactor I mentioned in Woolley’s overview, and their main goal is Giga Energy research and anti-kaiju defense, which resulted in many deals with the Global Titan Defense Initiative, primarily in Titan Containment Energy Barriers. The same barriers in the first level of Gorogong’s story! Despite this, a big source of the company’s income actually comes from the numerous high quality household electronics and computer parts they manufacture.

Their various findings on Giga Energy are covered in Thundatross’s profile documents, which also show that the project that created Thundatross is called the Tactical Reactor-Operated Security System.

Giga Energy can be free flowing; just hanging around in the air. But it can also come in a solid form, or at least be contained in a solid object: Giga Crystals. Giga Crystals are so densely packed with mass and energy that one that can fit in the palm of your hand can weigh up to 30 pounds and provide more energy than a full sized nuclear reactor. Giga Energy can also alter the atomic bonds and chemical structures of objects, and has very noticeable effects on organic life. A half eaten pear regrew some of its eaten parts and grew in size after a few hours of exposure to a Giga Crystal, but this seems to not be consistent as this doesn’t happen to any humans. It’s almost like Giga Energy is selective. It’s also hypothesized that the kaiju in Gigabash’s world use this process to transform into an S-class.

At some point during this time Dr. Otama Kazuo would get married to a woman named Megumi, and almost 2 decades after would have a kid: a boy named Yuuki. But by 2013 it seems like Megumi died somehow.

As Dr. Reiner helped with project T.R.O.S.S. things went along exceptionally well, and the mech outperformed initial expectations. Its system power output alone outperformed initial estimates by 543.85%, which just goes to show how powerful Giga Energy can be. However, as this project neared fruition, Kazuo began to grow worried. He was essentially creating a superweapon, and if someone were to use it for evil then the results could be disastrous. Another concern was Dr. Reiner, who was hellbent on destroying all kaiju and wanted to sell the blueprints to the GTDI even though they were too corrupt to use them responsibly.

Ultimately Kazuo installed an AI and security and identification system to the mech, and after troubling himself for years on how to find a pilot who could use Thundatross responsibly, he ultimately decided that he and any descendants should be the ones to pilot the machine, and so the mech will not start unless he or a descent is in the cockpit. He also had Yuuki name the mech Thundatross as a bit of family bonding. He really does try to be a good dad.

Dr. Otama Kazuo would never get to pilot Thundatross however. In the beginning of Thundatross’s story mode, which begins in the hell year of 2020, right after the completion of Thundatross, Rohanna would attack the Kimura district. The place of OtamaTEC HQ. Falling debris would fall onto Kazuo and paralyze him from the waist down, so Yuuki ended up taking the mantle. And for an entire year afterward this would actually go quite well! Yuuki is a good kid, if a bit impatient at times, so he was perfectly happy to lend a helping hand.

Without Kazuo to run the company, Dr. Reiner took charge, and he took advantage of this. He secretly constructed a second Thundatross and kept the second half of Pipijuras’s teleporter. When Yuuki retrieves Gorogong’s giant Giga Crystal that OtamaTEC commissioned the GTDI to retrieve with the help of Gigaman (who I’ll eventually cover), he hooks it up to the teleporter and opens up a portal to the hollow earth. He then gets into his “Unit 02” and goes through. However, Dr. Reiner wasn’t able to build his mech without Kazuo’s security system, so to get around this he basically kidnaps Yuuki’s dad and straps him into the cockpit.

The rest of the story mode is Yuuki and Gigaman finding a way into the hollow earth to find Reiner, stop him, and rescue Kazuo. They confront him at the Giga Core where he tells him that he plans to use both mechs to drain the Giga Core of its Giga Energy and starve all kaiju on the planet, which Gigaman points out would destabilize it and potentially blow up the planet. Dr. Reiner however, is so hellbent on kaiju elimination that he doesn’t care if he’d destroy the world, and to stop him Yuuki and Thundatross have to fight him in an epic climactic battle, with Gigaman giving Yuuki one last extra push to succeed and save his dad. The whole thing is very anime, it’s great.

Afterwards they kinda just leave Dr. Reiner in the wreck of his mech to starve to death in the hollow earth, which is kinda fucked up??

Also the devs confirmed that this story mode is the closest to a “canon” one.

In summary, Thundatross is an excellently executed anime mech with a cool story mode, and it’s a great addition to Gigabash. It also reveals many interesting things about Giga Energy.

[sunnyhatchats]

sorting the gang: frank reynolds

Previously: Dennis, Mac, Dee, Charlie

This is going to be short because I've written like fifty novels here and also because it's anticlimactic. Fully admit this is largely vibes-based. But I mean.

Primary: Snake

Seriously Frank is the OG Snake, the stereotypical Snake, the person you think of when you think of Snakes. Frank is out for himself, for Charlie, and arguably in a toxic codependent way for Dennis and Dee. Simple as.

in season 16, when Frank thinks Dennis and Dee are trying to kill him, his reaction is "thanks for not doing it in front of Charlie"

idk even what else to say here, not much needs to be said on the subject I think. literally the only other thing it could be I think is an extremely twisted Lion, but that would be a real hot take and just no lol

Secondary: Snake (Bird model) (possibly Bird w/ Snake model?)

Again: Frank is the OG Snake. Specifically he is a Snake that loves being in neutral, maybe a bit too much, and spends most of his time around the Gang whom he doesn't mind going neutral around.

But when he wants to, he can play people pretty effortlessly, is good at it, and has zero qualms or reservations whatsoever about the lying involved. (content warning: mild antisemitic comment, Frank's not a great dude)

So what about the Bird model? Super strong actually. Maybe this is just Frank being older compared to the rest of the Gang and having more time to accumulate a bunch of random skills and networks, but boy has he done that. He has a bunch of random contacts - in his words he's "got a guy for everything." His shady fixer lawyer in "Time's Up for the Gang," Bingo the shady dealer, the shady people Duncan and Z hang out with, his cutthroat business crew in "Frank's Back in Business"... He's an accomplished boxer and uses those skills in the "Hundred Dollar Baby" scheme. He has all these personas he pulls out -- Dr. Mantis Toboggan for pretending to be a doctor, the Warthog for shady business shit, etc. He always carries a gun, including on the toilet. Arguably even his "infinite wealth" is a tool he uses to solve problems.

Shit now I'm kind of talking myself into switching them except Frank has the strongest double Snake energy. Take the Ongo Gablogian scene. Frank's actually modeling this off Andy Warhol some old buddies of his: "I used to run with an art crowd. I know these people." So there's that scaffolding. But the rest? Totally on the fly. 90% of this scene is totally in the moment.

Plus there are all the little things. Like in "The Gang Wrestles for the Troops" knocking Cricket out with a trashcan lid. Suddenly leaping in front of the hose during a wet T-shirt contest because he just realized there's someone underage there. In "Frank Reynolds' Little Beauties" his face gets bruised and puffy when he's supposed to present the pageant and his solution is to go to a mortician to get heavy makeup done (I mean it doesn't WORK well but...) There's this great moment in season 6 where Dee has glued herself to the door of her apartment in an attempt to not get evicted, and Frank just scrapes her hand off with a spatula.

idk, it's evidence over vibes here, I keep finding Bird-y Frank stuff but I mean. - - -

Which brings us to the end of the Gang. It's been fun, fun revisiting, fun parsing this out. (Also I have written more about this than on my actual homework so fun in misplaced priorities sense...) Thanks for reading!

[myersesque]

here's some questions spam!

what do you think is the best joke in tgwdlm? which nightmare time episode is the strongest? would you vibe with any of the lords in black? opinion on webby? favorite character introduced in black friday? some people have said that the youtube version of nerdy prudes must die gets fanservice-y with its hatchetverse references - what're your thoughts? which hatchetverse couple is the most transgender in your eyes?

here ends the question spam

YEAAAA QUESTION SPAM I LOVE QUESTION SPAM!!! my laptop is currently updating and therefore i feel no shame doing this instead of my dissertation LET'S GOOO

best joke in tgwdlm? - augh, a hard one. idk if it's the BEST but i always lose it at the hivemind breaking out of unison and having to stop and find their notes/re-harmonise after not your seed (i've been there... SO many times)

strongest nightmare time episode - ok this is the part where i admit i am VERY behind on nightmare time and have only seen a few in random orders - my favourite of the ones i've seen is abstinence camp, though. i think it's a rlly strong, relatively self-contained story, and ofc i'm always down for a friday the 13th parody lmao. boy jerry and girl jeri are my little freaks and i love them (and ofc peter and steph my beloveds)

vibing with the lords in black? - i love all of them an unreasonable amount and would LOVE to hang out, honestly. i never stop singing so pokey would probably be fun company, and wiggly won my heart immediately since i LOVE possessed/evil toys (if the url wasn't a dead giveaway for that) and green is one of my fav colours. but honestly any of them!!! they're deliciously evil and i would love to chill (and then regret it when i inevitably face their torment BUT THAT'S A PROBLEM FOR FUTURE ME!)

opinion on webby - i haven't seen a ton of her but i think she's really cool, both conceptually and in the execution i have seen! i love how the visions she gives hannah are contextualised and start making sense slowly as you work through the show (which it took me AGES to figure out, admittedly, because i'm either eerily good or absolutely terrible at recalling dialogue, and fsr her prophecies always fell through my brain like a sieve)

favourite character introduced in black friday - i'm disqualifying wiggly bc we've established i love him already - honestly, it's a tie between linda monroe (one word: MOTHER) and ethan green (aka the sweetest motherfucker in hatchetfield, holy shit). i find both of their characters super compelling and also i'm very bisexual about both of them so !!!

were the npmd hatchetverse references fanservicey? - i mean... yeah? i don't super mind though, fanservice isn't inherently a bad thing. i do wish there was some way to watch a pro shot of the show as it was on stage instead (i Lost My Mind when i found out the gerald part was originally my favourite little freak boy jerry), but i've heard through the grapevine that there's apparently a way to get your hands on a digital ticket recording as a bonus feature or smthn similar, which is good enough for me. so whilst i do think they came on a little strong in some sections (particularly hatchet town), overall i didn't mind - the smaller call-backs don't really harm the show at all if you don't get them (e.g. richie's joke abt peter looking like the homeless guy downtown is still a funny jab without the knowledge of who exactly that homeless guy is and how he's related to peter) and for fans who have been waiting for years, it's an extra little reward. i've seen some people be incentivised to watch the previous shows so they'd understand the audience's reaction to certain lines, too, so there's that. tl;dr it is a LITTLE much sometimes but i don't personally mind it and thought they were all fun

most transgender hatchetfield couple - oh you are SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE, i LOVE transgenderifying characters. i think lautski (peter/steph) feel very explicitly-queer gen z t4t, if that makes any sense, but i wouldn't be me if i didn't at least mention my quietly-queer first loves paulkins (paul/emma). they're like the chill trans elders (as in the community title, not in reference to their age lmao they're like 30) to lautski's spitfire trans youth. if that makes literally ANY sense

my laptop has great timing and has now finished updating (!!!) so i must return to the trenches of university coursework but this was VERY fun thank u

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #285: Twilight of the Gods!

November, 1987

Dammit Zeus, stop eating everyone! Do you want to get mpreg? Because that’s how you get mpreg!

Hah, medium cut.

Also, I can’t believe Marvel TM’d Zeus.

So, last times on Avengers: there was a big Masters of Evil story which left the mansion totaled, Hercules coma’d, and Wasp quitting as leader so she could go on vacation. Captain Monica Marvel got voted as new leader and the first nonsense she has to deal with is Zeus being murderously angry at the Avengers over his favorite son being in a coma.

Even though Hercules drunkenly staggered into an ambush despite Wasp telling him not to do that exact thing!

Anyway, the Avengers and also Namor escape from Hades and sneak their way into Olympus to confront Zeus. They try to get some of Big Daddy Z’s more reasonable kids to help argue their point but Zeus just starts exploding everything.

Prometheus tries to heal Hercules because maybe that will get Zeus to chill. But Hercules wakes up from his coma in one of his classic murder rages. So things have, in fact, gotten worse. Thanks, Prometheus.

The situation is so bad that the first page and a bit are just Black Knight looking at how bad things are going and thinking ‘wow this is the worst situation I’ve ever been in.’

Just wait for the 90s, when you inexplicably become the most prominent Avengers character.

Low-hanging fruit!

But shit is bad.

Thor is exhausted. Captain Marvel is exhausted. Zeus just effortlessly kicked Namor and She-Hulk’s ass in seconds.

Oh and to make things worse, Thor reassure/brags that Namor and She-Hulk are still alive despite Zeus’ best efforts.

Zeus: “You think me incapable of slaying these mortals, Thor? Bah! I have but spared their meager lives for the moment! I have condemned you all to death by torment for what you did to my son, and I shall see that sentence carried out -- e’en if I myself must act as executioner!”

Thor shut the hell up.

Meanwhile, within the caves where Prometheus was healing Hercules, Hercules is on the warpath, yelling ENEMIES! ENEMIES EVERYWHERE!

Wasp tries to tell him that he’s among friends but Hercules just goes to smash her, yelling that she’s always ordering him about and hurting him.

Wasp: “Hercules... please, try to remember! We warned you of the danger -- it was the Masters of Evil that hurt you!”

Hercules: “NO!! You hurt!”

Even this era of high-powered Wasp, she isn’t going to try to tangle with Hercules. So she flies over to try to get help from Hera, Prometheus, or Apollo. Alas, they’re all out cold.

Hercules does the superstrong hand clap shockwave thing and knocks tiny Wasp out. Despite Captain America clinging to his legs and trying to stop him, Hercules scoops up the unconscious superheroine and prepares to kill her.

When all of a sudden, Dr Druid for the rescue! For some reason!

He jumps on Hercules’ back and psychics as hard as he can, despite his head injury, trying to get Hercules to remember.

Druid does manage to get Hercules remembering, helpfully rendered as recap panels.

Hercules remembers blundering into the Masters occupied mansion despite Cap and Wasp warning him of the trap. And he remembers getting his ass kicked by several of the strongest Masters of Evil all at once.

But remembering this makes Hercules scream “NO MORE!!!” and throw Dr Druid off his back.

Meanwhile, outside, the Avengers are still trying to beat up Hercules’ dad.

Zeus has just stood by and let Namor and She-Hulk regain consciousness. So that they’re aware enough to feel the ass-kicking he’s about to deliver to their asses.

But Black Knight finally joins the fight that he’s been horrified and spectating for a while.

Black Knight: “Just a minute, your highness... you’ve forgotten the Black Knight! Is this ‘mere mortal’ beneath your notice -- or are you just afraid to admit that you might not be able to kill me?”

Zeus: “WHAT?!? Never have I beheld a man so eager to die!”

Dang, Dane, your valiant side is showing.

Black Knight was making a gamble. That his incredibly cursed Ebony Blade’s ability to absorb and reflect energy was strong enough to counter Zeus smiting him.

He reckoned correct.

While Zeus is stunned by his own lightning, Namor and She-Hulk jump in to pummel the god. And then Thor BUHROOMs Zeus right in the torso with Mjolnir.

He doesn’t care for it.

Zeus: “this is beyond belief. never have i been humbled in such a way... never.”

Thor: “Never before have you faced the Mighty Avengers!”

Captain Marvel nyooms around Zeus, who has taken a knee after all the punishment, and asks if he’s ready to have an adult conversation now.

He’s not.

With all the Avengers knocked unconscious by Zeus’ tantrum, he expresses pity for the poor mortals he has to kill. But he has no pity for Thor for siding with mortals and decides to stress test Thor’s supposed inability to die.

Someone grabs Zeus and tells him to let Thor go. Zeus just swats the person away. But the person is insistent and tackles Zeus down a hill.

The Avengers regain consciousness and wonder where Zeus went when he had them at his lack of mercy. But their question is quickly answered when Zeus and the person’s tumble knocks down trees in the nearby forest.

The person (still rendered shadowy for mystery reasons) tells Zeus that he won’t let Zeus harm the Avengers.

Zeus doesn’t like being told what to do.

He blasts the person, hurls him against a tree, and starts pummeling the crap out of him.

Zeus: “Who are you, to order me? I am Zeus... Lord of all Olympus! My word is LAW! None may command me! I am supreme! SUPREME!!!”

The Avengers grab Zeus, pull him off the person. Black Knight threatens to shank Zeus with his extremely cursed sword if Zeus forces him to. Zeus is outraged at their insolence but Captain Marvel focuses on the person Zeus was beating up. She tells Namor to make sure Hercules is okay.

Hey, Dr Druid’s mind treatment worked, Hercules regained his good sense, went to try to stop his dad from murdering his friends, and suffered another horrible beating as a result.

Thor: “Do you at last see how your rage has blinded you, Zeus?”

Zeus: “Hercules! My son, forgive me! I didn’t know... didn’t see -- !”

Hercules murmurs that Zeus was wrong about the Avengers but once Zeus learns Prometheus is involved, he assumes Prometheus has been filling Hercules’ head with lies. But Hercules affirms that the Avengers aren’t at fault for his coma. They’re his own dumb fault.

Then Hera shows up because this is the “call Zeus a dumbass” power hour.

She calls Zeus a dumbass. But also recaps her role in this and the parts of the plot Zeus has missed. Including that Prometheus sacrificed part of his own life essence to heal Hercules.

Prometheus is cool with it. Hercules freed him from that bound to a mountain, getting eaten by an eagle forever thing on Mount Caucasus.

Zeus: “Hercules, my son... what have I done? By all that is eternal... what have I done?”

LATER: Things have settled down.

Zeus has kindly allowed the Avengers some hospitality. Wasp took the opportunity to switch into an Olympian outfit because that’s the most Wasp thing to do in the situation.

Hercules isn’t completely better yet. He’s not in any pain but he finds it hard to think. Prometheus assures him that will get better in time.

Captain Marvel is hesitant to let her guard down, considering Zeus was just trying to kill them all and now is treating them like guests. But as She-Hulk points out, why not eat his food and drink his wine. Doesn’t mean you gotta forgive.

 Captain America and Dr Druid show up, completely healed of their respective injuries by Apollo, GOD OF MEDICINE.

Apollo also tried to heal Thor, but to no avail. Thor decides that he’s just going to have to confront Hela so he can -rearrange the letters- heal.

Although, I’m pretty sure its a journey to get to that point. He has to fight Fin Fang Foom who turns out to be JORMUNGANDR and the fight renders him a flesh puddle that a bunch of ice giants beat up and then Loki sends the Destroyer to kill Thor so the ice giants don’t get to do it except the Destroyer decides to eat Thor’s soul as an infinite battery except Thor’s strong will takes over the Destroyer and uses it to bother Hela into lifting the curse.

Its a hell of a journey.

Anyway. With the Avengers healed up and also wined and dined, Apollo asks them to come to a special tribunal of the gods Zeus is holding.

And you know it’s serious business because Zeus is wearing his robes of penance.

I mean, you know its serious business if you know that those are the robes of penance so thank god (specifically Athena) that she loudly exposits to the crowd this thing they already know.

And the serious business? Zeus was wrong about something and he’s making it everyone’s problem.

Zeus: “Citizens of Olympus... members of the high pantheon... a great wrong has been done to these Avengers. It is a wrong for which I am responsible, a wrong for which I must atone. Out of concern for my beloved son, I did rashly and unthinkingly accuse these heroes of betrayal. But the only betrayal was that of reason... by my own passions. My crime against the Avengers has shown me a sober lesson...”

“... We ‘gods’ are far more powerful than mortals, but we are no wiser. We can be the basest of fools. The power we possess can be deadly -- even to the mightiest of mortals. Humanity has suffered too much from our careless ways... there must be an end to this. And so, I vow before these mortals... that no one born of Olympus shall ever again set foot upon the Earth!”

Neptune: “Brother, have you forgotten our covenant? I am lord and protector of the subsea peoples! You cannot bar me from my worshipers!”

Ares: “Neptune is not the only one with followers, father! Many are the mortals who revere the ways of war -- I will not be denied -- !”

Zeus: “SILENCE! You are forbidden to walk the Earth! Thus is the will of Zeus! Disobey me at your own peril!”

It’s funny because Zeus basically browbeat everyone into this revenge on the Avengers scheme and now he’s making it everyone’s problem for listening to him in the first place.

And why do I feel like he’s going to use this as an excuse to keep Hercules from returning to Earth once he’s fully recovered?

Also, huh, I’m surprised there was no evil plan behind Hercules’ coma mutterings. His brain was just pulped and his thoughts jumbled. Nobody put words in his ear or made him say those things. Feels weird to have it not be an evil scheme.

Afterward, Prometheus takes the Avengers minus Hercules to the edge of the dimensional abyss that abuts Olympus. And here I thought Olympus was a mountain on Earth but that shows me.

Prometheus sort of slaps a theme onto this whole arc.

Prometheus: “Zeus is a prideful god, Knight... and has been deeply shamed by this affair. You must understand, in temperament, the gods of Olympus have ever been as children. So great is their power, they have never known lasting defeat. For Zeus to have acknowledged his error as he did was a show of maturity unheard of amongst his kind. Perhaps all Olympians may in time show the degree of responsibility their power demands. We can but hope.”

Cool.

Namor asks what’s going to become of Hercules, given Zeus’ new mandate that no Olympians are allowed on Earth. And Prometheus gives him a vague assurance that maybe the Avengers haven’t seen the last of Hercules, possibly.

Then with a vague warning of future difficulties, Prometheus teleports the Avengers back to Earth before he has to explain anything he just said.

What a mysterious prick.

There’s some concerns left. The Avengers have to clear up any trouble caused by She-Hulk’s Dionysus provoked rampage. Wasp has to immediately run off because she was Artemis abducted from her vacation and people are going to be missing her. And Thor immediately flies off as well because he needs to eventually get around to dealing with his Hela curse.

While the Avengers head back to Hydrobase, Captain America takes off elsewhere. Musing on what Prometheus said about the Avengers being “sorely tested” before deciding whatever it will be, the Avengers will meet the challenge.

More fallout for Namor! Marrina is at Hydrobase to meet him with hugs and bad news.

The hug is nice but the news is bad. When Namor got pulled to hell by Neptune, that little village of exiled Atlanteans had taken that as a sign that Namor was rejected by the god of Atlantis.

Because, uh, there’s very few other ways that god dragging someone to hell can be interpreted.

The whole village took this also as a sign they should abandon Namor. And they’ve all fled to the depths. Taking with them Namor’s hopes of founding a new kingdom.

Namor decides that the ocean holds no future for him and Marrina but maybe they’ll find a place on the surface world, with the Avengers.

-looks ahead- Oof.

Anyway.

A week later, Captain Marvel is giving Namor and Dr Druid a brief on the Fixer, one of the Masters of Evil who took over Avengers Mansion. You might remember that storyline. It’s what put Hercules in a coma. I keep mentioning it.

Dr Druid wonders why she’s expositing about a supervillain who is already arrested and being held in a maximum security prison.

I assume to set up for the next storyline but Monica also says that everyone in the team should have familiarity with all the Avengers’ enemies.

But Captain America doesn’t show up for the meeting and he didn’t leave word he wouldn’t make it... and that’s not like responsible ol’ Cap(tain America).

Captain Marvel: “I want to know what’s going on. If Captain America is in trouble, we’re going to make it the Avengers’ business!”

The next issue says the fix is on. Yup, the Fixer is up to something. Very timely having an update on him, Monica.

Except, we need to spend some time with some annuals and then some West Coast Avengers again. To even out the dates.

Follow @essential-avengers​ because ‘Merica is Missing. Captain that is. Like and reblog too.

[truebluewhocanoe]

The True Blue You- Author Commentary

Author Notes

Hi! This is the extended Author’s Notes for my fic “The True Blue You”, which you should definitely read BEFORE reading this post.

I like the Dr Nyarlathotep niche of Doctor Who fandom a lot. I want more Dr Nyarlathotep content (that isn’t porn). I figured a good way to promote that would be to write out my own thoughts on one of my Dr Nyarlathotep works and talk about how it came together. This is that! Most of this is going to be me talking about particular passages from the fic, the thought that went into them, and the references to other stuff that I’ve snuck in. ✨Let’s begin✨

Commentary

Hence his search for the Zero Room. Wherever he left it. So that he can unravel the extradimensional parts of himself into three-dimensional space and check that everything is in order.

Finding a good word for the Doctor letting out all their Nyarly was hard but I eventually settled on “unravel” and “unfurl”, mainly for the fabric & knitting connotations, because Looms. Aw yeah.

First comes the extraspatial limbs, then the temporal ones. His temporal tendrils and hooks hang in the air around him; vestigial eyes, the crystallised irises of his past bodies, dot his face. He snags a hook on one of his sleeves; he can taste its timeline, senses tracing the thread’s creation and transformation into a garment, tears and stains and cleanings. He deftly unhooks it, then takes a closer look at the sleeve with his fifth set of eyes. Microwave reflections let him peek into the molecular structure. 

First things first: this fic is, as is probably quite obvious to anyone familiar with the Dr Nyarlathotep tag, inspired by “In The Holding Tank I Built For Myself”, which I consider to be more or less the definitive work of this fandom niche. One of the many things I took from Holding Tank and incorporated into my own Dr Nyarlathotep headcanons is the idea that bits of the Doctor’s old bodies get repurposed into their extradimensional body. One of the lines of Holding Tank that stuck out to me the most was the Fifth Doctor’s eyes looking back up at the Doctor- which ends up being pivotal to this fic.

Second: I never actually explain how the Doctor’s clothes adjust to him going Nyarly. I’m not going to explain here, either.

He stretches his wings one set at a time, starting with the small, webbed ones at the base of his primary spine all the way up to the feathered vortex-gliders that span the width of the room when fully outstretched. (And, it should be noted, the Zero Room is much larger than it appears.)

This was inspired by a very old tumblr post (which I can’t find now!!!) headcanoning Time Lords are being, essentially, Time Vortex dragons. The implication is that Time Lords can, in fact, fly around in the vortex under their own power, but use TARDISes to do so the same way we use ships to cross the ocean instead of swimming it. I love this concept and had to weave it in to my personal Nyarly canon.

His hair unspools from short blond curls into nigh-Samsonian locks, closer to fibre-optic cables than keratin follicles. A crown of hard-photon horns sorts the strands, with ivory halos at regular intervals down the length to keep the bundles from separating. He leaves the ends in mind-space where they loop around the TARDIS's psychic docks. He runs his aft right hands through the hairs, untangling knots with crystal-jointed fingers.

I want to say that the Doctor getting extra long glowy anime hair was inspired by Sixie going super saiyan in the PDA The Quantum Archangel and the relevant trope from Dragonball Z, but this section was written within a couple days of the trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Future Redeemed coming out, in which another favorite blond character of mine is revealed to have grown out his hair really long, so that’s probably where I actually got the idea from.

Time Lords plugging their hair into their TARDISes to communicate psychically was probably subconsciously inspired by Avatar (the blue people one, not The Last Airbender.)

“Crystal joints” is a phrase I use in another Dr Nyarlathotep fic of mine, A Black Fire Burning, which you could definitely say was the prototype for this fic.

Yes, the Doctor has both halos and horns, and yes, they are used for cable management. Deal with it.

Letting all of himself out is like taking off a corset after a long night.

I’ll let you decide which Doctor out of the First through Fifth has worn a corset. (My money’s on Three.)

She can’t sleep.

You might find some parallels between this fic and my last Who fic, After the Archangel, which also consists of a companion hashing things out with a Doctor after being unable to sleep due to a traumatizing adventure. I guess I have a type.

Which leads her back to the elephant in the room. The Doctor wasn’t like this when she first met her. The Doctor she’d met had been open and amiable and polite. And then he died and left her with someone she didn’t understand. Someone who apparently was not alright in the head after having come back to life, who is supposedly fine now but not the same as the way he was before.

And so we reach the elephant in the room that is this fic: I do not like that Big Finish tried to squeeze in more adventures with the Fifth Doctor and Peri between Planet of Fire and Caves of Androzani. It ruins all the appeal of their dynamic (not to mention the latter episode, one of the most beloved in all of Classic Who) and just isn’t necessary. So yeah, those episodes are not canon to this fic, and in fact you could say that the conflict of this story is in protest of their existence.

This fic hinges on the fact that Peri still would’ve had a bumpy go of things with the Fifth Doctor, because he also wasn’t a very pleasant guy to most of his companions (no shade, that’s just how 80s Who went), and also ran into a ton of extremely horrible situations! Peri’s successful companionship with the Doctor comes in spite of those facts. 

Writing the dynamic (and specifically, power dynamic) between Peri and the Doctor is a very tricky wire to walk but I think I did okay, in the end. The Sixth Doctor and Peri boxset by Big Finish ends on a note of the Doctor and Peri accepting that their life together probably isn’t very sane or healthy, but they do it anyways because they enjoy it. That’s the perspective I was trying to convey here. But that’s jumping the gun a little- let’s go back to the fic.

She looks at it, a great big thorny mass, as if M.C. Escher had knitted a scarf out of barbed wire. Then, without her even blinking, the thing bends, changing without changing, the duck’s head into a rabbit’s, and she sees a great spider’s web, or perhaps anemone, a thing of tendrils and gravity-defying lines. 

The ‘thorny mass’ is inspired by a certain alien structure in the book Blindsight by Peter Watts. I finished reading it right around when I started writing this fic and really wanted to sneak in something from it, mainly because it’s a great sci-fi horror book (as much as describing it as such is an injustice to all it is.) The “duck’s head into a rabbit’s” is a reference to the duck-rabbit illusion, which is also utilized in Blindsight. (Seriously, even referencing that book in my own work is a grave act of authorial hubris. I am not worthy!)

Then, something catches her attention, a blip on the radar of her millennia-made pattern-matching instincts, a slap of color and pattern that can’t be right, must be a trick of the light, a name in the static, Virgin Mary in the burnt toast. 

Invoking pareidolia here.

like the figurehead on the bow of a great ship

This was one of the central mental images I had going into this fic.

Humans consider the smooth eversion of a sphere, the simplest three-dimensional object, to be a form of paradox

“Smooth eversion of a sphere” means turning it inside out without breaking the rules of topology, as you might have seen explained in this perennially recommended YouTube video.

but his larboard greater forewing

Larboard is an outdated nautical term for “the left of the ship”, which was replaced by “port” due to how similar to “starboard” is sounded. Including it here is a reference to its infamous use in a certain fight in Final Fantasy XIV. I knew I wanted to use “larboard” to describe something of the Doctor’s Nyarlyness, which inspired the use of the similarly nautical “aft” earlier in the fic.

From seemingly random places across his body, purple-gold strands of what looks like stardust reach outwards, pulled taut clinging to thin air.

Inspired by, of all things, Origin Forme Giratina, as elucidated in this tumblr post.

She can’t make out his legs, the lower half of his body caught in a mirage with the posture of Schrodinger’s indecisive cat.

Of course, my headcanon for Sixie’s Nyarlathotep form is a bit more than “eldritch cat”, but I still wanted to work something feline in. The Doctor’s form seeming to be multiple things at once in a quantum sort of way was inspired by they'll turn me in your arms, lady by @lurking-latinist.

She can make out his face. It's almost the same, save for the spots that shine like jewels dotting it in two parallel lines like tear-trails beneath his eyes.

Knowing that the topmost pair of "jewels" is the Fifth Doctor's eyes, the mentioned “dozen" implies that every regeneration adds another pair, bumping the rest further down. A Time Lord on their last regeneration probably has eyes down to their collarbones!

Hold on, his arm shouldn't be bending that far. Counts the fingers on each hand- six. Wait, that’s not right.

I originally planned a bit where the Doctor held up all his fingers when checking that Peri was OK, only for her to count more than ten of them, but it didn't really work logistically (moved the Doctor checking Peri from the hallway to her room) or tonally (not the right place for humor.)

aquamarine nodules

I solemnly vow to never refer to the Fifth Doctor's eyes as "aquamarine nodules" ever again.

Hey, at least I didn’t call them "orbs"

“Um, Zee- Zed, sorry, Y, X, W, U, no, I mean V, then U, T, S, Q- is it Q?”

[...]

“Um, I was a kid playing in the backyard and a ladybug landed on my hand,” she manages to spit out, “And my mom told me about how they’re helpful because they eat other bugs.”

The Doctor sticks out an index finger, pointing up. “Follow my finger with your eyes and tell me more about ladybirds.”

“Lady- oh, right.

Emphasizing the emotional distance between two characters by highlighting their linguistic differences.

She couldn't quite make out what it was he was expecting her to say, so instead she looks a bit higher, at the strangely familiar blue… things… on his face.

Can you tell that I REALLY didn't want to call them orbs?

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, Peri," he responds, and she expects him to leave it at that but he continues, "Wanderlust is a powerful thing, not to mention its cousin, curiosity. I can only speak from my own experiences, but I find the more painful parts of the universe to spur me further onwards. Both to find the brighter spots, and to help where I can."

[...]

"In all my experience with your kind, Peri, I've found that no one is ever 'just' something. You're much, much more than that, Perpugilliam Brown."

Writing TV!Sixth Doctor is hard. Really hard. It’s hard to pull something consistent out of a character that was being actively sabotaged by the writers. So if it seems like EU!Sixth Doctor just shows up out of nowhere once we switch to Peri’s last POV section: sorry! I tried my best to communicate how unsure the Doctor is of where he takes this conversation. He’s more or less defaulting to mirroring what Peri throws at him… right when she takes a leap of faith and opens up to him. This is, more or less, supposed to be the moment in Sixie’s life where he realizes the value of not being so damn prickly all the time. He comes out of this story kind, if not quite wise to human nature yet. He’ll get there!

He pauses, and reaches up to feel his face. Back to normal. 

An idea occurred to me to imply that some remnant of the Fifth Doctor kept the eyes out in a really weird self-wingman tactic, but I don't like the implication that the past incarnations are separate consciousnesses, so I didn't go through with it

It's at that moment the Doctor realizes that Peri is, for all intents and purposes, more accepting of his being a polydimensional monstrosity with vestigial bits of his own corpses repurposed as sensory organs, than she is of his fashion sense.

“Monstrous” being the word that the Doctor mouthed earlier to complete Peri’s sentence. The biggest difference between this fic and the aforementioned Holding Tank is that the Sixth Doctor lacks the self-hatred the Doctor has regarding his Nyarlyness in that fic (and that the Fifth Doctor is implied to have in this one.) That’s TV!Six’s pride coming in to play. But as we see after Peri sees him, he’s got some frustrations with the fact that his full existence is inherently dangerous to other species. At some point during his conversation with Peri, it does occur to him that she very easily could have left the TARDIS over this, hence his final words to her before bidding her goodnight.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, my goals for this fic were: 1. Believably write the Doctor and Peri coming to an understanding after Season 22 that doesn’t just full-on retcon the shitty writing (yes, a lot of their interactions that season are just poorly written.) and 2. Write a long Dr Nyarlathotep fic that doesn’t resort to just making the Sixth Doctor an eldritch cat AND doesn’t use the word “tentacle” at any point, because that’s not what I’m about. I personally think I met both those goals, so I’m quite proud! Hopefully it produced a fun read. And thank you for reading this full-on author commentary!