#he can swear in my comics its ok

[lacm-ac]

Tyr and Týr are in the same room and have to convince Freya that the other one is Odin and HE'S the real Týr.

Odin got got.

[dissonance-in-a-major]

shiggy fluff cause he deserves all the love // inspired by @aslutforfictionalmen's post (here's my interpretation, i also spotaneously wrote this @3 am so his quirk may have been erased not his trauma tho)

‘’There is no reason to be wearing that’’ you laugh as you look at him.

Tenko in a suit has to be the funniest thing you’ve ever seen. ‘’It's just a drive-in movie theater’’ you tease as he scoffs.

‘’Yeah well I can’t win, can I? Tracksuits are too casual, I remind you of a busker, remember? And what’s wrong with that by the way, you wish you had their talent–’’

‘’Enough, we’re running late’’ you cut him off but can’t hide your smile when he’s all annoyed lecturing you in a fucking suit.

The movie chosen was cliché, borderline comical especially when you’re accompanied by a tall man with questionable appearance. How you even convinced him to join you is beyond comprehension, most likely because you promised him to play Nintendo Switch, his latest obsession. You’d play with him regardless, a man with a childhood lost, robbed from things you experienced firsthand at a younger age but Tenko couldn’t really see it. You on the other hand recognized it, and through small acts (annoying as such because for some inexplicable reason he always lost to you) you showed him everything he’d missed.

‘’I wrote you 365 letters. I wrote you everyday for a year!’’

Ryan Gosling says as you feel a hand squeeze yours tightly, shoulders touching as the night sky glows above the projector. You turn to look at him confused, The Notebook was one of those films you’d seen a million times, failing to evoke powerful emotions after some time but it was still a very satisfying rewatch. Tenko turns his head.

‘’What’s wrong?’’ you say, anxious he might be having another panic attack. You knew how to calm him down but never the extent of it and that scared you.

‘’It’s nothing’’ he whispers, his voice is composed, you note, good.

‘’Yes... it wasn't over, it still isn't over..’’ Gosling continues.

‘’Can you believe he wrote to her all this time? This is so fucking cruel!’’ he almost shouts, as a couple of heads turn to look at him annoyed.

‘’Oh my god, are you crying over the movie right now?’’ you want to burst out laughing but the stares warn you otherwise, both your tones too loud. You can’t believe what a sucker for romance he is, he always acts all tough but ends up being hungry for love anywhere he can find it. You kind of get it, it also kind of breaks your heart.

‘’I’m so posting this’’ you tease as he wipes his eyes clean with a tissue he had in his pocket.

‘’I swear to god if you don’t shut the fuck up’’ his voice is shaky but his eyes are glued to the scene, anxious for what’s coming next. Will they make up? Maybe even make out, have sex? Poor him, he’s unprepared for the bittersweet end.

-

The drive back home is silent, you take it he’s still thinking about the film, contemplating its ending, unsure whether he likes it or not.

‘’Sooo.. did you like it?’’ you ask.

‘’It was ok’’ he feigns indifference and you don’t continue. You allow him to ponder before speaking up, he almost always adds something on his own.

‘’I just think it’s funny she married the other guy, you know.’’ he says.

‘’What was she supposed to do? She didn’t know about the letters, remember?’’

‘’Still, if she really loved him, she should’ve waited, should’ve been alone, grieved on her own. How could she do this?’’ he asks as you sigh.

‘’It’s just a film and people make mistakes. You never know until you tell them.’’ you reply but this time he doesn’t continue.

-

‘’So what do you want to do?’’ you ask once you’ve arrived home, it’s already past midnight but both of you are too lively for sleep.

‘’You promised Nintendo’’ he reminds you and you sigh. Not your favorite part of the day but you silently take a seat next to him on the couch.

3 rounds of Mario Kart racing on the Nintendo Switch and Tenko is losing consecutively as he whines frustrated: ‘’Enough!’’

‘’I just don’t understand why you’re always losing’’ you tell him, as far as you know he was unlocking the game levels with ease on his own.

‘’I don’t know, shit, you ask way too many questions today’’ he complains, ‘’I’ll go change, this suit is itching the fuck out of me’’ he continues as you get up.

He finds you scrolling on your phone, a towel wrapped around him, droplets falling from his hair, which he must’ve aggressively ruffled (in failed efforts to dry) as he literally drops his body onto yours, scaring you and making you drop your phone.

‘’Tenko, fuck agh!’’ you groaned, ‘’my phone!’’

He was so annoying and on top of that soaking your shirt too.

‘’I’m sorry’’ he smiled, he wasn’t really sorry, he missed you, he thought. Even though you were together the whole day, he still missed you. So much. He couldn’t get enough of you, any moment shared only made him more anxious for your next departure, he wished he could somehow glue you to his skin forever.

You playfully slapped his arm and he retaliated, pinching your nose as you pouted.

‘’Don’t pout’’ he warned, ‘’I'll bite you.’’ he said but you didn’t listen. He brought his mouth to yours as his teeth sunk on your lower lip, pulling at it and letting it out softly.

‘’Ouch, you douche!’’ you faked pain but he knew he didn’t actually hurt you, he could never.

There was a moment where neither of you did anything, must’ve been less than a minute, before he leaned closer, mouths in close proximity as he noticed your eyes shut.

I want to kiss her, he thought and he did. Soft lips brought to yours, as you immediately kissed him back, cupping his wet neck and bringing his face even closer, deepening the kiss. His arms quivered, threatening to make him lose his balance and fall on top of you, he lost himself every time you kissed him.

His hand slid down your waist, positioning you higher on the couch as your hungry mouth searched for his again, needy breaths escaped your lips, a sight that made him feel the all too familiar pain in his groin, a towel was still draped around him and you were still in your outside clothes.

A peak across the room showed him the window curtains open.

‘’Give me a minute, baby’’ he said as he got up to close them, returning to you with his arms stretched out, ready to move this somewhere more comfortable.

–

He was awakened by an asleep arm, your weight had fallen on it and he felt numb.

He gently tried to remove it but you moved around and whispered in a raspy voice, god, how much he loved that voice.

‘’What is it?’’ your tone sounded anxious, were you afraid something was going to happen to him? Could it be that you cared that much?

Without a word he shushed you.

‘’It’s all right, go back to sleep’’ he said moments later, a pain in his chest since he couldn’t tell you that actually yes, there was something on his mind.

‘’You know you have to tell people how you feel, remember?’ you spoke so wisely even after an interrupted slumber and he couldn't help but smile.

‘’I know baby, goodnight’’ he said as you sighed and turned around.

For Tenko could not tell you that nothing compared to this, nothing like doing nothing with you and to admit this to himself was a big liability. He would tell you eventually, maybe he’d write it down, he found it easier but on that day, he chose to wrap his arms around you again, risking numbness, than to speak the words.

[saphushia]

do you have any fic recs for dp/dc? ive been interested in reading good ones but its kinda hard to shuffle thru them all.

oh fuck yeah you know i do. i'm just gonna make a list of good ones until i get bored or tired lets see how long this gets lmao

also personal preference wise i'm not big on the danny-gets-adopted fics so u gotta ask someone else if u want recs of those ones lmao

⭐= my absolute favorites all fics are gen unless a ship is listed make sure u check fic tags for CWs b4 reading 👍

=ONESHOTS=

⭐It all Started at a Convention tim meets danny at a tech convention and they have a surprisingly nice afternoon together. and then tim comes to a realization about some things danny said...

A Monsterous Kind of Love [tim/danny] tim's a vampire. danny's a full ghost. tim gets to kill a few hunters in a frenzied rage to keep danny safe. as a treat <3

You've Got My Heart (I've Got Your Soul) [tim/tucker] congrats tim! you met your soulmate! why's he trying to kill you. hm. maybe you fucked up, buddy

Of loss, longing and long duration. [danny/bruce] of danny falling in love with bruce, breaking up with bruce, and proceeding to still be adored by all bruce's kids, past and present.

You Are a Monster (But So Am I) [danny/duke] duke's not a monster fucker- he's not! he swears! it's just this one, specific, really pretty eldritch snow monster-

If I had a nickel for every billionaire that tried to kidnap me, I’d have two nickels- which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice bruce is very tired. it's not his fault he accidentally kidnapped some teenager. aka danny's very bad wierd and stressful afternoon.

=ONGOING=

If You Give a Bat a Burger danny's just trying to lay low while keeping gotham's spirit infestation under control- of course nothing ever is simple for him. meanwhile, the bats all have their hands full with what seem to be unconnected cases, but nothing's ever simple for them either.

Rooftop Express [danny/jason] danny is bored and starts his own version of doordash in gotham. red hood keeps putting in orders so he can see the cute delivery boy <3 what do you mean he's a halfa

⭐Bus to Nowhere danny's adventures being a homeless teen in gotham on the run from his parents and the GIW. he's called dumpster tommy now, and he can't seem to stop befriending criminal and attracting vigilantes desperate to help him

An Interesting Family Tree [danny/tim] danny left the league of assassins years ago, but he can't seem to keep his nose out of it when he finds out red robin's being targeted by them. (canon divergence of tim's search for bruce in the red robin comics, where danny joins him. don't need to read the comic to read the fic)

⭐Grave Promises after an identity reveal gone wrong, danny has no one to turn to. no one, except, maybe, the hero who got stuck in the ghost zone years ago, who became danny's friend, danny's mentor, before they finally got him returned to his timeline. nightwing.

Our Empty Graves [jason/danny] danny, mute, injured, and on the run, is saved from a tight spot by red hood. he quickly becomes jason's problem, and jason makes the mistake of becoming endeared to this snarky shit.

Night Circus [dick/danny] dick hits it off with danny, a circus performer who just came to gotham. dick's thrilled- aside from the fact that circus gothica seems to be connected to the string of robberies that's suddenly hit gotham, and the bizarre thief dressed like the grim reaper...

Secretary Danny danny accidentally gets himself hired as the personal secretary of tim drake, wayne industries CEO. he's surprisingly ok with this, actually. and he's scarily good at it.

ok it's late i need to go eepies now have funnnn <3

[insertdisc5]

The tumblr q&a is over, but I was curious! I love all the different phrases the characters in isat/sasasa:p use--If it's something you can say, where did inspiration for "gems alive" and other phrases come from?

THANK YOU FOR ASKING BECAUSE I GET TO TALK ABOUT WORLDBUILDING AND SWEAR WORDS AND BRANDON SANDERSON

long post ahead

ok so when I was figuring out the world, I found this lecture on worldbuilding by Brandon Sanderson (go watch it, and also go read his books), and (im gonna paraphrase heavily here) one thing he mentioned is that, to make a memorable world, one thing you can do is pick a couple areas of culture, and go real deep with it. So like, pick fashion, and architecture, and interior design, and develop those a bunch, and bam! you convinced people you have a whole dang world, even though you only developed 3 areas of this world. hollow iceberg everyone thinks is a real iceberg.

he also mentioned the idea of like... getting weird with it? and develop based on a weird detail? for example, in his book The Stormlight Archives, one detail is that women have to hide their left hand at all times. ok, so what does that mean, whats taboo about a left hand? is the left hand shameful, or lewd somehow, the same way ankles were for us? what about fashion, what does women's fashion look like? and how do you live your every day life, knowing you can't show this hand, can you carry things the same way? etc

SO, for me, one of the Big Worldbuilding pillars i picked was, uh, swear words lol. or language and common expressions, more generally. i went on a whole journey where i was like... ok swear words in a LOT of languages (including french and english, both languages i speak fluently) are either sexual, or about gross bodily discharges. you know what words i mean!!!!!

and, well, i also didnt want the game to be full of those words, mostly because i think its a tightrope to use those words without seeming cringe, and also because i have a Core Memory of showing a comic to a colleague and she said "well i wouldve liked to show it to my kids, but you said fuck 12 times in there" and i didnt show my face to her for a week. family friendly family friendly family friendly

so what swear words should my characters use, that arent the same ones we use? and could those swear words actually tell us something about the world they live in? could i actually use those swear words... to show the characters come from different cultures???

and what COULD swear words be like, if theyre not about sex or body stuff? well irl they're usually about religions or belief. "oh god", "goddamnit", etc. as a sidenote, stuff like "oh my god" or "geez" arent used, because jesus christ is not canon to the ISAT universe. alright

i decided very early on i wouldnt have those in the game either, but i COULD have them be about the religions specific to this world. and for insults, i could have them be about stuff those beliefs would see as lesser.

anyway instead of talking about "gems alive" lets talk about "crab"

isabeau+mirabelle+bonnie use "crab" as a swear word because they follow a religion all around change, bettering yourself, evolving, and, the crab meme,

for those who dont get the joke, its about carcinisation, and about how a bunch of non-crab-like forms somehow evolved to a crab-like form. which would be horrible, for a religion all based around change!!! you mean we change and evolve, but theres a chance we might all become crabs??? CRAB!!!!!!!

anyway having "crab" kinda reads as 1. swear word 2. thats funny and weird (sets the tone) 3. tells you they know what crabs are (world not that different from ours, AND means they live close-ish to the coast, aka not land locked) and 4. crabs are somehow hated/feared, even if as the player you dont get why, it shows this country has its own culture (even if you dont get the crabs joke, which uuuh apparently doesnt work as well in countries that dont have this specific meme. WHATEVER!!!!)

(a few people came to me saying "heh, i get it, because crab and crap are very similar words" and um actually i did not think about that. crab is just a funny word on its own, and also i am a comedy genius without even trying)

anyway tldr: swear words as a worldbuilding tool. soon in theaters

[decepti-thots]

Wayyy back in 2021, a good two years ago now, I wrote a post on a bad brain day that was less actual meta and more just me rambling that was me trying to unpick a specific thing I have a problem with in Dying of the Light as a kind of springboard into my bigger thematic issue with the arc. And I've always wanted to go back and redo it but never gotten around to it. But now I have! That's what this post is! You see what I am doing here.

Right, so. Hear me out here. The crux of it is that I think the turning point of DotL works a lot better in a scenario where Rodimus saves Megatron against his will. (This is a lie, the first thousand words of this are actually just about Rodimus and Megatron's narrative roles, but I swear I will get to the DotL bit.)

Let's back up a bit. One of the things that gets pointed out about the back half of MTMTE a lot is that Rodimus' arc quickly loses a lot of focus, and that this is jarring in a comic that had previously used him for a lot of its forward momentum narratively speaking. Rodimus didn't just get a lot of focus in early MTMTE in the sense of character spotlight, but also in how the same things that drove his "personal" arc drove the wider conflicts in the comic and pushed its overall story forward. That is to say: when Rodimus fucks something up for himself, or fixes something for himself, it has broader impact on the surrounding narrative. Rodimus' low point when the mess with Overlord comes out is also the comic's low point when a bunch of people have died and things reach a nadir. And when Rodimus resolves to change things after Remain in Light, it feels like a similar moment for the entire cast and story as a whole, this sense of "OK, now we're back on an upswing post-finale".

Megatron's introduction to the story massively reduces the degree of symbiosis like that between Rodimus and the story as a whole. Rodimus stops feeling like an ostensible protagonist among the ensemble even when he still gets pretty decent page time. I think the reason why is that a lot of the connections that were previously being drawn between his arc and the overall story progression shift to instead draw those links between Megatron and the direction of the story. Which causes a few issues, but in my opinion the biggest one is: Rodimus' entire character is designed to be a character who works like that. His arc is about understanding that his fuck ups have wide ranging consequences and how to be a leader that does not hide serial killers in the basement that ruin everyone's day. (He's very relatable, isn't he.) If you meaningfully reduce the degree to which his arc drives the broader conflicts of the plot, you can't really... do much with him. Because now, a ton of the page time when things go tits up in a big way gets handed over to Megatron for reasons of pursuing his arc, which also requires he face Big Consequences head on. And page time is scarce! But without Rodimus being the character whose investment in those big stakes is the focus, you don't have those opportunities to drive his character arc forward anymore, and frankly he was way too central for that to ever be anything but awkwardly noticeable as a dangling thread.

And I was scratching my head about why all this was such an issue when this is a comic that can pride itself on narrative efficiency above all else. Listen, MTMTE is really good at having almost everything pull double duty. The first issue is a masterclass in this on its own; every scene is using character dynamics to introduce multiple characters and often multiple relationships at once, foreshadowing is used to drop character notes, interpersonal dynamics are used to lay groundwork for bigger stories that will be told down the line. So the obvious answer to this issue is surely just that you need to incorporate the new character you're finding room for in your story into one of those dynamics.

Which I do think winds up being the issue. The comic never really manages to find a 'hook' for that Megatron-Rodimus dynamic that allows them to both occupy the same narrative space, as it were, where more than one or the other character they and their dynamic are driving the story together. So we wind up with this effect of Rodimus fading into the background of it. The problem seems to me to be that their arcs don't wind up with enough overlap for them to both occupy these story beats together without one of them- overwhelmingly Rodimus- seeming superfluous. The thing is, the arc set out for Megatron can't really be about his interpersonal issues with Rodimus. The scope is too big. You're never going to be able to turn them bickering due to a personality clash into fodder to drive the actual themes of it. Not in a way that feels actually relevant to what's at stake there.

Which means that to make them foils that can function as a tighter and more cohesive narrative unit, so that both of them can take equal billing in the "this is us moving the overarching plot forward" moments, I think the conflict between them needs to be operating on a thematic level. Because in MTMTE, it's... not? Seriously. It feels like it is, because it resembles what that setup looks like in other stories where characters are these ideological foils. But in what way is Rodimus, in MTMTE, a foil to the themes and aims of Megatron's arc? He's, errr. Not someone who has been an evil warlord? He's an Autobot who has... always been an Autobot? His arc just isn't obviously complementary because it's not an arc about redemption, or even really morality at all. (Note that characters don't really talk about Rodimus' fuck up with Overlord as a moral failing, but as a personal one. The moral framework doesn't tend to come into it with Rodimus, because that's not what the story is really interested in exploring with him.)

Which makes sense, because Rodimus' arc wasn't conceived to be a counterpart of Megatron's. And Megatron's wasn't designed around Rodimus. They are two lead characters whose arcs need them to be in very different stories for things to go in a direction that will bring out the beats of their respective arcs. And Megatron's got catchup to do in series two, so Megatron wins out.

But I don't think it actually has to be like that, because there is a way I think you can take the arcs as they're shown to us and intertwine them much more, which is where I can finally circle back around to the question of Dying of the Light.

At that point in the comic, I think you can say that the one really obvious parallel between the two that can be drawn is that (on admittedly different scales) they have both struggled to work out what accountability is supposed to look like. You have Rodimus who has been through the Overlord debacle and then Remain in Light, and you have Megatron who in DotL has the whole thing where he is confronted with just how many people he's killed. Rodimus in RiL especially has a whole thing where he dismisses the idea of dying heroically to make up for his mistakes getting people killed because it's cheap, and this is a defining character moment for him. It frames everything he does going forward and answers the question of "is Rodimus capable of taking actual responsibility", which sets us up for the vote and all that stuff. Rodimus is asked to risk dying to fix things and correctly identifies this as an easy way out and says "no, I'll do one better than that", and the remaining arc we get for him before Megatron's introduction is him dealing with fallout.

Dying of the Light has the scene for Megatron with the spark flowers, and while that scene does not tend to land for me overall, I can acknowledge that it has a really specific purpose: it's the point that Megatron's later attempt to just die with Tarn is calling back to. It explains his change in behaviour. What we've seen of Megatron up to that point suggests him as someone who is trying to make amends in the sense of balancing the scales- yes, he's done bad things, but now he's doing good things, and eventually this will even things out. The flower scene is there because it provides a visual metaphor for the sheer scope of what Megatron did, and importantly it provides that perspective to Megatron. It makes the point that doing this is clearly not possible given what, exactly, Megatron is making amends for. You can't just community service your way out of that graveyard, essentially.

So this allows us to look at Megatron trying to die alongside Tarn in DotL through the lens of him basically being like "there's no way for me to actually fix this, so all I can do is die for it". And this is where we run into the change that I think would allow this to be a point where Rodimus and Megatron's arcs could be tied together by a larger overarching theme: Rodimus thinks that's bullshit. Specifically, he thinks it's cheating. We know he does, because it's what he rejected in Remain in Light.

Rather than frame Rodimus as reaching for Megatron because of his personal investment in him as someone he's now come to care about, and Megatron accepting as a gesture towards accepting that friendship, I'd offer an alternative. Megatron does not accept and Rodimus hauls his ass out of there unwillingly. Not (just) because of their developing relationship, but because Rodimus is articulating an ideological disagreement with Megatron's conclusion; he thinks that Megatron accepting he has to die because there's no point trying to do anything about it is a cheat. Cowards' way out and all that.

This reintroduces Rodimus into the parts of the comic that are now mostly being progressed through Megatron's arc because now all of that is Rodimus' fault. He's the one who decided to save Megatron when he didn't have to, and any further consequences aren't just the consequences of Megatron trying to deal with what he's done and how it continues to impact everyone; they're also the result of Rodimus' decision to save him when he didn't have to. It also means that there's now a clear thematic concept being explored in the space between these two characters and how they differ. What does accountability look like? What does punishment look like? What investment do these characters have in those concepts? These are now disagreements that can not only fuel the panel-to-panel petty conflicts between these two characters, but their actual arcs. You can draw much stronger parallels between them than just 'this one's hotheaded and rash, and this one's not, and they are Bickering', which can drive individual character interactions but not the actual wider ideas the comic wants to engage with.

It opens up a lot of narrative space for these two characters to align their personal arcs in a way that engages what is at this point driving the overall plot forward, and it therefore allows them to both occupy that walking-inciting-incident position as opposed to just being like. Well I Guess Megatron Is The Protagonist Now. Their relationship becomes a central argument about what the comic is about that they can embody and express together, and conflict over whether the right choice was made can push them through the upcoming story beats.

Overall, MTMTE has an issue where it wants Megatron and Rodimus to be foils but can't actually find a place where they are outside the surface level. But they are both characters whose arcs are about being gigantic fuck ups and living with it, so the material like... exists! The text is there if you massage it right! And that's why I think they should have been even more dysfunctional. Megatron would be sooo mad Rodimus ruined his big death scene, and if nothing else, can we all please agree that would have been really funny.

[yanyanderes]

Yep! He is 5 feet flat and I've also read somewhere that he's the heaviest, even outweighing 12 Donnie (because height still adds up in case someone decides to say "but he's thin"). I'm not surprised by this considering Raph here is "pure muscle from head to toe" according to Splinter. I wonder if maybe y/n tries to use cockroaches to get him away? Actually, that'd probably be a bad idea. If I remember correctly, he temporarily sucked up his fear to save Mikey from the roach terminator earlier in the show. He'd likely do the same here but crazed. But still! LOOOL imagine the scenario of y/n being so desperate, they stay by a dumpster full of roaches and Raph is just standing there with Sais in hands roaring, "Get over here! NOW!"

Y/n might even have the confidence and start teasing him for being a little ball of testosterone but yet, terrified of these small creatures and he ends up snatching you away and then beating your ass until you black out

ok i know this probably wasn’t what you were looking for, but i think this idea is just so funny. might post some art of it later

“please don’t look here please don’t look here please don’t look here”

that’s all (y/n) can think as they curl into a ball, their dumpster the only thing hiding them from the raging mutant looking for them. the stench of rotten food and other waste they don’t want to even think about attacks their nose, yet they keep reminding themselves “better in here alone than out there with him”

“(Y/N)!”

even through the metal walls of their safe haven, raph’s voice booms, his footsteps just as furious. (y/n) covers their mouth, suppressing a whimper hearing the sound of metal shifting. no doubt, he was checking the other dumpsters and would reach this one soon. all they can do is squeeze their eyes closed and pray he gives up.

but their prayers go unanswered when the dark dumpster is suddenly illuminated by the moonlight.

“what’re you doing in there?! get out here right now-!”

they can feel raph reach his hand out to grab them and yank them out into the alleyway, yet his hand never makes contact with them. instead, he lets out a high-pitched scream, and they hear him fall to the ground. did someone come to save them? peaking through their fingers, they look up to see who their savior is…

a cockroach.

a small cockroach, poking its head up to gaze down at the retreating mutant, who had backed into a wall and was now staring in fear.

is- is raph messing with them?

is the mutant who would beat anyone who so much as looked at them weirdly to a pulp,

the beast who had kept them locked up in the sewers for weeks,

now on the verge of a heart attack? because of a roach?

and honestly, (y/n) can’t help but laugh. they know they shouldn’t. after all, their captor was still standing several feet in front of them, but come on! it’s been so long since they’ve seen a scene so comical!

“what are you laughing at?! when i get my hands on you, i’ll-“

raph starts putting his brave face on again, but it quickly vanished when the cockroach climbs into (y/n)’s hand and they hold it out, practically sticking it in his face. he’s left screaming yet again, (y/n) swears he nearly jumped out of his shell.

“oh? what were you saying? sorry, i was a bit preoccupied with my new buddy~”

they keep their hand outstretched, and this moment goes on for a while, with (y/n) taunting raph while he cowers. every time he tries to threaten them, all they have to do is hold their new friend out, and raph is back to practically hiding in his shell. to (y/n), it feels oddly satisfying to see their roles reversed.

until the “new friend” gets bored and flies away.

the roach flies away and leaves (y/n) alone, peaking out of the dumpster with their empty palm outstretched to a very humiliated, very angry raph.

“that little traitor.”

[miniimoose]

I tried my hand at writing something for my Irken OC, Min. (it's only 1k words, so it's a short read)

I wanted to work out a scenario for her without having to draw out a whole comic. Hope you enjoy!

Feedback/Thoughts would be appreciated, and the bulk of the writing is under the read-more.

~~~~~~~~

On the way to Scout her next assigned sector of space, a galaxy or two over, Mins downtime was suddenly interrupted by the loud alert of an Irken Pak's automatic Emergency Signal. She quickly straightened up, accepting the responsibility of responding and opened the informational window on her console.

Hm. She may be the closest Irken to the signal, but that doesn't mean it would be a quick trip to get over to them. She was already 2 days out from her next Scouting sector, and going out to this injured Irken would triple that travel time.

Min didn't have a choice either way, and would just have to deal with the annoyance. On the upside, she was looking forward to hands on experience with the internals of a Pak again. The simulations get a bit repetitive, and she knew her own Pak inside and out.

~

"Let me get this straight. A creature, native to this planet, got inside your pak and started messing with its internals?" Min asked, clarifying the rambling and nervous story that was just told to her over the past 15 minutes.

"Yes" the injured Irken in front of her replied, nodding his head. "That's exactly what happened."

"Squeeb's Pak hasn't functioned right since! The panels keep flashing red, and it's annoying" the remaining Irken, Floop, added in.

"And I have no energy. Can't even open my snack jar anymore!" Squeeb complained.

Min waited a beat for any more explanations, before finally trying to move things along. 

"OK. Well, I'll need to get a look inside to figure out how bad the damage is. Do you have somewhere with better light?"

She could swear Squeeb's cheeks got a shade bluer as she spoke.

"Yes, yes! Of course. Just. Um. F-Follow me" stuttered Squeeb, getting up and leading Min towards their elevator, taking the pair deeper into the base, leaving Floop behind.

Was he giving her the Stink eye? 

The elevator ride was a little awkward. Squeeb anxiously rubbing his arm as they descended. Maybe he was worried Min was going to break something and make things worse? 

Before she could say anything to reassure her patient, they arrived to the right floor. 

The two stepped out into a standard Irken medbay, Squeeb shuffling over and sitting on the swivel chair in the middle of the room. He did look a little more gaunt under the brighter lights. 

Perhaps the Pak wasn't processing sugars correctly? 

Only one way to find out. 

"Hopefully this won't take long" Min reassured her patient, pulling up her own chair and adjusting the heights for optimal positioning. 

Squeeb was tense, but he stiffened up even more as Min reached forward and opened up the panels of his Pak to get a look inside, letting out a nervous squeek.

"You don't have to worry, I know what I'm doing" Min told him, adjusting the magnification of her goggles and reaching into the Pak.

"I trained for a few years before my Assignment was changed to Scout, you know. I even worked under Spor--" 

She cut herself off, too confused to continue her humble brag. 

"You said a creature did this to you?" 

"Yes, a creature. Why? Is something wrong? Is it bad? Oh God, it's bad isn't it?" her patient stressed. 

"If a creature caused this" Min started, as she pulled something out of the confines of his Pak, "then how did a glove get back here?"

"He left his GLOVE in my PAK?" Squeeb exclaimed, shifting around in his chair and snatching it from Mins grasp. "How-- How stupid can he be!? How do you leave your GLOVE?!"

The quick shift had rotated her patient around fully, stopping Min from further access to her work.

He seemed to have forgotten she was in the room as he spoke to himself. That was, until Min wheeled closer, reaching to turn his chair back around. The moment he snapped back to reality, his face went bright blue. No question he was fully blushing now. 

Squeeb clammed up again, quickly spinning back into position and hiding his embarrisment in one motion. "I-- I don't know how that got back there."

An obvious lie, but Min didn't want to challenge that right now. 

"I just need to check the damage" she told him carefully, going back to poking around the complex machinary. "and look for anything else... Out of place."

...

...

"It's Floops glove, ok?" the anxious irken explained, breaking the silence and shifting in his chair.

"He- He was being gentle, and didn't mean to break anything. I know messing with Pak's without any training is outlawed by the Control Brains but-"

Min had to remove her hands and stop what she was doing, lest she knock into something important as the chatty irken started talking with his hands.

"We're so far from Irk! We thought it would be fine, and if we were careful enough, nothing would go wrong! But nooo, of course it's not that easy. It started BEEPING and scared us both. Floop must have jolted and broken something in there." Squeeb continued, gripping and twisting the lone glove in his hand. 

Min couldn't get a word in edgewise, even if she wanted to -- which she did. She wanted nothing more than to fix this guys Pak and flex her technician muscles. But it was impossible with the paks owner so worked up. 

"And of course he swore it was fine, but I knew, I knew something must have happened. His glove probably got stuck between something and he just took it off instead of wiggling it fr--- AAAH!" 

The endless complaining was finally stopped by Min as she put both hands in his Pak and clicked the release, detaching it from the Irkens back. 

"What are you doing?" he gasped, his 10 minute life clock flashing across his vision. 

Min wordlessly wheeled her chair over to the closest wall, pulling down a thick pipe and plugging it into the open holes in Squeebs back. The life clock disappeared as quickly as it arrived. 

"You'll be fine, I just need to work on this in peace" Min told him dryly, getting up and carrying the pak carefully into the attached room. She probably needed to work on her bedside manner.

[krashoutluv]

What are your thoughts on Jason from Three Jokers?

particularly for me, his emotional dependence is so big just because he confused things with the Barbara

3 JOKERS SPOILERS !

tldr; i ramble a little abt how i hate modern Jason fucking Todd and highlight how much justice this comic did for him

and how modern writers are just trying to turn him into a batfam insert of deadpool

Yes! I dont think Jason had 100% feelings for Babs, like he said, he thought it could work. It definitely came from a moment of weakness/vulnerability, its often that Jason doesn’t get cared for too often, not in the way he needs. So when Babs let out a hand for him, it hit him HARD. Especially with just being traumatized by the last two jokers, I think its pretty obvious he doesn’t need someone to clean up/watch after him but like need someone to generally emotionally guide him.

my personal pet peeve with most modern Jason Todd canon ships is the laziness of it(b4 i get criticized i think ANY ship with ANY CHARACTERS can be good as long as the writings GOOD and makes SENSE) . GOD NO- i dont ship jason and babs, but they still put an odd amount of effort into it, to at the very least actually flesh out their characters.

Jason doesn’t need a character that fixes his mistakes when he’s overly impulsive, or babies him, or fixes his mistakes with a veil of ‘Your so dumb but i secretly care about you!‘ because then it leads to most of lazy writing where he does something stupid but his gf is here to fix it! so its ok! NO!! HES NOT LEARNING ANYTHING!! YOURE MAKING HIM LOOK STUPID AND MENTALLY BRAIN DEAD!! anyways sorry.

Jason needs someone to break him out of his cycle of impulsiveness and self-destruction, not have him indulge in it.Jason needs to go fucking soul-searching or something im so tired of his ass— REALISTICALLY I COULDN’T DATE COMIC!JASON IF HE DIDNT CHANGE,, HE WOULD FRUSTRATE ME RLLY BAD.

ahem. anyways. I think Jasons note shows a lot about his character and something that the modern writers ignore a lot. Jason CAN change, he just needs a reason, a solid reason to. He doesn’t have to put down his code, or the guns, he just needs someone solid to really make him think about himself. “All I need is one chance to you I can be better. And I will devote my life to making you proud. Happy. Loved.” WHERE IS THIS SWEETHEART RN?? I SWEAR EVERY OTHER WRITER IS MAKING HIM A EMO FUCK-BOY WHOS BRAIN MATTER GOT SUCKED OUT THROUGH HIS COCK?? ahem sorry.

I really love how much DC actually puts details into Jason in this comic. Ex. Jasons helmets abilities being highlighted, “Helmets registering multiple security doors opening across the facility.” OR him saying the chronic pain management book was helpful. SORRY— I REALLY ENJOY DETAILS LIKE THIS. It just makes Jasons technical skill and such more obvious then whats normally stated. Also Jason tracking sea water off a wrench to the Aquarium— where is this skill in more modern comics?? I swear they make Jason a braindead wannabe deadpool sometimes i swear to fucking god. Also him shooting the shark tank so it eats Gaggy— I DIE FOR DETAILS LIKE THIS.

They don’t even get rid of his humor in 3 jokers either, he still has a really well displayed personality and his banter with Batman is really bearable for once, it makes sense and its well written. I slightly dislike how hard Babs is being on Jason but i’m not 100% sure what Babs is like. I haven’t read comics centered around her, so I don’t mind it. Also dont mistake this for me disliking babs for rejecting Jay— thats not what i mean at all. Just her constantly saying how he’s a criminal and focusing on getting him in prison like he’s an opp was confusing 2 me..

anyways stop trying to turn red hood into the batfams deadpool challenge!!

inbox is open 2 yap or requests sum!!

[oars]

hiii I want to know more about appindex 👉👈

what is his relationship like with the other party members?

How easily does she trust other people?

If they are stressed or upset is there a thing/place/action that is comforting to him?

also anything else you want to share?

(I LOVE her design by the way, their appearance immediately caught my attention. Love your use of color too)

sorry this took me so long i swear when i saw this ask i started squealinf abd looking like this

gonna put it under a read more since um im gonna assume this will get really long lol

disclaimer im gonna straight spill my thoughts sorry if things stop making sense

i made a small comic just for the first question but tumblr doesnt like it for some reason and it prevents it from showing up unless you go directly to my blog :<

anyways i think overall appindex is like a mother of at least 6. companions come to them in the middle of the night like "i frew up :(" that typa thing

since family/clan n loyalty is very important to dragonborn and appindex just lost theirs before being abducted they are very quick to attach to these losers

i think while appin is not under the control of any god, lord, devil, etc they've created a personal hell of his own bc he tries to bear all responsibilities and burdens of those around him bc he's scared of failing and losing too much again. or all he has left really. that can make them kind of overbearing and it would be annoying if like the main companions didn't have issues and lowkey liked the attention.

what does get annoying is that it comes off as appindex not trusting their companions to do any heavy lifting but that improves in like act 2-3 especially since that's around the part the tav is expected to save baldurs gate. and the world like that's way too much weight for appin to carry on their own without breaking so atp they don't really have a choice but to let their companions share some of that albeit verrrry reluctantly

slightly more specific relations ---

shadowheart: shart is the first appin gets close to even if shes older i like to think she's like a little sister to appindex anyways <3 i should just show screenshots of the epilogue conversation bc it feels so fitting. probably one of the only companions to recognize appin's exhaustion and nag her

karlach: close in a years long tumblr mutual type intimacy way. "i'd let my mutuals come inside idc" type relationship. they occasionally sleep and cuddle naked. as good friends do. it's nice having someone they could rely on for literal heavy lifting and hitting bc in appin's eyes the rest of his companions are made of sticks and paper, save for lae'zel. girls who rip off heads with their bare hands and paint their nails in the blood :3

astarion: i do not know how to explain their relationship early on bc it fluctuates in my head. obviously irritated by how appin stops to help anyone and everyone especially since most of those people in act 1 are parents and children. appindex definitely laughs at his lame ass "seduction" bc it's pretty see through; it becomes less about seducing and just aiming making them laugh. appin probably said "im proud of you" at some point and it got to his head now he's vying for their attention and validation (get in line). my white hollow boned elf i'd probably give my organs to if he asked - appin

i think appindex is the more mature one, mentally and emotionally, especially since dragonborn develop and mature much earlier than elves do and i feel like dying young and being under cazador's control stunted astarions own maturity a bit. the result is appindex treating him like a child sometimes; not trusting him to do a number of things, scolding him,"dont treating me like a child" "dont act like one" etc etc. i think at some point he just does it and wears on appindex's extensive patience on purpose because he's a little freak like that :/. appin does not think its cute

ok no more of them next question

i think appindex is pretty trusting in a way. if they feel like they have no reason to feel threatened by someone they'll have their trust but that doesn't mean it can't be lost ofc. which is why they trust laezel and astarion so easily. why would they be scared of a tiny white elf who can't even get them to knife point (he failed that).

he does struggle to trust others to do things for them though, if he were ever to be out of commission or on the verge of it it would be like pulling teeth to try and get him to let someone else lead temporarily.

appin holds onto a piece of kednyr's old blanket bc it still smells like her :thumbs_up: karlach gives her a teddy bear with that piece attached to it as a gift. astarion may have helped but he will not confirm

extra notes ermm appin lived in the upper city, not a patriar or a servant, they just co-run an expensive smithy there.

as a passionate blacksmith (and someone who wants to become an artificer) appin is really intrigued by karlach's engine and wishes they could collaborate with dammon on how to fix it or make her a new one entirely

to add onto that he's extremely fascinated by the grymforge in the underdark its like a theme park to him. it is their nerdiest point in the storyline

they can stay underwater for a good period of time; an hour is their highest time

andd she has a prosthetic leg around age 40-45 sorry this got so long . this things in my head 24/7 rn i tried to omit some things to make it shorter but oh well

[katyspersonal]

your mutual friend group is terrifying and i love it

PFFFFTTTTtttTttTT I am glad to hear this, anon xD Honestly my random morbid cannibalism jokes is not even our final form, usually it goes more like:

nobody:

me, hyperexcited: GUYYYS GUYS I just realised something after playing BLORBOrne for 50th time, I am such a dumbass ahaha! Turns out that there is a very hard to see detail in the data of Boris (datamined by Russian hackers: ( x ))! The shade of his right eye is kinda white-ish which lines up with theme of losing eye color upon becoming a furry, so despite boasting about his grip he has been secretly reading furry pr0n comics more than he should have! (tagged: #blorborne #boris the cocksucker #blorborne observation #as usual I notice this kind of shit too late AAAAAAAAA #listen it is 5 AM don't @ me)

someone: Katy pls I don't even know who Boris IS 😭

me: What do you mean, he is an easy to miss summon in Horse-Plinked Village!!! By the way, there is a bunch of lore that can be concluded from his items that he never uses but they are in the game files, even though he doesn't have any dialogue!

someone: 😭😭😭

my friends FANDOMette, Wow and Chicken: *reblogging* (tagged: #this is sooooo interesting #really nice observation I never thought about that #I am NOT normal about this #blorborne #boris the cocksucker #nice to finally see more ideas about boris)

fareehaandtheitalians: Girl this is incredible I HAVE NO WORDS, I feel like I am gaining Insight points when I am reading your posts

Jara that reads like 'jara' and not like 'yara' lol: *reblogging* (tagged: #yeah nobody is really safe from corruption in this setting #just like in real life xd #no wonder that I like this game so much because it is just as hopeless as reality #xd #bloorborne)

Chicken: *reblogging from Jara that reads like 'jara'* *screenshot of the tags* GIRL ARE YOU OK 💀💀💀

me: *reblogging from Chicken* NO ONE WITH AT LEAST A BASIC AMOUNT OF BRAINCELLS CAN FEEL OK IT IS NO ONE'S FAULT THAT YOU THINK LIFE IS ANYTHING BUT FARM OF SUFFERING

me and Chicken: *start fighting in the reblogs with progressively ridiculous points about meaning of life and idiotic memes*

fareehaandtheitalians: *already started doodling a meme based on this, as if to immortalize it in a tapestry*

Boom: *reblogging the showdown at its final point when me and Chicken already obliterated one another into a bloody mess* (tagged: #ehehe #stay silly you two!)

other Elden Twink mutuals: *eat popcorn*

Comic: *reblogging* WHY CAN'T YOU TWO BE LEFT WITHOUT BEING WATCHED FOR EVEN ONE DAY?!

Jara that reads like 'jara': Lol I made everything become cursed again xd

Chicken: No, Jara (reads like 'jara'), it is not your fault! You see, none of this would have happened if SOMEONE finally admitted that they are simping for [insert a character that either has the worst haircut in the setting or is so generic-looking that it actually embarrasses me]

robertzombie: *reblogging* She WHAT? People in this fandom have the worst taste I swear

me: You see FRIEND, we will know who ACTUALLY has a bad "taste" when I try a meal out of certain "bird" if you see what I mean.....

Fandomette: KATY NO, DON'T EAT YOUR FRIENDS... You wanted to eat Mewmecolash or something stop 😭

me: WHY ABSOLUTELY EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS SO DEADSET ON OUTING MY SECRETS FOR RANDOM PEOPLE TO READ?????? (tagged: #lmao as if anyone is going to read us after shit like this)

Chicken: THIS IS REVENGE FOR YOU MOCKING MY SON SURPHERROTH MWAHAHAHAHA

me: I AM ENDING THIS POINTLESS FIGHT HERE BECAUSE UNLIKE YOU PUNKS I HAVE SOME REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO *spends the rest of the day napping or watching cursed Elden Twink challenges letsplays*

Wow: *messaging me in Discord* Dammit what was THAT hahaha

me: Thank you for NOT having my back as usual, well, at least you are good for finishing a dumb post with lol

[roughdaysandart]

Too giddy NOT to share my edit of the smut from ch 5!

I am so happy with how this revised script for the comic turned out but jesus christ i think i spent at least 5 hours editing it, but im so glad i could keep alot of the dialouge while adding a super meaninngful message/point in the sequence. I wouldnt consider it an entireley new piece of work though im not sure, because the original message of RD dialoge and such is still there so i hope it doesnt seem like im insertin goto much or somehow taking away from the story? Im trying my best with what I got people, theres only so much smut you can hide before it becomes an entireley new scene

original: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21651097/chapters/52366960

*Tb= thought/speech bobble note/conversion

*Nar Sq= make/convert to narrative square

I will link the original ch 5 (or its also on @no-droids page), but will only paste the part i heavily edited (basically the last part) for your reading pleasure! ok so without furthur adeu..

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

Rough Day by @no-droids: Abridged for Christian Roomates by Roughdaysandart

Chapter 5: Of metal and Men (or at least the last half of it)

“Excuse me,” you say after a second, trying your best to sound appalled.  You carefully remove the death gauntlets with your hands extended as far away from your face as possible, fingers spread and thumb held completely rigid in position.  “Are you actually laughing at the fact that I almost just died horrifically in front of you?”

“Stars, just—” he lifts his head back up to look at you, “—come ‘ere.  You’re worse than the kid is, I swear.”

You slowly stand up, and the boots are so big around your ankles that you don’t even have to kick them off, you can just leave them there in position on the floor as you lift your feet and begin walking over to him.  

TB: HA-you just got me on an off day, i've got battle wounds still healing everywhere.“I’ll have you know I am a fierce bounty hunter—”

“Terrifying,” he mutters, and you’re about halfway done untying his cape when you get close enough for him to reach out and snatch the bottom of it, swiftly yanking you down on top of him and removing the fabric from your throat at the same time.  He ignores your dramatic choking noise, catching your flailing body with barely a grunt.  “Craziest in the guild.  Your first kill was yourself.”

“Yeah, I—ack!” you giggle as he immediately flips you around, downright shocked at the ease with which he maneuvers you back to the ground and leans closer into your immediate view, “haha—I bring them in warm, or I bring them in–HWA–.”

“Stop,” you can (NAR SQ:) hear his smile through the helmet

He catches each of your wrists and moves them aside. You both stay like that for an unknown amount of time, but likely just a few seconds, something catching in the dim air.

“Know something?” Mando starts.

“Wait—” you try to wiggle upwards at noticing the fresher’s light still intruding on the hull.  It’s futile, of course, because (TB): probably your entire body weight is now on you with his ammo belt as it slings around your chest.  “Wait, h-hang on—the fresher’s still open.”

“So?”

“....So I can see you right now with the light, and I liked—”  .

NAR SQ: You want to say that you liked–no, just needed to hear and feel his voice in moments like this, like before, his real voice. Soft but rhythmic in its tone, not having nearly as much of its fullness conveyed against your ears by the modulator. And how much you craved it in that way. Likely, noone has heard his voice in decades, and so you feel connected, that much more intimate with him because of it.; even when you're not touching, the unfiltered words feel like an unseen extension of him that you want to have here, right now, as his face is so achingly close to yours. 

Is the reciprocal true, too? Is it just as exotic and healing, just as addicting for him? Taking off his helmet, his creed, not just for you, but for his own enjoyment too? Having that closeness….

…..only with you?

“…I-I liked—”

“Do you want me to take my helmet off?”  “Hm?  Or do you want to stay like this?”

It takes you a second to realize (TB:) he’s waiting for an answer.

“Uh—”  (TB:) Stars, what kind of harrowing, existentially crippling question is this? Is he serious? Of course you want it off, doesn't he too? But the entirety of your being refuses to move a muscle from here, risk leaving this fragile moment for anything at all, even with that desire for his voice.  “Uhhhh…”  You legitimately feel torn, blinking up at the visor and noticing the struggle blatantly written all over your reflection.  (TB:) Why in Maker’s name would he put this on you?

“I know you want it off” he admits quietly, and you flick your eyes to look at him slowly.  

“Yeah but, wait–” you start to get up, freeing a hand from his press to support the lift upwards “—let me turn off the light.  Please.” But his continued grip on your other wrist keeps it and you sitting on the ground.

“But I want to see you right now” he says, letting out a tsk in playful dissaproval, “and you still want it off, you trying to make me break my code?”

“Never. Just…..look at me when we go up later instead, and all the other times were out, j-just take your helmet off while we still can now. ” 

 “No, I want to see you now.  First.  We’re almost to Corellia, and I’m not risking my life on another hunt until I can remember every detail of you before I go for Maker knows how long again.”

“You decide that timeline,” you remind him, surprised at the ease in which his arm, still clasping your other wrist, gives in when you maneuver it with your free hand, just upwards between your chests. 

“No way you're seeing me any good with the ship's lights, even with all of them on. You’ll be able to see me best once we get there if that's what you want, and it’ll be faster too.” You firmly hold his forearm up as he continues to grip your other wrist, your sternness and posture completely contradicting your uncoordinated and awkward demeanor from before.

You're both hunched in facing each other with the position, each pair of legs triangled and shifting to adjust whenever your entwined arms and hands slightly move up or down. Like a game of arm-wrestling…only on the ground, in the dark, and with absolutely zero consideration for size-matching. 

“But I don't want it to be faster,” he counters, “I want to see you now and take you in before I’m gone. You don't like that?”

His arm goes to guide your wrist back down, but halts at the unexpected resistance you give and you stare into what you know are his eyes through the visor, him surely seeing yours clearly with the fresher light now dimly illuminating your face.

“You see me all the time. I don't get this except for a few hours a day, if even. So who needs what more, hmm?” 

NAR SQ: You know nonverbal communication gets things through to him easier. After all, words are not his forte, and he almost never speaks to others besides you and the kid. And though you're entirely out of your opponent's weight-class, you know you can go toe to toe with him in other ways, And you're determined to redeem yourself after how you embarrassed yourself with that fall earlier.

“I have to earn credits somehow, I can’t just—” he abruptly cuts himself off when you suddenly exert a force to the left, jerking both of your arms a little outwards, “—I… I-I can’t just stay on this ship with you f-forever and… and…” Mando spouts, sounding more dumbfounded after the unexpected change in direction, missing a second before adjusting his hold back to its original place between you both. 

NAR SQ: You know he is ridiculously strong, unimaginably stronger than you no doubt, and could just force your hand down in an instant, stop the discussion altogether no questions asked, but he doesn't. Your stark change in attitude seemingly distracts his mind enough for him to forget that fact. His arm just stays suspended and rigid, only twitching downwards whenever your strength manages to lift the entanglement of arms slightly.

“You can do whatever you want” you reason.  “Whenever you want. That was made clear before. All I’m asking is that right now, you let me have you to myself in the dark a little while longer.  Is that okay?”

You twist inward and clasp the unwavering forearm tighter, matching your mouth’s escalating boldness with increasing grip and force beyond your feat of already supporting the heavy weight of his arm in addition to his comparatively small resistance against yours. It’s not hard enough to hurt him (as if you could), just enough to slightly waiver the vertical direction he is struggling to remember to sustain, but also hard enough that your curled fingers and nails will likely leave some sort of mark on his exposed, only human skin, thick leather gloves and impenetrable Beskar no longer a factor.

Nobody will ever be able to see such marks, but somehow that makes it even funnier.  A secret only you and him know.  Next time he scares off a crowd of locals, he’ll be wearing your signet under his armor. It's a laughably small battle scar, nothing close to those from years of bloody victories littering his skin, but you figure it'll probably mean more to him than any of them ever would.

“Is that okay?”  You ask him once more, trying your best to sound sweet as the pressure in your forearm rises.  “Will you let me turn off the light, Mando?”

“ack—” he grits“—why are you—why do you always make everything s-so much better and worse for me?”

“Didn't you hire me to make it better for you and the kid?” you tell him.

“Not like this,” he remarks, tipping his head.  “Not—not everything, n-not all the time.”

 “Keep talking,” you half-giggle, grunted voice revealing the amount of effort you didn't realize you were exerting, and you adjust your neck and posture inward with the tension, hunching to still keep eye contact with the visor.  “I like hearing you talk, you don't do it enough.”

NAR SQ: Not nearly enough

A moment of silence follows,and (TB:) you wonder if he didn't hear that last bit at all. But on the chance that he is just as stunned as you are at your brazenness, you decided to press.

“You’re so tense, do you want me to stop?” you force with a grin, trying to ignore your now straining muscles.

“I want to see you bef–,” he grits in meager defiance.  “You—you can’t just talk nice and expect me t—”

You look up at him further, “Just let me turn off the light Mando, I'll be quick, I promise” you murmur, blinking up at him.  “Please?”

“T-That bad, h-huh?” 

“L-let me–ack–,"your muscles burn with searing pain,"p–phrase it l-like this,” but you're too invested to think about anything but just speaking. “I-I’d gouge my eyes out if it meant you'd take it off right now, even with the fresher light on.”

Mando’s helmet swings to the side and bobs, and you just know the look on his face must be more priceless than it already is. Immediately the intentional  tension in his arm gives as he stutters, “you–what the–w-what? WHAT?”

The sudden absence of resistance means that your force instantly lifts his arm along and your captive wrist, instantly relieving the bottled up pressure in your arms, as well as the pressure built and burst by your outrageous remark.

NAR SQ: And now you laugh at him. 

An explosive, stomach-curling laugh that is only amplified by your shortened breath and adrenaline, sometime managing to breath out that you cant believe that got him. Right there in his face, and eventually forcing you to roll on your back, only your grasp on his outstretched forearm grounding you to reality. A deep roar coming from your chest then moving higher in your throat as you gradually manage to compose yourself after what must have been at least 30 seconds. Though the hypoxia and subsequent giggles don't leave any time soon.

When you brush your hair from your eyesight, you can tell Mando’s arms are slumped over his bent legs. You can tell he's trying to look unamused at his defeat, despite the fact that neither of you can see each other well right now, but know that he's laughing too with the way you see the silhouette of his chest bounce as he studies your shameless victory-cry on the floor. 

“Keep doing that and you'll be emptying the fresher” he eventually warns, though his voice sounds nothing close to as serious and unamused as his shadowed posture would like to convey.

You inhale and strain to slow your breathing as you pull yourself back to sit and face him again, practically gasping for air. “Wait,wait,wai-” you inhale deeply, catching as much oxygen as you can this time, ”I’m sorry-ha-.” You then finally release his forearm, only now realizing you were the only one with any grip anymore. “That’s got to be the least threatening thing you’ve ever said to someone, I think.”

“Not able to scare you off, apparently.  Most people run from me.”

“Nope.  Told you I wouldn’t, remember?  Back on Cantonica.” you take a moment to scoot yourself closer, his neck bending to adjust to the change.  “I’m also the craziest bounty hunter in the guild, so.  Look.”  You lift up to show him.  “I even have an ammo belt, see?  It holds all of the bullets, for all of my guns that I have.”

His hand slowly comes up and you think he’s going to grab the band of leather across your chest to either take it off you or pull you forward with it, but then he just grabs the bend between your neck and shoulder to gently squeeze it instead.  

“...You’re beautiful.”

Your breath catches.  You blink twice at him, your heart suddenly thundering under his hold.

“When you're sleep deprived or delirious, when you're awake and way too clever like this, whenever you're just talking to me or the kid.”

His large hand around your bend gently pulls your torso up against his, the other coming to make its way over your other arm and resting on your upper back.  

NAR SQU: The world would have you believe he’s a monster, a lifeless droid or cold-blooded creature under all his drapes and metal exterior. But the warm body softly embracing you right now reinforces what you already know. He’s just a man. Alive, like you. His touch giving you life, just as much life as his unmodulated voice does, the only thing keeping you apart being just metal, which just so happens to perfectly fit the shape of your cheek.

“When I can see you or in complete darkness.  You’re beautiful.”

You stare at the fresher light past him as your head is cradled in the crook of his neck, any sense of thought going numb at the softest, warmest feeling you think you've ever felt deep in your chest.

NAR SQU: You think—for one ludicrous, insane second, you think that the enormous swelling in your chest literally transfers itself up to your brain and causes you to have an aneurysm right there. But nope—it’s just

The entire hull starting to violently shift and shake, swerving sideways and jerking upwards with rapid, unpredictable shifts in gravity.

You’re ungracefully thrown on, over and past, him towards the side of the hull like a ragdoll in the chaos, trying to find some sort of stable ground when you accidentally knee him in his side with the end of the turbulent shift.  Mando grunts and is thrown against you when the ship immediately veers the other way, the sudden impact of him squishing you against the hull wall crushing your lungs and making it impossible to breathe with the brutal changes in g-force.  Did he—did he leave the baby in the cockpit?

……He left the baby in the cockpit.

[enderthevulpix]

Recovery

(TW: Blood, death, alcohol, swearing, ALTRVerse spoilers)

If y'all ignore the warning, don't say I didn't warn you! Also there are minor ALTRVerse spoilers involving a single moment at the start of the comic (plus an area that's included) so unless you've read the comic, I recommend not reading this!

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

"Yeesh... as if that one crime scene wasn't enough. This is even worse," Marvin hissed out as he stepped foot into the bloodied hallway. There were corpses strewn about, all mauled and mangled in inhuman ways. One had its limbs twisted in a horrific fashion and its head twisted backwards, another with lacerations all over its body. Among the corpses, there was a survivor: a man, who was laying against a wall, looking at the floor. His brown hair was a mess under his cap, and he was heard shakily breathing. Next to him, a spilled whiskey bottle, the contents mixing with the blood of everyone around him. Marvin took a step forward, and he stopped once he saw the survivor tense up, rigid with fear. "Y'know, I can see you, you don't have to blend in with the bodies. Why the hell are you here, anyway?" Marvin asked as he took another step forward.

The survivor looked at Marvin, scrambling back as far as he could against a wall. The masked magician could see the survivor had bags under his bloodshot eyes, and Marvin decided to get to eye level with him. "Stay back! Don't you fucking touch me!" The survivor shouted, stressed as he tried to kick Marvin away, but the magician yelped out, "Hey, it's ok- don't panic! I'm not here to hurt you," as he side shuffled out of the way. "How the hell am I supposed to know that!?" The survivor had a wild look in his eyes as he looked at Marvin, not taking his eyes off of him. Marvin sighed, staying where he was. "Well?? Answer me! For the love of fuck, ANSWER ME," the survivor shouted at him, his fear and bewilderment changing to that of confusion as Marvin spoke: "Because I travelled here to see why one of IRIS' employees was found dead in the middle of buttfuck nowhere. Now, how about this. You tell me your name, and we'll get out of here. Sound like a deal?"

The survivor was silent for a moment, thinking out his options. "... Fine," he finally sighed out, "But under one condition. You keep your word. I don't want a catch like what I had to deal with before." Marvin nodded, helping the survivor up. "Deal."

"Alright... where to start... my name's Chase Brody, I'm 34 years old, a former dad and husband... and I was held in the IRIS facility for a whole week before everyone was brutally slaughtered by something... what was it called... ALTR-114209?" Marvin stopped in his tracks as Chase mentioned it. "Let's stop by somewhere more stable than here, Chase," Marvin stated before deciding to travel to his bookstore with Chase. Once the two made it safely inside - after a 30-minute trip including teleports - Marvin took off his mask, sighing as he helped Chase sit down. It was at that moment when a familiar gray and white cat trotted up to Marvin's leg, rubbing against it and purring. Marvin saw the cat and pet it, smiling, before deciding to dial a number on a phone.

One ring, two rings, three rings....

"Hey, um... Henrik? It's Marvin, I recovered another survivor of the IRIS massacre. He's safe. Um... you mind coming here for a moment?"

[boxwinebaddie]

Uncle nina! How do Stan and Kyle feel about pet names!

aaaaaaa!!! ok ok i have a lot to say ( this is so much im sorry i had a lot of feelings )

ok first off i think stan really likes them, like he just thinks they are cute and nice <3

( also bc he is so cute and nice ilysm bb )

but this stems a lot from the fact that growing up randy was extremely cruel to stan and rarely referred to him fondly or at all like: “kid, grab me another beer” was stans pet name for years :/ ( pet in that sense meaning like literally subhuman smh fuck u randy )

but sharon!!!! sharon brought up stan with so much love and light!!! she grew up calling him a million cute lil things like stanshine and marshmallow and stannie, sweetheart/honey/baby and it was very special and fond to him

stan = sharon tbh so he just developed a lot of her love languages, expressions and mannerisms

if he likes u he’s nicknaming u like the fact that he managed to take kyles name which is four fucking letters long and still call him kyle pile and kp is insane to me he’s like very good at making u feel special and words of affirmation

( also throw back to that fb i wrote when s&k were on their lunch breaks working their record store comic book store part time jobs second semester and kyle bought him a thai tea and stan called it his ky tea like shut up aaaaaw )

in my brain style also interchangeably use bro and babe and it means the same thing but it took them a little while to get there

as far as kyle goes ( ill talk more abt it )

because for stan being able to use like little pet names and stuff was kind of exhilarating to him bc it was this new thing he could do now that they’re dating that he could not do when they were friends

…can u feel his beautiful goldfish eyes getting large and shiny at the anticipation help

i think abt a week or so into dating stan just randomly started testing the waters and like came over to kyles, went to help him put something away and was like “babe, where does this go?” and was like ??? ky did u hear me and kyle was like “OVERTHEREINTHECABINETONTHERIGHT” talking at light speed blushing no eye contact internally freaking out aw

this was extremely interesting information to stan so he kept doing it ;)

AND ITS LIKE SUPER EFFECTIVE ON KYLE

seriously the ungodly strength of the eyelash flutter head tilt pout “please baby?” combo is sooooo powerful like if kyle even sees that shit coming he will close his eyes and put his hands over his ears and go LALALALALALALALA I CANT HEAR U DHSKSKSKS stan b using that shit for evil oh my God

kyle is just like not used to that kind of softness or intimacy and it makes his robot brain short circuit im luv him

but yes ok so kyle likes pet names…only from stan!!!! do not try that shit if ur someone else!!! he will kill u DEAD!!!!

( kenny and bebe [ who as i write them am finding are almost the same character in different fonts ] get a nicknaming pass bc kyle could not stop them if he tried )

but he’s….really bad at displaying outward affection and being emotionally vulnerable

( sigh…it’s the autism )

gerald just trained him to be a weapon w no feeling success only, sheila infantilized him a lot by petnaming him and he’s always kind of seen it as weakness so if ur lucky u get ur first name/last name, if ur unlucky u get dumbass, asshole, motherfucker amongst other colorful swear words in place of ur name from kyle

like everyone’s name is last name comma first name in his phone he is VERY formal with everyone bc everyone is kind of just a pawn to him like the only different name ( a moment of silence after chapter 12 ) in his phone was stans because stan changed it!!!! he was the personalized phone contact and that says a lot about them!!!!!!!

so stan is out here holding his hand kissing him all over his face dhskksd buying him things trying to take him on dates making kyle wear all his clothes calling him 1000000 pet names and it’s So Easy for him bc stan is just the ceo of touchy feely sentimental romantic lover boys…but it’s IMPOSSIBLE for kyle

and it…unfortunately…created a very large problem early on in their relationship

bc i feel like stan got extremely insecure abt it just watching like kenjorine be really cute and pda-y like ken give marj piggy back rides and marj bring them pastries to school and braid eachother’s hair meanwhile kyle is like dude did u hear me — cod tournament later? also holy shit ur roots look terrible bro

throwback again to that fb i wrote on here where stan tries to stanbotage kyles harvard interview by giving him a massive hickey and the underlying subplot is that kyle can’t call stan “baby”

i feel like before that it was like a massive ongoing fight where stan was like nO ONE EVEN KNOWS!!!! WERE DATING BC U WONT HOLD MY FREAKING HAND IN PUBLIC!! like u never give me ur jacket! u don’t kiss me! u don’t take me on dates! or get me flowers! like do u even LIKE me!?!?! like u don’t call me CUTE THINGS like marjorine called kenny her lil sugar angel gumdrop muffinkinns!!!!

and kyle was like…u want me to…to call u…th…at (????)

and stans like NO KYLE!!! i want u to call me something cute!!! something that’s not like bro or dude or ass face or dumb ass like idk!!! baby!!!

and kyle is like dhksjsks ok i…i will!

and stan is like ok prove it!!! say i love you baby right now!!!

and kyle is like are u serious!!!!! ur being so fkn CHILDISH!!!! rn!!!! like why the F U C K does it MAT

and stans like kyle. Say. It.

.................................................and kyle can’t say it :(

</3

( * stan close to crying vc *u can’t or u WON’T :’( )

at the end of it stans just like i fkn Knew it!!!! im going home :( don’t call me don’t text me just leave me alone!!!!!!!!! *loud door slam*

im crying:((((

and the next day stan woke up to like a big long uwuwuwuwu romantic good morning text message with lots of emojis and flowers kyle liked carried all his stuff and gave stan his jacket and was like i made a dinner reservation and was awkwardly initiating so much pda and like grimacing through saying like really embarrassing marj level cringe pet names

LIKE U COULD TELL HE WAS TRYING REALLY REALLY HARD TO MAKE STAN HAPPY BUT HES FIGHTING AGAINST THE GRAIN OF HIS PROGRAMING AND ITS UNNATURAL AND WEIRD AND NOT RIGHT LIKE ITS FREAKY

and eventually stan was like…ok stop stop stop!!! please call me a shithead again i hate this please be normal!!!! and kyle is like did i fuck up oh god please don’t break up with me ill do better and stans like no!!! i was trying to force u to be someone ur not and i don’t want someone else i want u exactly the way u are IM sorry!!! it’s ok that ur not gonna hold a boombox outside my window and tell me my eyes look like stars and kiss me in the rain or call me baby!!

and it’s just a big thing where kyles like but i WANT to!!!! i.....want to do those things for u so bad but…it’s hard :( im sorry

UGGGGGGLY CRYING I LOVE KYLE

stan is just very big sweeping romantic gesture coded which is wonderful and extrmeely validating to kyle but kyles is just as intense but it’s in a more subtle way

like stan will win u the biggest prize at the fair and will fold u 1000000 paper cranes but kyle tucks stan in when he’s drunk leaves him medicine by his bedside reads to him when he’s sad and remembers all of stans things everyday

stan uses pet names like liberally and very regularly, but kyle uses them very intimately and during usually pretty private or important moments like if stan is having a panic attack or like whispered in his ear in bed or like he’s trying to be extra cute and zesty ITS RARE but it happens

SPEAKING OF EXTRA CUTE AND ZESTY THO WHEN KYLE DRINKS DHSKSKSJ

in honor of my username and my general presence rm jersey kyle drinks box wine which is the staple of broke college students like me everywhere

but literally after a couple glasses of wine kyle is like heeeeeey handsome ;) and stan coming home from the animal shelter in his scrubs is like oh my god shsjks

or omg i started to write this drabbleish thing where kyle was at a party with the rest of the cfpom but stan had football practice and he gets there late and kyle is like like SHFITFACED and almost tackles him like BAAAAAAAAABE! YOURE HERE <3~ and stan is sooooo flustered and is like kenny how much did u let kyle drink….LIKE THREE CUPS OF PUNCH HELP OOOOOF HES WHITE BOY WASTED i love u drunk kyle my hero

so tldr:

stan and kyle are pro-pet name, stan just does it more automatically and affectionately and kyle is bad at affection but really likes them secretly saves them mostly for special moments or if he’s really comfortable

also in terms of raven and jersey raven do be calling kyle 100000 lil nicknames specifically to fluster him ( yes the spanish ones are super effective yes he wants to die ) like he does that shit for SPORT and he’s winning the olympic gold for rockstar rizz

and jersey kyle will only petname u with deadpan sarcasm and would not be caught dead being cute…i do think loose bold persuasive confident law student box wine jersey actually has the capacity to be more powerful than front man stan tho which…Whew! WHEN THAT DAY COMES U GUYS…GOOD LUCK

[homeybadger]

In Your Head: Part Four

Summary: When you head to Hawkins for your cousin's funeral, you didn't expect to be roped into saving the world. To be fair- you didn't expect her to interrupt her own funeral either.

Pairings: Chrissy Cunningham x cousin! reader, Billy Hargrove x friend! reader

Word count: 2,869

Warnings: Nightmare, violence to Steve, swearing, blood, Vecna’s overall grossness, gun mention, dry heaving

Notes: Things actually happen in this chapter! Sorry if the action seems rushed or if Steve is ooc, I can edit this fic later if anyone wants/needs me to

Part Five is here

:::::: = Dream

***** = Time skip

::::::

Steve Harrington's appearance almost completely matched Billy’s brief description. Fluffy brown hair combined with generous amounts of product, a solid build, and brown eyes. What Billy failed to mention was how cruel his gaze truly was.

You’d casually been enveloped in conversation, and chose a random moment to haphazardly mention Chrissy’s name to gauge his reaction. Which, in turn, forced the conversation to devolve into a heated argument- as Steve was persistent no one named Chrissy had ever existed in Hawkins. Eventually Steve grabbed your wrist roughly to wrench you towards him. Somehow he’d grown significantly taller in a matter of seconds to tower over your trembling form.

“You’re just crazy! You’re a freak!” 

Steve’s voice was harsh, forcing a flinch from you as the phantom tingling of spittle connecting with your skin echoed in your mind. Your more logical thoughts began whirring to life, seemingly waiting for this particular moment to lunge upwards out of the nonsense. You froze.

Wait a minute, Steve? Steve. What?

“Why do I care what you think? I haven’t even met you yet!”

This isn’t real- it can’t be. It’s in my head.

Your voice emerged from your throat timidly but it firmly connected with its mark. Not-Steve, as you’d hastily nicknamed whatever it was before you, blinked once- in cognition or acknowledgement you couldn’t exactly discern. After a heavy pause, Not-Steve rapidly jerked away, but it definitely did nothing to ease your concern. The body unfolded himself from his previous position, body swiftly jerking into a tense stand. A too-tense stand. Even from your extremely limited knowledge of Normal-Steve’s proportions, you were absolutely certain he never stood with every joint locked outwards. Not-Steve’s lips contorted upwards, as if some unseen force was yanking on his cheeks via fishing hooks, and his jaw cracked open.

Acutely aware of what you discovered yourself in, confusion cycled throughout your veins. You blinked rapidly as you pondered the situation. The sight before you wasn’t an unnerving repetition of a scene from anything you’d seen before- and you were fairly certain you’d recall if this was a memory. In that very moment, only one particular phrase fluttered throughout your brain.

What the absolute hell?

You blinked again.

Everything was dark.

You blinked once more, still nothing.

On the third blink, you somehow discovered yourself inside a comically elongated hallway. Or, it would be comical if your surroundings weren’t reminiscent of a haunted house. The cracking walls, floor, and ceiling all sagged with water damage as the scent of mold wafted to your nose. 

The most unnerving part, at first, was the utter silence. Even the rhythmic thumping of your heart was strangled away from you. Next, it was the older woman standing completely still at one end, a horrified expression on her face. Upon discovering she was mouthing a sentence unable to reach your ears, you desperately attempted a brief step forward but your muscles failed to respond. Then- it was the creature.

A humanoid form composed of apparently decaying flesh and vine-adjacent tendrils emerged from the doorway behind you. It was completely barren of any hair as it glistened despite the lack of lighting. For a brief second it reminded you of a lizard as its nose slits fluttered with breath.

Ok, this guy has to be dead

Eventually it stopped before you, and the creature’s head slowly tilted to the side. The agonizingly slow squelch of wet flesh echoed in the void with its movement and your jaw clenched to prevent yourself from cringing. In response, you mimicked the motion- head following theirs as you internally recognized this was a battle for dominance you couldn’t afford to lose.

It’s piercing gaze analyzed the very fiber of your existence- as if discerning the ingredients to your soul. Your breath locked itself within your lungs as a high droning whine pierced your skull.

Survive now, freak out later.

“You…”

It’s voice reverberated within your bones, threatening to rattle your teeth straight out of your skull. You took a millisecond to unclench your jaw marginally to prevent possible brain damage.

“You do not fear. Not this.”

Although the statement was simple enough, and spoken in the being’s raspy monotone- it was easy to spot its irritation. One hand gradually curled and uncurled to form a fist and you were intensely thankful it remained by its side. While you were uncertain of the exact specifics of what was occurring, you knew nothing good originates from a fist with claws instead of fingers. Whether it expected you to cower in fear from Not-Steve, or it itself, you couldn’t discern.

The exasperating sound yet again filled the silence as it straightened out- similar to what you imagined a strangely viscous liquid hitting a tile floor would sound like. Your concerns, however, remained on mimicry. You remained locked in a tense battle of eye contact as your skull followed- hoping to unnerve it in equal amounts. Before you could even open your mouth to retort, you were suddenly thrust into back consciousness.

::::::

“Y/n? Y/n?”

Billy’s grip on your arm, noticeably more gentle than your first meeting, grounded you to reality as your breathing came in pants. Glancing over to him anxiously you grabbed at his fingers in an attempt to hold his hand- desperate for anything to further convince your subconscious you were safe. Somehow understanding your silent plea Billy quickly clutched your hand firmly in his, thumb repetitively passing back and forth over your knuckles. Chrissy utilized the momentary lack of verbal communication to remind you of your surroundings. 

“You fell asleep while we were talking about monsters. Right now we’re outside a grocery store, in your car.”

The sole object of your focus, however, was the sensation of Billy’s hand visibly connecting to yours.

How could he be my imagination when he feels so real?

You snapped to attention as Billy emphatically spoke your name once more, simultaneously waving his other large hand rapidly in front of your vision.

“Earth to space cadet? You good?”

You only summoned the energy to simply stare, and he shot you an easy smirk while chuckling lightly. His gently teasing murmurings concerning you being easily distractible were drowned out by your screaming mind.

I have to prove he’s real. I have to!

“Tell me something!”

The shout exploded from deep within you- obviously startling your companions as they almost launched out of their seats.

“What?”

Billy’s playful smirk dropped in favor of furrowing his brows.

“I mean…”

Your voice briefly trailed off as you vaguely gestured to Chrissy, who adjusted her position slightly to acknowledge the wave.

“Chrissy got me to Eddie’s house and I’ve never been in Hawkins a day in my life. So what can you tell me that I couldn’t know without outside help?”

“Seriously?”

Billy rolled his eyes, yet acquiesced. He hummed softly, running a hand across his blonde hair absentmindedly. He titled his head upwards to study your car’s roof while he pondered your unanticipated demand, humming to himself softly. After a second, he released your grasp and snapped his fingers.

“When you find Steve ask him about the teacher we both had for science class. Mr. Lewis Letterman- ate a whole rotisserie chicken once while we were taking a test.”

You sensed your eyebrows lift upwards in disbelief as Chrissy released a pleasant laugh.

“Oh I remember him!”

With the welcome noise of your two friends chatting about forgotten memories droning in the background you swung yourself outside your car. You’d neglected food during your infatuation with this adventure- and you refused to be insufficiently prepared any longer. The vibrations of your feet striking the asphalt of the parking lot transitioning to the gentle click of tile soothed your jittery nerves, the familiarity washing over you. 

Whatever you saw wasn’t real y/n.

You flippantly released a lighthearted laugh to ease yourself into their conversation, turning to traverse the cereal aisle.

“And what exactly am I supposed to say to Steve when I meet him? Hey dude, the monster you thought you killed is back and ready for part-“

Your statement was instantly cut off as you slammed into a rather solid object. You jumped backwards to reveal the man in question, Steve Harrington himself, staring at you with an unreadable expression.

“…two?”

Billy and Chrissy simultaneously responded as you’d expect- Billy crumpling over himself to release shrieking laughter while Chrissy simply gasped in surprise. You, however, caught yourself gaping like a fish- only to hazard a step forward once Chrissy shoved you.

“I was actually looking for you- Steve right?”

Steve chuckled, obviously glancing over your form. Despite how casual he appeared, a sense of intensity burned within you- he was assessing you. Like it was assessing you before, a threat to a threat. Before you could blink, however, a relaxed smile settled to rest on his face. 

“Sorry about that, I wasn’t watching where I was going. Are you ok?”

You nodded swiftly, acutely aware how prepared he was to fight, sending him a gentle smile of your own.

“Someone told me to question you on a science teacher. Mr. Lewis I believe?”

His gaze sparked in recognition, immediately springing into explanations. While still on guard he relaxed further.

“Lewis? Lewis Letterman? Oh man, the guy actually ate an entire rotisserie chicken once during a test. It was wild.”

Billy stuck his tongue out teasingly, and you scoffed subtly.

“That’s not all.”

“Oh?”

“I’m a relative of Chrissy’s.”

“Oh.”

This one-word response carried a heavy weight, his relaxed posturing and gentle smile melting away abruptly. The man before you instantaneously grew more intimidating, squaring his figure. Whatever he was preparing himself for you rushed to prevent it, almost stumbling over your own feet. Not-Steve flashed before you momentarily, and you swore an exaggerated caricature on a nearby cereal box would spring to life and mock you.

“I was wondering if you knew anything about anything strange going on?”

Steve shook his head side-to side slowly with a solemn look. As you gingerly stepped forward he shrunk back.

“I don’t think Eddie did anything.”

Steve’s right eyebrow rose sarcastically and the laugh he released ripped at your heart.

“That’s a new one. Look, I’m sorry for your loss- truly I am. But there’s nothing going on. I’m just going to go back to my car now.”

Fire burned across your cheeks as your eyes watered. Fragments of your nightmare circled you, laughing at you. Not-Steve taunted you now as your arm burned with phantom pain.

No. No! I did not go through all of this to be pushed aside. Chrissy deserves better!

The arm you’d subconsciously been clutching shot forwards, fingers outstretched towards his retreating figure.

“Harrington!”

Steve froze in his place, muscles tense and you speedily scuttled into his sights once again. His previously gentle facial features were currently set into a burning glare, but you forced yourself forward. Roughly you twisted your hands into the soft fabric of his shirt to trap him in place- and mentally noted to ask him about how he did laundry afterwards.

“Steve Harrington do not bullshit me! I know for a fact you fought- and killed- a monster not too long ago. And now something else has taken its place. The monster killed her, Chrissy, not Eddie. I saw Max floating in the graveyard Steve, you can’t hide from me.”

His glare shifted to morph into yet another unreadable conveying of emotion. Calculatingly wide brown eyes rapidly snapped between your fists and your face- a face in which you could sense your muscles tiring from the intensity of your own glare. Fluidly you released one hand from his shirt, swiftly utilizing the fist to swipe a disturbance from underneath your nose before returning it to its makeshift holster. 

His eyes met yours and your breath caught in your throat. Was this Not-Steve or Normal-Steve? Whoever it was, he was a hunter and you were forced to recall how small you truly were. 

If you didn’t look insane before, you do now.

“Sorry.”

Your hands dropped from the contact after your lackluster apology and it was your turn to edge for the exit. You coughed awkwardly in a failed attempt to disperse the tension as a flash of red caught your eye. A scarlet trail of blood stretched faintly across your hand.

From my nose?

You forced yourself to look at Steve one last time, the echo of another apology poised on your lips.

“You can do things others can’t, can’t you?”

You blinked stupidly. Hesitantly you nodded in response. The very question tossed you for a loop, forcing you to silently beg Chrissy or Billy for assistance. In one fluid movement Steve tugged you forwards to connect with his side, leaning in to murmur his response next to your ear.

“I’ll tell you more, just not here.”

Anxiously you fidgeted with your fingers while trailing behind Steve. He could still choose to press charges, or attack you, or any number of things. Billy bristled beside you, sheltering Chrissy and wordlessly assuring you he’d be prepared for anything.

Food mission forgotten, your impromptu gaggle of monster hunters- more so monster victims it seemed- moved out of the store front. The sole of your shoe had barely hit the asphalt before Steve sprinted away from the building.

“Dustin!”

Steve’s shout was laced with familial panic, powering him to rush forward faster towards his car. From your vantage point behind him you could clearly see a man pounding furiously against Steve’s rear car window and a small figure cowering inside. Once Steve neared within an arms-length, the stranger spun around. A flash of metal caught your eye as you broke into a sprint.

Time slowed as Steve’s limp body thudded to the ground and blood leaked from the sizable gash in his forehead. The unknown man stalked off towards a different car in the distance, which you assumed to be his, as Steve’s blood dripped from the pipe in his clenched fist. 

“Oh my god. Steve!”

Your fingers pressed against his neck and upon finding a pulse you sighed in relief. Both hands tightly covered the gash in his forehead to stem the blood flow. Hurriedly you scanned the lot in an attempt to find assistance, but you found another nightmare instead. A gun. The man was returning and he had a gun.

Scooping your forearms underneath Steve’s armpits you awkwardly tugged him towards the back of his van.

“Saving your ass again Harrington.”

Billy’s comment emerged as a grunt from his straining to assist you and the mental list of subjects to question people on later grew. The two of you were unorthodox, but when has dragging a bloody unconscious man across a parking lot towards his own car ever been? As if summoned via thought, the back of the van swung open and a pair of smaller hands began grabbing for Steve’s limp body. Not just any child’s hands.

Dustin!

You clamored quickly inside the van behind Steve’s body, trusting this new companion to care for him while you twisted to face Billy. 

“Drive!”

Your screech spurred Billy into action- his foot slamming on the gas- and Dustin’s scream of surprise was covered with the sound of squealing tires.

*****

Several sharp turns, close calls, and gray hairs later, Billy and you were finally certain it was safe. The stranger’s car failed to appear after several random turns- and you breathed a sigh of relief, allowing yourself to smile at Dustin.

Everything is going to be fine.

On cue, your stomach churned uneasily as dread dripped down your spine. A familiar high droning whine pierced your skull and you could only watch as drops of blood dripped from your nose to stain your pants. Your eyes were dry and eyelids heavy, sleep a tempting relief.

When did the world get so fuzzy?

Dustin shrieked sharply, forcing you to wrench your head up. Billy and Chrissy had completely vanished. 

That left only you, Steve, and the child hurtling towards a dense patch of trees.

You had exactly six seconds to save three lives.

One- you lunged forward. Two- grabbed the seat. Three- drug yourself upwards. Four- the blood on your hands caused you to slip. Five- tumbled into the driver's seat. Six- slammed the break.

You twisted the wheel as hard as you physically could, utilizing both feet to add pressure to the break. The screech of tires and Dustin hammered your skull condemning you to simply permit the car to jerk you forward. 

“You ok?”

Dustin nodded swiftly, and just like the car you shut down.

You toppled out of the car, the pain of striking the road overshadowed by the pain branching out from the base of your skull. As you draw yourself to your knees you’re thankful there was nothing within you to expel as your stomach muscles contract. Your breathing struggled to leave you- forcing you to shallow gulps of oxygen. The world was spinning, your nose was bleeding, and your eyes fluttered shut to protect yourself from the light.

Over the thundering of your heart, you could hear the door of a building slam open.

[moonstone27ls]

X-men 97 thoughts so far...

Gonna give one spoiler warning....

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Why? Because if reviewers haven't spoiled it, most youtubers have dozens of dozens of clips. Literally no point in me saying it much....

Sooo... that pretty much it....

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.....Spoiler warning....ends.......

............................................now....(Also warning I do not have a Disney+ account. I'm on a budget I'm relying on clip unfortunately)

So my thoughts initially when I was hesitant to really look at it. Not so much because Disney owns this now. Its just been a long time. I kinda quit watching the original cartoon I wanna say before the last two seasons.

First ep didn't really grab me. At first the animation turned me off. I can't give a definitive reason why. Just something about when they first talked. And also.... did everyone suddenly get paler? oO No I'm not accusing them of whitewashing Storm. I'm referring to in general. I mean even Magneto looks a bit bleached.

It at best seemed decent. Ep 2 was shown and I was intrigued to see Magneto was apparently in Charles will and just gave him everything. Either he loved/had faith in Magneto more than he showed or just dang he pulled a 180 as they say. Lol I kid, I do think Xavier did all that out of good faith.

That one grabbed my attention a lot more. To see Magneto struggle against what he's use to. To try and be better for Xavier and the X-men. I admit seeing Storm lose her powers was a shocker. But I don't believe she'll stay human forever.

As hard as it is sometimes to see the other side. The show did actually attempt to show a pov for humans. (And no not referring to friends of humanity group). Its just a youtber pointed it out, that although Storm was protecting Magneto, yeah through a humans' eyes the powers could look more terrifying. And although it was stupid of the doctor to refuse aid to Madelyne (Jean's clone, sorry warned earlier on spoilers).

I've watched enough hero shows to see... the doc had a point. DC's Ace accidentally killed her parent as a baby. Cyclops has had accidents. So the fear wasn't totally without cause. Still cool though that Rogue could absorb medical knowledge and the nurses complied.

Enjoyed Wolverine's face when she said the baby was coming. Baby Nathan was cute. And the monologue Magneto gave the UN was really well done.

Ep 3 came and well wasn't entirely shocked the Jean, Cylcops had a baby with would turn out to be her clone. I dunno if it was everyone guessing or the comic reference. Hmm for me it was her face in the background. I swear Madelyne looked more angry than shocked.

And also dang that was good moment to show us they could let go of some restraints. Besides the excellent animation in both their fears being shown and Goblin Queen's fight with X-men and Magneto. And I'm gonna say it... Jean's talk with Wolverine. Very sweet moment, it made me a Jean/Logan shipper. And I recall as a kid I wasn't really into it.

Though will it happen... dunno. Probably not. But I wouldn't be entirely against it. Especially watching that whole ep. Just neither one can remember when they got switched. Just awkwarddddddddd. And while it was sad Cyclops had to say goodbye to his baby, granted I had not read the comics but was told enough to know it was gonna happen. Changed obviously but cartoons does their own thing.

Ep 4 was okay, Jubilee's okay but stuff with Mojo was never my thing. I just enjoyed it when her and Roberto finally became an item. Super cute. Though surprised that the X-men just basically bent over when Magneto said "no" to Jubilee's birthday wish. I mean granted yes he owns their group?/or home. But they all literally wanted to enjoy/and give Jubilee a birthday party. Just surprised not even Wolverine offered to take them out.

Storm's arc was so far ok(waiting for part 2 to full give opinion). Felt sorry for her the entire time cause she clearly missed her powers. And was a bit surprised Forge made those weapons... (dunno if thats a direct ref to the comics).

Then on to ep 5... the one I think so far has clearly blown our minds. I'm not gonna lie part of me saw what happened with Genosha coming because I follow people who explain comic history. So moment the place was mentioned I thought "oh boy what are they gonna do". I am a bit surprised Cable attempted to stop it. Or warn others of it? Sooo... is Madelyne dead? Went to fast to show if she survived.

Action scenes were intense to say the least. Not gonna lie I will be super pissed if they killed off Remy just so Rogue can run back to Magneto. Yes I know what the robot said and everyone's all "Magneto's dead".... but considering how this ended I wouldn't be surprised if he's shown alive later. Guess just a bit surprised people died in general. I mean its not Invincible level but you get the idea still surprising.

Any personal notes... okay what I liked. Voice acting's good, glad they got back the original actors, animation, music even pretty good, some of the story has done fairly well. I like some of the new characters.. I mean I guess.. its been 5 episodes I can't say there's been a lot. All of the cameos and easter eggs.

Anything I don't like...the love drama. Cyclops love rectangle(had to add Wolverine). Not sure were the writers are planning to go with this. And Emma Frost is here, as a character I dunno. But her role with Cyclops I DO remember. Please people don't add more. Lol. After this ep I can already see his variables. One, Madelyne's alive and he choses her. Two, Madelyne's dead and he wants Jean back as a rebound; though she's clearly in my opinion should be given space instead of being asked to choose whom to love right now. Or three she's hurt and he drags his feet in between both. Which sucks.

Honestly although I know Logan turned Jean down. I would prefer Jean go "I need space". She finds her space and she just asks Logan on a date. Just to see where it goes.

Then there's the one I REALLY didn't ask for Rogue/Magneto/Gambit. Yes I know this was in the comics but even then I didn't like it. But onto the show version. Don't like it cause there was no hint of it in the series. And secondly felt like the story was trying to give us Rogue/Gambit as a couple. So to see them trying to find their footing and then shoehorn this love triangle in was EXHAUSTING. I mean I love Magneto as a character both hero/antihero and villain. But I don't ship him with Rogue. He's old enough to be her grandfather and the animation doesn't really do well of hiding it either. He's a cool grandpa but still grandpa to me.

AND yes I know this is a revival. But even their attempts to give it justification felt off. Their background made it more awkward. I'm giving my opinion to be clear. You don't like it don't read it. From what I can tell Rogue was kicked out as a teen. And according to the wiki she was 13.

She met Magneto (according to this revival ) sometime after Mystique took her in. What time? I admit it doesn't say. Given how she's in her mid 20s in the show. We still have to assume she was still a teenager when they met.

Again can't give a precise age besides the fact that it was vague on purpose. Secondly, the animators made her look her 20s age even when she met Magneto. And I'm not buying that. I get it they're attempting to not make this triangle so out of the blue.

But doing it like this now and then I'm gonna be blunt watching his actions/and that dance felt wayyyy more predatory than it did romantic. At least Wolverine wouldn't put Jean on the spot so he could get into her pants. I mean come on writers Magneto could literally have ANYONE else without making it feel predatory BD;.

I'll say it again, I will be PISSED if Gambit is killed and Magneto lives. And just so we can push a may/December romance NOBODY asked for. And at Gambit's expense.

Thats it. I'll write my opinions when the rest of the eps are shown. Later till then!

[marybatson]

Hello!! As one of THE best marvel family bloggers on this whole website I was wondering about your thoughts on if you'd want a story about the MF as adults (original group of N52 group). Current DC is soooo averse to anything that might have consequences or change the status quo so it's probably moot. I just think Billy in particular (with his loner tendencies and inherent, almost untouchable goodness) has the potential for some very interesting stories around identity after he's been Captain-ing for a decade-plus as he becomes less and less grounded? On the other hand, I could see the argument that the kid- to-adult-hero is so essential to the premise to be removed. Also, would your answer change based on which version of the character(s) we're talking about. Like is it more or less interesting in the versions where B and CM are seperate entities? Anyway love your takes on the MF and DC in general!!!💜

first of all that’s the sweetest thing thank u for even thinking of me ;; I swear I talk out of my ass all the time but im glad u can enjoy this nonsense!

second! that is a very good question and one that ive definitely asked myself before. before i answer i hope its ok if i go on a small tangent first lol. its the tism in me.. UNDER THE CUT BC I HAVE RAMBLING PROBLEMS

the inherent problem with hero comics is that there is no definite thing like a “post-series” or epilogue type of story because, typically, they just never end. that’s something that can be compelling but also pretty detrimental imo especially when a good story or arc has a fully satisfying ending, complete with characters and storylines developed in just the way you wanted. that can all obvs change in a matter of years depending on the next writer or event. next chapter-type stories are difficult to achieve unless you’re a legacy of some kind. if these were characters in a novel or something much more linear, i think we wouldn’t even have to ask these questions.

im just saying all this bc it kind of informs how I like to speculate about comic characters - what is the ideal plot to development to ending for x character? for billy and his family, if you want a legitimate answer it’s just that I wish anything plot-worthy they achieve would only be in their time as they are now, as kids. bc im insane ofc ive turned this particular sentiment around in my head, and I really do think that the story itself at its core, the general magic of it, is way more compelling when they’re children going through tasks an adult would usually undertake. it’s a story where a child who has a limited amount of power bc of their situation at the sound of a word receives more power he ever really needs. it isnt necessarily a jaime reyes or young justice type of story about realistic kid hero interpretations, it’s simply a child’s fairytale fantasy. at inception captain marvel’s appeal was because while he was a kid, he was also respected as an adult and as competent as one. that’s why dc’s own evolution from the golden age (for children) to where it is now as a predominantly adult hobby can never seem to place captain marvel and his family in the right place.

tbh i wouldn’t really be interested in a story where billy and the others were grown up at all, because then they would just be. adult heros. ive always thought the “ideal” end is the one where they willingly somehow choose to relieve themselves of the power and grow up happily and content without it because it’s not needed once they’re adults. the “wendy darling chooses to grow up and not stay in neverland bc she wants more than what magic can give her” kinda deal. but that’s definitely not a compelling hero story…maybe.

im trying not to let this be such a cop out answer, but if what I just said were written as a story, and if I wanted it to be a story that included the marvel fam as adults - it would be the classic coming of age story. im thinking any plot in the world with crazy world-ending villain(s) story complete with a misc hero team-up could happen, and the real story begins maybe halfway in that where the kids realize that this is the end all be all. and the point is that they’d be okay with it. so what happens happens and maybe there are developments in-between coming to terms with the end of it but the perfect end is them, together, and being okay. there are no consequences to having had the power or having lost them. everything they’d gone through while having the power could have been tumultuous and difficult, but the children are always protected. in the end, we don’t know what age they live up to, or if they decide to become nonpowered heroes or if they stay a family. I really believe in the power of an open ending once everything is resolved. and for the marvel family, I think their best ending is an uneventful adulthood after such a wild childhood. it’s the typical kind of ending i think every chosen one child deserves in fiction (rip to percy jackson)

again…this is just me and my own thoughts. and im sorry it is SO lame and predictable. other more interesting routes than this if they just continued having the power till adulthood is that they can be pretty public and free with their identities. the power is intertwined with them. but it’s not like they’re particularly important in-universe or special, more than others anyway. they just have more experience now.

(idk if it would necessarily make much of a difference depending on the versions of the characters we’re talking abt either!! I think in general I just talk about them like my preferred combination of all iterations so it becomes just a question in personality atp! lately I have really liked the separate entity thing with cap/billy but somehow I prefer it with him than with the others.. another long tangent I could go on abt LOL)