#im in hell basically

[sunny-knight]

CAINE IN EPISODE 5

Day 1 thoughts of ep 5 that are very subject to change

Im going to refrain from talking too much about things not involving Caine, as Im currently working on a slideshow to explain all my thoughts on EVERYTHING, especially Jax and Pomni stuff because thats like….why is Jax acting like that- I feel like we missed some character development- what is going on???

BUT YEAH THATS NOT WHAT I NEED TO TALK ABOUT RIGHT NOW

I first need to acknowledge how Caine is acting??? because NO ONE ELSE IS?????????? (Like, in the show)

Caine felt incredibly out of character during this episode- is that just me? Not in a writing flaw way, but in a “oh god he’s BREAKING” way. He has good intentions, but BY GOD him threatening Zooble made me recoil, dude are you okay 😭 that was incredibly jarring like- jesus.

He just has one hell of a temper, is genuinely out cold during the baseball adventure, and is a lot more- scarily nonsensical. Like before he was chaotic, sure, but it still felt like he knew what he was doing/had everything, including himself, semi under control. In this it feels like he is just falling apart at the seams.

The temper thing I will get into more later, but on the being out cold part of the baseball thing, is we’ve acknowledged several times that Caine doesnt need to eat, doesnt need to sleep, he’s a machine, he SHOULDN’T be doing that. The way he acted when he woke up is the part that concerns me, since I could totally expect him to like pretend to sleep for a bit, but nah he was ZONKING😭😭

It feels like the more tired he is the more effort he’s going to put in and over exert himself (me too, brother, me too)

I expected that, I expected the getting more nonsensical, what I DIDN’T expect, what I DON’T understand, is the temper and the savior complex???

my buddy @starrysquire had something to say about his temper that I think is GENIUS and absolutely something to start with when explaining the temper, though.

To expand on it a bit more and segway into some savior complex things, Caine wants others to be happy, sure but HE wants to be the ones to make them happy, because if he’s not, then he sees himself as disposable. I think thats the main thing we can take away from this episode. His entire conversation with the moon threw me for a loop because I did not expect this to be that direct. “They like the suggestion box adventures more than the ME adventures.” Them being happy is a BAD THING. WHAT.

Caine is dealing with feelings he’s probably never felt before because we can assume he’s never had his purpose come into question this strongly before, ONG!!!

The temper and the savior thing seem to be going hand in hand in that way, since all the issues that come with wanting to be THE ONE to make others happy (for machine purposes on his end) comes with a lot of struggle, therefore a lot of lashing out.

Im still very curious however on what spectrum of emotion he’s incapable of feeling, since tiredness is something we saw from the baseball game. I would have speculated before it was GENUINE rage but ep 3 already put that into question, and now 5 proves me ABSOLUTELY wrong. Maybe… sadness? I don’t think we’ve ever seen him genuinely sad before…. which is actually kind of scary 😭

We’ve seen him stressed, mad, tired, but not sad

….I cant imagine that helps with the temper problems- if you can’t be sad ABOUT something, you’re going to be mad AT someone

But onto the things that make me feel gaslighted district

Zooble severely underreacted to being threatened like that- and im just left kind of confused. Like they say the only thing holding him back is the fact that he likes them, and they wouldnt push it, but- but theyre pushing it?? a lot??? im so confused 😭 I dont even have an analysis on that

What I DO have analysis on though is JAX and his relation to Caine

Jax’ subtle yet not subtle reaction to realizing Caine may have lied about what he can do, makes me INCREDIBLY intrigued, honestly Jax and Caines interactions in this entire episode have me thinking I was right about their relationship/dynamic being something of interest later in the show.

A lot of people complain, but whenever Jax specifically does, Caine is always quick to pop in and explain to him why whats happening is happening. Specifically in the democracy, and voting Zooble to turn into a slug bits. Then when Caine comments on Jax’ acting- It just feels like it’s leading up to something. What also doesn’t help their case is how both of their stances on adventures seem practically identical. How can Caine tell a compelling story without horrific things? How can Jax have FUN without horrific things???

Since Jax and Pomni seem to be getting closer, I have a feeling this is leading up to Jax informing her/the audience about some of the shit he does behind the scenes, because all of this leads me to believe he works with Caine on a more personal level. I dont think their like- partners in crime, but more rather Jax taking as much control as possible. Like if he doesn’t have control, he’ll find ways to control the person who does. But THEN I feel like that’d be leading to Jax slowly finding out through the punishment thing in episode 4, and the vegan thing in ep 5, that Caine still has the upper hand in every way.

Which, as all good things do, leads me to the best place imaginable the INTERMISSION SEQUENCE

That…like a lot of the episode less intrigued and more confused me which I didnt particularly like, I still prefer the last episodes to this one if im being so honest…but the intermission sequence was probably one of the best things ive ever seen in my entire life…

I feel it has SO much symbolism, which I wont put my specific thoughts about here just yet, thatll be saved for my slideshow, but the sequence AS A WHOLE is incredible in conveying the fact that Caine has everyone under his control to a SCARY degree. Like we all already knew this, but I feel like this just hammered it home- it feels like a nicer version of the fucking Happy Place sequence where he’s torturing everybody. Caine isnt torturing everyone, but he’s still demonstrating the POWER yknow?

But basically my thoughts and feelings summed up into one sentence

This is Papyrus 2015 all over again.

[lucabyte]

Yeah, that about sums it up.

[naturecalls111]

unorthodox murder mystery

[curiouscatastrophe]

Did you guys know that when you're thinking about trying something hard you can do an easy version of it first. Idk like a test run or something. Kinda scary, stay safe out there

[nonomikun]

happy valentines day! :D

i was thinking about either redrawing my old work or making something new...but just ended up exploiting my old idea XD

the lyrics are from unreleased dallon weekes song "valentine"

( o˘◡˘o) reblogs appreciated!

[tiliqi]

In the way. Of all flesh. All unmade. With the rest.

In the end. We are one. We descend. In Obsidian.

[happypeachsludgeflower]

Me, staring at mxtx side ships that aren’t canon and are apparently straight: if not gay why gay shaped??

[jupio]

we are SO back

(click the image for better quality, see below for me w dip n pip and also THE ABSOLUTE HELL ON EARTH I HAD DRAWING PHIL)

yknow what gets me? their heads are really big. like I know proportions. I get it. but. you ever hug someone and realise their head is like twice the size of yours????

struggle. why on god is he so difficult to draw

[084392]

my interpretation of rt ninetales...

[bomber-barbara]

Listen, I totally agree that it’s super sad that it turned out Shuro had been annoyed by Laios the whole time he’d considered them to be friends. I get it! I’ve been in his shoes, I was the annoying friend.

But I think it’s also important to not ignore the feelings of Shuro, the one who was being annoyed, at the same time. It’s possible to acknowledge how both people felt without villainizing one of them.

I feel like when it comes to outsiders hearing about a fight two people had, they’ll do this thing where they take the side of whoever they feel most bad for or relate to the most and gang up on/ignore the reasons the other person has and it kind of sucks!

And the point Shuro makes about it being worse that Laios meant no harm is probably because it meant there was no reason for him to tell him to fuck off without looking like an asshole!!

There’s no reason to blame Shuro’s inability to communicate that he wanted space if you’re not going to do the same for Laios’s social blunders.

[storyshift-sk]

PART 1/2 - Storytime!

Once Upon A Time… Things were great! Until they weren’t. dun, dun, dun

Every great fictional world starts with a history lesson!

[fauchart]

Lost Couch Gag!

Quick & basic little anim featuring 'The Housewives':

@birbwell's Barb Welles

@salcreus' Sally Cruz

@bluebeerg's Cherub Berg

And my own Ann-Doreen Dale!

Did this November of last year as a lil surprise for my friends :] The most annoying part was doing the masks to have the Simpsons run up to the characters and cover them properly hbghb fun exercize though!

Clear still of them jus chillin for the heck of it:

[spareham]

a pity she does not exist, a shame he's not a fag

[angelinesparkle]

[superbat-lmao]

Jason is never brought back, and instead of being lost in the time stream, Bruce dies. And realizes there’s an afterlife.

(Given that Bruce knows magic is real it’s not that much of a leap to realize there’s an afterlife. Of course, the bigger realization for him was that he ended up in heaven of all places.)

Bruce gets to see his parents. He spends all of his time with them, getting to know them, explaining his life to them. They have all the time in the world and Bruce feels a sense of peace he hadn’t felt when he was alive. By the time he gets to explaining his children, actually getting to tell his parents that they have grandchildren, he realizes they’ve stopped talking.

The novelty still hasn’t worn off for them, for Bruce getting to have real conversations with them and for his parents actually getting to see their son again. It’s no surprise that it knocks the wind out of Bruce when he remembers. Remembers that he’s dead. That his son is dead. That it doesn’t seem like a bad thing anymore because it means he can finally see him again.

But his parents have a weird look on their faces. They had all pushed through the awkwardness, how Bruce wasn’t their little boy anymore but a stoic adult who has techniques for withstanding torture and lacks emotional vulnerability. How Bruce hadn’t gotten a chance to actually know Thomas and Martha beyond scattered society stories that painted a caricature of who he’s talking to now.

But when he realizes that Jason is here, Bruce lights up. He can finally see his son.

So he asks his parents how to visit Jason. His parents had mentioned spending time with their own parents, meeting family members from different generations, how eventually Bruce would get to meet them too, he knows they know how to navigate the afterlife. And he’s finally ready to learn.

When Bruce asks, Thomas excuses himself from the conversation. Says that there’s someone Bruce has to talk to and he needs to go get them.

Martha waits with him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Thomas comes back with a blonde woman that Bruce almost doesn’t recognize. She looks nothing like her picture in his files, or the one Jason kept on his desk.

Thomas and Martha give Bruce and Catherine space while they talk about Jason.

She explains how when Jason had first come to the afterlife, Thomas and Martha had reached out. How the four of them had talked, bonded, grown close. How it had taken Jason time to emotionally recover from his death, from the betrayal of his Mother. From what he felt was the betrayal of his Father.

Jason didn’t want to see him.

Catherine had tried to explain, but Bruce hadn’t been able to follow much of the conversation after that revelation.

His son, who Bruce had turned into a cautionary tale for his other children, who he had missed every single day, who he had grieved and torn himself apart over, didn’t want to see him. And Bruce deserved it. Had chosen to get into a helicopter and left him standing in the sand. Had buried him.

Catherine is far gentler about it than he deserves. Says that Jason loved him, was grateful for everything, but just wasn’t ready.

He would still agree to seeing Thomas and Martha, still saw them as his grandparents, but couldn’t handle seeing Bruce, even if he missed him. Dying didn’t fix everything, the afterlife wasn’t some solution to all of the problems people had when they were alive. The afterlife was just the ability to have more time. And people didn’t come back from what Jason went through easily. Catherine tells him in no uncertain terms that Bruce will have to regain Jason’s trust. If he actually is interested in getting to see him.

Bruce tells her he will do anything to see Jason again. She nods and tells him she’ll keep in touch.

So he waits.

And waits.

And sees his parents, his grandparents, his great grandparents.

And waits.

He waits so long that he sees Harvey.

He sees Talia.

He sees Alfred.

After that, the waiting doesn’t feel quite the same. After all, he eventually sees Dick, again.

Bruce spends his time in the afterlife waiting for his children, and he is both saddened and relieved when he finally gets to see them again.

Dick, thankfully, is first. Bruce is also thankful he had to wait so long to see him again.

Eventually, after long, long lives, they’re all back together. With some new additions. Bruce gets Tim and Damian and Cass and grandchildren and so many people he has missed. Selina visits on “Tuesdays” and eventually he has a new level of normal for his afterlife. Of getting to see his family, his friends.

Dick is the one that eventually tells him.

He doesn’t say much, exactly. Can’t tell him how he is or anything concrete, but he says that he’s seen Jason. That some of the others have also been to see him.

Bruce tries to respond, to have something to say to that, but he can’t. The afterlife isn’t painless, and there’s nothing he can say that won’t hurt whoever he says it to. So he nods at Dick, places his hand on his son’s shoulder, and lets it be.

If linear time existed in the afterlife, then Bruce could say he’d been here longer than he’d ever been alive. Long enough that even Clark stops by occasionally.

It’s rare for him to be alone now. If he wanted it, sought it out, there is always someone for him to be able to talk to, spend time with. But sometimes, if he wandered out a little too far, he could find a small brook he used to play in as a kid, before the West end of the property had dried up.

Here, his Father had “built” a small bridge over the brook. It was part of a footpath that traveled through this part of the afterlife. If he squinted, Bruce could pretend he saw the West wing of the manor, and in the other direction, the edge of Gotham proper.

Clark would have called him Huckleberry if he’d seen him, one leg dangling over the edge of the bridge, the other bent, lying on his back. He could pretend he felt the wood grain, or maybe even a splinter as he listened to the flow of the water. Bruce had closed his eyes, wondering if now that he was dead and the brook wasn’t dried up, if it had fish in it. If it was someplace he could take Dick fishing. He’d gotten it into his head recently that he wanted to try a bunch of father-son bonding activities with both of his dads, so Bruce and John had been making a list.

Between one second and the next, Bruce felt a presence next to him. You didn’t have to travel on foot in the afterlife, or stick to any sort of conventions from being alive really, it was more of a courtesy thing than anything else.

When Bruce opened his eyes, he expected to see Tim, who broke those sorts of conventions more frequently than his siblings. Bruce had a feeling it had something to do with the boy’s obsession with science fiction, but he also presumed it was because he knew Bruce really didn’t mind.

When he glanced up at his son, Bruce lost all pretense of maintaining the “body” that was lying on the bridge. He would have said his heart stopped if he’d still had one. As it was, blinking, breathing, any of the processes that emulated life that people unconsciously maintained here, stopped.

Jason wasn’t even looking at him and Bruce couldn’t take his eyes off his son’s face, unwilling to jeopardize whatever this was.

He looked older, his jawline more defined and he sat taller, legs dangling off the bridge. Age was a funny thing in the afterlife, you could control how you appeared to others, but your mental state usually drew you towards a particular age. For his children, they mostly appeared in their 20s. Bruce kept himself in his 30s or 40s, unless his parents asked. Jason, if Bruce had to guess, was about 20, maybe 22 at the oldest.

When Jason finally looked over at him, he remembered how to breathe. He tried to clear his throat, to think of something to say, to tell Jason how much he missed him, how much he loved him, but all that came out was a strangled gasp. And then he was talking.

“Alfred said that what happened to me was a tragedy. Dick called it a nightmare. At first, Mom didn’t know how to talk about it since being a vigilante was hard for her to picture. She still doesn’t really get it, but I can’t exactly blame her. We led pretty odd lives for a while there.”

“I’ve met Tim and Damian and Cass, you know? Met their partners, their children. They’ve told me a few stories. How some cases went, missions with the League. Their own hero teams. I think Tim was the most excited to talk to me, not so sure about the others.”

“You’ve still got Alfred in your corner, although it’s odd seeing Dick argue for you. One thing about this place is that your memories don’t stay fuzzy or nothing, so all those fights you guys had? Crystal clear. Actually thought he’d take a swing at me once, not that it’d do anything. Still, glad you guys ended up figuring it out and all.”

“Mom said she came to see you when you got here. I’m assuming that’s why I haven’t seen you, although that’s a surprise too, you actually listening when someone asks you not to do something. The way the others talk about you I’d think you became Big Brother after I left. Worse than Babs even.”

“I’ve tried thinking about it. I mean, it’s been years since it happened and all but. I still don’t know what there is to say. Everyone’s been trying to convince me that you’d actually want. Well, that you’d want to see me. Talk or something.”

“But I know what I did. What happened. It’s why I left, I knew that you didn’t. That you wouldn’t ask me to leave, but that. You didn’t want me to stay.”

As he’d talked, Jason’s gaze had drifted back towards the water below them. His tone, retrospective and light, changed. Accusatory.

“It’s fucked up that you kept the suit, Bruce. No one wanted to admit it, but I know about the case. At least it meant I knew what you wanted was Robin, you enshrined the damn thing. So, yeah. I took off. Not like it worked out much better but it’s too late now. I don’t know what you want me to say. I figured dying would at least get me out of the lecture but I can’t even have that now.”

“So. Tell Dick this is me paying back that favor I owed him. Or whatever, I don’t really care. But everyone can stop coming around and all. I’ve said what I wanted to. I’ll hear you out and then I say we’re square.”

Jason had been looking away from him still, but when he got to the end of what was likely a prepared speech, he finally looked at Bruce. His face went slack in surprise. Bruce could have laughed at the expression if he wasn’t already crying.

“Jason. You are my son, even if,” Bruce took a breath. “Even if you don’t see me as your father. I never would have asked you to leave because I never wanted you to go. I can’t imagine- I love you. I have missed you every day since I lost you. I did not handle loosing you well. I understand that you’re upset and I think there’s a lot we should talk about. Even- especially if it’s going to be difficult. I am so sorry, Jason. None of it was your fault - it was mine. Please. Please let me try to- I don’t want to lose you again.”

[cheralith]

and if i say one of the side effects of the pill that cannibal!kaiser takes to keep his urges down makes him incredibly horny will i be stoned.. ....

you've just gotten used to it over the years; he'll stare you down with a certain hunger in his eyes, staying quiet but the desire is just so disastrously loud, resistance is nearly futile. maybe you'll try to ignore it, thinking it'll go away with time, but he'll burst over his threshold eventually and will lick a stripe of utter want up the nape of your neck before softly pressing a kiss on it, nails digging into your hips.

you can just smell the lust off of him—this musk of aroused yearning perfuming off of him so strongly, it hinders your resistance. and all it takes is him just murmuring, "i know you know what i want..." with a nip of your ear to melt you into him completely.