#it's probably not actually a well so much as a Pit but yknow

[kittenmoth]

The only context for this is "I thought it'd be funny to draw".

[luvzxr]

Innocence

nsfw (18+) mdni please. I think I'd actually cry.

Not 100% sure where this fic is gonna be taken as I'm the type of go with the flow writer. This may contain heavy subjects such as; depression, alcohol and alcohol abuse, slight age gap? (by a few years in my head. Not much.) possible smut. Possible mentions of gore but I probably won't go heavy on that. If I do I'll put a bigger warning in the future on the chapters that are heavy with them!

Hello! I figured I'd start on a series because I personally love longer series and the anticipation of waiting for wonderful writers to bring out new parts just hits different. I will personally be using an OC that goes by the name Sophie Hayes but going along with this fic it will be Sophie Redfield :). You are more than welcome to use your own name or a personal oc name however! I prefer to use names rather y/n or you/your! I've loved the name Sophie after reading a fanfic years ago on Wattpad and I fell in love instantly with the name so we'll be using my Sophie girl as the main character but like I said, you are more than welcome to use your own name or a personal oc name to fill that in for yourself!

ahem. Anywayss.

Description: The youngest and most innocent member of the redfield siblings finds herself falling for a the broken and not so innocent blonde agent whose been a well known long term friend with her two older siblings.

Word count: 2,294

Bang, bang, bang.

The entirety of my body jolting at every kickback that was shot from the firearms my current older brother, Chris, was using for his daily target practice. I couldn't help the wincing and jolts; I shouldn't be here.

I couldn't express to you how many times I tried to tug on the man's sleeve, shirt or even gentle taps to his shoulder to ask him when we were leaving but I barely got a direct answer from the him at all.

"Chris," I tugged on the shoulder strap of his bullet proof vest. I was beginning to feel more agitated by every passing second we stayed inside the echoing room that smelled nothing of gun powder. "My ears are starting to hurt from the noise. When can we go?"

"Throw these on Soph. They should help with the noise," he placed a pair of noise reduction headphones over my ears and the gave a few pats to my head before his attention was directed back to his previous target practice shenanigans.

But even with headphones my ears felt like they were throbbing against the muffled fabric, the thudding of my own heartbeat was getting overwhelming and even a teensy bit aggravating.

Stepping back to my previous seating with a sigh, knowing we'd probably be here for another hour or two, hell even three before he decides to even take it upon himself to rest and I felt like I was only losing a consistent battle with him.

The thing about Chris is he was the most stubborn sibling out of Him, Claire and I. He didn't budge half the time and even went on to say 'it wouldn't hurt for me to teach you a few things yknow.' And he wasn't entirely wrong but I hated everything that had to do with weaponry and violence, it made me feel queasy and left an unsettling feeling at the pit of my stomach just having my frail hands wrapped around the grip of a singular handgun.

The thing about me, however is if I push his buttons hard enough— guilt him. He might actually budge just a little bit and it grew to be a personal trick up the sleeve that both Claire and I used against him when we wanted something and he wasn't caving. Often times it worked more with me than with her so she always had me do the dirty work in that aspect.

However, I chose not to this time around. I chose to leave the heap of stubborn known as my brother alone because I knew in his eyes this was some sort of stress relief. It was serotonin regardless of how violent and unnerving I found it myself because to him this was what heaven looked like, served to him on a silver platter.

Here, he didn't have to worry about his life being on the line or other lives grasped in the palm of his hands. He didn't have to look the poor individuals in the eye as the light faded from them and leave yet another feeling of emptiness in his heart.

I winced at the mere thought itself.

I didn't have it in me to take that away from him. Not now.

Instead I sat like the good little sister I was and chose to endure the consistent bang after bang, each shot hitting somewhere between the head and shoulders of the practice dummies out in the range.

Running a hand through my hair, I sit with my arms folded over my chest, bouncing my left leg in anticipation and eagerness just to get out of this situation. I needed something to do besides stare off into the abyss because I couldn't even manage that, the sound of the reload and kick back of the trigger was the only thing my mind could focus on.

I allowed my cheeks to puff out. I should of stayed at home. I could be curled up in my comfy two set of pink Bugs Bunny sleep attire with some stupid film set on the television right now with some stupid microwaveable meal set perfectly on my lap. Hell, even popcorn would do. Anything was better than this. Doesn't sound like an appealing activity to spend your Friday Night, but anything was better than where I currently was.

You'd think that any 29 year old man would be at a bar checking out some girls that wore too little of clothing or just enough to hide what any man would be drowning in their own set of lust just thinking about it. That's an average thought for a man, right? That was fun to them especially if they were single. Instead, Chris was found here almost every day at the butt crack of dawn with no other excuse other than 'I need to practice my aim.' Though even I could read right through that lie.

I guess I shouldn't be judging the guy, it might come back to bite me in the ass because every morning for myself was the same thing just like him.

Wake up, quickly brush through my set of pearly whites and then rush down to the living room TV where my two other siblings would find me sitting until noon on most days watching the old cartoon channel where Bugs and the little annoying RoadRunner bird were to be found.

I realize I am 25 years old and that was probably a child like way to spend my mornings but I didn't necessarily care. It has been my morning routine since I was a little kid and it wasn't about to change just because people looked to me as if I was too old to be doing that.

I snapped out of my momentary thoughts of the night I could be having if I didn't allow Chris to drag me from my spot on the couch. The singular door to the range slide open, snapping my head to catch a glimpse of the figure emerging, he was hard not to notice.

"Chris,"

My brother took notice immediately, slipping his own set of headphone off to rest around his neck. His pistol being set to safety before resting it on the small counter in front of him, "Leon."

Leon had been a old friend of both Claire and Chris over the years, Claire being the first to of met the blonde years back in Raccoon City when all hell broke lose. He picked her up at a gas station that was swarmed with nothing but the undead, helped her through the mess even while separated and then the rest was history. In more ways than one I was thankful for him.

We weren't close like he was with my siblings. I knew little to nothing about his personal life and I suppose that was reciprocated when it came to him— he knew nothing about me other than I was the youngest out of the Redfield siblings.

I'd see him around the house every once in a while and usually the only interactions we ever made were small head nods or a wave of some kind but it was never a conversation. Maybe, if I was lucky— I'd get a 'Hey Soph.' But that even was a bit rare to hear from him. We kept to our own and I suppose that had something to do with the age difference and how I didn't work under D.S.O or even in the line of work that Claire took on. I worked at a little Café on the corner not far from where Claire, Chris and I all lived. A nine to five average job.

I was hardly ever in the loop with the three of them unless Absolutely necessary. Sometimes it irritated me and other times I was thankful for it.

"I'm gonna be heading out for the night but," I watched as the duffle bag that was hanging from his left shoulder was slightly moved to the front of him, rummaging through and pulled out what seemed to be a case file, "Director Winston wanted you to take a look at this. Our next case I suppose."

Chris had taken the flimsy case file into his grasp, giving Leon an appreciative head nod, "Sure. I'll take a look when I head home."

Yeah right. Like we would be leaving anytime soon.

I wrapped my arms over the top of the chair, my upper torso turned to face in their direction and I rested my chin down on my forearm all while my eyes fluttered shut. Sleep had really started to take a toll on my mind and body as of recently and as of now, I suppose it was showing quite a bit now.

I was still currently in College and as much as I loved my current job because of the customers and the environment in general was always something I looked forward to, It wasn't something I planned to do for the rest of my life. I somewhat had a plan for my future-- Something both Claire and Chris pounded into my head until it eventually stuck. They'd constantly lecture me on how I just needed to find something I loved to do, something I'd enjoy and wouldn't look at it like a job but rather a hobby but It wasn't like I needed much convincing from either of them.

I watched both of my siblings fight off all the bioterrorists and B.O.W.'s for years. I watched each of them fall apart and be forced to pick those pieces up on their own, one by one. I was a first hand witness to see how the innocence and light they once held in their eyes had faded away until it was nothing more than an old shell of who they use to be, drowning in the darkest parts of them would then you find maybe a small glimpse of their happy nature they once held.

In some sort of way, I understood their need for me to go to college, to have at least one of us find normalcy because deep down I suppose they knew I'd fall into that same work unless they drilled into my head where I needed to be.

It wasn't so bad, the only complaint I ever had was the bags under my eyes that I could only imagine were big enough to carry groceries if I wanted them to. And not the flimsy, small bags of dairy or maybe those small boxes of chex mix you'd snag from the shelves. No, I'm talking about the gallon of milk they'd have to double bag. The twenty four pack of soda you'd struggle to haul in through the front door. Hell, even the cases of water. I could carry all of it under the honey pools of my face.

I must of found my way into a short slumber because the last thing I remembered was faintly hearing both Leon and Chris murmuring amongst themselves over that file. Now, here I was with a few taps to my shoulder and both men looking down at me with what seemed to be amusement in both of their eyes.

"Cmon Sophie. Leon offered to take you home."

Oh thank god.

It was like heaven hitting my ears in nothing but pure bliss with the mere though of my aching back hitting the plush of that mattress waiting for me at home. I was practically jumping for joy on the inside, bouncing off every wall inside my head.

I rubbed the tired from my eyes with my palms, groggily speaking, "oh okay," a soft yawn escaping through all while I pushed and forced myself up from rather uncomfortable hunk of mental I had been sitting in for the past six hours now.

Hearing a chuckle from both men at me turning my gaze towards them but I couldn't find it in me to give a gentle glare or even a playful scowl because I was far too tired to do such a thing.

Both Leon and I begun heading out towards the door, my legs having a mind of their own to drag me around for the short period they needed to. I heard Chris call out to us which earned him a rather irritable groan from me that I though was only amongst myself but ended up being a little louder than intended.

"Make sure she gets through the door," he was in the process of placing those god awful set of headphones back over his ears.

"Will do," I heard Leon call back, giving a lazy thumbs up. He was trying to leave as soon as possible and I knew that. Chris however, was not and I could tell he was treating it like I was being babysat inside of just a drop off to the house.

"Key is in the small flower pot to the left of the door,"

"Got it,”

"Oh! also Soph, don't stay up too late. You got classes tomorrow. I better not see you up late or I-"

I finally had enough, finishing his sentence for him, "Kick my ass. Yes, I know. Can we go now?" I huffed, motioning towards the door with almost a whiney tone to my voice but I couldn't care less right now.

He let out a husky laugh, although I didn't find it very funny he was taking up more of my time I could be using to get a decent eight hours of sleep. But with a wave of his hand I was practically pushing Leon with my palms to get moving before he started talking all over again like he was a babysitter of some sort and giving Leon a run down on how to handle me as if I needed yet another person worrying about me in my corner.

[inbetweenhours]

so concept, humans are space orcs traffic series/3rd life  au featuring human Scott because he has main character energy and is unsurprisingly my fav character in most smps-

anyways uhh I doodled this sloppy concept like a week ago because I on and off daydream about space aus with hermits and life series characters y’know? Anyways I actually go far enough in daydream mode to double down and talk about the concept in a brainstorming discord and ended up with the following plot, which will explain the context of the doodles lol. Enjoy

Basically to my memory it was a very basic usual humans are space orcs kinda set up. Or at least a concept I’ve seen enough times to grasp and remake. Humans are kind the boogey-men of the universe. Underdeveloped enough they haven’t been able to reach out to the rest of the galactic community on their own. Were largely considered protected for a while, and there was lots of disputes politically about interfering with them.

This all came to a head when a group of humans had gotten off planet, likely through malicious outside intent, and ended up breaking havoc and killing many aliens. Pretty deserved but with no survivors and gruesome display of adrenaline force and cruelty they immediately earned a name as the boogeymen of the greater universe.

SO onto plot we actually care about with that basis in place. The 3rd life characters are all champions of a super illegal fighting ring run by a group of watcher adjacent aliens probably. Some have been champions longer than others, some are much newer. They are kept in various different cells around the facility when not fighting to contain them, since they’re all various types of aliens with unique strengths and weaknesses. The unique layout of the fighting matches, and proximity of cells allows very specific groups of them access to each other most of the time. 

For example, the Dogwarts folks are in cell blocks close to one another, and thus have time between fights to socialize. They have the opportunity to forgive injuries and make plans.

Jimmy is a bit special, a unique alien. Kinda a cross between a nymph/floran and an avian yknow? So he’s very pretty and incredibly fragile with his stupid bird bones. He is often, if not always the starter event for fight nights. Him losing his match (because he literally never wins) is the kind of kickoff to the main event. Then he is kept separate from all else to be healed and such. Somewhere a close eye can be kept on him than others, can’t have their favorite canary dying after all?

Nearby to Jimmy is where Scott is kept when its brought in. Scott is, of course, human. He cannot communicate with anyone like the other prisoners can, and is having a considerably tough time.  He proves push come to shove that human survival will win, and he will fight and fight well. However he also shows restrain, making him terrifying but perfect for these fights where they don’t actually want a champion dead, lest they have to be replaced.

Scott is kept in close proximity to Jimmy also to be kept under watch, though much more because he is considered a much higher risk than other fighters. Because of this though, he and Jimmy end up forming a kind of bond. They’re the only non hostile presence the other has and despite the language barrier they get along. They even begin learning to communicate, though its uniquely not quite either language.

There's definitely other background dynamics and shit happening with other fighters but these two have my focus rn so sorry. 

The actual plot kicks off with Grian, formerly staff of the fight pit went rogue and for his disobedience became a fighter himself. He hatches an escape plan, ends up finding a way of communicating it to as many of the other fighters has he can, and fight his opportunity to spring it. 

Gotta clarify, the fights are run either on a big old travelling ship. Like a BIG ship that smaller ships can doc on to come watch fights n stuff. Allows for maneuverability n hiding. OR an obscure ass moon.

Anyways so Grians springs his plan, the establishment is in chaos. The other fighters are making a break for where ships are parked with the intention of hijacking one and escaping together. Whatever beef anyone has from the amount of breaks and bruises were given in the pit aside, they gotta get out of this together. That's why the group waits as long as they do while Grian (follows by Scar for backup) hunt down Jimmy to get him out too.

They hadn’t expected to find Scott, the human. They hadn’t fully considered Scott for saving. So new, and so dangerous. But they find him crouched over Jimmy, unconscious and various of their captors strewn around. Unconscious or dead Grian doesn't check.

He wants to get to Jimmy, but Scott won’t back off. Scar manages to deescalate and its terrifying but they manage to communicate bringing Jimmy with them. Scott picks Jimmy up on his own, intending to follow them. And Grian finds he doesn’t have much of a choice. The human is coming and also helping them he guesses? He hopes?

They get to the ship the others have yoinked, no one has time to question anything they just get the fuck out of there. They tend to their wounds, watch over Jimmy, and Scott passes out at Jims side once he’s sure he’ll be okay.

The rest of  the actual au would theoretically consist of the various fighters coming to terms with what happened, with their gripes and treatment of each other. Scott learning to communicate, all kinds of misconceptions from everyone being addressed and broken. They learn to trust each other, stay on the run from their poachers, and reunite with a couple helpful family and friends on the way (Pearl, Mumbo, Lizzie,, as ya do. gotta get em in here somehow lol)

anyways that was all it wasn’t a big thing but it’s a fun brainworm. Y’all can do as you want with the thoughts :]

[oxygen-stealer]

I've got many many thoughts on resurrected Terzo :)))

More sketches and LOTS of headcanons below the cut

(Click for better quality btw)

So to start my explanation of how he could've even been brought back in the first place is because- yknow that hammer they hit head popes with to make sure they're dead? Yeah well the people embalming him didn't do that because he was decapitated and they figured that was probably a good indication that he was actually dead.

Well later on, The Clergy is starting to get a bit nervous with all of the power Copia seems to be growing into and they're looking for a plan B despite being out of heirs. Commence resurrection.

Upon first being revived, Terzo immediately lashes out, catching Sister Imperator with his claws. He's literally been in hell for five years and it shows in the fear on his face.

His skin is paler, greener. He smells of formaldehyde, his head is hastily stitched on his neck. Being in hell has also embedded slight demonic energy into him, it seems like the world warps around him, like his power leeches into the ground he walks on. He has flashes of his memories of hell but he generally tries not to think about it.

Now I also want you to imagine this:

Imagine you're a guy in a very high position of power that never really feels like he's good enough, then eventually you're forcibly retired and killed for not being good enough by people that should technically be below you and your asshole dad. Then suddenly you're dragged out of your glorious afterlife in hell because those same bozos want you to replace your absolute sweetheart younger brother (he's actually your brother now too???) because they also maybe want to kill him. And to top it all off your favorite ghoul was tossed back into the Pit like he was nothing right after you died.

You'd be pissed off right? Yeah well that's where Terzo is at.

All of his usual charm and whimsy takes a backseat for a low burning rage. He doesn't bother giving any of the siblings of sin the time of day anymore. The Clergy quickly recognizes that this was a terrible idea because this guy hates them even more than he did before and is one more situation away from snapping and taking someone back to hell with him. Maybe Copia, even as the antichrist, wasn't actually that bad.

Regardless, Terzo reluctantly becomes Papa again through some loopholes regarding living papas and what not. His new album takes a significantly darker, angrier tone than any other. Imagine the darker sounds of Cirice through most of the album. I'd argue that kinda darkness was very much present in Meliora but even that had some zest for life within it. Now, like, this music is made by a guy that literally died horribly and went to hell. This album is haunting.

During rituals he tries to kinda act like his old self because he does love his fans but you can kinda tell it's not the same ("heeyyy guyyyys I'm back :))" *barely contained rage*). You can also tell all of the ghouls are quite a bit more on edge than they were with Copia, you can cut the tension with a knife.

(The ghouls are not really concerned about Terzo himself, but rather what it means for Copia and themselves. They're concerned that the clergy's trying really hard to throw them all out. Which they are. Also none of these ghouls have really been around the other Papas, and they know Copia has been unusually friendly with them, so they're a bit weary about acting wildly as they usually would)

Really there are only two people Terzo isn't mad at. First, probably the only benefit of all of this in his mind is getting to see Copia again and getting to witness how much his awkward little brother (they actually were brothers too! He jokes he that he always knew it) has really grown into his skin as Papa. They catch up for hours, Terzo meets Copia's ghouls, they talk about his music, they talk shit about Nihil, reminisce, etc. It's been the one good thing about all of this. Terzo is heartbroken that he was taking Copia out of the spotlight because it seemed like he had grown into it so well.

And the other of course is Omega. Apparently, all of Terzo's ghouls had been thrown back into the pit almost the same day he'd died, but it was believed that Omega himself had killed a sibling of sin beforehand and left their body as an omen, greatly straining the relationship between the ministry and ghouls as a whole. Despite this, Terzo doesn't once stop asking for him. If they're going to bring him back they could've at least had the foresight to give him any kind of motivation to stay. He'll summon him himself if he needs to dammit.

In all honesty he misses him and the rest of his ghouls dearly. You'd think they'd be able to be together in hell but the reality is the different layers of hell aren't actually something most are meant to pass through unless you're a 13th century italian poet. So Terzo really hasn't seen any of them since he was alive and it weighs heavily on him. He knows wanting to summon Omega again is probably selfish and that his time back on earth is likely to be very limited, but he finds it difficult to think of anything else. (Omega would be thrilled, but the ache of being left again would still linger. He should've stopped to think about all of this before falling in love with a mortal but it's too late for that now isn't it?)

Of course, nothing lasts forever and Terzo's revived body gives out after a good handful of months. It's a wonder he didn't take anyone with him on his way out or that the Clergy didn't take him out themselves. That whole situation was a bit of a disaster so the Clergy decides that maybe Copia isn't that bad for now. Until they come up with something better at least.

[natikoko]

Talking to your girlfriend’s gay moms— a guide

basically how my agents act around off the hook. pure chaos but in different ways

Adrian (4)

- Genuinely says shit like “Yes, Mrs. And Mrs. Houzuki-Ida, I’ll bring your daughter home by 10:30!” But seriously it’s from the deepest pit of his heart he means it

- He WILL bring Marlon back home because the last time he didn’t Marina nearly had a heart attack. And he felt so. Awful. How could you make Marina of all people worried. How could he do this

- Chivalry is his middle name! He was raised as a gentleman! Even if he’s bad at romance, he’ll read up on those top ten most important ways to impress your girl’s parents articles!! He holds the door open for Off the Hook, buys them complimentary gifts and even ships a bouquet of flowers to their address once in a while. Yknow, because it’s a good impression!

- Pearl told him, in these exact words “Cut the bullshit, Adrian, you’re practically family now. Now, get in the damn kitchen and get some food or’ll seek Marina on you.”

- He does indeed take it down a peg. He’s much more relaxed around them than trying to desperately gain their approval (he got that a long time ago)

- Bakes the Houzuki-Ida family goods sometimes !! (He is not good at baking)

Tilly (Cap’n 3)

- Finds herself much more relaxed around them than others. Allows herself to act naturally

- That being said, something… Happens to her whenever she’s at their place. A shift in nature, like she’s a werewolf or something

- Will not shut up. She will talk your ear off about anything and everything. she talked non-stop about the history behind the ancient French culinary industry for an hour. (Marlon is listening intently, head in her hands, kicking her feet, actually smiling for once)

- Is the most active you’ll probably ever see her. Laughing boisterously, taking dares and contests from Pearl (do NOT leave these two alone) and just overall a positive person

- Does of course maintain respect while in her girlfriend’s house with her literal parents. But at this point, they’re all more like a bunch of friends than anything formal

- what does this family do to her

- Do not ask her what occurred at Off the Hook’s mansion on September 2nd, XXXX.

Bonus: Marlon (8)

- Has a kinda tired attitude to her. Is constantly making sure Tilly doesn’t do Something Else she’ll regret and always have photographic evidence of or making sure Adrian doesn’t panic over a wrong social cue and knock something over her with his huge man hands

- they’re the barbecue uncle essentially

- Doesn’t show her emotions well so her face is always neutral or unintentionally annoyed. Pearl and Marina know how to decipher what she’s feeling

- On that topic they’re the parents ever

- They pamper her to a concerning degree. Literally anything Marlon wants she’ll get. If Marlon shows the slightest interest in something she’ll get it within the next 24 hours. This makes it so Marlon never looks at anything in a store because they’re both scouting her like hawks

- Marlon doesn’t talk in many words. Responds in single sentences or words to them— I don’t think she knows how to express her needs well but They’re always patient and supportive

“How was your date with ‘Till and Adrian?”

“… Good.”

“What’d you guys do?”

“… Went out for dinner. Crusty Sean’s.”

“You look elated. Y’all must’ve had quite a time, mmh?”

“Yes… It was nice.”

[nerves-nebula]

Idk if it was recent but I was scrollin for tmnt 2012 mikey stuff and I saw an ask you answered about the 2012 abusive to mikey fics lol- Obv you dont have to answer but Id like to pit my two cents in- Which is like,,,Lowkey as long as its done well I dont think the “omg rise verse treats each other much better and adopt 2012 mikey fics” are that bad- Theres plenty and I mean PLENTY of like abusive splinter abusive 2012 bros fics out there and like its honestly a hit or a miss on all of them???

Like legit as its written well I dont think those fics are exactly much of a problem- Bc its just like “omg they help each other heal” kinda thing- I do personally prefer the fics where rise is like “erm yall are really fuckin rude to each other” “well yall are all emotionall constipated” and just help each other heal n shit lol

-2012 TMNT Enthusiast <3

idk shit about shit TO BE HONEST. I have NO horse in this race except for the nebulous horse-concept of "I like to read fics about abuse and i want the abuse to be realistic or well thought out in one form or another"

i never got around to watching all of 2012 and i probably never will cuz sometimes it makes me UNCOMFORTABLE but not like, in the fun way that i seek out. it makes me uncomfortable in the "oh the people writing this thought this was a funny joke but it mirrors my home life too much to be funny and now im uncomfortable cuz i'm painfully aware that there are ppl out there that think this is just like. comedy. and probably don't even care ppl like me exist." <- person who was lowkey bullied by its sibling

like there are things to appreciate in 2012 for sure and i even like it like 60% to 70% of the time but it's also kind of triggering sometimes and i cant really tell when it will be either one of those.

ok but thats just me talking about my feeligns- BACK TO THE SUBJECT AT HAND:

I honestly don't see a lot of value in reading fics that are like, a meta "here's what i think is wrong with this series" or bashing other versions of tmnt. i mean i understand why someone would write them but they don't hold a lot of value for me personally as a reader.

to this day my favorite A-Team Is Abusive fic is These Days, it's been abandoned i think, but reading it was soooo good for me. I remember the genuine anxiety i felt while donnie was setting up his plan to run away. the authors got other fics too and it makes me CRAVE some good dysfunctional family reconciliation.

also it's clear, or at least it appears so to me, that the author really cares about these characters and is kind of taking the whole "ok but what if its not slapstick and we take the physical violence stuff and belittling stuff seriously" route which is like. yeah i really like that actually.

plus the like, leo dealing with the pressure of leading his family and kinda failing is !!! idk. and i really liked raph there cuz he was like a jerk but also totally understandable to me yknow, if you've been doing something forever it might not occur to you that it's REALLY BAD hhfasujgksadmagg.

GOD IM JUST TALKING ABOUT MY FEELINGS AGAIN AAA

as for rise/2012 crossovers. uh. shrug emoji. idk shit about shit but the few ive tried to read weren't realllyyyy my kind of thing, cuz they mostly seem to be meta fics about the authors opinon on fandom stuff instead of like. anything else, hefff. so. eh.

[dreamhot]

taako is SUCH a fun character i would love to hear your thoughts on him

ouh i missed this yesterday I LOVE HIM . SO MUCH like tbh magnus is prob my fave character overall but taako is like... my guy. he's Mine. i claim him. yknow how it is

i think he's the clearest example of the dramatic changes between the goofy tone at the start of the podcast and how deep things ran by the end. one of justin's first statements on taako's character is that he's dumb as hell - which, while played a bit for laughs in the beginning, obviously fades away pretty quickly (thank god). cos the thing is, while taako is certainly flippant and unserious at times, he's far from being an actual idiot. he's a brilliant wizard, which comes out a lot more as the story develops obv, so i'm glad juice decided to do away with the stonecold moron approach from early on

while i haven't ventured too much into fan meta spaces, i'd wager that he's probably the target of the most accusations of character inconsistency (evidenced by justin himself mentioning this in ttazz). and while i get why people might say that - though i'd chalk some of it up to the silly undercurrent to the podcast - i never really felt that he was legitimately inconsistent. since day 1, he was been relatively self serving and standoffish, and that doesn't wholly go away by the end. sure, he naturally forms more of a rapport with his teammates and other recurring figures as time goes on, but it's trust hard earned - and easily broken, as we see in the reunion tour lunar interlude. he cares deeply but is Extremely reticent to put that care into something (or someone) who doesn't deserve it. and once you've destroyed that trust, it's not likely to ever come back fully (as in the case of lucretia)

taako is an entire independent being, but in certain ways he's still one half of a whole - so i think it stands to reason that he would've inadvertently doubled down even more on his self-preservation in the absence of some integral part of himself that he didn't even know was missing. you can't really blame the guy for having a difficult time finding a comfortable social place in which to settle, even if it means he can come off dismissive or selfish at times. it's more or less just a protective measure (on top of an existing ego, which isn't exactly unearned especially as his skills develop)

travis describes magnus as lawful good which is . WELL i mean tres horny boys are a bit too murdery for that in general, but juxtaposed to that, i'd almost be inclined to set taako in neutral good... or maybe even neutral. i don't think he'd serve sinister agendas - some moral compass within him definitely seems to pit him against what he perceives as shitty or unfair - but i also don't think he'd go out of his way to do the 'right' thing unless he had stake in the cause. he is, as he's said numerous times, good out here

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

different media anon here, thank you so much for your answer! It really pushed me to try watching the stageplays someday in my own time... somehow... haha qq if you dont mind me asking again (sorry if theres like a limit on ask per week or something), yknow how theres rivalries between divisions? Had the DRBs not been a thing, which divisions/groups do you think would actually be pretty friendly with each other, and which ones would still be pretty tense despite the lack of hypnosis mics lmao

What a super interesting idea. I tried to consider each team's dynamic with the other team, and it got a little long, so sticking this under a cut.

First, I want to properly define how this thought experiment will work, as removing tension/the Hypmics altogether makes the plot collapse entirely and raises a few questions about how several groups got together and what certain team members are up to, if not orchestrating tension. If Rei isn’t slinking around in the background looking shady and cooking up some DRB-related shenanigans, is he really still Rei? And so on.

Therefore, I am going to stick to the letter of the question. What if there were no DRBs? The DRBs seemed to have come about because Otome had the bright idea of pitting two rap boys against each other for sport in a bloodless, more marketable version of a gladiator match, so what if she just... didn’t do that? When Ramuda called Ichijiku and went, “Yo, what up, homie G, did you know the boys are planning a revolution?” what if Otome didn’t have anything lined up and kind of had to be like, “Well, shit”? So then she sent out Ramuda to break the crew up but in a totally lame, Ramude-esque way.

You know in FP/M+ chapter 11 when Hifumi tries to guess the reason TDD broke up and guesses that someone ate someone else’s pudding? Yeah. That’s what we’re going with here. Ramuda went around, ate everyone else’s pudding, and blamed it all on someone else. (We can assume Jakurai caught him in the act or something.) The mild anger on the Ichirou-Samatoki end and the sheer “wtf, Ramuda?” factor on the Ramuda-Jakurai end was enough for TDD to take a temporary hiatus, and when all tempers cooled down, they decided to go their separate ways but remain friends.

And while this may not be necessary for the letter of this prompt, let’s throw Sasara and Kuukou a bone and say that their tiffs with Samatoki and Ichirou happened in a similar fashion. Would Samatoki blow up and send Sasara’s ass packing back to Osaka (temporarily) if he thought Sasara touched his shit and Sasara, sensing an opportunity to clown on Samatoki for it, did what he does best? Absolutely! Would Ichirou and Kuukou butt heads in a he-said, she-said argument over who drank Ichirou’s last Coke? You know it. But as in TDD’s split, these arguments wouldn’t last long, and everyone would be pretty admicable before long.

Now our stage is set. Welcome... to the pudding AU. 

BB/MTC: Samatoki and Ichirou are still homies to some extent, and this means that Ichirou still looks up to him as an older brother figure. By the sort of transitive property of older brothers, Jirou and Saburou would probably likewise respect him and at the very least would play nice with the rest of MTC. Samatoki likes kids, so he’d have no issue with the younger BBs, and Riou enjoys company as well. The group would probably have a lot of fun camping and having cook-outs at Riou’s place in the woods. However, there is an issue, and it is the one person I haven’t mentioned yet. I do not think Juuto “Mature Adult” Iruma would enjoy spending his free time with a middle schooler, especially if that middle schooler is as liable to sass back as Saburou is. Thus, the cook-outs would likely devolve into a very different sort of roasting over a campfire and would end with both Juuto and Saburou in time out.

BB/FP: After Ichirou cools off in regards to the Coke and pudding incidents (which may take a while), I figure he and Ramuda would fall back into a similar dynamic that they have in canon, wherein Ichirou thinks Ramuda’s a little weird but not enough to really do anything about it. FP and BB have fairly dissimilar interests, so I don’t think they would hang out a ton. Additionally, I think Ichirou would be a bit concerned about Dice and Gentarou’s bad behaviors (gambling and lying) rubbing off on the little BBs. Still, they might all get food or something every once in a while. The TDD manga suggests that Ramuda will, when he’s not pestering Ichirou, be occasionally struck with the desire to feed him, so I could see him popping up ever so often to treat the BBs to a nice dinner in some cozy little family restaurant. FP is like the weird uncle and the weird uncle’s irresponsible friends who give baller presents at Christmas and teaches you all the cool swear words you’re too young to know.

BB/MTR: This is a dynamic that I don’t think would work super well, not because of any sort of animosity, but simply that these two groups have such big differences in maturity and interests. The Buster Bros certainly wouldn’t mind fishing or dinner/drinking parties after work, but they wouldn’t have much to contribute to the adult conversation. Likewise, I’m sure that MTR would listen politely (Hifumi maybe not so much) to conversations about anime and school, but they wouldn’t be personally invested in it. I’m sure they all think well of each other but are probably casual acquaintances at best. They might have more luck mixing in a bigger, blended group, such as in TDD.

BB/DH: Despite how surprisingly easy it is to remove the DRBs from Hypmic and replace them with pudding without losing a significant chunk of the story and its character dynamics, I do not think we can conceivably make whatever the hell is going on between the Buster Bros and Rei be about pudding. Therefore, this group does not get along. Sasara and Ichirou probably keep in touch in a vague, acquaintances way. In canon, Ichirou doesn’t really reach out to him after he splits from Samatoki (even though there’s nothing really preventing him from doing so), so I imagine something similar would happen here.

BB/BAT: Oh they would kick so much ass. You know Kuukou and Ichirou would be making monthly trips to hang out with the bestie and try to beat each other’s ass in a parking lot somewhere. Jirou and Juushi would bond over music, and if anyone tried to bully Juushi again, Jirou, Kuukou, and Ichirou would show up to whoop their asses. (Saburou’s on standby waiting with a phone ready to call their lawyer (Hitoya)). I think Saburou and Hitoya would annoy the absolute hell out of one another, so they would end up very close friends too. Somewhere, there’s a group picture of all 6 smiling and hugging, and Hitoya texts it to Jakurai with the caption, “Look at this! Five kids, you bitch. And no child support, no less. You wish. You wish you were me.”

MTC/FP: It surprises me that Chuuouku had to make a reason for Samatoki to hate Ramuda, because the grasshopper arc shows that FP manages to piss off MTC plenty just by virtue of being themselves. I do sort of think that the only reason TDD works as well as it does is because Jakurai is a buffer absorbing the worst of Ramuda’s obnoxious energy, thus stopping him from trying to speedrun becoming a Ramupancake by annoying the absolute shit out of Samatoki until Samatoki beats the absolute shit out of him. And I mean... I do get it. I love the character Samatoki to death, but if he were a real person, by god there is something about him that would make it physically impossible for me to not fuck with him. His bravado is purely a bastard magnet. (I think that’s part of why he and Juuto get along so well.) Also, Gentarou appears to be allergic to cops and would be unable to resist making Juuto’s life hell (there’s a bastard magnet on Juuto too). So I have a feeling this would devolve into an absolute shitfit for four members of this little gang while Dice and Riou are just chillin’ on the side. So long as Dice and Riou can keep chillin’, everything’s all good. To be honest, I think Dice could get along well with MTC provided he left Gentarou and Ramuda at home - hell, I think Dice could get along with virtually anyone in the cast provided he left Gentarou and Ramuda at home. He’s as chill as could be while Gen+Ramu are chill in the same way that the surface of the sun is chill.

MTC/MTR: Hmm.. a mixed bag. Riou and Jakurai would become best friends overnight, partially because they’re on eye level with one another for a change, partially because they can commiserate about war, and partially because Riou would suggest, “Would you care to come into the woods with me to cook absolute batshit ingredients, fish in mountain streams with your bare hands, and wrestle the local wildlife into submisson?” and Jakurai would be like, “Oh! :) Would I!” A match made in heaven. As for the rest, I’m not sure. I think Hifumi and Riou would actually be able to get along in an odd sort of way - they’d swap recipes, and Riou would share some of his plants in exchange for spices he can’t get in the woods - since Riou’s absolutely patient enough to handle Hifumi’s high energy. Doppo and Riou would also work. Like Dice, I think Riou’s chill enough that you can send him to virtually everyone (barring Saburou, who is fourteen - apologies to the fourteen-year-olds reading this, but someday you will understand what I mean) and expect him to come home with a new best friend. Honestly, I think this whole dynamic would actually shake out pretty nicely. They seem like they could be trusted to have a chill time drinking/eating together someday. MTR are like MTC’s square cousins, and MTC’s like MTR’s slightly sketchy friend you know from high school who’s cool but definitely runs with the wrong crowd. (I would say they’re the weed dealer if not for Juuto’s obvious hatred of the topic.) The only reason why I called this a mixed bag in the first place is because I was a bit concerned about leaving Juuto and/or Samatoki and Hifumi in a room together - see the bastard magnet comment above - but knowing that Juuto is Doppo’s acquaintance would probably mitigate that a bit. (Although, knowing that Juuto is a potential Doppal may inspire Hifumi to do something embarassing like share Doppo’s baby pictures.) So hey, why not? Friends.

MTC/DH: God, what an interesting concept. Assuming that Samatoki and Sasara make up, I think Samatoki’d treat him in a “Haha, you knucklehead :) *beats his ass*” kind of way, which is all well and good. Running from an angry Samatoki gives Sasara good exercise. So Sasara would introduce him to Dotsuhonsters like, “Hey haha this is the yakuza leader who tries to beat me up all the time :)” and Roshou would go, “GOOD for him.” Samatoki and Roshou are, of course, instant best friends. The only awkwardness is when one day Roshou and Samatoki both share some pics of themselves a few years back, and Rei doesn’t say anything, but he does lean over and give poor Sasara (who is sweating bullets) a Look. There is not anything this man does not know. (Roshou and Samatoki, of course, are fucking oblivious, god bless their dumb asses.) Introducing Riou to the crew would go well, although I think Riou would be a bit baffled at their high-speed sense of humor. Introducing Juuto would go less well - and here I would like to pause and apologize to all the Juuto fans, since I feel like I’ve been making him out to be a cantankerous bitch, but he really is canonically closed off and prickly. That’s a big part of his character and what makes Juuto opening up to MTC so special and wonderful. At any rate, none of what I said above about Juuto was meant to be insulting, and I am now going to immediately fly in the face of that and lay into him - because I am 100% certain Rei has lured Juuto into an NFT scam, catfished him online, or both. The meetup quickly devolves into a game of tag as Juuto scrambles to get Rei into handcuffs.

MTC/BAT: Like FP, I think BAT’s obnoxious energy is a bit much for Samatoki. However, I think Juuto and Hitoya could be absolutely amazing friends, as they have pretty similar approaches to how they treat the justice system and how it plays into their respective missions. They also seem to have similar-enough tastes that they’d probably hang out in their free time. Hitoya would cry with relief that Juuto actually knows how to spell “charcuterie” after three days holed up in the mountains with Kuukou. Riou and Kuukou would likely respect one another for their strong conviction to their beliefs. I could see Riou being interested in training with Kuukou. Survival rhythm, survival monk. Survival rhymes and survival funk. Get sprayed in the woods by a survival skunk.

FP/MTR: There are two ways I can see this going, and one ends in the apocalypse, which is why I think King Records saw it vital to pry Jakurai and Ramuda apart before their respective groups mixed. On the one hand, I can see this having the same dynamic as a couple who have wildly different friend groups so you know the other dudes in a very second-hand, say “hey” when you pass on the street way. I don’t mean that in the sense that Jakurai and Ramuda would be a couple in this AU, but considering Jakurai’s willingness to forgive Ramuda for much more egregious shit, I think it’s fair to assume they’d make up after maybe four days tops for something as insignificant as “trying to break up the friend group” and “secretly being a government spy”. At any rate, assuming they each go on to build their own friend groups on their own time while still remaining close friends, I don’t think they would try to make one supergroup of pals because Jakurai and Ramuda’s one-on-one dynamic is very different than their group dynamic. Jakurai tends to... maybe babysit isn’t the right word, but mitigate, perhaps, Ramuda in group scenarios like TDD, and that wouldn’t work well with either MTR or FP. Both groups rely on them treating and being treated as equals while being able to express their true selves. Therefore, Jakurai-Doppo-Hifumi would be good friends, and Jakurai-Ramuda would be good friends, and Ramuda-Gentarou-Dice would be good friends, but there’d be no Jakurai-Doppo-Hifumi-Ramuda-Gentarou-Dice supercluster. On the other hand, if that did exist, the results would be disastrous. Yes, I think Jakurai would love this because he’d Hayami Show the hell out of Dice (Jakurai and Dice’s voice actors are very good friends), but if you allowed Dice and Doppo to meet on good terms, their mutual hatred of the systems they live in would spark a revolution overnight. As for Hifumi and Gentarou... Jesus Christ... it might be a good thing that they dislike one another in canon, because I cannot imagine a more chaotic pair of good friends. Together, they have the collective energy of those posts which show someone swerving through incoming traffic at roughly the speed of sound with the caption “Can’t help being a Gemini! <3 Live, Laugh, Love”.

FP/DH: Putting Gentarou and Sasara together is likewise a recipe for disaster. I think they’d try to one up one another, resulting in horrible casualties. I don’t think Ramuda would voluntarily want to hang out with Rei either - he doesn’t seem to be that fond of Rei in canon - so I don’t think these groups would ever naturally mix.

FP/BAT: Honestly, if left to their own devices, I think FP would try to adopt Juushi. Ramuda and Gentarou would, I think, find him very charming, even if Dice might be put off a bit by the crying. I don’t know how things would work with the rest of the crew, though. Kuukou might hold some resentment for Ramuda causing a fight between him and Ichirou, and Gentarou+Dice would be too protective of Ramuda to let this go easily. It’s probably best that these two groups don’t mix, apart from FP trying to arrange custody for Juushi on weekends.

MTR/DH: In theory, this could work pretty well, especially because Hifumi would kill to host a house party for his friends. They’re all mature enough to be able to connect well, if they ever had a reason to connect (I’m not sure what this would be, though - probably a friend of a friend recommendation via Samatoki). In practice, this would be a terrible disaster, because Sasara would goad Jakurai into drinking and then immediately regret it, if he lived to tell the tale afterwards. Still, talk about an interesting experience, huh? Oh, on that note, Jakurai and Sasara may actually get along by virtue of being into interesting people/things, although for somewhat different reasons.

MTR/BAT: Unfortunately, the Jakurai-Hitoya split is another relationship break we can’t pudding our way out of, boys. Hifumi and Juushi seem like they have the potential to connect due to their similar ways of coping with traumatic situations, but god... Poor Doppo... Imagine trying to sleep while the two of them are going, “HA HA HA HA!!!!” in the other room. Kuukou seems a bit too rough and wild to fit in with most of the group, although he and Jakurai might enjoy meditating together.

DH/BAT: Honestly? I could see it. Kuukou and Sasara have a strong dynamic back in MCD, so I could see them staying casual pals and eventually bringing the rest of their crew around to hang out. Both groups also have similar dynamics of younger, energetic dudes roughhousing while an older man looks on and gives timely advice, so I think they wouldn’t clash too much, even in terms of Kuukou and Juushi’s relative immaturity. Sasara enjoys that kind of commotion, and Roshou, while despairing about the state they leave his apartment in, enjoys encouraging kids and younger people. The one point of contention I’m foreseeing is Hitoya being alarmed by Rei’s flagrant law violating.

Super fun thing to think about! Thanks for sending this in.

[superhero--imagines]

Part 1 Here! / Part 2 Here! / Part 3 Here! / Part 4 Here! / Part 5 Here! / Part 6 Here!

A/N: If I had to give this part a title, I would title it “(Y/N) and their human friends” Also I lied. This part was too long so it might be another part (or two) before we get to the Bella Arc.

* “You know you would be pretty good looking without the glasses.” Lauren says twirling a strand of hair and ignoring the algebra worksheet in front of her.

* Yeah that’s kind of the whole point

* “Contacts kind of freak me out.”

* You’re expecting a snarky response but instead she nods.

* “It’s the whole sticking your finger in your eye thing right, I totally get that.” She’s watching you with such inquisitive eyes, it almost you uncomfortable.

* It’s been a few months since you started school, you’re almost at thanksgiving break. So far you feel like you’ve assimilated well, and you have a good balance between school and caring for your animals, but it’s situations like this that totally throw you off.

* “Hey (Y/N/N), what did you get for number 5?” Jessica asks, you’re thankful for the distraction.

* “I got X = 8” Jessica confirms she got that too, and moves onto the next one

* You three are in the worlds most unlikely group. You didn’t even know Lauren was in this class you usually just pair up with Jessica.

* “Hey, me and a some people from the volleyball team are going to Port Angeles, you should come with, we could give you a makeover.”

*You wonder what the other angle here is

* It didn’t take long for you to realise that somehow, even with the ugly-duckling routine, the Cullen’s were at the top of the social hierarchy.

* Part of their popularity was probably because they didn’t really seem to interact with anyone outside of their own social circle. Which just made them all the more desirable.

* “I don’t know Lauren, I would have to ask Esme if it’s okay.” Though you can already bet Rosalie isn’t going to like this.

* “Oh cool, just let me know!” Lauren smiles, it turns out the act of considering her invitation was enough to placate her.

* For once you’re actually glad Edward’s waiting for you outside of your class when the bell rings.

* “Edward read that girls mind.”

* “It’s always straight to business isn’t it. No, ‘hi Edward how’s it going?’ Or ‘How was your class, how has your morning been treating you?’ It wouldn’t hurt you to make some small talk” You give him a look, and he returns it with an expectant expression. You sigh.

* “Hi, Edward how was your class?” You plaster on a smile, and he returns with a smile of his own.

* “It was fine. A little repetitive, we’re reading “to kill a mocking bird” in English.” You nod, offering a consoling pat on the shoulder

* “That sounds super boring,” the books great and all, but you’re guessing he’s already read it like 30 times by now. “Hey Edward,”

* “Yes (Y/N),” He nods, hiding his grin behind his hand.

* “Would you mind doing me a favor?”

* “Of course, anything for you.” He grins openly now.

* “Would you mind telling me what that girl Lauren Mallory is thinking so I can know why she invited me,” and not Jessica her good friend. “to hang out?”

* Edward loses his smile.

* “The varsity members on the volleyball team suggested it, they think it’s a shame they couldn’t have got you on the team since you just moved here.”

* Unexpected but not the worst. You’ve really been half assing it in PE so you’re surprised they even want you.

* “Lauren-she thinks you could be-“ a lopsided smirk twitches onto his face. “in her words- ‘two super good looking best friends’ “

*oh. So she just wants a pretty b*tch squad?

* “Maybe I’ll go with them then” you were scared they were going to force you to show them the Cullen’s house and introduce you to everyone, or leave you stranded in port A as some kind of prank or something.

* Edward stops you

*“you can’t be serious” he has his eyebrows scrunched together

* “Why not?” Nothing more natural to fitting in then hanging out with your classmates. Unless- “if you’re worried about any accidents don’t, I know they all look healthy but they eat a lot of carbs. Way too starchy for my palette.”

* “It’s not that-“ he gets that brooding-existence is suffering look. “You shouldn’t trust humans too much, they’ll let you down.”

* Well what’s that supposed to mean, but before you can ask he’s already walking to his class.

* Well whatever, at least Emmett will tell you a good joke to take your mind off of Mr. Eternal Damnations ominous words.

* Too bad when you get inside he’s not here, instead Mike Newton perks up when you walk into the room.

* “Hey Eleazar, how’s it going?” You still have a hard time adjusting to use Eleazar’s name as your own. Apparently they came from a time when last names were only for nobles, so he offered you his first name instead.

* “Hey Newton, any plans for this weekend?” You take Edward’s advice and start with small talk. Mike Newton smiles, you guess he’s kinda cute, all soft cheeks and baby blue eyes

* “No I’m completely free!” Weird how he’s so enthusiastic about being alone, he must be one of those “relish time alone” types. Good for him.

* “Everyone needs some time alone sometimes.” He deflates, oh man you guess that’s the wrong thing to say.

* He looks like he wants to say something to you, but then Emmett sits beside you.

* “Can I have a swig from your water bottle?” You hand it over

* “Making out with Rosalie make you thirsty?” Emmett cracks a grin

* “It’s that whole bookworm-soccer mom get up, it gets to me yknow?” That’s actually pretty funny

* “So what she’s the Velma to your Freddy?” When the reference doesn’t sink in you rephrase “the nerd to your jock.” He grins again.

* “I think I might join the swim team just so I can see her wear my letterman” that’s actually pretty cute

* “You should do that, I’ll cheer you on at your swim meets” Emmett grins.

*”I’ll hold you to that”

* School life goes on like it always has.

* Weeks pass, marked by tests, homework assignments and projects.

* You actually kind of become friends with Angela, Lauren, Jessica, Connor and Mike.

* “So like, are you and Cullen close?” Mike asks. You and the group are over at Tyler’s house using his fire pit to roast marshmallows. The others are invested in another conversation but you can tell by Lauren’s subtle head tilt that she’s eavesdropping.

* “Which one?” Mike gets flustered at that

* “The one in our grade.”

* “Hmm, well I’d say Alice and I are kinda close, but-“

* “N-no not her,” he clears his throat. “The other one-Edward”

* “Oh, Edward’s my best friend.” The answer slips out automatically.

* “I-Is that why you’re staying with the Cullen’s?” Jessica asks. Everyone’s blatantly listening now, the only one who seems uncomfortable is Angela.

* You sigh. You know everyone at school is probably wondering about the weird relationship. Jessica’s just the only one brave enough to ask you.

* “I mean, it might be.” You’re sure, Edward’s friendship with you is the reason everyone was so quick to accept the living arrangement. “But I actually met Car-I mean Dr. Cullen before I met the others.”

* “How does that work?” It’s Connor who pipes in this time.

* “Well-“ you sigh you really don’t want to do this but at least your sob story will make you seem less suspicious. “So Eleazer and Carmen, they’re my parents, but they’re not my birth parents.”

* You tell them how your parents passed away in an accident many years ago, and how Carlisle had been your Doctor at the time while you recovered. He worked with you for a long time, and you’re pretty sure he wanted to adopt you, but the agency liked Carmen and Eleazer better, probably because Carlisle already had so many adopted kids.

* “Still, Carlisle stayed in my life as my doctor and a family friend. Then I met Edward and the rest of the Cullen’s and... the rest is history...I guess.” You’ve found it’s best to mix a little bit of truth into the lie, though really all of that was mostly what happened.

* Everyone looks testy eyed, Angela is holding back tears, and Lauren hastily wipes her away so no one can see. You wonder if maybe your powers leaked out a bit while you were telling your story.

* “Dude... you’re so strong.” Tyler claps a hand on your shoulder and pulls you into a hug.

* “Ah, it all happened a long time ago, I’m mostly over it now” You tell them all about your Coven in Denali, and how you have two families now, how you don’t regret anything. Well, the only thing you regret, is not staying human, but you can’t mention that so you fake a smile instead.

* Connor breaks out a bottle of vodka he stole from his mom, and pours a shot for everyone

* “To (Y/N)” everyone raises their glass, and not for the first time you feel the urge to cry but no tears escape you.

* You’re a lot closer to everyone after that. You even start sitting at their lunch table every so often.

* In fact the others follow your lead and assimilate with their classmates with ease. Rosalie joins the school book club, and very loudly debates Jane Austen’s to whoever will listen.

* Emmett follows through and joins the swim team. Jasper starts hanging out with some wood shop kids, you’ve caught him arguing about the superior wood in between classes with his new friends. Even Alice joins the art club.

* You try out for the dance/cheer team, it’s the only thing you don’t have to hold back in. Also you’re a great base, you could hold everyone on the team up single handedly during stunts. But you won’t know if you made it until summer vacation

* Everyone seems to be assimilating well, everyone except for Edward

* “You can’t expect me to trust these people (Y/N), not when I know everything they’re really thinking.” You roll your eyes

* “I’m not saying you have to be their best friend Eddie, I’m just saying it looks super suspicious that all the Cullen’s only hang out with each other and refuse to get to know anyone else.” You shove a text book into his chest, and he scoffs

* “It wouldn’t hurt to make some small talk.”

* And so Edward joins your group of human friends, much to the joy of your female companions and dismay of your male ones.

* Life is still strange. But it’s good.

* When you’re surrounded by your new friends, it makes you feel - almost like you’re human again

* And then everything falls apart.

* It’s almost summer vacation. You’re excited, maybe you can go to the beach again soon, and you wonder if it will be alright to take a trip to Denali to see your Coven. You’re pretty confident you made the spirit squad so you’ll have to pencil in camp somewhere. You held back, but just enough by your own parameters to make the bottom end of Varsity.

* You’re at your locker, when Rosalie, and Edward show up. Quickly followed by Emmett, Jasper and Alice.

* “Oh hey guys, you wanna go on a hike tomorrow it’s supposed-“

* “You have to leave.” You’re surprised when it’s Emmett that says this. Kind, jovial Emmett holds a grave expression.

* “What, why-“ for a second you wonder if the Volturi has finally come to get you. It’s been at least seven years since your transformation, it’s about time they started thinking about you.

* But then you notice everyone staring, the quiet buzz of phones vibrating only detected by your super hearing. People are always staring, especially when you’re all together. but this time you notice they’re not staring at the six super models gathered in front of the lockers.

* They’re staring at you.

* “There’s a video of you going around,” Jasper says, and Rosalie placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. “I think it’s better if you see for yourself.”

* He hands you his blackberry, and the grainy image of you come into focus.

* It’s a YouTube video

* You’re in the locker room, your (Your Color Skin) in full view under the fluorescent lights. You’re wearing your underwear, and your abs are on full display. You’re Grey PE uniform shirt is limp in your hands, you remember this, you got extra laps as a penalty and as a result, you were running late for class, you were alone in the locker room

*well you thought you were alone.

* Your body is literally perfect, the way you’ve always dreamed, but you feel white hot shame rise in your throat like acid.

* Your hands shake as you scroll down to see the comments

* ‘Damn who knew they had a body like that under those dorky sweaters’

* ‘(Y/N) Eleazar: Best body Forks HS 10/10 would f*ck’

* ‘Hot body, if only they ditched the glasses, and started wearing some tighter shirts’

* And the comments go on, there’s at least a hundred. You hold your cardigan a little closer to your body. You don’t have the courage to turn around. You can already imagine them staring at you, picturing what they saw in the video transposed onto your body

* “I’m sorry, I didn’t see this coming until it was already happening-“ Alice touches your shoulder and continues her apology but you don’t hear anything.

* You want to cry, you want to be angry. But all you feel is shame. And the worst part is, you didn’t even do anything wrong. So why do you feel so ashamed?

* “Hey, look at me.” Edward grabs your face in his hands, your amber eyes meet his.

*”Snap out of it.”

* Oh, your powers are leaking through.

*Your gaze turns to your foster family, all of whom sport equally uncomfortable expressions.

* You take a deep breath, and imagine reeling in your emotions, imagining them receding back into a locked box, just like Eleazer taught you.

* You need a calm mind right now.

* “Are you fine now?” Edward asks, his hands still on your face. You nod, resting your hand on top of his

* “I’m good.”

* “Good, because we have to get you out of here.” He’s moved his hand to your arm, about to tug you back home when you pull back and shake your head.

* “We can’t do that.”

* “What do you mean?” Rosalie hisses, her hand curls around your wrist “we have to leave NOW.”

* “No think about it, they’re right.” Jasper says, his eyes meeting yours. At least someone’s on the same oage

* “Think about it Rose, if I leave now with all of you it’s going to look weird.” Normal 15-17 year olds wouldn’t think to handle the situation on their own, especially not entitled rich kids like the Cullen’s.

*She seems to have gotten it because her hand retreats to her side.

* “Well what should we do then, I’m not letting you walk around here with everyone-“ she cuts herself off, a deep frown creasing onto her face as her teeth dig into her bottoms lip.

* “We need to call Carlisle or Esme, they’ll pretend they saw the video from someone else and file a complaint with the school.” You take a deep breath, and imagine the locked box in your mind. Your emotions held carefully within.

* “Until then we all need to pretend like it’s not a big deal.”

* “No way in hell am I doing that!” Emmett growls. “I’m going to rip that fucking peeping Tom piece by piece.”

* “Not all of us need to pretend,” Alice says, her gaze somewhere far away, flicking between futures. “Only Edward, Rosalie and I do.” Her gaze lands on you.

* “You need to go to your class like normal,” a hint of a smile curls onto her mouth. “Everything’s going to work out fine.” Edward’s focusing on Alice, reliving her vision.

* “Do you think you can manage being alone?” Edward asks, you don’t have the next class with any of the Cullen’s. You’ll be on your own.

* You catch Jasper and Alice whispering to each other, but pay it no mind. Flirting even in the middle of your entire world crumbling down.

* You take a deep breath, picturing the locked box over and over, making it a visual mantra.

* “I can get through a period.” Everyone disperses, and Jasper walks you to your next class. Edward wanted to, but Jasper insisted.

*”You’re always hogging them, give someone else a few minutes Edward.”

* You’re almost near your class when Jasper talks to you.

* “Hey, I don’t know if I should tell you this”

*You wonder if he’s going to offer to beat up the person who took the video, or if he’s going to offer you a comforting word.

* “Alice told me you’re going to raise some hell on a misogynist in there” he gives you a wicked grin, his incisors sparkling.

* How is it that every vampire seems to say what you least expect to hear and yet, it’s exactly what you need in the moment.

* He holds out his fist, and you bump it with your own. A grin curling onto your face.

* “Hell yeah I am.”

* You take your usual seat in Spanish like normal. You sit in the front row in this class, diagonally from Jessica. Mike and Angela sit somewhere in the back.

* You just need to focus and keep your emotions in check for 45 minutes. You visualize the box, calming yourself separating the mind and body.

* How did the saying go... a calm soul resides in a calm body?

* “-Zar, Miss. Eleazar!” Your eyes pop up to the teacher, the locked box falling out of grasp.

* “Yes, sorry?” The teacher sighs, you look to the white board to see you’re going over the answers to the worksheet. You’re about to provide the answer for the number you’re on when the teacher cuts you off.

* “I know you might be focused on body building, but in my class you need to focus on the material.” There’s a scattered laugh that fills the room, but your blood runs cold

* “Excuse me?”

* And that’s when your teacher knew he fucked up. He stutters over himself, the sentences overlapping

* “-really you should take it as a compliment-“

* “Oh you think I should take it as a compliment that someone recorded me without my consent while I was changing?”

* The rooms pin drop silent. Your teacher is sweating.

* “Hold on now- I think you’re being a little dramatic don’t you think” A smirk curls onto his lips. “You were in your underwear, it was really no different than wearing a swimsuit” he’s got this smug smile, like he’s right.

*Honestly you were ready to put everything behind you and move on if he just apologized. It’s gross that a teacher is watching videos of a student changing, but what would you have done in his situation if a co-worker showed you.

* “It’s all about perspective, a positive per-“

* But not anymore, you’re not in a forgiving mood, especially not for an idiot like this.

* “No it’s all about consent.” All the anger and despair you’ve been holding back comes flooding out. “When someone wears a swimsuit they’re consenting to show skin and be seen, but I wasn’t contesting to being seen when I was changing in the privacy of the locker room.” You don’t stop for air, your voice trembling

* “And another thing, I wonder how the school administration will feel knowing the same faculty that’s supposed to make students feel safe and enrich their lives is watching creepy videos-“ you stop when you meet your teachers eyes, tears streaming down his face.

* Oh f*ck

* You look to your right, finding your classmates in a similar state, holding back tears.

*So this is what happens to humans when they come in contact with your power.

* You try to visualize the box, but it’s too far now. And all the crying people around you don’t help.

*You need to get out of here.

* “Pathetic, not even an apology for your gas lighting.” She shake your head as confidently as you can, grabbing your bag with trembling hands.

* You walk quickly, maybe there’s a mountain you can climb and wait it out on. You’ll text Carlisle and let him now what happened. It shouldn’t be too-

*” Hey wait!”

* You’re already in the hallway when someone call out to you. You turn, expecting it to be Angela or Mike. Never in a million years would you expect her to be standing there in the middle of the hall, her hand hastily wiping away a stray tear.

* “Mr. Peterson’s a f*cking jerk.” Jessica sniffles, walking quickly to catch up with you. You don’t miss the fact that her bags not slung across her back.

* She must have left a minute after you did. You haven’t thought about her as a friend. Not a real one at least. She’s kind of like hot sauce, it’s fun when it’s around, but if it’s not then that’s not a big deal.

* So to see her here, the first to follow you out, rambling about wether you want to get frozen yogurt or pizza, it warms your unbeating heart.

* “Hey Jessica?” She stops mid-sentence, her eyes swinging up to you.

* You haven’t been fair to her. But you’re going to change that.

* “Thanks for being my friend.” And she smiles at you, her arms wrapped around her tight. It’s not the fake ones you see often the ones she throws to Lauren when she’s asking for Jessica’s opinion on an outfit, or when Connor tries to copy her homework’s. it’s a genuine smile.

* Before she can open her mouth, you hear two more shouts from the hallway.

*Angela and Mike are jogging down the hallway to catch up with you. The latter carrying a bright pink backpack in his hand.

* “Geez Jess, the least you could do is take your bag before you go bolting out of there” Mike’s panting as he holds out her bag. You don’t miss the blush ghosting her face.

*Looks like she still has a crush on him.

* “Hey, are you okay?” Angela asks, and you wish you could cry as you nod.

* “Is it weird that I’m kind of happy right now?” And the three of them smile, before wrapping you into a group hug.

*They all smell terrible. Jessica smells like boiled broccoli, Mike is like the overwhelming stench of fat mixed with sugar, and Angela.. Angela’s probably the worst. She’s sickeningly sweet mixed with a healthy dose of starch.

*it’s disgusting. You have a hard time believing any of the Cullen’s would lose their minds when they’re this close to any of them.

*still, even with the repulsive stench, it’s nice. You haven’t felt the body gets of another human in a long time, or heard the quiet thump of their beating heart. Even the odor is nice, it reminds you that they’re human.

*And for a second it’s easier to pretend you’re human too, just like them.

* “Dude why are you so cold?” Jessica groans, breaking the moment. She taps your arm but doesn’t pull away.

* “While we’re asking questions, Mike how much axe do you use?” Angela’s eyes are watering as you both laugh.

* “Like you’re one to talk, I can smell your strawberry shampoo two hallways over!”

* You watch the three of them untangle and start walking to the back exit from the gym.

* “So where do we go now? We can’t stay here.” Angela says

* “I was thinking maybe a coffee shop, if we take out books we might pass for having a free period” Jessica pipes in

* “Oh, how about the Arcade? A buddy of mine works there since he’s already on break from college, I don’t think he’ll minds us hanging out there.”

* So this is what Alice meant when she said everything was going to be okay.

*Your Human Friends were going to save you

*You haven’t forgotten Edward’s warning, someone did break your trust and let you down.

* But that’s what it means to build friendships, you open yourself to being hurt, and so do they.

* “Hey (Y/N/N), what do you think?” Mike asks, and they all turn around to notice you’re not walking with them.

*You try not to smile to wide. You don’t want to scare them off now.

* “I think there’s something fun about an arcade during the day, no lines.” You say, walking a little bit faster to catch up with your friends.

Tag list: @moonlights27 @thebluetint @the100thtwilight @awesomebooklover17 @oneofthepotterheads @smileygirl08 @imdoingathingmom @iconicgguk @yrawn @alyciaswhore @little-horror-show

[maximumjinx]

Steven Universe Gravity Falls AU

~Yknow what they say, if you run out of content, ya gotta make it yourself. This is a ? shot (I might continue or not who knows not me) please don’t ask for more I have 18 unfinished fanfics on this site.~

California was nice, Steven had to admit. The people were nice, the food was fantastic, and the weather was splendid. It reminded him a lot of Beach City. Though there were just so many people, and traveling north, Steven was beginning to long for something small and simple again.

Oregon was the perfect place for that, right?

“Ronaldo wants pictures of Bigfoot, and if anyone can find him, its you Steven.” Petey’s voice was faint on Steven’s phone speaker, tossed into the passenger seat as Steven blindly picked a highway exit.

“Sure Petey, but couldn’t Ronaldo just go to a circus?”

“Not big feet Steven,” Petey emphasized, “Bigfoot.”

“Saying it twice isn’t helping buddy.” Steven was half paying attention. He was focusing on the winding roads and the looming trees surrounding him. Deep, in the pit of Steven’s stomach, he felt something start to tug him toward one direction farther away from the highway. He wasn’t quite sure if it was a good or bad feeling yet.

“Forget it, I’m going to take a blurry photo of that mean Gem in the woods and say its Bigfoot.”

“Just don’t let Jasper catch you, she’s no joke when she’s angry.”

“I saw her ripping grass out of the ground I think I’ll be fine. Later dude.”

Steven heard a small click and smiled to himself. He’s happy to see how far the people of Beach City have come and how they’ve taken to the gems. He remembers when the Crystal Gems were once the outcasts of town that locals warned you to stay away from.

He looked up to see a welcome sign.

“Gravity falls. Well, that’s a funny name.”

—

Steven wanted small and simple but he feels he may have overshot it.

This small town had exactly three attractions. A town museum that mentioned marrying woodpeckers (Steven couldn’t figure out if that was a normal human thing, like taxes and velcro), a small diner, and as one local described it ‘some tourist trap’ deep in the woods. It was a sticky summer day and the former two attractions didn’t have airconditioning. Steven gambled on the last stop in hopes of stretching his legs and maybe finding a source to the strange feeling in his gut. It had become much stronger since he entered this small town. Alluring, but nothing related to Gems as far as Steven could tell.

He parked in the nearly empty lot and stepped out. Jacket wrapped loosely around his hips, Steven made his way inside.

A girl that looked about 13 was petting a pig on the front porch. She was incredibly reflective, and depsite the heat wore a knitted bedazzled sweater that made her glow like a disco ball in the sun.

She looked Steven up and down as he approached, a wide smile taking up her face and Steven saw bright braces with colored bands.

“Hi!” She launched upwards, startling the pig away, “I’m Mabel, but you can call me anytime.” The girl winked and stuck out her hand, palm facing the floor.

Steven blinked.

“Mabel, stop scaring away the customers!” A gruff voice yelled through the screen door, and soon an older man stepped out in a suit, wearing a fez and eyepatch.

Immediately the old man squinted at Steven, sizing him up.

Stanley Pines knew this teen wasn’t local, but he wasn’t sure if he had any money. For all he knew he was another boy trying to hit on his giftshop cashier, Wendy.

Oh well, a customer is a customer.

“Come in, come in, and see our mystical and magical wonders!”

“Magical?” This could be it, Steven could figure out why this town has felt off. Maybe it was gem related after all.

Quickly this older man who had introduced himself as Mr. Mystery gave Steven a tour of what looked like failed taxidermy projects. Now Steven may have a lived a sheltered childhood, but he felt pretty confident there was no such thing as a Sashcrotch. And so far, nothing had felt magical or mysterious.

“That concludes our tour! Here is our mistifying giftshop and it’s purchasable wonders!”

“Right...” Well, at the very least he was able to spend some time in airconditioning.

There was a girl behind the desk in plaid that looked about Steven’s age, and just a half inch shorter than him. She looked bored, flipping through a magazine as a young boy that looked a lot like Mabel made googly eyes as he swept by the door.

Steven guessed there was no harm in asking around.

“Hi, I’m Steven.” He smiled easily, walking up to the register.

“No refunds, even if an exhibit bit you.” She sighed, peeking up before turning back to her magazine.

“Oh no, nothing bit me, I just wanted to know something.”

She looked up to get a better look at Steven and gave a small smirk.

“Sure, but only because I like your shirt. Mr. Universe merch, now that’s a deep cut.”

Unbeknownst to Steven, Dipper Pines would had been watching the exchange felt a twinge of uneasiness as this out of towner talked with Wendy.

“Have you ever seen anything strange or weird actually happen in this town?”

Wendy’s smile dropped.

“Why do you ask?” Her eyes flickered to Dipper, just for a moment, and that was all he needed to rush over.

“Excuse me sir, please buy something or exit the store.” Dipper spoke in the deepest voice he could muster.

Steven looked over with a questioning expression.

“Oh sure uh-“ He blindly reached for the wad of bills that his dad had given to him before he left. Steven pulled out a hundred dollar bill and put it on the counter. Wendy looked up baffled as Steven stuffed the other cash back in his wallet.

“Boy was I wrong about you kid!” Mr. Mystery, seemingly materializing out of nowhere, now bounded over. He had loosened his tie and lost the eyepatch which turned out he never needed.

“Whaddya wanna know? I’ll tell you everything. There’s gnomes in the woods you know-“

“Grunkle Stan!” Dipper protested loudly, dragging his Stan away and harshly whispering at him.

“Did you steal that money?” Wendy asked as Steven watched the pair whisper fight in the corner. He turned back to the girl and gave a sheepish smile.

“Uh no, my dad gave it to me before this roadtrip. He’s actually Mr. Universe.”

Wendy lit up.

“No freaking way! Your dad is Mr. Universe? I only got into him since he managed Sadie Killer and the Suspects and they always perform covers of his songs on tour, I can’t believe he’s your dad!” She rambled, stars in her eyes. Steven beamed, he loved when people praised his dad’s music. Greg really deserved it.

Steven learned Wendy’s name and they swapped stories back and forth, only interrupted as the girl from outside slowly rose from the behind the counter beaming.

“A cute musician that loves weird stuff, take me now.” She swooned. Steven blushed profusely, not used to the attention.

“Sorry, my girlfriend Connie probably wouldn’t like that very much.” He said gently. Mabel looked him up and down and pouted.

“I can wait, but not forever.” She warned, and winked, bounding to break apart her grunkle and Dipper, who are now whisper screaming with arms flailing.

“I wasn’t going to mention that Dorito shaped jerk! Just the normal stuff!”

“It’s dangerous! He could be a spy, or government, or another stack of gnomes!”

Steven raised an eyebrow and looked at Wendy. She chuckled and shrugged. Steven carefully approached them.

“He can hear everything you’re saying anyways so might as well tell him!” Mabel interrupted, nodding towards Steven as he came up.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m definitely not government.” Steven technically didn’t exist at all. He never had a social security card and didn’t have a birth certificate.

Dipper only glared. Rich strangers with an interest in the paranormal didn’t come through gravity falls without some kind of agenda.

Steven hated the conflict he was starting. No information was worth this family fighting.

“Okay,” he surrendered, hands up, “I’ll just go. I’ll stick around town until tomorrow if you change your minds”

“Wait Steven-”

“Let him go Wendy,” Dipper glared as the boy in pink walked out, “We can’t trust him.”

“But I was going to ask for Sadie tickets...” Wendy groaned, defeated.

“There’s something weird about him.”

“Great!” Mabel beamed, “He’ll fit right in.”

~.~

Steven wasn’t crazy about sleeping in his car, but was seriously considering it after seeing the state of his motel room. It looked like it hadn’t been used in decades, a thin line of dust covering every surface. He was also pretty sure they didn’t even have free ice. 

“Wish Pearl were here..” He mumbled, exhausted. He curled up on top of the covers, fully clothed, and let sleep take him.

Being Steven Universe however, meant rest was sure to allude the half alien. 

Steven found himself in a dark space, fog all around him. Before a word could come out of his mouth he heard a fast, repetitive muttering. 

“Stranger...Wendy looked pretty today..Can’t trust...Tell no one...Ford isn’t here..”

“What, the-” Steven quietly walked toward the source of dialogue, and saw the faded silhouette of the boy from the Mystery Shack. His back was turned to him, but Steven recognized the blue vest and mosquito bitten legs. 

“I thought I was over the dream hopping.” Steven spoke a tad too loudly, starting the young boy - Dipper.

“What-” Dipper’s eyes grew wide in panic, and the boy fell back harshly.

“No, no, you can’t be in my head!” 

“Wait, I’m not-” Steven tried to reassure him, stepping carefully towards the boy but Dipper let out a screech of terror, sweat gathering around his temples.

“Bill sent you didn’t he?! He’s not really gone- he’s going to hurt Mable again-” Dipper began to hyperventilate. 

“Dipper please,” Steven took a step back, arms in the air in surrender. 

“I-”

“I’m not going to hurt you I swear on the gems.” He placed a hand over his heart. “This is a total invasion of privacy but it’s something that happens when someone’s emotions are out of control-”

“How are you here?” Dipper demanded, scrambling to his feet. “Tell me what you are and what you want.”

“I’m just passing through!” Steven insisted, then lowered his tone to calm the younger boy. “I’m kinda of magnet for weird stuff. I just wanted to help in case anything was going on.”

“We deal with things just fine around here.” Dipper spat, then watched as Steven deflated. He seemed tired, like he hasn't slept well in a while. 

“So what are you anyways? How can you be here?”

Steven winced, and laughed nervously. “It’s kind of a long story..”

Dipper raised and eyebrow and swept his arm around the void dramatically. 

“You have until dawn.”

~

“I thought that was a conspiracy theory, it wasn’t even covered by major news outlets.” Dipper look exhausted, cross legged on the unseen floor as he ran his hands through his hair. 

“I think Garnet is pretty persuasive when it comes to government and reporters. They all kinda fall in love with her.”

“She’s the one that’s really two aliens?” 

Steven shook his head with a small smile. “It’s hard to explain but yes, I guess that comes close.”

“That’s actually insane. I’m insane, aren’t I?” Dipper stood up, leaving Steven on sitting next to an empty space. “It’s been too quiet around here and now I’m so desperate for weird, that I’m making it all up in my head.”

“I get that feeling.” Steven smiled without humor, “but no, this is real. I’ll prove it when you wake up.” Steven felt a shift, the fog in the void getting denser. 

“Sooner than I thought, you’re an early riser huh?”

Dipper looked back at Steven, panicked. “You’ll come to the Shack again right? In just a bit?”

Steven smiled. “Promise.”

~

Dipper woke up to his sister braiding his hair. Mabel still had her pjs on, and a make up kit next to the bed. Dipper frowned, tasting strawberry shortcake. 

“Stop testing party looks on me, Mabel.”

“Stop having my face structure and maybe I will.” She grinned, covered in blue glitter. 

Dipper quickly washed up and got dressed for the day, feeling like he was anxiously waiting for something but not quite remembering what. 

He felt like he had a strange dream last night...

He quickly remembered, choking on cereal as Steven walked into the shack right as it opened. Hair slightly frizzy from the heat and eyes strangely tired. Maybe dream hopping took energy that he anticipated. 

“Steven!”

“Meal ticket!” 

“Grunkle Stan.” Mabel chastised as Dipper rushed over to the older boy. 

“Good morning everyone.” 

Dipper stopped short, slightly hoping that everything he experienced wasn’t just his imagination. That everything exciting and weird and interesting wasn’t always trying to kill him, ruin his life, or steal his candy. 

Steven looked tired, like he had been doing this much longer than Dipper, but he had still come out with enough energy to smile. 

“Not insane?” Dipper asked hopefully, quietly. Steven snapped his attention from his Grunkle and Mable bickering down to the Dipper. He gave a reassuring smile, eyes quite serious. 

“Not insane.”

[notquiteaghost]

there's so much to unpack in The Jason Problem that it is kinda unfair to expect every fanwork to bother but, yknow. is the unpacking not what's fun???

like ok. jason is murdered, he gets better, he wants the guy who murdered him dead. i honestly think that's reasonable. it being the joker makes it possibly the most cut-and-dry it could get, morally, cuz the joker's sole motivation is causing pain. there's the potential for a really good story abt privileged white men who are violent n dangerous very intentionally because they think they have the right who cry insanity after, in the joker. do not at all trust dc to tell it. anyway,

oh this got long. ok a lot more yelling that is actually abt jason under the cut

the joker should die, but bruce can't kill him, because unfortunately jason u are not the only horribly traumatised person here. it's conflicting access needs. they need to talk this out with an objective third party, they never will, having A Thing you should definitely talk out with bruce and will avoid talking out with bruce as long as you live is like a requirement for batfam membership, that isn't the problem

The Jason Problem is. murder IS wrong. people should not be killed. but, also, we do not live in a vacuum, and our society currently churns out a small but significant number of people who are actively dangerous and will only stop being actively dangerous when they are dead. that sucks! we shld do smth abt that! but nothing anyone can do now will fix everyone overnight. that's the core tension jason creates by existing in a story, because batman is not a long-term solution, batman is a stopgap. and jason is, by some metrics, a better stopgap

the problem with jason's methods isn't actually how moral they are, the problem is it's very difficult to kill someone without it affecting someone else you've never even heard of. any time jason kills someone without first researching them right down to how they organise their underwear, he cld be leaving dependents without a caregiver or households without a primary earner or anyone without medical insurance or etc etc. even people doing terrible things can be keeping other people alive. and of course if he's mostly killing goons well then he's mostly killing poor people who probably don't have many other options isn't he, and it is in fact a disservice to his character to have him not target rich people. as if a kid who grew up in poverty n then lived with the All Of Gotham's Problems Are My Problems To Fix Personally guy wouldn't have a very specific hit list. nvm organised crime jason shld kill republicans.

anyway (...two!), THEN there's the aspect ive yet to see addressed in a way that doesnt make me twitch: the lazarus pit. the ableism inherent in every canon interpretation. that to kill anyone you need to be insane, that Lazarus Pit Madness is somehow a separate unique phenomenon from the inherent trauma of dying and then being resurrected, that jason doesnt have ptsd even before he died. the perennial batman media problem of criminals not deserving adequate care. how jason went to arkham, how arkham still exists.

it is my instinct whenever media makes a character ~crazy as a lazy excuse for being a villain to say okay, yeah, they're mentally ill now, no takebacks. and like you cannot tell me jason doesnt have cptsd, but i think post-lazarus pit jason shld be on anti psychotics and mood stabilizers. i think if ur gonna tell me the pit madness '''got better''' then it is because jason is on psychiatric medication. it is very Yikes! to have the only or primary symptom of mental illness be murder, which is why the murder shld not be a thing he is doing because he's crazy. he has lost the things previously stopping him murdering (need for bruce's approval / being fifteen), and also he's horrendously traumatised.

i think red hood stuff is the one part of his life he's reliably capable of thinking rationally about, because compartmentalising your personal shit in order to work a case is absolutely in robin training 101. he'll make a ten-step plan that involves running surveillance, breaking n entering, multiple fake identities, and execute it all perfectly, then go home and have to remove all the mirrors from his apartment cuz [redacted for being potentially delusion-triggering].

by which i do not mean that mental illness is smth u can train urself out of, but that pushing yourself to an unreasonable degree is a cornerstone of being a bat. he absolutely makes his shit worse by trying to act like he can just turn it on n off. they all do this, what differs is simply the symptoms n problems.

and! speaking of bats! obviously bruce is going to continue to have a problem abt the murder literally forever, holding everyone else to the torturous standards he holds himself to is a fundamental fatal flaw of his. but that does not have to be true of anyone else, and i think it makes for much more of an interesting dynamic if everyone else is on a sliding scale of 'Murder Is Wrong but he is family' to 'moral objectivity is a scam' to 'if bruce won't let me kill anyone then someone shld get to'.

like, yes this is objectively very fucked up. batman media is objectively very fucked up things the whole way down, that's why im here, let's explore the implications of your dead brother coming back to life n becoming a serial killer. i guess u can just have him not kill people but is that not boring? why not have everyone else have to reckon with what unconditional love truly means

uhhhh i forgot if i actually had an overarching point. in summary let jason kill people in actual positions of power because hey you never know maybe if half the oil barons die that might motivate the rest!

[hitoshisbabygirl]

Emerald eyes of an Oni~ I. Midorya

Author's Notes ♡: Hey guys! I’m back with another collab! It really loved this idea and it actually has me writing some other fantasy pieces I’ve been thinking about starting .･ﾟﾟ･(／ω＼)･ﾟﾟ･.! This is nice and steamy , I really wanna make like part two to go more into actual Oni Deku ʕ⊙ᴥ⊙ʔ. But I may or may not. I hope I did a decent job with this wonderful idea and I hope you enjoy reading this and much as I did writing it ~ bunny ❥

Warnings : NSFW!!! (´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀) we love making baby Deku in control and large (the best way I could ⊙﹏⊙)

There’s some pet names, female oral, Size Kink (sorta touching on it) and overall some sex and I think that’s it!

Word count : about 3.6k give or take!

Paring(s) : Oni!Izuku Midorya x F! Reader

Enjoy ♡

———————————————————————

Being lost in the woods could have the right perks for the right people. It can be both relaxing and terrifying , the way the forest could be both scenic and suffocating could make the strongest man cry. Fortunately for Izuku Midorya , he knew this forest all too well. Growing up as a boy living with a small mythical village of other children rejected , stolen or given up to the village over something tragic with their biological family or for the way they came out and became. From minotars to elfs, pixies to sirens, the forest children had all types of creatures that lived in the hidden village grotto. But Izuku or Zuku , a childhood name from some of the younger children of the village, he was different.

Unfortunately , Deku was the only child of his kind, a oni born child, both his mother and father being human to oni made, him being born already a fully oni without corruption being needed for him to awaken his bloodline. Being the only child of his kind came with perks like being his own special and unique child. But it also had its disadvantagements, many were afraid of his large stature , growing horns on his head and his canines grwoig . Besides his hulking disposition, Izuku was the most helpful and sweetest child of the village.

He always made sure that his other members were well taken care of and never sad or lacking. Being as he was one of the babies of the village, he tried giving as much as he could to everything and everyone he met. The village was all he knew, and as everyone started to grow up and get out of the village or protect it, the more he realized that he would probably stay in this forest forever, protecting the place he’s become to love and recognized as his home, his safe space. Years went by and now at 20 (2000 years in his demon form) Izuku was a hulking boy, filled out with decorative tattoos running down his arms and back, dark forest green hair covering his horns coming from his forehead. He had protected the forest all his life and was used to having other children around him. But for the last couple of years as other children from the village were moved to protect their home from different sides of the forest Izuku had been lonely, sitting in the trees warding off people who tried to sneak in or steal the hidden treasures of the forest.

One day while In a tree Izuku saw a new face, a person he had never seen or met before. A girl that looked very lost , pushing through the trees as she became more distressed. With a few hops Izuku got closer , watching the human girl glance around and tripped over a root of a tree, starting to fall with a streak. At that moment Izuku jumped down, catching the girl before she could fall. With eyes close the girl waited to hit the ground only to feel herself suspended. Cracking open an eye she saw emerald colored eyes and horns looking down at her, her facing heating up as she made eye contact with a rather handsome looking giant. As the giant placed her down, she looked at the rather friendly man in front of her as he opened his mouth to speak to her. “Are you okay? I saw you falling from in the trees and I thought I’d help you out. You don’t seem like you know where you are, and I don’t think you’re planning to do anything. My name is Izuku and I’m a guardian of this forest.” The y’all and freckled demon spoke, causing the girl in front of him to smile and respond.”Well hello Izuku my name is [ ] and I’m rather lost! I’m sorry to disturb you and your home, I hope I didn’t do any damage! It seems like you’re a friendly er, person” The girl named [ ] said as Izuku felt his heart flutter in his chest. She was the warmest person he had met, and he had the urge to protect her. “I'm an Oni with a human heart, so in essence I could be called a human from my emotional state” Izuku said causing [ ] to smile as he turned around, taking her hand to help her navigate with him throughout the forest. “Well Izuku, it seems like this forest is huge, and you could use a friend! How about every so often I can come and bring you something to eat? Or I’ll eat up here so you’re not as lonely!” [ ] said as Izuku froze, looking down at the girl with a warm feeling across his face. “S-sure why not? That would be nice..” Izuku said, smiling back as the girl held out her hand , Izuku taking it as the shook hands, sealing the fate of their relationship.

The next year, the unlikely duo had a closer bond than anyone had ever seen between a human and one of the creatures that protected the village, especially a Oni. The two had become a taboo but loving relationship between a demon and his human. Within the short time frame [ ] had met the other village children and seen all types of beautiful things hidden in the forest. She tried out different hobbies with all the the different types of species that lived in the forest, she swam in the forests’ waterfall with the sirens and mermaids, ran along with the Minotaurs, climbed up trees and watched the world around them with griffins, and much much more. Izuku couldn’t of been happier with everything he saw, happy he found a human that was normal, didn’t want to catch it keep any of his family as trophies and was the sweetest and loving person he had ever ment . He felt he was his happiest now, and the villages mother Uhume , could easily see that. She pulled him aside while everyone was having a small festival in the waterfall pit, handing him a gemed ring. She smiled as the confused boy looked down at her. Uhume told him very plainly that if this human was who he wanted to take up as a wife, that it was the love that mattered, not the species. If he really loved this girl , he should take up with her as his wife and they could live in the hidden village together. And within another year, the two would be married.

As the now married couple took care of various things around the forest and the village, [ ] noticed things. Izuku would cuddle up to her more and kiss her face but when it got too heated he’d stop, walking away from the situation or changing the subject completely. He would steer clear of her and head outside when she’d give him more affection and her own kisses on his face and neck. Most affection caused Izuku to freeze up and hide from her the rest of the day. Then one day [ ] couldn’t take it anymore. She decided to wait for him to come home and trap him in their bedroom. That day, when he came home [. ] let everything be normal as usual. Once Izuku went and laid down she strutted into the room, shutting and locking the door behind her as she saw her hulking boyfriend peer at her. “Hey my love whats up?” Izuku said as [ ] smiled, walking to the bed and sitting beside him.

“Hey zuku...are you scared of me?” She started as he raised an eyebrow, sitting up on the headboard of their bed. “No I’m not scared of you. I love you my dear, whats on your mind? Why did you ask me that?” He said , taking [ ]’s hands as she felt her face heat up as Izuku looked at her. “You just..avoid my affection and touches..is there something wrong with me?” [ ] hated to admit but the fear that one of the mythical creatures would do a better justice to Izuku than her human body. She was weak, and from him bring the only Oni born child from the village she knew his blood was strong. She couldn’t help the feeling Of hold him back, and Izuku noticed the way she tensed up. “My love..I chose you, from the first time I met you I felt something different. I know you might feel like you don’t do enough for me but I can promise you, you are the most beautiful person I’ve met and I’m so glad I have you in my life. I’m just scared..if we take that next step I’ll hurt you..I’m not the smallest person yknow” Izuku finished with a light laugh, face heating up as he kissed the back of [ ]’s hand.

With a small smile and a deep breath she leaned forward, kissing her large boyfriend without giving him the chance to move away from her. With a muffled moan Izuku kissed back,placing her hands around his neck as he pulled her closer, the kiss deepening as [ ] let out her own moan. With hesitation he pulled back, [ ] letting out a whine as he sheepishly giggled. “Sorry babe I’ll uh..let you calm down and I’ll go get you something to uh drink! Yeah drink..” Izuku said as he went to get up. With a huff [ ] grabbed his arm, stopping him mid stride to the door “Zuku..stay..kiss me more..?” [ ] said as he felt his heart get in his throat “[ ] if I stay and kiss you more...I’m not sure how much I can hold back..” Izuku whispered as she crawled closer, kissing the side of his neck as she turned his face to hers “I don’t want you to hold back..make me yours” And with that Izuku let out a growl, pushing [ ] back onto the bed as she let out a giggle. With eyes voided out of focus he crashed his lips onto hers, starling her breath away as she moaned at the feeling, kissing him back just as hard. With a light touch, Izuku grabbed at her clothed hips, pulling her shorts down with a tug.

As the kiss deepened , Izuku lowered himself onto [ ] , giving her no room to breathe as he pulled away slowly, panting as they caught their breaths. “Oh my..Zuku baby are you alright? You’re..so warm” [ ] said breathlessly as she rubbed his head , the male letting out a groan as he rubbed her hips harshly, sucking in his bottom lip. “[ ], I hope you know what you’re asking for...please, if it’s too much just..stop me?” Izuku said as he averted his eyes from hers. With a gentle smile she kissed his forehead and agreed, letting her husband do whatever he was planning. With a shaky breath he pulled the rest of her shorts and underwear off, soon helping her come out of her shirt and bra as she covered herself, feeling nervous as Izuku ran his glance over her body, biting his lip as he pulled her arms away from her body, showering her neck and breast with kisses. As he made his way down her chest to her stomach he bit her hip, a yelp falling from her lips as he laughed, kissing the bite as he started to pull her legs open. As his glance went from her puffy lower lips up to the eyes boring down at him and flushed face of his lover he smiled, reaching up to kiss her one more time as his fingers danced around her core.

“My love are you ready..? I promise..I’ll be as gentle as I can be” Izuku said as [ ] bit her lip “Pleaae..I’m ready for you ..” she said softly as she rubbed a horn sticking out through his bangs. With a grin he continued down, kissing the inner parts of her thighs as he made his way to her clit, blowing a small puff of air onto it. A gasp fell from [ ]’s lips as Izuku carefully let his curved tongue run over her clit, his eyes focused on her reactions as he sucked the small bundle of nerves into his mouth. With a long moan the smaller girls head fell back, biting her lip as she rubbed the top of his head, giving Izuku the courage to continue.

He soon pushed her legs up higher, letting his tongue lick up and down her lips, slowly pushing the tip into her dripping hole. [. ] whined, bucking her hips into his mouth as she gripped at a horn, the beast between her legs letting out his own groans as his movement picked up, between suckling her clit till her legs shook and rubbing her lips with a thick finger. Without warning she felt the one sip into her clenching hole, then another,causing a loud moan to come from her throat as she felt him start to stretch her wider. “So small..so cute..you have the prettiest little pussy [. ] I can’t wait to stuff it full” With those words alone [. ] let out a whimper as she gripped his head to pull him in more to her clit, chasing a high she could feel brewing in her belly “I-Izuku..I think I’m gonna..I’m gonna” She started “Cum for me baby..go right ahead you got it” He encouraged as he saw the way her body tensed up. He picked up the pace onto her clit , sucking harder as she started to have her first orgasam of many for the night. Without hesitation he slid in another finger , licking quickly at her clit as the overstimulation started to kick in , [. ] whimpering as she tried to close her legs. With a growl and a smack to her inner leg , Izuku continued to pump his fingers into her heat, hitting her g spot as well as rolling his tongue around her sensitive nub.

Pulling away slightly but not stopping the pumping of his hand he smiled up to her “I’m sorry sweetheart you’re just so tight..if you expecting to take me tonight I’m going to have to get you nice and wet..and wide..I don’t wanna hurt you okay?” He said with a deeper than normal voice, his eyes darker and intimidating as she shook her head to his words. The once sweet and bubbly boy in front of her was gone, replaced with the savage blood of his demon side. With a smirk Izuku sucked her clit in time with his fingers, causing the girl to feel a even tighter sensation in her belly “H-hey Izuku...stop wait..I feel like I have to pee..” [. ] warned , whimpering as dark emerald eyes looked into hers. He moaned over her clit after hearing what she said not slowing down his ministrations as he doubled them in speed. Afraid he didn’t hear her [. ] started to push at his head between her thighs, trying to slow him down as Izuku growled and pushed back, pulling her legs even higher as he started licking her clit in tight circles, pushing his fingers right against her g spot as she screeched, clear liquid gushing out from her trembling hole.

With a satisfied moan Izuku sucked the liquid from her hole, stopping as [. ] started to scream and tug at his hair and horns. With a quick glance up eh saw a beautiful mess, [. ] legs shaking, her chest falling a rising hard, a flushing face with tears running down her cheeks. Her lip was red and trembling from being big on. Being forgiving , Izuku pulled his sopping fingers from her pussy, popping his lips off of her lewdly as he let out a deep breath. “You okay sweetheart? I’m sorry I hope I didn’t push you too hard.” He started as he wiped the wet stains from her face. “You sure you’re not some type of sex demon..?” [. ] laughed as she ran her fingers through his thick hair. “That was..amazing..I feel like I’m ready for you now..” She admitted, feeling her face heat up as Izuku stuttered “I-it’s okay I can just go handle myself, tonight was about you not about me. If you aren’t ready it’s okay! Don’t force yourself” He said sweetly as he rubbed the back of his neck shyly. With a shaky hand [. ] took his hand and put it on her cheek, opening her legs up as her puffed out pussy clenched. “Please..Fuck me Izuku..” And with that all small sense of control snapped . With a groan he pulled down his loose sweatpants, the bulbous head of his dick red as he let himself free, the thick and long shaft throbbing as he crawled closer, it full and swinging . [. ] gulped ‘oh god how is that going to fit in me’ she thought as a glimpse of shy Izuku appeared “I promise I’ll be gentle, trust my baby I don’t want to hurt you..it’s why I took so long to get you ready” With a gasp she felt the tip touch her still sensitive clit. She moaned loudly as He started to runt his hips against hers, his head catching onto the hood of her clit, giving a delicious feeling of need pumping in her veins. “Ready..?” Izuku asked as he gripped himself, positioning against her clenching hole.

“H-hey Zu?” [. ] called out as he shot his eyes right back up to hers. “Yes?” “Kiss me when you put it in..I don’t wanna scream” She said , laughing as he did too “Trust me..you’ll be screaming a lot tonight” Finishing that statement her leaned down and gave her a deep kiss, pushing his hips slowing into hers as they moaned into eachothers mouths, her arms and legs wrapping like a vice around him as he settled himself into her dripping heat. Looking at where they are joined she could see he was over half way in, and with a slight pull and push the rest slipped through her lips.

With a deep and shaky breath Izuku sighed, holding himself above her as She whimpered, getting used to feeling so...full. Soft kisses and hushed words of praise fell from his lips as he rubbed the bulge he made in her stomach, kissing her neck to get her comfortable. Soon she moved her hips , gasping as she started to gush more around him. “I-I’m ready” she said. And slowly, on so slowly he started to moved his hips, soft pants and moans falling torn their lips as they both got accustomed to the feeling of eachother, Izuku with the tightness of her pussy and [. ] with the fullness of his dick. “I-I love you so much [. ]...”Izuku whispered as his pace picked up, a high pitched whine fell from [. ] lips as she scratched up his back, causing his pace to increase again as he let out his own groans.

“Please..harder Zu..please..give me more” [. ] whined as she felt her stomach turn. Her mouth falling open as he followed her command, wrapping his arms around her small body as he pulled her even closer, biting down on her neck as she watched his dick stretch out her pussy and bulge her stomach, her eyes rolling back as he kissed the spots he bit down on. “Come on baby..I can’t feel you getting tighter..cum..cum for me yeah? I promise I’ll give you more just let it out..” Izuku whispers as he pulled away from the artwork on her neck, looking her in eyes as she let her mouth fall open, a small string of drool leaving her mouth as her tongue rolled out, the feeling of him continuously hitting her g soloist overtaking her senses as he smirked, leaning down to suck on her lip and soon taking her tongue in his own mouth as a hand snaked down to run at her clit, throwing her into another orgasam. With a loud moan she clenched down on his dick, starting to squirt again as he still pumped into her, his hips slowly getting sloppy as she gushed over them both. With a deep groan he started to pump his cum into her, moaning into her mouth as they gave deep kisses to eachother through their orgasams. As he pulled out from her dripping heat he saw the mix of hers and his cum fall from inside of her. Softly , he leaned down and kissed her once again, moaning into their deep and sensual kiss.

Once they felt like they couldn’t breath he pulled away for air. Izuku smiled down at the woman he loved , her breath heavily as she slid her hazed eyes over to his “Yes..?” She said softly “I meant it [. ] I love you...you just look so pretty..so beautiful like this..under me and fucked out..” Feeling heat pool to her cheeks [. ] looked away and giggled. “Well you did it..finally..” she said. Looking at the mess between her legs she saw that Izuku was getting re excited from their kiss. With a smirk she turned around, sticking her ass out as her pussy throbbed , some of his cum leaking down her legs Seeing her turn around like that made him re-ignite , his dick getting back exciting go again. “You sure you can handle this again baby?” Izuku smirked, smacking her ass ash she moaned out, pushing her ass even closer to him. “Please daddy?” She whimpered, turning to him as she bit her lip. “You little slut..what you ask for you shall receive..”

[seaquestions]

im sorry to the fetts, to anakin and obi-wan, but ive been thinking about quickswitch and sixshot’s story since before i got into star wars and ever since i saw the prequels i cant help it [copies homework but changes it as much as i can so its not similar] (long post ahoy)

anyway!! i started working on a lil comic script some time ago (which im not gonna finish anytime i bet but it still gave me Ideas). sixshot is taken prisoner by the autobots, and theyre gonna experiment on him to try and make their own six-changer. unfortunately sixshot wakes up, trashes the place and escapes before they could finish the full scope of the project but they did manage to create... a baby clone of sixshot (our boy, quickswitch). they get magnus/minimus to take care of the kid because a) not a lot of ppl have the clearance to know abt the project and he’s one of the few b) of the people who do know, he’s the only beastformer c) since he’s so dedicated to the cause, it would ensure that quickswitch grows up to be a loyal autobot, yes? so here. take care of this child.

things go wrong eventually. but for the time being minimus is an adequate dad to quickswitch, for someone who had zero prep or warning that he was going to care for sixshot’s baby clone. and they do love each other. minimus cares about the pup more than most things in life. maybe even more than properly filled paperwork. he has to be actually minimus way way more often too, and thats probably good for him and his identity issues. quickswitch‘s dad is minimus ambus, not ultra magnus. its a secret thats hard to keep, very hard now that he doesnt hide in the armour as often, but minimus follows the rules; not even his own pup can know.

and, naturally, quickswitch finds out. but not before he finds out the truth about his origins first. he’s a curious kid, yknow. and he’s different. people treat him different. nobody else is like him, he’s special. he’s going to grow up to become the hero of cybertron. (he’s going to grow up to become a weapon.) and it takes a little push from an anonymous message, telling him that he needs to know the truth. to know why he exists, and where he came from. and he sneaks around and finds out about the whole project, confronts his dad, and asks what other secrets have been kept from him and, well, the kid doesnt take well to being lied to his whole life. doesnt take well to the realisation that his whole purpose is to be used. he runs away, scratching the autobot insignia off his chest.

and as all this is happening, sixshot does his job, does his duty: committing acts of violence for the decepticon cause with indifference and existential loneliness. to someone like him, its a simple life. he’s been bored since he was born, really. he’s not had a challenge for a long time now. and unlike others he’s disinterested in fighting his fellow decepticons. whats the point, if they all end up in the same medbay? besides, he’d win anyway. he lets shockwave examine him, mess around and experiment, because what’s the point of saying no?

(shockwave found out about quickswitch very quickly, and decides to shelve the “cloning sixshot” project idea. if someone beat them to the punch, might as well not waste any resources. no, lets just take the already finished product, and make him think it was his idea too.)

quickswitch grows up, roams around the galaxy, unaffiliated. takes in a few bounties for cash, ends up making himself known against his will. well, its kinda hard to be inconspicuous when youre this big and you’ve got six altmodes, just like that very infamous decepticon, sixshot. quickswitch doesnt know if he wants to meet him. he’s afraid, a little bit. but he’s also so curious. think about it. thats his dad, right? well, his template at least. in his dreams, sixshot takes him under his wing and becomes his new mentor, maybe even recognises him as his son. in his nightmares, he is an autobot still, and he is pitted against the very person who he is made from, and he dies a brutal death. quickswitch still holds a grudge. he misses minimus but if he wants to stay, he’d have to rejoin the autobots, and he Does Not Want That. no telling how he’d be treated too.

minimus retreats into the armour. he’s ultra magnus nearly 24/7 now. he thinks about reaching out, of finding quickswitch and reconciling, but he’s afraid of being rejected. the magnus armour doesnt do anything against his son. its minimus who fucked up. he knows it, and he hates it. hates himself.

maybe they cross paths once in a while. but quickswitch just glares at ultra magnus’ face and walks away.

quickswitch gets swayed towards the decepticons. the idea of meeting sixshot is compelling, and as he grows into his own strength, he’s less and less scared, and more just curious, excited maybe. and he will meet him.

..... this is the part where im not quite sure how i want the story to go. the things that are definitely going to be a thing: quickswitch meets sixshot. sixshot is initially like “what the fuck” but slowly comes to like quickswitch. ultra magnus shows up at some point and all three have a confrontation. minimus and quickswitch reconcile, at some point. but idk what actually does happen??

either QS and 6S meet in a string of coincidences, or QS joins the decepticons? maybe?? i feel like either way QS is factionless by the end at least. thats just the vibe im getting. kinda wanna say “and then quickswitch gets two dads and they all live happily ever after” but ahh.... it just doesnt feel right for the tone of the story so far. but anyway thats what i got!!! the ending is!! not really there yet!! but ive been typing for like an hour so sksbjsjak im wrapping this up.

[faelapis]

so. while this was confirmed a year ago, new tweets by ian jq have reawakened the discourse about humans being the first intelligent life gems encountered. note intelligent life, not organic life. alien animals still died from previous invasions, but humans are the first intelligent creatures gems encountered. 

apparently, the party line on twitter (where nuance goes to die) is that it’s too “convenient” that humans are the first other intelligent species gems met.

i take a few issues with that assessment: 

a) “it was pink’s first colony, isn’t it convenient the diamond concerned with organic life owns the first planet populated by intelligent organics? wouldn’t they have died if any other diamond got them? isn’t that super lucky?”

no. we know rose/pink was very interested in organic life from before earth. she always thought aliens were cool, interesting, fun, and liked learning about them and keeping some as pets - such as the rainbow worms. we know she visited the others’ colonies, even if she doesn’t own them. she’s the only diamond who is simultaneously “selfish” enough to visit colonies up-close on a whim because it’s fun AND doesn’t see herself as too good to play with local organics.

so, then, why on earth (hah) wouldn’t she care if there had been intelligent life on any of the other planets? she didn’t fight for earth just because she “owned” it. she cared because she was able to form connections to humans... which she would have done regardless of which diamond’s colony it was. if anything, ownership is a hindrance to her usual romps, because blue & yellow expected her to stay put in her moon base. smile and wave. be a “leader”. 

b) “how is it realistic that humans are the first intelligent life gems have met?”

the SU universe as a whole is not a universe filled with life. it has been framed as cold, animalistic, overall lifeless, purposeless, and one in which you gaze at an empty sky and beg for an authority figure to give your life meaning. this works much, much better if life, especially intelligent life, is incredibly sparse. they are small flickers in a cold void. it adds to the feeling that both humans and gems feel of loneliness and pointlessness, where you create these intricate structures of organized almost-religion to feel devoted to a purpose. this existentialism, which we will explore further below, is a huge part of SU’s themes.

c) another theme - and this one is important - is that gems and humans have been treated as this mirror parallel of life, people, and society (tm) for the entire runtime of the show. hence, steven as the bridge. a bridge, usually, connects two sides, not five. they are more similar than they are different - to the point where you can use gemkind to comment on how humans are like, and see some of the horrors and tragedy of what humanity looks like “from the outside”. not once has there ever been implied to be any other intelligent species to disrupt this elegant, thematic dichotomy. ever. 

d) unlike fanon speculation, the show has always been very careful about never implying there were any previous rebellions. SU is not a star wars-esque universe populated with a million different intelligent species and cyclical rebellions + alliances between them. it is a big, cold, empty void, with tiny pockets of fragile life. which is part of why the connection between two alien species is so remarkable. it is the exception, not the rule.

e) many of us who looked at homeworld in a not-badfaith light already came to the conclusion that humans are probably the only intelligent life they’ve met. (based on what we know about the universe, its logic, the themes, the implications of other colonies, pink diamond’s personality, no other species ever bonded with enough to fight for, etc etc,)... and those of us who did, including myself, have (lovingly!!) compared the crystal gems to hippies or eco-terrorists. this 100% holds up to how homeworld gems generally, and the diamonds specifically, see them. 

this is why blue thinks a “solution” to pink being sad about the invasion is to create the zoo. it’s a petty conflict, from her perspective, of environmentalism vs conservationism. like how, if a capitalist is kinda sad about a rainforest being bulldozed, you might as well just take some pretty toucans and panthers and stick them in a zoo. they’re preserved for humans to enjoy. problem “solved”. it worked with the kyanite colony & rainbow worms, why not here?

this is part of why lapis accuses the CGs of not caring about gemkind. they put this silly little dirtball above gemkind, starting a war that hurt (”real”) people? 

this is also why pink, mocking the other diamonds, says “you wish to save these life-forms at the expense of our own? ha! don't be absurd!”. gemkind needs resources to create more gems. so, to the diamonds, of course that���s more important than Making The Bees and Monkeys Sad. they’re not even directly killing them, they’re just taking resources. it’s not “””their fault””” they need ‘em too, gems are more important. the same way, to us, humans are always the most important. many of us don’t give a damn about how we hurt animals.

f) it galls me that anything but the darkest possible interpretation, even when it makes perfect sense with what we know, is always seen as “convenient” by people who watched nostalgia critic once and think they’re now great media critics. i saw similar comments to jasper being brought back to life, even though it made perfect sense with what’s implied about the powers of the diamonds. most of that, too, was woven together by paying close attention to implication, not outright stated in a lore dump - but that doesn’t make it “convenient” in the bad way. it makes it the logical outcome of this world, if you paid attention.

like jasper coming back to life, it also told us something thematic about the diamonds’ absolute power over life & death. steven is kinda horrified, even if it’s a good thing, that things can ever be fixed. he still feels like he needs to be “punished”. he holds this toxic mindset that punishment is more important than healing, because of the pit of self-harm he’s fallen into... which is kind of how some people see the diamonds, and the world as a whole. 

even if things can get better, it doesn’t matter. at least not as much as punishing and distancing ourselves from the “bad people”. even though, actually, things CAN get better, and that’s more dependent on systemic change than it is on punishing “bad” individuals... that doesn’t fascinate them. it’s a fucked-up idea of “consequences” that is sadly prevalent in fandoms: they’d rather the world be doomed if they get to kill the bad people for it, than the world being slowly healed in this bittersweet way that includes everyone.

and i’m tired of that. on the whole, fiction is a reflection of this very dour, justice-oriented view of the world where we can only gain satisfaction from punishing the bad guys responsible. SU’s response to that is, that actually, just this once... no! the world gets better, and the “how” doesn’t revolve around individual punishment. it’s trying to heal everyone. 

g) it seems to me that for a substantial amount of people, “convenience” has less to do with the themes and logic of the world than it does with wanting canon to live up to their fanon image of homeworld and the diamonds. even if that means a ton of offscreen intelligent life dying Just for the sake of a 1-v-1 earth-vs-gems conflict, with no agency in the story. i don’t understand how that would make it better. all other life we’ve seen have been animals. pink was around for other colonies - even if she didn’t personally “own” them - yet didn’t care deeply enough to fight for them. because she couldn’t bond with worms the same way as humans. (yknow, unfortunately, for the worms :’<)

also, you don’t NEED other species of intelligent life to have been made extinct to still have a somewhat cynical interpretation of the diamonds’ intentions here. even if it makes the world less grimdark in praxis. it’s not enough to be aware of humans in the abstract, blue and yellow still won’t listen. you need to actually interact with humans in order to learn about / care for organics that don’t serve a purpose in your system. this was just the first chance gemkind had to do so. it makes sense that some would be curious, while others more jaded and dismissive, after encountering a universe mostly made of the lifeless & animals.

to give the other diamonds some credit, they’ve probably encountered plenty organic life, and thus have built up a bias that everyone but gemkind are aimless, animalistic life forms, and its up to them to give themselves purpose. why should humans be any different? oh wow, they live in groups? big whoop. so do ants. they build nests? so do birds. they babble? so do parrots and rainbow worms. they still serve no purpose. they still die if you breathe on them.

it’s only when blue meets greg - thousands of years later - that we see even the tiniest of cracks, in which blue is made aware of some level of emotional intelligence, but is still firmly entrenched in the view that he’s just a Slightly more advanced organic than others. like... puppies comforting you. she was surprised he could even do that much. this was a slow process for rose as well! 

but anyway, at the point of the war, to many gems, they are concerned first and foremost with gemkind. life matters because of your singular, gem-oriented “purpose”... but some gems, like pink, who never saw herself as a justified goddess, take the opposite approach. they don’t see themselves as “above” other life out of either lack of awareness of the capabilities of intelligent life forms or a self-appointed Higher Purpose. they’re curious, and then, willing to fight for life they can bond with, once they learn to love. 

which brings me to...

h) how a big theme of the show as a whole is selflessness vs selfishness. 

here, the crystal gems as a whole have actually been on the side of selfishness, from homeworld’s perspective. the end of gathering resources would mean they would no longer create more gems. which, to HW, is selfish. which... of course it is, if you think you’re the only intelligent life out there. 

the way homeworld gems express themselves is through an elaborate system of self-perpetuation and creation, in which the emergence of more gems is a higher purpose for the collective. the individual doesn’t matter. to them, the random creatures they find on other planets do not matter. they’re just organics.

humans matter to pink because she’s, like i said, curious about alien life, and less convinced about her own purpose... but also more personal, relationship-driven, and cares about what happens the specific individuals she subjectively bonds with, rather than prioritizing the overall “needs” of her species, like a good queen bee is “supposed” to do. 

homeworld thinks that no individual feelings - even a diamond’s - is more important than perpetuating of the system that gives their species meaning. most gems are happy to be shattered for that cause, because they’ve never formed those “selfish” relationships that makes life worth living without purpose. so actually, yes, this works with pink’s motivation, and blue and yellow not being as easily swayed works with theirs.

(all of this is extremely relevant to the arc steven has in “future”, btw. he needs a reason to be needed, purpose. and pearl’s arc, white diamond’s arc, jasper’s arc, etc etc - living for purpose vs living for relationships and selfish exploration of the self is a massive theme of the whole show!! at leaast if you pay attention to anything more subtle than merely “here’s a lore dump!”, which the show has always avoided. it’s more sublime than that. you, too, are supposed to only have a small, subjective understanding of the world, like steven does, which teaches you to value subjective perspectives. your purpose is not higher than the agency of others, and you shouldn’t control the world.)

i) it makes dramatic sense, actually, to center the conflict around the first time gems have met another species that stand a chance of understanding them! hence steven is a bridge. that’s a good basis for mirroring two species, a conflict that raises interesting questions about how we, too, see non-human life, the premium we place on emotional connection vs “purpose”, and how even when we learn to value humans that are different from us, we might still fuck around and bulldoze a rainforest, if it’s convenient and we can justify it internally. 

and again, it’s more logical. as we know it, the story went “long ago, gems took resources all over the universe, until pink found a species intelligent enough some of them learned to bond with on a deeper level than Cool Pet Worm”, NOT “long ago, gems zapped a bunch of intelligent species - which we will not mention ever, or give any agency in the story - and pink just ignored that, until she randomly decided humans were more important than all those, for no reason, even though she’d met countless intelligent species before”. 

the former makes more sense in ~every reading of canon, be it thematic, logical, personal, character-driven, etc~... except the one most favored by SU’s most badfaith of critics, which is that the only “logical” way for the story to go is one in which we can safely label the diamonds as inhumanly, unchangably bad, rather than having base assumptions, motivations and logics that aren’t so different from many non-dictator humans.

i think for some, they protest not because that makes more sense on a thematic, logical or character level, but simply because they want to. they’re USED to being fed that narrative satisfaction has to do with seeing the bad guys face comeuppance, in place of inclusive, welfare-oriented healing. faced with storytelling that rejects their view of justice while also openly being subjective, sublime, and loving of all of its characters, not just the “nice” ones, they see it as a “failure” to be what they’re used to. 

if the world CAN systemically heal in a way that includes people you personally don’t forgive, that must be a “flaw”. if those “bad guys” haven’t actually killed hundreds of intelligent species offscreen who have no chance to heal, that doesn’t fuel your justification for the most cynical interpretation of justice possible, so that, too, “must” be a “flaw”. if it’s framed as possible for them to work towards undoing their harm, that deprives you of the satisfaction of edgy punishment for unhealable hurt, so that, too, is of course a “flaw”. any world where healing is possible for everyone, and the perpetrators can contribute, must be a “flaw”, to a mind only concerned with the validity of vengeance. 

even when the story is perfectly candid that you’re personally allowed to be hurt and traumatized (like steven - and most characters, really), you’re still allowed to feel... you just can’t expect society as a whole to abandon its “inclusive healing” model and function on your logic; that your pain is solved by vengeance. it isn’t.

in short, cry about it. 

[felassan]

Thoughts on Dark Fortress #2

(This post is under a cut due to spoilers.)

So late with this one! some stuff irl was keeping me really busy and hyper-distracting me lately, but it’s finally over now so I’m back on my bioware bullshit. :D

Overall there were a lot of beautiful or awe-inspiring scenes in this issue, and a lot of great, meaningful / poignant character interactions and moments between characters. It’s pretty impressive actually how much was able to be packed in. I posted some of my favorite panels here. also omg! the action sequences! the big reveal! the ending!! woww

cool scene-setting, panned out shot of Neromenian and behind it, the Dark Fortress, to immediately pull you back into the world and ‘where we left off’. the combination of ruined dead trees, red lights, lightning and fire/smoke is very atmospheric and hints at what’s ahead

“From this... city, if we can call it that” is a sick burn and reminds you that the Qunari are technologically more advanced than most of the rest of Thedas, from their cannons to their aqueducts

more individually distinct Qunari soldiers, sth I again appreciate

! last issue there were big ‘You haven’t seen the last of Tractus!’ vibes, naturally, but I didn’t expect him to escape by stabbing and killing the Qunari using a chair-leg..!!

the last panel on the first page of Karasten is really good. the way it’s colored, the way it’s lit, the light and shadow, the fiery backdrop, cinders floating, the details of his expression.. 👌 it also makes me think to the possible future, to DA4 when mainland Thedas may be continuing to face the entirety of the Antaam

in Vaea’s acrobatics scene on the bridge, I know rationally that she’ll be fine but couldn’t help but worry for her. again I like how they don’t shy away from showcasing Vaea’s specific abilities. also the attention to detail - you’d think some rocks are just some rocks, but it highlights the risk she’s undertaking that if she falls it’s into rough seas which could dash her against the jagged rocks :’S. Vaea, gooooo!

Fenris’ “Enterprising girl” line has big “Clever girl” meme energy :D

my heart can’t take Fran and Autumn leaning over the edge after Vaea in worry ;; or Aaron looking back in concern over his shoulder ;; or Fran’s tender reassurance ;; or Autumn’s Worried expression ;; the care and bonds which have grown between this group of characters ;;

notice Aaron starts drinking when Vaea’s away from them and they’re beginning to grow worried about her safety. the poor man’s nerves and stress levels

Fran touching the vegetation while she’s considering if she could use her magic to open the entrance from the outside is a nice touch

did Marius leap in front of Fenris and Fran there when the entrance opened?? damn, he’s quick. and the three of them look all scary and formidable here ready for combat. notice how the curve of the door and the spikes that go into the ground, and the composition of this panel, make it look like they’re standing in front of an opened dragon’s maw? ‘teeth’, a rumbling ‘roar’.. some nice foreshadowing here.

the reunion panels are so cute. Autumn’s lil tum as she jumps and Fran and Fenris’ lil smiles of relief and at Autumn’s reaction to seeing Vaea, then a rare happy beam from Aaron.. feel.. the love ;__;

red lighting in the tunnel sets a dangerous, dramatic build-up mood

👀 more info on Fenris’ past, on the specifics of the process which gave him his markings. in the panel where he says that it took a long time, his shadow on the wall behind him reminds me of the shadow of his past that has dogged him for so long :(

Fenris and Marius height difference

discussion of the process shows the power difference between blue and red lyrium. blue lyrium took a long time, red lyrium is almost instant

Autumn is such an intrepid little explorer and alert scout, tail and ears up, head forward. good girl!

“I just... worry about you, my girl”  ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚  I’ll be so sad if these are death flags for Aaron and he doesn’t make it out of here. also note Fran in this panel, who recently had to kill her own father and is still dealing with that, watching the strongly paternal moment between Aaron and Vaea :(

love Vaea’s faith in Aaron and her sense of humor. also I don’t know why, maybe it’s because Vaea met Sebastian, but her “Maker, no!”, although in a completely different and light-hearted context, reminds me of Sebastian’s “Maker nooo!” at the end of DA2 hh

the reference again to Hawke, who Fenris saw haunted by what they tried to do - save their mother - and couldn’t :’(. also with the shadow in this panel, here’s another person struggling with the shadow of his past qq. this is later emphasized again in Aaron when he continues to talk about his past and in the panel is a chain and manacle. smart visual metaphors, a must in the comic medium with limited space

mushroom skull 💀🍄

“It isn’t about what I’ve done. It isn’t about my failures. Or my choices. It’s about their impact” - he’s misty-eyed here as he thinks back to Ostagar.. does this line btw seem almost meta to anyone else btw? :D it feels like a meta reference to the experience of DA players and PCs, who are always having to deal with the impacts of their choices

I wanna point out that I was right on reading issue #1, when I said “I’m positive that in panel 2 here, it’s the exact moment when he sees Cailan die” ;;

So Aaron is also a veteran of the Battle of Denerim

reference to the Hero of Ferelden - “Those were someone else’s battles”. I’m being captain obvious here but I can’t help but [heart pitter-patter] at any and all references to the HoF

I like the.. parallel? is that the word? Aaron’s stories were him trying to inspire people to make a change, or him trying to convince himself of that. and now here’s Vaea, inspiring Aaron with her words in these panels. the little guys can make a difference! in the world of Thedas, you don’t need to be a big bombastic hero or a Player Character to have an impact 

lmao Fenris right on cue. the moments of humor/light-heartedness are nice because they break up the tension and are sprinkled throughout without derailing build-up or taking away from dramatic story impact. yknow?

yeah Aaron!! leave it behind. leave it to rot with mr mushroom skull (and hey the mushroom skull was there for a reason). again tho if this is a death flag i 

Fenris straight down to business with the tactics

its cute how close Autumn has been sticking to Fran

Tessa checking in on Fran again, as she did in issue 1

Could Vaea’s “Well, shit” be an homage to Varric? :D they have met

I also wanna point out that I was right on reading issue #1, when I said “My guess is that the thing Tractus shows Marquette and Nenealeus is probably a chained up dragon or similar”

the poor dragon :’( big dragon the Qunari had in Trespasser vibes

the sword has a really cool design, kind of reminds me of something a samurai might be depicted wielding

👀 lore-drop! so ancient elven arcane warriors used lyrium-infused swords. this seems to confirm the sarcophagus is an ancient elven artifact, no? makes sense, wasn’t it said that the sarcophagus’ design was based on the architecture/outfit-design type elements of a specific faction, and that this was done intentionally? it looks kinda ancient elfy in make, right? also about the lyrium-infused swords of the arcane warriors, well well well.. remember that the Evanuris and the ancient elves mined the bodies of Titans for lyrium, for power and to use as a resource. here’s an example of that use

as I read through this portion I became increasingly concerned for my boy Shirallas.. we really are in it now aren’t we 😭

the Qunari are launching STRAIGHT-UP ROCKETS ohhhh

pretty ‘lightshow’ over the wall in the “Let’s hope the fortress is as secure as Danarius boasted” panel hh

protective older brother Fenris, impish younger sister Vaea. love that dynamic, we love to see it. sheepish and exasperated Fenris is so cute

the Bone Pit dragon fight with Hawke and co reference!

I wonder how long the dragon has been captive here, and how Danarius/Tractus was able to capture it

lore-wise what are the implications here? when Fenris’ ritual was being undertaken, the sword and the sarcophagus were bombarded with magic, fire spells. in this one they aim to have the dragon bombard it with fire-breathing. is it just fire that makes it work/powers it, or is there magic in dragonfire, in dragons? it reminds me of “Your heart beats with the old blood, as well. Where do you think it comes from? It sings of a time when dragons ruled the skies. A time before the Veil, before the mysteries were forgotten. Can you hear it?”

purple color for the dragon’s growling sounds/typeset is a great idea

lets.. goooo!!!!

Marquette is such a nerd. later on when he activates the sarcophagus he has mad scientist vibes

the dramatic reunion face-offs begin!! as the prophecy foretold!!!!1

true to form, Marius DOES have nothing to say ahahaha, even at this, his personal climax. maybe Marius dies in the next issue, but Tessa lives and gets to go back to Charter

these Venatori look almost Star Wars

Shirallas my boyy.. nooo... don’t do it 😭

ah ah ah! try casting magic with no ARMS

Francesca a beacon of blue light and goodness

the splash combat page is masterful. everyone playing a part, so much going on, everything happening at once. a thing that sticks out to me about it is Aaron’s outstretched hand and alarm as he watches Fran fall 

Autumn with her lil hackles raised

“The Venatori have returned” dun dun dunn

goodbye Shirallas 😭😭😭

the composition of the second to last page with triangle/diamond-shaped panels and the framing of dragon wings is awesome

the Dread Wolf rises, “the Tevinter Imperium will rise again”.. on-point on-point cohesion

there he is, the red wraith

Super Saiyan Shirallas

what a note to end an issue on

wow wow wow!!

and separate to the above, some speculation based on the cover of Issue 3: the piece of metal looks like a broken collar coming off Shirallas, like the one there was on the cover of Issue 2 coming off the dragon. also he’s all bulky now with draconic talons/claws (reminds me of in-world legends of Reavers who dug too deep of their own power after drinking dragon blood and whose bodies consequently began to manifest subtle reptilian traits actually). I’ll be interested to see what results of this allusion between Shirallas and the dragon!!

[luckycheesefoodie321]

Y’all. YALL. KIPO SEASON 2 is FIREEEEEEEE

Heroes on Fire...

Anyway!

Binge watched Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts Season 2 today and y’all it was sooooo good!!

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

I was gonna do a cut off but... I can’t be bothered getting my laptop sooo...

LONG POST TOO!!! Plus I have enough spoiler tags I think...

———

First of all... Scarlemagne = Mojo-jojo but with actual redemption arc potential???

They really set homie up as the biggest bad and then the twist mystery that Lio and Scarlemagne are connected at the end of S1... but then every much like The Storm from ATLA, we just DEEP-DIVED into Scarlemagne aka HUGO’s backstory and you’re like “well shit, no fucking wonder he got so damn twisted and hating on humans”

And yknow what even with his convoluted thinking and the terrible things he’s done, I’m really really glad they didn’t go down the whole “I blame Kipo bc I’m jealous she took Lio and Song’s attention away from me and that’s why they left me behind” story line... it’s absolutely fascinating that at no point does Scarlemagne blame Kipo, and even looks at her as a sister... like his line “you’re not the one who rejected me” was so powerful, bc he recognises she was just an innocent baby and sees the same confused child in her that he was when he was left alone on the surface... and twisted though his attempts of making her happy were, he was really reaching out for someone who genuinely cares about him again, and it helps that she’s also the daughter of the two people he once viewed as parental figures... and also Kipo’s just naturally empathetic and sees the good in people...

Then she was willing to sacrifice her humanity for a stadium full of mutes and Lio pulled him out of danger... so I’m reaaaallly hoping they keep this potential redemption going... bc really Hugo and Kipo are perfect mirrors of each other... very Zuko/Aang reminiscent... Hugo the animal experiment that was given human hopes and dreams and abilities, only to be thrust into a confusing and scary place with strange powers, and seemingly betrayed by the people he loves most... Kipo, the human experiment, with typical hopes and dreams but is forced into a confusing and scary place with strange powers, and finds out her whole birth and life has been a lie...

One of them just came out of it better...

Secondly... Kipo’s inner Mega-Jaguar scene = Naruto and the Nine-Tails Fox???

Like slowly learning to control the little bits of power that sneak through... being able to change between forms at will provided there is something anchoring her human half... that whole water/mirror/internal Jaguar sequence?!?!... USING THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP TO GET A GRIP ON HER HUMANITY?!?!

ACCESSING AN EVOLVED FORM OF HERSELF WHISLT THINKING OF THE PEOPLE SHE WANTED TO SAVE?!?!

Yo if that ain’t Naruto idk what is...

Next we have Mom the Monkey...

Wasn’t too hard of a leap to figure out... I probably clocked into it maybe mid ep 1?? Idk what triggered it but yeah don’t think that was meant to be a difficult leap to make... that aside, I like that they didn’t have Song immediately change back or have her wits about her when Mulholland helped free her from the pheromones... she’s been a monkey for 13 years, under the control of Dr Emilia, she hasn’t spoken and she didn’t have little moments to control her powers like Kipo... so figuring out how to change her back is a good ongoing mission to have I think... it also makes the fact that Kipo was the one to get through to her in the first place even more powerful and that’s SO dope...

Lio... yknow what when grown ups in these types of stories have regrets and the children are dealing with their consequences it can be very frustrating... but I like that Lio is more than willing to reflect on his past mistakes (valid tho it was that he had no choice but to grab Kipo and run before Emilia could get to her) and is also willing to ACT ON IT...he gives Kipo’s ideas a chance and its even shown for real when Scarlemagne forced him to tell the truth... Hugo was a child he raised and he doesn’t want to leave him behind anymore... even if he’s done so much bad... I’m also glad they showed Kipo expressing disappointment in her fathers actions, empathy for Hugo’s pain, but that didn’t mean she was suddenly disillusioned to her father and what kind of person he is... that can also be a very frustrating aspect of these types of plot lines...

Benson and his darling potentially mutual crush, Troy? What else can i say but beautiful first awkward teen crush PERFECTION! Both of them blushing when Benson ended up on top of Troy after tackling Troy out of the way of a rampaging Pierre? Troy kissing him on the cheek? Troy helping Benson out of the pit and the same falling in love music playing while Benson gazed up at Troy?? TROY AND BENSON HOLDING HANDS WHILE SCARED AND CLINGING TO EACH OTHER?!?!?

TROY BEING AT LEAST PARTIALLY (Latino? Hispanic?) MEANING EVEN MORE POC CHARACTERS AS MAINS LIKE HECK YEAH!!!

Sidenote: a good chunk of the music is like... “rap” music and they always hit during fight scenes and it’s great...

Also: the Kipo title sequence? A bop we must never forget...

SPEAKING OF BOPS WE MUST NEVER FORGET: Heroes on Fire... a karaoke classic I must learn... used with the Power of Friendship can turn a mega mute back to human...

Also also my love and life Jamack??? Continuing to help Kipo out even if he’s a total tsundere about it?!?! LITERALLY CANNOT STOP HIMSELF FROM HELPING HER?!?! I love him... and I want him to join the gang... so bad...

ALSO. The whole second episode was basically about cheese.

Feta. Gouda. Chevre. Fromage.

Idk about that whole... Soothsayer meets the Grey Sisters (Greek mythology? Three sisters, one eye, one tooth? Is that what they’re called?) business with the cheese but whatever it was fun... they were just straight up tossing knives at Kipo to get her latent powers to activate and that was hilarious... also Mr Miyagi moment I guess XD but it means Kipo’s created a whole brain pathway between Herbs in/Herbs out and how she controls her powers and she even mentions that...

Also mega bummed about Ratland burning down...

I also wanna know what was up with the sentient Fun Gus and why it had the mind of a child...

FINALLY: our new big bad - Dr Emilia...

WHAT COMPLETELY TOOK ME BY SURPRISE WAS IT WASNT SCARLEMAGNE WHO PUT HER UNDER HIS CONTROL BUT FRIGGEN THESE CLOAKED HUMANS...Monkey Mom wasn’t a surprise but THAT sure was

We’re really leaning into the one race supremacy theme here huh? But also the reckless and callous treatment of animals and the earth by humans... without regard for how they feel... and after mutating and having and being able to communicate their thoughts and feelings and dreams, Emilia still thinks it would be better to remove that and return them to just animals...

Fascinated to see where they go from here...anyway... go watch Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts so we can get a season 3 babeyyyyy