#reintegration goes crazy

[kublakola]

Dude, Mark Scout doesn't have any friends. Like he doesn't have any friends. He has his sister and his shitty brother-in-law and his dead wife and the crazy brain surgeon in his basement, and that's it. He's completely alone, anti-social, and isolated - if it weren't for Devon, he wouldn't talk to anyone but the waiter at his local restaurant. And then Petey stumbles out of the woods with a fresh lobotomy and says "No, man, we're close. I'm your best friend. We have the same sense of humour. We talk 8 hours a day, every day, and we're not bored of each other yet. You trust me." Because Mark S. has friends. Dylan, Irving, Helly, people he cares so much about he literally won't work without them, people who love him like family because all they know is each other. What's going to happen when Scout reintegrates, and suddenly his life is full of loyalty and companionship and love?? Aghhhhhhh. Agh. And Irving's DEAD and Petey's DEAD so he's going to gain them and lose them in one fell swoop. AGGGGGHHHHH.

Also, if you consider the potential physiological side-effects of severance, loneliness has profound damaging effects on cognitive function, social processing, depression, and stress levels. Mark S's friendships have been literally healing Mark Scout this entire time and he doesn't even know it!! Oof ow ouch ouchie

[mysecret02]

Hello lovelies!

You know how there are natural smells for a person, right? Not the body sprays or perfumes but a person's natural smell.

I present to you Baby!Dami and LoA!Jason having met and Talia sometimes dumping Dami on him to babysit because she got something important to do. So Jason takes care of him and because these things usually happen at night Dami gets attached to sleeping with Jason.

Time skip

We are in Gotham and Dami is already Robin. He was very young when Jason went away to study with different teachers all around the world and rarely saw him. He remembers someone who has shown him a burning blade because that was so cool but not much about the person wielding it. He remembers someone who was maybe there and maybe not, he never asks, doesn't even know how or who should he ask about it without looking crazy.

Red Hood comes into the picture and Dami want's to hate him. He is competition for his father's attention, and he does hate Jason from afar but can't hate him when he's close by.

Time skip

Jason starts his reintegration into the family. It's a painfully hard thing to start to trust again, but they start working together with him minimising the killing parts.

Once Dami gets fear gassed and trashes and attacks everyone who tries to get close by. Jason was closest to the cave so he was sent by Oracle to bring the antidote. Jason and Dami starts to fight and Jason gets him in a headlock and gives in the antidote and Dami just lets it, gets all relaxed and pushes back unconsciously into Jason's chest armour, Jason hold him until they get to the Cave. He could have gave him to Dick, but he doesn't, somehow he feels comfortable by holding Damian, Just like old times, he didn't even know he missed so much. He plays with Dami's hair at the nape, touching the same symbols into his skin. The symbols were painted on his wall back at the League, he was just so tired one day that he started doing them.

Time skip

After they don't talk about it. Dami gets the best sleep he has since he came to America and Jason gets an empty space in his bed where only a child could fit, he starts sleeping on the couch.

Then comes a magician to Gotham with another crazy idea just like they do, it's like they were made like that in some "Evil Magician Factory" where the villain of the can just pick them up from.

Anyway Constantine and the other magic users are busy so Jason takes matters into his own hands. What he doesn't know he isn't as sneaky as he thought because Damian sees as he kills a shadow creature with the All-blades and suddenly everything gets more complicated and much more clear to him.

Jason solves the case, Damian doesn't tell anyone, everybody thinks he's asleep so it's fine-not everybody, but Alfred knows everything anyway-, he goes to interrogate Jason when he gets back to his safe house in the Alley.

They start arguing but Jason needs medical attention so Damian sews his wound up on the couch and Jason falls asleep. He has been after this magic user for days without outside help and Damian's there so it somehow seems fine(more than fine).

Damian stays sitting in front of the couch, letting Jason sleep and thinking. And if he naps a bit putting his head on the couch next to Jason's, it's nobody's business.

[maatdraws]

Idk, i wanna take this out of my system.

I think love does transcend severance. And it does for Gemma. Gemma always loved Mark, and in their relationship ( in that last moment, when she goes to the party) she loves him 100% and still loves him 100% after those 2 years, (Asking when is she's going to see him, calling his name) that's why the 25th Cold Harbor Innie follows him, trusted him, that's why the barrier is not holding. That's why Miss Casey is drawn to him, and why she just follows him out to the exit and trust him all together. Cause Gemma LOVES MARK SO MUCH. And that happen even without any reintregration. That happen with her brain being severed 25th time !

But... Not Mark, not as much. Cause don't get me wrong, he does love her, the love he has for her is just not strong enough to break through. Their couple was already starting to downfall on his part, he let her go to that party alone, didn't respond "love you" back, he was just not... into the relationship anymore. And still is not.

This moment is so weird to me, but maybe i'm just reading too much, but why isn't he just saying " We were in love." "We were so happy." or anything in those lines, he just hesitates and goes for "We had a life together." makes it so much blank in a way ? But Maybe that's just me.

Mark is having his reintegration going, running around with a hole in his head, and in a very stressfull moment with his wife SCREAMING HIS NAME, crying, begging, slammin that door, being in such distress right in front of him... and all of this can't reach him, after all he did to get her out of here ???

Once Helly appears, Mark S love ignites, drowning that sense of duty he had for his outie, and the most powerful love wins.

That's it.

Mark Scout doesn't love Gemma as much as she loves him.

Mark Scout doesn't love Gemma as much as Mark S loves Helly.

Love transcends Severance.

I love MarkHelly as much as I love MarkGemma, but in very different way and form. MarkGemma has it's own form of tragedy and MarkHelly ( with Helena) has this crazy dramatic taste. I can't wait to see where the shows goes with those themes

(cause whatever we can say about Severance, is still about love, in all forms and shapes (paternal love (Irving/Helly Jame/Helena), maternal love (Cobel & her mother), friendship (Dylan/Irving , Mark/Petey), siblings (Mark/Devon), families (the Eagans/The Scout), long term mariage (MarkGemma), first love (MarkHelly), true love etc etc))

[hellynakisser]

do you have any markhellyna fic recs? 👀👀

snare — killingcve https://archiveofourown.org/works/63338608

markhelena hate sex *chefs kiss*.. sexy hot STEAMY AMAZING WRITING. they also fuck in the car and it’s the best thing i’ve ever read in my life

axis & allies — killingcve https://archiveofourown.org/works/63857848

another killingcve fic im sorry im obsessed. this is an ongoing one there’s 2 chapters out rn i think. teacher/TA.. power imbalances… and there’s tension already… heavily recommend also a good chunk of the characters are in this and the way she’s so accurate makes me wanna jump like seriously.

brief hold, please — floatingonthelehigh https://archiveofourown.org/works/62816704

helly comes in with a hickey and mark goes crazy about it. soooooo fuckin good i thought about it for days after reading it

disparate kinds — BanningL https://archiveofourown.org/works/63720145

markhellyna reintegration.. i told you hellyna has a massive praise kink and mark delivers!

i would know him blind — BanningL https://archiveofourown.org/works/63496783

helena accompanies mark home.. and what happens after that? rough hate sex. this along with snare have been on my mind for daaaayysss

hit me harder (im getting re-wired) — five_rat_lore https://archiveofourown.org/works/63671251

this fic genuinely had me hot and bothered?! i was so gagged. mark realizes he has a pain kink and helly helps him out with that (then she realizes she has one too). SO HOT. 10/10

the incentive — five_rat_lore https://archiveofourown.org/works/63107971

markhelly genuinely have 0 class.. getting nasty in the office is crazy… can i watch though. there’s a LOT of teasing.. amazing i love you so much five_rat_lore

the summoning - five_rat_lore https://archiveofourown.org/works/62896735

body swap!!! written so well… and the dirty talk? WHEW

iron tongue — eclipsj https://archiveofourown.org/works/63355288

can’t forget about eclipsj my shakespeare… an extended scene of the wall kiss in e6 annnnddd the nose bleed <33

a helping hand — eclipsj https://archiveofourown.org/works/62849233

mark helps helly get off. very funny, hot, and awkward #weallloveyoueclipsj

kissing is perfectly fine, you know — orphan_account https://archiveofourown.org/works/63007216

helly attempts to hide an injury, markhelly go into the storage room, mark starts getting turned on… are you picking up what im putting down?

SOOO sorry it took me forever to get to this ask!! hope you didn’t think id let this rot in my inbox forever, these fics are all insanely good so i hope you enjoy them and go crazy over them like i have <33

[ohmygodshesinsane]

no but imo severely underutilised jason angst material are his (post-crisis) middle school/high school days. like even just after dropping out in fifth-grade, missing a chunk of school (at least ~ 6 months but probably longer) and then having to reintegrate is. difficult. regardless of any bat training there’s a social element there that can’t easily be replaced.

nevermind that jason’s not returning to a school where he knows people, but he’s essentially entering a whole new world. i can’t remember if it’s explicitly stated if he went to public school or gotham academy once he was in bruce’s care, but either way it’s going to be. different going to a school that properties like wayne manor are in the district of. than school in park row. jason is already in a situation where nobody he meets at school is going to ‘really’ understand him (because of the robin thing), but there’s an added layer of the trauma of losing his parents and then the class and background differences that come into play at school. as an adult it’s seems petty but in middle school, not knowing the same tv shows or hanging out at the same mall can actually make a difference to your social life. and even though jason’s now got all his physical needs taken care of and bruce is able to buy him whatever he wants and needs, the fact is that he probably grew up pretty differently to the other kids in bristol. and middle school bullies can sniff out any difference like bloodhounds. it’s honestly crazy.

but in spite of all that, he ends up being made fun of for his new familial wealth. which would feel fucking insane. and like here it’s highlighted — he’s not involved in extracurriculars. he doesn’t have a group of friends. he never gets a supporting cast the way tim really does — the closest iirc is rena pre-crisis. even his teachers are concerned because he doesn’t participate in the social aspects of school/is kind of withdrawn and a loner.

and he does work his ass off. during his time as robin he’s doing his homework, he’s going to the museum to study up more on school topics. jason works so hard and gets very good results for his work too, enough that his classmates tease him about it

but seriously he is just. so isolated. his whole life pretty much boils down to working as hard as he can at school (only to be, later in life, kind of characterised as the ‘stupid’ robin except when his love of literature seems like a cute reference) and to being robin. he doesn’t get a team, he barely interacts with the other kid heroes of his age — he gets to be pen-pals with kid devil for an issue and that’s really it. his only other big team involvement is tagging along with the titans when dick’s out of action, which

he is incredibly thrilled about. but for all he contributes and the fact that he goes along for the mission, he’s still very much the kid brother, you know? he’s not among peers.

and when he attacks tim at titans tower jason does think of himself as a titan, but still acknowledges that like. the titans were never his friends in the way dick and tim both found friendships in their teams. jason didn’t have a support system the way tim does.

and like. dick and jason seemed to like each other but. dick was pretty young himself and had his own set of issues and wasn’t able to consistently be present in jason’s life the way he later was for tim and damian. it’s a different dynamic. neither dick nor jason have ever had a brother before. dick puts in effort and reaches out, but they just aren’t super close and jason doesn’t have the tools or experience to deepen that relationship because he’s. an emotionally neglected teenager

and like - when the time comes for jason to go to ethiopia, the only characters who care are bruce and alfred. they’re the only real figures in jason’s life and he’s hurting and bruce and alfred have decided to bench him as robin together. of course it would feel like a massive blow. jason has nobody to go to for comfort or support or love except some names in his dad’s address book.

and just — when dick goes off on his own he has the titans reaching out and pulling him in, he has them to talk to. tim strikes out during robin (1993) and he has his dad worrying about him, his girlfriend in tears. at later points he has various civilian friends and batfam members and the young justice/teen titans crew checking in on him. damian has his family and is developing a network of friends. but jason had pretty much nobody to pull him back from the edge or go after him or at least help him to feel like the world wasn’t falling down.

i don’t know i just have so many feelings about jason’s time as robin outside of his actual work as robin. and how much all of that plays into him becoming the red hood and the way he is as an adult. reading his robin run it just strikes me over and over again how kind of just. lonely he is. and that his mental health was suffering well before he died and even before the diplomat’s son but that’s a different topic

[crowned-with-antlers]

So the first episode is called Good News About Hell

And I’m getting ahead of myself here, but as a Helena-redemption-arc truther, I think I’d be cool if the eventual series finale is one of these:

Good News About Helena

Good News About Helly

Good News About Hel

As in Helena has been redeemed either with or without reintegration (though I do lean toward reintegration) and that she has physically survived whatever crazy shit happens during the series climax. Maybe, in bringing down Lumon, she is injured or we have a death fake-out scene, etc. And maybe she chooses to go by the nickname Helly to show that the Helly R facet of herself still lives, or she goes by the nickname Hel to signify that she is moving forward as a new, reintegrated person.

I just need my girl to live and be happy, guys

[guillotineapprehensive]

Ok rewatching the finale and Mark Scout is such a snake

He tells his innie that he started reintegration "because I see now how unfair this all is to you"... just an outright lie. "and once my wife is free, I swear I will finish the process." Another lie!!

He really thinks his innie is stupid! But Mark S isn't stupid and he absolutely calls out his outie's bullshit.

and then Mark S, bless him, actually asks questions about WTF reintegration would be like. questions that Mark Scout can't answer because he never asked Reghabi shit when he made the decision to start getting basement brain surgery.

Mark Scout's reasoning has been absolutely ruined by his grief. He's a dummy dumb idiot and he's desperate for only one thing (his wife) and he will hurt anybody and make any reckless decision to get it. Mark S is bright and curious and compassionate and not falling for his outie's bullshit but he still does the right thing. He still goes along with this crazy plan that'll get him killed to save some outie woman he doesn't even know.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺

🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀🔀

I don't quite have 51 left for 🩺, but here's some:

---

“Speaking of charm,” Karen says. “Look at those two.”

She points to the stage, where Maddie and Chim are doing their best rendition of Islands in the Stream. They look… Well, very engaged with each other. For two people who are just here, hanging out. Buck knows how that goes.

“Man, Chim is crazy about her,” Eddie says.

“We know!” Hen exclaims. “It’s been like this for ages.”

“And this is only the third time you’re getting them to hang out?” Karen asks. 

“They’ve been using Eddie and I dating to their advantage,” Buck explains. “Suddenly it’s hospital staff and firefighter social nights.”

“I think I’ve moved up several places on Chimney’s friendship rankings,” Eddie adds.  

“They’ll figure it out,” Hen says. “In my experience, Buckleys are somewhat stunted at distinguishing between the generic social and the romantic.”

Buck scowls at her. 

“Funny,” Eddie replies. “That has also been my experience.”

So Buck scowls at him, too.

---

51 for 🔀:

---

“Suppression?” Buck repeats. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“No. Apparently, there’s not a lot the government can do about changelings. You’re something in between human and faerie - it’s with an e, apparently, not an i.”

Oh, forgive him for not knowing the proper faerie etiquette. 

“Something between?” Buck asks. 

“You don’t know their language, their magic,” Bobby says. “Apparently the running theory is that the changelings left behind aren’t entirely faerie, or whatever the term is.”

Buck wrinkles his nose. “I don’t belong anywhere.”

“You belong in my fire station, Buck,” Bobby says firmly. “That much I know.”

“Is that an option for me?” Buck asks.

“Yes,” Bobby says. “The main goal of Ingram and the people he works for is to prevent public awareness of supernatural activity. Faeries among that. He doesn’t want to arrest or detain Evan - or, really, you.”

“He doesn’t?” Buck asks.

“No,” Bobby replies. “He wants to relocate one of you. Reintegrate you into society under a different name, with the stipulation that you don’t show yourself un-glamoured.”

“One of us gets a different identity?” Buck asks. 

“Yeah,” Bobby confirms. 

“So I could stay in Los Angeles, if…”

“If Evan agreed to stay here,” Bobby finishes. “Yes.”

“Well… Well, he has to do that, right? I’ve given him everything else. This was supposed to be his life. Los Angeles… I did that.”

“I agree,” Bobby says. “You don’t have to give him that.”

“So what do I do?” Buck asks. “How do I keep my life?”

“Maybe make a deal?” Bobby suggests. “The name for agreeing to… Not interfere?”

“Like, let him be Evan Buckley?” Buck asks.

Bobby nods. “As long as you keep being Buck.”

[wrath0fthe1amb]

Lamb talks Severance: S2 E6

Another week another banger episode of Severance. Every week I get more and more invested in this show, there are just sooo many mysteries to unpack and theories to theorise (lmao). So here are some of my thoughts on episode 6 (spoiler warning of course).

I personally really enjoyed the way the Mark S/Helly R conflict was resolved. The whole bit about Helly wanting to make her own memories with Mark S was (in my opinion) the perfect way to overcome the awkwardness of the ORTBO situation. The hallway kiss was also so sweet (Mark S is so smooth, no wonder he managed to pull two gorgeous women).

The Dylan G scenario is also so intriguing to me as it does raise the question "is what Gretchen doing considered cheating?". Gretchen's behaviour (lying about not being able to visit his innie) seems to suggest that she views it as being unfaithful to his outie. I'm really excited to see where this subplot goes (especially since Gretchen seems to prefer his innie).

Milchick is currently one of my favourite severance characters so I was super happy to see yet another stunning performance from Tramell Tillman (I need him to be cast in every show ever going forward). The scene where he's stood in front of the mirror repeating "grow up" over and over again was so sinister. I really hope that we get an episode explaining how he became an employee of Lumon (I'm beginning to think that he was once in a similar position to Ms Huang as an young intern). I'm also praying for a Milchick rebellion arc.

Burt's dinner was kinda crazy and definitely revealed that there is so much that we don't yet know (like what do you mean he's been severed for 20 years..). Him being severed due to religion was also incredibly unexpected. The concept of an innie going to heaven whilst the outie goes to hell is crazy. I've seen theories going around that Burt is a Lumon spy which wouldn't surprise me but I personally felt Fields was a much dodgier character. If I'm remembering correctly, he just happened to take Burt to a church the day it was delivering a sermon on severance (perhaps he pushed him towards the procedure). And he was just generally off-putting the whole dinner. For Irving's sake I hope Burt isn't a spy.

The ending to episode 6 was also insane. Obviously Mark isn't dead but him collapsing was quite dramatic. It's going to be so interesting to see if he's fully reintegrated once he's awake (like what is he going to think of the whole Helly R and Mark S situation? Is he going to try get close to Helena, knowing that she's sort of obsessed with him, to get information about Gemma? Will he act any differently or just like his outie with innie memories?) Episode 7 is definitely going to define how the rest of the series will go.

[clumio]

SEVERANCE SEASON FINALE LIVE NOTES…Ohhhh my lord above what a SHOW

* FUUUUCK IT’S HAPPENING

* No preamble just the intro. Oh boy we’re in it now

* LOVVEEE the weird camera work showing Mark’s Innie as slightly different

* HELLY!!!! KILL HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* Jame Eagan reminds me of that one SNL oil baron skit

* Innie/outie dichotomy - what if you were both frankenstein and the creature he created

* MPREG STATUE

* Cameras as running theme -> vision -> pupil -> circle -> one

* I wonder how reintegration will go over w the other innies (or at least w Helly, who I assume would Hate the idea)

* IIIII FUCKING KNEW IT!!!!! MITOSIS TO THE POINT OF NONEXISTENCE

* Jesus H Christ

* Ben Drowned ass statue

* FUCK OFFFFF NOT THE GODDAMN WAFFLE PARTY. LET ME OUTTTTTTTTT

* DYLAN!!!!!!!! POOKIE!!!!!!

* I’m so scared wtf

* WHY DID HE RUN LIKE THAT 😭

* They put their ass in Five Nights At Freddy’s.

* Milchick do the right thing. Springlock Kier Eagan now and you’ll be reincarnated as a lotus flower

* Marching band goes crazy. I’m shaking ass while terrified

* Obviously she’s gonna be giving birth. This is nauseatingly scary. Update I was wrong but not that wrong

* THE GOATS ARE BACK IN PLAY LFGGG

* What if your corporate job was doing Wicker Man shit on the reg

* “His eternal war against pain” severance/ether/sedation/self. If you don’t remember you never hurt

* Mammalians Nurturable ohhhhh my god

* THE ELEVATOR.

* Jesus Christ above.

* Red — outie color what does this mean what does this all meannnnn

* AND NOW I GOTTA WAIT ANOTHER TWO YEARS! FUCK!!!!

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 219 Rundown

Devil May Cry: So Dante’s dragged aboard Air Force 2 as the demons try to recreate a Harrison Ford movie and turns out the Vice President is a religious nut… that’s actually pretty on-brand honestly. The Rabbit needs him to Get Triggered for the decryption thingy to work so Red Ogre and Blue Ogre start hitting the Backstory Button like crazy and going on about how his mom died and how Vergil’s definitely dead and will never show up again and he’s just so super dead definitely. Eventually through the power of flashbacks Dante is able to Get Triggered and kill the Red Guy but Blue Guy is pissed and blows up the plane, successfully recreating the end of that Harrison Ford movie by sending everyone flying off the plane. Meanwhile in Lady’s side of the plot, the Slimer demon successfully reintegrates into the force with a “I was impaled but I’m good now” disguise and all the secondary mook cops that didn’t get chewed up by the first wave of demon fuckery successfully get chewed up by the Rabbit’s SAW game, leaving only Lady out of her depth against Rose Mommy and Black Knight guy and what’s worse is she immediately gets drugged and this goes from SAW to Silent Hill where all the already demonic shit flashes slightly more demonic every so often, though given Lady’s less than nuanced take on demons she probably didn’t need the drugging to start blasting. Still she gets taken in by a refugee demon family and gets the hamfisted ‘demons have families too’ moral which is not subtle at all but what the fuck show did you think you were watching expecting subtlety? Though to be fair between this and the Rabbit talking about how demon world sucks and the barrier basically trapped demons with a megalomaniac king they are successfully painting some shades of gray in these otherwise big caricatures.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Rimiru prepares to Seven Samurai the goblins against the dire wolves and it’s… really quick honestly, like they build a fence and get some bows and take out the alpha with some various trip wires, like I’m not expecting the fights in this series to be very dramatic since I know Rimiru is basically a less-slimy Kirito power level-wise but still. The wolves are basically Dug from Up and immediately pledge loyalty to Rimiru so he’s already got a cross-species alliance going on and it goes surprisingly well for two species that were trying to genocide each other yesterday. We’re basically in the same situation as Dr. Stone except instead of unlimited scientific knowledge Rimiru has unlimited magical bungling his way through shit which is somehow less exciting? Still he gives everyone names which is like giving monsters a Class Promotion in Fire Emblem and all the Goblins become hunky big goblins and hot anime girl goblins except Gobta who’s the Magikarp of the group but good for him, gotta keep one derpy guy with hidden depths around. Meanwhile the dire wolves evolve into the Tempest Wolves which technically makes them Rimiru’s cousins I think? Still the implausibly strong sexy goblin/wind doggo alliance doesn’t have Yuzuriha to make clothes and shelters faster than a sewing machine so Rimiru sets off to the dwarven village to get mercantile goods, I get the feeling Rimiru really liked playing The Sims in his previous life because he got sucked right into this city planning shit and completely ditched his quest to find Isekaiers.

Cyberpunk Edgerunners: Well they answer one of the questions I had which was why David’s mom was just holding onto medical waste, turns out she was a dealer and David’s gotten jumped by the guys she was selling the spine he currently has installed too. I guess we could’ve inferred that but it feels like she should’ve been making more if she was scalping that kind of shit but then again guess that school was really expensive. David makes a deal to pay off his mom’s debt by doing more illegal shit, basically the upscaled version of what he did last episode and apparently the Cyberpunks liked his mom enough to let this slide after a demonstration of his Gold Experience Requiem powers. The job goes down and we get an early introduction to Rebecca who’s basically the de facto mascot character of this thing and shit goes sideways real quick leaving David to drive a car like how a lot of people probably did in the actual Cyberpunk game, ie: badly. Still though with a big car chase and fight and some more GERing, they get through the job while Maine blocks a sword with a fucking care which is cool. The group celebrates and David is officially in the gang and given his motivation to get stronger as all teenage male heroes need. Meanwhile their client comes by like ‘wtf bro if you’re gonna steal his info and make a big show of it he’s just gonna change the info’ which is fair honestly despite him being a dick about it, it looks like they still got paid which is more than some clients would do. We get our proper introduction to Rebecca and David tells his old school to fuck off with their scholarship trap which is good but have a feeling that plotline isn’t over.

SAO Alternative: The NPC testing fight continues and yeah just like we thought the Machine Gun Bros wanna surrender so they can have a cool fortress to blast machine guns out of. Still interestingly enough the NPC team does seem to actually be able to read and recognize their signs of surrender before Pito blows it for them, though whether they would’ve accepted it is a different matter. Still, LLENN runs around the perimeter of the map to gather all available teams so they can invade together. They basically use M’s shields and do a mini Phalanx formation to slowly approach while LLENN takes the opposite side, using her speed to thread the needle and hop right through the gate and explosives to lead a member of SHINC and MNTM into the base with her. The MNTM guy just dies automatically and we get a hint that these may not be NPCs at all as they start spouting generic anime villain dialogue. Still Tanya from SHINC manages to disable the machine gun of one of these guys before dying so he just nopes out too, notably having to open a menu to do so instead of an automatic triggers so yeah really thinking these guys aren’t NPCs. As the only one left in the base until Pito’s formation can make it in, LLENN encounters three of the four remaining guys at the center of the castle, meaning there’s almost no one guarding the outside, and instead of killing her they just take her HP to red and capture her, clearly needing her for something. She notices their lips are deliberately de-synced with bad dubbing, presumably actually speaking English, though with nothing to tie that info to yet. Refusing just to sit out the remaining eight minutes of gameplay, LLENN runs as hard as she can into the wall, taking herself out so she can respawn on her last life and give another charge for the castle.

Heavenly Delusion: It’s Kiriko backstory time and we devote the whole episode to this, getting virtually nothing from the school side of the plot aside from them thinking the Maneaters are human babies. But yeah in answer to my ‘how weird is this depiction of a vaguely trans character going to be?’ question is… somewhat inconclusive. Just gonna throw it out there that considering the type of series this is and the fact that Delusion is in the title I’m not entirely throwing out the idea that parts of this backstory are incorrect or based on trauma if not for how weird it would be that the aforementioned trans moments being based on mental disorders would be kinda sketchy, like it feels so weird like obviously people want more trans representation in stuff but every time it actually does pop up it feels like everyone clenches up and is on high alert for it to be weird or problematic, gonna try to ignore that and just enjoy the story. Anyway just like we discussed last episode Kiriko is a racecar driver and breadwinner for her orphanage run by local Spike Spiegel type character Robin, however the POV character for the flashback is her little brother Haruki (notably Kiruko’s name is spelled like Kiriko with RU from Haruki jammed in the center, it’s foreshadowing AND wordplay!). So yeah Haruki and Kiriko have their little mildly incestuous-leaning relationship in a pretty decent life for the apocalypse all things considered, until a Maneater as they’re called jumps the tracks on one of Kiriko’s races and Haruki tries to stop it, getting like 75% eaten in the process. Next thing Haruki knows his brain has been transplanted into Kiriko’s body Kenjaku-style  and like it’s fully possible all of this is true but part of my has doubts given like how the fuck did he survive any of that without going into shock and with presumably limited medical technology of the apocalypse, I know there’s probably magic shit involved given they established the Doctor who did it is Frankenstieining stuff to do with the Maneaters and people around the area but still this is like Franky making himself into a cyborg or Professor Farnsworth taking his own brain out levels of crazy medical shit. So needless to say things are a little rough for the new Kiruko, loads of trauma, body dysphoria and the mild sensation of being turned on by being in their semi-incestuous sister’s body, but they’re spurned on by the orphanage closing down since Kiriko’s not paying the bills anymore and driven to find Robin and the Doctor and get some answers about their fucked-up identity crisis. It’s really funny how Maru IMMEDIATELY asks about pronouns and as whiny as the ‘your gender identity crisis is really inconvenient for my boner’ argument is I find it kinda charming that he also doesn’t particularly seem to care and seems to be genuinely in love with the person Kiruko is and kind of immediately wonders if Kiruko’s gay for Robin like Kiruko keeps insisting they’re a guy but never once offers them being straight as an excuse, idk if they think that’s self-evident or what. Long story short Kiruko’s gender identity is complicated but they’re not the type to get hung up on what people call them so if I go back and forth with pronouns just know the character themselves said it was okay. Still we end the episode with the ship they’re on being attacked by a… hand… fish… thing that was in one of the school plot kids’ drawings, so… there’s some levity I guess.

Trigun: Now we’ve got three Gung-Hoes on our hands, Puppet Man Sasori, the Living Bullet, and Android 16 and the colony dwellers are dropping like flies. The puppets basically act as mooks to slow everyone down as Wolfwood and Vash make their way to the two Plants holding the colony aloft. Wolfwood manages to melt Android 16 down with acid and rocket launchers until he’s just a pair of legs but he can STILL move and fires a knee-rocket at the plant (don’t look up the manga version of this guy it’s much stupider and mildly offensive). Meanwhile Vash uses a gun elevator to fight the Living Bullet and does the obvious thing of firing at an indirect angle to throw off his shield, then going to repair the Plant he damaged like he did the one early in the series, summoning the… angel(?) that lives inside and sharing energy with it to heal but Living Bullet’s still not dead and crashes through the whole thing, bringing the place down and surprisingly killing basically no one for all the people the Gung-Hoes mowed down you’d think the impact would take out a few more but I guess it was a pretty slow descent with all of Vash’s Angel-conversing. Brad the meathead that’s been hating Vash this whole time realizes even he can’t hate the guy that literally talks to angels and stands up for him in front of everyone just in time to get shot by Sasori’s puppet of damsel girl (did he just like… have that prepared? Like most of his puppets look like him so how did he make one that looks exactly like a specific denizen of an isolated colony city?, the magic he uses to do Sasori shit is very ill-defined) Wolfwood manages to rocket launcher the main body and that’s three out of three down but now Vash is extra sad because like forty of his friends died and also the one guy that was starting to like him so we’re coming up on the last of the Gung-Hoes and Vash’s quest for a fucking end to all the fucking murder.

Revolutionary Girl Utena: Getting kinda meta here as the allegorical shadow bitches invite Utena directly to one of their plays, notably not shadowy for once so we’re like getting to the point of the series where the meta fabric itself is warping, getting kinda Ember Island Players vibes from this episode already. The girls basically dump the lore for the whole show in their silly little shadow play and really how else was it going to happen, you expect an epic straightforward linear flashback from this fucking drama kid-ass show? Basically Anthy and Dios are a pair of magical siblings with Dios giving the power to bring hope to the world, pictured as him ‘making princesses of all girls’ which has some odd connotations given he’s a prince and the only one who isn’t a princess is Anthy, makes it sound like he’s marrying all the girls of the world which admittedly I wouldn’t put it past some of the playboys of this show. Still, as the only one that didn’t see him as a means to an end, Anthy sealed Dios away to keep him from being hurt by the endless battles and endless strain of hope forced upon him by the people, and considering she’s literally the person that took their hope and light away, she became reviled as an evil Witch and locked in eternal torment for the crime of not wanting her brother to be crushed under the weight of the world. Flash forward to Utena’s flashback and Dios visits her on her despair event horizon and when a magical pretty boy shows up I guess you kinda forget your dead parents for a sec. Still he shows her Anthy locked in her eternal torment and she immediately forgets about her own shit and wants to save Anthy because that’s the kind of person she is, the desire to save someone else is what saved her. I’ve been kinda harsh about Utena’s characterization at parts given she doesn’t really interact with most of the character arcs that take place around her but that’s not to say the nobility of her character isn’t portrayed incredibly well. We then get the scene from the opening vignette played out in full as Dios tells her he can’t save her since he’s her brother and has been corrupted by End of the World and only a Prince she can believe in is capable of saving her, literally hinging the end of Anthy’s torment on her having faith enough in the world to not be used as a means to an end by everyone, the whole series is about crafting enough good in humanity through Utena that Anthy can believe in them through her and OH MY FUCKING HEART. Utena vows to become a Prince Anthy can believe in, that vow being the only thing she can remember about her presumably traumatic and mind-bending trip to the literal end of the world (the place, not the guy) and it’s so god damn beautiful, like it’s some ‘power of friendship to kill god’ shit but it’s a fun take on it and I am kind of a sucker for eternal vows and heroic determination. It’s funny because I’ve given some shit to the idea that one of the gayest anime in the world has a main character whose main goal is to find a guy and this episode’s just like “surprise, it was lesbians all along” though I would still contend that it’s more compassion than love when Utena was young and only became love after spending so much time together. But yeah, Dios gives her the ring and does the nobility and strength thing just like in the story and hopes she will become the kind or prince she wants that can save his sister from himself.

[ikram1909]

also about wirtz people who don’t watch the bundesliga talk about him on twitter

Injury: March 2022

Return: January 2022 (10 months later)

he had a mix of minutes after returning, with a lot less pressure because they weren’t fighting for the title, but only played a couple of 90s. he had a full preseason. started last season normally, played normally (so 17-18 months after the injury which is over the threshold and his graft reintegrated). even then he still had a bunch of matches where he played about an hour, sometimes less. it wasn’t until january 2024 ish that we saw him play to the extent that we know.

idk how people could see gavi fall down and clutch his knee in a match recently and say he was in a lot of pain after the sevilla match (https://sports.yahoo.com/another-barcelona-star-admits-lot-161000938.html) and not be more worried about his health than how many minutes he’s playing. the entitlement goes crazy on twitter and even here

No exactly!!! People need to relax and be patient. If they want him to make a return like Wirtz then we need to let him recover like him too.

[mysticscrystalrevelation]

Game 26 Synopsis Thurs, August 15 5:00pm EDT Washington @ Minnesota

Starting: WASH: Atkins, Austin, Dolson, Samuelson, Sykes MINN: Carleton, Collier, McBride, Smith, Williams

1st Quarter WE'RE BACK! AND who else is back?? The Starters. They've had only two games together this season. *2*! SYKES SWOOSHES A 3 in a shot clock pressure situation to open the game. In fact, Slim takes 4 shots in a row, 2 of 2, and the first time she shares it Stef hits a 3. Next play Karlie hits oh damn we are shooting threesssss. Unfortunately, the offense and defense are not locked in for the Mystics. Offense is looking improvisational and without easy chemistry. Defensive switches are slow, with the Lynx getting tons of open shots. Eric is getting plenty of subs in, whether that's a chemistry choice following the break in general or rest/reintegration for our long-term injured players, I don't mind it. By force we've been a bench team, and they have stepped up, let's stay a bench-strong team. We're still shooting 3s but they are not falling. Now it's a strong drive to the hoop from Diamond Miller in her first seconds. Austin and Samuelson combine to force a shot clock violation. 15-18 after 1. Low scoring, adjustments needed.

2nd Quarter The Lynx have been successful with double teams and our defense is still leaving open shots, so Eric calls timeout early. Shakira gets one out of the timeout and it looked like she needed that. Yikes Ceci Zandalisini is feeling it in her couple minutes on the floor. And Shakira gets a tech for yelling and-1 after another driving layup. Jado comes in and hits a 3 right away. A Jado signature drive pulls us ahead. Now a HUGE block from Shak. It's much better passing and also closer D at last. Mystics pass around the arc and Jado hits 3 again. She is in her Olympic medalist zone. 31-25. Ridiculous foul call against MHA after Court Williams hooked Jado. It's starting to get chippy and the refs' attempts to control it by calling more stuff is making it worse. Collier on a little run here. Yish again gets called for a foul, this time for getting Phee's elbow in her mouth. Stef breaks the 3 drought. Shakira reverses and Phee answers in kind. 37-35. Shooting is still not good.

3rd Quarter Tough start for the Mystics, we look slow mentally and physically. Lots of giving up early, the opposite of dawg energy—out of character for us. 9-2 run for the Lynx. Ariel is taking it on her back now. Natisha Hiedeman doing the same for the Lynx, who are beating us when they move with the ball. More sharing by DC on offense has been good, but it's actually runouts off turns that have kept us level. Alanna Smith blocks Myisha then Aaliyah blocks Dorka Juhasz. 58-58.

4th Quarter Shakira came out with more energy this quarter. It's been a bit physical which is fine, but also a bit messy. Earl blocks the much taller Alanna Smith. Coach Reeve challenges the ensuing OB possession call, but the officials say unsuccessful. The replay shows Earl's soccer defense skills, arms behind her back. 63-63 with 4:30 left. Rebounds will win this one I feel. Court hits a 3. Aaliyah is playing very well. Collier spins and makes an impressive shot. She gets a steal now and lays it up. 63-70. In my opinion the steal was a foul. Austin makes a crazy shot, falling over. Slim goes for an ill-advised drive and stays down after, leaving McBride open for an easy 3. 65-73 with 1:36 remaining. Now Earl has been popped in the face. Wow, there's a glimmer of hope as the Lynx pass the ball directly to Karlie, but then rip the ball back from Shakira and score and-1. 68-79 final. Disastrous 4th quarter. Well, it was certainly nobody's best game. I was hoping that the break would be a chance to figure out offense, but there is no evidence that happened at all. Rematch Saturday.

[hellynakisser]

domestic markhellyna goes crazy tho, esp in a theoretical post reintegration scenario. Reintegrated hellyna id the happiest girl in the world she’s got music she’s destroyed lumon she gets to wake up in a big fluffy bed that Has Mark In It every day, she eats m&ms by the handful randomly she tags along with mark to work just to sit in the back of the class and doodle and ask thinly veiled inappropriate questions during lecture. Just an happy and free in love Hellyna getting to finally be so happy yknow? sorry I gotta write a post canon fic that’s just her being HAPPY

++ she gets to wear comfy clothes and have lazy days with mark GIRL WHO IS GOING TO BE OKAY

[magnetarbeam]

LotF/FotJ: Miscellaneous Reactions/Outprocessing 14

In Backlash, when Daala and Dorvan are discussing the reactions to Niathal's death, Dorvan mentions "crazy Confederation holdouts," which I took as an implication that the Confederation, or at least the major systems/sectors, have in fact been reintegrated into the Alliance after they were trying to do that in Outcast.

Honestly, I've been skipping a lot of the Coruscant political scenes in FotJ because they're not as interesting to me. I really need to go back and read that.

There's a bit in Tempest where Jaina and Zekk run into some YVH droids on whatever Hapan planet they go to to warn the nobles there about some strategically valuable info that I don't remember, and Jaina says something to the effect of "We gotta talk to Lando about who he's selling these things to." Which is, quite frankly, a good point.

I want to know what the deal is with the tombs on Kessel, that according to Han, "no qualified archaeologist has ever opened," and through which Abeloth contacts Allana. I don't think those come up in anything else, and Allana's like eight, so she's not a very reliable narrator.

Does the Alliance have a specific Supreme Commander of its military by FotJ? They always talk about the people in charge of the different branches - Bwua'tu of the Navy, Jaxton of the Starfighter Corps, Thaal of the Army, Gavin of the Marines - but I don't remember seeing a specific name of the person whose job description is specifically to lead the military. Did the positions of Chief of State and Supreme Commander get merged under Daala? This would be the first time since Palpatine's consolidation of power in the Clone Wars, and even he handed that title off to Vader once he became Emperor.

The Transitory Mists are part of what inspired me to come up with the "Canon-Typical Inaccurate Astrophysics" AO3 tag.

That would be a very good place to hide shit, though. If you can't get a holonet connection in there, it stands to reason that any homing beacons you place on a ship are also nullified. I have to believe Caedus never would have been able to find Shedu Maad if not for the blood trail. The Hapans themselves undoubtedly know the place much better.

I don't think Christie Golden is a bad writer, but her lack of experience definitely shows at some points. Like, I know the Lost Tribe was cut off from the galaxy for five thousand years, but Vestara and Taalon not knowing what a Hutt is in Allies was too far. Like, the history of the Hutts as a galactic power goes back way further than that.

[sometipsygnostalgic]

since were already talking about the similarities between the crypto castle and the velvet glove......how do you think hordak would feel about the crypto castle, if he ever very hypothetically were to end up living there

FUCK this ask! I had a long and thoughtful reply. I’ll have to truncate it (edit: i didn’t really truncate it).   I’ll get all my points across anyway.   

Entrapta going back to Crypto Castle in general is an interesting discussion. She’s been on all these crazy adventures, she’s moved all her stuff in the Fright Zone and lived in close proximity to people for years, barring those awful 6 months or so on Beast Island where she was alone. She hasn’t returned to her home in Crypto Castle even once during this time.... outside of the Portal World, where she was subconsciously pretty bitter about the Catra betrayal.  

1. So would she integrate back home immediately, as if nothing happened? Having a mad science castle sandbox with her lab partner? This would be the funnier outcome. It’s like Radical Edward from Cowboy Bebop reintegrating with the orphanage and reuniting with her father like not a single day had passed.  

2. Or would it be difficult? Leaving the community bustle of the Fright Zone and Darla and the Rebellion to return to this derelict castle that hasn’t been home to anybody for a long time, that is built to be inaccessible to friends, that she can’t remember how to navigate? After the Portal Incident and how she was transported back there and all alone, would she become hyper aware that it had been a self-made prison, away from people? 

I read a oneshot that had this interpretation, Entrapta goes back late-s5 to pick up some stuff and just cannot stand it. I was surprised someone felt the same way I did.  Sometimes people move her into the revamped Fright Zone or even into Brightmoon. It feels more natural for her to be close to where all the rebuilding is happening, perhaps. 

Personally I think this is the more interesting interpretation. It’s way more introspective than the comic relief resolution. Maybe it can feel like home again, if lots of people move into town, and they do some revamping - putting colourful stickers on the floor to tell people where to go would be a nice start! I think any future version of Dryl will be far more active than its past self.  

....Or maybe not. 

As for Hordak, well, I never actually thought about it in terms of that before! 

I always assumed Hordak would absolutely love the gothic labyrinth of Crypto Castle. 

The Fright Zone and his Sanctum are lacking for luxury but it is very different from Prime’s bright ship.  It’s implied to be Hordak’s personal style.  

Dryl is the same, except it’s far more homey with the portraits and furniture in the main lab. So it’s got Hordak’s style, Entrapta’s style, it’s away from people, and it’s less punishing to him. On paper, it sounds like the perfect refuge for him. 

But the fact that it’s got similarities to the Velvet Glove throws a wrench into the affair. Sure, it’s dark and comfier, but it’s still cold and claustrophobic and most importantly, impossible to navigate without staring at a screen. Perhaps Hordak would be overcome by the same claustrophobia that Catra was going through in the Glove in season 5.   

So yeah I do think it’s for the best if they mark the floor with blood-- sorry, I mean directional arrows-- and install a few windows so that it feels less like a prison.