#sorry to anyone who likes it i personally fucking despite that season and everything it stands for

[the-acid-pear]

The way AVED S3 is so bad it's low-key fucking killing my hyperfixation,,,,,

[bylertruther]

i feel like a lot of ppl forget tht max is not a mean person. she was a bit standoffish at first, but that's because a group of boys were "stalking" her (lol) and she was struggling with her new situation. once she realized they were cool, she warmed up to them, wanted to be in their party, and got upset when she felt like they were playing hot and cold with her. and yes, this includes mike, too.

she wanted and tried very hard to be mike's friend. she repeatedly tried to find common ground with him, impress him, talk to him, and extended, like, 9384030 olive branches even though he refused them, lashed out at her, and pushed her away every time.

the same is true in season three. when lucas and will are poking fun at mike, max takes mike's side and defends him. it's only when she becomes friends with el and learns more about their relationship that she changes towards him a little, but that's not even entirely true. her behavior towards him is entirely reactive. once again, he's the one lashing out at her because he's jealous of their friendship, and max is swift to "give him the medicine" every time he tries her. still, that doesn't mean she doesn't like him lmao. she's just not gonna take his attitude without giving some back. that doesn't make her bitchy or mean, though.

like... the jokes are funny, yeah. but with every fandom joke it seems, this joke ends up turning into fanon character interpretation that eventually becomes what people think canon!max actually is. and it's, like... whoa. max? you think max mayfield of all people would be mean for no reason?

max, who didn't give up on mike even when he was mean to her? max, who told lucas that she's angry and sorry but doesn't ever want to be like her brother? max, who stood up to her brother for being a racist, abusive piece of shit because no one else would or could? max, who accepted the risk and showed up to help people she'd only just met even though it was dangerous? max, who never held el snubbing her against her? max, who defended her and mike despite everything? max, who took el in, listened to her, helped her, and immediately became her bestie and heart? max, who defended el all the time and always believed in her? max, who goes to help a stranger crying in the bathroom stall despite having a supremely shitty time herself? max, who refuses to let anyone else take her place in their battle plans? max, who accepted the risk, knowing that failure meant a painful and sadistic death, and sacrificed herself anyway to save the world?

that max?

yes, she's sarcastic. yes, she can be hotheaded. yes, she can be snarky. yes, she absolutely will serve you some attitude right back. but for fucks sake, dude... that doesn't mean she's mean and definitely not unprompted. :/

[ariicandy]

𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵

About ; anemo boys in a real haunted house and what they would do

A/n ; spooooky season!!! thought really hard on what this would be about..hope it’s oki , also love coraline just rewatched it for the lost how much I’ve watched time!!

Fyi : sorry if I misinterpreted about the spirits thing please tell me if I word it wrong to fix it!!

FYI : You are the camera person filming all of this

━ XIAO : The skeptical one, would literally try to debunk everything until something actually happens to him(the spirits probably targeted him) . Would only be on edge questioning everything && would be the 2nd camera man when you guys split into groups or need more angles for the video lol. He is the most serious one out of everyone who is going crazy freaking out.

━ SCARA : The one scaring the fuck out of everyone && a skeptic one. Will call everyone scaredy cats and once something touches him he secretly be a scaredy cat but the others won’t know til they stare deep into his eyes and see the shakey feeling he has. Will also go in the basement alone aka be the first person to volunteer in the haunted dark creepy basement, the basement forever changed his way of thinking about this “nasty old” house. 👻👻

━ HEIZOU : The brave one, everyone’s hero to do the challenges of being in the dark alone 🥹🥹. Took almost everything seriously but did make funny jokes to try and lighten the mood, actually did research the house you all went to ++ solved the cold mystery of this house(YouTube title will be “COLD MYSTERY HAUNTED HOUSE CASE NOW FINALLY SOLVED!!”) mainly did the questions and asks about anyone you guys talked to in there. The spirits definitely liked him for thanking him for finally putting things to rest.

━ KAZUHA : Also takes it a bit seriously when talking to the spirits of the house and helps Heizou to solve it. The comfort person who you can just hug and everything goes away type, even the negative spirits despite him for having such positive energy! Kazuha switched roles with xiao of who will hold the 2nd camera because they have the most steady hands when holding something and don’t really be scared easily, will get really good shots of everything!!

━ VENTI : Another scaring the fuck out of everyone for this dumbest things, will also scream very loudly that everyone has to shout him up to not get kicked. Can very much easily lighten the mood from the weirdest jokes that will make you all look at venti trying to process what he said to a horrible dad joke or possibly a good joke, never in between! Venti is also the sacrifice from which everyone leaves him behind when everything goes hell aka activity is everywhere and everyone runs in fear from angering the spirits.

━ AETHER : Thought it would be really cool but gets really scared of what the spirits do when hearing the history of activity they do. Learning the history of the house will send him into a shock face, jaw dropped and now regretting joining to go to the haunted house. Overall is trying his best to not be scared && helps with any gears you guys brought to the house. Is the person to slowly turn around when anyone says don’t turn around or won’t even turn his head because he thinks it’s a prank at the worst time. Probably saw a shadow figure and thought it was someone from the 5 of y’all until aether brought it up, another jaw dropping face moment!

Sorry if it’s ooc, super late at night when finishing this 💔

[recovery-is-brutal]

Fuck it. Dethklok's Love Languages.

DSR and AOTD spoilers!

Nathan Explosion

Nathan struggles to say "I love you" out loud. Anything that involves him directly admitting that he cares or that he's sorry is very difficult for him. He's fantastic at coming up with the most brutal, messed up lyrics, always finding the right words for the right songs, but voicing his feelings? That's hard. Every once in a while, it slips out - but more often than not, it happens when he's alone and the person in question isn't present. ("I liked him" after Dr. Twinkletits is attacked by the yard wolves, "Miss the little guy already" when collecting Toki's laundry after he leaves). He gets much better at it over time though; directly telling Murderface that he would risk his life for him in DSR, or apologizing to the fans and showing appreciation for them in AOTD for example.

While saying things out loud is hard for Nathan, he very obviously tends to show his affection in actions. Despite his "no caring" rule, he is definitely someone who cares. A lot. He cares so much that losing his bandmates makes its way into his nightmares. He cares so much that he's willing to break up with his girlfriend for the sake of his bandmates. He cares so much that he follows Skwisgaar to Sweden. His deep care towards his bandmates becomes more and more apparent the longer the series goes on, and in RSD and AOTD in particular, Nathan shows just how far he would go for his loved ones, completely surpassing his own expectations of himself and choosing to become "the hand" instead of the "the fist".

While he learns to communicate in words more often later on as well, Nathan's main love language is definitely Acts of Service. He goes all the way for the people he cares about and defends them with his life (quite literally). You may never hear him say "I love you to the moon and back" directly to you, but he will learn everything he can about you, help you with everything he can, take you to the doctor, hold your hand through difficult situations. Gifts are another big one, he tends to give expensive or meaningful gifts to the people he cares about, since it's probably easier than saying "I care" out loud.

Pickles the Drummer

One thing about Pickles is that he remembers everything about you. That ice cream flavor you once mentioned you liked. Whether you like olives or not. Your favorite mineral water brand. If you're allergic to something or not. He does it effortlessly - it comes naturally to him when he cares about you. It's a surprise how he memorizes anything at all, considering how drunk/high he is most of the time, but when people are important to him, it just sticks right away. Another thing about him is that he's willing to respect potential triggers and try to protect you from seeing something that might upset you ("I'm not gonna stop drinking and doing drugs, but I'll do it where you can't see it"). He understands and respects mental health issues and does his best to be helpful.

Pickles is also often the one taking responsibility. The problem solver. The helper. When someone else fails at a task, he has no problem taking it over (ex. Nathan and Murderface both failing at the speech in Dethtroll). When Magnus is kicked out of the band, it's Pickles suggesting it's time to find another guitarist in RSD. Especially in Season 4 and AOTD, he's often in the role of the "parent", scolding his bandmembers for shitty behavior ("shame on you for bullying Toki over his diabetes!"), caring for Toki as he regresses in AOTD, cheering Nathan on more than anyone else when he doesn't believe in himself anymore, the list goes on and on. Can we also talk about him letting Skwisgaar and Murderface sleep in his bed with him in Dethcamp? Beautiful.

His main love language is also Acts of Service, as well as Words of Affirmation. Pickles is great at talking you out of your hopelessness and reminding you of your good qualities, as well as what you're fighting for. He wants to take care of whatever is upsetting the people he cares about. He wants to get rid of whatever hindrance there is himself. Pickles takes control to make life a bit easier for you and tells you how well you're doing in the same breath. If you ever have a panic attack around him, he will ground you to his best ability - better than any of the other Dethklok members probably, too. He's incredibly understanding and supportive towards the people he cares for.

William Murderface

Murderface sometimes gets a bit too close to his bandmates, putting his hands on their shoulders and backs, reaching for their hands... the same goes for other people. Sometimes strangers. He leans over them, gets all the way into their faces. He does know boundaries, that's not it. He also knows that he's crossing them at times. But William is the type of guy who absolutely cannot say "I love you". William can't even say "I like you". The best thing he can say is "I don't hate you". He was raised harshly, treated harshly, and the one thing he craves more than anything else is Physical Touch. Murderface firmly believes that caring for someone involves wanting to be near them. It's not something he would say out loud to anyone, but his idea of affection is holding hands, leaning against each other, hugging. He's very, very touch starved and very, very sexually frustrated. Someone just cupping his cheek would probably catch him off guard. His harsh facade would melt away entirely, even if just for a second before he asks you what the fuck you're doing.

Since most people react negatively to his touch, Murderface often resorts to Quality Time. Especially with Toki, Knubbler and sometimes Skwisgaar. He's often seen hanging out with them in particular, obviously choosing to spend several hours with them, and only them. Even if nothing eventful happens, it seems he's just happy being with them (even if he doesn't visibly show it). When he tries to get someone to have sex with him, he spends a lot of time preparing himself, even showing up in a suit with flowers for the special moment. It seems that giving undivided attention to the people he cares about is a way for him to show his appreciation. He's happy watching movies and eating with his bandmates, and isolates himself from them as a "punishment" in AOTD because he feels undeserving of them. Even the stranger who hypnotizes him in DSR shakes his hand in order to gain his trust more easily.

Murderface is often seen softening up when someone touches him and gives him Words of Affirmation (ex. in DSR when he's like "You wouldn't save me if I was the one kidnapped", but the moment Nathan puts his hand on his shoulder and says he'd risk his life for him, his entire body language immediately changes. Similar in AOTD, when he speaks negatively about himself, his tone changes once his shoulder is touched and he's reassured that he has a role in the band). Especially in the first season, he often makes negative remarks about himself and takes drastic measures such as wanting to leave, in an attempt to receive nice comments and attention from his bandmates. He needs a lot of reassurance in general.

Skwisgaar Skwigelf

Skwisgaar is well known for two things - the guitar playing, and the sex. You'd expect his love language to be physical touch, considering just how much sex he has, but he actually doesn't seem to enjoy being touched in a non sexual scenario (directly telling mostly Toki not to touch him many, many times throughout the series). It's kind of difficult to pinpoint exactly what love language defines his behavior, because Skwisgaar tends to close himself off emotionally. He seems to view himself as "above" other people - or below them as well at times. But something's for certain: He's extremely observant. He remembers many things his bandmates tell him, very personal and intimate details at times (ex. Toki's triggers). He's the first and only one to notice Murderface's strange behavior in AOTD. He knows a lot of things, but doesn't speak about them very much. This guy can keep a secret or two. He'd probably help you hide a body if you asked him nicely.

In a way, that makes his main love language Acts of Service. He discretely keeps an eye on his bandmates and observes them from a distance, so he's the first to know when something isn't right. He shows concern for his bandmates when they display new or different behaviors (ex. Toki's excessive drinking, hanging out with Rockzo, Murderface in AOTD...) and expresses this to the others. Whenever he's having sex with someone, he shows concern for their wellbeing ("lets me know if I tickles you", "lady you so skinny you look sick"), and he lets his hookups stay in his bed and sleep with him until they're ready to leave. He treats them with respect. He treats them like people. They're not just objects for his pleasure.

Though Skwisgaar appears emotionally constipated at times, he is anything but. He comes across as harsh and insensitive a lot of the time, but he honestly just doesn't have a filter. Plus, it needs to get out. What he doesn't express verbally, his body expresses for him. For example, he gets physically sick whenever his mother is around, he subconsciously stims with his guitar when he's in pain or upset... You might not hear him say "I love you" out loud, like, very often if at all. But he will stim more if you bring up that other guy you've been spending a lot of time with. He noticed you talking in your sleep more often, what's up with that? Also, when's the last time you've eaten?

Toki Wartooth

Right away: Physical Touch. Toki craves hugs, hand holding and the like more obviously than any other Dethklok member. Much like Murderface, he never received any proper affection as a child, and heavily associates physical softness and tenderness with being appreciated. He reaches out to his bandmates for hugs several times (especially Skwisgaar who he greatly admires), is very affectionate with his cat, and even when he's being playful or messing with the others, he's punching them, nudging them, getting close to them in any way. He craves meaningful connections with people, and even just in his daydreams about them, he's holding their hands a lot, or reaching out to them. Even Magnus has his arm around him in Dethcamp - and Toki has a wide smile on his face. He clings to Abigail for comfort in DSR, and she holds him close as he drifts off to his much deserved sleep. This is the easiest way for Toki to understand that he's cared for. Being held. And holding others (ex. picking up and carrying Skwisgaar in AOTD).

Another one is Gift Giving. A rare one, but it definitely is the case for him. He makes Murderface his Macaroni Murder Lady for his birthday, even though he's already getting a huge gift from the entire band. He happily gives his breakfast to a hungover Pickles in Mordland. The snowglobe that Nathan gives him before he's off to to the camp is something he holds very dear and treasures a lot. The tuning device Skwisgaar gives him in AOTD? He carries it around with him everywhere. There are probably more moments, but these are the ones I remember on top of my head. Gifts are very meaningful to him, and a way for him to express his care for the people he loves - and remember that he's cared for as well.

Toki is generally very open and direct with his feelings. I think he could adapt to any love language, really. He appreciates any form of affection towards him. But Physical Touch in particular is something he holds very dear. The one thing he really struggles with is when someone won't let him touch them. Maybe he could adapt to it if it was explained to him that it's not personal rejection, but it would take him some time to stop trying to initiate hugs and cuddles. Then, Words of Affirmation are very, very much needed. Of course he appreciates Acts of Service and Quality Time as well, but he doesn't read those as "love" very well. He needs to feel or hear it.

Bonus: Magnus Hammersmith

I can honestly only theorize about Magnus, since he's simply not shown often enough throughout the series - or in a very positive light. But from what I've gathered, I personally believe that he, very much like Pickles, likes to take the lead. He's a "fixer" and a "protector", though Magnus is much more forceful about it. He believes that everyone has to do exactly as he says, because his way is the best way for everyone involved. It upsets him when someone doesn't let him "fix" or "handle" something, because it feels like personal rejection to him. His love language is Acts of Service, in a twisted, messed up way. But also... Words of Affirmation. His way of showing that he cares is to take the wheel, to fix his loved ones' lives (whether they want it or not), but his way of feeling loved is to hear it. A simple "thank you for your advice" is often enough to satisfy him, even if you don't end up actually taking it. He immediately softens up when you let him know that his input is appreciated, and that you know he cares. When you say "I love you" to him, he is so taken aback that he doesn't know how to respond. Definitely not with "I love you too", but probably by giving you the bigger half of his cookie.

[strugglingatart]

Jr year ep 2

This is me live blogging bc I need to get thoughts out also would love fandom friends full spoilers bellow the cut just so no one accidentally reads anything they don't want to this will be long

No shenanigans at the begining way lowkey sad I love our intrepid heroes being dumb

Siobhan and Zac kick it off with SUCH good turns straight away we love (also emily's cutting words? delicious)

Them all discussing more stuff mid battle is so nice I love but also not Ally forgetting they could try to heal lol

"playing with you all at level 10 has never convinced me more that this game is unplayable at level 20. fucking unplayable" Brennan the man who I 100% have seen play att level 20. But we HAVE to stan the complaing I love them so much Murph especially I always laugh so much

Siobhan please we cannot be confident before rolls they go bad then

we were doing so well like seconds ago and now everything feels terrible

ARMOR OF AYDA omg my loves

Kristen and Riz are me when my friends are being to sexual but also Kristen please remember you and tracker?

NOT FABIAN FALLING AGAIN, and his idea was real good as well, but Ally yeeting the dice also a big mood

Lou's sass was so good I love im so much

only one person saving out of everyone is brutal why do dice currenntly hate them

Murph loosing it at Ally's saving throws being empty is so funny, and poor them gatting so defensive (also have they been doing it wrong this whole time then? has it never been written down? was is just a mistake on their season prep?)

Zac and Lou killed that look at me bit I'm sorry they are geniuses

I truly thought Brennan was gonna make this fight SO much easier and in many ways I get why he didn't but I'm not over it

Listen Murph is looking SO GOOD this season it legit distracted me for a few seconds I had to go back to understand what Brenan said about the van flipping I am a disaster queer through and through

this is so intense all of a sudden omgggg

Poor hangvan ily and know Gorgug will fix you tho

Oh no Kristen, but also the die deadass turned on them, sad vibes (also I miss good rolling Murph I know we had him for one ep but I loved him)

once again yeeting the dice is a mood and then the whole if i hit anyone bit, art tbh

AHHHHH that nat 1 followed by a nat 20 was magical, also Em is wearing the naddpod live shirt 😍 I was 110% with her tho I wanted Gorgug to get it so bad so that deception roll was EVERYTHING TO ME, Ayda claming Gorgug as the greatest wizard is legit one of my favorite things whenever they bring it up and support that theory my heart is so happy

Brenan just being like yes these npcs i made up for the media res are just for that they will die even if they don't

Zac has what healing thing? again not knowing enough about DnD makes me bad at knowing who can do what

shoutout to the two crew

listen this theme of exaustion specifically with school will end me like i cannot it hits too close

Moggy the doggy! we stan Adaine the little guys guy(gal?)

Did Cassandra text you? Nonstop

this flourish lacks flourish (me giving the finishing touches to art projects for university)

LISTEN Fig asking about first day of school outfit was literally Emily choosing violence omg I felt that deeply

I still have jump and i haven't used it so I'm just gonna... I love Zac

They all LOOSE IT at two more guys and I know it was mostly the players but honestly having an absolute laughing fit out of exaustion is another big mood and I felt both seen and called out (I have STROIES about this) and like it just fit the theme so well

there's two nat 1's, Lou's full discociated, Murph's loosing it, it's pure chaos for a bit but whoever did the closed captions? A+++ job

Kristen taking ths ice cream sandwich out and going to the hangman is gold (also I remember the pouch of ice cream sandwiches existing like I fully remeber Kristen usinf it before but i don't remeber when/where she gets it despite having just rewatched both freshman and sophomore years and it's bothering me)

I want the so tactical so late t-shirt

Fabian passed so I legit thought that was gonna work but you know what? it's funnier that it didn't

"I was a turncoat the whole time" is so funny for no reason, also Fabian babe, ily but like why do you wanna kiss a mirror it will not be enjoyable (also at this point Lou is either feeding into all the comp-het queer theories or is like the queer whisperer)

The father the son and the balthazar made me cackle

I have said this before in a post somewhere but while I get where Kristen is coming from so much like truly I'm right there with her but also I kinda hate how she's avoiding Cassandra but also I get it baby but also pls do better (or at least change tactics in odrer to to it lowkey unhealthily)

Fabian I promise you you can do better LMAO Riz, you are correct

Again to me Fig's hypothetical is like fighting words I'd be pissed and depressed

But also high school me would have loved a dance camp tbh (also to be able to dance in general rip my dancing dreams, taken away by a chronic issue and over protective parents)

"I think I do a really half hearted prayer of healling just because I don't.. trust you" I love Ally so much

ah yes the silliness is back but they are so tired

wanna stay at our place? we have so many beds

The entire ecaf bit was so good i cannot deal

Hallariel is saying Fabian's name more like the elves or am I tripping?

Gillear is slightly less pathetic! he won a cruise! oh and they are engaged, full step sibblings Fig and Fabian

also poor Fabian like he needs his parental figures here... Cathilda better stay or I'm personally gonna have words with Brennan, stop making them suffer they fuck up things alone

ALSOOO there is no way Gillear would not want to talk to Fig omg I'm fighting brennan again

Gillear luck... did Fig uncurse him by taking that deal and is she about to get his bad luck?

SKLONDA we stan

Brennan I swear to god this tiny goblin has saved the world three times what do you mean he cannot go to college I will fight you, this scene hit me so hard omg we were promised silliness not heart wrenching reality in my fantasy

I think Zac legitimately forgot the mirror didn't run away for like a second which makes it funnier but Fig IS just that good. 32 decepetion fool the character and the player

BRENAN what do you mean Zelda gave back his stuff this is DURING the seven where they are still TOGETHER I swear I will riot

Frosty fair mentioned twice it's connected to or the big thing this season

The Thistlespring are SO PRECIOUS

Jawbone and Sandra Lynn made a cake I can't deal, and it's belated birthdays omg the way I would cry

THE RAGH AND LYDIA ART IS SO GOOD

the justaposition of Emily's cackle and Ally's face to the dangers Fig and Kristen are dangerously and/or wildly close to being expell is so good

Lou choking on water at "we're allowed to fail a certain number of classes each semester" also real good treiler editing bc I thought that was 10000% connected to the you let your god die line that comes right before it on there

Fig's been multiclass since start of sophmore year, does she do warlock classes sometimes I wonder

I like that Jawbone is not judging here he's just like facts: you are failing and this is why, now we can see what we do about it

ouch that whole im swimming my head is liquid kristen thing felt dangerously close to me... I usually relate to gorgug and riz like i adore kristen but she's never me what is happening (this is not bad just me having like my 10th identity mini crisis this year)

THE AYDA ART she looks so bummed but so pretty.. but also Brenan I feel like I said I'll fight you a couple of times here but if we get no ayda I will fly to LA and fight you

I reached text limit will do a part two

[theenbynightingale]

CLONE HIGH (2023) EP. 8 SPOILERS

Okay, I know I’m opening up myself to a bunch of arguing but like... We need to have a talk. I should preface this by saying I’m not a die hard fan of Clone High. I only caved into watching the original series a few days before the reboot dropped despite hearing about it for years. I think they’re both good but I have my problems with both.

But I wanna talk about Topher Bus, a Christopher Columbus clone in a Gen Z world. He’s kind of taken over the role of Ghandi as Abe’s best friend in the revival, since the creators don’t want to bring him back unless they know they’re gonna be able to make more seasons. He hasn’t had a lot of screen time or development because the abundance of characters in this version. However, him becoming somewhat close with Abe has resulted in some fans shipping them.

So imagine their surprise when Topher tries to blackmail (or white leverage) Abe at the end of the final episode because he is attracted to Joan as well. I’ve seen so many people actually get angry about this. Many found themselves disappointed that Topher wasn’t straight or that he’d do something so terrible to Abe.

To which I say... Why would you expect anything else from this guy?

Topher’s whole thing was that he was an asshole who tried way too hard to convince people he’s progressive or an ally or “woke”, a term he unironically uses. He goes on and on about how he’s looking out for poc and women because he’s just trying to survive in a world that has flat out rejected his clone father.

“But he has a ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ rainbow flag in his room!” Yeah, he does. He also has a co-exist poster, too. Good for him. Except there’s also a poster that says “Not a paid activist”. It’s a front! That’s the point! 

“But he keeps trying to drill it into everyone’s heads that he’s straight, like a closeted person!” Yes, he does. But it’s not just closeted people who do that. I went to a Catholic school and I also live in the real world. I’ve seen dudes be afraid to drink tea or hug because it might make them look “gay” or “feminine” or whatever bullshit.

“The way he said he liked Joan and white women in general was so exaggerated that he must be forcing himself to say it!” This is Clone High! Everything in this show is so exaggerated. From the very beginning, it’s been a parody of teen satires. It was created by the duo that would go on to make Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street and The LEGO Movie. This is their style.

“The episode would have been better if he blackmailed Abe into not confessing to Joan because he had a crush on Abe.” So you’re saying you would have liked the episode more if Topher had gone “Abe, the reason I almost got you molested by a teacher was because I’m in love with you”? I need you to realize how fucked that is.

Topher is a weasly little shit who tries to convince everyone how progressive he is when he’s actually a total asshole. That was the point. Y’all thinking he was in love with Abe or that he had Abe’s best intentions at heart just means that it worked. You took the bait. I’m not saying shipping Tophabe would be immoral (okay maybe after the whole statutory rape thing but that’s just for right now). There’s a solid chance that their friendship could be salvaged after this. I certainly never thought I’d ship Cleo with anyone but know she and Frida are my OTP. But you gotta stop pretending that this character is someone he isn’t.

I might delete this because I’m just trying to get my feelings out. I’m not calling anyone stupid or whiny just because they got upset by the new episodes. (Shoutout to my boy, @warcrimetime​. Sorry they took JoanFK from you so soon). This is just another case of me getting annoyed by people calling queerbait just because a ship didn’t become canon and me getting everything out of my system. (But also, if Joan does see Topher’s blackmail and her reaction is anger at Abe and not “HOLY SHIT YOU WERE MOLESTED?!” then that would actually be legit bad writing).

TL;DR:

Although, maybe I’m just not upset because I got Kahlopatra and you guys lost your OTP and I just don’t understand, I dunno. 

[aquaburst3]

I saw several posts and comments in the Helluva Boss tag saying something like, "Stolitz is toxic. Congrats, you get the point!🎉" in an extremely patronizing tone. Like, yeah. No fucking shit that is the Vivzie's intention. Anyone with a brain cell can figure that out. What pisses me off even more is that some even go as far too say that if you hate them, you're an idiot.

My issue isn't just that they're too "toxic". I like plenty of ships that come off as "toxic" to some. I enjoyed Chuck and Blair in Gossip Girl when I was younger. Same goes for Sam and Freddie on iCarly. Hell, I was raised on telenovelas and Twilight, and still have a love for reading yandere fanfics for fuck's sake! I'm the last person on Earth to say you can never like a toxic ship! Just with them it's both toxic AND super annoying.

Stolas is the textbook definition of a woobie. He's super manipulative. He forces Blitz into that deal when he damn well knew he was running for his life and has his business on the line, so he could never turn it down. He even did the same thing before at the party when he guilt trips Blitz into sex. He's also a self centred ass, who constantly makes everything about himself and prioritizes fucking his boy toy over more important shit in his life like his own daughter. He continues to ignore her, even after she told him how she feels constantly. He acts extremely patronizing towards Blitz, calling him stupid and condescending nicknames right in front of everyone, despite him clearly not liking them. On top of everything, he's also cheating on his wife.

Is this ever called out by the narrative? Nope. He's given a free pass, and the story treats like a uwu sad boy that we need to feel bad for. Sorry, but that won't cut it. I just want to yeet him into the sun, not see him get together with Blitz.

Yes, I think a large part of this is thanks to Vivzie pulling an Elsa and changing Stolas' personality to be more "positive" part way during season 1. Also, yes, Stolas is trying to find a way to give Blitz a way to get to the "Human World" without him. But that's still no excuse for him being this much of a woobie. Morally grey and messy characters should be always called out by the narrative. Actions have consequences. People can get hurt regardless of our past or intentions. Cheating is always wrong, even if your partner is a bitch. That even goes for characters like Stolas.

Even if that wasn't the case, I don't think that Stolas is a good match for Blitz. Blitz needs a partner who is supportive, understanding and level-headed, being there for him when he needs it. Not a guy with his own mountain of baggage of his own. Honestly, I think any relationship between them will result in a messy breakup if they were real.

[brujitaadinbo]

I come with every intention of writing and spoilers: this requires a lot of text but, sorry… it's an interesting read.

I've seen a lot of people complain about SW and their way of doing things; I've seen people complain about The Mandalorian and say; At what point did it become children's content?

Well, as I tell you, since season 1 this content has always turned out to be family content.

Now the people who say this; It is because it is alienated that SW does not vary; when practically the SW material is pure fantasy and there is material for everyone, of all colors and flavors. The Mandalorian cannot be pigeonholed solely into violence; friend, then you have not understood anything about this universe.

See Star Wars and everything Geroge, Filoni and Jon have been working on with a whole creative team, etc, etc. is to enter that world to which they took you "the never ending story", "the labyrinth", "Dragon Heart", "Merlin" and I can continue… magical worlds, where hope resides everywhere, where love It is an important point because despite not being able to see it, it becomes part of this environment and expresses itself in mysterious ways (yes, like strength). That is why pigeonholing SW solely in violence is taking away a vital part of its narrative, it is as if the conflicts in its different aspects were not shown; or wanting to remove something very substantial that although species from other worlds are shown; They have something that unites them with everything. "The feelings, the emotions, the humanity that exists in these aspects"

Friend, believe me, when you only get stuck in violence and don't want to look at something else; The problem is you and maybe SW is not the content you need. And hey; I'm not saying that you have to accept everything, but definitely criticizing just to criticize, hating just to hate is ridiculous and pathetic. Taking SW or the Mandalorian as entertainment after a difficult day is not bad at all. But now you want to take this as a personal vent, project yourself, harass and be an infernal hater, sorry but that's disgusting.

And believe me; That violence that you ask for so much is desensitizing you, it makes you someone who loses the notion of how you can harm others and there are people like me; who lives in violent countries, where your life is at stake every 5 minutes, that the only thing we want is to stop experiencing this violence and live fantasy and hope. So stop messing around, okay.

At the end of the day your requests are like: "You want a good development for Din Djarin, but you don't want him to associate with anyone, you want to pigeonhole him into a life in the countryside with a secondary character, You want him to continue in a dangerous profession that "no It leaves nothing good for him or his green boy, you complain about everything and it doesn't seem like anything to you.” Please; It's very obvious that you didn't watch the series and don't understand Din's development. stop fucking around.

A few days ago I was watching episode 3 and I'm going to say this; Anakin is a great character, he is a villain through and through, but all this grew like a snowball. They lost Anakin and he was already lost, Palpatine knew how to play his pieces. In the entire world of SW it is difficult to pigeonhole the characters because; The decisions are the ones that weigh the most. All SW characters have an Anakin within them, they all carry a complex and a mourning of their being; a good being or a bad being. Doing what is right or wrong is a struggle of ethics and morals.

Anakin was an enslaved child and grew up with this complex, remaining a slave due to his attachments until his death. Their actions do not have to be justified, but they do need to be understood and exposed. At the end of the day in this universe Who has not stained their hands with mud or blood to fight for something? Who hasn't had to ignore innocent people to preserve an idea or a fight? Who hasn't had to give in to the bad orders of others to save their people?

When I see people judging Bo Katan, for example; for being a terrorist in her past or for her wrong actions and them using this as a reason for Din not to be around her; I say to you.. How low and dirty do they have to be to use a person's past, in this case a character, and judge them and not allow them to redeem themselves?

Si Din let Bo Katan redeem himself this season 3 Who do you think you are to not allow it?

It hurts me a lot to see Anakin get lost and to see that here they showed us what love is. but they also show us "it's the right person at the wrong time"

Padme could fight hard but her own worries and Anakin's attitudes were driving them apart.

When Anakin is tempted to turn to the dark side to gain power and knowledge, he gives in to his attachment to Padme, his fear, and gives in to the temptation. And for example in the mandalorian from season 1 We can see how temptation tried to envelop Din Djarin so that he would leave the creed.

Many people believe that this scene with Omera was "romantic" which it was not so; This series was representative of that TEMPTATION that Din could have fallen into. It's a symbolic scene of how Din was able to abandon the creed, stop being a Mandalorian, settle down and live in a remote place. EVEN when he mentions to Omera that his main goal was to honor Mandalorian culture, which saved him from the droids. SHE tries to take off his helmet if he allows it, invasively, as a temptation. THE CLEAR THING was that he NEVER fell into temptation.

Din clearly tells him "I don't belong here."

Because many say “I wanted a quiet life with her.” I say; Since he did not agree to stay and preferred the creed and remain Mandalorian, develop his character, surround himself with other people, adopt Grogu and recover his planet together with Bo Katan, I tell you HE preferred a Mandalorian life and his lifestyle and culture may be anything but "a quiet lifestyle."

Now when they say "Bo katan is a liar, a villain" it's because they didn't understand any point I mentioned. All SW characters have had to make difficult decisions, Bo Katan has been more oriented towards being an Anti-hero. And I don't justify her but it is understood and her points of view are expressed, about why she acted that way.

Since season 2 he could have killed or betrayed Din and taken his saber, in season 3 he had all the time and opportunities to do so. AND IT NEVER HAPPENS…

And it is more than clear that she had a very peculiar interest in him, that she protected him in some way.

Always saving him, even in chapter Plazir 15, she saves him from the separatist droids just when he shows rejection towards politicians. A clear nod to the fact that she does not fall for opulence or power, she simply wants to right her wrongs and bring glory to Mandalore, so that her people have their home.

Saying that Bo Katan "didn't redeem himself because he didn't do anything" Sorry, but living with a tormented conscience, with memory and constant regret. This season 3 Brendan Wayne himself says it in a podcast where he is a guest: "Din wanted to get Bo Katan out of that depression of that cloudy cloud of thoughts and knock her out with his own feelings, it was like he was talking to my wife"

I uploaded that interview and you can find it on my wall, I don't lie like SCREENRANT, they love to lie.

I don't want to go into more detail but I'm going to close this post with this.

Let's assume Din and Bo don't want anything romantic, okay. then at least allow them to be comrades in arms; It doesn't take anything away from them, on the contrary it gives them both a lot. Both Din with his own qualities can support Bo and vice versa. So why separate them if in the end, they are just friends?

And if it turns out that there are feelings and love between the two IT ALSO doesn't take anything away from them and yes, it contributes to them.

Star Wars is a galactic opera and I repeat; Taking away love just because you are a bitter person is taking away one of its main foundations.

The Mandalorians would be another very peculiar, interesting and unique perspective on love, if they let this union flow. Because it wouldn't be the typical cliché

We would see Din and Bo fighting together, sharing moments, weapons, tactics, in the middle of a battle, a show of affection, a hug, something very human, holding hands, fighting together, sharing plans, exchanging ideas and even A Keldabe kiss..

I and many see potential, at least in this shipment there is a lot of material to refute this couple; and I'm completely in the group that wants to keep them together.

This is the way.

[sunnynoki]

We don’t talk a lot - We haven’t talked in probably about a year or so now, since I left the fandom space we met in. I’ve changed usernames since then - I went by Wheat on discord. Sorry I’ve been so distant. I never knew how to talk to you since it’s been a while.

Even still, I want to tell you that you were important to me, and still are. I wish we could talk more. I want to talk about your new interests. What are you into these days? I’ve been getting into some older games these days, but I’ve been missing pokemon a bit. I want to get back into it. Do you still draw Sky? I never asked you about them with as much detail as I wanted to. I was always worried about being too intrusive, but I regret that now. Your OCs are really imaginative. I know you’re into tensura now, right? Season 3 is coming out soon. I’m excited for that.

I want to get to know you again. I don’t know what happened with whatever you left behind, and I don’t know if this is a weird message to send, but you’re important to me and I want to let you know that you are. I wouldn’t be who I am if you weren’t there in the beginning. Thank you for being you.

i dont know how to talk either. every sentence i say either feels fake or self centered, selfish. and dont worry about being distant; it happens, especially when interests change. i dont blame you.

youre important to me too. i wish we could talk more. im not into much right now. i just feel empty. i gave up su/bmas, after everything. it was too much, not knowing who i could trust not to fucking ship them, or think its ok in any circumstance. yet sometimes i still crawl back to the tag, despite blocking it a while ago. i dont touch anything though, just look. it doesnt bring me joy anymore. i think im finally letting it go. i dont know how i feel about po/kemon yet. its kinda just. there. maybe im just feeling particularly apathetic right now.

i don't really draw anything right now. i dont know if i can go back. it was my only hobby, yet my therapist said that it wasnt enough, even when i was at my lowest. well, at the time. ive set a new low score at this point. i dont want to draw. i don't know what id draw. i dont think i can. my computer is kinda a no mans land at this point. i don't really touch it anymore. im glad you liked sky though. i never understood why she garnered so much attention. i could never write a good enough character for her. she was a mary sue in that way, with no real character flaws, let alone the... everything else. either way, like i said, im glad you liked her regardless. it means a lot. the attention i got because of her made me really happy.

like i said, im not really into anything right now, but i guess tensura would be regarded as an "interest." im... looking forward to season 3. i read one of the light novels thats going to be adapted a month or two back though, so i guess its gonna be a moment before i get to "new" content.

i dont know if theres anyone to get to know anymore. i was already in a depressive episode before this disaster, now i dont know if theres any going back, if theres any way to recover. it isnt a weird message to send, and its appreciated that you care for me but. im not sure if i can trust anyone again. im not sure if i can even trust myself. even in the aftermath, the people i thought i could trust either no longer talk to me or still interact with those who hurt me. i guess its selfish to ask them to cut off those friends too. but ive always been selfish. self centered. egotistical.

regardless, im glad i had some positive impact despite my mess of a personality. thank you for your words

[gibblegabber]

i wrote most of this a month ago but might as well spill my personal nonsense regarding kick on his 14TH ANNIVERSARY WHHHHHHHH

nothing interesting it’s truly like a diary entry

i’ve been keeping to myself while i wind down from another hyperfixation with KB:SD, because it has to come to an end, because there’s very few people left in my life who were there in the fandom while it aired, because i get so fucking depressed when i think about it.

how do i describe this. Kick reminds me that i’m alive. he ALSO reminds me that i’m a failure. he’s the reason i finished art school and also (part of) the reason i stopped pursuing art as a career. the show’s run was the best time of my life and at the same time i was dealing with an overwhelming amount of trauma.

and i packed ALL of that into this silly 6.5/10 rated cartoon. why??? because it just happened to be THERE when I was going thru some shit?? sometimes i think “this could have been any cartoon, the timing is what mattered” and other times i’m like no…the adventures we had in mellowbrook were genuinely incredible and if it were any other fandom, i wouldn’t have met the same amazing people!!! do you know how thankful i am to have Kachiimi and Misha in my life still??? REALLY FUCKING THANKFUL. i don’t deserve them in the least!! they’ve known me at my worst and happened to also SEE me at my worst in person and they’re still my friends and i love them very much, i hope they know that.

and if anyone’s still following me that knew me during the KB years, or was friends with me during that time… 1.) i’m sorry. i was crazy LMAO and 2.) just know you made the whole experience so so awesome :) i appreciated so much that the fandom was a tight knit group of people, no drama, just a great place to be when my life was falling apart around me.

yea if i psychoanalyzed this whole thing i wouldn’t like the answer. but. it doesn’t change how much Kick means to me, and how much he’ll always mean to me!!

it had always been a bucket list thing of mine to be the number 1 fan of something at some point. ever since i was like nine years old i was like “man that’d be cool if it happened”. never in a million years would i have guessed that it would be this. but in a weird way Kick was exactly who i needed at that time. someone whose failures were just his fuel for success. someone who didn’t let his shortcomings stop him from achieving his goals. someone who kept going even if the world was against him. looking back it’s really no surprise that i got so attached.

obviously i’m far from the number 1 fan position now. who knows if i ever really was; i only knew a fraction of the fandom that called me the “queen of the KB fandom”, and Sandro had called me the number 1 fan at one point so i just took it all to heart. i would argue that Aisha took that position when school and jobs and life started consuming my life more than fandom did. or well, all of this is a moot point when you consider Jackie who is definitely 100% his number 1 fan LOL. but wow, what a time. we were so lucky to interact with the crew as much as we did.

it doesn’t seem like much but it really made me feel like i could do anything. if Kick had gotten a third season you KNOW i would’ve stopped at NOTHING to be on the team in some way shape or form. i would’ve flown out to LA in an instant and not looked back. despite everything. i would’ve done it.

kinda sucks considering uhhhh THINGS that got revealed about the director years later, so in the same vein i’m very happy that Kick did not get a season 3. but when the show ended something in me died, or i came to terms with something, idk what it was. something like: i knew i’d never feel the same way about a cartoon again so i didn’t bother trying. i stopped drawing almost entirely for 10 years.

aaaand it’s true. over a decade and i never came close to the level of obsession i had with Kick, and never really wanted to either. THEN i got slapped in the face with IZ and well…let that be a long and cheesy post for march 30th or something. :P and as much fun as it’s been and continues to be, it’s a DIFFERENT sort of experience from KB. it can’t compare. maybe in 10 years i’ll look back on IZ friends and fandom times and reminisce fondly on them too.

KB:SD is stuck where it was. if that makes any sense. there’s a lot in the show that i don’t think modern day fandom would take kindly to. there’s a lot of crack shipping and shenanigans we got up to back then that isn’t okay now. (god… okay i don’t miss that part LOL. i cringe painfully at a lot of it, but i DO miss when people understood the fucking difference between fiction and reality. it was a different time for sure.) it just is what it is.

and that’s okay. i’m gonna let it go, again, and i’ll be back on and off. it hurts. it hurts every time this happens but that’s okay because Kick taught us to live till it hurts. :) 🤘🏼✨

[chirpsythismorning]

Y’all will be your own undoing the fact none of you have not even the slightest bit of doubt is rather worrying. what happens if neither is endgame and let’s say Mike is killed off? You can’t say that won’t happen either because you don’t know the same way you can’t say byler is endgame because you don’t know hell even milevens can’t say they’re ship is endgame because they don’t know. Ego is ruining both sides and neither side is correct and shouldn’t proclaim to be.

I'm sorry anon, but I'm not all bylers. While there are a great deal of bylers like myself who have less doubts these days, there are plenty that have mostly doubts. PLENTY. Arguably the vast majority. And for good reason, ie. history.

To be completely honest anon, I don't think you're worried about bylers and their lack of doubts. I think their lack of doubt scares you bc it's caused you to go from confident to having doubts yourself. Why else would you be here on anon all condescending otherwise?

Personally, I'm not even here bc I want to believe byler's endgame. And no offense to those that have went through it, because the whole point of queer-baiting is to basically mock queer fans and lead them on with no intention of following through, but I have never been queer-baited before.

I did however, like many milkvans, go into Stranger Things loving Mike and El under the assumption they were peak romance. I literally skipped all of s2 during my first rewatch to get to their reunion! But genuinely, do we think the show is supposed to be watched that way?? Hell no.

If you're having to skip all of s2, most of s3, most of s4 in rewatches, bc Mike and El are separated, fighting, or broken up, what does that tell you?

If you're having resentments for characters like Max and Lucas and Will and Hopper bc the story has made points to have those characters interfere with your confidence in Mike and El romantically, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're probably watching the show wrong. To be clear, if you have resentment for ANY of the main characters, you are missing something!!!

And that was my problem back then when I subscribed to these assumptions, because I WANTED to believe Mike and El were the pinnacle of romance, despite the signs incoming that went against it. And what that meant is I had to hold resentments for all the characters, including Mike and El themselves and even the Duffer Brothers for ruining what I WANTED to believe.

After s3, me, my friends, family and quite honestly anyone I spoke to about the show, said that it went downhill since the previous two seasons. And I do think a big part of the reason why, is because of the Mike and El conflict conflating everything. It felt regressive. And s4 repeating that exact storyline????

It took me a while to even consider byler as an idea. It's not like I latch onto every non-canon mlm ship and just ship for nothing (very few bylers do this, no matter how much anti's need to convince themselves this is the case as an excuse to be homophobic).

I am a hopeless romantic. Doesn't matter if it's queer or straight, I only ship stuff that I feel confident is endgame bc why would I put myself through scenes of something that doesn't feel right to me, merely bc I want to believe it and despite everything pointing against it??

Full serious, IF I was confident in milkvan endgame as a possibility, I would probably just convince myself to like them and provide evidence supporting it, bc I would honestly rather be right? Who tf wants to be wrong?

The problem was it didn't matter if I was initially convinced Mike and El were the pinnacle of romance (I was a child okay, give me a break...). Once I let go of that assumption because of all the doubts I had of them piling up, and took off my heteronormative goggles, I went woah... Holy shit. This show is actually fucking epic. Doubts gone. And the rest is history.

So, what happens if neither is endgame and Mike's killed off? I guess I would be confused, especially because the Duffer's specifically mentioned not being able to kill off Mike in a podcast last year. They gave their reasoning as to why, being that they take deaths on their show very seriously, needing 1+ seasons for them to show the characters mourning the loss. And so ending the show on that exact note, would be kind of a spoiler since they brought it up specifically? Therefore kind of redundant?

I guess, sue me for thinking the Duffers care about the show and put a lot of meaning into it. All of my analysis and theories are based on that assumption. No one's going to change how I think about that, so trust me, not worth getting worked up over it, anon.

If your evidence is all based on the assumption that the Duffers are not that good of writers, that almost everything on the show is coincidental and there's no deeper meaning beyond surface level, why are you even watching it in the first place? You do you I guess, but I just don't know why you wouldn't want to watch something that is more worth your time?

People being confident in their theories wont hurt you. If it bothers you so much, maybe find a way to be confident with your theories after looking at all the evidence from both sides. All sides. Any sides. If you still come up completely indifferent, then don't work yourself up by going on anon and making it other peoples' problem.

If it turns out everything meant nothing, and I was wrong about everything or most of what I interpreted, I will be okay! Because the show went from being about what I wanted to believe, to just what I genuinely believed.

Would I be disappointed? Sure. But lets hope I'm right bc in my scenario the show is epic and everything means something... not sure why anyone would root for the alt...

[hidingoutbackstage]

So now that RvB is over, I'm curious: Which season from the later era of RvB do you think is the worst (Shisno Duology/16-17, Zero/18 or Restoration/19)?

Personally if I had to rank those three, Zero/18 is the worst, then Restoration/19, and then Shisno Duology/16-17. Shisno Duology I think has more redeeming elements (like FINALLY getting a Donut arc and giving Sister depth and moments that showed of Wash and Carolina’s relationship) and even though it had writing elements I really didn’t like (Tucker being more of an asshole, Grif suddenly being a MAJOR asshole for no reason despite the arc he JUST went through in s15, trying to insert gds but actually they’re just AI but they’re the most advanced AI in the world to a stupid degree) it at least tried to give ALL of our main characters something to do, like it felt ooc and annoying at times but it was still THEM and they were still THERE.

The same canNOT be said for Restoration or Zero. Zero I hate the most because it stars an all new cast that they tell us is so cool and we should care about them and take them seriously, but they never show us anything worthy of that, and it also just feels like the creators of Zero watched the Freelancer Saga and took away that fans thought what was interesting was the cool action scenes and how badass these guys were and the emotional conflicts and how they sidelined our main characters. It’s like they didn’t realize that the Freelancers are supposed to be bad people and we were watching to see them eventually fall. As for how Zero treats the three (3) main characters from the og it DOES have, holy fuck is it terrible. Carolina is way undermined and sidelined for these people she should not care about, Wash’s disability was cured in a single throwaway line before he was put out of commission anyway, and Tucker, oh man Tucker. My blood is already boiling. They turned him back into a creep and an asshole, separated him from his team for no reason, KILLED HIM and gave his SUPER IMPORTANT SWORD to some random chick who STILL HAS THE SWORD AT THE END SO FUCK EVERYTHING THE SHOW SAID MADE TUCKER SPECIAL IG.

Sorry. Got heated there. Anyway Restoration is between those two in terms of quality, but it’s still bad. The character writing jumped all over the place, the pacing was atrocious, it felt like they didn’t have enough time to execute the story they were trying to do, while at the same time they wasted so much time. They tried to make Simmons the main character, which doesn’t come across AT ALL, they sideline basically everyone but Simmons, Caboose, Grif, and Sarge, and still don’t really give any satisfying narrative conclusion to any of them. Sarge’s death is stupid, Simmons staying in the army is stupid, Grif retiring and therefore being away from Simmons is stupid, and Caboose doesn’t really get an arc or honestly anything that gives him character, he’s just a plot device. They make Tucker the Meta and framed it as a big important thing in the marketing and then had all the characters act blasé about it, didn’t let anyone who WOULD be impacted by Meta!Tucker, actually get impacted by it, he got 23 total lines in the story, they tortured Tucker for months that felt like YEARS and then didn’t allow him to process any of that HORRIFIC TRAUMA and sent him out of the series with a SEX JOKE. Wash’s B plot was TOTALLY pointless and doesn’t make sense narratively given the end of s13. Donut was given a cameo that was just one more offensive gay joke. I swear the only good thing was the Chex reunion at the very end. It was also poorly made, with the animation looking rlly bad at times, stuff like Caboose’s double knees and the mouse cursor on screen the most notable (but also there was just a lot of the action that looked rough) and as a series ending finale it was a major fucking letdown on pretty much all fronts, but despite all that, it still isn’t worse than Zero. Imagine that.

[terrestrialnoob]

Yeah, so, personally, I don't see Fast Forward or Back to the Sewers as a part of the original TMNT 2003 series. I see them as Sequel Series, kinda like how Avatar: The Legend of Korra is the sequel series to Avatar: The Last Aribender.

Not only do FF and BTTS have different titles, literally everything else was changed too. The writers, directors, primary and secondary animation companies were all changed at some point, with only the production company the same and most of the same voice actors, but that was it. That's less than what Legend of Korra had in common with the Last Airbender. And FF and BTTS were intended to be soft reboots to make the 03 series more profitable and palatable. They weren't making enough new marketable designs for toy sales and the dark tone was making the production company nervous (despite the success of the previous seasons).

(That's the important bit, there's only criticism of FF and BTTS after this.)

The FF and BTTS seasons were extremely fundamentally different: literally having different foundations in style, characterization, and storytelling. Though, the FF designs were really good for the adaptions to more computer animation, unfortunately the characters started their descent into "technically still in character", and there were parts that were actually pretty good, if it had been written by slightly more capable writers. BTTS was when everything really went to shit.

The main series was formatted so that there would be three to five episode arcs with zero-to-two standalone episodes in between. But FF started with two vague overarching story-lines that loosely held the season together with decent pacing towards the resolution of those overarching story-lines with one-off character stories breaking them up and giving us about 60/40 "Oh, that was actually a good character interaction" / "He would not fucking say that". It was really always on the edge of being good, but never actually getting to it. And I might actually put TMNT Fast Forward as a standalone series on par with the quality of the 2012 series.

FF had some pretty interesting ideas the writers just didn't do anything with or were forced to drop. Sho'kanabo was basically the Rise Kraang, just with the major weakness of sunlight disinfecting his victims. He was proper terrifying, infecting, taking over, and controlling his victims. He also made evil clones of the turtles who were like, amazing characters and had so much potential! They were so cool! And Zix was an interesting character concept, a smuggler with grey morality who helped just as much as he harmed? If only he was actually well written, and actually was grey and did just as much good as he did bad instead of just being a bad guy who said "sorry :(" sometimes.

Back To The Sewers on the other hand, was fully bad. Every part individually was bad, there is no evidence anyone working on BTTS had any passion for it whatsoever, which means management unequivocally failed at every turn. The designs were actually bad, the animation was stilted and unnatural, the plot was nonsense, most of the dialog was also nonsense to match, the writing was some of the laziest I've ever seen in the entire franchise, one (or more) character was out of character at least once in every episode, and the villains weren't serious threats (The Shredder got taken out by Mikey on his own. Speaking of... Mikey got a ton more screen time, but he also like, absorbed everyone else's character traits depending on what the plot needed? Like, I think they discovered that Mikey was the audience favorite and just made him the center of the episode no matter if it made sense or not). And on top of that, just like the 87 series, they just had to introduce a new toy or accessory design into every episode, which can be fine - unless there's nothing there to distract from it, no good writing, or animation, or characters draw your attention away from the commercial inside the show. It's so bad.

[officialgleamstar]

HI TALK ABOUT NORMSCARY TO ME PLEASE i want to hear. um. how do you think they start dating !!

sorry i got so distracted and forgot to look at tumblr but OHHH THANK YOU YES.... OOOOHHH THATS A FUN QUESTION

to me that depends like. when they get together. as ive said before, i mostly ship them post-canon and i have my silly au with their getting together scene written out, when theyre both seniors in high school (i know people havent read that LOL so to summarize - scary realizes that she has a really bad crush on normal and does her absolute best to ignore it. one night theyre hanging out along because lincoln&taylor are on a date and normals complaining about how hes never going to find love, and then he turns it on her, poking her about how come she isnt dating anyone. she basically confesses but due to normal being oblivious, he thinks she has a crush on taylor, and shes so stunned by that that she just kisses normal to get her point across. theyre SILLAY)

but thats boring, ive already done it (joke i still love it), so i wanna talk about if they got together closer to canon. like at the end of this season, starting around where we are now (hopefully with minimal spoilers LOL)!! to start - i always like scary crushing on normal first. it just makes me happy. but ive always written scary confessing to normal, so i think it would be fun to reverse that

like scary gets this crush on normal, probably around the time he comforts her in the Meat Room (😂); hes always so sweet to her despite everything, he always goes out of his way for her, and she cant help but fall for it. she buries those feelings because they feel so inappropriate- theyre trying to save dood, and on a more personal level, her step-dad just died, she cant think about it, theres too much going on. but shes sitting on those feelings and normal just keeps being nice to her and its getting to her. and in turn, normal realizes he has a crush on her in return when she tries to hug him when he goes back to the mascot costume. like scary, hes way too overwhelmed with everything to even really think about it, and hes a little convinced that she doesnt really even like him as a friend, that the hug was just pity, but the crush is still there. normal has never been good at denying his feelings, he knows its there, and its killing him too

and so they have that super like, YA novel romance subplot where theres tension building between them, and theyre utterly unaware that the other person likes them back, and they have so much going on that pursuing anything would be stupid. but theyre teens and theyre hormonal so they cant just ignore it, and they keep having these awkward moments of getting flustered and everyone around them is like "😐... what are they doing."

and it eventually comes out in the climax of everything. normal is completely set on sacrificing himself, because thats who he is, he wants to martyr himself so fucking badly all the time bgjdbfghbhfbdhj and scary is fed up trying to talk him down and she ends up hitting him with something like, "i thought you wanted to get together with hermie or whatever, youre just throwing that away now?" "i kind of got over that awhile ago, scary." "then why have you still been acting like such a loser lately?!" [pause] "because i wanted to get together with you instead." and scary is just STUNNED and he takes that chance to run off and try and enact his plan. and inevitably he survives because like i said. YA novel romance subplot ghjbfdghbfdhj and scary runs to his side and theyre basically just yelling at each other about everything, scary is relieved and also furious, normal is mortified that he dropped a confession and bailed but also so thankful hes alive, and then at some point in their yelling they end up kissing instead--

wow. okay so i didnt mean to like, plot out a fanfiction in response to this ask but UMMMM i hope this answers your question ^-^

[storiesofsvu]

Sonny Carisi SFW Alphabet

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Carisi is the softest, most must be protected bean any of us has ever met. He is THE most affectionate person you’ve ever met. It doesn’t matter who’s around, he’s always overly touchy and will always give you a soft kiss, a tight hug before he leaves you because he fucking loves you more than life itself.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

He doesn’t take much to start a friendship, he’s already been through a tough time with NYPD, plowing through the boroughs before landing at Manhattan SVU. Likely the first person to be friends with him would be someone he cherished. Being Sonny’s best friend would include lots of nights out over a couple of beers, and more than enough nights of him cooking for you. Even just platonically he’s always going to be keeping an eye out for you, he loves passionately in every aspect of his life and that’s never going to stop. If you’re his bff, you’ve probably met his entire family too. (check out Censured for the Sonny bff relationship)

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Sonny is the MOST cuddly person, WOW. I mean, that man was MADE for it, really! Why else would he be THAT tall and THAT lanky, he is just made to pull you into his arms, head tucked beneath his chin while he tells you everything’s going to be okay. Leg sneaking between yours while he rubs your back. Oof. man is king of cuddling

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Dominick Carisi is the ULTIMATE of husband material. He wants nothing more than to find the love if his life and settle down and pop out a few kids. like, NBC, COME ON and let this man at LEAST have a girlfriend next season, he deserves it. We already know he’s an incredible cook, i’m sure he’s good at cleaning too.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

He’d be fucking heartbroken if it was anything longer than usual. He’d always do it in person despite being super fucking nervous. He’d be apologizing the entire time, saying how much he still cared about them but it just wasn’t something that was going to work out, and how incredibly sorry he was.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

This man was looking for a wife the day he graduated high school and you cannot tell me otherwise (which is why it breaks my poor lil heart every day to see that SVU has left him with no one but the will they wont they of Rollins cause he deservers BETTER)

He’s ready to settle down, he doesn’t date just anyone, he’ll only date people he considers wife material there’s a long list of questions that get playfully asked when he’s on his first few dates, weeding out those who aren’t on the same page. He’s not ready to waste time. Once he finds the one, he’ll be married in just under a year, completely and totally in love.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

OH GOODNESS. Sonny Carisi is the softest, most gentle bean you have EVER MET.  Physically, he might get angry with a perp but if he raises his voice at you he’s INSTANTLY apologizing, his voice soft, waiting for your okay before he wraps you in his arms, telling you he’d never hurt you. He might get over aggressive while fighting with people (you included), his brow furrowing and his hands flailing while he talks but he’s NEVER going to even think about touching you when he’s angry. Poor guy won’t even spank you when you ask for it.

Emotionally, especially outside of work, this smol bean is literally the most gentle being on earth. I’m still mad we never saw more after the ep where he tried to save the perp that ended up jumping over a ledge accidentally, of the ep where there was a GUN TO HIS HEAD. (but noooo…those were all Liv focussed seasons). Sonny deserved to have someone to come home to those eps. He’s so soft emotionally, every single fucking day he comes home to you alive after a day of police work he’s going to give you the deepest, biggest fucking hug ever. It’s literally going to be at LEAST a minute long while he breathes in your scent, feels your body against his, feeling your heart beat, feels your breath against his skin until he’s assured that you’re actually there, still his and alive.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Okay see above. He loves hugs, he’s gonna hug you at minimum three times a day. His hugs are the type that simply wrap around you, it doesn’t matter what his relationship is with you he’s going to tug you against him, reminding you that its all gonna be okay

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

He’s probably going to say if faster than the last few people you’d dated. Nothing crazy, he’s still kinda insecure about that, but he does love you more than anything. Once he feels you softly snuggle against him, that gentle hum of satisfaction, knowing you aren’t going anywhere, he’s putty in your hands. 

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

He doesn’t get super jealous, at least not outwardly. He might see green occasionally, but he’s one to sidle up against you, wrapping an arm around you while he kisses your head and is all “Hey doll..” While you giggle against his shoulder. 

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

His kisses are like fucking HEAVEN. Those lips!? They move against yours with ease, with precision, and you always love it. He loves to kiss you on the lips, his little kisses on your cheeks, the way you giggle at the wet contact, turning to him so he can kiss your lips. He loves when you nip and kiss down his neck, especially when your lips wrap around his nipples

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

We all know Sonny is amazing around kids, he’s already Uncle Sonny. He can’t wait to have kids, and you’re okay with taking a career break if that means you get to start a family with him cause you love him so much and know he’ll be an incredible father.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Your mornings are the most adorable. A lazy wakeup, some snuggles and kisses. If you have the day off you’re definitely having some lazy morning sex. If not you’ll eventually drag him out of bed to the shower, spending time cleaning each other before you have to push him from your giggling frame, telling him he needs to start the coffee while you wash your hair. The mornings are quiet, soft, full of adoration.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Nights can be spent a few ways, you’re both adults, both working the law industry. Sometimes you’re home on time where he cooks you dinner as you sit on the kitchen counter getting tastes and sips of the delicious food, humming in satisfaction at how much you love him. Sometimes there’s nothing left to do but fuck the shit out of each other, and sometimes you come home so exhausted you simply collapse against each others arms you barely remember anything before sleeping. 

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Sonny’s pretty quick to open up to you, revealing things all at once, especially once he’s had a few too many glasses of wine, though he’s embarrassed about it, you encourage him that it’s nothing to be worried about

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

By you? It takes a lot more than usual, he’s such a sweet guy that he’ll always work through the possibilities before blaming you for something. When it comes to work though he’s pretty quick to get mad

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Sonny does his best to remember as much as he can, he remembers most of your favourite things, important dates, anniversaries, etc. He’s always quick to text/call on the morning of your birthday or other special days. He might forget a thing here or there and he probably feels bad about it.

R = Remember (What is their favourite moment in your relationship?)

It’s definitely a tie between your first kiss and the moment you exchanged I love you’s for the first time. Your first kiss was so gentle, so pure, he’d taken you out for dinner, walking you home through the park, the warm spring air whirling around you. Your hand intentionally swinging too close to his until he finally gathered the courage to interlock your fingers, the flush creeping up his neck, the soft giggles escaping your mouth. When you got to you apartment you said you had the greatest time, mentioning that you couldn’t wait to do it again. Your interlocked hands tugged you together, the affection radiating off your body he gently leant down, cupping your face with his free hand, laying the softest of kisses against your lips. It was when you departed, the grin bursting on your cheeks, hands linking behind his neck that he knew he never wanted to stop kissing you, arms wrapping around you while he pulled you to his lips again, the kiss full of passion.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Naturally, he knows how horrible the world can be, but he trusts you. He knows you can take care of yourself, he’s cautious if you’re leaving his place late at night, urging you to call once you’re home safe (which you always do). It’s more so after he moves into the position of ADA that he keeps a close eye on his cases, the second he gets any kind of threat is the INSTANT you get a police detail.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

He’s more about the small things, especially once you’ve been together for a while. It’s about making your favourite breakfast Sunday mornings, the lazy cuddles he knows you love, picking up your favourite wine on the way home when you’ve had a bad day. You love when he cooks for you, whatever recipe from the Carisi cook book he has is more than enough for date night. When he does take you out for something special he’ll go all out, the fancy restaurant, the fancy suit, making sure you have a nice new dress for the occasion. But on a regular basis you’d much rather be throwing back a few cold beers munching on chicken wings at a dive bar with him. 

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

He tends to drop everything for his family, sometimes that includes you. He’s also much more likely to go to Confession to talk things through with a priest than work through any of his issues with you, which bothers you cause you know the kind of things he sees on a daily basis, and don’t want him to go through it alone.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Sonny’s gotten better through the years, that moustache…that’s all Imma say… you absolutely love the way he looks in a 3 piece suit and will always make sure he knows it. He doesn’t care too much, coming from a big family he wasn’t always blessed with super fancy clothes and he doesn’t care. If he’s not working, he’ll throw on a henley and jeans, some old sweats and a Fordham tee (though he much prefers that tee on you).

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Sonny definitely feels ultimately complete with you, he’s his own man and has grown into being a wonderful human, but with you at his side, he feels like he could conquer the goddamn world.

X = Xtra (A random head canon for them.)

Despite being Italian and usually making the pasta from scratch, he has a suuuuuper soft spot for some fucking boxed Kraft Dinner, especially when he’s drunk. To the point that the Bodega guy on the corner fully knows what he’s coming in for at 2am, laughing at the irony.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

With a partner, Sonny’s not going to want someone who doesn’t want to settle down, he wants a wife, he wants kids, and if you don’t want those, it’s going to be done. He also needs his partner to get along with his family, as chaotic as it can get, if his Ma doesn’t like you, you’re probably hittin the road

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

Boy has troubles sleeping. Fucking fight me. He’s been through/seen a lot of trauma and is a soft smol bean, and doesn’t cope very well/go to therapy about it, just confession. He’s rare to talk things over with a s/o or friend, he finds his mind racing at night, images unable to leave his brain. He always sleeps better with you there, the warmth of your body, the beat of your heart reminding him of the better things in his life.

[minervadashwood]

Scars and Stitches, Ch. 2 Scars and Stitches

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x PlusSize Reader (she/her)

Era: Season 1-Season 4, Longfic that follows the series with a few alterations.

Summary: Long since recovered from childhood abuse and neglect, you, a librarian, are sheltering in place with your best friend, Morgan Jones, when you meet Rick Grimes. You go with Rick to Atlanta. After everything in the city goes to shit, you are determined to help Daryl rescue his brother, and in doing so you find a kindred spirit who makes your new life bearable. Lots of fluff, UST, and eventually RST.

Warnings: Language, violence, mentions of past abuse, Shane Walsh being awful, and mentions of drug addiction.

Reader Info: Aside from being plus size, the reader's appearance is totally left to your imagination. However, she does have a backstory to explain her unique skill set and affinity for redneck bad boys.

Themes: found family, demisexuality, self acceptance, the power of hugs, romance, love, and happy endings.

Likes, replies, and reblogs are very much appreciated.

Series Navigation: AO3 | FFN | One | Two | Three | Four | Five |

(I am also looking to commission some fanart for this story, so if you or anyone you know is interested, just DM me!)

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Series Masterlist | Masterlist

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Summary: Things in Atlanta do not go as you hoped. Warnings:  Typical season 1 violence and racism

Scars and stitches always fade/ and only strengthen me. – Guster

In Atlanta, Rick didn’t look to you for any help until it was time to cut up the two walkers. You managed to carve your way through the bodies, even though you joined Glenn a few times in barfing up your lunch.

Later, if anyone on that truck to the quarry camp realized you were crying, they didn’t say so.  You cried for Merle and yourself, for Morgan and Duane, for your little brother and the world in general.  Leaving Morgan had been a mistake that you couldn’t take back.  Now, you were relying on the protection of strangers with no clue how to take care of yourself in this new world order.

After a while, the crying stopped, and you were left numb and tired, dreading the moment when Rick would have to tell Merle’s brother what happened.

==

Daryl saw red. The rage and pain made him blind and deaf to anything else. 

Not Merle. That sorry, sad fuck who raised him. The only person in the world who gave a shit, even if it was only half the time.

And they left him on the roof to die.

His knife was out, swinging wildly at anyone who got too near. Even when someone body slammed him, causing Daryl to lose his breath, it was all clouded by the crushing emptiness of a world without his brother. Something was in his eyes, blood or sweat, he didn’t know, and then he was in a chokehold, breathless and panicked. He forced himself to hone on the physical sensations: the bruising pressure of Shane’s hold on him, the solid feel of the earth under him, the horrified shouts of the women and children.

“You best let me go!”

“Not until you calm down, Daryl.”

He hated Shane and the cop’s need to be right every second of the goddamed day.

“You’re scaring the whole camp. Just take a few deep breaths and let’s talk this out.”

Shane could fuck himself.

Despite his fury, Daryl took one deep breath then another, scowling at everyone gawking back at him. The kids hiding behind their mother’s legs, the new guy holding up pacifying hands, and you, the new girl, bloodied hand over your chest as you cried silently.

Fuck.

He willed himself to relax. Shane released him, and Deputy Do-good, Rick, reached out to help Daryl off the ground.

From the steps of the camper Lori was saying Rick would go back. And then all those fuckers who left Merle for walker bait started lining up to be in the goddamn rescue party.

Swiping at wetness on his brow and cheeks, Daryl swung his crossbow over his shoulder, and took his knife back from Rick. “We’re wastin’ daylight. Let’s go.”

Rick shook his head and said, “Now Daryl, it’s too late to go back today. We need to wait until tomorrow, give the herd time to disperse and head out there when we have plenty of daylight to see what we’re doing.”

Daryl was on the verge of losing it again, but he put his knife away and stared at the ground, nodding.

“Okay, okay. Good,” Rick said, relieved. “Go see Morgan about your forehead. She’s the other new person in the group. Then we’ll figure out just how to get to that roof tomorrow and bring Merle back.”

Daryl glanced at you, but just as quickly looked back at the ground, not wanting to meet your eyes or anyone else’s. Instead, he studied his hands, where blood was smeared from wiping at his forehead.

==

Later, you were sitting at a picnic table, dazed by all the violence that had happened, both in Atlanta and the camp, when a thin woman with very short hair approached you.

“Hi,” she said.  “I’m Carol.”

It took you a moment to gather your wits. “Morgan. Well, that’s my last name.”

“Do you go by that or something else?”

You shrugged, indifferent, but told her your first name all the same. You didn’t mind them using your last name, but things could become confusing when Morgan and Duane got there in a few days.

While you ruminated, Carol had rallied a few of the other women to the cause of getting you settled in.  Jacqui found you a change of clothes, and someone else found you a spare sleeping bag and pillow. Andrea and Amy took you to a private swimming hole to wash up. Even Lori gave you an extra pair of socks.

It was unnerving having everyone fuss over you, but it wasn’t before long you realized why they were so attentive.

One child had poison ivy, another mosquito bites.  There was a small girl who wouldn’t quit sucking her thumb, and her overly worried mother insisted you do something about it. An older gentleman had a hangnail and heartburn.

Initially you were overwhelmed.  But these people had just welcomed you as one of their own; you tried to help them as best you could.

After about an hour, the bombardment ended, but you still had one more patient to see.

It was time to meet Merle’s brother. 

==

Like Merle, Daryl reminded you of the people you grew up with: the ragged flannel, the scent of pine and cigarettes, the grudge against a world they were convinced had it out for them. 

You approached his tent slowly, carrying a red backpack the camp had collaboratively filled with first aid supplies and a random assortment of OTC pill bottles. 

“Daryl?” you called.  

A moment later, he opened the tent just enough to poke his head out.

“What?”

You told him your name and held up the backpack as explanation. “Rick wanted me to look you over.  That okay?”

He stared for a long moment, unnerving you.

“You got that doctor-patient confidentiality?” he asked, squinting at you.

“Not a doctor, but not a blabbermouth, either.”

After a few silent seconds, Daryl’s head disappeared, and he unzipped the door completely.

Taking that as a clear, if reticent, invitation, you stepped in. Despite his glowering, you were curious what had him so secretive.

You were short enough—or the tent was tall enough—for you to stand up straight. That wasn’t the case with Daryl, however, and he stood, stoop-shouldered, watching you.

Amidst that greasy hair and unkempt beard were the bluest eyes you’d ever seen.

Trying not to stare, you said, “Show me wear it hurts?”

Daryl scoffed at you, then replied, “’s not what Rick told you about. It’s my back.  But I ain’t lettin’ you look ‘less you promise you won’t say nothin.’”

Mild panic set in. “Was it a walker?”

“No,” he said. “It was Merle.”

Relieved, you nodded in understanding. It was normal where you came from.  Hell, you and your little brother’d had a few fistfights of your own. He usually won, though.

“Promise I won’t say anything,” you said.  “But it might be better for you to kneel down. You’re a bit taller than me.”

He nodded, and you zipped the tent closed to give him some privacy. When you turned around, Daryl was kneeling in the center of the tent, and you noticed a locked tackle box off to the side. You tucked that knowledge away for later.

Opting not to take his shirt all the way off, Daryl just lifted it overhead while keeping the sleeves on.

You saw that his back was littered with scars that had obviously been inflicted to cause pain.  However, the scars were old, long since healed over. They should have been stitched up but clearly never were.  Someone had hurt him badly, and he never got proper care for the resulting injuries.  Refusing to let yourself think any more about what was clearly far in the past, you focused on the more recent wound: a series of lacerations in the shape of brass knuckles. By the look of the deep cuts, this had happened in the last few days.

Remembering your promise, you suppressed all the other questions you had and simply asked, “You okay if I put in some stitches?”

Daryl took a moment before answering, “Alright.”

“It’ll hurt a bit,” you warned, but you got the sense a few needle pricks were nothing to Daryl Dixon.

You went to work on the wound. Stitches were a generous word for what you managed with needle and thread, but he said nothing about the pain as you worked.

When you finished stitching and covered the stitches with a bandage, Daryl put his shirt back on. You handed him a few ibuprofen, and he downed them dry.

“Thanks,” he mumbled.

“Anytime,” you said and left the tent, images of clear blue eyes dancing in your mind.

==

Just before sunset, you and Rick walked up a small rise to try to contact Morgan.  You thought for sure your friend would answer—in fact the hope of hearing his voice had kept you sane throughout the day.  

But as many times as Rick tried, there was never another voice on the walkie-talkie.

“Sorry about today,” Rick said, turning off the radio and helping you up from the ground.  “Didn’t expect the day to go like it did.  I was hoping for something better.”

You nodded, unable to suppress the memories of all the walkers’ mouths and teeth that had gotten too close to you.  “Me too, but you had no way of knowing.

Neither of us did.”

The two of you began the walk back to camp.

Rick said, “I found my family, but that doesn’t mean I won’t still look after you.  I brought you out here, so I’m responsible for what happens to you.”

“Rick,” you said, nearly overwhelmed by his kindness. “You don’t owe me anything. You have your family to look after now.”

He shook his head.  “You and Morgan took me in, so I do owe you.  But this isn’t about who owes who what. This is about looking out for each other. This is about holding on to what’s good and right in a world that’s gone bad.”

What Rick said gave you a measure of hope. “I think I understand what you’re saying,” you told him.

“I’m sure you’ll find your own place here. If it’s not helping the other women or looking after our bumps and bruises, you’ll figure it out.” 

By then you were back to camp, and with a comforting squeeze on your shoulder, Rick went to see his family. 

Everyone here seemed to have their little niche, and despite the medical concerns you’d tended to that day, you were no match for a serious injury like a gunshot or any other surgical emergency. You just had to hope there was truth to what Rick said, even if you had trouble believing it about yourself.

You looked around the camp, trying to understand this new community you’d been dropped into, when your gaze settled on the small fire flickering almost fifty yards away. Where Daryl sat. Alone.  

Merle.  

How could you have forgotten about Merle?

___

Thanks for reading! -min

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