#there was a bigger plan going on that being imprisoned got in the way of

[raayllum]

like i know the s4 media literacy was so dead because people were like "why did 4x04 tell us everything about aaravos" and the episode didn't even tell us what his basic character motivations are

[brsb4hls]

Read your post about show DM development, it drew me in since I’ve also in the wake of the season two finale been thinking a lot about what the plan is/was with DM from Rolins’ and the other writers’ perspective.

The lack of anything solid in regard to DM, any clear hint made me wonder if the DM relationship was planned at all. The thing that keeps confusing me is that Rolins stated years ago, I think when attending a convention in connection to season one, that fans of DM shouldn’t worry. Confirming - at least seemingly so - that this relationship would play out in some way. I also don’t think he would have affirmed it so clearly if he didn’t mean romantically? I dunno. Have you seen the clip? Looking at season one I thought that Armand-as-Rashid’s reaction to Louis offering Daniel the ‘Dark Gift’ was the only real hint that there might be something there.

However after watching season two I felt that the show moved away from the possibility of a past-DM. The Alice stuff never convinced me, Armand didn’t seem to be comforting Daniel when he brought up the proposal. The only two aspects about that interaction which made me wonder was the show making a deal of Daniel 1) “feeling freer to to hold her hand in Paris”, but this could be due to Alice not being white, which would have added another parallel between Louis and Daniel (their Paris experiences mirroring each other). And 2) the fact that Daniel refers to Alice as his ex-wife, and himself as having been married twice. So did they get married at a later date? Or did Daniel actually lie about marrying her wholesale? Was this scene/reveal meant to be longer/a bigger deal at some point in the writing process? Alternatively maybe they got married later due to legal reasons/for the kid and that’s why the rejection to his proposal was so painful for Daniel still? I dunno. I don’t think there must be anything DM-related here but I’m not going to claim there couldn’t be. There seemed to be something here - or the old and discarded(?) blueprints of a bigger scene possibly?

However If the writers were going past-DM I feel that surely they would have hinted at it at some point - if not outright included that storyline in some small way to start/tease it. The interactions between Armand and Daniel were, imho, quite impersonal in S02E05. Of course the episode can be a good introduction to DM, standing in for Armand imprisoning and starting to hunt Daniel (the learning-to-be-fascinating angle is great) but the show clearly didn’t commit to the plot in the episode. Instead possibly(?) just leaving a door open. I was a bit surprised that their dynamic didn’t become a bigger thing after the episode.

So maybe DM was not planned to have happened in the past, what actually weirds me out more is the lack of present-DM in this season as well. Like the tension between Daniel and Armand is delicious and fun at times, especially in S02E01 and at some smaller moments (Daniel trying to rile Armand up in the wake up S02E05 with the drinks comment was interesting!). But if the show is going enemies-to-lovers or Armand deciding to pursue Daniel because he now finds him fascinating/Daniel finding Armand fascinating (which was my theory before S02E08) why wasn’t there any scenes between the two setting this up? Like I was very surprised and honestly a bit let down that the dynamic between Armand and Daniel didn’t become more insane after S02E05, of course Daniel cannot lose it on this ancient vampire but still honestly?! I realize that Louis is the main character, but I feel that the writers had more than enough space and time to include just a scene at some point during the season which would hint at or develop Daniel’s and Armand’s dynamic in any way. So I feel a bit weirded out that they didn’t? Seems like a deliberate choice, which is strange if DM is planned as a thing they want to dig into next season(?). Though Rolins have only affirmed that they will have scenes together, also some of his comments read as almost a bit defensive to me? Am I crazy or is anyone else reading it as that as well? They did make a big deal of Armand not turning anyone and did choose to have Daniel be turned this season rather than next. Could just have been a good cliff hanger. I don’t know, I’m very confused about their intentions at this point. Sorry for long ask - really wanted to hear your take on all of this.

I think there are a lot of different factors here, I'll try to organize a bit.

Fan perspective:

- first off, DM is book canon. So we book readers might be biased in interpreting scenes because we have expectations

- DM already being canon in the source material also makes it likely to happen in the show

Rolin Jones/creatives:

- they did change book aspects to appeal to a broader modern audience, but also kept the core themes and put in easter eggs.

So they clearly made the show with respect and love for the source material

-every season can be the last one, so everything has to make sense in one season

From that perspective I think RJ focused mainly on Louis and Lestat and the Loustat relationship as a red thread (hence the addition of Dreamstat), but put in small hints at other storylines from the books. Like Nicky and the mention of cut off hands.

With a season 3 focusing on Lestat's story there might be more Nicky, but in season 2 it was cut short (and it's not part of iwtv anyways but tvl).

DM is also not part of iwtv, it happens in the third book, as we all know.

In that Interview with RJ I think he was genuinly surprised people were this interested in DM (they should be mainly focused on Loustat at this point of the story) and got a) a bit defensive and b) genuinly thought he included some snippets/hints with the bottle ep.

So fans did get a pretty intense 70s interaction, just not like in the book.

The storytelling:

-Daniel has tons of issues obvi, especially in regards to relationships, which fits well with Louis' story and makes for a compelling dynamic between the two.

Which is important for the format to work.

I think the Alice mentions are supposed to highlight those issues, just like the paperback thing. And Daniel's daughters have to come from somewhere.

(Personally I'm open to all head canons and fanfic here, including mpreg, because why not, but I do think there isn't much to it in show)

-then there's the Daniel/ Armand dynamic, which starts of as enemies (somewhat) for tension.

There needs to be an underlying threat or at least uneasy feeling. Armand provides that.

And it's clear in their banter.

Also dialogue like: 'you tried to drain me, pal'

'belated apology no. 2' reads more like a frenemy buddy comedy dynamic.

So we have this rivalry between them that can be aggressiv but also compelling and funny.

The actors:

-in a lot of interviews Eric underlines the Armand being Daniel's rival/nemesis/antagonist dynamic.

So that was clearly planned.

He also seems open to a different dynamic, jokes about it and seems to discuss it with Assad (well, Assad brought it up).

-Assad has been joking and teasing the ship from the start. He is clearly personally intrigued by that dynamic and with him and Eric somewhat bonding over their work it might not be to challenging for them to act it out in one way or another.

To conclude: The creatives chose a different focus and did only plan on crumbs (bottle ep and Daniel's turning). The story telling supports that theory.

The fans have different interpretations because of their expectations.

They also voiced those expectations a lot and promoted the show via DM content.

The actors vibe pretty well together and seem to be open to a lot of different things and we know they get to make suggestions and add lib.

So DM might still be happening, if RJ changes his mind, but it will be now and with an enemy to whatever dynamic.

Which I'll take.

This is how I see it anyways.

[invested-in-your-future]

I feel like people wouldn't discriminate openly again after the War. Maybe shops refusing service but they aren't going to imprison people just because they are Faunus. The world has rejected that.

I am sorry but that's naive.

That's now how racism works - bigots don't just shrug and become good when they are told "racism bad" (despite that being the only thing shown happening in the MilesWBY canon, with Yang telling someone racism bad).

Discrimination has layers, and levels of intensity - and people "feeling" that way don't just disappear - they adapt and they prod over and over again to see what's "acceptable" currently.

Sure, smaller discrimination cases will happen, but that's not the "end".

Discrimination always longs to reach its "greatest hits" - there's a reason why lots of ideologies of oppression resort to "Hey, do you want to go back to the Good Old Days when X?"

Smaller cases of intolerance not getting a pushback are treated as "acceptable status quo" - and the bigotry takes a step forward and escalates onto bigger ones.

And before you know it, you have dehumanizing language, restrictions, rights being taken away, laws being walked back upon and repealed.

It's all about moving the window of what's "acceptable" - we have seen it in our world over and over again (for example - the surge of racism and authoritarian surveillance after September 11)

Think about it - in the show, with Volume 3 one of the four largest huntsmen academies got assaulted by White Fang.

Of course, it's not just them, but that only means different people with different prejudices will focus on different parts of what happened - to some, Atlas would be at fault, while to others - Faunus would be at fault.

Discrimination of all kinds would absolutely escalate - bigotry twists facts to its liking to "prove itself right" - mistrust spreads, and tragedy births propaganda.

And yes - White Fang is not the whole species, but to bigots, that wouldn't matter - it's an age-old tradition to take the examples of worst-of and use them as stereotypes, broad brush strokes, and all.

Destruction, discrimination, AND war are largely cyclical in no small part due to complacency and ignorance.

Need I remind you that even in "present-day Remnant" Atlas (and especially Schnees) had literal slave mines? Remnant is nowhere near close to getting rid of the uglier parts of its past.

One of the most disappointing aspects of the show is that there never were any real consequences or shockwaves from what happened at Vale - not just in terms of kingdom relations and tensions, but also in terms of Faunus rights, mistrust, and overall chaos. In a way, the show ended up making Fall of Beacon feel smaller than it actually was because of that.

The shockwaves of what happened at Beacon SHOULD affect all four main leads in different ways due to how the event connects to them as people.

It robbed us of the arc about Ruby dealing with the realities of the world and her idealism as the world around her falls apart and everyone she knows is hurt (and few of her closest friends are dead)

It robbed us of the arc about Weiss having to face the oppressive privileged nature of her family and things in her life she took for granted.

It robbed us of the arc about Blake having to face the increasingly hostile world around her as she struggles to find her path and face her own indecisiveness and hypocrisy.

It robbed us of Yang having to deal with the fallout of the tournament and the uncertain chaotic reality of the world around her as she's searching for a goal of her own.

It's one of the first things I thought about when I started outlining my plans years ago. There are multiple avalanche effects planned out for more than one part of the setting and characterization of the leads.

[frog-man-blog]

Spoiler for AvA Season 2

I got a theory I have to share rn

Also this post is long- just be prepared

If you don’t understand or if I’ve accidentally leaned off topic please let me know! (Also remember you don’t have to agree, this is just a theory)

So we know how in the end of the episode, where Orange and Chosen were captured, they have been imprisoned.

Orange was locked inside of a cell wall Chosen was locked inside of this giant white box.

But take a good look at the giant white box Chosen was put inside of



I’m pretty sure by now, everyone knows that this isn’t just a normal cell specifically made for Chosen so he can’t escape. And if you don’t know, well, those wires and weird contraption in the middle should give that away.

This is a machine meant to do some thing, but nobody knows what it’s meant to do. Some people have brought up the idea that Chosen could be tortured, however, I do not think that’s the case.

If they were to torture Chosen, that would mean they would want information out of him. The only information that Chosen could possibly have is anything about Dark or Alan. I do not believe they would torture him for the sake of their own entertainment or enjoyment.

Dark is a reasonable assumption as anything about his whereabouts are unknown, and nobody knows if he’s alive or if he’s dead. However, there were no wanted posters of Dark anywhere, and no indication that they were looking/going after him. 

Alan is the next reasonable assumption as to why Victim wanted to captured him, as people have been speculating that Victim wants revenge on Alan. However, if Victim had done his research considering all of their origin stories are on YouTube in canon (I could be wrong) wouldn’t he have known Alan had enslaved Chosen for five years? Thus knowing Chosen should have some sort of grudge against him?

Yes, there is a chance that showdown could have been on YouTube in canon, considering Chosen and Dark fought on YouTube’s website during showdown. However, with that logic, this episode would have been uploaded on YouTube in the canon universe. (Unless this really is just a reality tv show and they’re all actors but that’s for another time)

 Of course, Chosen could be questioned about something else entirely however, we have no way of knowing what. I do like the idea of Victim going after Alan for revenge, but that also might not be the case because if I’m right that they’re not looking for information out of Chosen, it wouldn’t make sense why they captured him specifically. Especially if they have access to the YouTube videos that are in canon and know that Orange and his friends are much closer to Alan. 

Yes, they could’ve very well captured Chosen to lure Orange and his friend out however, unless they planned to use Chosen for something else, capturing him in a machine meant to do something to him seems like they would be plotting something bigger.

Also the fact that they would’ve easily been able to capture the 5, or at least Orange makes it even more confusing why they targeted Chosen first and not raid Alan’s computer. (Unless you know… their computer is hard to find or not wanna make contact with Alan yet)

We do get this scene of one of the mercenary’s getting feedback from someone else as the other mercenary’s were about to attack Orange. Could it be that they had planned to capture him, but were going after Chosen first, and Orange so happen to be there? Or was that feedback meant for something else… we don’t know yet.

However that doesn’t mean Victim seeking revenge isn’t impossible. Just because he might not question/tortured Chosen about it, doesn’t mean Chosen won’t play a big part in it.

So let’s continue back on the path before. The reason why Chosen was captured and why specifically a machine that’s definitely more than just a special prison box.

With the torture being out of the way, we still have tons of options as to what it could be that they want from Chosen. And there is no way we could go through all of the endless possibilities. However, I would like to bring up 1 theory I found that could be plausible.

This is a machine meant to harness Chosen’s power, and use it to power up something or make them stronger. In no way do I think this is just a prison for Chosen, as there is even a control panel and tons of wires hooked up to this white box.

Obviously, this machine could do anything. But it would make sense that Victim would want Chosen’s power for his own, considering we don’t even know if Victim has powers. Perhaps he’s stealing them, or just using them for his own benefit. Again we don’t know. 

We currently do not know anything of Victim’s character and his motives. For all we know we could have everything wrong. All we know was that he was deleted, and technically died, but is now back. (although I think it should be obvious that when you delete something off the internet, it’s not gone, it’s still there)

Yet, I can’t help but feel excited about where the story is going. Really takes me back to when the first episode of season 1 aired. It was such a small community back then and we all freaked out about Chosen’s return. This was even back when Dark was mostly (Aka a part of the fandom on insta) characterized as a nice, and goofy bestie to Chosen (which isn’t entirely wrong per say) and it caught us off guard when it was revealed he was gonna be the main villain.

No joke- I was actually heart broken when he was revealed the big bad

But that’s about it

I don’t wanna make this post any longer

And my phone is lagging bad-

So if you read this far thank you for listening to this giant post 😭 and again you don’t have to agree, I just like sharing silly goofy theories.

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Abandoned

For Angstpril, Day 6

cw: aftermath of torture, mentioned hand whump, death mention

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hero was troubled.

It wasn't the fight. He'd gotten better of the five supervillain-wannabes without breaking a sweat, stripped them of the tech they were using, and watched as they were all led away in handcuffs.

He'd dusted himself off, briefed law enforcement on the scenario, then started collecting the gear the criminals had used so it could be turned in as evidence.

It wasn't until he was holding the first piece—a cuff that let its wearer manipulate electricity—that Hero's blood ran cold. It was inch-for-inch identical to something he'd seen Villain use.

He collected the rest of the gear in a hurry, giving each item a quick once-over, and each piece further confirmed his suspicion.

Villain had made the tech that outfitted the aspiring criminals of the day. Dammit. He should've realized this was bigger than an attempted robbery. Villain was always a step ahead.

And he'd been missing for months. Plenty of time to plan something big. How many other petty criminals had he outfitted in that time? Would the city see a spike in crime? Or…

A chill washed over Hero as he remembered the last time he'd seen Villain. Running away, tail between his legs after a crushing defeat at Hero's hands.

Was this revenge? Had the robbery been a distraction?

He handed the rest of the gear off quickly, trying not to let the worry show on his face as he took off. 

What if Villain had attacked his base? His team? His family? Even in route, he called back to the team's headquarters in a hurry.

"Hero?" Sidekick sounded half asleep.

"Sidekick! Are you… tell me you're okay."

"M'fine. Why? What's going on?"

"Check the perimeter. I think Villain's up to something."

"What? I mean, okay."

"I have to go. I'll be there soon."

"Hero?"

He hung up before she could finish her question. First he had to check on his parents. His brother. It felt unlikely, unreal even, that Villain would be able to find them, but he couldn't risk it.

It wasn't as if Villain wouldn't stoop that low. He'd taken hostages before, and had proven time and time again that he didn't make empty threats. If he'd hurt any of them…

But he hadn't. 

A thorough search of his parents' house, his brother's apartment, even the surrounding block, yielded nothing.

Nothing at home, nothing at his base.

So what was Villain planning? It was so unlike him to do anything without it being part of some grander scheme.

Maybe he'd just handed off the tech to a random gang and told them to go wild. Spread some fear. A promise of a chaos that would plague the city.

Or maybe it was all a mind game, a way to get back at Hero without ever having to touch him.

Dammit. If that was it, it was working. Even after assuring the safety of his family and friends, Hero couldn't sleep. He had to get to the bottom of this. Find Villain and imprison him for good. Prevent any further weapons dealing. Protect the city.

Hero got in contact with the police first thing the next morning. They'd managed to get an address from yesterday's delinquents, and it was as good a starting point as any.

Before taking off, Hero got one more look at the gear the group had been using. If nothing else, it would give him an idea of what he'd be up against in the weeks to come. Villain was an engineer. An innovator. His only power was his intellect, but that was enough to let him go toe-to-toe with the likes of Hero.

The police had locked everything up in a vault, but he had no trouble convincing them to grant him access. After all, this could finally lead to Villain's arrest. An end to a reign of terror.

There were five items locked away, one for each criminal. Two electrokinesis cuffs. One pair of vision-enhancing goggles. A pair of boots designed to increase speed. And a belt that equipped its user with near-invisibility. 

A collection of Villain's favorites. Hero could identify all of them on sight. None of them seemed new, but why would Villain bother making petty thieves custom stuff? He'd probably just tossed them his hand-me-downs.

Or more likely, he'd given one of them his hand-me-downs. The collection seemed more designed to outfit a single person, not equip a full team.

And wasn't this the exact setup Villain had used in their last encounter? An odd coincidence, but Hero tried to shake it off. Once Villain was safely behind bars, he'd ask about it directly. Right now it was time to investigate the address. Maybe by the time he returned, the police would have more information for him.

The address didn't lead to some secret base, or shady warehouse; just a one-story house on the edge of city limits.

It felt a little odd to knock on the door, knowing who this place was affiliated with, but Hero was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. What if it was just one of the robber's mothers? A grandparent? He wasn't about to bash in the door and give some poor old lady a heart attack.

After a few tries with no answer, he forced the door open. A standard deadbolt was no match for superhuman strength, and if the homeowner did end up being an innocent bystander, a lock would cost him less than the whole door.

Inside… there was no one. All the lights in the house were off. The front room held nothing but a beat-up easy chair, and the rooms beyond didn't offer much more. No spare tech, no mysterious notes, not even an unlabeled phone number or address. Before Hero could call it quits, a shed in the backyard caught his eye.

Not much, but it was worth a look.

He tore away the padlock that held the shed closed, taking a chunk of wood with it. The door swung open, sunlight spilling in to illuminate the area. There was a tool chest against one wall, with a workbench directly across from it. A wooden chair sat beside it, speckled with something that looked suspiciously like dried blood.

Hero stepped inside cautiously, wanting a better look at the part of the shed where the sunlight didn't quite reach. A small scraping sound stopped him short, and he held his breath and listened.

Whatever the noise was, it was coming from the back corner. A box. No, a large dog crate.

Did the bastards from the robbery keep their dog locked up in here? Stale air and darkness, no protection from the elements… He muttered a curse under his breath, and the thing in the crate let out a quiet whimper that sounded almost human.

No way…

Hero reached the front of the crate, letting his eyes adjust as he peered through the metal bars, taking in a silhouette that was definitely not a dog.

He knelt, a little too quickly, and the figure inside flinched back, as far as the cramped space would allow. The scraping noise followed them, a sound Hero now recognized as chains.

"Dammit… don't panic. I'm going to let you out," Hero said in a low voice, crushing the locking mechanism with one hand and pulling away the front of the cage. What the hell had the bank robbers done? He knew they were reckless. Stupid and selfish enough to put people in harm's way in order to get what they wanted. He never would've guessed they'd be keeping a person in a dog cage? And who…

He clenched his jaw. No. He already knew the answer to that.

"I won't hurt you," he said. "Just come out, and I'll get you out of here, okay?"

He couldn't bring himself to think about it. Not right now.

The figure in the cage began to crawl forward on bruised, bony limbs. A short length of chain linked their ankles together, and a longer one hung from their neck, like some kind of leash. A muzzle glinted from somewhere beneath their dark, matted hair. Hero took a step back, giving them room.

He could leave now. Call the police. Call an ambulance. Leave and never confirm what he already knew to be true.

"Come into the light," he said instead. "Let me get a look at you."

The captive seemed to be in pain as they crawled to the other end of the shed, stopping just short of the door and staying there, head bowed.

Daylight reflected off of their chains and lit up the bruises scattered across their naked torso. A few sloppily-stitched gashes cut across their legs, and welts ran across their shoulders, but the worst of it was their hands.

Bloodied bandages wrapped around mangled fingers, most of which looked like they'd been broken or dislocated.

Hero knelt next to them. He could still go. He could still get away with pretending this was someone else, some innocent victim—

"Look at me," he said, trying to soften his voice.

He wasn't surprised when it was Villain's eyes that met his own, half-shrouded by dark strands of hair.

Villain, who'd once held a daycare hostage to get the City Council's attention. Villain, who'd murdered the mayor's wife to get her to take his threats seriously. Villain, who now looked up at him with tired, fearful eyes.

Whose body was a testament to the cruelty he'd lived through.

Who was chained and muzzled and broken.

Dammit, why couldn't it ever be easy?

"I'm going to take the muzzle off okay?"

Villain nodded, eyes downcast as Hero tore through the leather straps like they were pieces of paper.

Villain reached up, rubbing his jaw awkwardly with the back of his hand.

"Please…" came his voice, rusted with disuse. "Please, Hero, just arrest me. Please. I'm done. I c-can't—"

"You're okay. I won't… I won't hurt you," Hero said, the words coming out stilted and wooden. How was he supposed to comfort someone like Villain? He'd made his fair share of assurances. Accident survivors, rescued hostages, Villain's own victims. But they were always innocent, undeserving of whatever misfortune had befallen them. Villain on the other hand…

He took in his nemesis. Gaunt frame, hunched shoulders, unable to stand, barely able to crawl—

Did he deserve this much?

"Let me see your hands," Hero said quickly. He was no healer, but damage assessment was better than contemplating whether or not the man before him deserved his pity.

Villain shifted, holding both hands out, wrists bared. Like he was expecting to be cuffed, Hero realized.

"I'm not arresting you. I just want to see them," he clarified, reaching out to unwind the bandages, one-by-one. Both hands were spotted with deep puncture wounds, some of which looked infected. The marks were strange, and Hero was unable to guess at the cause until he removed the last bandage, revealing a small screw still embedded in Villain's palm.

"Dammit—!" he almost dropped Villain's hand.

The hand of an engineer. Someone who tinkers and builds, someone who uses their hands to create— The notion sickened him more than anything else he'd seen today.

"Why?" was all he could say. 

Villain didn't answer.

He couldn't sit here and dwell on this. Villain needed a healer, or at least a hospital. And then— and then, he'd need to be arrested. He'd pay for his crimes, but not like this.

But what if it happened again? Villain had plenty of enemies. Rivals and ex-henchmen who were in prison now, ready to take revenge. Guards and cops who'd been personally wronged who would look the other way. He'd have to take preventative measures against that.

"Alright," he sighed. "Let's go then." Hero knelt, taking Villain into his arms and cradling him to his chest as he took off. The beaten man curled in on himself as they flew.

"Please…" he said, barely above a whisper.

"No one will hurt you," Hero replied. "Villain, you're under arrest." After a moment, he added,

"And under my protection."

[cacoetheswriting]

Hi! Pearl is impeccable! It needs more recognition!

Not sure if you take requests for like side blurbs but I really want to know how Eddie is handling princess being away? Thank you!

hello, anon! <3 thank you very much, i appreciate you taking the time to leave me your sweet words! 😇 as for how eddie is dealing with his fav girl being a thousand miles away, think it would go something like the below - hope you enjoy!

pearl: september 1984 [drabble]

content warnings: best friends to lovers, oblivious idiots in love, adult language, use of pet names, self-doubt / insecurities, mentions of recreational drug use - unedited - if i missed anything, pls let me know!

pearl masterlist

“So princess, be honest now, how much do you really miss me?”

The question rolls off Eddie's tongue as he stretches. He’d been sitting on a stool by the wall with the phone pressed to his ear for the last hour and a half. His back was starting to hurt, though he’d gladly stay here all night if it meant I could continue talking to the girl he loved.

“If you’re curious whether I’ve finally replaced you, the answer is no.”

Your tone of voice is melodic and Eddie pictures you smiling on the other line. His heart skips a beat at the thought.

“Well, I am unique. You’ll never find anyone like me, no matter how hard you try," he states confidently.

You chuckle. “How very modest of you, Eds.”

“That’s me. Eddie Munson, king of modesty.”

“More like the king of douchery.”

“Ouch,” he dramatises, a smirk circling his lips, “are you trying to hurt my feelings, princess?”

“Maybe,” you answer honestly, “or maybe I just miss you and poking fun makes me feel like I’m there beside you.”

Eddie smiles wide against the headset. I desperately wish you were here, he thinks but doesn't dare say the words out loud in case it steers the conversation in a direction he couldn’t really avoid. Or rather a conversation he wasn’t ready to have, despite his strong feelings towards you.

“When are you coming home?” Eddie asks instead, “There’s only so many times I can listen to Pearl without you before it starts to depress me. A cruel punishment, you leaving me that tape, princess. I know you meant well, but shit.”

The two of you hadn’t seen each other in five weeks. That’s the longest you have gone without a physical interaction since the day you first met and the metalhead didn’t quite realise just how much you had positively taken over his life until you were no longer there.

School especially was shit without you. Every day felt so mundane, borderline imprisonment. Repeating senior year wasn’t an ideal scenario anyway, but having to do it all over again without you was an even bigger disappointment, to say the least.

Eddie spent his days wondering what you got up to and honestly just counted down the minutes until your scheduled evening call. Hearing your voice every night made everything better, yet it hurt him all at the same time. As you detailed your day over the phone, he held his breath while hoping you hadn’t met anyone that would come close to replacing him.

Or worse — anyone you'd end up loving.

Selfish? Yes. He had no right to keep you all to himself, especially since you had no clue as to how he really felt.

And with every day that passed, it was getting harder for Eddie to keep this secret. Once the confession almost slipped out when he was high out of my mind and you laughed over the phone at one of his rather pathetic jokes — not ideal.

So he debated coming up with a plan to finally tell you during Thanksgiving, if nothing got in the way before that. However, at the same time, was honesty really worth risking the best friendship he's ever had?

Probably not.

as always, thank you for reading! pls be so kind to reblog & tell me what you think - ily

pearl masterlist

[anotheroceanid]

I don't know why but I can't post a review on ao3 so I want to share my thoughts here if that is ok with you! I didn't really enjoy the giants in HOH, Gaea was too easy to kill, she was awake for like five-six pages and that was all (Kronos was a better ennemy imo) BUT I think your Gaea seems more strategic, patient and dangerous! She takes her time and I'm curious to see what you've planned for her!

I also hope the triplets won't be too mad with Percy keeping them away from the real world, like she has imprisoned them somehow :( I really enjoy the codependency between Percy and her sons (especially Luke, but I do think Milo and Hector are too) - I really like codependant relationship in ff! I hope they'll protect their mama and I can't wait to see them more powerful hehe.

I do not know if I missed it, but do we know Dennis' mom?

I hope you are ok and you had the time to relax yourself after this last big chapter you posted!

I felt the same reading HOH 😅 She’s supposed to be a bigger threat than Kronos, but the giants war feels much more rushed and it’s even hard to tell what’s going on sometimes. Like, I keep rereading HOH to remember things that I have to write, because a lot happens so fast and/or simultaneously. Gaea in WTHB is really taking her time in WTHB, and so far she got the gods to self-destruct while she does her things. However, she is taking some things for granted and they’ll come back to bite her 👀

In a way, all the boys and Percy are codependent of each other one way or another, and they’re deeply connected. Their growth in the story is deeply connected to finding their own sense of self (in Percy’s case, retrieve hers).

Dennis mom was a nymph follower of Dionysus. But he was never very close to her, Pollux being his primary caregiver until his death. Then he became Annabeth’s heir and, technically, foster son.

Thanks for commenting 💕

[superloves4]

While I slog through a fic I actually really want to tell (the joys of writing!) I decided to talk about that Feanor as Melkor's son AU I mentioned in my tags

So far I have three possibilities, from least realized to most:

Feanor as Melkor and Mairon bio baby, so far I don't really have much for this one, the Valar find baby Feanor after Melkor's imprisonment (haven't decided why Mairon wouldn't have escaped with the baby) and give him to Finwe to raise (I hadn't realized it doesn't makes sense for Miriel to die in this one until now, so either she doesn't and it's full throwing away canon or in this one she doesn't exist and Finwe just didn't want to tell Feanor who his real parents were, it's both sad and funny)

Baby Feanor kidnap adopted by Melkor, the timeline is bothering me here, maybe Feanor is born before Melkor's imprisonment? Or he leaves imprisonment way before the original? I mostly wanted this to be funny about Melkor and Mairon getting so attached and wanting so bad to be good parents to feral child Feanor that they actually get redeemed (although dark!Feanor x Nerdanel is very intriguing)

And the one I (unfortunately) have the most on (as of right now) is Feanor as Melkor... and Miriel's son, I jokingly thought about this one but alas it got bigger than I expected, so: Melkor decides to go mess with the elves only to find Miriel collecting bugs (they're silk worms, weird bug girl Miriel for the win!) and he gets actually quite impressed with her desire to not settle with the world and wanting to make it prettier with fabrics, they fall in love (or as much in love Melkor can be, so far he is more like canon evil Melkor than the softer one of the other two ideas) but when she finds out who he is, she runs away and falls for Finwe instead.

Finwe is then totally cool with raising Miriel's child because he loves her so much but Miriel keeps feeling she's awful for her previous love for Melkor, combined with the power required to sustain a half-ainur child, and ends up dying.

Finwe of course, absolutely adores little Feanor despite not being his bio dad, and thus names him Finwion (later Curufinwe), but raising a half-ainur child is not easy, especially when you can't actually ask anyone for help without revealing the truth, so Finwe just has to deal with eldritch child Feanor, alone.

(like, one time there's a teacher Feanor hates because he heard the teacher say that Feanor killed Miriel, so Feanor gives the teacher a bracelet he doesn't even understand how he made cursed, the teacher then complains to Finwe, who is just trying to understand how to explain to his son that he can't do that, also he fires the teacher)

Then it's basically the same as canon up until Melkor return, because instead of trying to create discord he arrives and realizes Feanor's his son and tries to pull a Darth Vader and convince Feanor to join him.

Feanor is, of course, against the idea but Melkor is convinced that if he reveals Feanor's true parentage in the upcoming festival then the uproar and hate will cause Feanor to be more willing.

Only, right before he can make his announcement Feanor shows up wearing the silmarils (Melkor decides to rename him Lightbringer but I haven't figured out what that is in Quenya) and instead of going along with Melkor, Feanor

Bows. to. MANWE!!!!!

And does a whole speech about Melkor trying to deceive him by claiming he isn't Finwe's son (Feanor already realized the truth, he's just rejecting it) and doing a whole spectacle of proof

The Finwe family isn't stupid and to Feanor's surprise, the first person to join his show is INDIS!!! Joined then (in order) by Nolo, Nerdanel, and Maglor (if it was political it would be Maedhros but it's a performance remember)

Manwe isn't stupid and understands what they are doing so when Melkor tries to say that it's all Finwe's lie he just tells Melkor that it was clear that Feanor was Finwe's son

Melkor storms out (he still plans to destroy the trees but his objective is Feanor instead of just the silmarils) and the Finweans leave too

Feanor has a cathartic talk and cry with his dad while the rest of the family discuss what this means for them all, Feanor is now more open to his half-family and his relation to the other Valas is totally different, and how that could end up having happier ending to the story.

And that's how much I have of this one, it compels me but it's the only one that I have no idea of how to add Melkor x Mairon and the original idea was about THEM as parents whereas this one is about the original Finweans in a different situation so I'm conflicted

[thebluestbluewords]

hi it’s itsalwaysforyou!!! for the valentines prompts i would loveeee a jal + ‘spending their night walking through the city together’ if you’re up for it!!! <3

❤️ @itsalwaysforyou youuuuu get my initial unedited Jalentine’s thoughts!! They’re meant to be about thirteen here. It’s more bantering through their city than walking, but they’re together and it’s written and that’s the important thing!

*

February 14, fifteen years since imprisonment. 

"You're being stupid." Jay insists, swinging around a chimney. "We can totally take on a bunch of pirates for the after-whatever candy spoils. We don't need to wait for them to grab it all and re-hawk it or whatever." 

"Melt it down into mush," Mal says, around a tongue that feels a little mushy already. "Stew it into pink slop. Cover their potato shit with it." 

"Candied potatoes," Jay echoes back. "That's what we'll do with it. Steal their stuff and make potato bombs with it. Candy outside, wet potato inside." 

"You've been hanging out around that kid too much. That. The one. With the stuff." 

Jay hops over the gap between the roof of the slop shop and the used broom store. "The one with the stuff? Very descriptive, killer."

Mal eyes the gap carefully. If they weren't trapped on the isle, if she had the magic she can feel boiling in her brain sometimes, she'd fly over the gap like a proper dragon. She'd have wings, and horns, and everything she could ever want, if she had magic. 

As it is, stuck on the isle of leftovers, she hops over the gap without magic. If she wasn't on the isle of the lost, she'd probably be trapped in some stuffy castle in the moorlands wirh her mother, learning the ways of evil, instead of out on her streets. So really, who cares if she doesn't have magic. She's got more freedom than any of the Auradon girls they catch on TV sometimes, and she's got Jay. Her partner in crime. 

And they've got a candy heist to plan. 

"Whatever. You know the kid I'm talking about. The one with the--" Mal makes a motion towards her own purple hair, trying to wrack the name of the kid Jay's been obsessed with out of her sluggish brain. "The hair. The. DeVil!" 

Jay lifts an evil eyebrow at her. "It took you that long to come up with DeVil?"

"Shut up, I'm not the one who's been following him around," Mal snaps. "It's not like it's an inconvenience to me or anything, when you're off following him all the time." 

Jay's smile gets bigger. "I'm recruiting. Potato bombs, seriously. He's got the biggest explosions out of anyone in weird science."

"Like you'd know." Mal scoffs. "You haven't been to school in a month." 

"School's for sidekicks." 

Sidekicks, and villains, and any kid without somewhere better to be. It's not like they have options, on an island the size of Mal's pinky finger. "Yeah, and that's what I'll demote you to if we don't get this candy before the pirates get their hands on it. We move in early," Mal suggests. "Jump to the barge from the bridge, before they're docked. We can pretend we're with the pirates." 

Jay laughs around the mouth of his bottle. "Argh, me hearties," he says, with enthusiasm. "Avast. Belay." 

Mal laughs too, because they're alone right now, and it's not like Jay's going to mock her for being weak enough to find humor in something. "Perfect. We'll blend right in, they'll never suspect a thing." 

"Except for how you humiliated the leader of their gang, and they hate our guts, so they'll definitely catch on to us right away." 

Mm. 

"Except for that," Mal agrees, taking a drink from her own bottle of warm, sweet cider. "Fuck the pirates." 

Jay laughs again. It's a low sound, one that makes Mal want to do terrible things to him. "Fuck 'em," Jay says, laughing around the words, like he's not hurting just as much as she is, like they're not just two broken chips off their parent's shoulders. "We could do better." 

The memory of their pirates is too raw for Mal to stop herself. "I'm better. Than them. You're better." 

There's a half-smile slipping onto Jay's face. He looks strange and handsome in the light of the moon, which is the best light they get, up on the rooftops of their city. "You're drunk." 

"Not that drunk." Mal admits. She's had half a bottle, and it's not the cheap stuff that'll fuck you up in a shot. They're drinking tonight because it's fun, and because they're maybe, possibly a little bit lonely together, and because not even the isle of the lost can escape the messaging of the stupid, silly Auradon holidays about love. "I could fuck you. If you want." 

"You mean it?" 

They're closer together than they're supposed to be. Villains don't care about each other, and they don't have relationships, and they don't break up with pirates and rebound with their remaining gang members, and-- 

Jay's mouth is hot and wet, and if this is what she's not supposed to have, than Mal might not be a very wicked villain at all.

[occasionallyoil]

OKAY CHAT. SOOOOO I MAY HAVE MADE SOMETHING THAT I AM SO INCREDIBLELY INVESTED IN AND IM HERE TO SPREAD THIS STORY TO YOU GUYS!!!

So it starts in 1922. Yvette Mongeau is a maid for the Boubois family. A very wealthy family in the hierarchy of France. Yvette, being a woman in one of the only acceptable jobs for women in the 1920’s, didn’t make much money and was quite poor. She found herself staying many nights at the home of the Boubois family and sleeping from couch to couch.

One night, Yvette meets Laurie, a stunning actor in a corrupt film production. Laurie and Yvette fall in love and commit to a desperate attempt at keeping their relationship secret. But all fails and they are found out. Laurie is imprisoned by state and Yvette is let off with a warning. (They basically said that she’s too important to the Boubois family and kept her alive.) And just barely a month later, Laurie is executed. In her own rage and devastation, she begins to search for a way to bring her back from the dead. Eventually, she finds the spider. A large god-like entity that specializes in it’s favors and prizes. Yvette makes her communications with the spider and it responds, telling her the offer of her lover for her own soul. Yvette agrees and what she knows to be herself, is no longer that. Her once peachy, beige skin turns pale and white. Her brown hair becoming black and her once even slightly colorful self, turned monochromatic. She lost most in the process. Her feeling and emotions were slowly becoming next to nothing. Her limbs felt light, she was always tired but she had no need to sleep, her stomach was empty, she felt hungry, she’s always hungry, but she didn’t need to eat.

The spider was happy, her lover slowly came back, rising from her grave and coming back to Yvette’s graces. But Yvette… she lost everything. She wasn’t even alive anymore, but it was all worth it for Laurie. She kept herself running and she kept herself up and moving for Laurie, she kept herself alive, if that’s what you can really call it, she kept herself going, all for Laurie. But soon, Laurie got sick. Laurie was in horrid condition so Yvette tried to make more offers but she had nothing more to offer. The spider is hungry, that’s what it told her. So she tried killing and feeding it small animals, nothing. Bigger animals, nothing. So she went to her last resort. She murdered her boss in cold blood. She shot him square in the head and watched him die. But the spider didn’t want it. (Needy ah spider)

She was out of luck, she didn’t know what to do anymore. But the Boubois family had a son. Nickel Boubois (yes I’m naming him nickel) who had passed only two days ago after he choked on food (rest in piece lil bro) where the family felt sorrow, Yvette saw an opportunity. She basically went to the morgue, took the kid, and fed him as food for this big ass spider. Yvette finally got her offer finalized. The spider recovered Laurie and they could be happy. Yvette and Laurie began to make plans to run away together, find foreign land and be happy together. But for some reason, Yvette couldn’t leave. The shrine of the spider was in their town and she couldn’t leave it. Yvette had to continue it’s Legacy. Laurie refused to stay and they couldn’t be in two places at once. So Laurie left. And Yvette stayed.

Yvette lived to serve the spider. It was her life now, possessed by the one thing that made her own lover leave her. She gave up on the one person that she even called this thing for. And now she’s stuck to it... (The shrine of the spider does on occasion move locations, but you can’t pick where it goes, you just wake up there.) And in 1942, Yvette was hunted down by government officials, and she was executed. Yvette’s legacy was now part of the spider. Every few decades, a new spawn of Yvette will be born. The father completely unknown, the mother will simply fall pregnant. The child’s destiny is to carry on the legacy of the spider for their whole life, until they die, or are food.

(After this there’s a few years that carry this on, 1950’s is some dancer, 1970’s Is just a housewife who hates it all, 1990’s is Ashlyn Maree, who was raised in the cult. And finally, 2000’s, Cambion Last, who has a demonic parent. I just don’t wanna write it all at the moment so I might add more to this later.)

[e17omm]

(I only know the story up to right before the fight with the Sage)

So far this arc is starting to feel arbitrary, and have Misteln cause the imprisonment of Seele (theory) while everyone, including the writers, except for Kira, portrays Misteln as a good guy.

I know this is just the start of chapter 38, but right now the optics of the story of it isnt all that good in my eyes. Dialogue scenes? Great. Animations in 3D scenes? Massive improvement. All that is great.

But the writing?

The further I go I keep asking myself why we are even there.

Why are we there? Misteln sent us there.

Why did Misteln send us there? She wants her Sage stigmata or whatever back.

Why are there problems in the bubble worlds? Because Misteln made Seele a second sage. (Not by herself, but she manipulated actions to qualify Seele for being a second sage)

Why are we fighting the Sage? Because Misteln made Seele a second sage.

Why did Misteln make Seele a second sage? Because she wants her sage stigmata back.

This wouldnt be that much of a problem, if it werent for everyone (except Kira) not viewing Misteln as the bad guy here.

Did I miss something? As far as I can remember the bubble world seemed rather stable beforehand, and the Sage is incredibly dedicated to being the Sage. So the issue of Forms/Stigmatas/whatever turning into monsters seems rather minimal in this case.

Like, we are helping them out and solving problems, that was caused due to Misteln arriving and wanting her stigmata piece back.

Again, am I missing something here so far?

Okay lets leave the writing behind and see what (again, mostly theories based on what has been said) can come from this arc.

The biggest thing Im seeing is Veliona being left alone in a more permanent way. This comes mostly from the fact that they could apparently seperate in the Sea of Quanta all this time, and how much "the tower locks the Sage in the tower" got repeated after Seele became the second sage.

But if that is the result, we got a fanservice Herrscher Seele battlesuit since Seele will be locked up in the tower and Veliona goes free. (Most of my issues would be calling it a "Herrscher" battlesuit. Why not "Sage of Rebirth Seele" or something? Mostly because Herrschers has normally had a bigger impact on the story than immediately being locked up.)

If that doesnt happen, and Seele and Veliona keep independent bodies, Misteln gets her Sage piece, and everyone goes home... Couldn't they just have blamed it on Sea of Quanta effects and tossed Seele and Veliona out of the Sea while they were still seperated, and give them independent bodies because "the Sea of Quanta doesnt obey our universe's laws"?

We could also have Seele and Veliona fully reunite, aaand for this one lets say they both get stuck in the tower. Okay, this one would be better. It'd get Seele out of the story (at least for now), but the main issue would remain if Misteln doesnt get portrayed as a bad guy for causing that.

And if they dont both get stuck but goes free... Then it all feels like an overly convuluted plan for Misteln because she wanted to get her Sage piece back in a different way than just brute force from the start. Would the worlds being Sageless even cause them both to collapse? Or would the Tower just choose another Sage? Did the worlds even have a Sage before the current Sage or what?

Back to Misteln.

Even if Seele WANTS to become a Sage and end up locked up to ensure the stability of the worlds, wouldnt that still make Misteln a selfish bad guy in this arc? The tower locks up the Sage in it. Its not just "the tower lets the Sage have the best power to govern both worlds" no, it actually forces the Sage to remain in the tower.

The current Sage seems VERY stable compared to the other stigma piece we saw right before Misteln and Prometheus came to the current bubble world. So in the end, everything would be cause by Misteln being a selfish piece of shit wanting her stigma piece back, yet the story does not want to portray that??

Its one thing have Misteln not see herself as a bad guy, but when the good guys AND THE WRITERS does not want to portray her that way either, what the hell??

The most we have is Kira, who seems to have most of her annoyances and distrust of Misteln centered around being tossed back deep into the Sea of Quanta. That, and not everyone immediately 100% trusting everything Misteln says, which is just common sense.

Misteln still led Seele down the path to become a second Sage which ended up causing a lot of instability and chaos in the bubble worlds.

>Ranting over.

Again, I am only up to right before the fight with the Sage. Possible that I missed something before or if this all will get cleared up in the future.

[anotherisodope]

Just found out that we dodged a huge bullet

You ever have a friend who just completely derails your life with their drama every time you run into, talk to or even hear about them?

Got one like that. We’ve been trying to help him for months in a Movie of the Week level family drama situation that has, along with some other stuff, totally eaten my life. And now, things have gone from bad to cartoonishly awful, in one night.

(Now edited for clarity. I shouldn’t write when I’m that pissed off, sorry!)

The Cast

Me: Gold medalist in competitive napping

My man: Has lived with me almost two decades, there’s rings involved, you get the idea

Gonk: A formerly close friend of ours who is making himself less close with every damn day that goes by as he slowly transitions from a cinnamon roll to an ego-burdened military douche. Calling him Gonk because he increasingly, stubbornly, refuses to listen to even basic common sense if it gets in the way of what he wants to do

GFF: Gonk’s friend who has been putting him up until Gonk starts Basic Training in another state

Evil Sister: Gonk’s sister, a raging assclown whom I sometimes call the Wicked Bitch of the East--with good reason

Our friend Gonk is the sort who never, ever, EVER contacts us unless he needs something, and he’s caused all kinds of disruption, but we’ve stayed loyal as hell and supported him. I was even going to move this guy into my house before he torpedoed that plan with a set of Bad Life Decisions. (Long story I’ll cover later).

Bit of backstory. Gonk has a very bad relationship with his sister, who is a far, far bigger asshole than he’s ever dreamed of being. Evil Sister was left the house and their parents’ whole estate after their mom died (so our friend wouldn’t lose his disability benefits), and promised to “look after” Gonk to his mom’s face. Once Mom died, Evil Sister promptly started proceedings for kicking Gonk out, and turned abusive in the meantime.

One thing she’s done is weaponize the police against Gonk every time she gets mad at him, meaning she calls them on him and tries to get him imprisoned over issues he can’t even be arrested for. Argument? Call the cops. He swore while playing video games? Cops. He had a meltdown from her verbal abuse and started yelling and crying? Cops. I’m actually surprised they still come out at this point.

We’ve explained to Gonk, as have the police, that what Evil Sister is doing is a form of abuse, isn’t appropriate use of law enforcement, and wastes police time and resources as well. Gonk’s seen it, he’s felt it, he’s been told multiple times: weaponizing the police so you can hurt someone you’re mad at (especially over petty shit) is really, really wrong.

So Gonk has been staying with another friend, GFF, for a few weeks before he starts Basic Training (a whole other awful story), basically to get away from the Wicked Bitch of the East. It was a huge act of generosity on GFF’s part, and a relief for Gonk, us, and everyone who cares about Gonk. At least...until yesterday.

Last night, everything blew up very suddenly. GFF kicked Gonk out and threatened to harm him if he came back. Why?

Because Gonk decided to call the cops on poor GFF, in GFF’s own home, IN AN ARGUMENT OVER WHO OWNED A FUCKING PACK OF CIGARETTES.

That’s right. Gonk, the guy who had the police inappropriately called on him over small shit multiple times, and is in the best possible position to know how wrong that is...turned around and did it to someone else. Someone he was depending on for shelter.

The cops kicked in the door, GFF’s dog escaped and vanished, and needless to say GFF is absolutely furious. He wants nothing further to do with Gonk and will probably kick his ass, or worse, if that hypocritical dumbass tries to come back. In fact, he’s already threatened to do so.

Gonk has nothing to say for himself. He is back with Evil Sister now, for the moment. I’m just praying he doesn’t show up on our doorstep again, because this has destroyed the last of our trust in him--which thanks to other crap was already badly damaged.

I am SO goddamned glad now that Gonk didn’t end up living with us. I don’t want anyone in my life who calls the cops on innocent people he’s supposed to care about, over petty shit. Of all people, Gonk should know better. But he got big mad and tossed friendship, common sense and decency out the window over an under $20 purchase instead. Nothing GFF did for him mattered to Gonk--not even opening up his home.

That could easily have been us. And I don’t want to give Gonk the chance to make it be us. Before now, I was worried about his safety, but this is the last straw. Now I just want him to leave town for his training and never come back.

[cdroloisms]

In JMAH, when j!Quackity goes Butcher Army mode on j!Sam, how does the rest of the server's reactions differ from canon (i guess previous?) Butcher Army, if at all? (For example, IIRC it never grew any bigger than a 4-person militia in canon, and c!Tubbo was initially extremely reluctant to participate or endorse it.) Do you think that reluctance changes when it's j!Sam who's being targeted? Does anyone other than j!Techno agree to help break into the prison? Does j!Quackity bother trying to recruit anyone else?

SO!

Quackity's whole deal with j!Sam starts after he goes to propose the Las Nevadas deal shortly after the staged finale--just as he does in canon--and is very promptly and aggressively shut down by Sam, who is not having a repeat of canon, thank you very much. It's important to note that this happens on the 23rd, just a few scant days after the finale on the 20th, and therefore VERY little time has passed since j!Sam basically got time traveled into his old body on the 21st with Tommy about to visit Dream for the first time. Here's a post that goes into some of this.

To put it simply, Sam hasn't quite parsed through the difference in timelines yet in his head and acts in a lot of ways that read really, really strangely to Quackity. Combine that with Tommy getting all but thrown out of the prison in his first visit, the prison being completely shut down to visitors on that first day, and Sam all but disappearing immediately after Dream is imprisoned? Like--it looks fishy. And there's only two people on the server that have any idea of what's actually going on.

At first, Tommy and Quackity's attempts to get more info are...well, admittedly, not very well-thought out. Tommy has a grudge he's nursing and Quackity is curious--and wary. Being the Warden of Pandora's Vault means power, and Quackity is no stranger to power in the wrong hands. Tommy is genuinely angling for a break-in, while Quackity is more aiming for intel of any kind. What is going on in there, and why is Sam so determined to keep it all quiet?

Time passes. Sam's reputation gets worse--any poking in and around the prison is swiftly dealt with, often with threats of violence and cold anger. Sam's old friends haven't seen him outside the prison in weeks. Ponk doesn't manage to get the keycards, but ends up having a catastrophic (and very public) breakup with Sam anyway--there's a lot of yelling. It ends in violence and Sam stomping away, holing himself in the prison for even longer. Tommy and Quackity keep up the attempts at breaking in, and well--Sam gets sloppy. With Ghostbur in tow, they somehow manage to get themselves to the main cell, as is outlined here.

Afterwards, naturally, Quackity is gunning for revenge. Sure, Sam sure as hell doesn't seem to be working with Dream, but that doesn't fucking matter now. It's personal. With the Egg as ,, less of a threat, in some ways (Sam Boxed the thing as soon as he got back to this timeline--it was hardly a permanent solution, but Good Enough For Him Okay ?) and Sam being, well, less popular of a figure across the server because of [gestures] all of That, he ends up a sort of anti-Sam club. It never balloons to a huge thing, honestly--technically, Quackity has the support of his country behind him (Las Nevadas progresses slower than canon, considering the lack of help on the builds, but he ends up recruiting Foolish earlier and things end up happening more or less. The slower developments mean that things with his fiancés don't end up QUITE as disastrously, but the distance does end up creating tension as time passes.) The core group in the coalition, though, is just Quackity, Tommy, Technoblade (reluctantly recruited with plans of betrayal brewing), and Wilbur--who mostly invited himself and only comes to steal Quackity's cookies.

Quackity definitely thinks about recruiting more people...but honestly, his plan in terms of you know, getting revenge on the three biggest assholes on the server and making them pay at his own hand, well. That's not really made for a group project. That doesn't mean that he doesn't make it clear that Las Nevadas will fight if need be against any possible threats, and Sam deeeefinitely makes it onto the list of enemies if/when the slime clones happen. The server generally knows that Quackity isn't a fan of Sam--Tommy isn't the greatest at keeping things silent, and the whole "prison break-in only they got stopped by Sam who threw them out and also killed Quackity" thing definitely circulates around the server for some time. They're not exactly jumping the gun to take any collective action against Sam themselves...but well. He's definitely starting to run low on allies.

[what-yadoking-likes]

Sooooo since we clearly established that you’re a wolf/hox shipper, I wanted to know if you got any other (payday) shippings going on and if we might see some in “The Cell” any time in the future?

Also what’s your personal take on Wolf and Jacket having a “father-son”-like-relationship?

BAHAHA 'since we clearly established that you're a wolf/hox shipper' LOL is that a read?? /jk

Okay SO OTHER PAIRINGS YOU SAYYYY... o h b o i

Well, when I first started out in this fandom I was a fan of Sokol/Dallas (MasterGrinder). I've always been a fan of age-difference relationships and, well, the fact that they're both extremely handsome men doesn't hurt. Another thing that drew me to this pairing was how the dynamic would work in practice - Dallas being the crew chief, the one who has to keep shit together, and Sokol being younger and probably hornier and being more likely to throw a spanner in the works of whatever carefully-laid plan Dallas had. Oh, and let's not forget @neomineom's insane fanart of the two - that really, uhh, got me into it. I also have an in-progress-on-hiatus fic where they have a first date together and Sokol gets jacked off in a jacuzzi.

Nowadays though, I'm way more likely to imagine Dallas with Bain (MasterGuide or NaviMind). I have a fair few ideas floating around for them already and some in-progress-on-hiatus Tumblr ficlets that are mostly PWPs that somehow became something bigger (kinda like The Cell L M A O ) - not to mention the odd fic on AO3 with them as the main pairing.

I think... again, they're both handsome dudes. And I see them as having a lot in common - Dallas finding it harder to feel connected with the crew as he takes on this role as crew chief - Bain deliberately putting distance between him and the gang as a whole to ensure their safety. But... doesn't this all sound very lonely? So I like to imagine they'd stave off that gnawing loneliness by being together - in secret, mind, so that when Bain gets kidnapped it gets extra juicy and ANGSTY (or I just AU it and Bain doesn't die or get reincarnated).

I’ve... dropped some hints about MasterGuide in The Cell, but it hasn’t been anything super obvious or really worth tagging. In a perfect world I would love to write more stuff with them as the main focus... but I just don’t know if I have time between work, adulting, other creative pursuits, AND finishing one of the two novels I began like two/three years ago in the hopes of getting published. So... never say never I guess?

Now I figure if I keep going on like this for every pairing we’ll be here all day, so I’ll try to give the TL;DR version of the next few (but feel free to Ask me about them another time if you want to know more!).

Sokol/Jacket (Socket) - all that aggression! All that violence! Not typically an enemies-to-lovers fan but here we are.

Wolf/Dallas (MasterTech) - nyaaw crime daddies!

Dallas/Hoxton (MasterFugitive) - angsty potential re: imprisonment, and also handsome menses :3

Jacket/Vlad (UkrainianChicken) - a meme pairing I conceived of when trying to think of who would make the most chaotic pairing in the Payday universe.

Vlad/Locke (GolfGoat) - started as a meme pairing now kinda like it ngl LOL, even the contractors need love! Plus they contrast with one another really well and would be very fun.

I’ve probably missed some out here but oh well. ON TO YOUR 2ND QUESTION.

Wolf and Jacket as having a father/son relationship... well that makes the fics about them a bit raunchier ngl!

I think for me I find it hard to see Jacket as having a role of a leader in any way, shape or form. I feel that a father is a kind of leader or role model and I’m not sure if that’s Jacket’s vibe, I guess. I will say though that my perception of fathers is grim at best due to my own experiences, so there may be something I’m missing here. I’d be open to hearing other people’s thoughts about it, for sure.

I do, however, see the two as sharing a bond because they’re both perceived of as being the most unstable/unhinged in the Payday gang. A kind of ‘nobody understands us and that’s awesome’ vibe.

[stories-me]

Potential Character for Mrs. Kelsey and Tumblr 8/17/2023:

Rocket Raccoon, Hot-Tempered Leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy:

Warning: Spoiler Alert! If you haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy 3, DO NOT READ!

Background:

Originally known as “Subject 89P13”, Rocket Raccoon THOUGHT he was helping the High Evolutionary, who was just using him for his mind. Rocket ultimately escaped, but the High Evolutionary murdered the first friends he ever had, possibly because Rocket was escaping and his friends got caught in the crossfire. At some point, he encountered a plantlike being called “Groot”, and brought him aboard his bounty-hunting gig as a sidekick and muscle.

He had been captured by the authorities and imprisoned on twenty-two occasions, each time escaping. The twenty-third time was when he ultimately met the members of the group he and they would found: The Guardians of the Galaxy. Even so, he was secretly insecure, and attempted to hide it a number of times. As Yondu of the Ravagers (who identified with him a little) put it: “I know you act like you’re the meanest and hardest, when really you’re the most scared of all! I know you steal batteries you don’t need and push away anyone who’s willing to put up with you because just a little bit of love reminds you of just how big and empty that hole inside you actually is.”

After a number of adventures, Rocket confronted his past, resulting in him ultimately becoming leader of the Guardians (now made up of himself, Groot, Cosmo the Space Dog, former Ravager Kraglin, Adam Warlock – formerly of the Sovereign, a child named Phyla, and a creature called Blurp).

How he is like me:

We both can get kind of hot-tempered at times, lash out because we feel bad about ourselves, are smart, and care about our friends and others. I try to keep myself calm through various calming strategies, like placing my head down, going somewhere else, petting Smokey, etc.

Kelsey Notes:

Rocket is a good example of why it’s important to remember not to jump to conclusions about someone else.

People have different personalities: some people are closed off and mysterious because that’s just how they are.  Some people are also this way because they have painful past experiences that may affect them from time to time

Rocket suffers from survivors guilt and struggles to navigate close bonds with people because of this

Rocket might have been hoarding batteries in the event that he might need them for some escape plan

Rocket is a big picture thinker in that aspect, and this can be difficult for you at times

            In some situations, you must rely on your support system to figure out a situation before they are able to explain the problem solving process to you. 

When your support system needs a moment to process the bigger picture, you are more likely to become impatient, which is where your coping strategies are important.

Strong words are not going to solve a problem.  As for Rocket being closed off towards others effects the long standing relationships, he’s been able to build with the Guardians

You have worked hard to maintain a calm and interactive attitude during Saturday group zooms. 

Using your calming strategies are crucial here- if something makes you frustrated behind the scenes, getting worked up or making verbal threats will affect the attendance in those zooms (i.e. your fiends might get thrown off at your verbal threats and not want to join the following week)        

You’ve made great progress in managing your moments of frustrations, meaning sometimes you have to work harder remain calm in stressful situations

            It’s more noticeable now when you have a moment of frustration, because they don’t happen as often as they used to

You’re calming strategies have helped you to build stronger friendships and relationships with the people in your life. 

[madchild-dennis]

So, I watched a movie called "A Sunday Affair" and it TRIGGERED ME. Ok not the whole affair and stuff. Yes I was upset and shouting at the TV and stuff at the drama. Ok maybe not all that but my eyes did water at the end.

But the BIGGER triggerment was what Toyin said that was relatable. Along the lines of:

After DOING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS. To then end up with the SHIT end of the stick.

That is my FUCKING LIFE, then God making it worst. The EASIEST to explain is me waiting to have sex till marriage. Being VERY picky and intentional with who I date, entertain or put my time and effort into romantically. Then God chooses an undeserving ASSHOLE AND HIS ASSHOLE MOTHER.

Then you have my FUCKING PARENTS. Throughout their BULLSHIT, I've turned the other cheek, I've forgiven, I've given them a 3rd+ chance which is far more than a 2nd chance. I've done the toxic christian shit. They got much more than they deserve as well.

The other cheek:

The 3rd+ chance:

That included their shit ass friends from the Adventist church I grew up in and neighbour:

I've been kind, forgiving and patient while they act all self-righteous or endangered my life OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I mean I worked at Seymour's bookstore for almost a year FOR FREE. Helping out when they needed me and fixed so many issues. Went to his wife's birthday while she plot plan my demise. Then you have the Cameron's smiling in my face lying to me when I was forced into the house I did not want to go into. THEN I was poisoned by them. While I allow them to use the washing machine over and over again. I went to help fix shit or more. That's even after I knew they poisoned me. They literally gave me a $1000 (which I returned) when they saw this post:

Talking about:

Mrs. Cameron: we are just like you trusting God for our meals and more. This is for the light bill for using the washing machine. *gives me $1000 in cash 5-$100 bills and 1-$500 bill."

Me: you know I don't need it. I don't even pay the light bill. You know what.

Mrs Cameron: just take it you know you need it.

I didn't realize what they used to poison me nor the full reason until now. Plus I figured it out, by time I thought it was too late for a test. Then I remember science is BEAUTIFUL. Guess who knows another way to get her proof long AFTER. These fuckers KNOW too. Hence why I'm being recommended to be at a nursing home for so long and more. They are hoping the time for that expires and that evidence is gone.

Or so they thought...

Anyways.

I've done the kind thing, the nice thing, the toxic christian thing. And ALL I got is BULLSHIT and more fuckery.

You know how long I've told ALL those bitch asses that I'm not mentally ill. Gave them proof upon proof and more.

Unlike Toyin from the movie, I can't just give up. I don't have a cope out like cancer, nor do these people let me live my FUCKING LIFE. I'M LITERALLY 27 YEARS OLD. Then, I am too much of a fighter to kill myself. Trust me the closest I've been is to let crocodiles eat me or someone try kill me if I fail defending myself (that's highly unlikely). I NEVER failed to protect myself, fight or dodge injury; no matter what.

So, what would piss me the fuck off is if I FOUGHT, FIGHT AND KEEP FIGHTING and all I get from my OWN FUCKING PARENTS, their friends, their minions and more not just get away scotch free plus continue and I'm in shit.

I will NOT tolerate it!!!

(God knows this, hence asking God for death in 2021. Life is unfair and more. Plus nothing good seems to be rewarded in this fucked up world. So, my decision to fight means I'm going to FUCKING WIN!!!)

Hence why I am NOT patient anymore with this lawyer. I already know something ain't right. Plus God lead me to him. Which means REPLACEMENTS WILL BE MADE, IF NECESSARY!!! The replacement is ALWAYS better than the first pick. That's seen with Jesus (replaced lamb sacrifice) and David (replaced Saul).