#they should've been in rr and i mean it

[horrorgeoff]

they are a set do not seperate!!

[introspectivememories]

if you were to ask the family what secrets tim had, the answers would range from "not straight" (steph) to "secretly a vampire and that's why grandfather is obsessed with him" (damian). a secret husband was never on the list. (combat medic!bear x rr!tim. classic shot in the throat fic, now with the added bonus of everyone finding out that tim has a secret husband.)

It's been a long time since Tim Drake really knew Bernard Dowd. One hospital visit later, Tim realizes just how much catching up he has to do. (picks up right at the end of the saccrifice. uhh i just wanted tim to be jealous that other people knew bear better than he did.)

Vigilantism is not exactly conducive to a healthy relationship. Bernard and Tim pay the price. (summertime sadness is not the name of the fic. a lyric from that song is the name of the fic. it's just ostentatiously long. anyway BREAKUP FIC BREAKUP FIC BREAKUP FIC! yes they're breaking up, no they dont want to, yes it's happening anyway)

when you think of love do you think of pain? (bear and tim go to children's charity gala together -> bear gets kidnapped with other children -> tim finds him a week later -> ooh my boyfriend has some serious mental illnesses about the cult -> ooh, we should've talked about this before)

tim says "i'll die for you", way too often. one bruised red robin bleeding on their wooden floors later, bernard has had enough. (that title is still a work in progress but according to g.trans, it means i want to live. but newayz, i just wanted to play with the idea of someone willing to die for you and what that would mean for bear, who's already had a loved one die on him. also the superhero ideal of dying for someone bc that means that someone loved you enough to take your place vs. the civilian ideal of growing old together, fight!)

[canonically47]

evil version of that previous anon: and what were your LEAST favorite parts of each of those seasons?

sorry i got to this so late! buuut

total drama

season 1: leshawna's elimination. just... utter bullshit. closely followed by geoff's. also utter bullshit. in fact heather's whole plot armor was meh

season 2: sorry guys but courtney's entire arc. i can't stand her in TDA. she's meh to okay at best in TDI and fine until the gwuncan stuff in TDWT, after that i just can't even. she's so annoying sorry <//3

season 3: EZEKIEL'S MUTANT ARC COME ONNN MY MAN DESERVES BETTER LET HIM BE HAPPY FUCK YOU

season 4: the all-men finale. we should've gotten a zoey vs cameron finale. boo

season 5: the fact that it exists. i have so many problems with it, it's hard to narrow it down to just one single part i hated most, but there is one! i hated how every character was dumbed down. heather just telling alejandro she had the idol. alejandro just telling mal he had proof he was evil. many eliminations. the fact that the final five was... well, that. but most, i hated mal's arc and how mike was 'cured' of DID by pressing a button. i won't speak much on it since it's nowhere near my expertise nor business as a singlet but i would imagine that is. not how it fucking works. at all and just such a sad sterotyped thing to add an eViL alter to the poor guy just to give him more substance. plus i've discussed this with a mutual before but mal just feels like max taken seriously by the narrative. yeah i hate this season there's a reason it gets trampled in my fic

season 6: there was so much potential for max to be a hero and stand up to scarlett. like. so much. i love him he deserved better. that's not the worst tho and if you're new here let me tell you I FUCKING HATE DAVE. OKAY. i have a BIG issue with that guy which is half because he reminds me of some asshole i know irl and half because he just fucking sucks. i don't get any dave ship, any dave love, anything at all. there is nothing to like about him. he is genuinely one of the very few total drama characters that i can't even make up the substance he lacks. just. fuck dave

season 7 (RR): the daters and best friends fell so flat for me in different ways. the daters were just so annoying and i couldn't have been happier at their elimination. the best friends just felt so forced to me. i mean i'm also a romance-repulsed(-ish, not always, it's complicated) aromantic but oh my goddd... they dragged on for sooo loooongggggggg

season 8: the jurasic fart episode. also how chase treated emma. again fuck these allos /j

season 9: PRILEB. OKAY LISTEN. i fucking LOVE prileb BUT i also fucking HATEEE them. they could've been so good if priya was just eliminated earlier. caleb could've had more to him than priya's misunderstood boyfriend, he could've made alliances and friends, but noooo just give him an entire miscommunication arc FUCK YOU yeah prileb could've been so good if it was good (total drama catchphrase)

disventure camp

season 1: fiore's betrayal to alec felt like terrible writing to me and i'll still stand by that. a character like fiore needs more than one side and alec was that other, softer, caring side. and they threw it all away for shock value! <//3 i really hope these two make up :( i miss them so much. oh also the downfall of tomjake like what the fuck happened oh my

season 2: some challenges were... creepy and weird to say the least. spin the wheel to see who to kiss? my aro ass could never. and when kristal indirectly outed aiden during the dares challenge? like, this yo host? trevor would never <3

season 3: whatever the fuck riya and connor, as well as tom and jake, as well as ally and hunter, as well as- FUCK IT WHATEVER THE FUCK THE COUPLES HAVE GOING ON. YES ALL OF THEM EXcept gabellie. keep going my loves you're doing great

[septusuki]

You walk in on hands and legs — quite literally. Your left hand, and your left leg, loping and stumbling as you fumble your way through some kind of parody of ambulation. Your ball joints creak and scream as they twist in directions they weren't designed for, the old wood in the core of your porcelain limbs reaching the very edge of their lifespan. You are wrecking yourself, pushing your body beyond any reasonable limit. A trillion warning lights are flashing inside of your empty mind, begging you to slow down; begging yourself to believe that this just isn't worth it. You've already lost the right half of your body to this cruel trial, and your left isn't long for this world.

"Tracia?" She tips her head to one side as she watches you waddle your way in, confused — but more amused by your abject suffering. It is a mercy that pain receptors weren't invented when she made you. "Status report?" She swallows once or twice as the shambling corpse of a carefully-crafted teapot-doll drags itself into her room, and up to the foot of her bed. She can already see how bad it is, but you need to run through the protocol before you can beg her to fix it.

"Aaa—ah." Your jittering vocal chords fail to sequence the correct words at first, jangling about in your throat like an orchestra let loose. "R-Right side, damaged beyond — beyond repair." Reliving the experience, the flames of the mansion's oven engulf you once again, superheating your faux-flesh. It petrifies you, scalds you, and then tears you apart, all in a splitsecond. Recognizing that they're beyond saving, the limbs on your right side just eject, and clatter onto the floor, whilst the less-fortunate half of your torso is left to be near-incinerated. Torched, blasted and smeared with soot. "Ruined while preparrr-rr-rr-ring your lunch." You gasp, feeling another chord of your speech centre fray and dribble out of your neck.

"And lunch? How is my lunch?" She preens over the curves of her body, letting a slim finger trace around her starter-tummy. It's evident enough that you've been obliterated; what matters is if you went out actually succeeding in something. A victorious death. She licks her lips, just imagining how delicious it's got to be, if it stole half of a doll just to exist. Padding across the softness of her bed, she grabs her ritually-engraved magi-claw, fastening it to her right hand with the same boredom that she might sign a check.

"Lunch is — augh — almost ready." You whine, letting your arm and leg finally relax and drop you to the floor. You crumple up, satisfied that you've made the journey to your saviour's side in record time. "All to specifications. Three-thousand, six-hundred and fourty-two calories." You drone off the exact numbers that've been programmed into your head. You were never taught the meaning of calories, but judging by Her expression, they must be something good. Something worth smiling over. It makes you feel fractionally better about the punishment that's been exacted upon you for it's sake.

"Mmmh..." She giggles, jostling her hips and letting her tiny tub jiggle. You don't have the sensory-sensitivity to see the precise wobbling, but you know that she is enjoying herself. The thought warms you through, even without the magi-claw's humming getting closer and closer. "Sounds good!" She sign-songs, reaching over the footboard of her bed so she can grasp your cranium in the claws of her right hand. "I'll reward you after I finish, Tracia." After a moment's notice, the magi-claw throttles up to full power, and the grinning witch is pumping herself through you. "I'll let you fetch me dessert." Her wine-red locks explode with power as she re-energises your potteried flesh, her eyes sharp and knife-like. She is beautiful, but she's grimaced over this fact a million times — She should've specialized in shapeshifting.

[deadaccount1211]

TD 2023 Review: The Final Chapter

Spoilers Down Below.

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Episode 9: I ain't gonna lie from the way they structured this episode in the beginning. I already knew Caleb was winning immunity.

Funny screenshot I grabbed ^.

I started off this season liking Mkulia because I saw it as an alliance between two equals. But ever since the cheating plotline, they've only ever used MK as a punching bag. And then the cherry on top is Julia eliminating her for a second time.

Left a sour taste in my mouth tbh. And I can believe the hockey bros were dumb enough to vote her off. But you're telling me that Julia somehow convinced Priya and Damien that MK is the bigger threat between the two? She literally told you guys she eliminated Nichelle. But consistency be damned I guess.

Episode 10: I kinda wish the memory game was more about remembering events that happened through the season and less press a button on a ipad.

This julia vs damien rivalry is cooking. It's about time Julia faced some opposition in this competition.

A bit ironic considering they're athletes but I don't think Wayne and Raj have done well in a single competition this season.

Priya admitting she knows Julia is manipulative and then proceeding to get manipulated by Julia. ://////////

Me going into the elimination scene: Oh so the praleb drama is resolved! Priya or Caleb is going home right?

??

??

???

WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN DAMIEN GOT ELIMINATED? WHAT THE FUCK???

Ok Julia shared her immunity with Caleb. Vote off Priya? She won last season??? It's not that hard???

"Sorry bro we can't vote off Priya because she's in love with Caleb" WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT LOGIC? That's exactly why you should vote her off!

Damien running around the island looking for his idol and then getting dragged away screaming is legitimately pitiful to watch.

This season loves giving ppl undignified exits but this was the worst one of all.

I want to add on that I knew there was a very low chance Damien was gonna win given how his arc was structured. But this elim was bullshit, should've been Priya.

Episode 11:

Starting off the episode with the hockey bros saying they miss Damien is lame. Ya'll never interacted and you voted him off. Fuck off.

Julia starting an off screen alliance with Caleb is lame. I don't want to hear the excuse "They can only fit so much into 22 minutes." They did perfectly fine in S1? Why the steep downgrade in quality?

We finally get a non gen 1 cameo and it's fucking McArthur. God I hate this season.

This is the worst challenge of the season. This is the third time ya'll have done run around and be chased by animals challenge. At least nobody is farting this time around.

Maturing is realizing Raj was never gonna get a character arc and he's only here to be comedic relief. Sigh..

Julia being a challenge beast doesn't feel as fun as it did in S1. Probably because she's casually steamrolling the game rn.

They waited way too long to boot off one of the hockey bros. We literally only have two episodes left. How are they gonna be able to make wayne idependent and stand out on his own?

Episode 12:

Why is Julia so insistent on gaining Wayne's vote when she has the immunity idol?

Caleb really is whatever the plot demands him to be. He spent the first half of the season being a wannabe f boy. Now he wants to act all sweet n shit and say he don't wanna lie on Total Drama. Like please get the fuck out of here. Not even Millie was this annoying. Steroid ass freak.

Maybe it's the inner fanfic writer inside of me. But imagine if Damien was in this fear challenge and his final fear to overcome was Scary Girl. Would've been peak imo.

They're really giving Wayne a last minute character arc about learning how to be himself without Raj around.

Tennis Rivals cameo? Isn't RR supposed to be an in universe spinoff? Why are there more RR references than like Revenge or Pahkitew? Are those seasons getting swept under the rug?

They really tried to make this elimination suspenseful when we already know Julia has the idol.

I still like Priya overall. But i'd be lying if I said Season 2 makes it hard to do so. Besides a few mentions from Chris, her being a canonical winner has no effect on the story. Her storyline is a near identical repeat of last season but worse. Just change the genre from friendship to romance. And replace Millie with Caleb. It naturally ended in episode 10 but the writers wanted to stretch this shit as long as humanely possible so here's more problems for the two to overcome. I could go on and on but to sum it up, priya x caleb is ass.

The Finale:

Hmm. Who should I root for?

The guy who just became relevant last episode?

Generic romance plotline guy?

Overpowered villainess?

I like Julia the most out of these three. But a complete Julia steamroll would be mid. Like if she won S1, I'd be cool with that. Because she fought tooth and nail to get into the final 4.

First boot to winner is a neat idea but I don't want it wasted on a bad character like Caleb.

Wayne exists.

Wait so Ripaxel is still together? Why was she so distant towards him in their elimination episode? So Ripper legitimately quit for no reason then? And didn't Chris say last season if you quit then you owe him a million bucks? Is that never coming back up?

Say it with me everyone, "This season is ass!"

Team Caleb not giving a shit about him is so real.

Why is Julia surprised that only MK wants to be on her team?

I don't know how many of you have seen it. But there's this fanmade show called Disventure Camp. And the finale challenge for that show is almost identical to this one. Not accusing anyone of copyright.

I just thought it was interesting to point out.

Considering Chase's pizza obsession that got him eliminated in season one. Shouldn't he have been the one to go back for pizza? This season can't even remember the minor details.

I thought they were gonna do bald julia for a second lol. Mullet Julia looks cool though.

Wayne won. My honest reaction: :/

I can't be the only person who thinks it's sus that Terry McGurrin. The white straight ally who likes hockey. Wrote the final episode where the white straight ally who likes hockey wins. :/

People have been comparing his win to TDI Owen.

Owen was a goofball but at least he had a S Tier social game and interacted with loads of ppl (cody, gwen, trent, heather, duncan, izzy, noah)

And he was decent at the challenges. (dodgeball challenge, eating challenge)

Wayne sucked in every challenge and only talked to Raj and sometimes Julia.

Honestly might be the 2nd worst winner this series has ever had. Mike still holds the crown for worst winner.

If they really wanted an underdog finalist they should've went with Damien. He was an underdog and actually did shit in the game. And they built a rivalry for him and Julia. Only to throw it away immediately.

Kinda wish these were the two pairings instead of Ripaxel and Praleb.

I know they teased a S3. But if it's the same level of quality as S2, I don't want it.

[total-ass]

Since nobody wanna say it, I'm going to.

Gwen sucked ass TDA and Onward. Trent was annoying as all hell in TDA, I don't know why people hate on Gwen for him.

Courtney was justified in every single emotion but she was emotionally immature and tended to be annoying most times.

Duncan got worse and the dude was better off without Gwen and Courtney.

The love triangle was unnecessary and could've been solved if Duncan was straight up.

Heather got better with age and is lowkey the best TD participant, but her attitude was just trash in TDI, nobody wanna admit it.

Alejandro, Owen, and Tyler stayed the same people throughout the duration of TD and I appreciate them.

Lashawna was a huge stereotype and the microaggressions against her was so apparent. But we love her because she's warm and funny.

Noah got better with every appearance except RR, when he never should've had a romantic interest.

TD had the best showcase of diversity, with makes me question why other shows made diversity so controversial.

Owen and Tyler reminded me so much of closeted bisexuals, it makes no sense.

The Goths is the best ship.

Aleheather comes close behind.

Lindsey gets worse throughout TD and it's makes you question why? She should've been the finalist beside Duncan in TDA and she was good as hell in every appearance except TDAS.

Cameron got done dirty.

Cody is lowkey the best lerson in TDWT.

And last but not least...

Just because a character has a motive/backstory that makes them act a certain way, does not mean you can't hate them. Even if that's a popular opinion. Get over yourself.

[thelightiningthief]

I have a Question: You've posted before about how Solangelo isn't a good Canon ship and that Nico should've been with someone else, why's that?

ok firstly: i don’t necessarily think that nico should have been with anyone—honestly, i would have preferred it if he stayed single bc i think he needed to develop his friendships among other campers before getting into a relationship. yeah, i very much ship jasico, but like. that’s not The Reason why i don’t like s0langelo

as for why i don’t think s0langelo is a good ship, i just find it to be…..idk distasteful? by my standards, at least. idk if that’s really the word i mean to use, but it’s so awkward and forced and all of their interactions left me feeling just uncomfortable and not feeling like they were very compatible. to be frank, i felt that rr was simply putting nico into a relationship to cater to his LGBTQ+ audience.

however, he did so very badly imo! it seemed more like he just threw nico at the first boy character to come to his mind. will solace? at that point in the series, i don’t think we’d heard from will At All since tlo, and this was five books later i think? when i read it, i was like uhhhh okay will is here now?? there was no build up at all, then suddenly will is grabbing onto nico’s hands, which is something that even major characters who talked to him Far more frequently weren’t allowed to do. (we see even see jason respecting those boundaries in the same book—i think even the same chapter? i haven’t read it in a while—so that comparison was 😐…..right there.) so, already will crossed those boundaries right off the bat, and That didn’t sit well with me :/

also tbh i just kinda find will obnoxious LOL like it doesn’t have to be that deep! plus, just bc something’s canon doesn’t mean it’s good…….please look at all of rr’s writing LMAOO much of it…….oh boy. and i just don’t see s0langelo as one of those things that can be saved by hcs or aus since it didn’t have a solid foundation to work with ! omg this is such a long-winded explanation, but ig here’s the reason i don’t like s0langelo ? also ship what u want! idc this is just my thoughts

[eerna]

do you think so many couples in hoo was that necessary? I personally could've done without Leo & calypso. Leo coming to terms with his anxiety & realizing he has friends who love him & he is WHOLE without a love connection could've been better. It was little hard to believe a teenager would swear a death vow for a girl he's know for few days. Same with nico, he should've been the tlo version of himself, comfortable with his sexuality and THEN will would come into the picture.

Absolutely agreed. I hate Leo's arc with a passion. I can't believe a children's book series preached that the only way to feel comfortable and complete is leaving your friends for a girl you've known like a week. But on the flip side, RR made the Seven so MEAN to Leo. Like I get the SoN trio, whose first experience with him was less than ideal, but Jason and Piper, who are supposed to LOVE him, are just Horrible to him. At one point in MoA Piper mentions she was accompanying Jason taking a walk around the ship and they were alone except for Leo at the helm, who knew better than to join them from experience. Like. He is the third person of your team. He feels lonely and rejected by the world. And you conditioned him to not hang out with you????? And he doesn't for the rest of the trip?????? How much alone time could you possible ne e d ??????? Imagine if Percabeth dumped Grover when they started dating. Wtf

As for Nico....,,, I would care for Solangelo if they had any sort of natural chemistry or development. I get Nico not feeling comfortable worh himself and getting used to his sexuality with Will's help, that could have been cute, but TOO BAD it WASN'T bc RR thinks mean banter equals romatic tension or whatever. The same issue plagues Caleo, too. Percabeth had similar origins, but their banter lasted a book and then naturally transitioned into friendly teasing and THEN flirting, and if you skip the "friendly teasing" part it will just suck.

[takaraphoenix]

Imo at least 2 members of the 7 should've been minor gods's kids. I know RR said that 7 Most Powerful SnowFlake Demigods would be the Greatest Heroes Of The BigProphecy but damn, I'm still salty about it bc it was trash and lost potential. Most of the 7 could've been easily changed and made into being the kids of the minor kids. For example, Piper and Hazel could've been existed but they'd not be members of the 7. A Hecate kid could've taken Hazel's role while a Tyche kid could've taken Piper's.

I mean I could spend hours talking about all the issues I have with the Seven.

This... surprisingly... was one that has never crossed my mind before, but you know what. You’re right.

The parts I found ridiculous about the Seven were Jason Grace and Hazel Levesque. That he had to force two new children of the Big Three in there.

Let’s put the whole Mary-Sue-ness of Jason “sudden brother of one of the main characters and Real Big Hero” Grace aside, his Zeus-heritage wasn’t... all that important? He could have been a son of a minor storm god, if we’re being honest.

And Hazel... yeah, Hazel could have been a child of Hecate. It wasn’t necessary to retcon a new sister for Nico in. Could have been a friend for Nico. And it’d have removed the huge issue I have with the seven - the whole upgrade of “children of a Very Specific God, but they all get super duper Special Abilities that those kids have never ever displayed before!”.

Frank could have been the kid of a minor war god. Or not a war god at all, if we’re being honest since he did archery real well and could shapeshit and... that could be a lot of things, really.

But I mean, come on. Riordan made up a prophecy about Seven Half-Bloods like the number was super-duper important and then introduced nine main characters of which no seven stood particularly out and were more important than the rest sooo.... *makes vague gestures* Whatcha expecting?

[woozletania]

Sanctuary, part 2 (RR/GOTG slice of life)

(Actually about half S2, but this is what I have ready at the moment.  The full version will be done when it’s done. You really have to read the first one to understand why an otter is on board the Milano and why everyone calls her Lima at first.)

"Man, you work fast." Rocket looked up from his plate of eggs and sausage.  He'd wanted to head up to the cockpit - he knew he'd left that panel a mess when he got distracted by Doc Foster's letter and it made his fingers itch to leave something half put together like that - but the others insisted he have at least another full day off to recover. "Whattaya mean?  I haven't worked on anything today.  Just woke up and came out to breakfast." "Really?  I looked in the cabin today and you and Lima were," Pete grinned and made some gestures Rocket couldn't scope out except to guess that they were rude. "Wasn't like that," Rocket growled.  "She was having a nightmare and I was just tryin' to calm her down.  Fell asleep afterward, I guess." "You sure buddy?  It sure looked like you two were-" "I am Groot!" Peter looked up to see Rocket's ears go back and the fangs come out. Groot grabbed Rocket just in time to keep the raccoon from coming across the table at him. "Joke!  Joke!" Peter backed away as Rocket snarled.  "I didn't mean anything by it buddy!" Groot still had his vines around Rocket, who struggled with all his might despite his injuries.  "If you think 'I just rescued this poor little thing, got to jump in bed with her' then I'm not the 'monster' here, Pete!" "That's enough!" Gamora literally put her foot down, stomping the deck plates hard enough that everyone jumped.  "Rocket, Peter was just being stupid.  Peter, apologize." "Sorry man," Peter said.  "I wasn't thinking.  You know me, I say stupid things." Rocket, panting, finally settled down, one hand pressed against his chest.  He still hadn't fully recovered from the gas.  "Yeah, well, don't.  She's not a 'thing.'  Not a toy. Don't call her one. Don't think of her as one either." Lima  (We really do need to find her a better name, Rocket thought)  poked her head shyly into the common area, drawn by the shouting and the smell of food. Mantis served her a plate of eggs and stood there stroking the yellow creature's head as she ate, smiling at the way Lima pushed back against her palm.  It didn't seem to bother Lima at all to be petted unlike Rocket, who until very recently would snap at anyone who touched him. "What were you fighting about," she said, and Rocket grumbled. "Nothin'. Pete and I fight all time 'bout all sortsa crap." "What I want to know is why pick an otter to Uplift," Peter said, his mouth full of eggs. "What's an otter," Lima said, and Rocket growled. "Probably some stupid thing he thinks you are." "Look Rock, I know you don't like being compared to animals, but we gotta have a species for you, right?  You may not be one but you look exactly like a raccoon and you," Pete pointed his fork at Lima, "You're an otter.  Kind of a big water weasel." Though 'big' was relative, as she was about as heavy as Rocket if a little longer. "I like 'otter,' Lima chirped.  "It sounds funny." "You need to pick a name," Gamora said, and Rocket nodded.  "We can't keep calling you part of your number." "Ottah," Pete said, to which Rocket immediately snapped "No!" "Rocket is named after the men he killed to get free," Drax said with a typical lack of tact.  "You didn't kill anyone, so you can't do that." "Was there anyone at the compound you 'liked?'" Surprisingly it was Mantis who asked. "There was one," Lima said, and for the first time she looked sad. "She snuck me pills when I couldn't sleep after the operations." Though Rocket had just tried to attack Peter, Pete still put his hand on the raccoon's shoulder when he saw Rocket grit his teeth and look away.  "It's OK, man." "But they caught her," Lima said, looking down at her plate.  "I never saw her again. Her name was Lilla." "Lylla," Drax said. He didn't quite have it right, but close. "I like it." "I do too," Peter said.  "Rocket?" "I told you, it's not our decision.  What do you think," he said to the otter. "Lylla?  If I had gotten out another way I might have named myself after the nice one. It's up to you, though." "Lylla," said the otter.  "I like it too. I'm Lylla!" She beamed, and only Rocket didn't match her smile. He had his reasons. "Okay, Lylla," Rocket said a moment later.  "Speaking of nice guys.  I want you to meet a friend of mine soon. He's a doctor." And just like that all the joy vanished from Lylla's face, replaced by horror. "No," she said, dropping her plate.  "No, no, no." She fell to all fours and scurried back towards her room. From the back you could see the shaved areas, the implants, the scars, though they weren't as bad as Rocket's had been. The raccoon was right after her on all fours as well.  "Lylla!  Let me explain!" "Wait, Peter," Gamora said.  "Give him a minute. He's the one who knows why she is afraid." "We all know why she's afraid," Drax said. "But he's the one who lived that life," Gamora said, and Peter reluctantly sat back down. "I am Groot?" "He's in my cabin with our guest," Peter said as the three-foot-high tree tree arrived. He didn't really understand Groot yet but he at least knew the tree was looking for Rocket. "She's really upset and he went to talk to her." "I am Groot!" "Wait, Groot," but it was too late. The tree was already hot after his friend. By the time Rocket reached the cabin Lylla had burrowed into the nest of blankets she'd pulled into the padded pet bed.  All that showed was a shivering yellow tailtip and Rocket pulled up short, sure she'd snap at him if he climbed in too. He would. "Lylla, listen," he said, settling down cross-legged a pace away.  "No one's going to make you see a doctor if you don't want.  It's your choice.  Everything's your choice now." A whiskery muzzle appeared out of the blankets, and Rocket winced to see the tears in her eyes.  "Really, Rocket?" "Yeah.  I should've explained..." "I am Groot." Rocket smiled as a vine came to rest on his shoulder.  "It's all right, buddy. Lylla's just scared.  I was scared too, remember." "I am Groot!" "Yeah. Lylla, a while back my back was messed up.  Cybernetics problems, scars, infection. It hurt all the time but I'm scared of doctors, same as you are." The whiskery face visible under the blanket nodded.  "Because they hurt us. They make us into things they want us to be, not what we want to be," she chirped. "When they made me, I hated them so much," Rocket said, and his muzzle dipped until he was looking at the floor, not Lylla.  "They cut me open and tortured me to train me.  I wanted to kill them all.  But there was one who wasn't cruel.  He brought me pills to take away the pain." Slowly the otter's head rose up out of the covers as she listened.  "I started to save them. Hid them.  I counted them every day.  Soon I'd have enough to make the pain go away forever." "Oh Rocket," she said, tears running down her cheeks.  "Me too." He sniffled.  He was too emotional these days.  Teared up too easily. "But then I got out.  I'm a monster, Lylla.  A killer. I try to change, to be good, but they made me to kill.  And that's what I did.  I killed my way out.  Except for the one nice doctor." Finally he met her gaze, his eyes as wet as hers.  "Him I couldn't kill.  He's why I am...only a little bit monster.  If it weren't for him I would have killed and killed and killed. Instead I'm a Guardian of the Galaxy." "I am Groot," the tree behind him said, and grew more vines to support Rocket.  The raccoon was still weak, still recovering. "When the other Guardians found out how bad my back was they made me see someone.  I picked the guy who kept me sane. That's who I want you to see, Lylla.  I can hear your pain when you move.  I know they messed you up. Doc Foster can help. He's the guy who brought me the pills. He's the reason I'm here instead of dead or crazy." "I don't know, Rocket..." "I'll be there, Lylla.  We'll all be there.  He won't hurt you, he's my friend, but if he does, if anyone hurts you...I try to be good, Lylla.   But if anyone hurts my friends, hurts you, I'll be a monster again." "Yeah," came a voice from the doorway as Peter leaned in for a moment. "We'll all be monsters if someone hurts our friends." The other Guardians nodded from the hall. "I am Groot," Groot said. "What did he say," Lylla chirped. "That he'd do anything for his friends," Rocket said, and put his hand on the vine draped across his shoulder. "And he would. He has." "All right," Lylla said, unknowingly echoing Rocket, a few months back.  "As long as you're there." "Good." Rocket nodded.  "You wanna go have some more breakfast? You hardly ate at all." "I just want to rest," she chirped, and burrowed back under the blankets.  "They never let me just lie around like this. I'll eat later." "Okay." Rocket climbed to his feet using Groot for support. His leg still hurt, oddly worse than the neck bite that almost killed him. And his chest, though that was slowly getting better. A voice came from under the blankets. "Please don't go, Rocket.  I was so afraid last night, with all this metal around, like a cage.  Then I woke up and you were there. Having you there made me feel so safe." "Well, I'm supposed to be resting too I guess," Rocket said doubtfully, and then he protested as Groot picked him up.  "Hey, you don't need to carry me, dummy. I'm not that hurt." But Groot didn't listen, easing him into the padded bed with the otter, and there was a confusion of slow movements as she emerged from beneath the covers and curled around him. Rocket was so warm, and comfortable, and safe, that the protests just drained out of him. "Thank you, Rocket," she chirped into his ear, and Rocket thought, 'Ain't not thing like me, 'cept me. Except maybe there is, now.  Or close enough.'

[woozletania]

Sanctuary, part 2 (full chapter - RR/GOTG slice of life)

Rocket slowly gets used to having another Uplift on board, 96L02 gets a real name, and Rocket makes a catastrophic error that may ruin everything.

"Man, you work fast." Rocket looked up from his plate of eggs and sausage.  He'd wanted to head up to the cockpit - he knew he'd left that panel a mess when he got distracted by Doc Foster's letter and it made his fingers itch to leave something half put together like that - but the others insisted he have at least another full day off to recover. "Whattaya mean?  I haven't worked on anything today.  Just woke up and came out to breakfast." "Really?  I looked in the cabin today and you and Lima were," Pete grinned and made some gestures Rocket couldn't scope out except to guess that they were rude. "Wasn't like that," Rocket growled.  "She was having a nightmare and I was just tryin' to calm her down.  Fell asleep afterward, I guess." "You sure buddy?  It sure looked like you two were-" "I am Groot!" Peter looked up to see Rocket's ears go back and the fangs come out. Groot grabbed Rocket just in time to keep the raccoon from coming across the table at him. "Joke!  Joke!" Peter backed away as Rocket snarled.  "I didn't mean anything by it buddy!" Groot still had his vines around Rocket, who struggled with all his might despite his injuries.  "If you think 'I just rescued this poor little thing, got to jump in bed with her' then I'm not the 'monster' here, Pete!" "That's enough!" Gamora literally put her foot down, stomping the deck plates hard enough that everyone jumped.  "Rocket, Peter was just being stupid.  Peter, apologize." "Sorry man," Peter said.  "I wasn't thinking.  You know me, I say stupid things." Rocket, panting, finally settled down, one hand pressed against his chest.  He still hadn't fully recovered from the gas.  "Yeah, well, don't.  She's not a 'thing.'  Not a toy. Don't call her one. Don't think of her as one either." Lima  ('We really do need to find her a better name, Rocket thought')  poked her head shyly into the common area, drawn by the shouting and the smell of food. Mantis served her a plate of eggs and stood there stroking the yellow creature's head as she ate, smiling at the way Lima pushed back against her palm.  It didn't seem to bother Lima at all to be petted unlike Rocket, who until very recently would snap at anyone who touched him. "What were you fighting about," she said, and Rocket grumbled. "Nothin'. Pete and I fight all time 'bout all sortsa crap." "What I want to know is why pick an otter to Uplift," Peter said, his mouth full of eggs. "What's an otter," Lima said, and Rocket growled. "Probably some stupid thing he thinks you are." "Look Rock, I know you don't like being compared to animals, but we gotta have a species for you, right?  You may not be one but you look exactly like a raccoon and you," Pete pointed his fork at Lima, "You're an otter.  Kind of a big water weasel." Though 'big' was relative, as she was about as heavy as Rocket if a little longer. "I like 'otter,' Lima chirped.  "It sounds funny." "You need to pick a name," Gamora said, and Rocket nodded.  "We can't keep calling you part of your number." "Ottah," Pete said, to which Rocket immediately snapped "No!" "Rocket is named after the men he killed to get free," Drax said with a typical lack of tact.  "You didn't kill anyone, so you can't do that." "Was there anyone at the compound you 'liked?'" Surprisingly it was Mantis who asked. "There was one," Lima said, and for the first time she looked sad. "She snuck me pills when I couldn't sleep after the operations." Though Rocket had just tried to attack Peter, Pete still put his hand on the raccoon's shoulder when he saw Rocket grit his teeth and look away.  "It's OK, man." "But they caught her," Lima said, looking down at her plate.  "I never saw her again. Her name was Lilla." "Lylla," Drax said. He didn't quite have it right, but close. "I like it." "I do too," Peter said.  "Rocket?" "I told you, it's not our decision.  What do you think," he said to the otter. "Lylla?  If I had gotten out another way I might have named myself after the nice one. It's up to you, though." "Lylla," said the otter.  "I like it too. I'm Lylla!" She beamed, and only Rocket didn't match her smile. He had his reasons. "Okay, Lylla," Rocket said a moment later.  "Speaking of nice guys.  I want you to meet a friend of mine soon. He's a doctor." And just like that all the joy vanished from Lylla's face, replaced by horror. "No," she said, dropping her plate.  "No, no, no." She fell to all fours and scurried back towards her room. From the back you could see the shaved areas, the implants, the scars, though they weren't as bad as Rocket's had been. The raccoon was right after her on all fours as well.  "Lylla!  Let me explain!" "Wait, Peter," Gamora said.  "Give him a minute. He's the one who knows why she is afraid." "We all know why she's afraid," Drax said. "But he's the one who lived that life," Gamora said, and Peter reluctantly sat back down. "I am Groot?" "He's in my cabin with our guest," Peter said as the three-foot-high tree tree arrived. He didn't really understand Groot yet but he at least knew the tree was looking for Rocket. "She's really upset and he went to talk to her." "I am Groot!" "Wait, Groot," but it was too late. The tree was already hot after his friend. By the time Rocket reached the cabin Lylla had burrowed into the nest of blankets she'd pulled into the padded pet bed.  All that showed was a shivering yellow tailtip and Rocket pulled up short, sure she'd snap at him if he climbed in too. He would. "Lylla, listen," he said, settling down cross-legged a pace away.  "No one's going to make you see a doctor if you don't want.  It's your choice.  Everything's your choice now." A whiskery muzzle appeared out of the blankets, and Rocket winced to see the tears in her eyes.  "Really, Rocket?" "Yeah.  I should've explained..." "I am Groot." Rocket smiled as a vine came to rest on his shoulder.  "It's all right, buddy. Lylla's just scared.  I was scared too, remember." "I am Groot!" "Yeah. Lylla, a while back my back was messed up.  Cybernetics problems, scars, infection. It hurt all the time but I'm scared of doctors, same as you are." The whiskery face visible under the blanket nodded.  "Because they hurt us. They make us into things they want us to be, not what we want to be," she chirped. "When they made me, I hated them so much," Rocket said, and his muzzle dipped until he was looking at the floor, not Lylla.  "They cut me open and tortured me to train me.  I wanted to kill them all.  But there was one who wasn't cruel.  He brought me pills to take away the pain." Slowly the otter's head rose up out of the covers as she listened.  "I started to save them. Hid them.  I counted them every day.  Soon I'd have enough to make the pain go away forever." "Oh Rocket," she said, tears running down her cheeks.  "Me too." He sniffled.  He was too emotional these days.  Teared up too easily. "But then I got out.  I'm a monster, Lylla.  A killer. I try to change, to be good, but they made me to kill.  And that's what I did.  I killed my way out.  Except for the one nice doctor." Finally he met her gaze, his eyes as wet as hers.  "Him I couldn't kill.  He's why I am...only a little bit monster.  If it weren't for him I would have killed and killed and killed. Instead I'm a Guardian of the Galaxy." "I am Groot," the tree behind him said, and grew more vines to support Rocket.  The raccoon was still weak, still recovering. "When the other Guardians found out how bad my back was they made me see someone.  I picked the guy who kept me sane. That's who I want you to see, Lylla.  I can hear your pain when you move.  I know they messed you up. Doc Foster can help. He's the guy who brought me the pills.  He's the reason I'm here instead of dead or crazy." "I don't know, Rocket..." "I'll be there, Lylla.  We'll all be there.  He won't hurt you, he's my friend, but if he does, if anyone hurts you...I try to be good, Lylla.   But if anyone hurts my friends, hurts you, I'll be a monster again." "Yeah," came a voice from the doorway as Peter leaned in for a moment. "We'll all be monsters if someone hurts our friends." The other Guardians nodded from the hall. "I am Groot," Groot said. "What did he say," Lylla chirped. "That he'd do anything for his friends," Rocket said, and put his hand on the vine draped across his shoulder. "And he would. He has." "All right," Lylla said, unknowingly echoing Rocket, a few months back.  "As long as you're there." "Good." Rocket nodded.  "You wanna go have some more breakfast? You hardly ate at all." "I just want to rest," she chirped, and burrowed back under the blankets.  "They never let me just lie around like this. I'll eat later." "Okay." Rocket climbed to his feet using Groot for support. His leg still hurt, oddly worse than the neck bite that almost killed him. And his chest, though that was slowly getting better. A voice came from under the blankets. "Please don't go, Rocket.  I was so afraid last night, with all this metal around, like a cage.  Then I woke up and you were there. Having you there made me feel so safe." "Well, I'm supposed to be resting too I guess," Rocket said doubtfully, and then he protested as Groot picked him up.  "Hey, you don't need to carry me, dummy. I'm not that hurt." But Groot didn't listen, easing him into the padded bed with the otter, and there was a confusion of slow movements as she emerged from beneath the covers and curled around him. Rocket was so warm, and comfortable, and safe, that the protests just drained out of him. "Thank you, Rocket," she chirped into his ear, and Rocket thought, 'Ain't not thing like me, 'cept me. Except maybe there is, now.  Or close enough.' ***** They woke a few hours later, curled together in the round padded bed.  Rocket twitched awake at the unfamiliar sensation of someone sleepily grooming his nape. For a moment he went stiff with panic, then slowly relaxed.  The fabric of the bed was thick with his scent, and now, that of Lylla as well.  It was good to wake and not be alone. It wasn't like the many times he'd woken in a pile of sleeping bodies in prison.  Those bodies didn't smell or feel good. Lylla did. Peter didn't know that one reason he took so easily to what he knew was a bed made for an animal was that snuggling into it brought back vague memories of warm fur and safety. When he could smell himself on it he knew that it was -his- bed, his safe place to sleep.   Now there was another scent on the fabric as well, and for the first time it wasn't some bald sweaty creature's.  It was a scent he liked. But he had work to do. Rocket crawled from the bed, tugging off his ship-tunic for a new one. (He liked being surrounded by a cloud of his own scent.  The other Guardians weren't so fond of the idea.)  Lylla shifted uneasily in a bed, missing the warm presence of another body, and an implant stood out for a moment from the dense fur of her shoulder.  The covers moved enough that some of the shaved areas on her back were exposed and Rocket snapped his fingers.  He knew he'd forgotten something and  after a brief trip down the hall he was back with his C-bag, or what he called the pouch with most of his cybernetics tools. Somewhere in the ship Peter was playing his music and Rocket hummed along to the familiar tune as he sorted his tools.  Shallow scanner, deep scanner, three sizes of input plugs (he had a port on his back for the middle one for diagnostics, Lylla had one at the back of her neck that looked like the larger size).  Diagnostic unit, phase comparator, various wrenches, magnetic grapple for remotely aligning servos. Replacement parts if he needed them, including the ones he'd scavenged in the complex where he found Lylla. There was a certain compulsion to get them all perfectly arranged before he started to work that he couldn't explain.  They had to be aligned just so, and after all he would know where to reach for one if he got them all set up ahead of time, right? That was why though he had no intention of using them, he still had out the cutting tools and scalpels when Lylla woke up. She blinked awake and the first thing she saw was a glittering array of tools, knives and blades. With a terrified squeak she was out from under the blankets so fast they hovered in the air and disappeared through the door. Rocket was left staring at the empty bed before he slapped a hand on his forehead. "Stupid!  Stupid, stupid, stupid." And then he was out the door on all fours as well, calling after her.  "Lylla!  Wait, I'm sorry, I can explain!" Drax paused in his leisurely trip down the hall as Rocket shot between his legs. He stood still for a moment to make sure he didn't step on the ringed tail whistling past and shrugged.  "Uplifts." Rocket followed Lylla's scent until he found her backed under one of the common area bunks, shivering with fear and snarling at him as he approached. Mantis peeked in from the doorway but just stood there, letting the two of them work it out. He started by apologizing again.  "Lylla, I'm sorry.  I've been planning to look at your implants so I can send some scans ahead to Doc Foster.  I wasn't going to do anything until you were awake and only with your permission.  I was just sorting my tools, okay?  I was just going to scan you.  No scalpels." "I saw them," she growled.  "I saw them." "They weren't for you!  I just had them out to sort them.  I sometimes use them, but it's on me or Gamora.  I swear, I'll never touch you unless you let me." It took ten more minutes to finally talk her out of her hidey-hole, and then only because he promised to put the tools away.  When he got back from doing that he found she'd made her way to galley and that Mantis and Peter had set the table for a late breakfast. Lylla wouldn't look at him and Rocket sat awkwardly across the table, only eating a few bites though he was hungry.  Lylla on the other hand dug into reheated eggs and sausage.  She was clearly evolved from a carnivore and quickly cleaned her plate with her sharp fangs. By the time she finished licking her long whiskers Mantis served her a second helping. Like Rocket, though, she was much smaller than the rest of the crew and even if he ate as much as she did, two hungry Uplifts ate less between them than Drax did at one sitting. Rocket's wrist beeped and he checked the time.  "Gotta call the doc. Be back in a bit." Lylla nodded and kept eating, but as soon as the raccoon headed up the stairs she turned to Mantis. "Do you trust Rocket?" Mantis tilted her head like an inquisitive Uplift.  "Of course I do.  Why?" Lylla just shrugged and went back to eating as up in the cockpit, Rocket ran into Peter. "Two days in a row I'm chasing her around trying to apologize," Rocket grumbled. "Get used to it, pal." What's that supposed to mean?" Peter smiled. "Women, y'know?" Rocket just flicked an ear and tapped controls to open a connection.  "Hello, this is Doctor Foster's office," said the voice at the other end. "So turns out Nova Corps sent all the other Uplifts from the compound to Doc Foster too," he said to the Guardians (and Lylla) a little later.  "I put in a good word for him and he's happy for the business but there isn't a slot in his schedule for Lylla until next week." Lylla still wouldn't talk to him and half an hour later Peter found him sewing blankets.  Rocket  scrounged up some older ones from the ship's stores and had rolled and stitched two up into long narrow cylinders.  Peter watched him as he started to sew one into a tight spiral.  Eventually he figured out what he was seeing. "Making another bed?" "Yeah," Rocket said, continuing the spiral with the second blanket.  Soon enough he was working on the raised rim around the central spiral pad. "I don't wanna leave Lylla alone but I don't know if she wants to share a bed now.  I was real dumb earlier.  Now she doesn't trust me." "Let me tell you man, I've been there.". Rocket had several high-tech devices for sewing but at the moment he was doing it the old fashioned way, with needle and thread.  "I didn't know you knew how to sew." "'Course I do.  Gotta work on my armor, they don't make sets my size. And shirts, stuff I wear 'cos you complain when I walk around naked.  Sometimes you gotta hand pack explosives and sew cases around 'em and you can make pretty good garrotes out of cloth." "What's a garrote?" "Strangling cord.  You know, gik!" Rocket mimed being strangled. "When would you need one of those?" "Don't ask questions you don't wanna know the answers to, Pete." A few hours earlier Lylla stuck to Rocket like a second tail but now she avoided him. Instead she was never more than a step from Mantis, which didn't bother the empath at all.  She stroked Lylla's spine as they talked. "Why is he so angry all the time?" "He isn't," the empath said.  "He's much better now than when I first met him. The first time I tried to pet him he bit me." "And I think," she went on, "That except for Groot, everyone Rocket met before he knew us hurt him in one way or another. Being around people just means there are more ways for him to get hurt, so he's...angry.  If people are afraid of him, maybe they won't hurt him." "I am Groot," said the tree, arriving as though summoned by his name. "Yes, he's brave," the otter said.  "Because he has to be?" Mantis's antennae twitched.  "You can understand him?" "A little," the otter said.  "More as I hear him.  Linguist!". She smiled and touched her head.  It would have been cute had the lines of operation scars not stood out on her skull when her fingers flattened the fur. One deck up Rocket's ear twitched as he thought he heard his name.  Peter had left and he could make his second call of the day, the one the other Guardians didn't need to know about. "It's really you," said the man in the yellow prison jumpsuit on the screen. "89P13." "Subject Eight-Nine-Papa-One-three does not report for duty, asshole," Rocket growled, though an involuntary twitch ran through his body as he said it. Even now the compulsion to spring to attention was hard to resist. "Listen close," he said.  "'Cause you only get to hear this once.  You're going to get out of jail pretty soon.  Good lawyers, lots of money, and some dead guys you can scapegoat. Good for you. When you get out, I'll be watching. You touch another animal, I don't care what for...I was nice when I came in.  Most of you guys survived.  But we only got about half the Uplifts out.  So next time I won't be nice. And I'll take my time with you, personally. Don't make me come looking for you, Doctor Zek." With that he cut the connection.  His contacts in Nova Corps had only given him a private channel for a few minutes anyway. Grumpy and bored, a combination his crew mates had learned to fear, he fetched his B bag (general maintenance) and crawled halfway into a control console to finish repairs he'd started two days before. He was still sore but he had to get back to work sometime. It was fortunate that his hands knew what to do even when his mind was elsewhere, because he was distracted. 'How could I have been so stupid?  Of course she'd panic if she saw surgical tools.' He was just starting to get used to having her around and maybe, maybe just a little, starting to like her. But he'd never been in the situation of treating a fellow Uplift.  Gamora and Nebula knew what cyborg maintenance entailed. Lylla only knew that seeing tools like that meant pain. "Stupid," Rocket growled, and bashed a wrench against a component that was usefully both frangible and expendable. 'Maybe I'm getting soft.' He'd gotten along just fine without another Uplift on board, and she wasn't likely to stay long anyway, right?  Get on with his life, that was the thing to do. Just think about work, money, booze.  No need to think about the nice-smelling otter he'd shared a bed with these last two nights. And so that night when he showed Lylla the other bed and proposed they sleep side by side, not together, he wasn't too disappointed when she nodded. That was what he told himself, anyway. 'At least I can smell her,' Rocket thought, then quickly quashed that thought. He slept badly.