#tobias rants for too long

[tobyscloset]

I am going to talk about my favourite things from chaos theory and of course, the downsides, and my personal opinions!! (Opinions based around the benrius/yasammy topic) So major spoilers ahead under the cut!

Goodsides :D

While chaos theory is a kids show, it definitely displays more mature content, something camp cretaceous did not show! This includes blood, and visual character death (Daniel Kons was specifically gruesome), and description of mental issues, this is specifically PTSD, implied depressive states and breakdowns, the show dives deep into the world of surprise, watching it i was shocked in a good way when a scene came up. Kenji's breakdown was perfectly animated and portrayed.

Each character never faded into the background and they were all equally focused on throughout the season. The show also focused on relationships between the campers, and their families. Specifically Sammy's. Each character has their own comical relief line even when in a dangerous situation. The campers never matured, only grew, they stayed themselves and still act as a group! Same way they did on Nublar.

The plot twists are bonkers, I was not expecting the DPW to be up to sketchy business, nor did I expect suddenly blossoming romance between characters. The budget is definitely higher than it was with camp cretaceous, I couldn't tell if some scenes were animated or real. Beautifully portrayed landscapes.

Overall, the show deserved every amazing rating and my personal rating is an 11/10.

Downsides D:

My first itch was the one-sided romance with Darius and Brooklynn. It certainly was a plot twist but I feel that it was absolutely unnecessary and could've been kept platonic. I feel it would be more heartbreaking and deep if Darius sent her voice messages as a friend, telling her that he's sorry and telling her things about his day. That one scene threw me off on the episode, not because I'm an angry benrius shipper but because it very much could've been kept platonic and felt unnecessary, but was written and played into perfectly. I have absolutely no criticism of the actual writing.

(this was talked about on the discord) - It feels like Brooklynn used to be independent and a baddie in camp cretaceous until she started becoming the love interest, and then it felt like she just became dependent on Kenji and unable to do things herself, so I am hoping that if we get a season 2, that we really get to see Brooklynn not be the love interest and work independently. And I genuinely hope that it won't turn out into another klance situation with Brooklynn, because she was super overhated before, and some angry benrius/benji shippers WILL hate her for "getting in the way of a mlm ship", which is not the case.

My last point was with Darius' health. Darius never got that shine through and we really never got to see how he coped with Brooklynn's death or after the island. They show little cracks but never unpack his full health, which I do hope we get to see in future seasons.

Other than those three points, I really do have nothing to criticise because it was perfect.

Personal opinions/hopes on ships :3

I really do hope we get to see more yasammy content specifically how they build up their relationship more, especially comforting scenes like we got in Ben's soggy van. And Sammy telling Yaz about her family not being in contact, and I would really love to see their relationship play out further and elaborate on the family situation!! :)

-

As I autismed a little too hard and have had a hyperfixation on Benrius since 2021(?), it's not to say I didn't have my hopes up for their relationship in chaos theory, but I also can't say that I expected them to be canon. What maybe the directors could've done is provide that teeny bit of fan-headcanons, because from what I've seen, alot of people from the fandom headcanoned Ben as a gay man, so instead of a girlfriend he would've had a boyfriend. Or they could have Ben lie about the girlfriend because he may have worked out he likes boys, and has internalised homophobia. But back to benrius, they had ALOT of chemistry in camp cretaceous, and for me it was a little disappointing that their relationship dwindled down a little. What I am hoping (manifesting) is that Ben realises his feelings for Darius, and has issues coming out to him and confessing.

Despite my opinions and criticism, the show is definitely worth the watch and deserves every thumbs up from the viewers. I thank everyone who worked on chaos theory and put their best effort into it. 11/10 show. Thank you.

[grilledcheese-savage]

Is Animorphs Ableist?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Look, some of the people on this site genuinely scare me. Their leftism goes so radical that it goes back around to being somehow right wing. There's some real puritanism that's going on that I'm not liking AT ALL. Listen, you can and should think about media critically, and I'm sure there's some things to be said about the way the auxillary morphs are handled. But as someone who is disabled and is a wheelchair user, I feel I'm obligated to defend this series choices.

I believe books should always be able to portray heavy topics, especially when it comes to books about war. Because what is Animorphs if not a book about war? In war bad things happen. People are used. People are broken. People are thrown away. Not once does Animorphs portray these things as a morally good thing to do. In fact, I'd say Animorphs makes you stare right at the disgusting, morally corrupt, real situations that happen in war, so you don't forget them when it comes to vote.

War creates disabled people. There's no way around it. Either you're a veteran, traumatized by the things you've seen, lost a limb etc. being treated as cannon fodder (where the word comes from) or a civilian who was caught in the crossfire. No matter how justified the war, good people get hurt. People get hurt. Not once does Animorphs try to portray it as something that's worth the end goal. I think this is where people get confused. Animorphs is a first person story. You are being spoken to by an unreliable narrator and in the last book where arguably the most "ableist things" are said and done, you aren't just being spoken to by kid; you're being spoken to by a captain. The context surrounding the situation can be easily forgotten seeing as the book is 20+ years old, but Jake isn't a "good person" he's a ruthless soldier trying to see the a-z. That ruthless end goal that can save the greater public. SPOILERS INCOMING IF YOU HAVENT READ ANIMORPHS PLS DO ITS FREE ONLINE: Jake says it himself in one of the most famous lines in the book "It took my breath away, the pure, ruthless perfection of it.

-All i had to do was send my friends to die."

What he said isn't a good thing. Arguing that the author or creators wanted you to take "kill your friends, end a war!" away as a message from the book is being willfully ignorant. Jake just saw his parents be taken over by aliens, while all his friends got theirs back. He lost everything and he's depressed because deep down he knows he will have to kill his brother to end this war. All he can do is focus on ending this war. And then he sees it. The end.

Killing the auxillary morphs (disabled child soldiers) and committing mass genocide on his enemies. When he decides to follow through with this plan we see him lie to the only person he has left to love (and might I add, a symbol of humanity, empathy and hope) Cassie, and watch her cry in agony as she's forced to watch all the soldiers she trained, loved and by proxy sent to die, be killed one by one excruciatingly. We are supposed to feel bad reading this. Yes it ends the war. But it leaves us the audience with the question, was it worth it? If you take empathy out of the equation, yes you could argue it was worth it. But Cassie is empathy. It wasn't worth it to her. She is who we are supposed to connect with in this scenario.

Another situation I see people argue as ableist- that the yeerks are supposed to be metaphors for disabled fascist nazis. No. Thats not even close to the truth.

The yeerks are creatures that cannot hear, see, or feel very well when they are just themselves. They are entirely intelligent beings with the capability to communicate and empathize. Yeerks are not inherently evil beings. There's no such thing. This is why The Departure was written. The Yeerk empire for the majority of the books is written to be inseparable with yeerks themselves, and again, that is because the story is written in first person. Canonically, the animorphs view yeerks as evil, inhuman things that are irredeemable so it's easier for them to sleep at night. That's why when cassie talks to a yeerk who sees things differently than the empire, the animorphs are immediately suspicious, and get downright angry when Cassie first tries to explain to them that there are good yeerks.

When people try to compare the yeerk empire to real life wars and genocides, it makes me frustrated. Yes, they share similarites. But by saying that yeerks are just "nazis" you are missing out on some really good writing and at the same time shrinking the impact of those horrifying real life tragedies by comparing them to a kids book. But If I HAD to compare them to a real life scenario to make you understand, I probably would compare them to russia. Because the Russians in the ukranian war aren't evil. They are people stuck in a horrible system. When cassie finds out the yeerk she's stuck with doesn't want to be in this war, she uses COMPASSION to create a league of symbiotic yeerk-morpher sympathizers. She LITERALLY steps in their shoes by morphing into a yeerk against her greater fears. Ok, this post is getting very cassie focused for some reason but the point is- They arent trying to say that being disabled is an "excuse for committing war crimes", because the yeerks aren't disabled. They aren't even a metaphor for being disabled. In fact, the yeerks were shown in the prequels that they would've been perfectly fine with their symbiotic relationships on their original planet if someone didn't start the empire, using exploration as an excuse for colonization. That's how most empires start I'd argue.

Basically, calling them all nazis is a gross generalization of the true meaning of the series. Now that I'm done with showing why I dont agree with those opinions, here's some reasons why I think animorphs is actually very pro-disabled activism.

In book 41, Jake goes through a traumatic mission and hallucinates another dimension where the yeerks won. In this world, he sees what the empire does to disabled people. The yeerk empire is ableist, and shoves all their disabled people that cant be used as hosts into a dirty alley to die. When one of the people there ask him if he's supposed to be there (this is a police state) he says yes, and internally monologues about how his trauma currently disables him. If you read it, its very ahead of it's time. The yeerks have "no use of disabled people". So what do they do? They forget about them, ignore their needs, and mistreat them just like reality. And in the 90s, mental health being taken seriously as a disability was still a very young idea.

When the auxillary morphs are first created, Cassie was the first one to come up with the idea of "using disabled people as soldiers since they wont be infested" and instantly dismisses it. She thinks it's morally corrupt but is convinced into talking to them after one of the other morphs explains that they cant do this alone and they should at least have a choice, which, in my opinion is pretty progressive. It does not stay progressive of course, since the animorphs are on and off used as a metaphor for the american military. When they get there, they give false promises that some of them might be healed if they gained their disability in an accident. In my opinion, this could be a metaphor for how the military gives people the option to join in exchange for free education. Then after people fight and gain disabilities, some of them cant go to school and cant even find a job. I think again, this is a progressive idea about how the military is a gamble, because as soon as they gain the morphing abilities, whether or not it heals their human form, they still have to be soldiers. They were doomed from the start.

The military can and will forget about their own as soon as they arent able to fight. How is animorphs portraying this a bad thing? In fact, personally I think the disabled characters were good representation but thats a rant for another day.

I know a lot people can be very black and white when it comes to media but please give animorphs a chance because it's not even close to being ableist.

[gg-neptune]

Severus Relationship HC

These are just some head canons I have for Severus Snape if you guys were dating. Literally just me typing whatever comes to my mind so yeah. It's going to be as gender neutral as possible but if I mess up anywhere, please let me know and I'll fix it. Sometimes I type without thinking. :) Hope you like it. Feedback is always appreciated!!

he's very insecure sometimes

honestly when he's like this the best thing to do is just cuddle up with him and give him kisses and whisper sweet things to him

he's scared your gonna leave him for someone else one day

however, you know that's not gonna happen

he is also scared that you are ashamed of him when you go in public together so sometimes, he won't hold your hand immediately, but you put an end to this

everyone will know you are his and he is yours

end of story

his love language is Acts of Service

he loves doing things for you

making the bed in the morning, brewing you some coffee or tea

anything to lessen your load he will do

adores everything on you

thinks you are an angel sent from heaven

when you cuddle, he will wrap you in his arms and hold you so tightly sometimes you have to remind him you need to breathe

his hugs are so comfy

whenever something is wrong, you just go to Severus and demand a hug, and everything just melts away with him

his big arms protect you from everything

like a shield

he's a very good kisser

he is ok with just a peck in public however it's just you two?

honey you're going to be kissing him for at least long enough you lose your breath

then when you pull away and you all flustered because that was the most passionate kiss of your life, he casually turns back to his book oblivious to everything

and all you can do is stand there like "whoa."

you steal his sweaters all the time

he is often cold and since his quarters are in the dungeons he has plenty

he is always cold honestly

he is used to it though, so he'll hug you with his cold ass hands and then be confused as to why you freak out

even though he literally has ice on his hands their so cold

he gets offended when you talk bad about yourself

will hold you down until you say 10 nice things about yourself for the 1 one bad thing

may the good lord help you if you keep saying bad stuff

he will literally go on a rant and start pulling out measuring tapes and measure the distance between your facial features to prove you are attractive

will sound like "ermmmmmm actually...."

it's cute though

when he's brewing potions and he's been in is lair for far too long you do have to threaten him to get him to come out

"Severus Tobias Snape! Get yourself out here this instant and eat something before I bust down this door and I MAKE you!" - you literally all the time

Alright that's all for now I hope you liked it. :) Hopefully more coming soon.

[lambtotheslaughterr]

Rise -- Part Four

A Rafe Cameron Series

WC: 4.8k

Dividers provided by @firefly-graphics

PART THREE | MASTERLIST | PART FIVE

note*: a reminder that you must be following me & interacting with the work you want to be tagged in regularly to remain on a taglist. this will be my final warning about it. thank you.

            It was decided that you would move north. Adrianna had shared with the group that Tobias told her that before the virus completely wiped out communication, that there was possible word of a fortified community where the virus hadn’t struck yet. Of course, it couldn’t be guaranteed. That’s what Adrianna was told. But it was more than you all had before arriving at the base.

            The car was quiet as Sayyed led the way in the dark. Taking the back roads was necessary again as all the highways were overtaken by abandoned vehicles. There were a few stops to collect more gas but other than that, the focus was to get as far north in the next 24 hours. You were on the brink of falling asleep, soothed by the sounds of your friends combined soft breathing in the back seat. Though the drive was tense at the beginning, no thanks to the brewing fight between Sayyed & Rafe, everyone had calmed down enough to focus on what mattered.

            You weren’t sure how long you slept for when the sound of a door slamming shook you awake. You leaned forward in your seat, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you blearily looked around. The headlights were still on. In front of the wrangler was a forestry. You looked over your shoulder & watched as the others in Rafe’s truck began to climb out. Nuha, Millie, & Micah were still asleep.

            Sayyed returned to the car, opening hid door to nod at you, “We’re staying here for the night.”

            “Where’s here?”

            “If I followed the directions of Adrianna’s map well enough we’re somewhere north of Charleston.”

            You sighed to yourself when he turned off the car. It was the middle of the night & you were in the middle of nowhere. This wasn’t exactly the best time to set up camp, especially when everyone was tense & sleepy. And grieving. Severson’s gun going off flashed through your mind. You winced, blocking out the image of Luka.

            “Guys, wake up.” You shook Millie. She groaned but opened her eyes. It was Micah who shot you a heated glare.

            “Guess we’re camping out here for the night.” You informed them before slipping out. Before you shut the door, you heard Micah mutter a complaint to Millie.

            You began helping the others as they started gathering camping gear. Fortunately, the vehicles were parked in a clearing so there would be no hiking in the dark. After fifteen minutes, tents, a canopy with the food & dry goods underneath it, & a fire was all set up. Rafe disappeared quickly, crawling into his tent at the edge of the clearing, furthest away from the rest of you.

            Millie & Micah were heating up a large batch of soup, Nuha was talking quietly to Kai near the fire, Adrianna was writing in a leatherbound journal, & Bear was taking a piss behind the cars. You were about to head to your own tent, wanting to catch up on the sleep you had reluctantly woken up from. But Sayyed approached you.

            “I need to talk to you.” His voice was low, secretive.

            You frowned. Sayyed rarely ever sounded like so, even when the world was ending.

            He lead you back to the wrangler, opening up your door for you to hop in. He climbed in the other side.

            “What’s going on?” You tangled your fingers together in your lap.

            “It’s Rafe.”

            Oh. You fluttered your eyes closed, too tired to listen to Sayyed rant about Rafe.

            “Sayyed…”

            But he cut you off, sensing what you were already going to say, “He can’t be trusted, _____.”

            You sighed, rubbing your eyes, “Can we not jump to conclusions please? I know you think he was trying to leave.”

            “He was!” He raised his voice, but not nearly enough to garner the attention of your friends outside the car. You tossed him a narrowed look, warning him to calm down.

            “I’m sorry.” He inhaled sharply before letting out a slow breath, “But you can’t tell me that he wasn’t up to something.”

            “I think he was scared.” You reasoned, though you did recall Rafe suggesting the two of you leave back at the base, right before his predictions came true. Even though he was willing to leave behind all your friends, you clung to the possibility that Rafe didn’t know what he was talking about. He was high after all.

            “Psh. Yeah. You ever seen Rafe Cameron scared of anything?” Sayyed shook his head in disbelief, leaning onto the center console to move closer to you, “He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.”

            “Sayyed, I really don’t want to do this right now.” You told him exasperated. “Can we talk about this as a group in the morning?”

            “What? No. _____, I need you to hear what I’m saying.” Sayyed dismissed your pleas & continued opening his mouth, “If Tobias hadn’t led us out of there Rafe would’ve been long gone by the time we made it out ourselves.”

            “If we made it out…” You muttered.

            “Why should we keep him around? He’ll save his own skin before he saves any of us.”

            You rolled your eyes. You knew well enough that Sayyed, like every single one of your friends, had experienced a lifetime of trauma in just the last couple days. He wasn’t thinking straight. But you were too tired to help him get there.

            “Sayyed!” You finally yelled, “Jesus. Fucking stop.”

            Sayyed pressed his lips together, collapsing into his seat.

            “I said I don’t want to talk about this, okay?” You hissed, “And I don’t appreciate you trying to sneak behind everyone’s back to get me to listen to you. We’ll talk about it tomorrow, with everyone.” You began opening your door before you added with finality, “Including Rafe.”

            Hopping out, not wanting to wait around for Sayyed to say more, you slammed the door shut. The others were around the fire at this point, a couple paper bowls in their hands.

            “Hey, everything okay?” Millie asked softly when you sat down next to her. Behind you, you heard as Sayyed slammed his own door shut before crossing the clearing to the tent you shared.

            “Things haven’t been okay for a while now, Mills.” You sighed but mustered a sad smile.

            She nodded in knowing, reaching out to grab your hand. You were thankful she was here. Millie always kept you feeling grounded, even as the world fell apart.

            Nuha brought you a bowl of soup, which you surprised yourself with how hungry you were by practically downing it in four sloppy spoonsful. It dawned on you as you stared at the empty bowl in your lap that there may be a day where food becomes scarce. You’d have to remind yourself to eat slower & ration more.

            The six of you ate in silence. Sayyed & Rafe never emerging from their tents. After a while you made each of them a bowl to bring them. It had been a long day & you couldn’t remember either of them eating. You were about to head towards your shared tent with Sayyed first when Nuha stopped you.

            “I’ll take it.” She insisted.

            “Oh, are you sure?”

            “He’s my brother, _____. I think it’d be good for him to talk to me instead right now.” There was a protective undertone in her voice, but you couldn’t fault her for it. You had always admired their relationship, never having had siblings yourself.

            You handed her the bowl, thanking her once as she walked towards his tent. You turned on your heel, feeling apprehensive about facing Rafe. Though you mildly understood Sayyed’s concerns, especially since you knew Rafe was willing to leave everyone behind, you still wanted to give Rafe the benefit of the doubt. As you were just in front of his tent, you desperately hoped he was asleep. In which case, you’d leave his bowl back at the table under the canopy. But when you called out his name, you heard ruffling within.

            Rafe unzipped the tent, his eyes red & squinted as he looked up at you, “What’s up?”

            “Here.” You lowered the bowl of soup to him, “I didn’t want you to go to bed without eating first.”

            He eyed you suspiciously for a short second before accepting it, “Thanks.”

            “Yup. See you in the morning.”

            “Hey, can we talk for a minute?” You were glad your back was facing him so he couldn’t see you roll your eyes. You just wanted to fucking sleep.

            But you released a breath of air before facing him, “Sure.”

            Rafe unzipped his tent, opening it wider. You were expecting him to come out but was surprised when he instead gestured for you to come inside.

            “Uh.” You looked over your shoulder. Mostly everyone was in the process of going to bed. Only Kai remained by the fair, staring emotionlessly into it. “Just really quick, Rafe. I’m tired.”

            “Yeah, sure.”

            You crawled into Rafe’s tent. It was tall enough to stand up in, but you’d have to hunch your back to do so. It would be more comfortable to stay sitting.

            You watched & waited as he turned on a small battery-operated lamp, illuminating the small tent in a dim glow.

            “How are you doing? You okay?”

            What? You knew his questions were coming from a good place, but you couldn’t help to feel frustrated. Did he expect you to forget about the fact that he was doing coke while Luka was dying or that he had pushed for you two to leave together or that yeah, Sayyed was onto something when he pointed out how Rafe was already in his truck when everyone got out of the base? There was too many emotions running through your mind & you were barely hanging onto consciousness.

            “Rafe…”

            “Sorry.” He lowered his head, “I just wanted to check.”

            You narrowed your eyes at him but sighed, shaking your head, “I’m as fine as I can be. Just a lot has happened, ya know…”

            He nodded in agreement but said nothing more. It was silent for a while. His soup remained untouched behind his sleeping bag.

            “You should eat. Get some rest.” You told him before getting ready to crawl back out.

            “Hey, _____.” Rafe’s voice was nearly inaudible but just loud enough to make you pause, “I am sorry.”

            “For what, Rafe?” You knew what he could be sorry for but wanted to hear him say it.

            “For being right.”

            Shock flooded your body, followed by unbridled rage. For being right? Right about what? Luka getting killed?    

            You were about to unleash your lack of sleep & frustration on him when he shrugged his shoulders.

            “I shouldn’t have been out in the hallway avoiding it all. I should’ve said something. To all of you. Stopped it…somehow.”

            Confusion came for you next. Rafe’s voice was soft, his tone remorseful. It was a side of him you had never seen before. For now, it kept the fire inside you at bay.

            “I feel like shit about it. And I know Sayyed doesn’t trust me, the others, too.” His eyes met yours, “Maybe you too. And now Luka…”

            You opened your mouth, wanting to assure him that wasn’t the case but stopped yourself.

            “I get it. It looks bad. I don’t have an excuse for it.” Rafe pressed his lips together before he hung his head.

            “But I wouldn’t have left you.”

            It was your turn to lower your head. You didn’t know what to say, or think for that matter. You needed sleep, everyone needed to sleep.

            “It’s been a really shitty day, Rafe. Right now, we just need to sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll figure it out.”

            He raised his head to look at you but didn’t appear convinced.

            “Unless I’m gone by the time you all wake up.”

            At that, you shot him the same warning glare you had given Sayyed in the car. Rafe chuckled. It was short-lived but it was… nice.

            You ignored his morbid joke, shaking your head, “Eat your soup & get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”

            “Okay.” Rafe nodded, finally reaching for his soup, “And thanks for this.”

            “It was Millie & Micah who made it.”

            The two of you traded looks once more before you unzipped his tent, climbing out. You were reaching for the zipper to close his tent for the night when his hand accidentally touched yours. You hissed at the brief electric shock, bringing your fingers to your lips.

            “Oops. I still got it, I guess.” He half-smiled through his pitiful flirtatious comment.

            For a split second, it was like it had been before. All your friends hanging out, talking, having fun, bitching about finals. The boys & Adrianna wrestling, Millie & Nuha watching on in horror. You & Sayyed happily laughing along.  

It was the first time you had smiled all day, “Just go to sleep.”

“Night, _____.”

“Mhmm.”

You crossed back to yours & Sayyed’s tent, but not before you noticed Kai was still alone at the fire. You were tempted to go sit with him. Though you had all lost a friend, Kai lost his best friend. He needed all the support right now. But sleep was nicking at you, desperate to take a hold.

You promised yourself you’d spend some time with him in the morning.

Crawling into the tent, Millie, Micah, & Sayyed were already fast asleep. You were relieved you wouldn’t have to talk to anyone for the rest of the night. All you wanted was to go to sleep & hope the world you woke up to was the one with your friends alive & smiling.

Sayyed was staring at Rafe. His face hardened, brows furrowed. He was the only one, too.

“So what, you guys trust him then?”

You all had been talking about the Rafe situation for the last ten minutes now. And it was not going how you knew Sayyed wanted it to.

“We’re not abandoning him, dude.” Bear added, siding with Rafe.

“No one’s saying that, Bear.” Nuha jumped to Sayyed’s defense, “But he’s right. Rafe was going to leave us.”

“I wasn’t.” Rafe said. He had been saying it the whole time. You still weren’t sure what to believe. You honestly wish you could just turn back time, make it so none of this happened.

“You were just in the truck waiting for us, yeah you said.” Sayyed replied sarcastically. “You weren’t even there when Luka died! We could have all been dead.”

“But you’re not.” Rafe replied swiftly.

“Rafe…” It was Millie. She was practically standing between the guys as you all stood in the clearing, “What were you doing? Honestly?”

He looked at her. Millie’s face was calm, the opposite of accusatory that of which Sayyed reeked of. Rafe sighed heavily, shaking his head. He shrugged his shoulders, slapping his hands against his legs, “I knew what they were going to do to Luka.”

You felt your chest tighten.

“What the hell do you mean?” It was Kai this time, his voice pitched with anger.

“I told _____.” Before he could give any context, everyone’s eyes flashed to where you stood. “I told her that telling Severson was a bad idea, that they were going to kill him. It wasn’t like I knew for sure, but you guys heard from him yourself the night before. What he did shouldn’t have come as a surprise! You guys are the ones who voted to have Severson be told, you guys are the one who followed in Sayyed’s lead. Luka was murdered because you guys let it happen. I wasn’t going to be next.”

You felt Sayyed staring at you wide-eyed, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Me?” You asked incredulously, “Did you not hear Rafe?” Your eyes bounced around your friends, “We all heard what Severson said. Rafe’s right. We did this to Luka. We made the wrong decision, we trusted the wrong people. It was our fault. But Luka would still be dead right now, & you all know that. I can’t even believe were talking about this.”

How the conversation shifted from talking about Rafe’s possible expulsion to how you were getting partially blamed for Luka’s death was ridiculous. Nothing was normal anymore. No one knew how to respond the ‘right’ way.

“She’s right.” Micah spoke. His eyes meet Sayyed’s, “Luka would still be dead. And Rafe was… surviving.”

Rafe nodded thanks to Micah who sided with him next.

“I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same as him.” Micah finally added, “There’s only so much one person can do, Sayyed. And if you think you could’ve saved all of us… well, you’re just wrong.”

Sayyed was silent. His face wasn’t as hard, but he was still distrustful of Rafe, that much was obvious.

Adrianna jumped in then, her voice even, “As much as we have to look out for each other, we also have to look out for ourselves. That’s a hard truth we all have to accept. You especially, Sayyed.”

One by one, it was clear that everyone was beginning to see the fault in Sayyed’s push to remove Rafe. You couldn’t help but agree.

“You won’t be able to protect all of us.” You said softly, looping your fingers with Sayyed’s.

He looked down at you, his eyes sad. You knew he was scared. All of you were. He was just trying to protect everyone. Sayyed always put a lot of pressure on himself to be the altruistic leader.

“Okay.” He nodded once, his voice low.

“We good, man?” It was Rafe. You looked between them as Rafe stepped forward, holding out his hand.

Sayyed cocked his head, his eyes staring at Rafe’s extended hand. You almost thought that for a second he wasn’t going to meet him half-way. But to your relief, he finally reached his own hand out.

“We’re fine.”

They traded silent looks, not fully trusting the other. But it was the start of something. And it was necessary for the whole group to survive.

It was late evening. The decision was made as a group to camp out in the clearing for one more night. There was no need to rush. A plan was loosely in place: look out for each other’s symptoms (Adrianna would be keeping track in her journal), & slowly you all would move north. Adrianna had said the community Tobias mentioned was somewhere in Massachusetts.

You had walked away from the campsite, finding a small murky pond a few yards away. Sitting on a rock three times your size, you pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one. You hadn’t had a cigarette since you took a shit ton from the convenience store. It was relaxing. Tobacco wasn’t really your flavor, but at this point, you’d be happy with any sort of vice to relax in the hell world you & your friends found themselves in.

You were in the middle of your second cigarette when a twig snapped behind you. You spun around, gasping.

“Jesus.” Your hand was on your chest in surprise.

“Sorry.” Rafe chuckled lightly as he walked towards you. You watched warily as he joined you on the rock, his shoulder brushing against your own.

“So,” You began, “you weren’t voted off the island.”

“Yay.” He replied unenthusiastically. “Do you think I should’ve been?”

You stared at him. Of course you wouldn’t have supported kicking him out & leaving him behind. It was inhumane. He was also your friend. But it was always hard to tell what the truth was & what was a lie when it came to Rafe.

“No.” You looked away, taking another drag, “I wouldn’t have let anyone leave you.”

Rafe was silent, but you could see a subtle smile on his face in your peripheral.

“You mean that?”

Inhaling sharply, you adjusted yourself, so you were sitting straighter, “Yeah. Promise.”

“You’re better than me, than most of them back there.”

You frowned but said nothing.

“Sayyed was ready to pick a fight with anyone who disagreed with him.”

“He’s scared.” You defended, “He thought he was acting in the best interest of everyone. That’s more than you can say.”

The energy between you shifted, the air growing slightly tense.

“I told you last night I wouldn’t have left you.”

He had, but now that he was saying it again, you felt your gut turn. It felt like he wasn’t referring to you as a group, as a whole, but you as in…you. You didn’t want to know which he meant, scared of the answer.

“I know.” You lied. Unable to stand the tension, desperate for just a bit of normalcy, you did something bold. Something you might regret.

“Do you still have it?” You glanced at his jacket pocket.

Rafe looked confused for a moment, but when your eyes met his, he knew what you were asking for.

Reaching into his jean pocket, he pulled out the small baggie from when you all had been camping. He must’ve added to it from the sandwich sized baggie he carried.

“That’s more like it.” He commented as he poured some out on the fatty part of his hand. You ignored him, leaning forward to take the bump.

Immediately, you felt the effects. You knew it was likely because of the surreal circumstances of your life now, but you wouldn’t have had it any other way. Rafe smiled & watched as you grinned widely.

He made another one for you that you happily took.

Rafe did a couple himself, & after what felt like twenty minutes & three more bumps later, you were leaning into Rafe, enjoying his warmth. He was talking but you weren’t making out his words, just feeling the vibrations of his chest as he spoke, staring at the reflection of the trees in the water ahead of you.

You could’ve stayed like that for hours. Just sitting there, blissfully unaware of the world, feeling better than you had in a long time. Imagining yourself just out on a hike with a friend, talking aimlessly about nothing & everything. It was just out of reach, but you could feel it.

“Hey, hey.” Rafe bumped your shoulder. You looked at each other & smiled.

“I know what would make this even better.” He shared. You bit your lip in excitement, nodding in anticipation.

“Beer.”

“Yes!” You gleamed.

Rafe hopped off the rock, offering you his hand for you to do the same. You took it, jumping down jovially & skipping ahead. Rafe laughed lightly behind you as he followed. You were almost to the clearing, nearly forgetting the way of the world when Adrianna appeared, her arms crossed as she cut you two off.

“Wow.” She shook her head, judgement rolling off her, “You guys are coked out of your minds.”

“Oh, shh!” Rafe responded playfully, “No one needs to know.”

“They do actually.” Adrianna bit, “Because we’re having a group meeting. Now.”

Your high was slightly dampened, knowing you’d have to face the others, Sayyed especially. But your high kept you from caring too much.

“Fine.” You shrugged, glancing back at Rafe. He mirrored you, barely bothered.

Adrianna lead you two back to the clearing where everyone else was waiting. Their stares were obvious. Sayyed was fuming once he got a good look at you. You stayed across the clearing from him, choosing to stand beside Rafe. At least you weren’t alone in their collective upset.

“We’ll talk about that later.” He gave a pointed look towards you & Rafe. You forced yourself not to smile.

“But we’ve made a decision about what we’re doing next. We won’t be moving north.” Sayyed shared with the group, gesturing between himself & Adrianna.

“What? Why?” Micah questioned. Ever since the world ended, he had a never-ending sour look on his face.

“Because the community that Tobias told me about isn’t a community at all.” Adrianna added, “It’s not small or in the middle of nowhere like I thought it would be. It’s a city. Like two hundred thousand plus population. I either heard Tobias wrong or he didn’t know what he was talking about."

"How do you know that?" Bear asked next. Adrianna raised a map in her hand, “Maps don’t lie.”

“That & it’s close to Boston. So, regardless of Worcester’s size, it’s still a dense area. The chances of a safe, virus free community living there is low. Adrianna & I agreed it’s not worth the trek north. We should stay where we’re familiar, settle down & ride this out.”

“’Ride this out’?” Micah scoffed, “Like this is temporary?”

“It’s the best thing we can do.” Adrianna responded, her tone matching Micah’s, “We have the temporary cures. We just keep doing what we’ve been doing. We check for symptoms daily, we look out for one another, & we find a place to stay. Either until help comes or until we can sustain ourselves for when it never does.”

“And you two made this decision?” Bear jumped in a second time.

“Yes.” Sayyed nodded, “It’s what’s best for all of us.”

“What about our say?” Micah threw out, “This isn’t a dictatorship, we should be making these decisions as a group.”

“And we are.” Sayyed said, “Right now.”

Sayyed’s eyes passed over everyone, his eyes briefly lingering on yours before moving on, “We’re not going to have a repeat from earlier. No one will be getting kicked out. I was… wrong for that. I know that now.”

There was silence so Sayyed continued, “But we don’t want to tell you what to do. We’re all in charge of ourselves & what we want to do. So, if you want to find a place to lay low at, stay. If you want to continue north, then do it. But I’ve made my decision.”

The group was quiet.

You were honestly too high to fully grasp what was happening.

“I’m gonna go sit by the fire.” You said, unsure if your voice was even loud enough.

Bypassing your friends, you sat in a chair by the fire, pulling your knees to your chest. The sun would set soon. It’d be dark in no time & you were looking forward to going to lie down like the sun.

You were staring blatantly into the fire when someone came to stand next to your chair. You glanced up. Sayyed. Though he looked unhappy, you couldn’t help but smile up at him.

“Hey.” You said softly, your voice almost melodic.

“Hey.” He crouched so he was more eye-level with you. You knew what was coming. He was going to give you shit for getting high, especially with Rafe, but you didn’t care. You might care tomorrow when you’ve sobered up but right then, you couldn’t.

“Sayyed, I know what you’re going to say, & I’m begging you to please not.” You looked away from him, “Just don’t.”

He sighed beside you but said nothing. Then he grabbed your hand gently, “I’m sorry, _____.”

You turned to him, wide-eyed.

“I’ve been so concerned about the group as a whole that I haven’t been there for you.”

You frowned. You didn’t fault Sayyed at all for that. You were raised to be tough & independent, thanks to absent parents, but you didn’t want Sayyed to pressure himself to take care of you. You could take care of yourself.

“I’m not mad that you did coke, let alone with Rafe.” Sayyed added, “I was just shocked. But I am sorry for not being there for you.”

“Sayyed, don’t.” You shook your head, tangling your fingers with his, “I’m okay. I mean, I’m not okay, but I’m… surviving, ya know. That’s all we can do at this point.”

He nodded in agreement, but said nothing more.

“Thank you for looking out for all of us. I know some of them don’t see it that way, but I know your heart. And they do, too. Whatever they decide is up to them, like you said.”

“What about you?” He asked, “What are you going to do?”

You hadn’t realized that he thought it was actually possible you’d leave him. There was no way in hell you’d leave him. You loved him.

“Where you go, I go.” You told him, pressing your forehead to his, “Always.”

Sayyed smiled at that, leaning forward to kiss you. The kiss sent you to the heavens. It felt like you hadn’t kissed him in ages. When you two pulled away, you traded smiles.

“I love you, _____.”

“You.”

What was coming next was unknown. The world would never be the same again. But as long as Sayyed was by your side, & your friends were there all together, you thought to yourself that maybe the new world wouldn’t be so bad…

kind of a filler chapter before a brief time jump in the story. the next chapter will also be a filler chapter but after that, shit will start happening for real. this is a slow burn series however so dark rafe will not appear until later, but he's definitely got his focus on reader.

as always, comment your thoughts, reblog w reviews, interact w me through asks, TALK TO ME. i love & need it lmao.

thank you for reading!

oona<3

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[hathorneheiress]

Clothed in uncertainty

The annual charity event was being held at the Hawthorne Foundation. It was no surprise since the chief donator was Tobias Hawthorne himself.

All the family was to be attendance. His mother-in-law Nan. Zara Hawthorne and her husband Constance. Skye Hawthorne with her 7 year and a half year old Nash along with one year old Grayson. The only one left home was barely two-month-old Jameson. The child was rather wild, and Tobias didn't want him screaming the whole time. Neither did anyone else.

Tobias straitened his tie before walking into the richly carpeted hall. With Oren, his body guard, at his side the proceeded downstairs. Impatiently waiting was his youngest daughter Skye.

Her tight, light pink, floor length dress hugged her frame in all the right places.

Standing beside her was Nash. The young lad was dressed in a causal brown suit that matched his hair. Hazel eyes lazily roamed the walls, not seeming excited about the appointment.

That left the last member: Grayson. His mother had dressed him in a black suit that complimented his light blond hair and bluish gray eyes. He did not look happy.

As soon as Tobias reached the threshold Skye dumped Grayson into his arms before storming out the door. "Hurry!" She barked. "We are going to be late."

"Come along lad." he said to Nash. "You're mother is waiting."

"Do I have to go?" the lad whined. "Why can't I stay with Jameson?"

"You are not a baby. Are you saying you are one?"

"No." He spat back. "But I hate parties."

"And so does Grayson but is he throwing a fit?" Tobias raised his eyebrows.

"No." Nash said sulkily.

"Exactly"

Nash climbed into the car next to his mother without any further issues. Tobias carefully put Grayson into his car seat. The child began to squirm in agitation.

"I know." Tobias said softly. "You hate being in the car seat for a long time. But it won't be too bad this time. Under 30 minutes." That seemed to calm the young Grayson down in for his grandfather to finish buckling up.

He then joined Skye and Nash in the middle seats.

The ride was smooth as it could be. Not in the way of being jostled, but more in the way of having to listen to his daughter rant about things that held no importance to the billionaire.

How the shopping mall didn't close down just for her. The maid was late with her breakfast. The gardener was being too loud outside her bedroom window. They were going to be late for the event. Why did they have to bring her sons. Ect.

He politely listened but didn't say a word. His oldest grandson looked as bored as bored could be. He's going to have to suck it up He thought. He doesn't get everything he wants.

The youngest occupant in the car, Grayson, was being louder than he usually was. The child hardly ever made a sound, even when hungry. But now Tobias could hear what sounded to be grunts in displeasure coming from the back.

What in the world?

It was then quiet and he thought nothing of it till they arrived. Pulling up to the main entrance, guests were already starting to arrive.

"See?" Skye spat. "We are late! I knew I should have come in earlier." Before he could say anything she was out the door.

It was always amazing, or maybe disturbing, how Skye's attitude could change in a matter of seconds. She could be yelling at anyone to smiling and laughing loudly just like that.

Shaking his head he watched his daughter walk off. Leaving him with the children. As usual.

Nash hopped down beside him as he went to go get Grayson.

Opening the door he stood there slightly shocked at the scene before him: Clothes and shoes were scattered over the seats and Grayson sat there beaming up at him totally naked.

"What did you do?" He asked, but he couldn't keep the smile that playing on his lips off.

The child giggled. Actually giggled.

Tobias shook his head. "You weirdo." He laughed. "You're not supposed to do that."

"Oren." he called out. "Take Nash inside I'm going to be a minute."

Closing the door behind him he unbuckled Grayson. Picking him up he began to dress hm again.

Grayson squirmed and gave a cry of protest.

"I know. You don't want to get dressed again. But going in totally naked isn't going to happen either."

Within ten minutes the child was fit and ready to go.

Giving a small kiss to the lad's cheek, he picked him up and proceed with his plans.

Grayson never misbehaved like that in public again. But in private? Well.... that's another story.

Please forgive the awful title and I would like to dedicate this story to my friend and mutual @x-liv25-jamieswife. I'm so sorry it took so long.

[x-liv25-jamieswife]

averyjameson rant (that might make zero sense)

i've seen that a lot of fans have speculated that their codeword, tahiti, was created as a result of one of their fights, but i'd honestly like to talk more about it. (this is kinda rushed and all over the place btw) (also not proof read which at this point really isn't a surprise)

tahiti is a codeword they use whenever they want the other to be honest with them so, it would only make sense for them to have had issues with being honest and communication in the past which resulted in the creation of this codeword. i think their issues with communication stems from their individual trauma so i'd like to talk about that for a second.

avery grew up with literally no one in her corner except for her mother, max, and libby. max moved away the summer before 8th grade, and, then, at fifteen, her mother died. she was pretty much left with libby (and max thanks to her phone). avery hates burdening people with her issues. i remember a scene in tig (i believe, though it might be thl) where libby asked her who took care of her, and she immediately started telling herself that she's only a burden, and that, basically, she doesn't deserve help. avery also hates being vulnerable. to her, vulnerability = weakness. growing up the way she did and with everything she's been through, i think it makes perfect sense for her to think so. allowing herself to feel things could've potentially ruined everything for her with everything she had on her plate (work, school, surviving, etc) by distracting her. then, she inherited the money, and she went from having two people in her corner, to, like, ten. this is a huge change, and would obviously take some adjusting. i think she's never allowed herself to open up in fear of people leaving ("the trick to being abandoned was to never let yourself long for anybody who left" idk when she said this).

after years of believing she couldn't rely on anyone, obviously it would cause issues for her with jameson. after all, it takes a long time to work through trauma. bc of all of this, i feel like the beginning of their relationship would be a little bumpy (with jameson trying to get her to open up, and avery not knowing how/being scared to).

jameson has his own share of problems. with everything that happened with emily, and the gaslighting tobias hawthorne put him through, i think he's afraid of people leaving him bc they don't think he's good enough. i feel like he'd think the same way avery does when it comes to opening up (it burdens people, they might leave me, i don't like being vulnerable, etc). i mean jamie spent so long drinking away his problems and pretending he was absolutely fine and unaffected after the emily fiasco (i fucking hate that bitch with my entire being). some people believe that jameson wasn't really affected by what happened with emily when in reality he was. just because he didn't respond to trauma the same way grayson did doesn't mean it isn't there.

obviously they're perfect together so they managed to work through it. over time i feel like they learned to truly trust each other, and started opening up more frequently. obviously, like i said, their issues caused fights, but they worked through all of them. i believe that after one of these fights, the codeword was created (they might have been in tahiti when it happened, and that's why the code word is tahiti).

anyways i really enjoyed talking about their trauma, and i might make some more in depth posts about it (bc their trauma is SOOO overlooked) (probably after i reread the books unless i become to impatient). i apologize if this doesn't make sense or if there are spelling mistakes, like i said it's kinda rushed and i wrote most of this at like 3:00am last night. if anyone has some more theories about the codeword i'd really like to hear them. hope this post wasn't too boring.

[scurvyratt]

Oz fast food barista AU (as someone who has had 3yrs barista experience). Also their ages can be pretty flexible in this au. Maybe they're college students maybe they're middle aged idk.

Tobias: He's definitely a shift leader and is one of the most responsible employees. Customers like him and he's the person you go to when you need a shift covered. He may not be the fastest barista but he never messes the drinks up.

Busmalis: Random elderly coworker. He's nice but he is SO slow and it stresses everyone out when they see that he's scheduled for a morning rush. Also he spills everything.

Rebadow: Sweet old man customer who orders the same thing every time (black coffee, prefers to pour his own creamer. Also a bagel with butter, prefers to put the butter on himself). Leaves a $1 tip lol.

Chris: Fuck boy employee. Has slept with TOO many coworkers and slips his phone number to like 20 different customers every shift. He's kinda entertaining but otherwise miserable to be around. He isn't particularly good at making drinks and he def doesn't help with cleaning or prep,, but he is unfortunately good at drive thru and making tips.

Ryan: The workplace gossip and devils advocate- you want to know anything about anyone? Ask Ryan. Somehow, he knows everything. He riles people up for fun and pits his coworkers against each other. He spends a lot of the time in the back on his phone, or in the bathroom doings drugs (yes I had a coworker who would do this lol), but sometimes he does work hard; It's very on and off with him. If u work with him for long enough he will tell you about his own relationship troubles. Also he's weirdly obsessed with one customers (gloria).

Miguel: He's fun to work with and is a pretty fast barista, altho he gets in trouble often and has even been fired a few times but somehow they always take him back. Runs to the window whenever there's a dog and makes sure to give them a pup cup. Is the only one who likes cleaning the espresso machine.

Chico: Is best at the food station or as a barista. Sometimes comes to work high but somehow he works better that way. WILL fight customers he does not gaf. Will make shady comments to a customers face if they don't leave a tip. Does not care about milk allergies and rolls his eyes when asked to remake a drink.

Omar: Same as Busmalis where he makes a lot of mistakes😭. Can talk to customers for a long time even if they clearly want to leave and are over the convo. They try to keep him in the back doing prep or the dishes but he loves doing drive thru even though he messes everything up.

Kareem: Shift leader who dreams of becoming manager. WILL call you out if he catches you stealing or sitting around, like if he is on the schedule it will not be a chill shift. He gives good advice sometimes so you would probably like him if he wasn't your annoying snitch coworker lol. He's the only person who makes sure that the bathroom is clean. Is pretty good at making tips.

Kenny: That one random teenager. Probably the laziest employee. He sits on the counter and plays games on his phone, even in front of customers. He's kinda amusing until you remember that he's a misogynist. Constantly threatens to quit but he never does.

Augustus: Okay so since he's in a wheelchair he may have to just stay in one position (I did some googling). Like just drinks or just drive thru since it's pretty cramped behind the counter. He's excellent at taking orders and makes customers laugh. A man who values his breaks. Like he doesn't gaf if the drive thru line has 20 cars, he WILL go sit out back to get some air.

Schillinger: gets paid minimum wage but also thinks that the minimum wage should not be raised. CREEPY. Like you do not want to work a closing shift with him. Will go on racist rants and all you can do is nod. Is a terrible barista and thinks that oat milk is woke.

Mukada: I imagine him as an operations manager type of person? Like he randomly pops into the store to see if everything is going fine. Everyone scrambles when they see his car pull into the lot. Ignores all the dirty jokes that they make. Tries to gently guide everyone to follow the rules but it's hard.

Adebisi: Also a creep that you won't want to work alone with. Do not put this man on drive thru... but he's an alright barista actually. Likes coming up with his own drinks. Has earbuds in when working and no one can get him to take them out.

McManus: Manager who is mad about the fact that he works for a fast food place. Honestly tries to be chill but will lose his shit over the most random things. You can tell him the times that you prefer to work but he will ignore that and schedule you whenever anyways. Does not take shit from customers and will defend his employees against them.

Okay ermm there's prob a lot of other characters that I could do but lolol

[shit-enmu-says]

Mini Rant Incoming

My roommates are all out of town and I am alone late at night in the creepiest most liminal back rooms-looking-ass building I’ve ever set foot in. I am too spooked to sleep because since summer started most people have left the complex and the area. It’s just me, myself and I for several city blocks right now.

I don’t like this one bit. I have occasional short-lived auditory and occasional visual hallucinations. I rarely have them except when I’m alone for long periods of time. I know the faint echoey opera-seque singing I heard in the hallway isn’t real, nor was the shadow figure that looked just like me I saw standing by my arm chair. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t startle me. As a matter of fact I’d say it’s worse because it happens so infrequently I haven’t desensitized myself to it.

Usually on nights like this I leave the tv on. Unfortunately I don’t have one, so I’ll just have to blast Ghost songs because apparently listening to Tobias Forge sing about the devil is calming to me. Don’t ask.

The upside to this is that this eerie atmosphere is in the process of inspiring the fifth chapter of my drabble. I suppose there’s a silver lining to everything.

[r1ng-w0rm]

Uhhhh WBB Tobias and Jawtay(+a bit of the others as a bonus) Frenemy HC's???

Sorry if these are ooc btw- also I have some general brother hcs coming up soon :D

also I promise you that these aren't ship hcs even if some of these do sound a bit smooch-y.

Under the cut because there's alot-ish

💪🦷 Where to start.... Hmm... I think these two love hating eachother and love to torture themselves by being around eachother(in a non romantic way).

💪🦷They do not get along! No matter how similar their pasts might've been(epic farmer and fisher moment) , they H A T E eachother.

💪🦷So why did I put frenemy up at the top? Well I put it because while Jawtay is blunt and not ashamed to say that Tobias looks like a dead raccoon doped up on cocaine, Tobias can get defensive of/over his enemy. Therefore, they are (one-sided) frenemies.

💪🦷Someone could be like, "Yeah I hate Jawtay too," after one of Tobias' long rants about him and Tobias could flip instantly. He'd throw things and claw at them with his stitched on hands while yelling about how Jawtays his enemy and only he's aloud to hate him. Tobias would apologize to them later, but for now they must face his wrath.

💪🦷-But don't consider this favoritism, because Tobias likes to claw at Jawtay too. So uh.. Yeah?

💪🦷 He's (Tobias) obsessed with him in the way those fictional villains are obsessed with the hero, but in a weird musty way.

💪🦷Tobias will finally be fulfilled of his obsession once Jawtays arms are in his possession!

💪🦷I like to think about Jawtay mushing Tobias' fake teeth into his gums because it's super silly.

*＊✿❀ BONUS HC'S❀✿＊*

💪🪱I feel like his friendship towards varai is a 'you take care of me, I take care of you' kind of ordeal. He'd be really codependent towards varai in a semi-unhealthy way.

💪🪱He's the wasp to varais dead worm

💪🪱He'd die before showing his ugly mug to the coolest worm corpse in the biker central.

💪🍆 Tobias is if-y towards Jeff. Not in a bad way, but in a scared way.

💪🍆 I can see him(Tobias) hiding in a corner like a cat whenever Jeff comes around. Spooky.

💪🍆He LOVES his hair tho. so bonus to that?

💪🎲NO! NUH-UH!! KEEP DICE AWAY FROM TOBIAS! HE WILL THROW A TANTRUM AND AN ARM AT HIM AND WHOEVER BROUGHT HIM TO TOBIAS (even varai)

💪🎲He is flat out afraid of dice and now there's two of him in one??? *insert Tobias clawing at the couch*

💪🎲If you can get Tobias to stay calm around dice for even a minute, l congratulate you.

[cinnaki]

A Song of Frost Pt 2

First part here. Story originally posted to another blog of mine but mildly edited for here. Based loosely on @xdeusxmachinax fic, 31 Days in the Darklands.

   Later, that night, Toby had planned to expand his rock collection in Trollmarket. When he spotted a familiar set of horns, a smile bloomed, "HEY! VENDEL!!" Toby shouted, trotting over to the old Troll.

  With a sigh, the leader of Trollmarket greeted him, "Tobias! What brings you here this...fine evening?" Vendel stared down at the smallest Trollhunter, folding his hand behind his back.

  "Rocks! I saw a cool bit of rose quartz the other day. Oh, and some labradorite." he pulled open his backpack to pull out several stones, dropping it in the process. Toby explained the stones to Vendel, who barely listened, more interested in the colorful book covers than the chemical composition of stones he knew by heart.

  One thing, however, caught his eye. It looked like a bit of petrified driftwood. But then he noticed the grain did not match the bend, figuring it had to be carved. What stood out the most, were two slits, centered horizontally on odd bumps. His fur stood on end, as an ancient memory stirred. "Tobias...." Vendel spoke softly, "This way. Now." His words were quiet but sharp. He gave the teen no time to gather his things, having to run to keep up with him.

  "Hey what's got you all spooked? You look like you saw a--"

  "Not now, Tobias," Vendel warned.

  They moved in silence, finding refuge in Vendels chamber. The old Troll paced around, making sure no listeners could spy on their conversation. Slowly, he made his way back over to Toby, gently pulling a wooden mask from his backpack.

  "Where, on Earth, did you find this?" Vendel addressed Toby, concerned. His stare grew more intense the longer Toby did not answer. Neither would leave this room until the mystery of this mask had been solved. "This is a matter pertaining not only to the safety of Heartstone Trollmarket but to all of Troll kind, Tobias."

  With the gravity of the situation well established, he caved, explaining his trip to the Darklands, and his fight against the furred giant, the game-master of the Gumm-Gumms, Oddball.

  Vendel grew paler with each passing moment. "Frost Troll." The fear from before came crawling back, causing the old Troll to shake, gripping his staff tight enough almost crack it.

  "Frost Troll? Is that what she was? I thought she was just a weird hairy Krubera, like Arrrgh, but, white, and hairier. ...And bigger."

  "You swear you saw only one?" Vendel asked, watching Toby nod. "Then we may be lucky." he scratched his beard, "Had the whole clan decided to join Gunmar, after all these years..."

  Tobys' frown grew, "What's a Frost Troll?"

  "Raiders! The whole reason any of this even started." he ranted, "Without Juns' foolish actions, Gunmar may have never--" Vendel realized the confusion in Toby. "Perhaps a longer explanation is in order." He sat down, sighing a breath he sword froze the air around it. "This is an old story, Tobias."

  "Older than you are?"

  "I was young when I last heard the thunder, before--Before the ice cracked." He took a moment to gather his thoughts.

  "Frost Trolls, rulers of the North. They came with the frost, raiding the plains, retreating to their homes in steppes and on mountain peaks. Small bands, never more than ten or twenty. Never needed more, nothing could stop a roving band of Frost Trolls from their hunt. Except for another, larger band of Frost Trolls. Some clans hired them as mercenaries, and others paid off their attackers to harass those that had sent them instead. Others? Trampled in the stampede, or frozen in their wake. Stories of Frost Trolls waving banners of fur shaved from fallen warriors could summon a storm, fed by the angry spirits of their ancestors who still longed for battle. With the very storm on their side, they could have taken over every other clan in the North. But they were too busy fighting each other to organize. That was until Boguta the Bright-Eyed."

  "Boguta the what?"

  "Descriptions say she had eyes as white as newly fallen snow." Vendel elaborated. "Boguta was the daughter of an errr--oh, what's the word in your tongue?”

  "King?"

  "No, not quite...anyway, she saw the endless carnage between Frost Trolls and all the clans below the line of permafrost. She saw no other way, but to make alliances with other roving war bands. One of my earliest memories was the sound of a hundred Frost Trolls storming through, and the devastation they caused. Her army grew, bringing the Northern clans to their knees in a matter of months."

  "So what stopped them?"

  "That much is unclear, but her youngest son took up her mantle. He was Temui the Timid. Small, and scholarly, unlike his siblings. He still towered over most other Trolls, but he too came with thunderous footsteps. He bore the banner of his mother, and demanded an audience with all of the local leaders."  "Why would he want to talk?"

  "What was said never left that room. But, after that, the raids stopped, all at once. Many Frost Trolls tried to...integrate into Troll society as hunters and laborers. But, even less trusted them. He met with the new council several more times, even more after Gunmar had begun his crusade."

  Toby swallowed, fearing what may come next.

  "But--one night, every Frost Troll across all of the Kingdoms vanished. Their homes emptied of belongings, leaving only unanswered questions. No one knows why they left, where they went, or if they even still exist. Not long after, Gunmar made his move. The organized army of Temui being one of the few things we felt stopped Gunmar from waging all-out war."

  "And that's when it all started?"

  Vendel nodded. "They wore masks during battle, much more elaborate than that one, covered in marks, and braided beads dangling from their horns and beards." he scratched his own again. "Tobias...if Gunmar has even one Frost Troll, this could mean he has more..."

Vendels words echoed in Tobys' mind. A roving band could topple an entire village. And Oddball had listened intently to Gunmar, obeying his every command. If Gunmar had even a few integrated into his standing army, did Jim even have a shred of hope?

[stars-havefallen]

𝕀𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕄𝕖.

Salut! Je m’appelle Sofie!!! You can spell it ‘Sophie’ too!! I also go by Lou, because of my middle name. So you can call me Lou too<3 or even..geez this intro was just supposed to be my name, Honestly I don’t care what you call me as long as it’s none of the following:

~Sofia

~Sophia

~Fia

~soapy

Great!! Now that’s out of the way…

a little bit about myself<3

I’m sixteen, Ravenclaw, Aphrodite cabin, Erudite, Aries, Ace, Female, my favorite color is mist grey, my favorite song is “blue hair” by TV girl, my favorite Movie is “the song of the sea”, my favorite fruit is mango, and I love peppermint. Also I’m a huge fan of seventies fashion and music and such so that might show up from time to time though that’s mostly a Pinterest thing<3

Now for some hobbies I have:

~Photography

~Painting (strictly water colour)

~Committing various quotes, poems, and philosophies to memory, many of which are often useless.

~Writing

~Reading (my librarian says she only likes me because I literally “inhale books then come back for more” I took this as a compliment…)

~I’m fairly good at understanding human anatomy so I spend my free time studying it!! (I want to be a mortician)

-ceramics

-poetry

-gardening(who knew I had a green thumb??)

-baking(only when I’m stressed though)

Fandoms!!!

*six of crows definitely one of my favourites

*twilight (team jacob pre-wolf… now in love with jasper)

*scott pilgrim

*DC

*The Kinks

*Fleetwood Mac

*some Harry Potter but I’m still learning about that…

*PERCY JACKSON!!!

*myth-o-mania

*asoue

*Crave

Some Links:

(I’ll add these later)

DNI:

~If I ask you not to interact. Simple.

My tags are below<3 and most of my dividers come from @/animatedglittergraphics-n-more

*ALSO IMPORTANT* I’m looking for mutuals..I made this blog awhile ago and I desperately want friends, I promise I’m nice<3, don’t be afraid to ask if you’d like to be mutuals!!

I’m a bit of a neat freak…sorry not sorry. My blog is organized because today I discovered how tags work!!!

‘✰.｡.✵°✵’ more broad categories i.e; stars(people adore/ moots), reblogs (uncategorised/tag games/polls) , rants (shitpost? I think you call them? Basically irrelevant stuff)

’꧁•⊹٭’ specific character/people stuff i.e James potter, Remus lupin, regulus black, Tobias Eaton, etc.

‘ミ★’ related to a specific fandom

★¸.•☆•.¸★ 🄵🄸🄲🅁🄴🄲🅂 ★⡀.•☆•.★ is its own thing. Anything I recommend for you to read will be here.

[tobyscloset]

So I watched the chaos theory trailer frame by frame.. and I did in fact notice a few things!!

Does anyone else notice that right before the video of Brooklynn cuts out, you can see a sort of light? Possibly one of Daniel Kons drones? Or a helicopter? Was she possibly kidnapped and the news of her dying was a cover up?? Like right here? (*Hyperventilating* Brooklynn is not dead guys trust me!!!!!2!2!2!!3(£(£7)

When the person was calling the atrociraptors, the build looked similar to Brooklynns, by alot, at least to me they did!! Like here!! Does this not look similar?!1!! *Freaks out*

Bumpy in this frame :33!!!!

BIG EATIE!!!!!

Saw this frame, The man in the suit really does look a little bit like Daniel.. if you really really squint..

Darius' photo!!!!!

[r11l3ysh3llh0l3]

Pinned

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Read More since this is gonna be long. Block if you don't want to read through all of this.

About

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Heyo, I'm Riley, but i also use the names Mephisto, Tobias and Echo. I use He/Him pronouns, and I am diagnosed with Autism, ADHD and Depression. All of which will very much impact my interactions with everyone.

On that note, I'm not a fandom or community specific blog, I'm too lazy and frankly don't have any energy left of my already very little energy to keep more than one blog semi-active. If you're only here for one thing, you're probably gonna get sick of me. (^ Also because i know I'd hate to run a blog on anything that's not my hyperfixation. )

I will try to tag posts i make with specific tags, which if you really want to know which are for what, are at the end of this pinned post.

DNI

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Basic DNI (Racists, Homophobes, Transphobes, Zoophiles, Pedos/"MAPs", TERFS, etc) under 14, over 29,

Proshipper, Truscum/Transmed, Radinclus, Endo Sys or supporter, KFF/Kin for fun/kinnies/Supporter.

BYF

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I cant guarantee that I'm spoiler free, I need tonetags/tone indicators, I swear a LOT, I am EXTREMELY forgetful, I often make "I'm gonna kill myself" jokes and such

TAGS

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i will not be adding tags to older posts BEFORE this one, (which are four, so you're not missing out on anything.) I'll be tagging all of these tags on this post as well so you won't have to look them up.

;;🪡 Rambles ;;❗️Rants ;;✦Nonsense ;;✩Art and Stuff. ;;🗝My Posts

[wordsmith30]

Black Lightning 1×05: “And Then the Devil Brought the Plague: The Book of Green Light”

Okay, Jefferson’s stunt double is easily recognizable in the flashbacks. They have completely different head shapes.

A new suit upgrade from Gambi gives Jefferson the ability to fly. He’s certainly having fun. (I also really love the soundtrack for this show.)

And then he sees a Black kid on Green Light getting taken down by the cops. Jefferson’s intervention is absolutely perfect. Stop shooting people when they have mental health breakdowns. They need help, not a body bag!

That’s how you de-escalate a situation without killing. “Next time, try using a taser first!”

Uh oh. Now something’s wrong with his mask. Jefferson shrugs it off and says he wants to keep practicing.

At headquarters, Gambi checks the security footage to see … Tobias. Tobias is in his shop! Gambi, don’t do anything stupid.

What do you mean you had a deal? Gambi, you knew he was still alive?

“Only thing I’m gonna measure you for is a coffin.”

Ooh ... Okay, so maybe you’re not a whole traitor yet.

So apparently Tobias and his sister can’t age because of a serum they took? Well, that’s just wonderful.

Tobias says that Gambi’s working for the ASA, which means he has access to valuable intel. Intel on Black Lightning.

Gambi says he doesn’t know anything, but this raises some new and important questions. What is the ASA and why does Tobias think that Black Lightning would be Gambi’s enemy?

I’ll give Jefferson credit; he’s managed to keep his secret identity under wraps for a long time.

If Tobias is going to be paying Gambi visits, they’ve got even more problems.

Anissa, meanwhile, starts doing some research on metahuman abilities and stumbles across this video about an experiment in Freeland. Actually, how far is Freeland from Central City? Are they on the same Earth?

And then, of course, Jen interrupts her. I love their sister relationship. Two of my younger sisters are the same size, so they’re always trading clothes or stealing from each other.

“I said shut the door!”

MOOD.

Apparently, nine superpowered kids disappeared in Freeland thirty years ago.

At the roller rink, Jen is harassed by two girls from another school who take jabs at both her and Khalil. When one of them shoves her, she puts them both on the ground. Yaas, Jennifer! Once again, don’t mess with Black Lightning’s daughters.

And then her friend just shows up like, “Girl, for real?” 😂 Sorry. She didn’t start this fight, but she finished it!

Later, Jefferson steps in to help this man trying to buy medicine for his daughter. How do you have three-year-old medicine sitting on your shelf? Don’t you restock?

The fact that this cashier automatically goes for a bat when Jefferson shows signs of distress is just a microcosm of how quick people are to label Black men as threats. The other man at least has the decency to ask if he’s okay.

Hold on. Their grandfather, Alvin Pierce, was trying to expose a story about vaccines that gave people superpowers? Maybe Jefferson was one of the nine.

Jefferson goes hunting down another potential Green Light spot only to run into a white man with a shotgun. Time to run.

“Lawn jockey”? Oh, heck no, buddy. You’re about to get it.

The man finally says that he gets the chemicals from a guy named Joey Toledo and Jefferson is ticked. Apparently, Toledo worked for Tobias. Now Jefferson is working the Alvin Pierce story from the other side. Seems like you’ve been keeping a lot of secrets, Gambi. Was Joey Toledo supposed to be dead, too?

Gambi! Why won’t you tell him the truth? Whose side are you on? You know Tobias is the one behind all of this – Jefferson’s arch-nemesis! If he finds out about Tobias on the streets or Tobias catches him by surprise, he’s going to be absolutely livid.

In the middle of his rant, Jefferson keels over like a board, no warning whatsoever. Gambi calls in Lynn to take a look at him and they deduce that the headaches might be due to the suit upgrade.

Jeff wants to go after Toledo, but he’s in no shape. Lynn tells him to rest.

Tori tells Tobias that he shouldn’t have gone to see Gambi because “Lady Eve won’t be happy.” What the heck? Gambi knows her, too?

We learn a lot about Tobias’ character this episode, from his rant about needing to be respected, his offensive use of the word “Negroes”, and the way he was treated by his father growing up because of his albinism. I’m not going to lie. I was a bit on the fence about the show having a villain with albinism as it’s so rare to see that condition represented at all, but in the context of this story, it opens up so many conversations about colourism and internalized prejudice. Tobias was never “Black enough” for his father and so he’s spent his life fighting for acceptance and respect. But in the process, he’s distanced himself from other Black people, positioned himself as being above them. As a result, he’s a very self-hating Black man with nothing but contempt for the Black community.

Still, tossing the word “Negroes” around in front of his dark-skinned sister is very tone-deaf.

Tori says that the only way he can move forward is by dealing with his first enemy: their father.

Finally, a talk between Anissa and Jefferson! Seems these girls don’t know much about their family history. Why did I want him to say, “Your grandfather ... was Black Lightning”? No, but that would’ve been cool! 😆

I was hoping that would be a longer conversation, but Jefferson doesn’t seem to like talking about his dad too much. Anissa, however, is not letting this go. She’s following the trail.

She finds the old editor of the Freeland Gazette, David Poe. Bro, that look on his face when she brings up the missing kids … 😨 Nobody wants to talk about this!

Anissa leaves when he kicks her out, but not without telling him that he was supposed to be “a champion for the common people.”

Black Lightning pays Henderson a visit. We’re going old school Quentin-and-the-Hood! Jefferson even gives him a burner phone and everything. 

He tells Henderson that Joey Toledo is back and that he’s prepared to go get him.

“The Black signal.” 

Stop this! 😆😂

And then he disappears just like Batman. Typical.

Lynn is not happy about Jefferson resuming his Black Lightning duties again, but they’re interrupted by …

Aw, great. It’s the girl from the roller rink and her moms. 

If she didn’t want her behind handed to her, then she should have kept her mouth shut! She attacked Jennifer first!

One of them looks like she’s got a bone to pick with Jefferson, too.

Wait, you’re leaving already? I thought you were waiting for Jen so that you could do the disciplinary talk.

Not all three of them side-eyeing her on their way out the door. Keep walking!

Jefferson’s anger fades when he learns there were two girls (that’s why you hear both sides of the story), but Lynn’s not having it. “Not everybody solves their problems with their fists!” she says, looking pointedly at Jefferson. 😂

Editor Poe seems to like Anissa better today. He knows she’s not going to stop, so he gives her everything he has. But that information also got Alvin killed, so she needs to be careful.

Oh, the Whale siblings are going to resolve some daddy issues tonight!

While going through Alvin’s articles about Tobias and the vaccines, Anissa finds a key to an old storage unit. Oh, please don’t go there by yourself!

“Jennifer, do you have my black hoodie?”

Jennifer, fully wearing the hoodie: “No, I’ve got my own hoodies!” 😆😂

Anissa chooses her catsuit instead.

Jefferson’s with Jen now! Finally, we’re actually getting some father-daughter talks for once.

“Sin of omission. Our family doesn’t communicate that way.”

Oh, really? So you’re going to tell her that you’re Black Lightning?

Jen tells him that it’s not exactly easy being the principal’s daughter. Yeah, I definitely get that: loads of pressure, perpetual teacher’s pet, everyone thinking you’re a brat or being afraid of you, this huge reputation to uphold …

Her dad tells her that the best thing she can do is put the fire out.

And Anissa ripped her catsuit. Time to go shopping!

Brighter? Isn’t the idea not to be seen? You don’t want to stand out.

“Red would be great.” Nope. She wants her Beyoncé blonde! 😆

Um, he said “superhero.” He does think it’s a costume party, right? 😳

Henderson gives Jeff a tip-off about a girlfriend of Joey Toledo’s.

Jefferson, don’t be dumb. Let Gambi fix the suit.

Tobias, meanwhile opens a letter from Lady Eve filled with white dust. Oh, that’s cruel. What does it say?

Anissa shows up to the storage facility in her new gear. Alright, girl, I see you! That’s not bad for a first-time suit. Although, the emblem on the chest does look a bit like Batwoman’s.

“If you wanna be a superhero, you can’t be afraid of dead rats.”

Oh, honey, there could be so much worse in there.

She breaks into an old safe to find a vial full of chalky white crystals. Tell me that’s not the vaccine.

Jefferson finds the girlfriend without a hitch and confiscates her phone. Now we’re catfishing Joey Toledo. 😆 Sorry, Joey. Your girl’s not coming.

Oh, wow. No hello or anything. Jefferson’s just throwing hands.

Just like Gambi warned, the headaches start up again. This is why you don’t go out with a faulty suit!

Lynn’s going to be ticked.

[shaykesqueer]

YAYYY I CAN'T WAIT FOR MY BREAKFASTTTT

I wanna be nosey and ask:

4

6

7

9

10

12

14

15

16

20

22

29

33

You had an essay of my OCs,I shall now annoy you with too many questions<3

Take this as payment<3

4. What is your favorite book?

Can I choose a book series? It’s the Wheel of Time. Shocker, I know :’) I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH! 

6. AND 7. 5 Male celebrity crushes and 5 Female celebrity crushes

When you say celebrity, you mean like… real people? Does that mean I can’t choose Sweetums and the Crypt Keeper??? I’m putting these two questions together because I’m trying to think but this is difficult! Tobias, OBVIOUSLY, but also I keep thinking Bella Ramsey and they’re nonbinary 😭 OH Jennifer Tilly for sure. Can I just.. Nearly the entire cast of Starkid? Jon, Angela, Kim, Curt, Joey, Lauren? I don’t find a lot of celebrities attractive until they play a certain role, yknow? I never found Brad Pitt attractive until I saw him in Inglorious Basterds and he killed Nazis? Or Nicholas Cage, but then he was Dracula? Hell I’d even say I find Daniel Craig attractive after Knives Out! I like my crushes a little fruity, what can I say? And does a crush just mean you find someone attractive? In which case, the list must be so long! Anyway, rant. Over. Difficult question, I love everyone. Oh and Viggo Mortensen. Because of LOTR and Crimes of the Future. 

9. What do you consider your biggest accomplishment?

Probably that I got top surgery. I could ramble about all the little things that I’m proud of myself for doing that probably don’t seem like much, like feeling generally happy day to day or being able to decide what to have for lunch or knowing my limits and learning how to say no, but that seems small in comparison! 

10. What is a fact about you that nobody would believe?

See this one is difficult because I feel like any “weird” fact about me is very believable? I don’t like watching people kiss. I think it’s gross. 

12. Where is somewhere you'd like to visit?

Knotts Scary Farm at Halloween. 

14. What are your favorite apps besides tumblr?

I’m on instagram a lot! I don’t really post on there a bunch anymore because it’s a black hole for artists, but I still like scrolling! And Pinterest as well! I’m probably on Discord a lot more these days too! 

15. Describe yourself in one sentence.

Adorable but deceptively creepy, like a Cabbage Patch Kid that came to life and grew up. 

16. What do you think makes you attractive?

I have the softest love handles, I make the dumbest jokes, and I kiss real good. 

20. What's a totally random and useless fact that you know?

All pigeons are domesticated. It’s not useless though, it means you could have pigeon friends. That’s my go to, but another one is the average number of skeletons per person on earth is more than one. 

22. What is your most prized possession?

I really want to say it’s some bit of art I’ve made but no, it’s my teddy. It’s Pinky. 

29. Favorite song lyrics right now?

“This dear abomination of a child has many names

Lindworm, king of serpents

Girdle of the realm

This guy has nothing left to prove with size that overwhelms”

From Powersnake by Brothers of Metal

33. What’s a pet peeve you have?

I hate it when people drink straight milk. It’s nasty. And before you say anything, I don’t just mean dairy, I mean any kind of milk. 

Let's hope I got all the right questions this time!!

Thank you for the Ray sugar plum! <3 <3

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

What is it about Animorphs that kept it from being too depressing to read? Thinking back when I first read it, do kids just absorb things differently? I remember somehow laughing and being charmed more than horrified, at least on first reads.

A few ideas:

1. The humor. The series does an amazing job of undercutting comedy with tragedy, and vice versa, without one cheapening the other. We never get Tobias dwelling too long over how trauma has changed his life without following it up with a moment where Ax gets stuck in a chocolate fountain and all his friends start yelling unhelpful instructions to Marco trying to get him out (#33). We see Rachel's maggot-eating nightmares (#2) but also her ones that feature South Park characters and unhelpful store clerks (#22).

2. The usually-hopeful endings. Even the books that are above-average disturbing (#1, #22, #26, #31, #33, #45) usually end on an optimistic note. The last scene of #1 is a gut-punch, but the actual last lines are "Somewhere up there, around one of those cold, twinkling stars, was the Andalite home world. Somewhere up there was... hope. <They'll come,> Tobias said... 'Until then, we fight.'" The final moments of #33 involve all of the kids just hanging out together on the beach, until Rachel invites Tobias to go flying. #45 ends with Jake finally contacting the andalites to ask for help. We're rarely left on a truly downer note.

3. The bonds between the kids. There is some within-team fighting, but the Animorphs always have each other's backs. Tobias and Marco annoy each other in the early books, but Tobias sans-morphing will still attack a hork-bajir-controller to keep Marco safe (#3) and Marco still manufactures dumb jokes to keep Tobias comfortable (#4). And they end up good friends by mid-series (#30). Cassie and Jake have a nasty breakup in #50, and Jake's a jerk about it in #52, but they've figured out how to be friends by #53. Tobias mistrusts Jake for much of the series, but he doesn't question Jake's orders (#21, #26). There are no major feuds, no huge fractures, no instant where we ever suspect that these kids would ever let each other get hurt.

4. The self-aware pragmatism. The kids keep a sense of perspective which is sometimes humorous (Marco's rant about how they get fewer breaks than Ben Hur in #23), and sometimes serious (Cassie's self-assessment in #19). But we rarely get them saying "this is the worst thing that has ever happened to anyone," because it isn't. Their lives suck, they know it, but they also know that they're okay in a lot of ways: they have homes and families and each other. They have the option to walk away if they really must. Jake recognizes that having a soft bed and hot meals gives him some advantages that Tobias lacks. Tobias recognizes that not needing to perform normalcy for an audience of controllers during down-time gives him some advantages that Jake lacks. Marco complains about their war, but he also has zero doubt that being in WWII is infinitely worse (MM3). The kids have a sense of perspective, that their lives are crappy but could be crappier.

Anyway, add all that up, and the stories are fairly balanced in spite of the disturbing content. We do get a lot of moments with the kids just having fun flying around (#13) or baling hay (MM2), or pulling silly ecoterrorist stunts (#15). Animorphs is sad, but it's almost as light as it is heavy.