#well we tried to do a comic dub

[bipp-bopp-time-to-stop]

Far More Than Just A Mask

I'd like to thank @cloudninetonine for giving me the confidence to come out of the shadows and start posting the fics I write. I haven't really posted anything before, so I'm still figuring out how to use the Tumblr posting format. I'd also like to shout out @yanderelinkeduniverse @neverchecking @gliphyartfan @luimagines @yourlocaltreesimp and @wayfayrr as I was also inspired by their writings and content in general. To whoever stumbles across my fic and enjoys it, please go give these amazing people some love! With that being said, I'd also like to express my gratitude towards @linkeduniverse for their amazing work as their comics are what this fic is based off of. I hope everyone enjoys!

TW: Yandere themes, blood, possession, creeps be creepy

Your entrance into this journey filled with world hopping and a band of men all dubbed strange and woefully bad nicknames was… interesting. Thankfully enough, it wasn’t a truck send off level of isekai but it wasn’t the go to sleep and then wake up somewhere else type either. No, it was deciding to venture out at night for a rather dumb reason, immediately get lost, stumble across a strange portal, proceed to be chased into said portal by a pure black shadow with red eyes, and then stumble around in a forest you very much didn’t recognize. And then, of course, you stumbled across them.

They had dubbed their group The Chain since they were all Link (based on the expressions made when you were informed of this, it was clear who did and didn’t like the idea). After the initial shock based, you were suddenly bombarded with questions about… everything, really. The sheer amount of attention, combined with knowing a lot more than you should (in their eyes but they didn’t need to know that to the full extent), caused you to freeze. Well, internally freeze. As cooly as you could, you tried to answer the many questions thrown your way as truthfully as you deemed necessary.

“What’s your Hyrule like?”

“I don’t have one.”

“You don’t have one? What does that mean? Are you before Hyrule exists or did your Link… fail?” “I just don’t have one. It… never existed. A lot of what exists for you doesn’t for me- not outside of fairy tales, that is. Magic, fairies, multiple civilizations of different species, and more.”

“Why are your ears clipped? Is it a sort of fashion statement or a punishment?”

“Neither. I’m not Hylian, I’m human. Humans are similar to Hylians but we don’t have pointed ears and are usually a little taller than the average Hylian.”

“Why are your clothes so… weird…”

“They’re not weird to me. You guys certainly are, though.”

And the questions continued. After days of asking questions, which quickly broke past barriers and dug deeper than you were comfortable with, The Chain relented a little. It was clear as day that they didn’t trust you, not a bit, but they still “added” you to their little entourage. Dark Link, or Dink as they called him, had still pushed you through that portal like it did for the rest of them. Meaning, somehow, that you were fated to be a part of the Chain even though you were very far from being a Link. In truth, you knew probably half of them believed you might be colluding with the entity and were simply keeping tabs on you. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, as they say.

Thankfully, you weren’t a complete dead weight. You didn’t mind doing chores since you surely couldn’t battle. Despite some of your “exotic” looks (largely your ears, they’re still getting over that), merchants and townsfolk seemed to open up a bit easier to you. Plus, a lot of creatures from the mundane to mystical quite liked you for whatever reason. Were you not in the Champion’s Hyrule, that may not have stuck out as much as it did. On top of that, you knew first-aid better than most of them did. You were no genius in medicine, but you knew enough about the human body (thank you Forensic Files). You also had the “remedies” your Nana often chose over medicine- a lot less helpful in your world, but far more useful in nearly any Hyrule given the more mystical nature of, well, everything.

It took nearly two weeks for the mock friendliness to turn genuine and nearly a month and a half for everyone (including Legend, though he’ll deny it even if he were six feet under) to have a bit of trust in you. It wasn’t like the bonds they had with each other nor the ones you had with your friends back home, but it was something and that something showed. That fact certainly helped you sleep a bit easier during the night.

So now, here you sit around a campfire with the Chain after yet another day of traveling. Despite sitting in a circle, everyone was still a little grouped up and remained chatting in that group. Hyrule, Wild, and Wind were all conversing with each other in semi-hushed tones which made you believe some level of tomfoolery was sure to happen in the coming days. Sky, Four, and Wars were simply chatting about random things. Legend and Twilight were off on patrolling duty at the moment which was a bit of a balm for you given just how… prickly the Vet was in regards towards you at times (you knew it was mostly show, but that didn’t stop it from being aggravating). All of this left Time and you sitting beside each other in silence as one surveyed the camp and its occupants with a well-trained eye and the other lightly zoned out.

Although semi-zoned out, you weren’t entirely oblivious to the world. Your eyes drifted around and loosely observed the scenery although it was regarded as little more than static to your brain. By chance, your eyes drifted downwards and caught eye of a trinket that often sat on the hip of Time- a mask. Not just any mask, though. You hadn’t played Majora’s Mask before but you saw snippets of it and knew what the Fierce Deity mask was. You noticed from day one that Time- rather foreign in your eyes given the design you were used to- partly had the mask’s markings on his face. You had many guesses as to why that was, but you didn’t ask any.

“No- you can’t try it on,” Time speaks up as he quickly notices your stare at the mask. It jolts you a little as you didn’t realize just how long you had been staring at the aforementioned trinket.

“Oh? I wasn’t going to ask to but… well, now I’m curious as to why you don’t want me to. Is it special to you? I’ve never seen anyone else touch it before,” you ask as you stare at the mask in partly feigned curiosity, avoiding Time’s stare. Faking ignorance had grown to be second nature by now.

“Because everyone else knows that it’s good to stay away from it lest you risk tragedy. It’s a magical mask but the power it holds is… potent. Rather, who it holds,” Time cryptically answers with a small grin. It brings a little grin to your face as well that the mask wasn’t too sore a subject for the Old Man, but it was best to tread the waters lightly.

“Who it holds? There’s… a person in there?” You ask.

“Not just a person- a god. It’s called the Fierce Deity Mask as it holds a god of war within it. Put on the mask, and you become something of a vessel for him to use. Naturally, doing so is dangerous- extremely so- so don’t expect to be seeing it in use any time soon,” Time answers with a lit of strictness at the end.

“Can I… at least touch it? Or hold it?” You push, curious about many things in relation to the mask. What did a magical mask feel like in your hands? Could you feel the power of Fierce Deity wanting to be released? Could you maybe even hear him? Would your heart begin to pump loudly, as if trying to sync with a war drum? Time can practically hear your unasked questions, it seems, as he detaches the mask from his belt and hands it to you.

It’s weighty in your hands. Not heavy, but weighty. Its texture is smooth and makes it feel a little bit more like fine pottery than wood. Despite that, you knew you wouldn’t be able to break it by accidentally or purposefully dropping it (could it ever be broken? What would happen if it was?). Despite the chill in the air, the mask was warm. Something that could easily be attributed to being nearly sandwiched between your’s and Time’s body, but you felt like that wasn’t the case. Aside from that, the mask was almost… underwhelming. “What? Expecting something grand to happen?” Time lets out a short and breathy chuckle at the puzzled expression that must be on your face at the moment. “Yeah… I guess so,” You mumble, still holding the mask and looking at it in the eyes- or rather eye sockets. Randomly, you hold the mask up and away from you as if it were someone face to face with you.

“Hello, Fierce Deity, I’m (Name). A… pleasure to meet you? At least, somewhat…”

A beat of silence. And then another. And then another. And th-

“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! D-Did you seriously just introduce yourself to a mask?!”

Your face burned crimson at Wind’s howling laughter and remark. Many others shared his laughter, including Time himself. Naturally, you looked straight down at your lap and didn’t even resist having Time take the mask back. So caught up in your embarrassing action, you and everyone missed the slight vibration the mask gave off. The second Time put the mask back on his hip was the moment you decided you’d turn in for the night.

Of course, your luck was little and fickle so some of the boys decided to poke at you further come the next day. While you settled beside a stream to wash clothes, it didn’t take long before Hyrule hopped over with a little grin as he propped up the Fierce Deity mask beside you. He made a little comment about how you appeared lonely before practically running off. Unsure of whether to snap at Hyrule or almost pity the god within the mask, you simply chose to go about your chores. You had a gut feeling that a few of the Links were likely lingering close by, so you did your best to stay tight lipped beside the mask. Which was hard since chore time (especially when it allocated some space between you and the boys) was also welcomed alone time. More often than not did you talk to yourself. Safe to say that having such time and space intruded upon left you a little… pent up for the rest of the day.

When the next laundry day came by, the same stunt was pulled (by Wild this time) but you couldn’t keep your silence. Camp was located a little further from the stream than it was at the previous site, so you felt a little more secure.

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled out as you began to wash the pile of clothes beside you. By now, you’ve long grown used to the awful smell of them and you were thankful that, despite having a sculpted nose, the mask didn’t have nostrils. After a few moments of silence, you continued. “I, uhm… I’m sorry for the way that they’re treating you. Perhaps seeing the way I interacted with you that night caused them to grow a little too comfortable around you. I just ask that you forgive or at least tolerate the behavior- it’s an outlet for a handful of them. I know you’ve been with Time for awhile, so I know that you know full well the stress and trauma these boys have. It may seem like little to you given your rank as a deity, but I’m sure you’ve grown to understand mortals a bit better after hanging off the hip of one for years.”

After that, it felt like a dam had broken. Anytime you were off doing your chores, the Fierce Deity mask was there beside you. To the Chain it was a recurring joke that turned into a slight routine (something Legend hated since having something so powerful be near you was always something he despised). To you, it was finally a chance to talk- to vent without being judged. Well, you’re sure that Fierce Deity was judging you but you couldn’t hear him. Honestly, there were parts of your life that you likely sooner shared with the mask than you did with anyone else. It’s not like he can spill your secrets, anyway.

You wondered what he must have thought of you. An annoyance? A break? An interesting or perhaps strange mortal? Or did he just not care at all? Was he curious about your ramblings that described your passions, your home, your world or was it merely buzzing in his ears? You didn’t know and likely never would. At least, so you thought.

And it all started with a simple, and seemingly logical, decision from Time.

“I’m sorry- what? You’re wanting the Outsider to have the mask with them? Time, what the fuck?! We’re your sword brothers and we’ve hardly been allowed to touch the damn thing but now it gets to hang off of that witch’s hip?! What happens if we need to use it? Or what happens if they use it? We’re all screwed!” Legend practically screams as Time tells the Chain of his decision. You want to stand tall and face Legend, but you knew that his comment wasn’t entirely based off of his prickly personality (despite what may come out of his mouth). No, all of the boys were likely fretting over you having the mask given what it did to its wearer. If it could take down even a Hero of Courage, then what could it do to you?

“Enough!” Time snorted as he stared down the pink haired man. “The mask is not some secret weapon, let alone a toy (Wild, Wind, and Hyrule flinch), to be used at your leisure. That’s something this ‘outsider’ realizes better than seemingly all of you. As such, I’m entrusting it into their care to make sure it’s not abused. It is only for the worst case scenarios, do I make myself clear?”

“But the past few monster hordes have gotten stronger! I understand that (Name) acts as a field medic to the best of their ability but they stay away from battle when they can. It’ll be inconvenient and risky to let it be away from us for multiple reasons. What if a battle goes south fast and we can’t get to it in time? What if something tries to steal it from them? What if they have no choice but to use it and potentially lets Fierce Deity go on a rampage? I can guarantee that it’d hurt them,” Wars argues with a much more put together and logical rebuttal than Legend. That still doesn’t save you from the ever present glare the Vet has aimed at you and the mask.

“I’ve thought of all of this but I still believe this for the best. Besides, the hordes feel stronger because we’ve been dealing with smaller and weaker hordes for over a month now. Dink has been trying to soften us up a little and I can see that it’s worked based on our combined performance in the last battle,” Time huffs and deepens his scowl. He gives the Chain a thorough stare down before speaking again. “Anyone else want to pipe up?”

The only thing that spoke for about the next ten seconds was the breeze. After that short but tense “talk” was over with, the Chain was back on the move. Safe to say you were distracted as you and the boys traveled, though not by the gazes you felt on your person and on the mask. Rather… it was due to the mask itself. During the argument, it had been on your waist the entire time. With everyone focusing on whoever was taking their turn arguing with Time, they were all blind to the way the mask was reacting. Due to your close proximity to the mask for some time now, you knew full well that Fierce Deity could hear and see what happened around him from his wooden prison. He couldn’t speak, but he could make the mask buzz. He did it seldom, but seldom was not the word you would use for moments ago. Given how a lot of the boys still regarded him as an object, it must have pissed him off. Or, maybe, he was also a little pissed at how his new carrier was being treated. It was likely the former but you at least hope you’ve rubbed off on Fierce just a little bit by now.

…

‘On… put the mask on…’

Okay, maybe you’ve rubbed off on him a little… too much.

The freaky occurrences began to happen nearly a week after you were appointed as Fierce Deity’s new carrier. You didn’t notice the whispers at first as they were quiet and usually spoken while the boys were speaking. You also didn’t notice how the mask would move just a little bit whenever you set it down. Naturally, you couldn’t ignore it for forever- not as the mask only grew more active in regards to your ignorance.

The calls from the mask were getting closer by the day. It’s whisper- his whisper, grew louder for every night that passed. His voice was low and rumbling like a distant thunder, like an approaching storm. You’d put the mask on the other side of your tent (much to the displeasure of whoever you were sharing the tent with at the time) but it’d still end up only a foot or two away from you when morning came. Your once rather passive regard for the mask and the deity trapped within it was becoming… strained as the days went by. The boys noticed it, to the point you wondered if Time planned to take back the mask, but they (aside from a seething Legend) never commented on it. It should have come to the surprise of no one that the rising tension would eventually snap.

“You did pretty good out there today, Wind. I didn’t expect you to take out those three lizafols so quickly,” Wild complimented the young lad as he joined the group around the campfire.

“Ha, naturally! With my rate of improvement, I may even surpass the Old Man one day!” Wind puffed up his chest and grinned. The sight of his youthful happiness and high esteem caused the other men to either chuckle or feel a touch of nostalgia.

“Careful- we’ve seen what praise like that does to one of us,” Legend tsks as he side eyes Wars. The knight rolls his eyes but doesn’t clap back for once.

“It’s well deserved praise, Legend. Wind is truly improving- there’s no harm in letting him know,” Hyrule claims. The man opens his mouth to add more but is stopped when Twilight springs up from his spot and stands stiff as a board. The aura surrounding the rancher is tense as he eyes the tent farthest from the campfire.

“Uh, Twilight? What’s wr-”

“(Name)?” Twilight called out as he took a few steps towards the tent you were currently sleeping in. Due to his heightened senses, he could hear muffled grunts and whines of pain. Could you be having a nightmare? No, if it was a nightmare why did he feel so… worried? Scared, even? Based on the tense men around the campfire, they were starting to feel that as well.

Twilight walks, almost stalks, towards the tent. The wolf within was howling and snarling in the back of his mind, that something bad was happening. An almost shaky hand grabbed the fabric of the tent and… he stalled. Why? Why was he stalling? Why did it feel like he shouldn’t open the tent when he knew that he should? That he has to? That his friend- their friend- was in trouble? Why-

“Leave, Hero of Twilight. This is a private moment and you are not welcome.”

Twilight nearly flung the tent into the field.

A thrashing body was pulled from the tent and pinned down to the ground. Wild reached for the mask stuck to your face and tried to pry it away from you but it wouldn’t budge. While you weren’t transforming into the Fierce Deity, that didn’t mean you weren't under his influence at the moment. His voice had come out of your mouth, after all.

“Dammit! (Name)!” Time bellowed, kneeling beside the scene with an equal mix of anger and worry. Worry because he knows- Hylia does he know what that mask can do and angry at himself. He should have taken the mask back the second it started to show signs of attachment. He should have never let you have it- never let you even touch it.

Suddenly, you went limp. Grunts stopped on the tip of your tongue as you let out a drawn out breath. As if it wasn’t just stuck to your face like glue, Wild yanked off the mask with ease. Aside from some redness and even blood on the outline of your face due to the struggle, your face was largely unharmed. In fact, it looked eerily… peaceful.

Your arms slowly closed in and you hugged yourself. In gentle motions that appeared strange to the Chain- as if it wasn’t really you moving your appendages- you rubbed your arms. Your face settles into a more so neutral expression as you eyes flutter open for just a moment to reveal almost entirely white eyes.

“Shhh… you’re alright now, I told you that it would only hurt for a moment. Shhh…,” Fierce Deity gently spoke out of your mouth before your eyes returned to normal. With a tiny groan, your head lolled to the side as you blacked out.

Safe to say that it was absolute chaos when you woke back up.

Strained voices were arguing somewhere nearby and it didn’t help soothe your forming headache. With wobbly arms, you tried to push yourself up but failed as strength seemingly refused to return to you.

“(Name)? Thank the goddesses you’re awake!” Four pipped up in what sounded like absolute relief. Such relief was short lived as you watched Four get up and run off. You tried to sit up again in your sleeping bag but the weakness in your body persisted. Why? Why were you so weak? You went to bed early, dammit!

A baritone chuckle rings in your ears.

“I apologize for that, dear one. Your lack of strength is due to my actions last night.”

The voice was a shock to your system. You frantically looked around for its origin but couldn’t find it. Your confused actions caused the voice to nearly coo.

“Be not afraid, dear one. I am here, with you. That is why you can hear me.”

Light flooded the tent as what seemed to be a multitude of Links trying to force their way in. Time, thanks to his bulk and armor, was the one who managed to force himself to your side. His grip on your face was almost harsh as he looked over your face with a scrutinizing eye. His hardened scowl made your heart drop into your stomach. Buried fears of the Chain turning on you started to surface as nearly everyone gave you heated glares.

“What did he do? What did Fierce Deity do?” Time questioned as he still held your face, not letting go.

Fierce Deity- of course, how could you forget? Your panic that night as you rolled over and into an awaiting mask. The fear as he grabbed onto your mind despite his gentle tone.

“The mask… I… I rolled over and then it was on my face,” You answer meekly, unsure of what words to use because Time looked like he was about to blow a fuse. Anxious and a little frightened by the Old Man, you rambled on. “I swear that I put it on the other side of the tent! I promise I would never put on the mask like that! I-I… I… I’m going to ask you to unhand their face, Hero of Time. Scaring them will not grant you answers.”

Time let go of your face like it would burn him. A few of the boys behind him instinctively reached for their swords but paused. Even with the blank, white eyes staring back at them, this was still their friend’s face.

“What have you done? Why have you possessed (Name)? How?!” Wars interrogated Fierce Deity as he stared back at him.

“I have not truly possessed them. I merely created a bridge between our minds. It will not let me control them like this for much longer. I can only do so because it is still… fresh,” Fierce Deity explains, a ghost of a smile present in his voice.

“Really now? I don’t believe that for a second! Why else would you create this mental bridge if not to have them as a vessel?” Wild piped up as he tried to get close to his friend’s body. He failed to do so as Time practically shielded you from him.

“Personal reasons. I needn’t explain them to you, but I will assure you that I will not harm them. No, I would never force these innocent hands to slaughter. Not unless they were without choice,” Fierce Deity claims. As he speaks, he rubs your hands together as if enthralled with how gentle they felt compared to the calloused and aching hands he was used to guiding.

“And what, in your mind, is ‘without choice’?” Time pressed, grabbing your hands with a scowl.

“Conflict follows this group like a pack of starving wolves. There have been many times where death nearly sunk its teeth into their neck. Times I wish they would have donned the mask so that I could protect them and get them to safety. Unfortunately, they still believed in the half-truths you all told them were the full truth,” Fierce Deity rumbles as he stares down at Times grip with a less than pleased expression.

“I am not comfortable with what you’ve done to our friend. I don’t know if any of us may grow used to or comfortable with this, but… we also have no way to remove you from them. That does not mean we will not look or try. Don’t grow comfortable with this… this bond. It. Will. Not. Last,” Time threatens as he doesn’t bother to hide his disgust or displeasure. With a motion, he orders everyone else to leave. The Chain leaves the tent one by one, but not before speaking their mind. Once alone together again, Fierce Deity lets his hold slip. One or more of the heroes would come back, with more questions, and they would do so soon. So he would enjoy this little break while he had it.

“They are gone for now, dear one. No doubt they will return shortly, so let us enjoy this piece of quiet while we can.”

You lay on your side, feeling dizzy from Fierce Deity suddenly grabbing the reigns of your mind. Although he backed off once the Chain left the tent, his presence within was close. It was almost as if he was laying behind you, wanting to wrap his arms around you. Wanting to hold you close and only stopped by his lack of physical form.

“I am glad you do not have a heightened sense of smell. Their worry, rage, and envy- oh their envy- would have burned your nose. Ah, but… let us dwell on that no longer.”

Your hand was puppeteered to reach down to your side. Your were made to unclasp the mask from your belt and bring it up close to your face. Rather than putting it on, Fierce Deity touched his “face” against yours. Forehead to forehead, nose to nose, and almost mouth to mouth.

“Mmm… so soft, as always. If I had need for sleep as you do, then I would not rest unless this is the sight that’s before me. And even then, I may be too enchanted to close my eyes.”

Phantom hands rubbed at your arms, your back, and then your cheek. They weren’t real, but with Fierce’s control of your imagination, they were. And you prayed that is was his influence, and not your own heart, that found it comforting and warm. You wanted to push back and take control but, due to the “fresh” nature of your bond, you would likely be at the mercy of the god for days.

“Rest, dear one. Rest your mind and body, you must still recover from our bonding last night.”

Those phantom hands circled around you and you feel as though you’re caged in an embrace.

“I will deal with the heroes should they come to disturb you. Know that I will not let them part us- not unless they’re looking to stir my rage.”

A kiss. It wasn’t real- it wasn’t, but the rough lips upon your forehead tempted your heart to will that they were.

“And I promise that one day, we will not have to rely on this spiritual bond. No, I will make up for these ethereal affections tenfold when I find out how to return to the material plane. No matter how long it takes. Not that we must worry about that, after all. Our time together… will be eternal.”

---

The next few days were perhaps the most tense you’ve ever experienced. Fierce Deity was a constant presence in your head, even as the bond between the two of you settled. He wasn’t chatty, but just rather curious and inquisitive. When he wasn’t asking questions about you, he was observing. He seemed to derive an almost twisted form of happiness whenever he saw how on edge everyone was around you now . He assured it was out of jealousy of him, not fear or hatred towards you. Were it actually out of new found ill-will… no, you weren’t going to imagine what the god would have in store for them.

True to his word, his hold over your mind lessened the more the bond settled in. No longer would you feel phantom hands wrapping around your own or resting on your shoulder. No longer would it feel like a large body was laying behind your own every night you fell asleep. No longer would it be his voice on your tongue to shoo away the boys should they do wrong in the war god’s eyes. No longer did it feel like he was breathing down your neck every waking moment.

In an attempt to hinder the god’s mysterious motives, you were quickly relieved of the mask he was bound to. It was once again on Time’s hip- now covered and tied up in cloth. Honestly, you were surprised it wasn’t buried into the storage of Wild’s Sheika Slate to create even more distance. Even with what happened, it seemed that Time didn’t have it in him to simply discard the mask. Perhaps he hoped to keep the deity in check, like he had done before you accidentally stirred the entity into action.

And it would seem that that is exactly what Fierce planned on him doing.

It was supposed to be a quiet night. The area was secure, dinner was cooking in the pot, and everyone but Time was idling around the fire. Wind chatted with you about every and anything that came to mind which pushed your focus onto the young man. With your distance from the mask and not thinking about Fierce, you felt nothing from the bond. You felt calm for the first time in awhile and everyone seemed to feel the same.

“Any idea when the Old Man is gonna be back?” Wars asks aloud, looking for nearly anyone to answer him.

“Soon. Dinner’s almost done and he’s not one to miss it. At least when I’m cooking,” Wild hums. It was a simple answer to a simple question, so no one said anything else. Still, it unnerved you. Time sought to set an example, so potentially being late to dinner was unlike him. Curious, you probed on the bond connecting you to Fierce. Even if he’d huff at you checking up on another man before him, you knew you’d get an answer. You always got an answer.

…

“I’ll look for him,” You state as you get up and walk off in the direction of where you last saw Time. Your sudden decision startled the boys and your nervous, almost haunted, expression did nothing to soothe them.

“Then I’m going with you. I don’t want you to getting close to him,” Twilight announces as he catches up to you. His tone left you with no room for an argument but you weren’t going to.

Not when Fierce was being eerily quiet.

You and Twilight took careful steps through the forest as he tried to retrace Time’s path. You both would stop and listen to the ambient sounds of the forest whenever something sounded off. The constant stopping and going only ramped up your nerves further as it kept punctuating Fierce’s refusal to communicate.

“I’m sure we’ll get an explanation when we find him. If you ask me, he might just be getting some alone time. He always does seem to have a lot on his mind,” Twilight piped up as he led you through the woods. The man offered a small smile but the strain on his face wasn’t lost on you. “Any word from him?”

“No. Nothing. It’s like… like there’s no bond at all,” You reply. “Ever since the incident, it’s never been like that. If anything, Fierce always made an effort to feel ‘present’.”

“Maybe… he’s also taking a break?” Twilight suggested, trying to be the optimistic. You shoot him a look and that optimism is quick to falter. Twilight doesn’t give up and faces you with an uneasy smile. He gently places his hands on your shoulders and rubs them a little. You feel that it comforts him more than you. “C’mon, think about it. You’ve said that he’s not as violent as we believe him to be, so m-”

“Remove your hands from them, Hero of Twilight.”

The air is squeezed from your lungs as Twilight suddenly pulls you into a shielding embrace. His fur pelt partly blocks your vision, but you can make out an imposing silhouette between the trees. How did the both of you not notice him?

Fierce Deity was striking. He has to at least be seven feet tall and he was clad in armor similar to Time’s but it was a steely silver, not gold. The armor was lined with white fur with an abundance of it on his collar. Long, flowing locks of white swayed in the night time breeze. Fierce’s silver-gray eyes were framed by strong and downturned brows. His stare was… intense, to say the least. But your eyes weren’t on his. No, you were focused on finding out why there were splatters of blood on him.

“What did you do?!” Twilight growled. “Where’s Time? What did you do to him?!”

“I won’t ask again, Hero of Twilight. Release them,” Fierce commanded as he began to walk towards the both of you. Twilight only seemed to tighten his hold in response. This was going to end up being ugly unless you did something.

“Stop!” You exclaim as you try and fail to wrestle yourself out of Twilight’s hold. Both men head your order but the tense atmosphere doesn’t dissipate. You shoot Twilight a glare but the hero returns it as he shakes his head. True to his word from earlier, he wasn’t about to let you get close to the god of war.

A strangle cough breaks the silence as someone stumbles through the brush. Thanks to the golden armor, you knew exactly who it was.

“Oh god, Time!” You exclaim as the older man leans against a tree for support. His face is banged up and actively dripping blood. His armor was smeared with the red liquid as if he had been trying to wipe off the blood over and over again. Blood bubbled up from Time’s lips as he tried to gurgle out words. The pathetic sight was enough to shock Twilight into action as he let go of you and zipped towards the injured man.

“Ancestor! What happened?! What did he do to you?” Twilight questions as he supports the bloodied man. More gurgles and grunts leave the man’s mouth as he tries to answer the younger man’s questions. It’s clear to all present that Time is in no shape to answer questions despite the desperate need for it.

“Take him back to camp and have him healed up,” You order. The order earns you a stern shake of the head from both Twilight and Time, but you refused to budge. “Now, Twilight! I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Go take care of him,” Fierce chimes in as he looks back to the two men. “No harm shall befall them. You have my word.”

With a tough choice to make, you can see the exact moment when a hero’s instinct takes over Twilight. He lifts up Time and barrels through the forest back to the camp. In the blink of any eye, you’re suddenly left alone with the very person who had to have harmed Time. You’re so out of your league in the current situation that you probably couldn’t even see the playing field on the horizon, but you weren’t about to back down.

“My dear-”

“What did you do to him?” You confront as you stand up as tall as you can. It’s nothing compared to the towering deity, but you weren’t about to let that stop you. Fierce seems amused by your actions. He leisurely walks towards you with his hands by his sides and a small smile on his face.

“Nothing too rash, my dear. Just a broken nose and some scraps to the face. Head wounds tend to bleed quite a lot, as you know,” Fierce answers vaguely.

“Why did you hurt him?” You continue to question as you start to back up. You wanted to keep distance between the both of you in case you had to turn heel and run. Not that’d you’d get very far, but you could only hope.

“I didn’t mean to hit him hard. He came at me and I punched him, simple as that,” Fierce assured as he continued his approach. “Surely, my dear, you believe me? You know I would not hurt another without reason.”

“The mask- how did you escape the mask?” You press as you do your best to keep your distance.

“That wooden prison was old and ready to crack. I never saught to free myself from its binds as there was little in this world that tempted me forward. Well, little until you came around. Ah, I still recall how gently you held me in your hands that night…” Fierce hummed as he closed in. It didn’t take long for him to corner you against a tree. Frozen against the trunk, you could no longer keep space between the two of you. Fierce leaned down and grabbed your hands with his own. He pressed them against his face and he stares straight into your eyes.

“Hello, (Name), I’m the one they call the Fierce Deity. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Words evaded you, as did action. You didn’t pull away nor did you do anything else than having allowed Fierce guide your actions. The god chuckles at your frozen deer response as he moves his hands under your arms and lifts you up. You cringe as he holds you close and blood seeps into your clothes and the smell of iron assaults your nose. Fierce nuzzles against your cheek and buries his strong nose into your shoulder. In your shock, you can’t tell if he kisses your shoulder or if it’s just your imagination.

“YOU BASTARD!”

A growl reverberates through you as Fierce grits his teeth. His embrace tightens as he turns to face a small group of men. A near foaming at the mouth Legend leads the party of enraged me. Upon seeing you in the grasp of the deity, the rabid man refrains from attacking but it’s clear he’s waiting for his opening. A similarly enraged Sky, Four, and Wars follow behind him and a snarling Wolfie is quick to catch up with the group.

“Quell your tongue, Veteran. They’re already stressed enough,” Fierce huffs as he rubs a hand up and down your back.

“Then let them go! Can’t you see that you’re scaring them even further?” Sky argues as he adjusts his grip on the Master Sword. Unlike Legend, he’s not still on his feet as he begins to move in an attempt to flank Fierce. Wars and Wolfie catch onto his plan while Four stays steady beside Legend.

“They are shocked, Hero of the Sky. Their senses are overwhelmed at the moment from tonights events,” Fierce dismisses the claim. He takes his eyes of the men and looks at you. His voice his low and gentle when he addresses you. “Correct, my dear? You know I’d never want to harm or scare you.”

You shrink away from Fierce and refuse to look him in the eye. The actions draw out a sigh from the god but he doesn’t force a response out of you. Instead, you feel yourself sway with his body as he begins to move. There are shouts and orders from the other men to stay still but Fierce acts as if they were little more than the surrounding scenery.

“Let’s get you back to camp. You must be hungry after all of this excitement. Can you hold a spoon? I’ll feed you if you can’t,” Fierce murmurs to you as he walks. You nod in response and the god sighs again. “Come now, my dear, what has happened to that beautiful voice of yours? Do not tell me you’re so mad at me that you’d cut me off from such sweet melodies?”

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

Fierce slows to a stop. You can practically feel the puzzled expression radiating off of his face.

“My dear? What are you talking about?”

“Why are you calling me ‘my dear’?” You repeat as you pull away from Fierce’s shoulder. You can see his face scrunch up at your remark. You also see the men who confronted him following close behind.

“Because you are dear to me, (Name). You treated me fairly and sweetly, like I was a man- not a mask. You’ve told me more than what you’ve told anyone else. You always seemed happy to be near me for the longest time. Even after my brash actions that night, you still didn’t entirely recess into fear,” Fierce answers with a strong tone. “You may not realize it, but that is very important to me. You are very important to me and by the Golden Three do I intend on making that clear.”

Fierce resumes his large gait back to the camp. When he arrives, the reception is chilly. No one moves for their weapons but nor does anyone stay far away from them. Finally, Fierce sets you down onto the ground. You slump down to the soil below you as you take in deep breaths, unaware of how shallow your breathing had been before.

“Get a bowl of food ready- and don’t be skimpy,” Fierce orders as he stares down Wild. Wild grumbles something you can’t make out but he portions out a bowl for you. Fierce takes the portion from the cook before he can even leave the pot to give it to you. He settles himself by your side before shifting you into his lap. A spoon is brought up to your lips before you can argue. At the very least, Wild’s cooking never disappoints.

“Getting comfortable?” A rough voice breaks through the ambience of the night. A now healed but still beaten up Time stares down Fierce without a shred of fear. You immediately notice that he has both eyes open, and they’re both normal. Not to mention the fact that his face was now free from markings.

“Very,” Fierce curtly replies. He doesn’t bother to face Time as he’s focused on feeding you. The deity coos at you as your mouth is stuffed with food and your cheeks puff up as a result. The actions from the towering entity is… strange and off-putting to all present. The boys are stuck between glaring at the deity or cringing at his out of character actions. Fierce couldn't care less.

The evening passed by without much more incident. Everyone was jumpy and gave you and Fierce space despite the expressed distaste towards the new addition. There would be no knight in shining armor for you tonight, so you only hoped that Fierce would keep his word on treating you kindly.

Based on how he clung to you when it was time to go to bed, he seemed only further convinced he needed to assure you of that promise. He had shed his armor so you didn’t have to have metal pressing into you. He had also wrapped you up into a blanket burrito (something he made clear he learned from you and your ramblings) to limit the amount of skin on skin contact between you. He wasn’t blind to his intensity, so he was doing his best to restrain himself. You could only hope he’d keep up the will to do- for everyone’s sake.

“Sleep tight and sweet dreams, my dear,” Fierce whispered as he fiddled with the blanket covering you and stray strands of your hair. “I will be by your side the entire night, should you need me.”

“Okay…” You mumbled out as you wanted to do nothing more than hide away into your blanket. You closed your eyes but no amount of counting sheep would make falling asleep easy. Not with arms caging you to a man ever hungry for even your attention. Ever hungry for even a sliver of affection. By Hylia, what have you gotten yourself into.

“I love you, my dear,” Fierce mumbles as he believes you’re on the brink of falling asleep. “And remember… my love for your is eternal.”

And by the Goddesses, how do you get yourself out?

A wide and fanged smile cracks against the skin of your neck. A dark and hopefully playful chuckle leaves the god of war’s lips.

“You don’t.”

#yandere linked universe #yandere linked universe x reader #lu fierce deity #yandere lu fierce deity #linked universe x reader #yandere lu #Yandere lu x reader

[hannibals-favourite-meal]

Congratulations on 5k

Could you do 6 and 16 for Orm if he's not allowed Steve.

.⋆｡Dosage｡⋆.

Orm Marius x plus size reader

You get stuck babysitting the Ocean Master, you should’ve guessed that he would stir up some trouble

Warnings: sex pollen so little bit of dub-con, mention of tranquilisers and death, Batman not being helpful, swearing, no smut but nudity and implied smut

Minors DNI

Library- @hannibals-favourite-meal-library

5k Follower Celebration

You wondered what you did to warrant this terrible punishment. The lab was silent, your music having been forcefully turned off by your employer an hour before and you were pinned to your seat by the icy blue eyes of your charge. 

Babysitting, that’s what you had been reduced to. It’s not like your three PHDs could be put to better use than making sure Arthur’s brother didn’t wander off and get himself into trouble. You rationalised that you could deal with it fine as long as he kept his mouth shut and his hands to himself but evidently the ex King of Atlantis had a serious staring problem and it was so much more distracting than if he had been chatting your ear off.

Sighing heavily, your head dropped between your shoulders and you pulled your glasses off your nose. “Do you really have to stare at me the whole time like some kind of fucking vouyer?” Orm huffed, finally looking away and giving you a chance to observe the Atlantian.

There was no doubt that he was beautiful, with a chilled jaw, perfect skin, fluffy blond hair and a body that would rival Michelangelo’s David but as soon as he opened his mouth, all that beauty melted away. He was arrogant and entitled and for some damn reason he refused to let you work in peace.

“You should be honoured to be in my presence human.” Your eye twitched in annoyance. Breathe Y/N, breathe. You told yourself. You crossed your legs and shot Orm a look that would’ve had Batman shaking in his boots.

“Just- find something else to do and let me work, please.” He raised a dark brow at you but nodded anyway. His muscles rippled beneath the compression shirt he had been given upon his arrival to the tower. You forced yourself to look away and back to your work. “All I need is an hour and then we can find something productive for you to do.”

He hummed noncommittally, which you were perfectly fine with. 

The lab settled into a blissful silence and you were finally, thankfully, able to really plug into the data analysis that you had been putting off. Occasionally, you could see the disgraced prince out of the corner of your eye as he wandered around the lab, his hands clasped behind his back. He could follow directions well, you would give him that.

You didn’t mind the company, now that he was not staring at you like a fucking creep, in fact he was quite comforting considering you spent most days in complete isolation save for when Batman needed yet another project completed. 

Just as you were reaching the final compiling, Orm’s voice rang through the lab as if he were commanding his people. “What the fuck is sex pollen?” Your entire body seized with fear and as you turned your chair to face him, time slowed.

His large hand had turned one of the many labelled specimen jars in the open cabinet at the other end of the lab, the cabinet that you had forgotten to lock when Bruce had barged in earlier. Your eyes widened almost comically as the delicate jar tipped and the neon pink dust gathered to one side. Orm tried to grab the sealed beaker but the glass was already rolling off the shelf.

Your hand was already moving towards the contamination shut down as the container met the solid ground, shattering immediately. 

The pollen exploded outwards, coating everything within 2 metres of the impact point in a bright pink dust. Orm coughed and tried to wipe it from his skin, but the pollen was already soaking in, quickly making its way into his bloodstream. 

The lab doors slammed shut and the industrial strength locks clicked into place. You yanked a medical mask from your workstation and quickly tugged it on as you rushed towards Orm, whose face was now flushed. His chest was already heaving with laboured breaths and as you drew closer, you could see the sweat collecting on his brow.

“Hey, I need you to listen to me very carefully right now.” His gaze snapped to you and you held up your hands to show that you weren’t a threat. “We can fix this, we just have to work together. Understand?” He nodded his head and you sighed in relief.

“I need you to strip off your clothes, the longer you’re in them, the more pollen you’ll ingest. And then I’m putting you in the decontamination shower until I figure out how this is going to fuck with your fishy DNA.” You expected some fight out of the prince but he followed your directions to the letter, his eyes staring intently into your own. 

You were thankful for your mask concealing your face as he pulled off his shirt, exposing the toned muscles of his stomach. You swallowed thickly, heat defiantly pooling between your thighs as his thumbs hooked into the waistband of his sweatpants and yanked them down. Evidently, Atlantians didn’t wear underwear. He leaned closer to you, his nostrils flaring. 

Orm’s eyelids fluttered as he let out the most erotic groan you had ever heard. “Fuck, why do you smell so fucking good?” You hated to admit it, but your knees buckled at that. Swallowing down the whine that threatened to spill from your lips, you pulled yourself together.

“O-okay now, into the shower.” You nodded your head towards the stall in the corner of the lab but Orm remained still. His breathing was quickening and his pupils were blown, leaving only a sliver of blue around the black. You stepped in that direction but still, he refused to follow.

“Goddamnit.” You muttered and grabbed his muscular shoulder, forcefully yanking him to the stall and quickly shoving him inside before he had a chance to refuse. You locked the door, knowing that there was no possible way for him to drown himself, and started the auto decontamination.

As soon as he lost sight of you, Orm gave a shout of protest and slammed his fists against the door. “No! Come back!” The glass trembled with the force of his blows and if it weren’t for Bruce’s tendency to make everything strong enough to hold Clark back for a minute at least, you would have been scared of it shattering.

You carefully walked backwards to your desk, your eyes locked onto the shower which was now running but it was doing nothing to hinder the man inside. In fact, his efforts to get out doubled as the water hit his overheated skin. “You’re mine!” He screamed and a crack appeared in the glass.

You snatched up the phone that directly connected you to Bruce, pressing it to your ear as you continued to back up. As soon as you heard his gruff voice, you shouted at him. “Orm ingested that sex pollen shit from Ivy, what the fuck do I do?”

There was a pause and for a second you thought the line had dropped. Then he sighed heavily into the receiver. “Fuck. The antidote you developed won’t work on him since he doesn’t have any human DNA and his body won’t burn out the pollen fast enough before his system overheats.” Silence settled between you as the solution dawned on both of you at the same time. “So-“

“So I’ll have to help him through it or he dies.” You finished his thought for him.

“I’m sorry kid.” Then the call cut off. Orm threw his body at the door and another crack appeared. You had a choice here, there was a tranquiliser in the drawer of your desk that could put down Flash, you could wait for the door to shatter and use it against the raging prince. Or…

Your mask dropped to the floor, along with your shirt and pants. His shouts had now devolved into unintelligible growls that only served to make your inner thighs even wetter. By the time you reached the shower, the frosted glass now resembled a spider’s web and you were completely bare.

You hit the override switch to the side of the stall and the screaming stopped. The damaged tracks groaned as the door slowly opened, revealing you to Orm once more. “Take what you need, I only want to help.” 

The air was knocked from your lungs as strong arms grabbed you and pulled you into the shower with him. Cold water washed over your naked body though it did nothing to lessen the fire between you. A moan was forced from your lips as Orm ducked down and buried his nose in the crook of your throat, pressing his hard body to your soft one.

His chest rumbled happily as he inhaled. “I will not be gentle, I cannot. But once this curse has passed, I will treat you like a goddess, a queen.” His tongue licked up the column of your neck until he could rise to his full height once more. “You will experience pleasure like never before, my claim will be laid upon you.”

And you could only nod as his large warm hand gripped your knee tightly, bringing your plump leg up to wrap around his lean hips. “Prepare yourself for your king.”

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#5k celebration #orm marius x plus size reader #orm marius x reader #orm marius x you #orm marius x y/n #orm x plus size reader #orm x reader #orm x you #orm x y/n #ocean master #ocean master x reader #ocean master x plus size reader #ocean master x you #patrick wilson #plus size reader #female reader #reader insert #fluff #anon #inbox #dc

[punkeropercyjackson]

Can we be honest?Jessica makes a lot more sense as the parental figure of the Spiderband rather than Miguel but people would rather dub the guy who tried to kill a 15 year old a good dadish for him and his friends instead of letting a black woman be the center of their fan content.I get that has potential to turn her into a m@mmy but i do not for a second think that's the fandom's concern with it and there's an important aspect we need to note that Jessica wouldn't be coddling them,she's in her mid-30s and they're all teens so it only makes sense she'd be their caretaker and she has a kid on the way so it would also be logical for her to want practice on that.Also sorry not sorry but nobody's ever reduced Miguel don't to just 'Spiderdad' and make loads of solo content for him so there's no reason Spidermom!Jessica shouldn't be the same(other than the obvious one i don't need to say and kinda already did).Oh also just thought of another reason and it's that 3/6 of the Spiderkids are black and one's a trans girl and Jessica's canon trans in the comics and it's not like the crew's debunked it and there's a whole nother movie left so,well!!!

#jessica drew #pro jessica drew #spidermom #spiderband #miles morales #gwen stacy #peni parker #pavitr prabhakar #margo kess #margo tag #gayatri singh #atsv #spiderman #trans 4 trans and autistic 4 autistic found family realness #misogynoir #💌 #summerposting #miles g morales #ghostflower #punkflower #ghostpunk #ghostbyte #t4t pavitr x gayatri #prowlerbyte #punkbyte #just for clarification i'm not a miguel anti but guys c'mon gwen literally asked jessica to adopt her

[leosmasktails]

I’ve been thinking way too much about Peepaw Leo and Casey, so I decided to write a drabble where future Leo also got sent back in time with Casey, but the Leo’s are homies because it’s been a while since everything went down :)

This is a fluff bomb and I’m not sorry ;)

Oh also, Leo = present day Leo, Leon = future Leo :)))

Disclaimer: This is a tickle fic so if you’re not into that please just scroll! :)

(As always, everything is 100% platonic and just meant to be family fluff!!!)

Warnings: None I believe lol

Word Count: 1,837

————————————————————————

That Brought Me Back

Casey had been sitting quietly in his room, reading a Jupiter Jim comic book that Leo had lent him earlier that day.

He had gotten so wrapped up in the storyline that nothing had pulled his attention away from it for a good half an hour, except for the sudden shriek that echoed throughout the tunnels of the sewers.

Casey jolted upright, grabbing his hockey stick and venturing out into the lair to find the source of the shriek, which was now sounding more like… laughter?

He continued forwards warily, keeping his hockey stick out in front of him until the laughter got louder and louder.

“LEHEO! STOHOP!”

Mikey?

Casey stepped foot into the main area of the lair that was dubbed ‘the hang-out spot’.

The scene that Casey witnessed before him wasn’t what he was expecting to see today, but now that he thought about it, he wasn’t really surprised.

Leo was sitting on top of Mikey’s shell, digging mercilessly into his youngest brother’s underarms as Mikey kicked his legs underneath him.

“LEHEO!” Mikey cried as Leo noticed the presence of another person in the room.

“Alright, alright,” Leo grinned, stepping off of Mikey and letting him recover.

“What’s up, Case?” Leo held out a hand for Mikey to take, pulling Mikey to his feet.

“Oh, I heard Mikey shriek and I just wanted to see what the fuss was about.” Casey chuckled, setting down his hockey stick against the wall.

“Oh yeah, he’s fine! Just sensitive-” Leo teased.

“Hey!”

Leo giggled and turned back to face Casey.

“What about you, huh? You ticklish?” Leo grinned mischievously.

Casey managed to hide his reaction, fully aware that no matter what he answered, Leo was going to test it out on him anyways.

“I don’t think so,” Casey shrugged, leaving Leo and Mikey both looking perplexed.

“You don’t think so?” Leo questioned, folding his arms over his plastron in disbelief.

“How could you not know?” Mikey scoffed, a little bit of his Dr. Delicate Touch side seeping through.

“I mean, I literally lived in an apocalypse, I guess I just never got tickled much.”

“Fair point.” Leo admitted.

“You know what we gotta do, man.” Mikey deadpanned before looking at Leo and smirking.

“Yep,” Casey didn’t even put up a fight and laid on the floor awkwardly in-between Leo and Mikey.

Leo and Mikey knelt down and gave him confused looks.

“Casey, my man, I will find a way to break you.” Leo tried to break the tension in the air.

“Okay.” Casey responded nonchalantly.

Mikey stared at him in awe at how he wasn’t getting all riled up at this point.

Even Donnie was more reactive than this.

Leo hovered his hands over Casey’s torso. Still no reaction.

“Are you gonna do it?” Casey questioned, a slight tone of annoyance in his voice.

He just wanted to get this over with.

“Okay, mister, well when you put it that way!” Leo shot back equally as annoyed.

His favorite part was the build-up where his brothers would start to giggle with anticipation before he even started, but clearly that wasn’t happening here.

Leo poked Casey in the stomach, yet the boy only laid there like nothing had even happened.

If anything he just looked bored.

“Lift up your arms.” Mikey demanded, his face scrunching with determination to get Casey to laugh.

“Whatever you want, Mikey,” Casey folded his arms behind his head as if he were relaxing, closing his eyes to add to the building disappointment of both of the turtles.

Mikey scratched away at Casey’s underarms, but still, nothing.

“Not even a smile?” Leo groaned as he attempted to squeeze Casey’s sides.

This kid wasn’t giving them anything whatsoever.

“Can I sit up now?” Casey asked, a smug look faintly painted on his face.

“Yeah, sure, whatever, dude.” Leo sat back and rolled his eyes. He wasn’t actually annoyed, just disappointed he didn’t have another person to torment whenever he felt like it.

Casey sat up in-between the turtles, both of them sitting there in silence as Casey propped himself up.

“Wow, you guys are in a bad mood.” Casey joked, looking over at Leo and studying his face. He was similar enough to Master Leonardo that could tell he was only being dramatic.

“Leo?” Casey poked the red-eared slider in the side, eliciting a small squeal from said turtle.

Casey’s eyes lit up at the sound and he looked over to Mikey, who couldn’t keep up the ‘upset’ front any longer and flashed a smile across his face.

Leo huffed and turned so that he wasn’t facing them.

Mikey rolled his eyes and gave Casey a look, quickly darting his eyes to Leo and back to Casey. He knew what Leo wanted.

Mikey quietly shifted himself, preparing himself to launch at his older brother as he gave Casey a look saying: ‘Watch this.’

“Cowabunga!” Mikey shouted and shot himself at Leo, tackling him over and getting right to the point.

“Mihikey! Dohohon’t!” Leo’s giggles immediately filled the once empty silence in the air.

Casey scooted over to the action, jumping in to help Mikey get revenge on Leo from earlier.

“CAHASEY!” Leo’s laughter became louder when Casey scratched his fingers along the side of his shell.

“What are you guys doing in here?” The older slider’s voice cut through his younger counterpart’s laughter.

Casey stopped torturing Leo abruptly, butterflies growing in his stomach as soon as he heard his sensei’s voice.

He might have been able to put on an act for the younger mutant turtles, but his sensei was a different case.

“We’re just having fun!” Mikey carried on with his ticklish onslaught on Leo, sending Leo into a fit of giggly laughter again.

Leon couldn’t help but smile at the scene in front of him.

He missed these moments with his brothers.

“MIHIKE! GEHET OFF!” Leo rolled over and threw Mikey off in the process.

“What? You scared of being embarrassed in front of Leon?” Mikey teased. Leo only stuck his tongue out at him buried his face in his arms.

“Oh that ship sailed a while ago.” Leon chuckled, “But I’ve also seen my fair share of little Junior here being embarrassed too.” He added, making Casey’s cheeks flush to a light pink.

“Casey told us he’s not ticklish.” Mikey rested his elbow on Leo’s back and propped up his head, “We even tried to get him but he didn’t even smile.” Mikey looked defeated.

Casey had turned to face the other way to avoid the turtles from pointing out his blushing.

Leon’s brows furrowed with confusion, Casey had always been a pretty sensitive kid…

The realization hit him almost instantly.

“Oh, he didn’t now, did he?” A devilish smile grew on Leon’s face as he turned to make eye-contact with his surrogate son.

Casey’s face had turned a shade of beet red as he began slowly inching away from the three turtles.

“Where are you going?” Leon smirked at Casey, lunging for him and grabbing his arm so that he couldn’t escape.

The teen couldn’t help the giggles bubbling up in his throat, desperately prying at his sensei’s hand in an attempt to get away.

Leon pulled Casey into his lap sideways, his hair a mess all over his face as he pleaded with Leon and pushed his hand away from him.

The one advantage Casey had was that Leon currently only had one arm, but he was still a hell of a lot weaker than the full grown mutant turtle man.

“You’re really not doing a good job of selling yourself to them here, Case.” Leo grinned down at Casey already going crazy in his lap.

Leon pulled his arm back and wiggled his fingers down at Casey, sending the boy into a fit of laughter as he once again attempted to block Leon’s hand.

“I haven’t even touched you yet!” Leon was amused with himself, finally slipping past Casey’s hands and drilling his fingertips gently into Casey’s stomach.

Casey’s laughter rang out and bounced off of the walls, all of them unable to help the smiles they wore at the sound Leon was eliciting from the usually quiet teen.

Leon skittered his hand around Casey’s torso, hitting a sweet spot on his ribs that sent him squealing.

Leo and Mikey felt betrayed by this.

“Dude! How did he do that earlier?” Leo was thoroughly impressed with Casey’s little performance he had put on only minutes before.

“It’s all in your head!” Leon responded as he continued digging his fingers into the crook of Casey’s neck, a stream of nasally giggles leaving Casey’s mouth, “It’s a tactic I taught him when he was younger, but we used tickling as a way to build up those skills.”

“That’s neat!” Mikey chimed in.

“So, what I’m hearing right now is that he wanted you to tickle him?” Leo questioned, sitting up straight, “Because his walls broke down the moment you brought it up.”

Leon looked from his younger self back to Casey squirming around in his lap, the pure childishness of it warming Leo’s heart.

This is what Casey should have always looked like.

Happy, not worried about an apocalyptic invasion, carefree, the list went on for miles.

“Maybe,” Leon shrugged, “I can’t say I blame him though.” He winked at the younger slider, bringing a small blush to the teen’s face.

He kept forgetting Leon knew all of his thoughts.

Leon chuckled and pulled his hand away from Casey, letting him breathe and calm down.

“Thahat was soho mean!” Casey whined, now pouting in Leon’s lap.

“Oh, that brought me back!” Leon scooped up Casey into a crushing hug, “You used to be so little, oh, and you were just the cutest thing!” Leon shook him around in his arms.

“Sensei!” Casey’s giggles were full of embarrassment as he pulled himself away from Leon’s hug, falling backwards and landing on his palms.

“I speak no lies!” Leon shrugged, laughing when Casey’s cheeks went pink again.

“Yeah, yeah, enough with the sappy stuff, grandpa-”

“Hey-”

Leo threw an arm around a very flustered Casey’s shoulders and pulled him backwards, “I told you I would find a way to break you! I just never said it would be this version of me!”

Casey rolled his eyes at Leo’s logic.

It still weirded him out how similar the two Leo’s acted, even though he knew they were the same person.

“Wait,” the wheels in Casey’s brain began to turn, “If he’s also you, wouldn’t that mean he has the same sensitive spots as you?” He looked up at Mikey, who immediately picked up what he was putting down.

Leo sat in silence before a grin took over his face.

“I like where your head is at, Case.” Leo craned his neck upwards to look at Leon, Casey following his movement.

Leon perked his head up to see three very mischievous looking teenagers staring him down.

“Okay, Peepaw,” Leo released Casey and cracked his knuckles for dramatic effect.

“Your turn.”

————————————————————————

Part 2

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt tickle #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles tickle #ticklish!leo #lee!leo #ler!leo #ticklish!mikey #lee!mikey #ler!mikey #ticklish!casey #lee!casey #ler!casey #ler!futureleo #ler!leonardo #sfw tickle fanfiction #sfw #platonic tickles #sfw tickles #sfw tickling community #leosmasktails drabbles #drabble #rottmnt tickles #rise!leo #future leo #rise!mikey #casey jones rottmnt #rottmnt leo #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt future leonardo

[elizakai]

AU INFO ARCHIVES

AU REFERENCE ARCHIVES AND QUICK FACT GRABS

Ok keep in mind, some of these Are going through reboots or are ongoing! 

but these are BASICS and should mostly hold up!

I only knew of a few of these sources before tonight, so I did have to skim a few of these sources as I searched…. I’d like to think I’m a decent info surfer 🫠 but take with a grain of salt as you should most things _^_

I may have to come back and edit this post :( lmk if any of the links don’t work, sites prove unhelpful, or if you have BETTER sites, please 😁

If you want other au’s, or if anyone’s interested in specific characters simplified facts and/ or analysis, I can do the research for you and write it up more swallowable, just lmk _^_

❗️BELOW THE CUT❗️

KILLER SANS ARCHIVED

Au/ canon by rahafwabas

The ao3 link in this was especially helpful to me personally :)⬇️

DREAMTALE ARCHIVED 

Au/ Canon by jokublog/ joku

SIMPLE, HELPFUL SUMMARY, JUST FACTS! updated 2021 so beware of potential changes but most of this holds up from reading it⬇️

Dreamtale past archive , xxtha has been approved by joku and has some good character analysis things on their blog, esp on dreamtale/ and dream’s character :D!⬇️

DUSTTALE ARCHIVE

Au/ Canon by ask dusttale

DUSTTALE is hard because the creator speaks Korean.  I’ve yet to find compiled info so here’s their tumblr, there is an archive of asks and such on blog!

DUSTTALE has a lot of intentionally unanswered questions in general, so if it’s confusing that’s…part of it😪

Ask DustTale — Can you clarify something please? You keep...

This is helpful and simple character wise⬇️

Canon Dusttale Sans Storyline, Character, and Facts | Undertale AUs Amino

the creator has several stories on ao3 about dust (well, technically murder) sans, but most are in Korean….if you know how to find translations I’d love to get my hands on it 👀

INK SANS ARCHIVE

Au/ Canon by comyet

COMYET Being golden and splendiferous and making it easy for me by compiling it for us I will marry them just for that, this includes a personality section too⬇️

HORRORTALE

Au/ Canon by SourAppleStudios

❗️This comic contains gore and disturbing images❗️as long as that doesn’t bother you…ABSOLUTELY go read it!!! IT’S GOOD.

Welcome

If the link is weird, just find sourapplestudios and you should be able to figure it out! Keep in mind the comic is still in the works but a good amount of content is established

K so for horror SANS this is a wiki ( :( I tried avoiding those…) BUT it’s quick and easy, slightly biased but still valuable⬇️ I’m sure there’s better sources but this is the first decent quick one I found!

UNDERSWAP

Now most of you are aware of the underswap drama that occurred…and that most of the fandom doesn’t adhere to the original underswap, especially after the creator stepped away from the story

However, I think this still holds valuable information, even if just for reference or ideas, so here THIS hefty chunkalunk⬇️

Canon Underswap research

I’m afraid an archive for the Fandom underswap probably doesn’t exist, as interpretations are kind of just…accepted?but if the original was more your thing, or if you just want the info, there it is!

ERROR SANS

god I’ve analyzed this hoe left and right. Not even kidding.

We all know loverofpiggies/ CQ , you should easily be able to find the comic with a search ‘ask error sans’ , there’s also some fun comic dubs on YouTube :) ! Here’s the blog with start at beginning and archive options⬇️

Ask Error!Sans (Unfinished) (Posts tagged errortale)

Also. This entire thing is AMAZING I read this years ago and had a ball,I need to reread it but I managed to find it and 😪✨ great phycology analysis by she-of-many-fandoms…⬇️✨

I draw comics sometimes — themightymarai: she-of-many-fandoms: Preface...

That’s all for now, my arms are dying from Internet surfing🧎🏽‍♀️AGAIN feel free to suggest, request, correct, comment or offer more info! Happy brainworms :) 🐛

( @zucchiyeni )

#undertale aus #utmv #ut au #undertale fandom #fandom archives #sans au #undertale au #dust sans #horror sans #killer sans #murder sans #bad sanses #nightmare sans #dreamtale #dream sans #Error sans #underswap #underswap sans #ink sans #star sanses #Your local information papi :) #*Snuffles through the lore like a baby piglet looking for baby truffles and squealing in delight when it finds them :)

[thewisemankey]

Completing the Path to the Yellow Dragon: A Report on RTX Austin 2023

What's got the voice cast of Team RWBY acting up in a tizzy? Find out the answer and more under the cut!

Preface:

So anyone who knows me, knows that I'm heavily into RWBY by Rooster Teeth. And as such I have an emotional attachment to the show and its' characters, especially Yang Xiao Long. So much so that Volume 3 definitely affected my emotional and mental health when Yang lost her arm to the bull bastard. If you can recall how I tried to cope with that.

But with that particular chapter long behind us all, there came a point where I made it a personal goal to meet the main cast of RWBY, whether individually or one at a time. An opportunity arose when Tampa Bay Comic-Con announced Barbara Dunkelman was going to be in town that year for it. All things considered, she's the one I wanted to meet the most. UNFORTUNATELY that year happened to be 2020. And you know when happened then. So it didn't happen for all the obvious reasons.

The following year, I made another attempt to meet all four of them when Florida Supercon announced them as guests in Miami. Which worked out on certain fronts since both my dad and my uncle live there. But once I had already purchased my ticket, they all ended up pulling out. And there was no refunds. So I basically wasted money and begrudgingly attended the con, knowing all I could do was basically just bumblescrewing around. Especially considering they didn't announce any GOOD replacements for them. At this rate, all I could settle for were video chats with Barb, (And at one point Barb AND Arryn) so that they would at least know my name and my face.

Another year passed to 2022, and to my utter disappointment, neither TBCC nor Florida Supercon ever bothered to make good and attempt to bring any of them back. So with my trust gone from local cons, it was then that I decided what needed to be done. After taking care of other business with Wrestlecon in Dallas, I would instead go directly to them at RTX the next year knowing they're consummate guests who can't pull out from there since they all practically LIVE and work there with Rooster Teeth. Because it became more important to me than ever to meet them all, especially Barbara, to make myself feel spiritually whole.

And so began my Path to the Yellow Dragon.

Day 1: Discounts at Diner Bar and The Grey Market? HAHA, BET.

Waking up to the sound of "Dangerous Dreams" by LeBrock, I made the early morning flight to Austin with more baggage than I had ever packed before and a new backpack to carry lots of necessities with me.

Arriving at the Fairmont hotel, I unpacked and settled in as quickly as possible. I was surprised to find I had my own bathrobe! So I decided to get my Damien Sandow on:

After taking time to relax, I made my way to the Austin Convention Center for what was dubbed "First Night." Which was essentially their "Welcome to RTX" panel, which included the RTX 2023 theme song! (Said song ended up being "Higher" by Creed except with more Rooster Teeth centered lyrics, lol.)

After that, it was the various talent of Rooster Teeth, including Geoff Ramsey and Gus Sorola giving us the lowdown on the weekend events, not to mention making announcements for stuff like new episodes of Camp Camp and A Simple Walk 2. We were also treated to Face Jam recommending several local eateries for those of us not familiar with the area, as well as constantly reminding us of getting discounts from Diner Bar and The Grey Market with our RTX badges. While I didn't partake in those place, I DID scope out Via 313 pizza as a means of securing a dinner for the weekend, so good on them for telling us about THAT place.

Not much else after that, so I packed it in, grabbed some room service for dinner, played a bit of Tears of the Kingdom before calling it a night.

Day 2: A Perfect 10 out of 9

With the OFFICIAL first day upon me, I made it a personal mission to make sure my attire was repping Team RWBY throughout the weekend. So combined with my camos, it came out something like this:

There was definitely more of certain colors than the others, but let's be honest, with how many people were out there wearing similar colors after Volume 9, would it matter? XD

Regardless, since I had a Platinum badge, I was allowed one-hour early access to their main hall! And they had PLENTY to do inside of it! Including...

Achievement Hunter Golf and other games of skill!

The F*ck Face Exhibit!

The Face Jam Rat & Grackle Pub! (My finger slipped in the shot there, whoops.)

And then there was the 20 Years of Rooster Teeth Museum!

T'was full of different props and signed stuff. Some that were off limits, and others you could interact with. Like sitting on the Always Open Couch, or even pose with a replica of the Crescent Rose! Since that was the case:

I took the opportunity to practice Kozuki Oden Two-Sword style! Although Crescent Rose is definitely a LOT heavier than it looks.

Then there was the All Good No Worries Park!

Just a simple place to sit back, relax, play a few yard games, and even scribble messages on the completely free spaced walls that was in the center. Having THAT kinda freedom, I decided to Gol D. Roger it up:

Suffice to say, there was PLENTY of fun to be had. But aside from awaiting for the Shop to open up, (which I couldn't immediately get because access wasn't allowed until Noon for those who didn't have the Ultra Badge) there was a VERY unique activity to do at the RT Animation Fan Zone...

The chance to speak with Ruby Rose herself! In VTuber form, Ruby appeared before us all for a "fireside chat" following her latest adventures. These happened in short sessions throughout the day, so I managed to attend two of them during the weekend. Here's some tidbits that happened while I was there.

-Despite how she acted towards them in Volume 9, Ruby IS very happy that Blake and Yang got together and very excitedly approves of their new relationship. She noted that it was very unlike Yang to dance around her feelings, so she was glad it all paid off in the end for them both. Good thing I asked THAT question!

-When asked what kind of Pokémon trainer she would be, she stated she'd have a mix of Grass and Flying-type Pokemon. And throw in a Pikachu.

-SOMEONE had the gall to ask if she had any loves in her life, (which got quite the reaction from the crowd, including myself who pointed my bat at that person and said "YOU WATCH YOUR BOUNDARIES, MISTER!") and her answer was she has only ONE love: Crescent Rose. XD

-On the subject of favorite food besides cookies, she said that she's always wanted to try pizza. Apparently it DOESN'T exist in Remnant which is a damn crying shame. Hopefully someone gets around to inventing it once Salem's permanently out of the picture...

-If she could swap her semblance with anyone else, she would switch with Yang, due to her being a little clumsy and running into things. So she would like to get a little stronger when THAT happens.

-While she's more familiar with DC Superheroes, someone asked who she likes from the Marvel side of things. To the delight of many of us, she said she'd like to meet Miles Morales since he wears red and black like her.

-Another person asked about if Zwei has any family, and she said he did come from a large litter. When things settle down for Remnant at large, she would like to find his family. (They'd probably have to go to space to find his big brother, lol.)

-Since I'm such a huge One Piece dork, I asked what kind of Devil Fruit she would like to eat. Apparently there's a similar story in Remnant called "Single Bit," and she ultimately chose the Gum-Gum Fruit. (Wonder if she knows about the truth behind THAT one...)

And in what was a surprise to us all, Neath Oum himself made an appearance! He asked a simple question how she felt coming back to Remnant. I took the opportunity to shake his hand, just as a sign of goodwill to him and his family.

Soon after that, it was time for the official RWBY panel!

We basically got news about merch, the V9 Soundtrack and home video release dates, thoughts and reactions about the recent season, and even got treated to a sneak peek at Volume 10! (Won't spoil it here, but someone did record and paste to YouTube, so have it that if you really wanna see it.)

Nicest part about this panel was all the free stuff they literally tossed out to the crowd before it started! I managed to snag some new swag in the process:

Having done all that, I packed it all in to eat, sleep, and get ready for the most important day of my life so far...

Day 3: The Good, The Elite, and The Bumbleby

After grabbing breakfast at a nearby iHop, I ventured once more to the convention center. After more random things, I first showed up for the life RWBY Grimm Campaign session, with Lindsay Jones guest playing as "Taco Cat!"

The mission was to find a hitman known as "The Bengal" in a nightclub. In true to life fashion, there were great rolls, and more then several mistakes and jokes being made. XD I clearly missed out on a lot with their previous experiences.

After that came the Death Battle panel!

This had it's share of crazy AI-generated Death Battle mad libs, a big Q&A session, and a preview of the oncoming fight between Darth Vader and Obito Uchiha. I took the opportunity to give a shout-out for having my friend @akumath on their team, and AGAIN reassuring them that they were right about Yang vs. Tifa, before asking if they'd do a Death Battle based off their DBX episodes. Since some of the results of those left me a little more than disappointed. But because I got chosen to ask a question, I was given a free Death Battle shirt!

Having done all that, the time finally came to achieve my ultimate goal for the weekend and personally meet the cast of RWBY. Definitely took a bit of patience on my part, as the line was understandably long, not to mention we were allowed only ONE item to have signed because they had to stick to a schedule. But eventually the time came for my turn to step before Lindsay, Kara, Arryn, and Barb. So I first gave them a proper greeting:

With whatever time I had to speak to all of them at once, I made sure to tell them all how much the show and their characters have meant to me over the years and are still special to me today. It wasn't easy, I got a little emotional doing so, making sure not to completely lose my composure in the process.

Having said as much as I could while they signed my poster, I made sure to inform them all about some gifts I had for them. Unfortunately I couldn't pass them off personally, but I made sure they all knew they were getting art prints of RWBY pics I commissioned previously. However, I had something SPECIAL in mind for Arryn specifically...

YOU CAN STOP SCROLLING NOW IF YOU SKIPPED EVERYTHING ELSE. XD

To explain, as someone who had been crushing on Yang ever since the day the Yellow trailer debuted, I wanted to symbolically and spiritually concede defeat in that Blake was always meant for Yang and not me. (Or my RWBY OC, rather.) And while technically I could hire people to write fics and draw pics of me getting down and dirty with them both, realistically I had to do the right thing for myself so I could wake up with a clear conscience going forward so that they know I fully support Bumbleby being canon.

That being said, I gifted Arryn with a special item that I dubbed "The Beekeper." And clearly it made quite an impression from the looks on their faces there. XD

What exactly IS "The Beekeeper," you ask? Well, I'm going to keep it as a surprise. Want to make it a "you had to be there" thing between me, them, and whatever witnesses happened to catch my special gift. I will however, reveal "The Beekeeper" if Arryn herself happens to show it off on her socials. Maybe it will help if the same pic gets more likes on IG? Until then...IT IS A MYSTERY.

After that, I got my prize shot!

Having done all that, I made sure before departing to have some personal words with Barbara. And left with my complete reward:

Having cleared another dream in my life, I retired for the night before flying back home.

Epilogue:

So here we are. Me having achieved another personal dream of mine, despite how many times I had to deal with the brick walls that were put up in front of me. And thanks to the shirt I ordered from the RT Store ahead of time combined with some purchases I made at the con, I even have a nice little Bumbleby collection going on:

I don't want to sound TOO stereotypical for how I want to put a bow on this whole thing...but I might as well wing it as best I can:

If you want something bad, as 3 Live Kru once said: Do the damn thang. No matter how long it takes and what you gotta spend to get it, the payoff will ALWAYS be worth it in the end. And once you've done that, move onto the next goal with all the time you have in the world. You never know when it'll be your last.

This is Gregory Prytyka Jr. saying: Goodnight from the sunshine state.

#Instagram #rooster teeth #roosterteeth #rooster teeth expo #rooster teeth expo 2023 #rtx #rtx 2023 #rtx austin #rtx austin 2023 #rwby #ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #lindsay jones #kara eberle #arryn zech #barbara dunkelman #austin #austin texas #youtube #twitter #tumblr #neath oum #death battle #rwby the grimm campaign #bumbleby #the beekeeper #bumblebee #all good no worries

[kurisus]

So you love noragami we all love it any reading recs of things like it? Or that you just like?

YES!!!!!

So I have to preface this by saying there's nothing quite like Noragami. And there is nothing wrong with rereading Noragami over and over. But I still have a lot of recs that give Vibes or in general make me Feel Emotions, so here's a non-exhaustive list.

Anime/Manga:

Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya. I've been saying for years that Fruits Basket is Noragami if it was a shoujo. It deals with the same cycles of abuse and an outsider who tries to break them with pure compassion that Noragami does, although it's much more of a drama than a fantasy. Just watch it and think of Yato as the Zodiac cat. I rest my case.

Fullmetal Alchemist (Fullmetal Alchemist) by Hiromu Arakawa. Chances are you've read or seen this already but it's objectively a masterpiece by any standard you care to use. Whether you like shounen fights, deeply emotional interpersonal relationships, political dramas about war and revolution, fantasy based on Greek myth, or anything else, FMA balances them all perfectly (another thing it has in common with Noragami). I love it so much.

Code Geass. This may seem like a wildcard pick but I rewatched Code Geass a few years ago and realized there are a lot of shared elements (like, Suzaku and Kazuma are the same guy). I may be delusional but it's hands down one of the most insane anime I've ever seen, in a good way. Like how FMA and Noragami balance a bunch of genres, Code Geass is a mecha action anime, a school slice of life, a political drama, and a Shakespearean tragedy all at the same time.

Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto. Again this may be one you're familiar with, but after I caught up on Part 1 of the manga I was so deeply wounded I had to start thinking about Noragami again (which is a worse idea). Chainsaw Man is much more of a Shounen™ than Noragami is, and I still maintain that the saddest parts of Chainsaw Man are like happier Noragami chapters, but it's a very good story and one that also has a lonely, cast-out protagonist who craves human affection but has no idea how to get it (and when he does, it's ripped away from him).

Durarara by Ryohgo Narita. In the anime adaptation, pretty much the entire voice cast is shared between it and Noragami (in the Japanese dub). It is a very weird story about a lot of weird people who are competing to be The Most Normal Person In Ikebukuro, a task which they all fail at spectacularly. It doesn't have much in common with Noragami aside from the voice cast but I love it so I recommend giving it a watch (or reading the light novels if you're feeling adventurous).

Link Click. This is a donghua (Chinese anime) about time travel and it steadily drives me more insane the longer I think about it. The three main characters have such lovely relationships with each other and the emotions go OUCH every time. It's a little harder to pinpoint the connection with Noragami here, but it is a story about the things people will do for love. The writing is crazy good especially considering it's not based on a novel or comic; I haven't seen an anime-original with writing this good since Code Geass.

Not a specific anime but the other week I thought about, what if Yuki Kajiura had been the composer for Noragami? Her style suits its aesthetic so well so now whenever I watch something she wrote for, I yearn.

Books:

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir. If you've looked at my blog at all in the last 2 years you'll know I am very sane over this book series. I actually made a Venn diagram comparing it to Noragami a while back, but the gist of it is that they deal with a lot of similar themes such as love, death, and the curse of immortality. It also has soooo many messy and complicated relationships and twists that leave your jaw on the floor. You can also use the worldbuilding to put your blorbos into and it's very fun for giving yourself Thoughts. For example I've done it both ways by putting the Noragami characters into the TLT universe and the TLT characters into the Noragami universe. Both are very painful.

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint by Sing-shong. I'm not done reading this yet (about 2/3 through), but the further I get the more I realize it's about all kinds of love, the same way Noragami is. The narrator forms a "party" of people in the apocalypse, and they go through life-or-death scenarios together, and the way they grow to love and care for each other is so natural and feels so earned whenever it pays off. If you want romantic relationships, queerplatonic relationships, parent/child relationships, or any other type of relationship, ORV has it. There is also a webtoon adaptation but I'm reading the novel because it's completed; the webtoon will take many more years to get there.

Miscellaneous:

The Adventure Zone: Balance. This is a DND real-play podcast and it doesn't really have anything in common with Noragami but, like Noragami, it made me feel every possible human emotion, so I recommend it. It has a slow start but it grows into something so beautiful and creative and by the end of it I was sobbing in my car. Listen to it if you can, or at least listen to the music (it gets music later on and all of it is soooo good).

Okami. This is a video game heavily inspired by Legend of Zelda and much like Noragami it's a retelling of Japanese mythology, so the storyline will def have some familiar elements. I recommend playing it for yourself (it's available on Steam for PC and pretty much every other platform you can name), but a playthrough would be good too. It's nearly 20 years old and has withstood the test of time because the creators decided to make it look like a classic Japanese painting come to life, and the gameplay involves drawing, so it's very artsy and fun (although the controls are really weird).

Thanks for the ask! Hopefully you found something new, and I'll be sure to share if I find anything new to add to this list because I am always on the prowl for Noragami-adjacent things ❤

#simplysslytherin #ask

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Tbh, timeline is the least of my problem with Miraculous. I was born around the time Detective Conan released and 20 smt years later the he's still first grade elementary, so yeah, I'm so used to the whole comic book timeline. My problem is with how fast he "fell in love" with Marinette, the girl who he rarely talk to because she always got tongue tied in front of him, the girl who he think is hated him in pupetter 2. Which also the episode the writers claimed to be the episode when Adrien fell in love with her.

Anyway, Adrien get over Emilie's death in less than a year is weird yet he's also a character who tend to keep everything bottled inside and also an "actor". I think many people already write about how good of an actor he is. The fact that we rarely get his POV also doesn't help in grasping his thought about his mother's death.

In special (I watch FR dub) though, we got an implication that he hasn't truly move on but he tried to. When asked by Griffe Noir about why he never try to get the wish despite knowing it could revive his (our) mother, he admitted that he has thought about it. It's the price that he wouldn't want to put to anyone. Life for a life.

“I resumed my life, trying to be happy just like what she would've wanted. I have friends who support me. I'm alright now. ...well, as alright as possible anyway."

I read the line as Adrien being "fake it till I make it" and he haven't fully move on, he's just good at hiding it. Which is pretty in character for him imo. The thing about being "easy children" is that everyone tend to think you're always alright, that you have no problem and with a parent with emotional immaturity like Gabriel being an easy children is a must, or punishment awaits him. So the combination of "what Emilie would like him to do" and Gabriel parenting who hates when Adrien being emotional, we got this child who tried to be okay and griefing alone.

I agree that the timeline isn't a huge deal, it's just kinda fun to point out how nuts it is. Adrien falling in love with Marinette is far less fun to talk about because I don't buy it for a second. Especially since it's literally the episode after Jubilation. You know, that episode where Chat Noir and Ladybug got married and had a bunch of kids? That's the thing that makes him give up on Ladybug? REALLY???

And then they have the audacity to claim that Marinette is the one who is lying to herself about her crush flip:

Alya: You're lying to yourself anyway, you’re in love with Adrien. (Elation, S5E9)

Because Marinette giving up on a guy she barely talks to after her crush lost her all of the miraculouses is totally ridiculous, but Adrien giving up on his partner who he's closer to than ever before makes perfect sense. Right.

I mean, I know crushes don't have to make sense, but this is a story not real life! This is not how you tell a convincing love story!

Re Emilie, you make a fair point about the special actually acknowledging Adrien's pain. It was a nice moment and I agree with how you say Adrien should be played. I just don't think that's actually what the writers are going for since season five has Adrien never talk about Emilie and ends with her statue destroyed so that Adrienette can have a new makeout spot. I really think we're supposed to read Adrien as fully moved on, possibly from both of his parents. It's really gross. Unless season six surprises us and Emilie is back, which might actually be enough to make me watch it. I really doubt it, though.

[meimeikyu]

MASSIVE INFODUMP ABOUT THE CQ TRIO (Fresh, Geno, and Error) UNDER THE CUT!

i love them sm (some stuff might be wrong this is all from memory)

okay so the cq trio is 3 sanses that i adore to the maxium. CQ stands for Crayon Queen, who was the one who created all three! cq trio gets its nickname mainly from her, but i also call them that because of a fancomic called mcq (momma cq) that had them all as brothers, since they are all from the same creator. Fresh was the first to be made iirc, and he was created as a random one on a stream cq did. His nickname is also 90s piece of trash! He is not technically a sans, just a parasite that possesses other monsters, though it prefers skeletons bcs he can crawl thru their sockets, so they are easier to posses (this also allows for so many fusions of fresh and others, like fresh ink! who i hate (lovingly). Geno n error are the other 2, and are entirely linked. Geno was a classic sans who went through a ton of genocide runs, and in tryinf to stop them injected himself with determination ( which is. very bad for monsters.) he basically starts melting and gets killed again but. is able to use a save star to enter the save screen. freezing him in time so hes stuck between dying and not. He has an entire comic (search up aftertale if u wanna read ut which i highly recommend i love it sm) but he basically has 3 main outcomes; the common one in fanon but also in canon ending, where hes stuck in the save screen forever, the good ending which is the comics canon end, where he escapes the savescreen without dying and gets to live on the surface eith the rest of the undertale cast. and the half official canon ending? (i say half bcs it was never fully realized but. was confirmed to be going to happen by cq) where he does escape to the surface but messes around with his determination, accidently sending himself to the antivoid, where he glitches out, which wipes out his entire memory. WHICH BRINGS US THE 3RD BOY AND MY FAV FOR THE LONGEST (jazz hands),,,,, ERROR!!!!

Although his comic was never finished, cq confirmed he was intended to be geno in the past, though he doesnt remember it! He lives in the save screen and answes the voices (tumblr blog asks) to talk! hes. kinda insane but in a silly way! and is the self proclaimed destroyer of worlds! who assigned him this job? why, himself of coarse! and he is providing the multiverse with a great love by doing this (no he is not). hes self centered, has really bad mood swings, sees and hears things others cant (though they are real, others just cant see them), dissociates whenever he talks on certain things, and is overall! not okay! i love him so fucking much holy shit. so he has his own tumblr ask thing (which theres like an hour long dub on yt if u wanna watch it) but basically what it mostly shows is, he loves chocolate (he eats it with the wrapper on. he also has. 6 tongues? iirc) he also loves puppets! and makes puppets of different au sanses! and talks to them as if they are. people. mayber they are! idk! although he destroys aus he has a soft spot for 2, outertale because he loves the space and the stars, and undernovela, his favourite spanish soap opera au! (he does not speak spanish. nore does he get subtitles. hes quite literally stalking these people through portals and calling it a show.) he also has magic strings! which he uses to take the human souls from aus he destroys so they cant reset. he didnt always have them though :)

but he doesnt remember that! hes so so silly i lvoe him so much.

oh also he kidnapped and underswap sans and forced him to stay in the antivoid and the blue, kinda started to befriend him? but uh. he mad error mad so error left him alone in the void until blue started to glitch and hear the voices as well. though he still cant see the random tumblr blogger error left tied up in the antivoid, so who knows if thats real. but enough about blue!!! we jsut love the silly man error!!!!!!!

so blue tried to teavh him how to knit while they were in the antivoid, but erros really bad at it,, like really really reallyyyyy bad at it. and he despises it. but!!! its how they start bonding!!! he also loves loves loves to rob underfell because they have amazing spicy chocolate. he also just enjoys fucking with this one underfell sans by stealing his stuff and using his au as a trash dump! said sans is not aware of this and is confused about who tf is stealing his stuff and throwing trash at him. MORE FUN ERROR FACTS!!!! He also is very near sighted (like me :3) and has glasses tho he doesnt wear them much but hes so cute in them!! he also physically glitches out like a computer when stressed or emotion or just. sometimes- and his eyes get covered by errors meanign he can't see at all, during that he liked to play one man blind cats cradle! he also if he gets too stressed or glitched he will literally crashed and have to reboot- he also has haphephobia (fear of touch) n does not like being touched a lot or without warning, it makes him all glitchy as well! hes also a massive hypocrite constantly and is genuinely just. insane- but in a silly way!!!! its also heavily implied that his puppets are. the dead souls of ppl from aus, minus his sans classic, he doesnt destroy classic (aka undertale) timelines bcs its the original! but he calls the rest abominations (like underfell is abomination #13). its heavily implied bcs he called the blue he kidnapped (thats still alive. for now-) abomination #11 ! he also talked to his puppets like they are other people although he voices them- he also uses portals in a way to show past events to show his memories(?)(they are his memories but he. doesnt remember them. if that makes sense.) ALSO WITH HIS STRINGS!! IF HE GRABS THE SOULS OF LIVING BEINGS (LIKE BLUE) HE CAN PUPPETEER THEM AND USE THEIR BODY AND MAGIC TO ATTACK! WHICH IS. TERRIFYING!! Hes also like. deathly afraid of Fresh n despises him with his whole soul

i love the man baby so much

infodump over

#my massive infodump to a fren about the cq trio #can u tell whos my fav #hint #man baby #error sans #geno sans #fresh sans #crayon queen #infodump #undertale au #cqtrio #infodumping

[zimithrus1]

Kotetsu and Barnaby for the character ask pls? 💚💚💚

Ohoho the boys! The lads! The bickering buds themselves! 💗 Don't mind if I do~! Thank you so much for the ask @isleofair! 🌟 (Ask list for the curious ❤)

I will start with the wildest of tigers 🐯💚 And since there's two, I'll put this under a read more cut so I don't flood anyone else's dash XD

Kotetsu

Sexuality HC: I'm leaning towards Bi with Demi tendencies for him

Gender HC: Himbo lmao XD

A Ship I Have With Said Character: Obviously Taibani - though a close second is Kotetsu/Tomoe because 🥺😭💗 He loved her so much, gah!

BROTP: Kotetsu and Antonio, like, they already go way back, to high school if I remember correctly. They always go out for drinks together and they always just seem to have a good chill time together 🌟

NOTP: Karina and Kotetsu. Like, I can see the appeal but i just do not vibe with it lol Like she's 16 in the beginning of season 1, and Kotetsu is like, 35? Like he is almost/practically old enough to be her dad. It's not the age gap I have a problem with really, it's mainly more that I kind of think of my dad when I see Kotetsu? Like, my dad and him share the same birthday and they both act goofy, aren't always around for their kid but try their best? I can't help but kind of think of my dad sometimes when I think of Kotetsu so, thinking of Karina x Kotetsu it's like 'that would be like if I dated my dad fjdbfkdjb' just can't do it man 😂 Sorry for the ramble there! 😂

Random HC: One of mine I like to ruminate on is Kotetsu accidentally hurting his family members when he was a kid and first developed his NEXT powers. Like, that scene in season 1, during the flashback of the bank robbery? In the sub, the dialogue reads 'I'm not supposed to touch anyone when I'm shining like this', compared to the dub that simply says 'don't come near me' - like, the sub implying he was told to not be near people, to not touch them, and that got my brain going: What if he was told he wasn't allowed to touch anyone because he might have accidentally really hurt a friend/classmate/family member before he had total control? 👀 cough cough Kotetsu's dad perhaps?? cough cough 👀

General Opinion: I love him. He's dorky, funny, earnest, tries too hard, fucks stuff up, but never gives up. Despite his past and hardships he is still a positive person and always sees things through to the end. A type of person I wanna be. 💚 Less formal version: I want to put him in a blender and drink him 😂

Next up, the bun! 🐰❤

Barnaby

Sexuality HC: He gives me Ace/Demi vibes 💜

Gender HC: Pretty boy but not a twink - he can still kick your ass into next week lmao 😆

A Ship I Have With Said Character: Taibani once again - no contender for me XD

BROTP: Barnaby and Mattia - the childhood friends. They catch up and talk about their work and even vent with each other, springing for dinner every now and again. I love the side of Barnaby we get to see when Mattia is around, he seems almost carefree, it's nice. They vibe well together ❤

NOTP: Oh man, I haven't really though of a NOTP for him?? 😅 I guess I wouldn't want to see him put with Maverick, because like, not only did he orchestrate the most traumatic events of Barnaby's life he was also a father figure for him before that. Otherwise, I dunno 😆

Random HC: Speaking of Maverick, I HC that he wiped/altered a lot more of Barnaby's memories than we were shown. Like, thanks to the comic anthology I saw one chapter that kind of made a little point at that and it's stuck with me ever since. Like, if Barnaby ever started to rebel at a younger age then Maverick would alter his memory. Got too close to discovering the truth? Nope, no he didn't, silly boy that was just a bad dream. So much to the point where Barnaby has trouble remembering his past at all and can't help but feel like even his memories aren't his own. Good angsty potential - and potential me and a friend discuss frequently 👌

General Opinion: At first I was like 'okay we got a cocky pretty boy, alright, he seems alright, let's see what he can do' and then the more I watched the show the more I really loved his character. How he always seemed so poised and suave and haughty - like he's confident definitely and he knows it, but also that sensitivity, that raw emotion and anger he displays - it is so incredibly human and realistic what drives him to do what he does and act the way he does. Slowly learning over time that his life has room for more than just revenge. Now I like him just as much as Kotetsu ❤

Wow, I really went deep into some of these answers my goodness! I think I've spent over an hour thinking all these thoughts out!😅 But anyways, thank you so much for the ask isle, I had a blast answering these questions - and even better, you gave me two characters! Double the fun! Thank you so much!! 💗💚💗

#zimianswerz #ask game #headcanons #tiger & bunny #thank you again isle!!!

[jamieedlund]

I absolutely love the au you have built! I just recently got into this fandom and I loved seeing this!

Just wanted to ask some questions:

1. Have you ever thought of writing a fic for this au??

2. What would the other characters reactions be to finding out callum freed aaravos and even ran away with him? I really wanna know rayla and his brother's reactions maybe even the other elves reactions to his actions.

3. I genuinely want to know your thoughts on canon callum, his writing, his story, his actions, his lore, his magic?

4. Do you think there's ever a chance of seeing any part of your au in canon? Specially with the new season.

5. What are your thoughts on rayllum? Would their canon relationship have any affects in your au?

6. Would callum and aaravos remain fugitives in the future of your au or will that change?

7. Do you think there's a character that would for whatever reason join callum and aaravos?

8. Is there anyone who would secretly be happy for callum and aavravos? Or even secretly support them maybe even help them and tell them about whats going on?

9. When, and why did you create this au?

10. Will we get more backstory and lore for your au in the future?

11. Since callum is human he would eventually die right? What would aaravos do then?

12. What are your thoughts on the theory that callum is a half elf? Or even aaravos son?

13. What is your favorite tdp theory regarding these two?

14. If you could have rewritten s3 or even the whole show what would you have changed?

Sorry about asking so many questions!! I just really wanna know your thoughts on these 😭

⚠(WARNING!!! READING. AN UNGODLY AMOUNT OF READING)⚠ Hello hello~ Welcome to (what is essentially hell for me) BUT OTHERWISE PROBABLY A GOOD TIME FOR YOU maybe hopefully ヾ(•ω•`)o

First of all, thank you so much, I’m super glad that you found my chaotic somewhat ugly doodles to your liking! Laughs in i also enjoy genshin quite a lot and I really like childe as well!

ALRIGHT ON TO THE QUESTIONS SO BUCKLE UP, BUDDY! Because I’m about to do something that only a few people would ever get through - R A N T i MEAN ansWERINg questions. Please, and this is very important, take my answers with a grain…no…A GIGANTIC OCEAN WORTH OF SALT. I’m but a commoner who loves Callum and Aaravos a little bit too much. Also due to the nature of tumblr ask limiting me to only 10-30 images(?)…in this arguably somewhat of an argumentative essay…So um SORRY for the lack of illustrations and that I tried my best to answer as clearly as I could. With that being said…Bust out the popcorn and enjoy!🍿🍿🍿

1. Have you ever thought of writing a fic for this au??

I’m not the biggest fan of writing or reading for that matters (hahah which is ironic because I have to somewhat write a script for this) BUT! I did have all of the outlines of the plot planned out. I’m only good at writing dynamics - aka relationships between people. I still need the canon explanation on a lot of things because there is no way in hell I’ll get the magic system right UNLESS THEY SHOW IT TO ME JESUS FRICKIN CHRIST-

So yea, no written fanfic but there is an existing script, several comic drafts with some missing lore that I hope the show will reveal~ I dub their story ‘Masters of the Primals’ and here’s a sketch of one of the covers~

I hope you like it. I think they’re very cute together…

2. What would the other characters reactions be to finding out callum freed aaravos and even ran away with him? I really wanna know rayla and his brother's reactions maybe even the other elves reactions to his actions.

Oh I’ve actually written a draft abt this so I can either dump all the ugly sketches in your face— or tell you about it… Let’s do both because only the most obscure of my followers have the patience for my shenanigoogles anyways.

So! Due to the fact that we saw the mirror is now placed in a regular room within the castle (in ss4 trailer) chances are the whole situation you’re looking at here

probably took place within the walls of A REGULAR ROOM OF THE CASTLE. Therefore if Aaravos’s return did trigger some sort of ancient alarm and the place was swarmed, Ezran and Soren would be the first to know of this incident. The way I see it… it was shown in ss4 that Callum has been brooding and upset for 2 years ever since Rayla left. So in the brief moments that Ezran got to see his brother with Aaravos, Callum was smiling and genuinely being the happiest that he has ever seen for the first time IN FOREVER (when he tried to introduce Aaravos to Ezran and explained himself with whatever the truth relating to this man is) was enough proof for him.

Ezran would probably be the first, and quickest to trust in Callum’s heart. I think he would definitely yell at his brother to get his ass out of the kingdom and pursue his own happiness and that he will see him later (maybe when Aaravos told Callum to stay with Ezran, nudged him forward but instead Callum hugged his brother goodbye, then grabbed the man’s hand and and booked it before all hell break lose)

Soren’s reaction might be the most fun and one that I’ve also written a script for. He would at first, definitely be on the elves side because well…Aaravos is evil and dangerous is all that he’s told. So he might have been neutralized either frozen in place or sent flying when Aaravos impulsively protected Callum from being harm. Later him and Rayla would definitely try to hunt Callum down believing that Aaravos somehow - brainwashed or manipulated Callum into running off and doing evil with him (which there is no proof of btw they’re REALLY JUST ASSUMING that they’re doing bad things because of Aaravos’s history lol.) Callum will always opt to tell the truth, what he did know about Aaravos, how he manipulated Viren and how he was the caterpillar bug thingy that Soren saw before. This, of course, would reasonably anger Soren. As for Rayla, well she has all the reasons to destroy Aaravos because that’s all she’s told about him, and considering she now know he did played a role in the previous war via what the elves had told her...it’s not like she would think otherwise.

So they fight.

I dub this the ‘Callum kicking literally everybody’s ass’ - The Arc.

Aaravos would help but I think my boy got it cover. Callum on the other hand…he’s just so done with hearing the same thing over and over: Aaravos is evil; he’ll devour your soul; he’s going to take over the worlddd. Which to him sounded a bit much considering all they have been doing ever since running away was LITERALLY FIXING THE ELVES AND DRAGON’S PROBLEMS like fighting op bandits, quieting the cold wars that probably exist somewhere in Xadia, helping to restore the magic back to the dying lands, etc ALL OF THIS WHILST BEING HUNTED DOWN BY THE SYSTEM ITSELF BECAUSE ??? AARAVOS IS EVIL HE’S A CRIMINAL HE MUST BE STOPPED etc etc. Note that it might have been months when Rayla and Soren finally caught up to these two, which gave Callum plenty of time to learn combat tactics and creative ways to use his power with both his and Aaravos’s massive brains combined.

So in short, Callum is just done. He’s done perpetuating the broken system. A system, which by the way, if you remember, condemned Rayla’s parents thinking they ran away WHEN THEY HAD THE TOOL TO FIND OUT IF THAT WAS TRUE OR NOT BY USING THE SAME SPELL CALLUM DID AT THE STORM SPIRE A system that believed Amaya deserved death without giving her a chance to trial because — war and discrimination??? (Janai had to begged for her life and even then she’s still treated by the ruling class as a “pet”) A system that sent assassins to murder knowing that it will PROBABLY perpetuate the cycle of violence, with the person who ATTEMPTED THIS ACT aka the dragon queen btw don’t forget this, literally sent Callum and Ez’s dad to his grave, took a nap and woke up acting like this was what she wanted ALL ALONG (face palming so hard at the writing for this) AND FINALLY, a system where, from the start, knowingly half-heartedly helped human via the act of the unicorns giving the human primal stones itself (check the wiki for this I’m sure this is canon somehow) is a cruel joke disguises as an act of kindness, in my opinion anyway. I can say one thing for certain, if there is no need for dark magic, it wouldn’t have existed. No one would need it because well—they can already do primal magic. SO SOMETHING along the line of HOW primal magic was used and WHO used the primal magic AND WHAT was it used for, must have not been LIFE-SAVING due to the fact that the human poems recalled their town being attacked by dragons and the ancient dark mage recall tales of famine and plagues. A system that has been looking down on humanity since the dawn of their existence.

But this isn’t to say the humans didn’t do anything wrong either, as the show constantly trying to shove the fact that human mages and dark magic = bad at our faces lols. However…I wanna talk about something else... King Harrow’s bad kingdom management choices. It wasn’t dark magic that’s at fault. IT WAS HARROW(not entirely but for the main conflict of the show it's definitely his fault) — which i will dissect more in the later answer about Callum. But for now all I will say this: DARK MAGIC ISN’T THE BAD GUY HERE. Callum woke up to the truth when he met Aaravos and realized that he can’t choose between two ambiguously terrible systems…so he decided to leave them both! He recognizes that there are countless of people who still rely and are living some what happy and peaceful lives within these systems, therefore him and Aaravos running away to just be themselves, to live their own lives, to be happy was the best course of action to take.

I think that the comic draft about their fights sorta already explained how the other elves and dragons see this scandalous(lol) event : Aaravos scheming something terrible with the human mage. Some of them probably think Callum got manipulated or brainwashed, others immediately condemned him because PREJUDICE~ Human’s always gotta be human~ and what not. That’s all I can say regarding to this aspect of the story. Bonus content, how Aaravos feels about his student’s friends comic draft:

3. I genuinely want to know your thoughts on canon callum, his writing, his story, his actions, his lore, his magic?

oH BOY, here is the part where I warned you about. Take whatever I’m about to say with a massive amount of salt. I’ve had people asking this and then unfollowed me for my very infuriating take on him.

I genuinely, sincerely , without a shadow of a doubt, believe that the writers do not love him as a character. Let me give you all the evidence to why (spare my soul I TRIED to sit through all of the seasons to list out moment that he is on screen which included time stamps, episode number and the season I cited along with my thoughts on each of them… God knows if I miss anything because I just can’t stand the way they write him)

(click here if you wanna read all of them because I refuse to put any of you through this kind of hell, if your browser warns you about opening it just open it anyways I swear I'm not out here to steal your info lol)

If you came back from the link and still disagree with me then, idk what else to tell you. This will fall on your deaf ears I suppose… But if you understand, with or without reading my notes, I hope it’s been clear to you how he is the prime example of a wasted main character FROM THE START. He’s under written at worst… semi-mediocre at best. You will surely get it when I say he’s only written….purely to save Rayla, to make her character looks good and or other characters around him look good. His role in the story, is arguably, even more important than “the dragon prince” himself because CALLUM IS THE SOLUTION, THE ANSWER TO THE MAIN CONFLICT OF THE SHOW: M A G I C(the conflict between primal and dark magic ; or human vs magical creatures. Depends on how you look at it.)

And yet… a massive disservice was done to him. It makes no sense from both the lore and the importance of the story stand point that they would treat his character like this. I love him, I love who he has and surely still has the potential to be. I think I made this very clear in the examples that I’ve given but I’ll spell it out again here (given that maybe I’ve probably completely spiraled into insanity while watching the show again purely for that purpose…)

ABOUT HIS WRITINGS, STORY, ACTION AND LORE:

As someone whose mother was lost because of his own father’s bad choice as a ruler(and I’d argue that he understood this very well that it wasn’t dark magic. IT’S HIS STEP DAD) he could and would have become someone who’s sensitive to the truth. That dark magic is JUST, A, TOOL. A very dangerous, powerful one but A TOOL, NONETHELESS. It’s something someone willingly choose. It is a contract. You lose a bit of yourself in exchange for your desire. It was Harrow’s choice to help the neighbor when his kingdom barely had enough to get by. It was again his choice, not Viren’s, not dark magic’s “temptation”, HIS CHOICE to kill the titan. It was HIS choice that led to Sarai’s death. Then it WAS AGAIN, his choice to kill the dragon king. From Callum’s perspective, he should have seen it this way a long time ago. But the thing that was wasted about this, was even when he knew all of this, he still made an effort to love Harrow, because his love for his mother is greater than his hatred for Harrow’s mistakes. UNTIL WHATEVER TRANSPIRED IN EPISODE 1-3 in season one. He would have stood up to his father with vigor when this man again decided to be selfish AGAIN, wanting to die instead of staying alive at all cost for his very young son, and then would still risked his life fighting and protect him rather than running away because that’s just the type of person CALLUM IS. Not whatever the hell that went down in the show… I will fight for this version of him till the day I die. Make his flaw recklessness instead of cowardice. Make him love everyone as best as he can, not just his romantic interest. That is what I see in Callum, and sadly not what I’ve gotten.

ABOUT HIS POWER The bit about him getting his magic was anti climatic and pisses me off to no end because of the execution (again this was in the link, see my notes on season 2) I won’t say more here but here’s the summary: The one Callum condemned should have been the image of his step father due to all the bad choices that he’s made, and then swiftly turn his back on the thing that saves him his pride (the fact that the show and Harrow refused to acknowledge that dark magic really did saved thousands of lives when he couldn’t); knowingly shackling his very young son Ezran to the throne which he DELIBERATELY SAID before hand: a child is freer than a king. Yea, real good of ya Harrow. Towards the dark mage version of himself, he should have been more gentle, understanding and kind. He wouldn’t make the same mistake as Harrow by completely becoming ungrateful to it. He would bargain for his soul, vowing that he will be a little kinder to himself and hope that it can give him a chance. He couldn’t go on living if he’s not himself anymore. This would have made the story infinitely more interesting because the show HAD THE CHANCE TO SHOW US THAT DARK MAGIC CAN BE FORGIVING(and in canon it…kinda is??? Because Callum was able to just noped out of getting corrupted so forgiving is in its nature…SO WHY IS IT BEING RIDICULE WHEN IT LITERALLY HELPED HIM SAVED HIS FRIEND’S LIFE BRUH) with the dark Callum slowly closes his eyes and fade away as Callum hugged him; dropping the key that was all dark magic runes into the abyss. THAT. is how you reject something like dark magic. THAT is how you are worthy of being the FIRST EVER HUMAN TO CHANEL THE PRIMAL - because YOU UNDERSTOOD THE TRUE NATURE OF DARK MAGIC: that it’s not EVIL. Not all the preachy prejudicial crap that transpired in that episode… It didn’t feel earned and it didn’t feel natural. To his character and to the story and I want to cry.

4. Do you think there's ever a chance of seeing any part of your au in canon? Specially with the new season.

I doubt it aha. With what they did to Callum and what I’ve seen so far with the new season derailing his character into “angst” instead of … letting him embrace his non-traditional masculinity and going all in on the “moe” aspect of his character…BUT THEY DIDN’T! SO it might just go down a typical angsty good vs evil generic writing… I’ve said this before but if they made my plot a reality I would literally eat dirt 🤣 and not just “oh Aaravos is using Callum so he took him as a student” no no no~ I mean e x a c t l y how it transpired in my writings. THEN I’ll eat dirt :)))

5. What are your thoughts on rayllum? Would their canon relationship have any affects in your au?

One of the other aspect I want people to take with another mountain of salt. I’ll answer in the shortest way possible though because it will take another essay for me to get through my thoughts. I’ll give you one word: Chemistry. I didn’t feel any chemistry between them from the moment they met till the moment they became a couple. (A friendly reminder that season 1-3 took place in only a month or a month and a half…maybe two months if you count the official comic. So their “romance” formed a little after …. two…weeks… yep I checked… and “fell apart” after like a month and a half…) Chemistry, is what you feel instantly. You can’t…make it happen, it just…happens. I think Aaravos said it best in the comic draft below: “If you had to force love, it’s probably shit.” 🙂 There is this innate compatibility within the characters themselves that makes their interaction explosive with emotions…and these two…has non... They are, in some ways sorta…good friends…? but take their first interaction for example! The first nice thing Callum expressed towards Rayla without fear was: YOU SWEPT THE LEG! She doesn’t understand this sentiment, her reaction wasn’t amused, it was this angry, somewhat confused look. Later on when he’s happy finding out that he’s a mage, she’s just annoyed, not finding this bubbly carefree somewhat loud personality charming. I get that this is when they first met and there is still barriers here and there… but like I said, it’s about the chemistry ; something that’s supposed to happen instantaneously. There are countless more times like this… when there is a chance for some sort of reaction to happen; but it just… did not? Then it did a 180 in ss3 for…the sake of shipping…huh..??? So to me at least, their chemistry has already failed.

For how this affects my own writings, take a look at these drafts:

In a valentine comic draft that I had right here (Callum is taking a look at some magical candied roses being sold at the market on the day of love)

Callum: head empty, only master. Didn’t even think twice about anything else🤣

and this lunar new year draft right here (they’re waiting for the fireworks to start)

You can’t tell me this isn’t good advice, also I stole this from “how I met your mother” the chemistry and timing talk.

Or refer to the previous draft in question 2 when Aaravos talked about Rayla

You can clearly see that Aaravos ACKNOWLEDGED his student’s relationship, whilst Callum seems somewhat dismissive of it. I do it this way because:

like it or not…that is still what happened in the canon;

Maybe a good thing because if Callum had decided to run away with Aaravos, a labeled WAR CRIMINAL, changing his perspective on what he believed in either about life or relationship, shouldn’t be a far fetch development either. I wrote about it in detail via this post. I think that he would slowly learn that he is super happy without the involvement of a romantic partner, thus he’s able to be more understanding to Rayla’s leaving him. Or maybe it’s Aaravos who helped him understand why she left and even be the reason for why he’s so emotionally stable and matured.

IN SHORT: Callum doesn’t think about or even wants to think about his romantic life when he’s with Aaravos. His reply whenever his master mentions Rayla (which doesn’t really come up that often) would always be: “I’ll deal with it when it comes to it!” My man Aaravos on the other hand… he’s literally just vibing. Touching grass, doing magic, getting mentally healthier and being happy. He’s still the biggest bastard that Callum has ever known though, so that won’t change any time soon 🙂

6. Would callum and aaravos remain fugitives in the future of your au or will that change?

No spoilers~ They might be still “considered” fugitives is all I’m saying! I hope you will get to see the result for yourself!

7. Do you think there's a character that would for whatever reason join callum and aaravos?

At one point…I felt like Claudia would? Mainly because I wrote a whole arc for Callum v Claudia which the focus would be Aaravos past mistakes (or “mistakes”, represented by whatever Claudia became) vs his aspiration (his present, his hope, his student - Callum) But then even if Callum successfully repelled the corruption out of Claudia, they would probably just leave her with Ezran or Amaya because these two are incredibly selfish when it comes to their bond. They’re too used to being alone together and they would rather keep it that way. WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE considering how literally everyone just wants to hunt them down.

Mayyybe with the exception being Zym??? Since Ez can’t leave the throne to go with Callum, Zym decided to accompanied them to sorta like being his eyes cough and keep tabs on Aaravos. That it’d make an interesting plot line. Plus it’s the most powerful elven mage, the first and probably most powerful human mage, and the most powerful dragon in the world… What a scary trio. Also…Aaravos big feeling times with Zym and Callum just trying to hold it together in the background is subjectively, a very fun and good story. Forgiveness, innocence, prejudice, love, redemption. All in one package.

8. Is there anyone who would secretly be happy for callum and aavravos? Or even secretly support them maybe even help them and tell them about whats going on?

Ezran. 100% Ezran. It’s …it’s Ezran… He took one look at his brother and went: yep yea you are CLEARLY HAPPIER WITH HIM BRO, GO FOR IT. RUN! BE FREE!

Amaya and Janai (mostly Amaya) Also um I wrote a fun plot line that Amaya and Janai pursued them thinking that Aaravos kidnapped Callum, caught them just chilling in a tavern and Aaravos proceeded to defeat a very angry Janai with a big spoon (or what people commonly call a ladle…curtesy of Callum panicking and tossing it to him…The man just went with it and WON lol) Meanwhile Callum successfully bested Amaya without hurting her thus convincing her that his master is indeed, helping him grow as a person. Amaya also witness them just being happy and caring for each other after battling them so she sorta understood. Janai … is still pissed at Aaravos of course but considering who he slayed um . . . I’m giving this one to Aaravos… — I guess they became sort of an ally??? Janai just begrudgingly became neutral but tbh these two are really trying to be the best aunties to Callum. After a bit of fighting, they would probably be on their side. They might meet up sometimes to exchange information and what not. Aaravos refuses to meet Janai again because he doesn’t have the patience to deal with her anger like the bastard that he is. But he does agree that she has every right to feel that way about him. He’s just not down to deal with it all over again. He might do this tho:

Please wonderstorm let them make a deeznuts joke i stg it's gonna be iconic.

S O R E N After getting his butt kicked twice by Aaravos (in the castle) and Callum (when he finally caught up with them) The next time they bump into each other, Soren would try and have a talk with Callum. I think the things he were angry the most about again was: it's exactly because his dad was a terrible person that Aaravos made him worse, while Callum’s aspiration is simply to be free with his master. At the end of the day, Aaravos is more of an enabler than anything good or bad. There is this whole jealousy within Soren that “why couldn’t you pointed my father to the right path” and “I know it’s not your fault but I’m still very upset that you’re such an enabler” towards Aaravos and also to Callum who in his eyes, he saw lucked out when it comes to receiving guidance from older figures. He would still apologize to them for feeling that way though when THIS glorious resolution kick in:

Justice for Soren's apology being received in the worst way possible in ss3

That wise man being Aaravos, of course :)) He is a good teacher when it matters. Needless to say after all of this this, Soren is 100% on his side. Even in non canon, my boy Soren still had a very good character arc. Some other allies might includes the people they helped on the way either in the earthblood elves domain or the tidebound elves place, possibly even Neolandia of all places. There was a side plot I wrote that Kasef was alive and that Callum helped him regain his humanity then sent him back to his kingdom to reunite with his dad. But I might scrap it if they declare that Kasef is really dead (rip Kasef you had potential my man. I understood you).

9. When, and why did you create this au?

I had this thought at the back of my mind while crawling my way through season 2 in 2018…2019?? (don’t get me wrong…but to me the show’s writing is so…horrendous…However… I got nothing better to watch so…might…as…well) and that thought being: What if…Aaravos…and Callum just…run away from this terrible plot… And then I proceeded smiling to myself thinking about all the fun things I could have done with their characters. That kinda saved my sanity and kept me powered through the entire show somehow. I didn’t executed it until last year(2021) though… I think I have the worst case of “I don’t like the canon and the fandom is a bit too much so I will forget about this until no further notice.”

10. Will we get more backstory and lore for your au in the future?

I think this post already contains the most of the lore(or spoilers for the lore) that I haven’t released out into the wild yet. But most definitely! I will continue making art about these two as long as the canon doesn’t do anything that will collapse the potential of them being amazing together. I’m a huge believer in not supporting content that doesn’t make me happy… so until then! More stories are sure to come ♥

11. Since callum is human he would eventually die right? What would aaravos do then?

Haha this is more of a spoiler for my plot so I’m leaving you with this : I’m sure at one point Callum realizes that he IS going to have to leave Aaravos one day, whether he likes it or not. This then resulting in him visiting any nearby library wherever it is that they are currently in when he has the time. Using “wanted to learn new things” as a cover up, what he’s really after is a way to either prolong his life (in a safe and legal way) so that he can be together with Aaravos for as long as he could; or to cut Aaravos life span down because to no one’s surprise, out-living everyone around him has indeed took a big toll on Aaravos mental health. Think of it sorta like his side quest~ He doesn’t want to ask his master about it because… Callum knows Aaravos wanted him to live a normal, happy natural human life, what are the chances that he will give him an answer. Aaravos is so used to loss and war and people around him dying, so he had already accepted this ever since he decided to become Callum’s master.

The real question is… do you really think Callum can give up on his master that easily? 😊 and cough* yknow do you think Aaravos truly wants to give up Callum like this lol

12. What are your thoughts on the theory that callum is a half elf? Or even aaravos son?

According to a friend of mine, the writers had already dismissed the theory that Callum is Aaravos’ son. However…they didn’t say anything about them NOT being related… and I pray to god that they’re not because

Callum being part elf GREATLY UNDERMINES his own character arc, and over all is a very bad writing decision(not that it was good in the first place aaaa) With all the things I said in the bit for how I feel about Callum, making him be “born” special is a disgrace to the one thing that stood out about him: being the first human to have ever connected to the primals (albeit executed sorta poorly…) I strongly feel that Callum should have the agency to, at least, represent the fact that he earns his power for who he is as a person and not for his heritage. I see some might say well yea doesn’t matter if he’s a half or quarter or has elven blood in him, it’s who he is as a person — well to that I say why not just make him a regular human being from the start to REALLY hammer down the point? “Well that’s world-breaking cause it’s the rule that human can’t do magic” I hear some of you saying— There is already a plausible explanation right there.

It was Aaravos’s key that guided him through the darkness, provided that Callum has proven himself to be capable of understanding things for what they really are (which I have spoken of before…and not in anyway shape or form like what the canon made him said in that scene lol). No need to add something to make it feel like it’s not breaking the law (like yeaaa ofc he can do it he has elven blood aha)…because…it…wasn’t…breaking the law in the first place… *Laughs in Aaravos is the law* 2. Aaravos should keep his penis to himself that’s all I’m saying hahaha no okay. In all seriousness… I don’t think Aaravos should be romantically or sexually involved. I think it’s great to not shackle a character to the idea that only romantic and or sexual love will make them more interesting, likeable, relatable or …human? Because the truth is…I love not being able to put Aaravos in a box, whether it’s his sexuality or moral standard. I think he deserves to keep that alluring part of his character for himself. It would be more precious if his perception of “love” as “being worship and remembered” has never been challenged until he met Callum. The change from worshipping love to just simple yet somewhat multi-layers platonic love is the best thing I would argue they should give him. No more clichés “villain” upset because of romantic love and romantic love is all there is. Make him unique! Make him special! I also think as someone who frowns upon forced control, I’d rather think he views his affection (if he ever developed one) as some sort of imprisonment to the people around him due to him almost always out living them. He’d rather not lay something that personal, even if its for the sake of manipulation, on the table. I think this weirdly humanize him since it might also be a type of selfishness that’s unique to him. “I’m selfish. My feelings are my own, that’s just how I like it.” something along that line.

I think it’s infinitely more precious that they’re not related because it really highlights that love isn’t necessarily fraternal nor romantic to be just as amazing and heart warming. Love can just. Exist.

13. What is your favorite tdp theory regarding these two?

I… like them being master and student and that’s it hahah!!! I have been told that some people had already thought of this as well…but by then I hadn’t really seen it being noticed by the majority of the fandom. I worry about sounding arrogant or condescending sometimes but … it’s because I haven’t seen it being written in a way that gave me joy that I’m resulted to making my own food… HAHAH I’M SORRY I HOPE THAT MAKE SENSE? AGAIN I’M VERY WORRIED ABOUT SOUNDING LIKE AN ASSHOLE lol my favorite is what I wrote ashiadkljfdskl

14. If you could have rewritten s3 or even the whole show what would you have changed?

I haven’t thought of it this way at all because I think the problems has already taken roots from the first season…(evidentially enough I’ve pointed it out in a massive word vomit relating to my boy Callum’s writing alone) I like to leave the canon material alone, as I know a lot of people really really enjoyed it. I unfortunately… did not…AND THAT’S OKAY!

At the end of the day, it’s still just a kid show… But I’d like to think that if we keep accepting mediocrity, we will never truly get anything good. I think this show has the potential to be something so much more, most of my anger (and maybe hatred) comes from the fact that I do genuinely love the world building and I do love Callum and Aaravos… I hope I’ve somehow managed to convey that to you <3

To end this on a somewhat light-hearted note, I would like to leave you and anyone who has made it this far, a canon fact: Did you know that on the key of Aaravos, the sky primal and the star primal are on the opposite side of each other? I see this as they’re always keeping each other in balance and that makes me happy~

Sorry for any grammar mistakes I've made I'm sure there are tons of them.

#about them #ask jamie #tdp #really #long post #aaravos #callum #the dragon prince #i hope some of you made it through #sincerely #i love you all #but this took life years outta me to make #thanks for reading #very tempted to tag this with deez nuts joke #good bye

[boysplanetrecaps]

Build Up, Ep 4 Recap: Don’t Forget v I Don’t Love You

Welcome back to the project everyone deals with waiting two weeks for -- my MNET Build Up Recaps! In the previous one, a bunch of my favorites -- Kim Minseo, Bain, Lee Gwangsuk, and Kim Sungjung -- went head to head. Ah, that was a good one! In this one, we’ll see the other member of Just B, Geonu, and Chicago’s pride Soomin take on former BDC member Hong Seong Jun and musical actor Kim Seohyung. It’s also a good one! Let’s dive in. 

So we start off pretty much as usual, with the guys taking the stage, accompanied by some musical soundtrack. This time the editors have chosen a driving beat with rock and dub step elements so it's really powerful sounding, which makes it a little comical when we see the guys and how they're dressed. 

Soomin is wearing a pretty fabulous s w e a t e r but Geonu has decided to raid the wardrobe of an old grampa for some reason. You know I love a good sweater but... this ain't it, fam. It's about three sizes too big and looks like it would smell like cigarettes for some reason. And paired with loose white slacks? Nope, I'm out. 

The other team is dressed in button down shirts, which is fine, I guess. Hong Seongjun has one of those thin bow ties that hangs down limply, and Kim Seohyung's shirt is tightly pleated in the front, as if it's made of crepe paper. They look perfectly nice but it seems absurd that they'd be accompanied by dub-rock! It should be more like... James Taylor. Or Sarah McLachlan. 

VCG looks at the teams and says, "Ohh, Chicago!" Because, of course, Soomin is from Chicago. (I wonder what his American name is? Because I feel like he probably doesn’t go by Soomin back in the US.) We're reminded of his lovely performance in Ditto in the first round. 

Soomin and Geonu have joined their names into "Soo-u" and do a little thing and it's, like, whatever, because they forget to use their mics. They're besties with a personal joke that’s funny to them, even if it’s not that funny to us.  

Dahee asks the other team to introduce themselves, and Seohyung says hello. His natural speaking voice is very low and pleasant and the judges react like, wow! Then he and Seongjung give a weird intro that also doesn't go so well so let's just move on. 

The teams do a bit of smack talk and it actually doesn't really feel that good natured. Eeep. 

We flashback back to the rival choosing moment, when Geonu and Soomin were chosen to go the RCPA (Rival Choosing Platform Area). Several teams begin whispering about possibly taking them on, but then Soomin, in his continuing effort to make Americans look bad, addresses the other teams rudely, not using proper honorifics even though they're all older than them. This is extremely insulting to a Korean person in ways that I know I don't fully understand, so if I get it wrong and you are Korean or have specialized knowledge, I welcome your input.

Despite my incomplete knowledge, I do know enough to know that (a) Soomin is probably being playful and doesn't truly mean to offend and also (b) it is likely that many other contestants, and many Korean viewers will be offended anyway. I really do worry about the way Soomin is presenting himself on this show. Korean culture is so specific about what you should and shouldn't do and if you piss off the voting base, it can be really hard to win them back. It’s not impossible, but… it can be tough. As an American myself I can sympathize -- we often are perceived of as rude by people from other cultures when we do things that would be acceptable, even celebrated, in our own culture. I really like Soomin's voice and I think he could have a career singing, as long as he doesn't alienate the Korean public!!

So yeah, Soomin tries to provoke one of the younger teams to challenge his team -- he comes across as really disdainful of some of the older contestants, which rubs me the wrong way, to be honest. Team Seohyung x Seongjun (I’ll call them Team S&S) seem to be the ones they're calling to, so the rivalry is formed. 

"Since you invited us here, we'll see you off," says Seohyung, in a vague attempt at smack talk. Then Soomin does a dumb thing where he acts like his hand is a phone, with a call from the taxi driver who is here for the other team, and it's super hacky and cringey but Soomin and Geonu are so proud of it. Sigh. But Seohyung takes it all in stride. He seems like a cheerful, lovable dude, doesn't he?  Some time later, Team S&S is meeting to choose a song and stuff, and Seohyung is wearing a black mock turtleneck with a gray hoodie over it and black coat over that. What is with Korean heating systems? Seongjun is wearing a fleece sweatshirt, so no proper sweaters here.

Anyway, they're talking strategy. Seongjun was on the same team as Geonu for the first round, singing If You, and he thinks it's obvious that Geonu will want to perform a western R&B pop song. Seohyung points out that since Soomin is from the USA, Soomin also probably will want to sing a Western song. 

Mentioning this really sets off Seongjun, who says, "He only speaks in English. I get sick when I'm next to him." 

Ok, I know that could be a Korean figure of speech and maybe it's not as harsh as it sounds, but woah, dude. Yes, of course, it would be annoying to be around these ostentatious English speakers. I can only imagine how it might feel as a Korean person who is being bombarded daily with more and more English all the time; it would be irritating to have your own language being supplanted by another language, especially if it feels like maybe your own culture is being displaced as well. Also, it would just be annoying to have someone around refusing to speak the language you both speak, regardless of like, geopolitical issues.

But even so, I'm not sure it’s a cute look for Seongjun to say that it makes him feel sick to be around it. When you factor in the obvious animosity that he displayed in earlier episodes on the topic of successful idols like Yeo One or Seokhwa or Woong being on this show, you get a picture of someone who seems bitter and irritable. That's not necessarily who he IS, but it's how he's looking. 

The two guys go on to talk about how Geonu also speaks in English a lot and we get a little montage of Geonu and Soomin speaking English together. (And later on we find out that Geonu introduced himself in English on the first day, which is weird. More on that later....)

In any case, since Geonu and Soomin are probably going to sing R&B, Team S&S decide to go for a more sentimental song. 

Then Seohyung gives a funny little smile and reveals his musical taste, which is all sappy songs that came out in the 1970s. You can tell that Seongjung isn't quite sure what to make of this weird partner. 

We flash back to the duo-formation moment and find out that despite Seongjung assumptions, he is actually two years older than his old fashioned -- and tall -- partner. 

Seongjung tells Seohyung, "You look like an upright man," and Seohyung says he gets that a lot. He doesn't mind, either, because people also tell him he's handsome apparently. We flash back to a pre production meeting, and a staff member points out that he's very tall. He says he drank a lot of milk. He also says he enjoys watching "car documentaries." What? Are there enough documentaries about cars for this to constitute a genre? I guess so!

He also doesn't know his MBTI, which for a young Korean person is very unusual. He does seem to be a very specific person, doesn't he? Calm, polite, cheerful, sweet. I like him. I feel like he's someone Lisa Simpson would have a crush on, you know? Like he's quiet and enjoys puzzles?

Anyway, back to song selection. Seohyung suggests "I Don't Love You" by a group called Urban Zakapa. Per Wikipedia: 

"Urban Zakapa is a South Korean R&B singer-songwriter group formed in 2009 by Fluxus Music. ....The group's name is an abbreviation for Urban, Zappy, Kaleidoscopic, and Passionate.... Although the group debuted in 2009 as a nine-piece with four vocalists and five instrumentalists, there are currently only three vocalists due to artistic differences."  

Ooh, sounds like some hot gossip there! 

Anyway, the song went to number 1 in 2016, so even though it's not super recent, it would probably be familiar to the judging panel. Like at least 101% of Korean ballads, it's about a breakup. I wonder how Koreans even have time to fall in love in the first place when they're breaking up so often!

Sample lyrics:

What should I say? / Where do I start? / I’m only hanging my head / You’re looking at me  / In this awkward silence

I don’t love you / I’m sure you already know / Even when I see you shedding tears / My heart doesn’t ache anymore

I don’t love you / There’s no other reason / I don’t even want to say / I’m sorry or forgive me

That’s all / This is how I really feel / I don’t love you / I don’t love you

The original song featured both male and female voices, which helps break up the repetitive monotony a bit. But it really is just saying over and over “I don’t love you” -- without a hint of irony or sarcasm that maybe the singer really *does* love the listener, that they’re just saying it because they’re hurt. You know, like the song Abittipsy by Youhua, where she tries to sound cheery and like she’s fine, but then she admits that she *might* cry later. Nope, this song seems to be straightforward, just “I don’t love you,” periodt.  

Seongjung likes the idea of this song because it would allow them to show off their low pitches, their high pitches, and their "sentiments."

They rehearse in a variety of locations, holding water bottles to be their microphones (cracks me up how they do that). 

s w e a t e r s

They're confident; practice never lets you down. Hmm… I hear the ghost of my middle school band teacher murmuring, "Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Only perfect practice makes perfect." 

Did they practice perfectly? I guess we'll find out!

It’s performance day! As they prepare to sing, kindly hyung Seongjung reaches out to Seohyung for a fist bump and says, Let's have fun.

"Oh, a fist bump! I read an article about this youthful behavior in the printed newspaper I read in the mornings while I drink healthy tea and eat fiber cereal. I return your fist bump in a friendly manner!" -- Seohyung, probably

The judges are like, this song is hard. Uh oh...

Full version without reactions

My thoughts:

That was nice. It's not really my jam, but the singing was pretty and their harmonies sounded great.

Seohyung has that musical theater voice, with a lot of emotion in his tone. Toward the beginning and again at the end, he almost verges on sing-talking, which again is very musical theater of him. I don't know if ballad-fans like that kind of thing or not. 

Though he has a lovely upper mix, he appears to be a bass, which is kind of cool to find in a field that preferences tenors. A deep voice can add a special color to a group. I mean, what would Stray Kids be without Felix? What would ONF be without Wyatt? Or even Dreamcatcher without Dami, or G-Idle without Yuqi? Those special voices help make their teams a little special. 

Overall I actually like Seohyung's voice more than I would have thought. It's hard to deny his range and the variety of vocal tones he can do. I think the biggest problem in his performance is the way he holds his body and his facial expressions. 

If you have an hour or two to spare, you should watch Jenny Nicholson's amazing take down of Dear Evan Hanson. One thing she points out is that the way you act on stage is different from the way you act for the camera. On stage, it makes sense to bug out your eyes and jut out your chin, because someone at the back of the theater needs to see you. But for the camera, it's just too much. And that’s kind of what we see with Seohyung here. He’s Acting, rather than just living through the song, and it’s a bit too much. 

Also, he hunches his shoulders a lot, which might be a habit of his because he's shy and tall, but it doesn't come off well on stage. 

Seongjung isn't quite as powerful of a singer, but he's still really good. He appears to be a tenor, so the lowest notes are maybe a little harder for him, but he ends up hitting them ok. He has a slight nasality to his tone, and his upper range is a bit thin sounding sometimes, but I still think he sounds pretty. Also, his full on belts are excellent. He used to be in an idol group (BDC) and he knows how to look into the camera and sell it, but he doesn't vary up his expressions much.

Overall, the whole thing is oddly lacking even though there's nothing at all wrong with it. Doesn't seem fair, but here we are.

I really think the song choice is partly to blame. For one thing, singing about not loving someone is kind of… I don’t know. If you were a judge listening to people sing about not loving someone, would you get immersed in the emotions of it the way you would if you were listening to people talking about being in love? But the other problem is Seohyung’s over-acting. He’s really throwing himself into it, and contrasting with Seongjung’s more natural performance, it feels kind of off. The vocals aren’t the problem at all, though. 

My favorite part of the performance was the harmony right after the key change. Good stuff.

“I mean, there’s emotions, and then there’s this!” -- Jenny Nicholson

The MNET edit is a bit confusing. Right at the beginning, Eunkwang says of Seohyung’s singing, “ah, he removed a lot of the musical tone.” I think he’s referring to Seohyung’s semi-sing-talking. 

But VCG likes it.

We get a lot of reactions from other contestants backstage saying that it's really good, and we get the judges smiling and nodding, but we also get the judges making weird faces. 

I don’t think they’re enjoying it, but seriously you never know. 

There don't seem to be any instant replays. 

Right at the end, Seohyung sings unaccompanied and everyone seems really touched. Then there's a moment of silence, and then soft applause. The singers hug each other, and Seohyung almost rests his head on his older teammate's shoulder. Seongjung has a lot more stage experience and probably helped Seohyung a lot when they were preparing.

The judges applaud kind of quietly. Backstage, the guys say they think it was really good. 

I paused it here and asked myself, how do the judges feel? And I had no idea. I'm not sure even they know. They had to watch 20 performances over what had to be at least a five hour period, maybe much longer, so maybe at some point they low-key stopped caring. They are still taking it seriously though and are checking their previous scores to make sure they're giving as fair a grade as possible.

Backstage, Choi Suhwan (who sang Sherlock at the beginning of the round) says “They didn’t form harmony. They didn’t sound like a team.” I don’t know if I agree with that -- I thought their voices sounded nice together. 

Sunyoul, who is sitting right by Suhwan and probably heard him, wonders out loud if maybe they picked the song because “they couldn’t form harmony.” I think maybe Sunyoul is referring to the fact that Seohyung is a bass and Seongjung is a tenor. I still think that’s fine for a duet, but what do I know?

The scores are revealed. Their high score is 92, from Solar, and their low score is 80, from, of course, Jaehwan. The scores aren't super low or anything, so they're a bit relieved, but they had probably been hoping for a few 100s. I mean, who doesn’t hope?

Solar says, “You both have nice voices. You can both sing. It was flawless.” VCG agrees. “But… I couldn’t stop thinking that it was ordinary.”

There’s this amazing split screen of Seohyung singing so hard his face is about to fall off, while Solar is just sort of… looking. 

She goes on, “I was just thinking to myself, ‘Oh, this is the song they’re singing.’ You should pick a song that shows your charms more next time. But this was flawless. I liked it.” So their 92 score came with a mixed review. 

Jaehwan says “Let me tell you this first: This is a very high score for me.” The guys kind of laugh -- a bit of the pressure is relieved. He goes on to talk about how since Seohyung is a musical actor, he sang like he was reading lines. “You made it sound ordinary,” Jaehwan says. “Thank you for telling me,” Seohyung says, with a nice smile. 

Backstage, Sunyoul is still chatting with Jeup and Suhwan, even though the latter team beat him in the rivalry. 

Donghun looks like he might burst into tears any second. Will someone hug that man, stat? Thanks!

Sunyoul theorizes that it must be hard to change from a musical theater style of performance to a pop style. That’s interesting, because I don’t think any of the musical actors have been particularly successful on the show so far. I’ll have to run the numbers on that later. 

Thinking of sad Donghun reminds me to say, please check out A.C.E.’s new song, My Girl. It’s got a smooth, city-pop/retro vibe, kind of like Cupid by Fifty Fifty or Maniac by Viviz. I like it! Though I do think it was weird to show them singing to really young girls at the end when the A.C.E. is increasingly looking like a group of guys in their late 20s/early 30s. 

Anyway, back to the judging. VCG tells Seohyung, “You have a very nice voice. You build that voice to become a musical actor. So what you need to change is the way you sing. You don’t need to change your voice.” It’s hard to tell from the translation, but I think what VCG means is the way that Seohyung was doing that kind of sing-talk stuff, and the over-emoting that I noticed. “It’s very nice to have a bass like him on the team,” he says, tapping into my brain again, and all the judges agree. “It’s reassuring,” says Baekho. “Yes, the bass completes it,” says VCG. “You must protect your voice!” 

Seohyung seems to appreciate the helpful feedback.  

Meanwhile, poor Seongjung doesn’t get a ton of feedback that we see. I bet they did say stuff to him, though -- it’s just that the show doesn’t care, I guess. 

Anyway, it’s time for the other team, Geonu and Soomin, who are committed to being “happy charms” on stage. The other guys waiting backstage seem to be looking forward to Soomin’s performance. 

We find out that both of them chose each other as the person they most wanted to work with on the show. That should be really cute to me, and you know I love friendship on these shows, but…

Ok, I’m going to be honest with you guys: I find these guys a bit irritating. I know that’s not cool, but I figure it’s better to just be honest about my reaction to them. I’m aware that (1) I don’t know them in real life (2) this is all editing (3) they’re not doing anything really that bad. Despite all that, I find them irritating. So, I’m going to do my best to be honest about what I see, and I apologize in advance if either of these two is your favorite. It's not fair of me to just find them annoying for almost no reason, but it's hard to control an emotional response. Ok! Let's get back to it.

So, we jump back to the duet-choosing moment. 

We can see that 20 guys are standing on the top tier, meaning that all ten top tier guys chose a mid or lower tier member to work with. Now it’s time for the mid tiers to choose a duet partner. 

The other guys sort of shuffle around a little, but Soomin goes right up to Geonu. “What kind of music does Hyung like to do?” he asks, and Geonu’s face lights up, first with surprise, then with happiness. 

Bain also approaches, and kind of stands there awkwardly, which makes me feel kind of sad. Here’s the thing: Bain probably went over to Geonu at least in part because Bain didn’t want Geonu to not get picked. Geonu was Low Tier, and Bain was Mid tier, so he may have thought “I’ll rescue my teammate.” (They’re both on Just B together.) Bain and Geonu are the same age, which often gives people a feeling of connection in Korean culture (from what I can gleen). 

Bain says he’s looking for someone to do a pop song with, and what’s weird is that not only does Geonu not even seem to want to make eye contact with Bain, or say something like “Oh, thanks for the offer, but I think it’s better for us to show our individual colors,” he just ignores poor Bain, who stands there all tall and orange and awkward until he wanders away, and it makes me sad. Maybe this is where my irritation began, with Geonu sort of letting Bain hang in the wind like that. And for all I know Geonu did in fact talk to Bain and it was edited out. IDK. 

Meanwhile, Soomin suggests that they sing “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You,” which was the song he did in the Voice Check. Seems odd to suggest it. 

We get a flashback to Geonu introducing himself in English:

“What’s good guys, I’m Geonu, and I’m here to sing my soul out. Vamos!” He doesn’t mention that he’s from Just B in his intro, either, which is also… interesting. Per his online info, his mother is an English teacher, which is how he learned to speak English well. Not sure where he got the Spanish, but hey, a lot of Spanish speakers listen to Kpop so it’s not crazy. 

So I guess the thing is, I can understand how he knows English so well but I do wonder why he would speak it to a group of Korean speakers. Everyone there knows Korean, including Jay, Soomin, and Wumuti, so why not choose Korean as the common language? It just seems like a weird flex, but ok. Imagine if Wumuti had just decided to speak Chinese…? 

Geonu seems to like everything about Soomin, including his hat and the way he sat on the stool, and Soomin seems to like everything about Geonu, so it’s a match made in heaven. They’re very like… I don’t know, like the way two best friends act in 7th grade. This seems to be objectively cute. I don’t know why it bugs me! Am I on crack? 

Some time later, Geonu’s hair is longer and less pink, and he and Soomin are meeting in what looks to be the same conference room as the one Bain used in another segment, complete with the map on the wall. So I guess it’s safe to assume that they’re at Bluedot Entertainment 

Geonu lists some of his favorite musical artists, including M*ch**l J*cks*n and Chr*s Br*wn, and, thankfully, at least one unproblematic fave, Taeyang. He likes R&B, and Soomin likes pop, so they decide that Pop-R&B, like a song by Crush, would be ideal. They seem to quickly decide on “Don’t Forget” by Crush featuring Taeyeon (a tiny bit). (I say “seem to” because I suspect they discussed this first via texting or something and then recreated the song choice for the cameras later.) 

The song itself is perfectly pleasant, the kind of song you’d put on to listen to in the background while you’re doing something else, but it’s hard to imagine someone being like, “oh yeah, this is my favorite song in the whole world.” The lyrics talk about the singer’s hope for his relationship for the future, that even if they break up, that they’d never forget each other. 

If you and me become estranged someday / If we could never see each other / Don’t forget, Don’t lose / Even if you are holding someone else’s hand / If you are somewhere I cannot go to /  Don’t forget, Don’t lose 

The lyrics keep repeating 잊어버리지마 잃어버리지마, ijeobeorijima ilheobeorijima, which means “Don’t forget, don’t lose”. (See, that’s the -jima ending for a negative command again! We’ll all become fluent in Korean eventually!) 

Once they’ve chosen the song, they take a break and make up an elaborate handshake. Soomin says he doesn’t have a hyung, and Geonu feels like his real hyung. That’s sweet! I know intellectually that that’s sweet! 

Then Soomin has to leave to go back to Chicago for a bit, and then after he comes back they’ll have ten more days to practice. So this gives us a hint of the timeline. Based on both their hair, I’d say at least two weeks has gone by since the Pre-4 mission taping day when they’re meeting in the office. Then Soomin is going to go back to Chicago for some period of time and then when he gets back they have another ten days. This suggests that maybe a much as month went by between the Pre-4 Mission and the 2 vs 2 Rival Mission. 

They chat via video call, and even do their handshake virtually. They’re both excited about the arrangement of the song that was made for them, and practice a little bit. Soomin says he can tell how much Geonu has been practicing. They’re speaking Korean together, which is again kind of interesting given that when they’re around other people, they choose English. Maybe they were just deliberately speaking English to speak more privately around the other people…?

When Soomin gets back, Geonu says he smells like Chicago, which is not the compliment he may think it is, and they get to do their handshake thing. They seem really happy as they rehearse together and just sort of hang out saying SOOUUUU! 

And that brings us the performance!

Full performance without reactions

My thoughts:

I should note, first off, that normally, when I hear a song over and over I start liking it more, almost against my will, but the more I hear this song the more boring it is to me. And maybe if I liked the song more I’d be more forgiving of the performance overall. Again, I’m just being honest. 

This was an ok performance, but I’ve heard both of these guys sing better than they sang this time.

Soomin was on his s w e a t e r game, for sure, and he really has a lovely voice. But here he sounds a lot breathier than he had been before, and maybe even a tiny bit hoarse. It didn’t sound bad, don’t get me wrong. I think it sounded lovely. Just maybe he wasn’t in the best condition when they taped? I still am interested in what he’s going to perform next. 

Geonu really didn’t float my boat with his performance. I’ve heard him sing much better than this, so I’m not sure what happened. His first few notes sounded nice, but as it went on, to me, he sounded nasal, slightly shrill, a bit pitchy, and almost like his throat was clenching down as he was trying to sing. It just didn’t sound right. I think his worst moment vocally is at about 0:47 in to the Youtube version of the performance. It’s almost like he has something caught in his throat. 

Also, um, the dancing. Not sure about that.

I remember liking Geonu on I-land, and I’ve heard him sing better than this, so I guess maybe he was nervous about performing well with his new American dongsae/friend, and/or just nervous in general about staying on the show. I think Geonu might benefit from some targeted vocal lessons because he does strange things with his throat and upper palette. His natural vocal color is so nice that if he just had some more training on how note to sabotage himself vocally, he’d be wonderful to listen to. 

Their harmonies sounded nice -- those were some precise harmonies, and they must have practiced a long time to get them right -- but I also am not sure I loved the contrast between their voices when they took turns singing. Geonu’s voice has a sharpness to it and Soomin’s is so smooth that it makes Geonu’s voice sound worse in contrast.

Which of the two duets should win -- this one, or Team S&S from earlier? In the end, I didn’t love either of them, so it’s hard to say. Of the four voices, I continue to like Soomin’s the best, but if I had to listen to one of the two performances over, I think I’d rather listen to the boring ballad performance instead of the boring R&B song performance, and I think the problem is Geonu. That’s such a bummer because I’ve been converted into a big Bain fan and I want to cheer for Just B. Hopefully, Geonu will win back my good opinion in the future! I’m certainly not committed to hating him or anything like that. 

In the MNET edit, everyone seems to really love Soomin’s voice and no one thinks he sounds hoarse or strange, so maybe it’s just me. Soomin gets some instant replays, and they both get happy judge reactions.

Eunkwang may or may not be enjoying the song.

The last line of the song is “Don’t forget this song,” which is why everyone reacts by saying “I can’t forget it!” 

Everyone seems to particularly love Soomin’s voice, but the overall vibe is positive. Backstage, poor Seongjung mutters, “I don’t want to go home.” 

The judges key in their votes, and we find out their highest and lowest votes: 95 (Solar) and 86 (Baekho). 

They’re so happy and surprised that I want to be happy for them, but it’s tough. I can’t help but be a little annoyed at this. I don’t think it’s really right that this team should win over the first team. There was nothing at all wrong with the way the first team sang, while Geonu’s performance was, in my informed opinion, pretty flawed. I know he’s capable of better, but he didn’t sing super well on the day they recorded this performance. I know Soomin sounded nice despite his hoarseness, but it just feels like favoritism. 

The guys back stage don’t look thrilled, either. Bain doesn’t seem happy for his teammate particularly. Kim Seongjeong, the leaping lizard, and his teammate Gwangseok, look irritated or at least incredulous. Jeong Inseong from KNK, front row with the maroon hair, has a thousand-yard stare that doesn’t seem happy. Jung Intae, front row right in the white shirt, looks a little disgusted. Maybe you interpret their expressions differently than I do, but they don’t look happy, and the guys generally seem pretty happy to cheer for one another when someone does well. I just get the impression that they think the performance wasn’t really that great.

Solar, who gave the 95, begins by praising Soomin’s voice and “vibe.” She tells Geonu that when he’s by himself he seems ordinary, but when he’s on a team, his presences is special. I don’t know how I’d feel about being given feedback like that.  

Seungkwan from Seventeen agrees with pretty much everything Solar says. He says that Soomin is so good, it’s a little annoying, and adds, “This calm and languid charm comes across as sexy when he sings.”

Hey, child who told me to KMS because I referred to Gunwook from Boys Planet as “sexy”, are you going to write hate letters to Seungkwan? Because Soomin is the same age now as Gunwook was then. Yep, I’m petty. I do not like being told to KMS. I will hold a grudge against anyone who tells me to KMS. 

Ok, sorry, deep breath. 

Anyway, it’s impossible for me to think of Soomin as sexy, because I have met waaaayyyy too many guys like him at youth hostels across the world, but I guess maybe he would be to someone else. I leave it to you, dear reader, to decide for yourself. 

Seungkwan tells Geonu that he likes Geonu’s dancing-like gestures. But low-scorer Baekho disagrees -- disharmony on Team Pledis! -- saying, “The reason why I gave the lowest score is that I thought that Geonu’s gestures were a bit… too much.”

Eunkwang’s feedback is a little confusing, I think mostly due to translation issues.  I think what he was saying was basically that Geonu was a bit out control -- not just with the gestures, but the whole vocal performance as well. He didn’t have good breath control, so the pitch suffered. The edit highlights the exact portion that I picked out as Geonu’s worst moment as well. Hey Eunkwang, if you noticed that like I did, why did you give a score higher than 86? 

It’s time to find out who won the round, and the first team comes back out on stage. Everyone says the scores are close, but they’re not really that close. It seems obvious that Geonu and Soomin won, and they have, 636, to 601. 

If you do the math and remove the highest and lowest scores from each group’s total, and find the average of the remaining five scores, Team Geonu x Soomin had an average score of 91, while Team S&S had an average score of 86. As Wendy says, “Ah, my heart hurts.” 

Soomin and Geonu do a cool-guy handshake thing to celebrate.  

Dahee asks Team S&S to say something about the fact that they’re up for elimination. 

Seungjung says, “I’m the one who chose Seohyung, and since we’ve lost, I feel….”

“... I’m so sorry to Seohyung. I’m a little sad for myself as well.” 

The judges reassure him that he did a good job.

Seohyung, ever cheerful, says, 

“Whenever I perform on stage, my belief always is, ‘It won’t be perfect, but let’s have no regrets.’ Today, the stage was not perfect at all. But I put everything into it, so I have no regrets. I’ll remember all the good things you’ve said, and continue.” Awww! That's great. He's a charming dude, isn't he?

The judges tell him he’s well spoken, and then he and Seungjung walk off stage arm in arm, with Seungjung still apologizing.

“I’m sorry…”

Backstage, Seongjung starts to beat himself up again -- “I could have done better…” -- when he interrupts himself and says firmly, “No, we did a great job!” Nice! Love that. 

And that’s basically the end of the episode! We see a preview of the next round, featuring a distressing lack of sweaters but a lot of other fashion statements, and get the current voting standings. The top five is the same as last week, and the top 9 has been the same 9 people since voting started. The only major changes this week compared to last week is that Yoon Inhwan is up 8 spots and Taewoo is down 7 spots. But nobody has changed to a different zone of the list, if that makes sense. People who were part of a losing 2x2 rivalry team are marked with a *. People who haven’t performed yet in the 2x2 rivalry mission are in italics. 

Jay Chang* ⊖

Donghun* ⊖

Wumuti ⊖

Seunghun* ⊖

Seokhwa* ⊖

Hwanhee ▲1

Yeo One ⛛ 1

Park Jeup ▲1

Jeon Woong* ⛛ 1

Bitsaeon* ▲3

Taehwan  ⛛ 1

Geonu  ⛛ 2

Jeong Inseong ⛛ 1

Sunyoul* ⊖

Kang Hayoon ▲2

Neon* ⊖

Hong Seongjun* ▲2

Lee Gwangsuk*  ▲3

Bain ⛛ 1

Jung Soomin ⊖

Hyukjin ⛛ 2

Park Joo Hee ▲1

Yoon Inhwan ▲8

Kim Minseo  ⊖

Hong Sung Won ⛛ 3

Kim Seohyung*  ⛛ 1

Choi Su Hwan ▲2

Lim Sang Hyun ⊖

Lee Min Wook ⛛ 3

Hwang In Hyuk ⊖

Kim Sungjung* ⛛ 4

Ma Jaekyung  ▲1

Kwon Eui Bin ▲5

Jang In Tae ▲6

Jo Hwan Ji ⛛ 1

Choi Ha Ram  ⛛ 1

Lim Jun Hyeok ▲2

Jeong Yunseo ⛛ 2

Taewoo ⛛ 7

Ji Yeonwoo ⛛ 3

Ok, gang, that’s a wrap on episode 4! I finished it before Episode 6 came out, which means I’m actually catching up a little. I’ll see you in the next one, when we dive into Episode 5. The first performance will include Yeo One from Pentagon, if that sweetens the deal. See you then! 

#mnet build up #bpr recaps build up #build up #build up mnet #just b #geonu

[riddle-me-ri]

Hello!! :D Hope your day has gone well!!

What are your thoughts on various Mad Hatters? Which one is your current favorite??

(Also could you recommend a Jervis comic mayhaps?? Been wanting to try read Batman Rogue comics ^^)

💤

Asdfghh where how where how...where do I begin with the mad lads asdfghh I'll give a tiny explanation as to why I love the versions I write for, that's a decent place to start lol. So, sorry not sorry you've opened the floodgates lmao, because of that there's a read more tab, sorry if you weren't quite expecting this lengthy response.

Arkhamverse Jervis: Definitely one of my favorite voices for him by far (Roddy for BTAS/TNBA is still a huge favorite). Also, his voice tapes with Strange in City absolutely twist my heart every time (not to mention the end of his mission when you go back to see him. He only wanted a friend hng), I think they could've done a lot with him, his short mission in City left much to be desired. The Wonderland hallucination in Origins and the storybook from Knight where amazing. While the writing is a wee topsy turvy, I do adore how they showed progression to his unyielding mental state (via, rhyming, literally Batman or anyone being Alice, and any word associated with Wonderland must be a part of it in Knight). And in City hinted at just how unnerved Jervis can be about himself and how he feels when he's lucid. I definitely get inspired by a lot of his character beats and traumas for sure (in my writing btw lmao)

BTAS Jervis: Ahaha the golden mad lad, my first Hatter encounter! I've always been a fan of Alice in Wonderland when I was watching BTAS (wanting to know what the hype was about as an animation student) so when I saw an episode called Mad as a Hatter I was intrigued lmao. I had no idea Jervis even existed and what a super strong intro episode too. Again Roddy is probably my favorite voice for him. Just...it's so warm and pleasant to listen to. I also appreciate that they didn't make this Hatter a one-trick pony? Nowadays a lot of DC writers sorta stick to the kidnapping/murdering women thing but BTAS Jervis literally tried to stop Batman before Batman could even do anything, so he can get Batman out of the way, he stole from Gotham's elite so he can run away on an island of his own? Also probably one of the more mentally stable of the Hatters and definitely the most romantic.

TNBA Jervis: Aww Ratter, sweet mad lad. I love rodents so the fact that the fandom has dubbed this version ratter and for the right reasons makes me so incredibly giddy. He's supposed to technically be BTAS just a different design, and as jarring as the changes may be, I think it still works, and again we see different motivations of Jervis other than him finding an Alice.

Secret Six (2006) Jervis: Hehehehe definitely one of my favorite Jervi. I absolutely love this mad, brilliant, druggy, powerful, silly nudist. This version is a prime example of just how powerful Jervis can be and why he should be depicted more as a threat (I have a thought that most of the time, Jervis leans more into his whimsy/playful attributes as a way to catch enemies off-guard, that's not to say he isn't that way in general, but I can see him using it to his utmost advantage). Also just wanna point out that this version was written by a woman, Gail Simone, who has canonically pinned Jervis to having amazing rizz and not to mention fangirls/fanboys that wanna marry him (and has an incredible "head" game) and I will forever love her for that.

Joker's Asylum Jervis: Aww, ohh, dear sweet mad lad, gotta grab tissues for this guy. One of the stronger of the Mad Hatter-centric comics. This comic delves into Jervis' psyche which a lot of DC writers almost refuse to even look at or consider (like...guys, I can do it...if I can do it I KNOW you can too). This comic shows what the Arkham games hint at, and that's that Jervis has/feels REMORSE. Probably one of the few rogues that do, he genuinely can't help it. He wants to get better, he wants to not be a threat. He wants companionship but fails miserably every time and the cycle continues. When I read this comic, it wouldn't leave my head for days. It is definitely what inspired my fic Love and Suds because my story is somewhat of an "what if" scenario like what if he did have someone there when he was spiraling and trying to fight off the delusions and madness.

Gotham Jervis: asdfgjkjj it...it took some time for me to like this one lmao. I have grievances across the board with Gotham as a whole. What they did to Jervis is no exception to that, he's interesting that he's a pure hypnotist and how apparently there are rules to that. It's one of the first (if not the only time?) Jervis isn't a scientist, but purely a hypnotist (before becoming a hypnotist criminal, it happens). I won't go too deep into him, esp. if you haven't seen this version but yeah just...he has potential he really does, he's just another example of a Jervis done dirty (and not the fun way)

Harley Quinn The Animated Series Jervis: red-head jervis, red-head jervis, red-head jervis my beloved. I love Jervis with red hair almost as much as blonde (and that's just personal preference cause I'm blonde lmao) From an artist stand point, his design is just really, really appealing to me. The bright complimenting colors, the wild spiky hair, the teeth, and the coke fingernail was a neat added detail (a buddy for S6 for sure). He was so criminally underused I will never forgive the show for what they did (him and other rogues as well). He's also very giddy, fun, but also still demented and violent.

To say the least...I can't choose just one current solidary favorite, I have grown to love them all in various ways, from their design to their personalities and voices. But my top three will definitely have to be; BTAS, Arkhamverse, and Secret Six. Joker's Asylum is also a super super close fourth. When I write for my "general" Hatter, I usually borrow traits, traumas, and mannerisms from these four.

As for comics I would recommend, here's a couple Jervis-centric ones to get you started. Also be weary and make sure you have an ad-blocker just in case. You shouldn't have to know too much backstory from other comics to understand them.

Secret Six (2006) Issue #1

Joker's Asylum: Mad Hatter

Sorry this got so long lmao, but thank you for letting me infodump and fixate on the Mad Lads, I've been having a rough time lately, and this has definitely lifted my spirits thinking about these guys lol.

#ri rambles #ri answers #sleepy anon 💤 #high key wanna nickname you dormy lol #what are your thoughts ask meme #long post is long #I'm so sorry #but also I couldn't help it lol #I hope y'all don't mind

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super 069 (nice)

This is Super’s Driver’s Ed episode, basically.

All right, I still haven’t read/watched Dr. Slump, so a lot of these callbacks are lost on me.  Fortunately, there aren’t that many characters to keep track of in this episode.   Dr. Senbei Norimaki, aka “Dr. Slump” is heading to West City to participate in an award ceremony for inventors.  Arale and the Gatchans are excited to go along, but he tells her to stay put and mind the house while he’s gone.  Big mistake.

Bulma’s family is also attending the award ceremony, although we never find out just what her invention was that got her nominated.  It can’t be the time machine, since Beerus destroyed it last episode, so it’s kind of badass that Bulma knocked out at least one other game-changing invention off-screen while the last three or four sagas were going on.

Mr. Satan is the emcee for this thing, and he got Goku a job on the security detail.  He had to wear a suit and fix his hair, but neither of these things last very long, so Goku just gives up and leaves his post.

Senbei is surprised when he wins, almost like he only went to this thing for the free food, but he proudly shows off his prize-winning invention, Reality Machine #2.  It can walk and talk, by the way.  Basically, you direct your thoughts to the machine and it creates your fondest desire, something you’re so passionate about that you’d die for it.

You know, like girlie mags!

Or figurines of yourself!  I feel like the characters in this show lack imagination.

Then Dr. Mashirito, apparently Senbei’s arch-rival, shows up to object to his receiving the award.  Senbei consults the Dr. Slump comics and confirms that Mashirito died years ago.  And he’s right.  Mashirito has returned as a ghost.  In the dub, he even says he broke out of the “Home For Infinite Losers” to protest this ceremony, and how wild is it that we get an HFIL mention in 2016?

But before he came to West City, Dr. Mashirito paid a visit to Penguin Village, where he fed Arale and the Gatchans a secret elixir called “Playtime X”, which makes them even more hyperactive than usual.  His plan is to use Senbei’s own android daughter to wreck the whole place and ruin his big day.  Mr. Satan tries to defuse the situation and gets his ass kicked, so he asks Vegeta to intervene. 

Meanwhile, Goku’s sleeping out on the grounds like a dog.  Goku, you’re the laziest man on Mars.

The Vegeta/Arale fight leads outside, and for a moment it seems like Goku and Arale recognize each other, but they don’t.  Vegeta continues to fight, but Arale beats him like a drum.  Vegeta concludes that this is because she’s a character from an 80′s gag manga, which means her powers aren’t constrained by the laws of physics. What, like Vegeta’s powers are based on reality or something?  I mean, sure, compared to Dr. Slump, Dragon Ball might as well be a documentary, but still.

The best he manages to do is to kick off Arale’s entire head, which horrifies the boys, but Arale’s a robot, so it doesn’t matter.

Anyway, Vegeta gets wrecked because of course he does.  This isn’t even the worst humiliation he’s experienced while fighting a female android. 

Goku and Arale finally remember each other, and Goku’s basically like “fuck it, let’s just fight.” He goes Super Saiyan Blue and they shoot energy blast at each other.

I guess the Gatchans just sort of wore themselves out?  I completely forgot they were in this thing, but I guess it doesn’t matter.

Senbei manages to buy some time by using Reality Machine #2 to make some poop, which Trunks tosses onto the battlefield to distract Arale.  This won’t keep her busy for long, but it’s a start.

This gives Bulma a chance to execute her own plan.  She had tried contacting Whis to get help from Beerus, but Beerus is taking a nap, and Whis refuses to wake him.  So Bulma speaks with the live television audience and tells them to focus their thoughts on Reality Machine #2.  Wait, why is this being covered live?  And how many people are watching a show like this, anyway?  Well, I guess Mr. Satan’s in it, so that might explain its popularity. 

Anway, Bulma has everyone imagine their most favorite food, and the Reality Machine combines all those thoughts to produce a single, supremely delicious treat.  It looks like the coffee-flavored jawbreaker from the Buu Saga.  Has Vegito returned?

Whatever it is, the aroma is so enticing that Beerus smells it from over a kajillion light years away.  He wakes up and makes Whis take him to Earth immediately, and picks up the treat.   Dr. Mashirito is annoyed to see this newcomer, and starts confronting him...

... so Beerus destroys him.  Apparently even ghosts can be destroyed, so I assume this is the last we ever see of this character, dead or alive.

Then Arale annoys him while he’s savoring his treat, and he prepares to destroy her too, until...

... I don’t know for sure, but it seems like Beerus suddenly got diarrhea.  He forgets his divine wrath and demands that Whis take him back home immediately. 

No one is sure what just happened, but Trunks suspects that Beerus got sick from eating food that came out of a device that previously had poop in it.  Sure.

Anyway, Playtime X wears off just in time for Senbei to return home, so the crisis is over. 

Meanwhile, Vegeta sulks from the branch of a tree. 

This was easily the best episode of Dragon Ball Super until the part where Goku fought Kefla, so I’ve been looking forward to it since I started this thing.  This whole series has sort of been screwing around, so it’s about time they started screwing around seriously instead of the half-assed stuff they’d been doing before. 

#dragon ball #dragon ball super #2023dbapocryphaliveblog #senbei norimaki #dr mashirita #beerus #whis #goku #vegeta #bulma #trunks #mr satan #arale norimaki #gatchans #reality machine number 2

[bitimdrake]

tried to find your opinion on this by searching young justice show but couldn't find anything so anyways what's your opinion on the show if you've seen it?

I personally love it as an elseword story (idk if I'm using that right) and think it was very creative and well done. I don't really like how Linda was left out but oh well you win some you lose some. (Also hate Cass backstory change so much ughhhhh)

I don't think I've talked about it before! Honestly, I don't think about the show much. I watched uhh three and a half seasons maybe? And then just kind of slipped off it. (I literally don't remember if I watched the episodes with Cass or just heard about them, so I won't comment there.)

I think it's valuable to judge these things both as adaptations and as independent pieces of fiction, so:

as an adaptation

YJTV is not a faithful adaption of the comics universe, but it never purported to be. Dubbing it an Elseworld seems spot on to me. It takes a lot of elements and characters from the original, but thoroughly remixed in a show that is a new story at its core--centering on a team that never existed in comics. And that's fine!

I would have preferred they called the show something else. It's really not a young justice adaptation, and that’s just confused branding. But that's a minor point.

It does bug me the way they utterly changed some characters. Like, why chose to "adapt" comics villain Artemis Crock just to make her a hero with supervillain parents instead of, you know, adapting any of the existing teen heroes who already fit that story? Why "adapt" Cheshire just to make her central story about a family she's never even been related to in comics? Why "adapt" Superboy to make him grumpy angry boy with angst over being unable to fly?

Just. I will never ever understand adaptations using characters in name only. Who is that for?? It means nothing to people who don't know the character already, and it's a disappointment to people who do. You can just make an OC! You're allowed to do that in your new show!

That said, the only thing about YJ as an adaptation that I truly, utterly resent it for is the dynamic with Conner and Clark that has since polluted every fan space, I hate it, the end.

Otherwise, as an adaptation, it's fine! I got some issues with it, but I think it's perfectly legitimate to make an elseworlds type thing with its own narrative identity rather than a strict adaptation.

as a show

i think it sucks. Sorry.

I should say, the first season was solid. With a limited focus on a team of six-ish, it did really well. Good character and team building, good plot work, just generally enjoyable. I liked it a lot!

And then it went off the rails. I am hardly the first person to say it but: this show has too many characters. And imo that problem is so pronounced that it’s not a flaw in an otherwise good show, but completely destroys the whole thing. It has way too many characters. It’s not even in the realm of the right number of characters. And, iirc, it's worse and worse every season.

The other huge flaw in the show became really obvious to me in season...3 I think? And that is absolutely baffling decisions on what to tell and what to show.

This is tied into the too many characters thing--there simply isn’t enough time to show even half of what needs to be shown. But I also remember regularly wondering why on earth one event was deemed irrelevant enough to be a brief slideshow-with-narration sequence, or even glossed over in one line of dialogue, while something seemingly way less important would be played out on screen.

Huge character and relationship development? Eh, throw it in the time skip and reference it later. Key progression that would have gotten the audience invested in a dynamic? Idk say it happened off screen and assume viewers will fill in the blanks themselves. Super cool event where the characters made major plot progression? Just reference it in dialogue so we can jump ahead to this other scene that the creators actually care about.

I just. I couldn’t do it. I’m willing to give leeway to a show and fill in gaps, but I can’t handle being expected to wholesale create attachment to characters and relationships and plotlines and twists all on my own, while the show puts no work into it.

The thing about this show being an adaptation--and I almost put it in the above section--is that it wants all the benefits of being a unique story and all the benefits of being comics-based, and that just doesn’t work. This show expects everyone to have knowledge across the entire DC universe just to watch it, and lazily falls back on that rather than explain things or introduce characters itself. (And I’m saying this as a dedicated comics reader!!!) And it also expects you to read that show-specific tie-in comic, or look up the backstory for this event, or read that one blog post from that one guy that totally explains the important thing that they never bothered to give any time to on the show.

If I were going to try to boil the problems with this show down to one thing, I would say this:

YJTV wants to be its own, unique, massive, sprawling superhero universe, but it’s a fucking half-hour TV show. And there is no stretch of the imagination in which that works.

#* #ask #anon #*dc #dc #yjtv #take two of trying to write this without tumblr erasing it all ughhh #for the sake of keeping this post focused i'm dropping misc examples in the tags: #(1) #so many characters being barely introduced or not introduced at all #(most of the s2 additions but even going back to rocket in s1) #but then the show expecting you to still care about and invest in them as if they were treated like real characters #(2) basically every single important development and event in the conner/mgann relationship after s1 happening?? off screen???? #(3) a scene i cannot remember the details of (at the end of a season i think) that is supposed to be a big victorious moment- #showing how well connected and respected nightwing is and what a good leader he is #except the show literally never did anything to build to it or show it or even make that a real part of dick's character #they just expect you to project it over from comics #(4) every vague reference to jason todd where you're required to already know the story to glean anything from it #(5) some line of dialogue where bart (?) offhandedly references a funeral for a character and i had to literally rewind- #to realize that he was talking about a side side character who was never on the show and no one without additional comics knowledge would kn #*know #but they still thought just dropping funeral without explanation was a good writing choice somehow #(6) oh!! speaking of the terrible i hate it thing they did to clark and conner!! #having conner spend all s1 angsting over wanting clark to be his dad and then at the start of s2 be like #wow we're brothers now and it's great! this off screen development was totally fulfilling and meaningful! don't worry about seeing it! #(i mean no wonder people who ONLY watched yjtv think them being brothers is disappointing. it was in the show.) #(but yes i still resent the show for pushing the father/son thing in the first place because them being brothers is great actually) #(and how dare you do clark like that. he doesn't deserve it.) #ok so maybe i should have put this in the post because that's a lot #whatever i leave it to the judgement of peer review

[twistsandtwizzles]

Stars on Mars: Episode 10

Welcome back to Mars! We are down to our final three episodes, with just seven celebrities remaining in this deranged “experiment.” Where did the summer even go?? 

(On a personal note, I entered into this recap project planning to only write recaps until Adam was eliminated, which I thought would be maybe three episodes, tops. Well, Adam played Andy Richter and he also played me, because not only is he still on Mars . . . I have somehow written more than 30,000 words about this ridiculous show.)

Last week: Lance sent himself home, which sent his closest remaining ally, Cat, into a bit of a panic and had her proposing an arrangement to Paul: “If you want to be Base Commander, I’ll nominate you. And I’ll be your mission specialist.”

Tonight, according to Shatner: well, you know how this goes by now. Twenty minutes of personal stuff and jockeying for Base Commander, fifteen minutes of mission time, and five minutes of mission fallout. This is: Starssssss on Marsssss.

Morning, Sol 15. The robot dog that was found in the vents last week is saying hello to the crew. “Did we give it a name?” Adam wonders aloud. Porsha asks what the smallest planet is, and is told that it is Pluto. (What’s Pluto’s status these days? Planet or no? I feel like science can’t decide. You’ll always be a planet in my heart, Pluto.) Porsha says they can’t just call the dog Pluto, and so dubs it “Plutoto.”

In the kitchen Adam asks Ariel about her “fleece booties” (most people just call those “slippers,” Adam) and Ariel explains that her sleep clothes are specifically chosen to prevent germs: pants tucked into a fresh pair of fuzzy socks, shirt tucked into pants. Everyone is a bit taken aback by this, Adam is especially shocked that anyone would sleep in socks.

Adam tells Ariel, “I feel like this whole thing has been probably really good for you, to push you . . . “ He pauses and searches for the right phrasing. “Period. To push you.” I like when we get a little glimmer of Coach Adam.

Ariel says in her confessional that she was a bit discouraged by being in the bottom three last week, especially since it was a challenge she thought she did well on, and that she is hoping to be Base Commander or Mission Specialist this week, because she does really want to stay in the experiment.

We get a cut of Plutoto the robot dog wandering around outside by itself.

Cat offers to make Marshawn and Paul some eggs. Cat throwing herself in with the remaining members of the Jock alliance makes for some good visual gags because she is a TINY tiny person (google tells me she’s not even five feet) and when she stands next to Paul (former NBA forward) or Marshawn (former NFL running back), it’s pretty comical. 

Paul tries to get Marshawn to have some of what he is snacking on, which is ketchup and mustard on potato chips. Marshawn is revolted. Paul makes the point that a chip is just a crispy potato and therefore not any different than fries. My sister used to dip her potato chips in ketchup and while I prefer a good French onion dip, I can confirm that it’s really not THAT bad.

Cat finds Paul and tells him again that she wants to be his Mission Specialist when he is Base Commander. He once again says, “okay.”

And so it’s leadership decision time again - the group gathers in the command center to figure out who is going to take the reins from Porsha. 

“Well, I would like to do it -“ Ariel begins, just as Paul puts his hands in the air and voices his interest in the position as well.

“Paul’s got two hands up,” Cat says, eager to throw her support his way.

“I’m the only one who hasn’t had a shot,” Paul says, as Cat nods along. “I would like to be Base Commander.”

“Why?” Porsha asks.

“I’ve been in the bottom two ever since I’ve been here,” Paul says. “I’ve had a chance to watch and learn from everyone, and I think I’m ready.”

Adam asks if there is anyone else who wants to throw their name in the mix, looking at Ariel. She softly confirms that she is, “but . . .”

“It’s all good either way,” says Paul.

Cat looks mildly panicked and starts to say “I think it should be Paul” but catches herself right before she says his name and instead asks, “Who else hasn’t been Base Commander, besides Paul?” Adam confirms that Paul is the only one who hasn’t done the role yet.

Tinashe has thoughts, mainly about Paul’s ability to communicate the messages he receives from Shatner. Paul says he’s fully capable of following basic instructions. 

Tinashe turns to Ariel and asks if she’s nominating herself. Ariel answers, “I mean I did nominate myself but, well, I mean . . .  we could take it as a vote?” (Google tells me that Ariel was born in Virginia, but I know midwestern behavior when I see it. That girl never takes the last donut in the break room, either, I’ll bet.)

Porsha hands out ballots. Paul and Ariel, as candidates, are not allowed to vote so we’re waiting on the results of five people.

Porsha breaks down Ariel’s strategy for us: “Ariel putting her hand up is just being smart - she knows what she’s good at, she’s not good out in the field … I would also want to be put at the place where I’ll look the strongest.”

Porsha counts the votes: one for Ariel, two for Ariel, one for Paul, two for Paul. And the last vote goes to … Paul. He looks satisfied, Cat is absolutely thrilled.

The group claps, and Ariel does a decent job of hiding her disappointment, even as her talking head tells us that she doesn’t have much confidence in Paul. I’m curious as to whether it is Porsha or Adam who flipped on Ariel - my gut says it was Porsha, who has done a good job of making friends all over the hab and not throwing herself TOO overtly into any one particular alliance. I feel like Adam’s loyalty to Ariel is too strong at this point for him to vote against her. 

As the crew leaves the command center, Marshawn picks up an empty bowl from the table. “Oh my god, are you almost about to clean up something?” Porsha asks. When Marshawn rolls his eyes and carries the bowl with him out of the room, Porsha gasps and calls other members of the crew over. Adam and Tinashe also watch in astonishment as Marshawn disposes of some garbage in the trash can and puts the empty dish in the sink.

Paul tells them they are being a little extreme, and Adam says, “No, you don’t understand. We should find a patch for that.” Ha!

When we return from commercials, Adam is folding some bedsheets and the Lady A.I. asks him why humans do that. Adam says his biggest nightmare is things that aren’t folded, and anyone who has watched any of his videos on instagram knows that this is actually probably true.

It’s time to assign base duties. Today’s duties include some biodome inventory and measuring out an enclosure for their robot dog outside. Tinashe and Ariel are sent outside to measure an enclosure, and the rest of the crew does inventory inside.

The biodome has gotten VERY green since the last time we saw it, and I’m relatively certain there are different plants in here then there were last time. But I’ll just play along and pretend that all of these plants have grown from seed since the fake poop mission. Cat and Adam are going through the plants while Paul mostly observes.

Adam tells us that at this point in the experiment, everyone in the hab wants to be there, and everyone wants to make it to the very end. He adds that he and Cat have worked together several times, and that he knows that she’s going to go “balls to the wall” to get to the end. Cat reminds us that she made a deal with Paul to be mission specialist, and she “hopes he remembers that.”

Marshawn and Porsha are inventorying the food in the kitchen. Porsha says she’s worried about the rations because “we could die” (again, I always appreciate commitment to the bit that they are actually out in space) and I have to compliment the editor for their immediate cut to Marshawn mindlessly munching on some food as he counts things in the freezer.

Adam comes in and Porsha informs him that “we’re gonna starve in about a day.”

Adam: “Cool. I’m ready.”

Porsha explains that they have no fresh food and Marshawn, exasperated and clearly saying this for about the sixth time today, says, “All the fresh food is in the biodome!”

Porsha tells the camera that she has been trying to avoid the biodome because it smells in there. (Also I want to note that each of Porsha’s talking heads this episode have been with a different hairstyle, so we are clearly getting some interviews out of context here.) Adam escorts her into the biodome where Porsha is shocked to see so many fresh vegetables: “We’re going to live!”

Meanwhile, Paul asks Marshawn if he’s interested in being mission specialist. Sorry, Cat. Luckily for the chef, though, Marshawn declines. “Hell, no. I’ve gotta be outside. Otherwise I’m going to lose my mind.”

Porsha walks in at the tail end of this conversation. Marshawn asks her if she wants to be mission specialist, and Porsha says it’s too early for her to do that, since they still have to get rid of two people. “Oh, so you’re trying to save that for an ace in the hole?” Marshawn asks. Porsha explains that strategy wise it makes the most sense to be in that safe role later on, when fewer people are on the chopping block.

“Porsha’s gonna do some shady ass shit at the end,” Marshawn tells Paul, over Porsha’s protests. As Cat walks in the room, Marshawn says, “I think you might just have to go to Cat, bro.” 

Paul still does not seem totally thrilled by this concept, but asks Cat if she wants to be mission specialist. She says of course she does, and says that she would crush it, and also that she showed her loyalty to Paul that morning by nominating him to be Base Commander. “Choose wisely,” Porsha warns Paul.

“What if I choose no one?” he asks.

“Then you’re gonna fail,” Porsha answers. Lady AI jumps in to confirm that it is required that someone be a mission specialist, and that she will replace Paul if he can’t choose.

Before commercials, we cut to more footage of Plutoto wandering around outside - and then falling into a hole.

When we return to commercials, Porsha (wig on, so this is likely old footage), Adam, Tinashe, and Ariel are reading Mars facts out of a manual. This has happened in several other episodes, as well, but I haven’t written about it in the recaps because random Mars facts don’t advance the plot and how long do these things need to be, really. I’m already far too verbose. But as we near the finale I have a feeling that these Mars facts are going to play into some final challenges, so it seems important to note that there is in fact a manual, and that these four, at least, have been studying it.

Anyway, the group talks about their interest in actual space travel. Adam wants no part in it: “I won’t even drive to Santa Monica. I’m not going to the moon.” They chat about the current going rate for a ticket to space. Porsha asks if there’s a groupon.

Emergency time! Shatner is here to inform everyone that their dog has run away and fallen into a “deadly Mars shaft.” The crew has to go rescue it, and they’ll get a bravery mission patch if successful.

Paul chooses Cat to be mission specialist, to her relief. Marshawn, Ariel, Adam, Porsha, and Tinashe head outside and pile onto the rover while Cat and Paul take their positions at the command center. Paul is told to direct the rover to their destination using the satellite feed.

Marshawn is behind the wheel of the rover and you can tell that the five remaining members of the original crew are having a pretty good time being all together on this mission. They chat about how they are basically going into this mission blind, with no information other than “find the dog.”

As they approach the last known location of the dog, Paul starts giving them directions that sound like this: “You are coming up on a right turn. Don’t turn. Keep going straight.” Marshawn asks for clarification that he is NOT supposed to make the turn, and Paul confirms that he should keep driving straight.

Of course, a minute later: “Oh shoot. You guys passed it. Turn around.”

Deep sighs from everyone on the rover. Marshawn turns the rover around and you can tell he is just having the very best time driving this thing (which is a little bit funny considering how furious he was about bumping into a rover a couple of days ago). He’s also, I should note, a good driver, and he takes care of his crew by warning them about turns and hills and when they should brace for bumps.

Paul finally tells them to stop . . . right in the middle of the road, with nothing on either side. You can kind of see where Paul is coming from - on his satellite, they are right next to the hole they are supposed to find - but the cave entrance is not accessible from the road, so the crew needs to backtrack even further. (If you are thinking this means that they have to make the turn that Paul originally told them not to make . . . you would be correct.)

Tinashe and Ariel both give talking heads about how Paul’s bad directions cost them a lot of time. Eventually they find their way to their destination, but only five minutes are remaining on the clock when they finally disembark the rover. (Ariel gets stuck trying to get out, to her embarrassment and the mild amusement of her teammates.) “Do not air that!” she says.

The group splits up into two crews: a rappel crew, and the search crew. Tinashe and Marshawn are assigned to the rappel crew - Tinashe will be the one rappelling into the mouth of the cave, where she will then throw a flare into the hole. This flare will be the beacon that Ariel, Adam, and Porsha should use to guide them to the missing robot dog.

Cat tells the search crew that they will want to stay to the right once they enter the cave, and Adam sums up their assignment: “Got it. Down the hill, turn to the cave, stay right, find the flare, get the puppy.”

There are three minutes to complete the mission. “Haul ass,” Paul says.

Adam, Porsha, and Ariel begin their sprint toward the cave while Tinashe and Marshawn get to work up top. Adam is FLYING down the hill, and is the first inside of the cave. 

Tinashe and Marshawn move slowly and steadily but are able to get the flare deployed just as Adam enters the cave. Adam reminds us that he has a terrible time seeing in the dark, but he continues on as Porsha enters the cave not too far behind him. “Where are you?” she asks. He stops and turns around so she can track him by the lights on the front of his suit. “Let’s go!”

They get slightly turned around in the cave, Adam bumping into a dead end in his attempt to stay to the right as instructed. Porsha and Adam are together but Ariel is still quite a ways behind - she trips and falls as we go to commercials.

Porsha spots the flare, and she and Adam jog together into the cave where the flare and the dog are just as time expires. Mission success. “Ariel, are you okay?” Porsha asks.

“Yeah, I just fell over,” Ariel says, as Adam and Porsha circle back and help her to her feet. Marshawn and Tinashe are celebrating by doing donuts on the rover. Cat and Paul congratulate each other - “You’re safe and I’m safe,” Cat says - and Paul is especially happy that he finally got a chance to “prove his worth.” 

The mood has gotten serious by the time the crew returns to the hab, as the fact that one of the original crew is about to go home hits everyone. Cat and Paul begin to figure out who is going home - Cat notes that Ariel fell and seemed to be struggling. Paul says that having Porsha and Ariel to do endurance stuff is a tough assignment for them. He notes that Tinashe rocked it once again, “definitely mission critical.”

“It’s never an easy decision as to who comes and who goes,” Paul begins, back on comms to the rest of the crew. “This first person showed tremendous bravery, and I’d like to give mission critical to Tinashe.”

We then cut to a few different talking heads. First, Adam: “I know that I’ve said that I’m not competitive but I am also I guess a huge liar, because I’m hoping I’ve done enough to be mission critical.”

Then Porsha: “It’s just simple. I was the one who found the fire flare, and I was the one who found the dog.” (This is both true and untrue - she and Adam were together when both of these things happened, and while she was the one to say she saw the flare first, they found the dog at the exact same time.)

Paul calls the next person in: “Because of the urgency and their taking control of the situation, Adam - come on in.”

Porsha says that this was a shock: “Adam deserved to be in the bottom three instead of me. Yes he hauled ass to the cave, but he did not know where to go once he was in there. And we could have lost the mission if I didn’t find the dog and the flare. So . . . it’s just factual.”

So this week’s bottom three is Marshawn, Porsha, and Ariel. Marshawn immediately starts picking on Porsha: “Oh, it’s your time to go.” She rolls her eyes.

When asked about why he should stay, Marshawn says, “I did the task that I was asked, and then, uh. You know what I mean? That’s what we’re supposed to do so that’s what I did.”

Cat is . . . unimpressed by this plea, to put it mildly. She looks at Adam and Tinashe and asks them what they thought about Marshawn not having a lot to say. They both agree that it’s just Marshawn being Marshawn. Cat tells us that she has concerns about Marshawn’s tendency to goof off.

Porsha says that she is mission critical because she was able to locate the flare and the dog. Paul asks Adam and Tinashe what they think about who is most vital to the team, looking beyond today. Tinashe says that she thinks Porsha is the most versatile person in the bottom three. Adam agrees and says that in the entire course of the experiment, Porsha has never let them down. Then he acknowledges that Ariel’s strength is really back in the hab, and that she is a little less versatile. Tinashe doesn’t disagree, but says that Ariel is a great communicator, very thorough, very decisive. 

It’s Ariel’s time to state her case, which I will just transcribe in full: “I’m not usually an emotional person, but like, I’m feeling a little bit emo so . . . basically, when I came here, I didn’t even think I’d pass mission number one. I’ve overcome a lot of things. I never thought I’d rappel down a cliff. But I loved being on this team.” We cut to Tinashe and Adam, who are both smiling at Ariel fondly. “I even enjoyed the missions in this stupid ass suit. But, as you know . . . I love the word fair. I was not mission critical today. And I feel like I deserve to go.”

“So, are you saying you’re ready to go?” Paul asks.

“Yes.”

“That sucks,” Tinashe says. “But I guess all I can do is respect it.”

And with that, Paul calls Marshawn and Porsha inside. They both give Ariel big hugs before coming in, and Adam tells us that he’s in shock. “In this mission, she fell short. But in my eyes she’s one of the most mission critical people in this entire experiment.”

He runs over to tell Ariel goodbye through the closed door. “We love you,” he says. Ariel is crying: “I’m so much more sad than I thought I was going to be!”

In her exit interview, she says that she got a lot of great friendships and personal growth out of this experience and that she’s really happy she did it. “Even though it was a little bit of hell.”

This elimination feels a little bit like Ariel quit before she could be fired, but I do actually wonder if she would have been the one sent home if it had been left to the crew to make the final decision. I guess we’ll never know!

And so we’re down to six. Porsha wanders into the living room where Marshawn and Paul are hanging out, and Paul asks Porsha if she really was the one who spotted the flare. “Yeah,” she says.

“Hell no,” Marshawn replies. “She lying.”

The three of them get in a bit of a tiff, Porsha telling Paul that he could have asked that question before he decided on a bottom three. “Bottom three isn’t a penalty though,” Paul tells her. She says she was just giving him a critique.

Porsha asks Paul what would have happened if Ariel hadn’t eliminated herself. Paul says, “You was gone” as he and Marshawn burst into laughter.

“Marshawn treats me like I’m his little sister, and Paul feels like someone I grew up with in high school or something,” Porsha tells us. “They can say whatever, but it’s a competition show, and I’m gonna beat your ass.”

Next week: with only six crew members left, a shake up! Lady AI informs the crew that there will no longer be base commanders and everyone will participate in every mission going forward. Plus a rescue mission for an unknown person or thing that has Adam looking delighted. See you then!

#adam rippon #recaps #stars on mars