#She is kinda justified in her reaction

[inconmess]

So the whole fight, I am trying to type my way through it to process stuff, may have gotten some things wrong, may go back and edit some stuff but...

Spoilers so I am putting this under the cut cuz I am likely to go into detail and make it a long post. I don't know

It started with Laudna thinking about Orym having the blade strapped on his back. Not her thinking it is cursed.

Delilah escalates that thought of thinking into it possibly being a cursed sword, and hey, I won't discount the fact that Laudna may have taken it without Delilah's influence but Delilah egging on her definitely make it more certain for Laudna to take it.

And look at this, she could've just woken up Orym and talked about her concerns but I think deep inside, she knew that he wouldn't agree for her to absorb the blade either way. Hence the stealthy try to take it.

She takes her precautions, fails and she knows Orym is a soldier. She knows what he can do. Which is also the reason she cast Darkness while she tried to take it. So she also shouldn't be surprised if he attacks her in the Darkness because he can't see and had just been hurt.

Even if Delilah's push, I can understand the argument she made. They don't know if the blade is cursed or sentient. They don't know how the blade could affect him. The Blade has killed party members and Laudna is traumatised by it. Understandable why she doesn't want to see it or see anyone using it.

She could just ask Orym to put it away, talked it out with him. If it was just about him wielding it. Or carrying it in the party's line of sight. But this wasn't about that. This was about Laudna grabbing it's power to empower Delilah. And she knows what the party thinks about her. Her stealthy action makes sense, Orym's reaction makes sense.

But when the rest of them awoke and the darkness dropped, they see Orym attacking Laudna, seemingly for no reason. With Otohan's blade. And Laudna tries to play into it. She talks about how she sensed that the sword is cursed and was trying to save Orym from being corrupted and it would've made sense. If not for the fact that she could've just talked about it.

Look, Orym tells them why he took the sword, again, makes sense with his backstory. But like he did now, he would've agreed to put it down, get it checked if it were really cursed. He is not probably going to endanger himself if the others are concerned about it.

But he (and the others later on) repeatedly asks Laudna on why she needs it and she evades it. He points out how she hurt him to take it and she says it was accidental. It was. But she still doesn't give solid answers on why she needs it. Her reasoning changes quite a bit and not really makes sense.

And then she turns it on Orym. "I gave you a bruise accidentally but you gave me gashes." "It was on instinct." "Even I did it on instinct." No Laudna, Orym did it on instinct because you covered the place in Darkness. You cast the spell intentionally and hurt Orym, not on instinct. Accident, maybe. But definitely not on instinct. Lady, what do you expect a soldier who has been hurt and woke up in magical darkness to do apart from attack?

Ashton asking Laudna to apologise and willing to take her side was nice. And technically, everything could've been resolved with a talk. But she tries to escape, opens the windows and doors repeatedly as the talks are going on, as Orym does lay bare on why he needs the blade.

Which is another interesting talk. "Why do I need the help of some dark force" he asks, pointedly looking at her. And Laudna points out her gashes. I mean, ma'am, if you are going to fault Orym for taking another sword, which admittedly killed a lot of people, let me remind you that you were trying to take said sword to feed another dark force in you.

In the tension of the moment though, I find it funny Orym did mention about his deal but they don't get to unpack it at the moment because there is more serious shit going on here.

Anyway. I need both Orym and Laudna to stop feeling they don't have enough power to handle everything but at the same time they are partially right because most of the fights they have been in, they have either come close to losing someone or lost someone so I get it but still HAVE A TALK! I love how Laudna just resolves to act than talk but at the same time frustrated by it *sighs*

And then Fearne identifies it. Chetney Grim Psychometries it. And they find no sentience there. Cursed, maybe? But not sentient. And Laudna insists on swallowing it's power any way. I mean, like Imogen asked, it may be cursed then why do you want to take it? And the way she repeatedly asks "With the harness, right?"

I know I am going about the whole sequence of events back and forth but... As I said, I am trying to process through the fight, not pass judgement.

Chet saying it is Orym's sword and Laudna is not having it. Dorian coming in with him being done with objects having power over them is interesting because he just got out of a PVP, reminiscing about the crown and how silly it had been, talking about how it is about the person who wields it and not the item right after what went down with Opal...

And then Chet also brings up how much loss Orym has gone through with that particular sword and Laudna mentions not to talk about loss to her. Justifiably so tbh.

The thing here is, I agree, Laudna has lost a lot in her life. She lost her whole life in Whitestone, she was tortured, has died and lost her family and everything, started over with her killer in her head, guiding and giving her power, died again and now lost FCG.

But Orym, similarly, lost his life back in Zephrah. Maybe not his whole family but it was still his father and husband, lost his own life and then FCG. Laudna and Orym have lost people and their lives and have had to rebuild it in different ways. Period. Not comparable.

Before anyone says anything, I am not putting trauma in a scale or comparing here because everyone can react to trauma and have it hit them differently. But Orym has had the longest beef with Otohan out of any of them. Laudna can have her beef with Delilah for killing her but leans into her for power. So in a sense, Orym does have the edge here because while everyone does have a history with the blade, Orym has it for the longest.

But he still gives it to Laudna anyway when she insists for it. "Why do you care so much?" "Does anyone want to tell her why do I care so much?" Because Orym is also kinda fed up of repeating the same thing over and over again. He doesn't want revenge. He wants to protect. He is not giving up Seedling in exchange for the blade that killed his family but rather stick it up to Ludinus and rather end the history of the blade with him hopefully. And he repeats it over and over again and she is just stuck on sucking in the sword.

Until Chetney gives her the scream needle. And she runs off. And sucks the dagger in. Leaving a party split and woken in the middle of the night.

I saw some posts about how Laudna should face some consequences. And she should. This was kinda unprovoked in a sense. And maybe, Maybe Orym should've consulted the party because in terms of spoils, Ishta can be claimed as FCG's as he was the one who victored over Otohan but as I said, it could've been talked out and people didn't need to attack out of the start? There was a chance for the group as a whole to ask Orym about the decision to take the sword, talking about it. But they didn't.

Long things short, Orym has some valid points. Laudna has some valid points. Laudna went about things the wrong way if she wanted them to trust her. And the rest of the party let most things slide easily.

But Just such a juicy conflict. Now, I may I interpreted some things wrong, missed something here and there and I welcome any and all discussion in the rbs/comments. Thank you for reading through this thought process till the end.

Rasnak signing off :3

And for now, the stuff Laudna has sucked in to power Delilah:

The Crystal

Hunger of the Shadows Bor'Dor

Hunger of the Shadows the Willmaster

Scream Needle

And I think she does suck the power of something else but I forget

Just to end it.. FUCK YOU DELILAH!

#critical role #critical role spoilers #cr spoilers #messy thots #long post #I really have a lot of thoughts about this fight and I don't think I have it all down #orym of the air ashari #laudna #just the conflict #it has been a long time coming #to summarise #Laudna has some good points #she isn't completely wrong #She is kinda justified in her reaction #Just the way she went about it doesn't sit well with me #And comparing trauma isn't the way to go

[keepthetension]

been in the Bad Brain place lately, so i've been struggling to finish writing about why chef mhon's character makes sense to me, because of

a) the long-term effects of the WORLD SHAKING trauma of your life partner abandoning you AND of being unable to feed yourself and your children b) being unable to process said trauma much (if at all), as you then hit the ground running to make a living in the aftermath (in a new city with no support and with who knows what marketable skills) c) the stigma of being a divorced woman in a society that will blame you for being the reason your marriage failed in the first place, and will also blame you for any way your children step out of line d) the difficulties of achieving success as a working mother when employers see women as flakier, less-worthy hires, especially in a male-dominated industry

and how no amount of money or stability will ever seem like enough, and how difficult it is to trust anyone plus how easy it is to see everything as a potential danger to the stability you fought tooth and nail for, and how it makes sense for a traumatized person who never had the time and support to work through their trauma to project all kinds of things onto their kids

but apparently she just kinda. walked it off?

#last twilight the series #not trying to say that the way she treats her sons is justified because she's traumatized! #just felt that these aspects of her life were missing from the general discussion about her behavior #and like i WAS kinda disappointed mhok's trauma never came up again so i guess i should be glad that was foregrounded this ep instead #and i didn't think she'd like FORBID forbid day from seeing mhok given her relative chill at seeing them together at the end of ep 10 #just like. would've been nice to get a bit more of the journey she went on #ANYWAY there's no need for me to finish the long-ass post i was writing! so here's a basic summary instead! #again i am NOT saying she gets a free pass because trauma #just fascinating that there's sympathy for some kinds of trauma but not others. and some expressions of pain and trauma but not others #and i get it! she's not just making decisions for herself so ofc the audience reaction will be different! #but i feel like this show is about grief and trauma and support and recovery #and chef mhon is an excellent example of what happens when you DON'T have the support you need for recovery #and your trauma and pain bleed out of you in ungentle ugly ways #(i suppose the other example is rung though that is a COMPLEX situation that is NOT simply about lack of support)

[ultimumvitae]

me at first: wow i really love how shadow is written in idw! it's not perfect but it's so much better!

me watching shadow be turned into a zombot: oh

#honestly i don't even mind a more combative and angry shadow. the man is allowed to have ugly and illogical reactions to things w/ ptsd. #+ i can kinda be more ok with him being angry at sonic bc of the whole not letting him end mr. tinker thing. #i can very well see how that anger is justified in shadow's eyes. but. not him carelessly fighting zombots thinking he can't get infected. #but while he's not... really supposed to be AS good as sonic at the whole hero thing... he's not a total bonehead. #i feel like he'd at least consider the possibility considering it's not *really* a virus despite it's name. it's clearly a chemical thing. #which i assume the immunity he was created with doesn't account for lol and surely he'd at least THINK about that. #also just in general not crazy about how dismissive he's been of rouge. i know i know i knoW sega is being weird about team dark. #but to say they're not a team and 'not even friends' is insanity. and he wouldn't be dismissive of her anyway bc she's GOOD at what she doe #and shadow really only loses his patience with people when they're being stupid and hindering progress. #i have many feelings about shadow's characterization i'm sorry lol D: #out of chaos [ooc];

[gotchaocha]

Writing Isabella’s manipulation is kinda challenging because she, unlike some of my other characters, isn’t very...objective about it. Like she doesn’t think ‘’oh i want Catarina to do x, so I’ll do y’’, her actions are more ‘’organic’’ , as she isn’t actively thinking ‘’yes, i am totally manipulating someone write now’’

#writing #writing community #it was kinda tought at the beginning because my knee jerk reaction #was to just have her be really pragmatic about it #like just think ''oh i want her to say this so i'll do this''' #but she isn't about that life #she isn't very calculative nor could justifie to herself a conscient act of manipulation #at least in this case she'll definetly manipulate catarina later on lmao

[antianakin]

It's probably been around a while and I just haven't encountered it before now, but the "yes everyone would have murdered a village down to the last child in that situation" take is a new one for me! Like would I have been justifiably upset in that situation? Yes. But what would I have done in that moment myself? Probably run. Granted I am not a person with a ton of unfathomable powers and a weapon I have spent a decade training to use that can cut through literally everything, but still. The argument that "well yeah EVERYONE would've done exactly what Anakin did" kinda falls apart when you think about it for two seconds because wow is that not what I would do when faced with being alone in the middle of an entire community of people who just captured and tortured my innocent mother for several weeks.

But it's also VERY hard to argue that this is even how everyone would react to this situation in Star Wars.

They literally have an entire arc where they explicitly have Obi-Wan's old nemesis who killed Obi-Wan's Master come to attack the home planet of someone he loves, captures her, and then murders her right in front of Obi-Wan with Obi-Wan helpless to save her. He then goads Obi-Wan into reacting in anger and Obi-Wan's reaction is to refuse to engage. He very explicitly refuses to even attack Maul because he knows he'd be reacting in anger and he's literally seen exactly where that leads before and overcome it. So when Obi-Wan IS put in an extremely similar situation, he chooses not to just go out and attack everybody as a result. He doesn't give in to his anger and fly to Dathomir to go kill every single Nightbrother on the planet as a form of justice for Satine, which is what this person is arguing is how literally anybody would react when placed in that situation.

Reva Sevander has every reason to despise Anakin, more reason than Anakin had to despise the Tuskens. And yet when she goes after Luke to try to kill him after she fails to kill Anakin, that becomes a line she can't cross. More accurately, it's a line Reva CHOOSES not to cross. So when put in that situation with all the same anger and grief as Anakin had with the opportunity to get her vengeance by killing an innocent child, Reva makes the active choice not to do what Anakin did. So while the impulse obviously was still there with Reva, she was fully capable of choosing not to go through with it. And Reva's been soaking in Darkness since she was about 8-10 years old, getting tortured and broken as an Inquisitor, surrounded by the corpses of her people, with zero support of any kind that she can turn to for comfort or guidance. Anakin had spent the last 10 years in a warm loving environment with people who cared for him and still had most of those people available to him to support him in this time of grief. And yet when faced with the same choice, Reva chose to pull back and let Luke live, but Anakin just kept going and massacred an entire village. It's a CHOICE, not an uncontrollable urge.

You know the only other person I can think up off the top of my head who DOES canonically have a similar reaction to Anakin's?

Aleksander Kallus.

Kallus explicitly states that he leads a genocide against the Lasat as vengeance for ONE Lasat killing a unit of Imperial soldiers in self defense. An entire species is nearly wiped out of existence because Kallus decided to let his anger control him.

But there are NUMEROUS other characters in Star Wars who we see lose people they love and proceed to not go on a murder spree against innocent people and children as a result. And the ones that do are pretty explicitly villains whose actions when in those situations are used to showcase just how villainous they are. Which indicates that it's NOT a normal reaction because otherwise it wouldn't really mean anything as a villain identifier. If it's something just about anyone would've done, it's probably not that villainous. The point of it NEEDS to be that most people WOULDN'T do that, even in justified anger.

#star wars #tuskens #reva sevander #obi-wan kenobi #anti anakin #anti anakin skywalker #anakin critical #anakin skywalker critical #kallus critical #aleksander kallus critical #anti kallus #anti aleksander kallus

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

my initial reaction to this new princess zeisan character was just to say her design was weird but honestly the problems with her design don't bode well for her writing. like already the premise of "fire nation royalty joins the air nomads" is kinda weird bc someone from a nation's royal family is probably one of the people LEAST able to break free from the propaganda. like it only happened to iroh and zuko because of major life-changing events (losing lu ten & being banished) and you wouldn't include their transformations in a short description of their characters bc iroh's is slowly revealed and zuko's happens over the course of the story. and her design is just an air nomad necklace and sash on top of a fire nation royal outfit so like...where's the transformation? and how are zuko and iroh notable for breaking free if someone barely two generations earlier was able to?

like are we supposed to believe everything was totally chill between the fire nation and the air nomads before the sozin's comet genocide? bc that's not how genocide works. how could sozin have justified sending all those soldiers to the air temples if there wasn't already a concerted anti-air nomad propaganda effort in the fire nation? not all fire nation citizens bought into it obviously (kuzon) but a member of the royal family? a member of the royal family wearing the whole fucking shoulderpads and hairpiece get-up? where's the treason haircut? the rags from living among the people for years unlearning what she was raised with? the visual reflection of her turning her back on her culture?

creating a new character that's an existing character's previously-unmentioned sibling is already hokey and fanfiction-y, having her be the air nomad convert sister of the Guy Who Committed Genocide Against The Air Nomads strains believability, and the laziness of her design means that i have little faith in her writers' ability to make anything good out of this

#nina's personal log

[strangersteddierthings]

Bad News First, Eddie

Part One 🦇 Part Two🦇Part Three🦇FInal Part

Whew! I don’t think I’ve written this much in such a short amount of time ever in my life. The boys deserve a soft ending, I think. Enjoy!

-

It goes like this. While Eddie's been lost in his own mind, his body was living. Sort of.

Top secret government assisted living, kinda living. For a secret government hospital one would think the place would be fancier or something but it's just a regular looking hospital.

Eddie's in therapy, both for his body and mind.

He learns that the voice he heard when Eleven helped pull him from the depths of his mind was Mike Wheeler of all people, and he sounds different because he's nineteen and in college. Mike mocks him on graduating before Eddie. He regrets it when Eddie gets him into a headlock.

-

He gets to meet Eleven, outside of his mind. And he starts calling her El. Part of him can't stop thinking about Eleven as the entity he thought was going to lead him to the great beyond.

She is just a person. Sorta.

Dustin had told him there was a girl with superpowers and Eddie is glad she's real. Not that he thought Dustin would lie about this (actually, he might have thought Dustin was lying just to give him some weird version of a pep talk. Everything said before going through Watergate was suspect if he's honest).

-

When he's finally well enough to be able to leave, Doctor Owens tells him their plan.

They're gonna convince Wayne to fly to Tennessee. Eddie, El, and Mike Wheeler are gonna be flown there, too. There's a place for them to stay, to meet up with his uncle in private.

They'll stay there a month. Doctor Owens knows a doctor who can do Eddie's final evaluations before he can really go home.

That's the real kicker.

Hawkins fucking sucks. Small town, narrow views, non-conformity gets you called a Freak in the same way his Dad used to call him a fag. Like he said, fucking sucks.

But it's also the sanctuary he escaped to when he was eleven years old. It's the place where his uncle built a home for him.

So, back to Hawkins first. He can always go somewhere else later. Maybe a coastal city. See the ocean.

-

Eddie hasn't been afraid of a reaction from his uncle since that day in the hospital parking lot after he caught Eddie making out with another guy. He's got that same fear inside now, though, knowing that when El opens that door, he'll see the family he feels like he abandoned. It's not fair to himself to think that, his therapist would say, but he's allowed to have crazy thoughts right now. He's come back from being (not)dead and gets to see Wayne again for the first time. Knowing his feelings are justified doesn't make them fade, though, so he's not surprised his voice shakes when the door finally opens. “Hey Uncle Wayne.”

Wayne takes less than two seconds to reach Eddie, pulling him into a bone crushing hug. “I love you so much, you little bastard. Don’t you ever, ever do this to me again.”

It's all Eddie can do to remain upright and hug him back, clinging to his shirt like he's eleven years old again.

-

Wayne gives him an overview of what he's missed after the Upside Down came into their world (he heard that part from El and Mike, against the better wishes of Doctor Owens). Learns that Wayne and Steve live in Steve's childhood home because his parents just gifted it to him, apparently. That Wayne is only part time at the plant now due to an accident he had, and how that sparked his current living conditions.

Learns that Steve and Wayne became close because, unbelievably, Steve Harrington goes to his grave in the cemetery and cleans off graffiti on the regular.

Eddie feels a little hot under the collar because his brain reminds him of a fact he’d heard once; that the author of Frankenstein lost her virginity on her mother’s grave and a little voice in the back of his head whispers that it'd be hot for him to do the same thing with Steve on his own grave.

He has to scamper to the bathroom to scold himself in the mirror because he cannot be having these kinds of thoughts about Steve while talking to his uncle!

-

Wayne asks him, the night before their flight, “what’s something you want to do, once everything is settled and life starts to feel normal again?”

“I wanna go on a vacation. Like, a real, bona fide, family vacation.”

“Where you wanna go?”

“Think I’d like to see the ocean.”

Wayne smiles softly. “Alright. When you feel ready for it, we’ll go.”

-

“Just give him a chance, Eddie,” Wayne says randomly, as they wait to board their flight to Indianapolis.

“Give him a chance? As if I’d waste it,” Eddie feels breathless at just the thought. It's certainly not helping that stupid crush he's been harboring for years, knowing how Steve’s been treating his uncle. It was one thing to watch Steve defend Jeff that one time in high school; it's an entirely different ball game knowing he's watched over his uncle with care and devotion for years. “He took care of you when I couldn’t. He cares. I don’t think there’s a chance I wouldn’t give him.”

“How long have you had a thing for Steve?”

Eddie's brain screeches to a halt because he was didn't think anything he'd just said would give him away. He can't even think of a reply good enough to throw his uncle off his trail. “That’s not- why would you think- when have I ever!?”

“You think I wouldn’t know this about you?” Wayne chuckles.

No. No, Eddie thinks, of course you could take one look at me and know. His uncle had been able to know everything about him so effortlessly. But Eddie doesn't have to answer, so he won't. “So, we’ll be living with Steve Harrington? Will he… be okay with me being there?”

“Yeah. Steve and I had each other when we needed it. Now I need you, so Steve won’t mind at all," Wayne sounds so sure, so convinced, that Eddie is too.

Eddie smiles, pulling a strand of his hair to hide his face behind as he imagines getting to eat at the same dinner table as Steve fucking Harrington. He doesn't even mind that Wayne gives him a look at says 'you are being so obvious right now' because he is. He knows he is. He's allowed to be. Wayne's not going to mock him for his crush.

-

On the drive from Indianapolis to Hawkins, Wayne tells him the lie he told Steve. Apparently, Steve thinks Eddie's dad is coming to stay for a while. The mere thought of that sets Eddie on edge, even though he knows Wyatt Munson's still in prison. Will be for a long time, with the list of shit they got him for.

They roll into Hawkins shortly after, and while Eddie may have not been in Hawkins the last five years, and he's willing to admit that things might have changed things up since they did have to rebuild a lot of the town, he's certain that Steve's house is on the other side of it. “This isn’t the way to the Harrington house."

“Steve won’t be there. He comes here when he’s overwhelmed," Wayne says. It's still pretty jarring to hear Wayne talk about Steve like this. Like he knows him. Which, he does, obviously, because they've gotten to know each other.

Still mind blowing to think about.

“The cemetery?” is what comes out of his mouth, though.

Wayne knows what's he's really meaning to ask, though, because he shrugs and says, “we both come talk to you. Steve always starts with the bad news, you know. I think you should start with good news. Just this once." The car is slowing down, and Wayne is pointing out the front windshield, to a figure crouched down near a lone headstone. "Ah. See, there he is.”

Steve. He's too far away for Eddie to be sure sure but if anyone is still wearing bright polo shirts tucked into light wash jeans this far after leaving high school, it'd be Steve Harrington. Eddie's not even sure the car is fully stopped when he all but falls out of it.

He doesn't run to greet Steve, because that's a bit dramatic, but he's not too proud to admit he might be power walking. He slows down when he gets closer, coming to a full stop just close enough to hear Steve talking to his grave. Talking to him.

"Bad news, Eds. I'm too much of a coward to meet your old man. Afraid of what he'll sound like. Because I want him to sound like you so fucking bad it hurts. So instead of being home, I'm hiding here."

"Well, I've some bad news for you, too, Stevie. I got my voice from my mom," Eddie says, and almost instantly cringes because Wayne literally just told him to start with good news and he didn't. Eddie doesn't have much time to soak in his embarrassment, though, because Steve whips around so fast that Eddie's dizzy from the movement.

Steve looks older but it's in the way people who have seen more than their fair share of Hell look older, and less about actual aging. His eyes are wide and stunned. Eddie watches as his jaw moves but no words come out. He looks like he's seen a ghost which... ok, that's fair.

"Umm," Eddie says, a little worried he's broken him when Steve doesn't even seem to be blinking as he stares at Eddie. "Good news, Steve. I, uh, I lived. Kinda. El kinda pulled me back to the surface of my mind, or whatever, and Owens did a good job at patchin' up the goods here," he gestures to his whole body with a sweeping motion of his hand and wishes that a gate to the Upside Down would open beneath his feet and suck him back to Hell because could he be any more embarrassing?

"A-are you," he watches as Steve swallows and takes a deep breath. He's still not sure Steve has blinked yet. "real?"

"Yeah," Eddie nods, taking a few steps closer, "yeah, I'm real. I'm here and alive and real."

Steve launches himself forward then, meeting him halfway. It's so goddamn surreal be witness to how tenderly Steve actually reaches out to him, though, such a contrast to the flurry of movement he'd been just a second ago. Eddie stays still as Steve lifts shaking hands to cup his face with, pushing against his cheeks as if to test whether or not Eddie is solid. Those hands slide down, along his neck, across his shoulders, down his arms where Steve seems to need to pause and collect himself again, hands wrapped loosely around his arms just below his elbows while Steve shuts his eyes and a low, broken sound pulls itself from his throat before his eyes open again, wet with tears, and he releases Eddie just long enough to throw his arms around his neck and pull him into a hug almost as crushing as the one he shared with his uncle.

It's overwhelming in this moment. To see how much he means to Steve and not fully understand how he came to mean anything to him at all.

Doesn't stop him from wrapping his own arms around Steve's waist, though.

-

It goes like this.

He gets his own room at Harrington's house. Wayne has his own room, too. How strange it is, to not have his uncle sleeping the day away on the couch because the trailer had one room and he'd given it to Eddie.

They adjust to living together so seamlessly. Like they were always meant to be family.

They have dinner together. Real homecooked meals. Which isn't a novelty for Wayne and Steve anymore, but Eddie's memory ends five years ago, when his dinners consisted of microwavable meals or left over snacks from lunch. Wayne cooks on the days when Steve works, and Eddie helps. Gets to be taught how to cook.

For a while, Eddie is afraid to leave the house. Even knowing that Jason Carver bit the dust the same day he was supposed to also doesn’t help. He only goes places with Wayne and Steve, and even then, the double takes people send his way are enough to make him want to shrink into himself.

However, no one says anything to him. He's vaguely aware that everyone here lived through some sort of miniature apocalypse and maybe that's the kind of thing that has to happen to make a small town in Indiana change.

-

He and Steve dance around each other. He can feel it. There is something here, between them, that neither fully acknowledges.

He tries to talk to Wayne about it, but he won't give him much to go on.

"I won't be the one to say anything about what Steve thinks of you. That's gotta come from Steve. I will say this. He's waiting for you to bring it up first."

"Why does it have to be me?"

"He's had five years to gather his thoughts and emotions," Wayne levels him with a Look, "you gotta have the time to figure yourself out, too."

Well, fuck.

-

Steve waits until it's almost summer break for the kids (they’re not really kids anymore, though, but Eddie’s adjusting to that still) to ask if he's ready to face them. "It'll be a lot to handle," Steve says as he sits next to Eddie on their couch (their couch. He can't believe that's a truth in his life right now). "Eleven and Mike haven't told anyone yet, but they want to. It wasn't just Wayne and I that grieved for you."

"I know," Eddie says, "I know. I'm good. I'm alive and here and I want them to know about it."

Steve nods slowly, not fully focused on Eddie. Eddie's come to know that means he's thinking, so Eddie waits for him to speak. "Would you prefer to meet with everyone... one at a time?"

"What's the other option?"

"Well, I always host a barbeque when they all come back. Could tell everyone all at once. Like ripping off a Band-Aid."

Eddie crooks a smile because he's a bit mischievous and his mind instantly plays a scene where he walks into a backyard full of all the people he's come to care for, and who care for him, and he's trying to best to be casual about it in this fantasy. "Yeah. Let's do the barbeque thing."

-

"Bad news, Stevie," Eddie whispers as he leans against the wall next his closed door, trying not to hyperventilate. "I don't know if I can do this."

Steve reaches out and takes one of Eddie's hands in his own, linking their fingers like it's a casual thing they do all the time when it's most certainly not. "Good news, Eds. You don't have to. We didn't tell anyone you're here. You can stay in your room until they're gone, and we'll figure out another way to tell them."

Eddie squeezes his eyes shut and thinks he might be crushing all the bones in Steve's hand with how hard he's clenching it. "What if they're mad at me?"

Steve understands the real question Eddie is asking, the one he doesn't know how to phrase. "You were dead, Eds, and no one out in that yard is going to be 'mad' about any time they'd spent grieving over you. There's gonna be a lot of tears, man, like a lot. Maybe even some shouting. None of it done in anger."

"How're you sure?"

Steve lifts his unoccupied hand and cups Eddie's check. Steve’s eyes are watery and his voice is a bit choked, but he says, "because I was there. I saw them through their grief. Everyone in the backyard either loves you already, or they will."

It's so fucking intimate, how close they are, how tenderly Steve touches him. Wayne had said he'd need to take the first step, so he blames Wayne when he blurts out, "what about everyone in this room? They love me, too?"

Steve's eyes go wide in surprise before his whole face lights up in a way Eddie has never seen before. It makes Steve look younger, less haunted, and then Steve whispers, "of course I love you," like there is no other answer Steve could have given.

Eddie grabs a handful as Steve's polo shirt and pulls him close enough to kiss.

Butterflies and fireworks erupt within Eddie. Kissing Steve is so much better than he's ever let himself imagine. They're still holding hands and Steve's still got his other hand resting so softly on his cheek and Steve's lips are kinda chapped but fuck does the briefest touch of their lips together make Eddie lose all his breath.

It's not deep, or all consuming. There's not even an exchange of tongue. Steve kisses him softly, gently, pulls back to pepper little kisses all over Eddie's face that has him blushing more than he's ever done in his life, and Steve places one, two, three more kisses to his lips before pulling back to look at Eddie like he's the answer to every prayer Steve's ever had. It makes his knees weak.

"I think," Eddie pauses to lick his lips, "I think I'll be brave enough to do it if you're holding my hand."

"Just try and pry yourself away, Munson," Steve teases. "Whenever you're ready."

-

Steve was right about the tears and shouting. He was also right that no one is mad at him.

Dustin hugs him so hard they fall over in the yard and Eddie finds himself part of a dog pile that starts with crying that turns into laughter that leads back into crying, everyone grabbing at him and him grabbing back.

It's emotional. It's overwhelming. It's the best fucking day of Eddie Munson's life.

-

Doctor Owens reaches out towards the end of summer to let him know they're issuing him a new social security card. Eddie asks if he's allowed to change him name. Owens says yes.

-

"Bad news first, Eddie," Eddie says to himself as he kneels in front of his own headstone. "You've become so boring and normal, no one vandalizes your grave anymore. Good news, though. Means I can do it myself."

Before him is his headstone, a thick red line painted through his death date. Another more carefully applied line is struck through his middle name. Above it he's painted in block letters 'Wayne'.

"Eddie, come on! This road trip's gonna start without you," Steve calls from where he's leaning against the side of Wayne's pickup.

Eddie is satisfied with his work, so he abandons the paint and returns to the pickup. He slides across the bench seat, one leg pretzeled under himself to be out of the way of the gear shift. Steve follows in after, shutting the door and reaching for Eddie's hand automatically.

He's got Wayne to his left, Steve to his right, and the first family vacation he's ever taken in his life ahead of him.

Good news, Eddie Wayne Munson. Maybe everyday going forward can be the best fucking day of your life.

#steddie #my fic #bad news first eddie #its complete!!! #thank you for all the wonderful comments #i tried to tag everone so im sorry if i missed you!

[pyschedtrickster]

TADC Ep 2 - Depression and the Meaning of Life

Well, I may or may not be a day late to release of the episode, but I've watched it three times so far and I have some thoughts. Let's get the gritty stuff outta the way.

First of all, The Amazing Digital Circus belongs to @gooseworx and therefore everything I say here is just my personal take on the episode. I could be wrong, talking out my ass, etc. But this episode really spoke to me, so good job Goose.

Secondly, spoilers <3

Third, I think I've written enough that people won't get jumpscared with spoilers. This is gonna be a long read, so bear with me. This post will contain ALL my thoughts on the episode, both meaningful and just silly things I liked.

BUBBLE

So anyone who knows me from Bunnydoll Burrow knows I love Bubble. They're my favorite so far and this episode only cemented that further. They're wonderful comedic relief and even if they don't have any character development (which I don't think they will), I will always love them.

Caine Cares Too Much

While watching this, I was immediately off-put by Caine's reactions, even beginning with him calling Zooble back. He sounds so... dire? I don't know if that was intended to mean something or if it was just to put emphasis on how much Caine cares about his creations. Caine is AI, so world-building is likely his ONLY goal, or his prompt if you will. It wouldn't surprise me if that was why he was so upset by everyone's reactions.

But I can't help but wonder if this will play into his character arc. We understand that Caine is ambiguous right now and there's no real explanation of what his intentions are in the Circus. Something about this just really set me off. It made me feel unsafe in a way as if staying behind would result in danger of some kind. Obviously, it couldn't be that bad, as Zooble did stay behind and turned out fine. Still, I can't shake the feeling that this is foreshadowing.

Zoobie

Hilarious. What a solid nickname, I've seen so many headcanons that Zooble would be a stoner in the real world. This only makes it better. They are now Zoobie in my mind.

Pomni's Child Comment

While I'm sure this was just a silly comment to be made, I kinda liked it. Just a little in-show reminder that through all of this, Pomni is a real, grown-ass woman stuck inside some digital Hell. The whole first episode, we see her wallowing and panicking, justifiably so. Finally, we get to see her grow more serious and stable.

Through the episode, we see more of her being a good character and becoming more at terms with her situation. I'll touch on this more soon.

Gangle

My girl CANNOT catch a break. Gangle is such a funny character and so, so sweet. She's level-headed in my opinion, even through her emotions. She seems to have a good grip on the shit happening around her but has a hard time communicating properly because she has a lot of feelings going on. Me too, honey, me too.

Even in the face of violence, danger, and overall shitfuckery, she doesn't shut down. Sure, she cries. But I've cried plenty of times while still holding the fort down. I think I just relate to her.

Lastly, I NEED to know what this means like I need oxygen.

Government Mandated Shipping

I dunno man, I just really liked this. I'm a shipper at heart. I've been writing fanfic since middle school. I saw pure fanfic material when I watched this scene.

Kinger and Raggs

This scene made me smile. It's a cute nod towards how Kinger is the longest-standing character and, according to some lost post of Goose's, Ragatha is the second. Plus, all of episodes one and two, we see her trying so hard to be a rock for Pomni. She tries to include everyone, keep everyone cheerful, and be a stable constant in a realm of chaos; Seeing Kinger recognize how far she's come and using that to bring her back to reason was just so refreshing. Ragatha deserves more appreciation like that: less about what she does for others, and more about what she's done for herself.

Jax's Disappointment

So we don't know much about Jax besides how Goose loves him and says he's an asshole who may or may not be irredeemable. When he started talking about violence and getting excited at the thought, I chalked it up to him being an ass. But it struck me just how much this mattered to Jax in this scene. I have questions, man. But I'm about to go on a wild tangent, so hear me out.

Jax is happy when being destructive. He gets immediately upset when things go well. And in the circus, we can assume that there have been a lot of traumatic, wild things that have occurred. I wonder if the chaos, the violence, is a comfort for Jax because of those traumatic experiences. As a person with trauma, I've learned that there's a funny cycle that I and other traumatized people experience.

We don't like the situations we're in, but when faced with normalcy, it's so much scarier than the damaging situation we come from. So, we run from 'normal' back into the suffocating arms of our traumatizing situations for comfort. Going back to the situation means more trauma, more trauma means a harder time finding peace in a safe, normal environment, which means more trauma... you get the picture.

So am I saying a fictional purple bunny is using violence in a digital realm to cope with the very real topic of trauma? Maybe. Yes. Yes, I am. This is how I cope.

Depression, Finding Your Place, and the Bigger Picture

Now you may be saying, "hey! You skipped over some major scenes to talk about silly stuff! What gives?"

Well, as the title of this post suggests, I had some heavier stuff to address in this episode and wanted to compile it all in one section. So that meant skipping over a scene to bunch it in with other ones. I'll break it down.

Depression

Let me begin with the fact that I have been diagnosed with depression for years now. I've been hospitalized for it and I've had family members struggle with it around me. This heavily influenced how I viewed this episode and specifically this scene.

Gummigoo had a perfectly reasonable reaction to seeing the perfect replica of him that is his model. Seeing something like that would shatter your world, and we see that happen to him immediately.

But when Gummigoo talked to Pomni and asked why anything matters, it gave me this really familiar feeling. Thoughts of being nothing, of feeling meaningless, the mere idea of being an obstacle--I've experienced all of these. I'm sure others have. Pomni was right when she said it's normal. Everyone has felt down from time to time.

But what Gummigoo is talking about really hit home with my depression. Thoughts like these, especially when they linger for long, change how you view the world. Everything is tinted blue and desaturated. You feel empty and eventually, so does the world around you. You feel like when the party is over and everyone leaves, you disappear--or you think you should, at least.

"Why are you trying to cheer me up? How does this benefit you at all?"

And it's so, so hard to accept help when feeling like this. Depression is a bitch in the way that it wants you to stay depressed. It feels like everyone around you wants you to feel better because it is a convenience for them. It almost feels transactional if you smile.

But Pomni says it so beautifully; "I guess I just don't want you to feel like you're nothing. I don't want anybody to feel like that."

The way she says it makes me feel like she knows the feeling too, and in reality, she says she does understand in a way how Gummigoo feels. But that? That made it real for me. I don't know why. This whole scene, the entrapment and loneliness despite not actually being alone, just embodied how I've felt for years. What amazing writing.

Finding Your Place

This scene was really the cherry on top of everything I just spoke about. We see that these two understand each other, at least as much as they can. They recognize all of this, it's ridiculous. They're hurtling through space into the unknown, hoping everything works out. They may feel empty, but they're not alone. They've got each other, for better or worse. Maybe they don't know where they belong in this liminal space, but they know where they stand in each other's minds.

And then we get this ending scene. God. Fuck.

I knew that there was obviously something to that dream Pomni had in the beginning, but somehow I didn't expect this to be the conclusion to it. I guess I was too distracted by everything else. So when I got to this shot, I got all warm and teary-eyed.

Pomni finally feels like she's got a pack, a place in this digital circus. When you don't feel mentally alone anymore, there seems to be a weight that's lifted off your shoulders. It doesn't cure the sadness, but at least you know that if you need to be picked up, someone will be there. Depression wants you to be alone, but it just lost that battle. The internet has said it best: A win is a win.

The Bigger Picture

We all know where the end of the road is. How we get there is the mystery. This thought can really make a person feel small, especially when depression comes in to tell you that you in fact are small, according to the chemicals in your brain. But the power of numbers and knowing your place in the world makes facing the unknown a little easier.

I'll be honest, the words are kinda lost on me at this point. Our demise is a really hard topic to broach. I've lost a lot of people, especially some major players in my life (shoutout to the Dead Dads club), and still, I don't understand it all. But the best way I can explain it is through my own experience and how I applied it to this episode.

I had for a long time gone through life trying to prepare and prepare. I played the role of the strong, unaffected individual after being hardened by trauma in childhood. I didn't want to be outwardly emotional, because if I was I would have to admit defeat.

It made me feel weak, especially when my depression would whisper nasty things to me about my self-worth. The bigger picture at that time didn't even exist in my mind. I lived to serve and die. It was no way to live.

Only recently, with time, a couple grippy sock vacays and therapy have I started to form my own, new big picture. At the center of this is my interactions with others. Family, friends, and strangers, all of them are affected by my actions. Even during the days when I feel worthless or alone, I remind myself that even the little things I do have a spiderweb effect. I have worth, more so than serving others or being some obstacle. I can simply walk down the street and perhaps I'll be the person who some kid looks at and hopes to look like when they're older. My existence is so much more than just a give-and-take situation with everyone around me.

It felt like Pomni found her purpose in the circus, and it was more than just playing along until the end. Rather, it was to befriend the people around her who have proved in one way or another way that they care. Abstraction wasn't in vain to them. Lives mattered, and therefore so did Pomni.

In a vast, digital world where chaos looms like a grey cloud, Pomni always mattered. She just had to realize how, and it was much more than being an obstacle or a pawn. And so do we, I think.

#tadc #the amazing digital circus #tadc ragatha #tadc jax #tadc kaufmo #tadc gangle #tadc pomni #tadc fandom #tadc zooble #tadc kinger #tadc bubble #tadc caine #tadc episode 2 #digital circus #tadc ep 2 #episode 2 #new episode #gummigoo #tadc gummigoo

[ranbling]

I think if the people in Eddie's life stopped trying to force the idea of a traditional family onto him, he would actually have a healthy and happy relationship

Because first of all, his parents pressured him into marrying Shannon (I do believe, if not for Chris then they would gone back to being friends, instead of being in a relationship), and like it's obvious he loved her and being married to her, they were also apart for the majority of their marriage. Running away into the army (and enlisting for a second time), then Shannon leaving and I don't think they actually lived together for more than a 2 years. So I do think a part of this love comes from nostalgic lenses

Then the whole Ana thing and the things leading to that were such bullshit. Chris doesn't need a new maternal (or any kind of parental) figure, he has enough of a support system and found family. Also I get it, that they wanted to bring back a kinda existing character, but after the skateboard accident and Eddie's reaction to it (which justified, but like a little bit over the top), they should have just introduced a new character. Ana is like the perfect addition to his family, Chris already likes her and she's nice enough that Eddie might actually love her in time, but like we know it doesn't work out and he gets panick attack at the thought of being a family

His whole relationship with Marisol feels like a way to prove he's not lonely and it's only a response of Pepa setting him up on blind date and Buck gushing about Natalia. I think he got kinda scared, that he will actually be lonely, because Buck (who is his best friend, and they mimic each other with being in relationship) was seemingly moving on in his love life, and Chris is growing up, he doesn't need Eddie as much as he did when he was little.

But you know who he is not afraid to involve and invite into his family? Buck

He was leaving Chris with Buck for a day after a year into their relationship, was ready to trust Buck with Chris again right after the tsunami, written Buck into his will as Chris' legal guardian after 1.5 years of knowing him, Chris ran to Buck after learning Eddie is dating again and told Buck what bothers him about it, Buck was ready to help him and Chris after his breakdown

But, the most important thing is that Eddie asked Buck to talk to Chris about him dating multiple girls. All the instances where Buck acted like an actual parental figure to Chris came as a spur of a moment thing, but that was the first time Eddie asked him (with his words, giving him permission) to take up a role like that

#911 abc #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buddie #christopher diaz #ana flores #911 marisol #marisol nolastname

[kiirotoao]

Season 3 rewatch notes

Wait a minute, I just realized that Mike and Will are the only ones in The Party who’ve canonically been dungeon masters. Idk what that means for them, but, yeah. Another exclusive detail of theirs

Oh, lord. Mike’s arm being torn off in the D&D game better not be a prophecy. If those s5 notes are accurate about Mike being seriously injured… I’m scared.

GOD I’ve never noticed how hard Will breathes in the rain scene. Poor baby he was so stunned 😭😭😭😭

The thing that I love most about Jonathan and Nancy is that they’ve been through the real shit. Arguments and hardship through the supernatural and the struggles of discrimination and privilege.

I love how Max is usually the one who speaks after Will. It’s like she’s the only one brave enough to answer after he says something profound or important. I need more of Max and Will’s friendship and them having well-thought out arguments I swear

Omg I love Erica’s little green star on her cheek. It’s so cute 😭🩷

After watching The Princess Bride, I am fangirling so much over Cary Elwes - it’s so crazy to me that he got him to play such a character! I wonder if they thought of him because of all the physical stunts lmao

As much as Karen isn’t in the know of much of anything in the supernatural story, I love how she’s a picture of raw strength in the Wheeler family, the true head of the household. She takes charge. Stops at nothing to help. Not even in the face of temptation. Go Karen.

DAMN I forgot that Billy dropped an f bomb! I thought that the closest that the show got was when Max got cut off in the hospital, but nope. There it was

Shit, I’m tearing up at that scene when El collapses into Mike’s arms because I know that that was real exhaustion. Poor Millie 🩷🩷🩷. She did such a phenomenal job there.

I LOVE whenever Joyce is angry this season. Now that’s how you demand. Straight to the point, justified in her worry, and cutting past any unnecessary bs while still including the cherry on top “please” or “good day” of politeness out of basic decency. I want to be her when I’m upset.

I’m always so blown away by Maya’s performance when she comes out to Steve. Straight (haha) through the heart, so good. And I always, always smile at Steve’s reaction. So in character, so accepting. No questioning if she’s being honest, just immediately questioning her type and believing that she’s into girls. So, so important.

Oh, no. Holly saw the trees moving in the woods. Thus far, she’s noticed the demogorgon coming out of the wall, and now this. She’s definitely a target next season.

When El tells Billy the memory of his mom, I teared up a little! Something about the way that El says, “you were happy” breaks me, dude. Millie and Dacre did so well.

Also, thinking in foresight of s4, Max’s letter is so heartbreaking. The Mind Flayer made a huge show of killing Billy slowly and painfully. I don’t blame her for being too horrified to move. It really wasn’t her fault. That was traumatic. Sadie did amazing there, too. Ouch.

I’m never getting over the helicopter lights being blue, yellow, and red. Were starboard and port always blue and red? And isn’t starboard supposed to be green? It’s all intentional, I’m telling you

I love how Max and Lucas are supposed to be “butchering” Never Ending Story but those two theater kids actually sound amazing. I just wish they harmonized 😆

Oh my gosh Jonathan did the Byers hold to Nancy 😭😭😭😭 I am not okay 😭😭 I never noticed that

Okay wait. This is kinda horrible. I feel bad for saying this. But y’know how Mike has a Will voice? Well I just noticed that Mike definitely does not have a soft voice for El. I swear, he’s always so loud around her like nothing’s different about her 😂😭 Any time he’s sweet with her he’s just like YEAH. COOL. and it’s kinda hilarious.

Jancy is WRECKING me this season wtf. Charlie and Natalia are so cute 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Oh my gosh David’s voice kinda breaks at “doze off.” Fuck.

Erica has blue, yellow, and pink balloons plus a rainbow drawing on her door. I now headcanon Erica as pansexual/panromantic, thank you.

AHHHGHH I can’t wait for the original version of Heroes to play next season over Byler kissing when everyone thinks that they might be dead but they’re just surviving in the Upside Down, clinging to each other and having the highest moment of their lives!!!!!!!

This has been my s3 thoughts for the 6-8th time watching? I forget? And I missed a number of moments because I got too absorbed so, oops. Anyway, I love Jancy, I love Jopper, I love the Scoops Troop, I love Suzie, I miss Alexi, Byler is endgame, and this season was way more fun than I remembered and it always makes me laugh. My list of favorite seasons has been shaken expertly.

#stranger things #stranger things 3 #byler #<< target audience #jancy #got some notes on them too :))

[deliciousdefendorinternet]

in Defence of Creek ( warning if your an Avid Creek Hater you may not want to read this 😂😂 )

ps. Branch will Hair strangle some guy he Barely knew who he didn't even care about for betraying them but doesn't do the same to his Jerkass Brothers who let him down his whole life 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️.

anyway onto the topic at hand 😂😂😂😂

Creek gets an unfair Rap in my opinion sure he technically betrayed the village but when you examine the story of the first film he literally had no other choice.

as there's no other scenario that didn't end with him being Horribly Eaten as soon as he was picked by Chef for Gristle Jr to eat and taken out of the cage his fate was sealed.

unlike the rest of the snack pack he didn't have the option of sitting around waiting on the off chance Poppy would Rescue them.

we see in the Betrayal scene he was literally in Gristle's mouth before he finally played the only card he could and said he'd do what ever they wanted him to do.

and from then on he was kept in Gristle's locket around his neck which I have to say was Horrible poor guy was stuffed in their with no space or light or even air given how tight it was.

and he was kept there until eventually being moved out of the locket and put into Chef's waist bag just before the snack pack got the Locket from Gristle and were then captured by Chef.

and from that point like Creek himself said there was literally nothing else he could do that wouldn't result in him being killed straight away by Chef.

this is what rubs me the wrong way about the movie trying to make him into a villain he has no real agency in the betrayal it'd be a little easier for me to Judge him.

if he was kept in the cage with the Rest of the Snack Pack so he had the option of just having faith in Poppy someone he claimed to care about.

coming to save them but instead he took the more cowardly action and offered to sell everyone out early on in order to save himself then I feel it'd work a little better.

but having him be plucked from the cage early on and literally only betray everyone when he was on the verge of being eaten just makes him a victim in my eyes.

like I'm sorry but he can't be blamed too much for anything he does at that point he's just a normal civilian who's life was put in danger by negligent leaders ( cough Peppy cough ).

he technically wasn't obligated to die then and there and the whole situation with him selling out the Village is a classic Trolley Problem sure its easy to Judge.

from the outside but when we're on the verge of being gruesomely murdered who's to say what each of us would do in the moment to stay alive.

basically its Chef's actions and she's the one to blame not Creek dude was a literal Hostage who had been kidnaped Humiliated by being shoved in a taco and sprinkled with spicy stuff.

and then nearly eaten and then crammed into a tiny locket for presumably Hours and then crammed into a waist bag like how is this guy not the victim here?

and some people do like to point to how he behaved about the whole thing telling Poppy he's doing it for her but I'm sorry that doesn't change anything in my eyes.

sure its an unusual reaction but its also an unusual situation and I see it more as him weakly attempting to justify it to himself since he does admit he wishes there was another way but is promptly reminded by Chef that there isn't.

his Reaction isn't Great but it doesn't change the situation and make him some pure evil person.

a little autistic maybe? given the weird response to an emotional situation he has but yeah it doesn't make him worse in my eyes.

basically to end things the film as well as the fandom that villainise him seem to basically be saying that he should have just laid down and accepted his gruesome fate the first time.

and the movie even ends on a cruel irony of still being eaten along with Chef.

which for Chef is ironic in a karmic way but for Creek its just kinda sad tbh so the film's saying his death was decided at the start and he's a villain for not accepting it the first time.

and as punishment he meets the same fate in the end anyway.

I thought this was a Trolls film not a Final Destination film lol.

anyway even tho its separate cannon I was Happy when he was Revealed to still be alive in TBGO sure I feel his Return could have been written way better.

but Regardless I'm Glad he's still alive he didn't deserve to die and also the movie cannon never contradicts the tv show cannon in Terms of Creek's survival.

so yeah he could very well still be alive in the movies as well sorry Haters 😅😅😅😅.

#Youtube #trolls #trolls creek #dreamworks trolls #trolls the beat goes on #trolls tbgo #trolls dreamworks #Trolls #Trolls Creek #Trolls The Beat Goes On #Trolls TBGO #trolls creek defence #sorry not sorry haters 😂😂😂😂

[bigdumbbambieyes]

okay, hear me out. S3 rewrite with Billy in Robin’s role while the Mindflayer makes Neil it’s host.

like, picture it for a sec: we’d get the Billy-Steve friendship we deserved, we’d have an actual human antagonist who was shown to be canonically abusive and controlling in S2, and Billy could be a reluctant (but important) addition to The Party for S4. he’s the brawn and brains that they need.

things to consider:

we’d get Steve and Billy in matching Scoops Ahoy uniforms. maybe they both applied as lifeguards but had a fight in front of the manager so they both didn’t get the position, and they applied everywhere in Starcourt once it opened and surprise!! they were both hired at Scoops and now they have to get along or else they’ll be broke the whole summer!

Billy watching in amusement as Steve fails to hook up with girls, maybe he even makes the same scoreboard. there also wouldn’t be a need to have the moms lusting over Billy bc he has no reason to meet Karen at the motel - no predatory behaviour from her in this timeline!!

imagine the banter. billy would have something to say to everyone and it would be so funny, especially between he and Max. give me one proper sibling fight please!

while a coming out scene would be great for Billy, and i would love to see Steve react to that (like, his reaction to a gay woman he had a crush on would be sooo different from a gay man he used to beef with, let’s be real), i also want more depth from Billy since he’s not flayed and El wouldn’t be looking into his past for us. so maybe instead of a coming out scene, they talk about the fight at the Byers’ during the bathroom scene. we get a glimpse into Billy’s carefully guarded emotions (maybe even his relationship w his dad) and both Steve and Billy get to move on from that night. closure and moving on from it together as newfound friends!

Billy could be shown that he is actually a smart cookie and cracks the Russian’s code (with Steve’s help). Dustin and Steve are impressed and Dustin begins to warm up to Billy a little.

new Scoops Troop!! Billy and Steve and Dustin dynamic omg. and Erica and Billy?? imagine she kinda confronts him about what happened with him and Lucas in S2, so she’s uncertain of him bc of that, but now Billy has the chance to make things right and clear up misunderstandings. and in this timeline, he apologizes to Lucas. because Lucas deserves that so. much. and Billy should have the chance to become a better person like Steve did. and maybe Lucas doesn’t forgive him, which is justified bc he doesn’t have to forgive him at all, but he gets the apology he deserves at the very least.

Steve and Billy getting tortured together oof. that would hit hard bc imagine Billy is being punched and slapped and he’s just laughing and taunting and Steve’s like wtf. it would be a great set up for the bathroom scene - like ‘why were you laughing while we were being literally tortured??’

Billy getting to see Steve draw a charge during his ‘fight’ with the Russian soldier and being proud of him, clapping him on the back with a grin while Steve gives him a shy smile. perhaps even…a meaningful, lingering look?? a spark between them??

also Steve and Billy high as fuck together lol i just want that so bad, please!!

and while Billy is with the Scoops Troop, The Party is focused on Neil. it would be a great chance to see Max’s relationship with her step father and she notices how weird he’s being. he’s nicer to Susan, even nicer to her, but then her mom starts acting weird, too. and when she finally meets up with Billy at Starcourt when the Mindflayer manifests, they discuss everything and Billy is conflicted. he’s happy that his old man is finally getting what’s been coming to him all these years, but that’s still his dad. it’s complicated but not really touched upon but implied. (and i think that would also be a great set up for S4. he gets those weird feelings in S4, thinking ‘i wanted him to die’ but also feeling guilt because his relationship with his father is so twisted from years of abuse).

we could explore Neil’s past a bit with this timeline, too. we could get a glimpse of why he is the way he is, like we did with Billy. El could see the abuse he put Billy and his mom through. she sympathizes with Billy, but she also sees how Neil was abused, too, and feels this empathy for him. which is how she brings him out of the possession, because El is empathetic by nature, under all that anger and naivety. she knows what it’s like to abuse and be abused and want to be better than those who hurt her. and when Neil does break through, he is killed just like Billy was in S3, and Billy runs over once his dad flops to the ground. Neil grits out ‘i’m sorry’ but Billy doesn’t say anything, doesn’t forgive him. he doesn’t even cry. he just…stares, looking like the lost little boy he’s always been. and Max finally runs over to pull her brother up, to drag them both away from Neil, and Billy can’t look away from his dad’s body until it’s finally out of sight.

and ofc the season ends with Steve and Billy both working at Family Video!! with Neil and Susan gone (she would’ve been part of the MF’s army), it’s just Billy and Max now, living in that trailer. that would be such an interesting dynamic to write for S4.

anyways that’s all!! that’s my silly rewrite. Billy deserved to have a support system and a real relationship with his sister and a boy his age and it could’ve been done in S3. 🤍

#billy hargrove #harringrove #stranger things season 3 rewrite #headcanon #sorry to robin for the erasure but billy needs this more and i say that with my chest #bambiwrites

[heteromerous-rhyming]

just speculation, and after this i swear i'm going to write what i did appreciate in the show, but.

to me it kinda feels like riordan cast these three kids and went, these three children, they are my trio. and he should have! they're amazing - they're cast Very Well.

but then it feels like riordan assumed that because they already embodies the characters to him, that he didn't need to do characterbuilding in the actual fucking script. i get the feeling that the writers and showrunners are constantly both overestimating and underestimating walker leah and aryan. the scene with thalia? very much felt exposition dump. leah did what she could with she was a hero (and she kills her emotional moments, the parts that show annabeth's softness), but the themes came before the characters here and that for me feels a little unexcusable. annabeth is smart, we all know that, so riordan constantly forgets to show us that annabeth is smart. percy explains to annabeth how the lotus is in the air not the food. like HOW IS IT PERCY THAT FIGURES IT OUT BEFORE ANNABETH?

i think maybe grover/aryan got the best treatment out of them because of his scene with ares and the scene with the animals on the street, but even then the "betrayal" at the beginning felt slightly off. because percy never fully finished reacting to it (or if he did i don't remember which itself is not great)

which gets to another part of the writing / directing that's really getting to me. which is the relationships between characters, and how that's undermined by how short the scenes at the beginning of the show are. because more than half of the dialogue in the first two episodes ends up as (slightly unnatural or at least not in character exposition) and because the scenes (that is, however long a section before they cut to black and setting changes) are all wildly short (at least to me) there's no time for the characters to breathe. there are hardly any beats or pauses or just moments of breathing in a character's emotion or reaction.

going back to thalia's explanation, the scene ends after the exposition. going back further to luke showing percy around? all exposition. the subtle character moments are only in the scenes without dialogue and for a brief second at luke's introduction. there's no long scenes (from what i experienced) in the downtime, in the relatively quieter moments. only long scene i can think of was the fight with the minotaur.

even later, the scenes that are emotional and long? sally and poseidon. they don't allow grover's self-recrimination to breathe. they don't allow the panic after almost getting pulled into the Pit to breathe. the scene cuts, the emotion is squashed, and the next scene is more action, more traveling, more gods.

i think that this is partly why clarisse made such a big impression on me, because by design she can't be a part of the exposition. she's actively antagonistic towards percy, half of her scenes are some sort of action, and so the little characterization that we get of her (this time little is justified bc she's a side character) works really really effectively. you clock her character, her motivations immediately.

the scenes are getting longer. i think that this specific critique is one that will get fixed as the writers get used to the visual medium. but the rest? i really really hope that the writers realize that the characters just. need more space. i hope they trust their actors to play out these emotional scenes and i hope they give them more emotional scenes, more banter, more silly moments.

#percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo tv show #pjo show crit #please #you cast so amazingly #so why ... why don't you give them more to work with #rr crit #.

[artbyblastweave]

The thing about Alexandria’s death, right, is that I’m not sure if it’s, like, possible? If Skitter could literally have pulled that off given how their respective powers work, or whether you can justify Alexandria having lasted this long at all without someone pulling off something similar. It’s been a while since I’ve read Cell, and I should probably read it again.

 But I’m inclined to be charitable because of all the other levels on which it works very very well thematically. Skitter meeting (and killing) the woman she once looked up to the most, albeit at a distance and as a civilian. Skitter killing the personification of everything she’s come to hate about Authority, but then functionally taking her place as the person in authority strongarming and killing to advance the goal of saving the world. Skitter going apeshit because of how strongly Alexandria’s behavior maps onto the kind of person she hates most in the world, going apeshit because she believes her friends are being murdered, and at the end of the day, what else does she care about? Skitter consciously choosing not to rescind the kill order her bugs are carrying out before she passes out. On that note, the fact that Skitters bugs can operate independently of her, and that she’s abnormally difficult to read due to offloading her emotional reactions into her swarm, both coming back with a vengeance in a chekov’s gun kinda way. I like everything surrounding the killing! And I like everything that spills out from it. So if the killing itself does not work I Do Not See It.

#worm #wildbow #parahumans #worm spoilers #thoughts #worm meta #alexandria #taylor hebert #I may be misremembering some of the specific beats here

[tcvsfiredemon]

Platonic Narumayo and Romantic Tension

I was originally gonna post this as a twitter thread, but it started getting really long and that toxic sludgepit doesn’t deserve that kind of effort. Get yourself a snack or something, it’s gonna get rambly.

I think people who go out of their way to shut down the possibility that there could be any romantic attraction between Nick and Maya are missing out on a really cool aspect of their platonic relationship.

There’s a lot to be said about the many facets of the Narumayo friendship, from their bonding through shared trauma, to their building a found family with Pearl, to their effortless ability to trade off being the straight man of their comedic duo. But I think a lot of people miss how much of their friendship is informed by the fact that they both kinda want to kiss each other.

First off, Maya is constantly teasing Phoenix, and often in a weirdly flirty way. Just a few examples off the top of my head. She says Max is dreamy with stars on his face and immediately suggests Nick put stars on his face. She acts like a spurned lover when Phoenix is talking to Adrian, specifically in an attempt to get him flustered. She explicitly compares Phoenix rescuing her from being kidnapped to the DeLites’ love story. 

There’s quite a few moments like this throughout the games, and coupled with a lot of Maya’s actions and reactions, I get the sense that we’re supposed to believe that she has a thing for Nick. Maybe that’s just the shipping goggles talking, but it really does feel like the intended subtext. I mean, look at that what she instinctively drew when she was in 

(You’re probably wondering when the platonic part comes in. We’ll get there.)

But even if Maya does have a crush on Phoenix, does he return it? Obviously she’s very important to him, but is that really as a romantic interest? We often see him get flustered or stunned into silence whenever people assume he and Maya are dating(which happens a lot), but I feel like that can easily just be read as him being uncomfortable with people assuming he’s in a relationship with his assistant.

In general, Phoenix’s feelings for Maya are fairly ambiguous and probably not something that he’s thought through too much himself. That is, of course, until the waitress scene. That scene, in my opinion, is the single hardest thing to justify if you’re trying to deny any romantic tension within Narumayo. I’ve seen people say that it’s just Phoenix giving a compliment to his best friend/sister figure, but is that really the tone that’s being conveyed there? 

That initial comment on her voice. The pregnant pause when he sees her. The weird pick-up line that probably just came out of his mouth without any thought. That’s not the actions of a guy innocently complimenting his friend, that’s the reaction of a guy who just realized that he finds his friend hot. I’d argue that the case can’t even proceed the way it does unless Phoenix thinks Maya is attractive, because that’s what gives him the idea to try to get her to seduce information out of Kudo.

So between Maya and Phoenix we have two best friends with a lot of chemistry who are probably into each other, and whose friends definitely think are already togeyhet, but we never actually see them take that step into romance. And you know what? It fucking works!

(See, told you we’d get into the platonic stuff eventually.)

One of my favorite movies of all time is When Harry Met Sally, and while the titular couple does get together in the end, most of the film is about the two of them navigating being best friends while obviously having romantic feelings for each other. It’s a beautiful story of these two people building a wonderful platonic relationship and then very nearly ruining it when they try to turn it romantic. 

That’s the dynamic I see between Phoenix and Maya. They love each other and are probably in love with each other, but they insist on keeping things strictly platonic because to change that could mean to destroy what they’ve spent years building up. It’s an underlying tension that underscores a lot of their actions.

It’s the dynamic that the two of them still have almost a decade later in SoJ, where they find immense comfort just being in each other’s presence, investigating cases like old times. And no matter how much Phoenix gawks at Maya like a sun fish, no matter how many times Maya teases Nick while they’re investigating a wedding-based case, no matter how much they may or may not want to kiss, they’re so happy just to be friends.

(Not that I’d be mad if they did end up kissing…)

Obviously there’s nothing wrong at all with seeing Narumayo as siblings or as purely platonic friends who would never in their wildest dreams be romantically interested in each other, but I do feel like something is lost in that interpretation. 

Like, I’m not the biggest fan of romantic Narumitsu, but I don’t think you can truly appreciate their friendship while ignoring that those guys have a weird pseudo-romantic tension going on. Without it they’re just two dudes who used to be friends and don’t have a whole lot of chemistry but would still for some reason die for each other. Once you acknowledge that “oh, they’re kinda in love, aren’t they” it all makes perfect sense.

I don’t think platonic Narumayo exactly falls apart if you ignore their romantic tension. They still have all that other stuff I talked about, but their relationship loses a lot of richness if it’s reduced to just “besties” or “siblings”. Even the games themselves took a little time to explore the potential romantic tension between Phoenix and Maya, and I think that’s been pretty instrumental in making them one of the coolest male/female friendships this side of When Harry Met Sally.

#ace attorney #narumayo #nickmaya #phoenix wright #maya fey #long post #but seriously #avoid looking up narumayo on twitter #there’s good art #but it’s mostly a hive of villainy

[snowmist-hashira]

I wanna say that your Muichiro x reader are truly enjoyable, I LOVE THEMM soooo muchh🫠! I have a scenario in mind tho (maybe kinda weird too:/, if you okay with it) Muichiro's family reaction in heaven or sum about Muichiro finding his love? Would they be spying on y/n to ensure that she's a good pair for Muichiro?🤔🤔

[Chapter title: Ghostly Intervention]

[Requested] Muichiro Tokitou x Reader

Wattpad:[KNY Fanfiction] (One shots) Tokito Muichiro x Reader Archive:Kimetsu No Yaiba: Tokitou Muichiro x Reader Master list:♠ Information ♠ Word count: 667

I am open to requests for Muichiro x Reader content, and I also enjoy engaging in roleplays. If you're interested in either, please feel free to check out my pinned post for more information. ~ ♠

Honestly, this particular scene felt like a parody, AHHA. I apologize if I couldn't quite capture its essence in my writing XDD The requests I receive are always so unique and adorable, and although this one is relatively short, I hope I was able to do it justice :'DD

One of the remarkable aspects of families is their unwavering presence and support. Even when they are no longer with us in the physical sense, their spirit and influence continue to guide and watch over us. Many people can relate to the feeling of their loved ones' touch, even in their absence.

Well… For Muichiro’s case it was quite literal.

"Their bond is adorable, isn't it?" The mother of Tokito siblings exclaimed, her hands coming together in delight as she leaned her head on them, her smile radiating warmth. She couldn't help but admire the sight of Y/n and Muichiro, their youngest child, holding hands.

"Yes, indeed. I've never seen Muichiro so genuinely happy before," the father chimed in, nodding in affirmation.

"He's finally found someone to love. Took him long enough," Yuichiro commented in his characteristic blunt manner despite that, his words were laced with affection for his brother.

"Isn't she just perfect for him?" The mother's question prompted a nod of agreement from the father. They both recognized the positive influence Y/n had on their son's happiness and overall well-being.

"Seems too good to be true," Yuichiro interjected, his tone tinged with concern and skepticism. He looked at Y/n with a hint of doubt, voicing his apprehensions about their relationship.

"Remember, we agreed not to spy on them," the father gently reminded Yuichiro, implying that they should respect their son's privacy.

"What if she's not good for Muichiro?" Yuichiro justified his worries, his gaze shifting with a subtle glare towards Y/n. The father chuckled, understanding Yuichiro's protective nature, slightly amused to see him glaring as if his disapproval could reach Y/n, because they were merely just spirits concerned for their remaining family member.

“Now, now. We should just let them be.”

Yuichiro's gaze returned to the heartwarming scene before him, where Muichiro's smile reflected his newfound happiness and the absence of the pain caused by his amnesia and loneliness. The genuine joy emanating from Muichiro's smile was palpable, touching Yuichiro's heart.

However, despite the warmth of the moment, Yuichiro's expression darkened once again.

"I'll hunt you forever, even after you're dead if you break his heart," Yuichiro whispered under his breath, his fist clenching tightly and his eyes twitching with intensity. His gaze, now sharpened into a dagger glare, was directed at Y/n, as if warning her of the consequences should they hurt Muichiro.

Meanwhile…

“Wh-…” The discomfort that washed over her caused her body to tense up, and goosebumps appeared on her skin. Feeling a sudden chill in the air, she turned around, searching for any other possible source of the unsettling feeling.

However, her search revealed that no one else was present except for herself and Muichiro. Confused by her reaction, Muichiro tilted his head, his expression filled with concern as he tried to understand what had caused her discomfort.

Y/n tried to dismiss her uneasy feeling with a nervous laugh, attempting to downplay the intensity of the situation. She jokingly attributed her reaction to an irrational fear, saying, "Aha... Nothing. I just felt this strong presence that I'm going to get murdered..."

“Oh, really?” Muichiro followed Y/n's lead and scanned the surroundings, looking for any potential source of the uncomfortable sensation she had described. “I don’t see anyone.”

“Ahaha… Must’ve just been me.” Y/n's attempt to brush off the situation with a sweat drop and a crooked smile didn't go unnoticed by Muichiro. He could sense that something was amiss, but he chose not to press the matter further, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

Y/n couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of scrutiny whenever she was with Muichiro. The inexplicable sensation of being watched, accompanied by a perplexing question that echoed in her mind: ‘Why?? What did I do??’

Unaware of Yuichiro's presence, which seemed to defy conventional rules, Y/n remained oblivious to the fact that he would metaphorically 'hunt' her even on deathbed if she were ever to harm or jeopardize his younger brother's well-being.

‘Aha. I’m in danger.’

#muichiro x y/n #demon slayer kimetsu no yaiba #fanfiction #muichiro x reader #muichiro tokito #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #one shot #female reader #x reader #fluff #requested #parody #kny x reader #kny x you #anime x reader #demon slayer x reader #anime x y/n #demon slayer x y/n #demon slayer x you #kny muichiro #muichiro x you #kimetsu muichiro #kny x y/n #mist hashira #kimetsu no yaiba hashira #kny hashira