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heyclickadee · 6 months

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@cas-echo Okay, soooo, here’s my set of theories for the skull. Sort of theories, anyway. They’re whatever you call it when it’s halfway between theory and headcanon:

I think there are multiple possible reasons for why Clone Force 99 took the skull motif and then ran with it, especially since those skulls show up in a couple different ways, and I think it’s worth looking at them separately.

First off, there are the skulls we see on the faces of the original four bad batchers’ helmets:

You’ve got the slightly more naturalistic but still angry looking skull on half of Hunter’s helmet; the less human and more monstrous looking skull on Wrecker’s; the very neat, streamlined, stylized skull on Crosshair’s helmet; and then the one on Tech’s helmet, which so heavily stylized it’s basically just the white part of his helmet forming the basic shape of the front third of a skull, with the bottom part of his helmet forming a mandible. The only one of the adult batchers who doesn’t have the helmet motif obviously worked into the face of their helmet is Echo:

The shape is kind of almost there, but it’s hard to tell if it’s deliberately a skull or not—and if it was, it seems like Echo chose not to highlight it as much as the others did.

I haven’t really settled on one headcanon or theory for why Clone Force 99 settled on a skull generally, why the original four have skulls over their helmets, and why those skulls all look a little different, but here’s a general list of ideas:

1. They came up with it when they were developmentally/biologically fifteen and ran and ran with it in a ‘teenagers think skulls are cool’ kind of way. I don’t actually think this is that likely, but it’s a possibility.

2. They came up with it when they were developmentally/biologically fifteen and ran with it in an edgy but justified, ‘we’re all doomed’ kind of way. Again, this isn’t where I’m landing with this most of the time, but it could be a factor.

3. Hunter got really drunk and got a skull tattooed over half his face, and the rest of them ran with it out of solidarity. (I don’t actually think this happened, but it is a little funny to think about.)

4. Hunter, completely sober, got the skull tattoo in a moment of ennui, and the rest of them ran with it out of solidarity again. (I don’t really think this happened, either. There are a ton of nerve endings in the skin on your face, and with Hunter’s enhanced senses, that tattoo probably hurt for a couple weeks. That wasn’t something he did on a whim, and they probably all decided on the skull theme before he did it. But it’s more lighthearted than the rest of these are going to be, so….)

5. It was part of attempt to tie their helmet designs into the designs of the regular clone helmets. There is something slightly skull like about clone helmets. Not to the same extent as storm trooper helmets, but it is about halfway there (Maybe not there enough to make this count, but we’re running with this here). It’s possible that the bad batchers, whose helmets are all shaped to their individual needs picked up on this and went with the skull motif in a, “hey, we’re clones too,” kind of way. I tend to hover between a “maybe no” and “maybe that was one of the ideas that went into it” on this one.

Aaaand, getting into stuff I do think is more likely now (I think of all three of these next things as operating simultaneously. They’re not separate, it’s just easier to list them separately):

6. Medical trauma. I’m banking in this as part of the reasoning behind Hunter’s tattoo and the 8-bit lightning skull on Tech’s earmuffs, too. There’s a non-zero chance that these guys have seen each others’ skeletons, and another non-zero chance that they’ve seen their own.

7. There’s a self-aware acknowledgement of how other people see them to the batch’s use of the skulls, and on two levels. First, there’s the acknowledgement that they, clones generally, are considered dead men walking by most everyone around them. This had to be part of the thinking, even if it was a small part.

And then there’s the other level—tailoring each of the skulls on their helmets to how they think other clones and other people generally see them and using that perception as the mask they wear into battle (and honestly, I think there’s an aspect of this to Hunter’s and Crosshair’s tattoos, too).

And here’s a rundown of how people who don’t know them we’ll probably see them: Hunter—the brooding one who’s scary good with a knife? That’s a guy that’ll kill you up close. Angry impressionistic skull it is. Crosshair, the cold, quiet one who can shoot? The skull on his helmet had better be clean, geometrical, and emphasize the one thing everyone knows he can do. Tech, the know-it-all who talks a little stiffly and way too much (I’m sorry, you know that Tech got shit like this, they absolutely talked about him like he was a computer)? He’s going to simplify the shape of that skull down so much that you really have to look to see that it’s a human skull at all, especially if he’s got the visor down. And Wrecker? Wrecker, who’s larger than life, massively strong, and almost frightening (listen, Wrecker also got the same shit as Tech did, just in the opposite direction; people absolutely talked about Wrecker like he was a brute and probably did so in front of him)? Well, he’s painting his helmet so that his skull has a scary monster face.

And to be completely clear, none of that is who they are—that’s what people who don’t know them well see. And there’s kind of an interesting “up yours” in the batch potentially taking the things people wrongly perceive as being “off” about them and incorporating the look of that it into the helmets they wear to protect themselves. Kind of works on a meta level, too*

8. And, jumping off of that, here’s the main thing I think is going on: There’s absolutely a little bit of Jolly Roger style psychological warfare going on with those helmet skulls, too. You’re on the opposing side and you see those skulls? Better surrender and make things easier for everyone, because these guys are going to kill you. They’re like vultures**—they’re symbols of death, but not their own deaths. Call an ambulance, but not for them.

So, that’s what I’ve got for the skulls on the helmets. Now, as far as skulls being the team motif and this particular skull:

They all have this. At least, at the beginning of the show, all of them have this skull painted on their right shoulder pauldron, except for Echo, who has it stenciled on the left side of his cuirass.

I think there’s definitely something to be made for why Echo’s got that skull in a different place and why his helmet doesn’t do the skull thing as much as the others, but. The other day, I put up a post about how it had been bugging me that the skull Clone Force 99 uses as their squad logo has the proportions of a child’s skull. For evidence of that, here’s the logo overlaid with an adult skull, versus the logo overlaid with the skull of a three year old:

The three year old’s skull fits much closer than the adult’s does.

And it had been bugging me because, well, on the one hand, real world special ops groups using a skull as their logo isn’t actually that uncommon. And, honestly, I do think that was probably where the germ of the idea came from on the production side of things before they really started thinking through it, but I don’t think that’s where it ended. Because it’s usually, you know, an angry skull. With a beret or a helmet. An “I’m gonna kill you” skull with a gun. It’s usually not a completely placid child’s skull. But Clone Force 99’s squad logo is, and I’ve got exactly two theories for why.

1. It’s not supposed to be a child’s skull, it’s just a regular skull that had to be squished to fit, please stop overthinking this. Very possible. Definitely possible. But it’s boring.

2. Just like the way they’re Clone Force 99 when 99 was both 99’s name and the designation given to all the clones who didn’t come out “right”, and just like the way the bad batch called themselves “the bad batch,” that skull is it’s both an in memoriam to other “defective” clones and a gigantic “fuck you” to the Kaminoans.

Clone society is one on which the Kaminoans actively practiced eugenics. There’s a reason there are very few disabled-from-the-tube clones running around besides the batch and 99. Clones who didn’t align to product standards were probably either, well…decommissioned, or they were experimented on. And it’s possible that there was an age cut-off point for that, where certain “defective” clones who seemed normal enough were allowed to develop (and be used as lab rats) until very early childhood (say, physically three or four), and decommissioned if it looked like they wouldn’t be useful. If it looked like they were going to be useful, experimentation would continue. We know from both Nala Se saying “five are all that remain” and the frighteningly large number of tubes in her private lab that Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Crosshair weren’t the only clones she experimented on, and I don’t think the experimentation stopped when they were sent to be with the other clones. They’re just probably the only ones who lived to adulthood.

So. That team logo? A gigantic “fuck you” to the Kaminoans. A “look at us, we survived past the age you usually killed us, we’re ‘defective’ and good at what we do, fuck your idea of defective, and fuck you for killing the others,” in their faces. I honestly don’t care if that was intentional on the part of anyone working in production, that’s how I’m interpreting it.

*Kind of an aside, but it’s fun to look at the contrast between the skulls on the faces of all their helmets and the actual looks on all faces in those original season one character posters. Hunter looks a little scared and uncertain, Crosshair looks conflicted and/or in pain, Wrecker’s got this very gentle half-smile on his face, and then Tech has this intense glare aimed at the camera like he’s going to kick its entire ass.

**I have a completely unhinged rant about vultures in my drafts that I’ll probably never actually finish.

#the bad batch #cw child death #eugenics #cw eugenics #sorry the end of this gets dark #you need another reason to hate the Kaminoans?#because I got one right here #anyway kind of feel like the conspiracy guy ranting in front of the conspiracy board with this one #is this intentional?#maybe #do I care?#no

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crowsgrudge · 7 months

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fionna's world being represented by a dandelion makes so much sense ... they're weeds. yet people make wishes through them, changing their whole meaning from something meant to be destroyed to something hopeful.

dandelions are also resilient and it makes sense that something associated with them would. you know. perservere despite the destruction caused by the scarab.

but ultimately i think what REALLY made me tear up over this is that dandelions are really boring plants. when you're a kid you blow on them and make your wish but they're not eyecatching or anything but still, fionna's final wish was for her old world to still exist as it was when she left it (> plain and simple. boring even).

like the moment she realized she would lose her friends, and that her friends might forget each other if the world got its magic back, she immediately decided she didn't want it and I think that ties back to the dandelion metaphor so well... like, do you really need magic to be real to find it everywhere? or can you turn something boring into something magical?

#remi rambles #fionna and cake #f&c spoilers #sorry i have many Not Silly thoughts about the finale #i looove fionna she was such a wonderful character .. so well written and real TO ME #shes my best friend shes my everything shes silly she makes me so emotional #like even when simon told her he was gonna wear the crown to get the magic back to her world #< the moment she realized he would go crazy she started to think about it #like she wont sacrifice a friend just to get what she really wants #i really loved her journey through the show idk #going from being so over her routine > finding out magic can be dark too > making her own magical world just by loving her friends #like its so much more than 'the power of friendship will save us!!'#yes she saved the world thanks to the love she had for her friends but it was backed up by a full journey beforehand #i think. the line about having functional toilets (while still being a p good joke) makes the point so much clearer #we have been to the end of the universe and back but we have functioning toilets !!!#like do u get it. do i sound crazy #< crazy person voice #anyway yes im done sorry #live laugh love fionna and cake

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hallowclave · 5 months

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She para on my humans till I [GRUESOME SOUNDS OF BUG FUELED VIOLENCE]

Redraw of a skitter design I did a little over a year ago, comparison under the read more

And the sketch. As a little treat. Just for you.

#taylor Herbert #parahumans #parahumans worm #worm #my art #I’m sorry it’s so dark her hair being black and her suit also being black is so irritating to me #eyes changed to red to mimic a fly. face mask had a minor change to mimic the head of an ant better #antennae got a little extra prong to mimic ant pincers and also bc hollow knight fan #boots got a steel toe for maximum violence potential #suit padding was actually referenced off of motorcycle armor instead of just winging it #no skirt or belt because I don’t think the former looked good and I didn’t want to draw the latter #even if it’s not canonically accurate she needs some form of armor. Taylor your vital organs. they’re in danger.#iirc she DID put knee pads and stuff on when she first started out. and yet she refuses to wear a helmet. inevitable TBI moment.#in terms of general art stuff the posing looks so much better. look who learned about contrapposto.#and improved (a little) at anatomy. not really on costume design but we’re taking baby steps.#I’d like to thank the wormblr fans for recirculating the og post every three months or so for getting me out of my art block #nothing will make you draw faster than seeing your old art go around.#i promise I’ll finish worm one day 🫡#end of patch notes/ted talk/etc

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official-time-loop-posts · 1 month

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pls tell me more about self imposed time loops

ok so i was planning to write about what i like about self-imposed time loops but it ended up being more like a story? so uhhhh sorry about that lmao

(long-ish post under the cut, check tags for tws.)

(it’s also in second person & i’m not sure if that needs / has a trigger tag? but with the other tws it felt necessary to bring it up)

How would your family & friends feel if they knew? What would they do with the knowledge that you keep throwing yourself into this loop over and over and over again?

You tried telling them about it before, while you were in the loop. They were horrified.

“Why would you do that to yourself?”

“You’re causing yourself more harm than good, you know.”

They didn’t understand.

You reset the loop minutes later.

They can’t know.

No one can.

Why would you do it? Because it’s worse if you don’t. You’ve seen what happens without the loop. You need the loop. Without it you’re left with tears. Without it you’re left with scars. Without it you’re dead.

Are you happier? Of course not. You still break down. You still feel the cut of the razor on your arms.

But you can just reset.

No one will know.

it’s a lie

you’re just going to hurt yourself more

please stop this

Your friend lost their dog.

No they didn’t, their dog’s been at their house all day.

You got in a car crash.

No you didn’t, you took a different route than usual.

You’re bleeding out.

No you’re n-

What?

No. You’re not.

Why won’t it work?

Why can’t you reset?

No. You’re. Not.

you are

you couldn’t reset this time

you couldn’t reset before

you knew that, didn’t you?

that it was all a lie?

they’ll miss you.

we’ll miss you.

i’m sorry.

#tw self harm #tw suicide #tw unreality #(uhhh i didn’t mean for it to get that dark i swear)#(this ended up being less “things i like about self-imposed time loops!”)#(and more “making this Random Guy incredibly depressed”)#(so uh. sorry if that’s not what you were hoping for?)#(and before anyone asks: we’re doing fine)#(don’t worry about us too much :)#not a time loop post #asks

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chirpsythismorning · 1 year

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When I suggest Mike’s arc is in part a queer coming of age story and not just him being some prize to help El or Will defeat the big bad—

Angry anons:

#byler #mike wheeler #I’m sorry but you don’t turn off your protagonists pov and expect to get away with it #you do it to hide something and save it for the end #if mikes arc ends with I love you will or them just having feelings for each other #all that does is equate to El and Mike’s love saving the day #it’s more than compatibility or lack there of #it’s the fucking 80s and their queer okay #let’s wake up and smell the roses #s5 is going to be rated m it’s going to be dark #everyone is going to reach their limits #if you think mikes limits are that he’s insecure bc he can’t save everyone and what will resolve that is him saving someone…#and that’s it…#what…?#that’s not… that’s not worthy of confusing your audience the entire show and especially the last two seasons #there needs to be something to make all those moments in previous seasons feel more impactful #and Mike and Will both assuming their alone in going crazy in the 80s #only to find out they’re not #but that they’re actually going crazy together #that’s a slow burn worth waiting until the end for #slow burn is about slowly burning #that’s what they’ve been doing for the last 4 seasons #I don’t get making their end look identical to milkvans by just recycling their scenes in the last season #the whole point of milkvan is to show what not to do #so anything that happened between them #we can pretty much rule out for byler #the truth is a lot more complex than what s4 presented #if it was really as simple as presented #s5 would offer no surprises #it would just fall flat

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starflungwaddledee · 3 months

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if starstruck Dee gets a comically large bow then Marc should have the comically large eyelashes

i was actually thinking that they both already have bows and eyelashes. consider: the ol' switcheroo

#starstruck is just like... nooo... not my recognisable silhouette...!!! anything but that!!#even though she usually has lashes the big dark ones look so silly on her?! 😂 marx would definitely share some falsies with her #this is the second marx of the shipaganza because i ended up without time to get to my more complex option today 😭#tomorrow will also most likely be a bust as i have a big appointment and will be away. sorry!! doing my best tho!!#but i think if folks LIKE one of the suggested pairings/ships you could suggest more and it'll just be... well. more votes for them!#this is not *actually* a tourney. tho i suppose it... it COULD be?! but like... it'd be a bandee sweep almost certainly. so.#although actually there is someone else who has currently been suggested *three times*!! surprise underdog. anyway!#🎀💖#<- also gonna start adding this as the tag just so folks can find all entries easily on my blog. or block it! that's important too.#my art #marx (kirby)#starstruck dee #asks

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leona-florianova · 1 year

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Dane and Dark Dane..

#fallout #fallout 1 #fo1 #dane #dark dane #the masters army #children of the cathedral #my art #sketches #body horror #tw death mention #if you manage to chat with him and get through all the brahmin noises and meandering #you end up with some great signifiers on how GREAT IS THE MASTERS PLAN DOING #Master! I shouldn't have said anything. I heard the Nightkin crying and I felt sorry for it.#NOT GREAT #...anyway..rip dane.. such tragic character

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erregiulydraws · 6 months

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niigo

#pjsk #pjsk_FA #project sekai #prsk #n25 #nightcord at 25:00 #kanade yoisaki #mafuyu asahina #mizuki akiyama #ena shinonome #hatsune miku #group therapy with Miku <3 #jokes aside tough i love them so much #feeling like being saved by dark yet gentle songs is actually something i relate to as an angsty kinda depressed teen growing up #and listening to songs like rolling girl and self inflicted achromatic and so on and so forth #those songs are still special to me and i ended up getting attached to them as sort of an embodiment of that feeling #just that specific emotion of “there's something wrong with me and this one song UNDERSTANDS that”#the canvas ended up being basically the largest lenght allowed by my art program and due to that it crashed multiple times when trying to #export this so uhh whoops! the quality for the full pic probably sucks but i don't know how to fix it sorry

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kineticallyanywhere · 4 months

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Matt "I can and will remind everyone that Link is REALLY wierd about Normal with like no real explination at this point" Arnold out here like "let me see if I can underminine my entire point in this character arc defining interaction" and I unironically love him for it Link is SUCH a messy b word rn

(this turned into a long response, let's talk Fascinating Character Flaws!)

I dont think it's so much that he's weird about Normal, if I'm understanding what you mean by 'weird', especially in this episode. I feel like it circles back to what I keep thinking about, which is his newest teen fact. the one where he-- does this count as poisoning? he made other children ill in a fit of jealousy for anyone having any time with his dads.

listen, I've had many homeschooled friends. At one point in college I was the "actually went to public school" member of the friend group. People can go in and out of homeschooling and be... not whatever the heck Link has going on. I was excited for him when that fact started, like, "oh he was part of a cohort!" until uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!

(the following are thoughts that I'm still developing in my head as I type and probably after I post)

whether it's due to the overprotective parenting or just Link's nature or a Symptom of a Condition (op has their own Condition but is not a psychologist) Link's got an issue with like. not getting what he wants? not usually in super obvious ways, it's not spelled out, he doesn't throw tantrums or anything. unless you count the thing at Normal about Normal not wanting to do "cool plans." and most of the time he doesn't want anything complicated, his wants have been pretty straight forward and in line with what anyone would want in these circumstances. he wants people to not die is the big major one, he wants to not feel betrayed again, he wants his friends to stop fighting, he wants to get this over with NOW. and he's been going through so much of not getting what he wants (COMPLETELY REASONABLE THINGS TO WANT, IN THIS CASE. TRAUMATIC THINGS TO NOT GET) that he seems to not know what he wants at all anymore.

like, his understanding of the world has been rocked so bad that he's pretty sure all those things I just listed just aren't things he can have. in the past whenever he needled his parents or acted out or did certain things he'd get what he wanted. not to say that he's spoiled but uh... okay yeah I am saying that a bit. but mostly in the ways that it keeps him from developing the coping mechanisms for when you ask something from life and it punches you in the teeth instead.

So in a world where he doesn't know how to get what he wants and maybe he isn't sure what he even can want, he's kinda just shutting down internally. In the mean time, he may as well make sure his friends get what they want, and then maybe at some point he'll want something again. so, in a way, what he wants is to feel and want something, so that "wants what he wants" part of him snapped out again at Normal with "well at least you're feeling something." in other words, "you have the thing that I want right now, and I'm gonna sound pretty bitter about not having it myself" which is an effed up thing to say when that thing he's having is a mental breakdown.

Link. Buddy. Bud. Kiddo. Pal. you need Help.

tl;dr and conclusion: imo for their mental health the party should split into Link & Taylor and Scary & Normal again for an episode or two. Norm and Scary for hopefully obvious reasons; and Link and Taylor because while Taylor is unquestionably a rich kid spoiled for material goods who is very good at wanting things, he is also a kid who's mom knows how to say "No. Absolutely Not. Give me the knife right now I don't care what seppuku is" and who's dad left an emotional void for over a decade that he is clearly adept in coping with and he could give Link some pointers.

also because it would be a cool callback and parallel to early episodes to do those pairs again. see how they've changed and stuff

#didn't mean for this to get so long #or to read taylor for filth at the end there lol sorry taylor youre perfect #literally was self analyzing what my pet peeve is with each pc earlier #(which isn't a bad thing; thats a rounded character right there)#and i got to taylor and went 'hes perfect no notes' lol #cast darkness again kiddo i believe in you #anyway this helped me figure out my understanding of link so thank you anon!#though im still not sure i properly understand what you meant by link being weird around normal #hes been weird around everyone; i think; normal just talks the most #dndads #dndads 2 #dndads spoilers #link liwilson #ask ka #me talking

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letmetellyouaboutmyfeels · 2 months

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so how would you have this play out. say buck and tommy start experimenting halfway into this season and then eddie gets wind of it gets pissed and shit goes down and by seasons end tommy leaves, buck is going to be comfortable with the idea of being with men, tommy probably gives buck a hint about eddie and well marisol and eddie probably break up as well cause homegirl is gonna be like you're more interested in your best friend dating a man then me, tell my why that is? oh it's so juicy.

I've said this before but I don't know if I've ever said it publicly: I am betting on a Bones season six situation.

For those of you who don't know, in the television show Bones, at the end of season five one half of the slow burn, Booth, confessed his love to Brennan, the other half, and she turned him down. She was terrified that their relationship wouldn't work out and she'd lose him. Booth, brokenhearted, quit the team and got himself a new girlfriend (Katheryn Winnick, hhhnnngghhh).

In season six, Brennan breaks down and confesses to Booth she does love him and wants a relationship with him, and begs him to tell her it's not too late. Booth is hurt, and tells her that his current girlfriend is "not a consolation prize" and he's not going to break up with her to get with Brennan - he cares about her and is going to stay with her.

He and the girlfriend then break up because they want different things in life, and Booth is able to go to Brennan and be with her (after a period of adjustment).

I'm deeply inclined to think that we'll get something along those lines. We all saw how hurt Eddie looked when Buck said "she sees me" in that graveyard scene. I think that Buck is going to realize his feelings and confess to Eddie and Eddie is going to fight him, hurt and upset, telling him that he waited for ages for Buck to realize Eddie was right there, and Buck just went off with another woman. Again. And Marisol isn't someone Eddie's going to just dump the second Buck gives him a chance, he's not going to do that to her.

We'll have angst and pain and Buddie separation, Eddie and Marisol will break up, and Buck and Eddie will get together in the season finale.

(Which, for the record, I'm betting the Madney wedding is the finale. Just saying.)

I would not be surprised if they pushed Buck and Eddie getting together until the next season and instead focused on the angst to be evil and give us an emotional cliffhanger. Especially with only a ten-episode season. But I'm currently betting on them getting together in the finale.

That's my line of thinking! And if we could get Tommy asking Chim how long Buck and Eddie have been into each other while Chim astral projects his way through the last six years and bluescreens, that would be the icing on the cake.

#mads answers things #911 spec #I just want Chim to have a leetol crisis because of Tommy #I want Tommy confessing to Maddie he had a huge crush on Chim while Chim has 'hello darkness my old friend' playing in his head #I want Tommy to be like yeah I ended things with Buck he's a great guy #but I'm not getting in the middle of him and Eddie #and have Chim be like I'm sorry my good sir what the actual fuck are you talking about pray tell #I just. Kenny is such a great comedic actor. I need it.

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robotsandramblings · 9 days

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i know we joke about Hunter adopting every child he comes across but i also 100% headcanon that he absolutely loves babies and instantly gets baby fever when he sees one

like he will make any and every excuse to hold a baby. the second a parent is indicating they might be tired/need a break, he's there faster than the speed of light, ready to take baby off their hands.

#hunter #the bad batch #star wars #sw headcanons #in my AUs he's literally well known for this #need a babysitter for your bebe? call hunter #if the baby's parents are idk in the hospital or something and bebe needs taken care of? call hunter #come to visit and just wanna hang with your friends and need to get bebe off your hands? find hunter #any partner he ever has knows that if they see a baby they STEER HUNTER AWAY or else baby fever will kick into full gear #then they have to listen to hunter for the next 48 hours try to convince them why they need a bebe too #(even if they already have like 10 adopted older kids) (''but we don't have a BABY!!'' cries hunter)#also he could care less about all the messy and gross parts of dealing with a baby. he deals with diapers and puke like it's nothing.#(he's a soldier i'm sure he's seen worse anyways) (he's probably happy to be dealing with diapers and puke instead of wounded and dead men)#(Sorry it got dark at the end here lmao)

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spielzeugkaiser · 2 years

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[MASTERPOST]

I did it, ahhh. This took me longer than I anticipated! But they deserve a break before things go down the drain again.

Prompts under the cut:

I had a wonderful ask about 'Jaskier fiercely trying to comfort Geralt right back.' and I wanted to include that bit. Jaskier really tries.

'How do other people see Geralt in this AU' really interesting thought! It highly depends, I think he is seen in a somewhat positive light by some of the staff, but not by all.

ROACH

Jaskier singing 'Toss a Coin' - with others near it would probably not the best thing for their cover, but if they are on their own... I don't think Jaskier feels like it, but back to the first point - he tries to make things a bit lighter.

also for everyone who asked for a break for those two - you are right!!

What also needs to be said: Geralt is the only person who can playfully display even some minor acts that could be interpreted as aggression (like shoving Jaskier on the last panel) - everyone else and this would be waaaaay different. I don't think either of them realised that yet. Last note: Thank you all for your lovely prompts!! It feels like a guilty pleasure sometimes but AHh, this is really my favourite AU to draw for.

#undercover at lettenhove #geraskier #jaskier #geralt of rivia #roach the horse #abuse tw #at this point they are both mentally at a very dark place but they still try to care for each other #I think that's why Jaskier knows he won't be able to talk Geralt out of doing a job for hubby even if they suspect it will end shitty #and Geralt functions on protection mode and caregiving alone #also a thing that keeps popping up: Jaskier does dissociate from time to time; mixed with him playing a role 24/7 it starts to erode #his sense of self and identity #but he KNOWS who he is #he just gets scared sometimes #and Geralt knows this #honestly so angsty but this is still my favourite AU I'm sorry #if hurt/comfort has 1000 fans I'm one of them - if h/c has 10 fans I am one of them - if h/c has ONE FAN I'M-

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greeksorceress · 1 year

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the thought and care he has put into methodically plan out this day is nothing short of laughable. the very same day he learned about rhaenyra’s departure to dragonstone, he started calculating how the reencounter would go.

aemond has spent years of his life now imagining his first meeting with his half-sister’s second son after the younger boy took his eye and his sanity with him. he has seen himself patiently waiting for the inevitable family reunion, holding his want for revenge long enough to have lucerys sleeping soundly in his bed and aemond attacking him in the middle of his dreams.

fast and dirty and treacherous, just like lucerys himself acted upon him that night.

sometimes, the ire and resentment that threaten to rot him from the inside are enough for aemond to forget about any meticulous plan and just ride vhagar to dragonstone and burn it to the ground, like the madman lucerys has made of him.

his favourite fantasy, however, doesn’t even revolve around him specifically, no. his most treasured daydream features his father caring for him like the parent he’s supposed to be and not the king who chooses favourites, demanding rhaenyra to handle what is owed to viserys’ second son.

aemond is not stupid, though. he knows the last one of these confabulated possibilities is the most unlike to work for him, for nothing has ever been handed to him freely and effortlessly before. aegon has the name and the position to get him the things he wants, and also the things he doesn’t —but that aemond desperately needs—, and if it had been his older brother, he’s sure there would had been more repercussions for rhaenyra’s bastard. but he’s the second son, the spare, the one who isn’t granted neither love nor justice and just serves the purpose of standing in the shadows until he’s needed.

still, he hopes.

(hoping has never got him far, either.)

aemond knows the corridors and the secret passages of the red keep by heart. he has memorised the names and faces of the guards and their schedules and knows when both servants and royalty are supposed to be in bed. so, it’s easy to imagine lucerys trapped under his power and will if he were ever to come back to the castle. it’s always the first option with aemond, anyways, because who’s he if not a perfectionist —second sons don’t get the chance to be anything but—.

and then the day comes. helaena and aegon get married and lucerys comes back home to attend to the wedding.

“i’m tired, mother. i shall see you in the morrow”, he tells her before departing himself from the festivity, noticing that rhaenyra’s children have already retired.

aemond has mapped out the exact path he’s following, years and years of submerging himself amongst the darkest corners of the keep finally paying off. he’s going to wait for the change of guard, and he knows everyone else will be wasted and high on wine and celebrations, having no intention of paying attention to any children that should be sleeping by now. the dagger he has chosen for this specific moment —he took two years to decide, but ended up electing the same that sliced through his own eye, because it seems that he’s a sentimentalist too— is safely secured under his belt.

he moves behind the tapestry dedicated to visenya that hides the almost invisible opening of the tunnel connected to the room that used to be jacaerys and lucerys’, the one currently inhabited by just the second boy, and only needs to take a swift look around the room to locate lucerys velaryon —strong, bastard, bastard, bastard— by the windowsill.

whatever aemond had planned for this moment dies before it’s even birthed.

the moon shines on lucerys’ alabaster skin, illuminating his face and his doe eyes. he’s looking up toward the west wing of the keep, his cheeks resting atop his hands and his elbows firmly supporting his weight against the wooden rail of the windowsill.

aemond knows what lucerys is contemplating, for his very own chambers are located in that exact wing. it shakes aemond to his core, because lucerys isn’t observing aemond’s territory with fear, keeping himself awake in a kind of a night shift in order to guard his own safety. no. lucerys is looking at aemond’s window, almost in a perfect diagonal line to this very room, with an expression that doesn’t take much for aemond to pinpoint and recognise.

lucerys’ eyes are wide and glassy, and his gaze is absolutely dreamy. he looks like he wants, like he longs, just like aemond does when viserys ignores him or mother and grandfather offer aegon something that aemond has been craving for longer, harder. he’s looking at the tower like a lover in one of the old poems that the maesters made them all learn, sighing and huffing as if his small heart cannot take the distance. like aemond looks at vhagar, or the iron throne from time to time. like aemond looked at viserys when he informed them that rhaenyra and her children were coming home.

lucerys is glowing, there’s no better word for it, and aemond cannot stop looking. he laments his lost eye, and for the first time not because of fury. he wishes he had the full capacity on himself to completely soak in and burn this candid moment that lucerys is unaware he’s providing. he wants to remember how red lucerys’ lips are, and how many little dots complement his nose and cheeks. he wants to remember his sweet sighs, and the wind ruffling his curls.

but more than anything, aemond wants to remember the look on his eyes.

why lucerys would look at anything related to aemond with such longing escapes aemond’s mind, but it matters not. he’s looking at aemond like that, indirectly and secretly, but he’s doing that, and something hot and possessive blooms in his chest, as if he had been branded by scalding iron. he wants lucerys to always look at him like that, to look at aemond’s eye and face with the same need.

lucerys is more of an angel than he’s a human, like a vision materialised on earth to save aemond’s soul. aemond wants to consume him, wants to be saved and damned by that boy.

the knife is heavy in his pocket, and it’s truly laughable how easily he has forgone his thirst for revenge and has replaced it with devotion. his resolve has crumbled, but he has forged his destiny. he knows it, he can feel it settling under his skin like an organism.

he doesn’t leave until lucerys is tucked under his covers and is finally succumbing to a deep slumber. he has been baptised, and he has a new god to worship —didn’t his own mother say that he was prone to obsession? what else could he do when he’s been provided with the representation of faith in flesh and bones?—.

aemond goes to sleep with a new resolution.

he wakes up when the sun is yet to be up, throat raw from screaming, the taste of the rain and the fire and the blood of a chase that was never meant to be heavy on his tongue.

#this was supposed to be another little window to my large fic and ended up being a monster #it's a drabble dgdjhgsaj #sorry for the dark theme i am feeling like this right now gasjdfs #english is not my first language sorry ):#also i think i'm not so good writing aemond's point of view #aemond is just... in love #he doesn't know yet and has been mislead to think his yearning is hate #but he's getting there <3 #aemond targaryen #lucerys velaryon #lucerys x aemond #lucemond #ship: lucemond #ship: fated feud #my writing: lucemond

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