#there will be at least one another set with CATS PARALLELS
Text
꒦‧₊ ꒷ HEADCANNONS: Going on a Road Trip with Craig, Tweek, Jimmy, Tolkien, and Clyde (Separately) ✧.*
✧.* tags: college au, road trips,
✧.* Characters: craig tucker, tweek tweek, jimmy valmer, clyde donovan, tolkien black
a/n: the stan's gang version got so much love that I thought I'd do the headcannons with the others too!
masterlist
Craig
Thinks everyone is a terrible driver except for him
(he can’t parallel park for shit though)
You guys make up stories about the people you pass
“Oh he’s going through a messy divorce”
“Yeah but it’s his fault for sleeping with Miss America”
“Well if he didn’t, she was going to release the tax documents revealing he was an illegal immigrant from australia! And he can’t return to the outback!”
He’s a pretty good road trip buddy if you don’t mind silence.
He kind of zones out when driving so it’s not an awkward silence, just a comfortable silence
Very picky about podcasts and music though, he gets aux because he’s the one driving
PODCASTS ABOUT SPACE!!
doesn't have Bluetooth in his car so he uses one of those connectors that plug into the cigarette lighters LMAOOO
"bro it's 2023 why are you living in 2006"
"because it has great mileage. shut up or walk"
Jimmy
This will go one of two ways depending on how much you enjoy stand up comedy
Because you’ve bought yourself a ticket to the 6 hour Jimmy-athon
Every billboard is a joke
Every car you pass is a joke
Every gas station you walk into is at least 5 jokes
You’re actually probably driving to a comedian convention
you listen to the material of the panelists to figure out where he'd want to go
he makes you laugh so much you need to pull over
he probably takes a nap halfway through
looks like a little cat curled up in the passenger seat
honestly such a good drive
whenever you get bored all you need to do is make a comment about a weird road sign and you've got entertainment for at least 30 minutes
if you don't like his comedy…
just don't.
you will not survive.
(and you're probably a terrible person)
Tweek
There’s no way he doesn’t get car sick.
Like just absolutely demolished
You think he’s dying for a little bit because he’s just leaning against the window whispering prayers to whatever god will listen
Then you buy some medicine from a gas station and i swear it’s like you’ve opened a new conspiracy for him
“But if these have existed for so long, why hasn’t anyone told me about them?! There’s got to be something wrong with them! DID YOU JUST GIVE ME POISON!”
“Do you still feel like blowing chunks all over my windshield?”
“Well no, not right now.”
“Then I really doubt it can be poison dude”
Don’t let him drive.
Just don’t.
He gets freaked out enough when you drive down a busy street. More than 3 lanes and he’s absolutely screaming
“WHY ARE THEY DRIVING SO FAST?! THE SPEED LIMIT IS 55”
“That’s not how the midwest works, tweek. We’re going 87 right now”
“87 THATS 32 MORE THAN WE’RE SUPPOSED TO- OH GOD WE’RE GOING TO GET INTO A CRASH AND FLIP THE CAR AND RUN INTO ANOTHER CAR AND THEN THAT CAR WILL EXPLODE AND NO ONE WILL FIND OUR BODIES-”
he's surprisingly good at mental math when it comes to calculating the possibility of his death
Clyde
He’d much rather fly than drive
He gets bored so fast like what are you supposed to do in a car? Sit there and… sit there?
Does not want to be in the car for more than 30 minutes
“Are we there yet?”
“We’ve been driving for an hour, Clyde”
“Okay and how much longer do we have?”
“5 hours.”
“WHAT”
Definitely had to use the bathroom every hour because he CHUGS monsters to stay awake then immediately crashes and sleeps for half of the ride
He sets up his phone so a movie can play but it’s really just him watching the movie because you have to keep driving
“You know, if we fly back then you can watch this with me”
“Well then my car would be stranded in the Chicago.”
“Can’t you just get someone to drive it back?”
“I will leave you at the next gas station and make you hitchhike home.”
“ITS A GENUINE QUESTION”
Tolkien
Oh he absolutely loves to drive
But who wouldn’t when you’ve got a fucking TESLA
(he totally has a tesla, no way he doesn’t have a tesla)
Will NOT allow chips in the car
If you do, you’re vacuuming the seats at the next gas station
“You’re not bringing those in here”
“But you can’t go on a road trip without corn nuts”
“You can and you will.”
“Can we at least get coffee then :((“
“Well duh we’re getting coffee”
Will buy you a little drink and give you a blanket
He makes YOU a passenger princess and it’s absolutely amazing
Another podcast listener, but he likes to space them out with music so you’re not both sitting there silently the whole road trip
You’re going on the trip to hang out! You’ve got to have some random chit chat time too!
“There is no way Kuroko’s Basketball is better than Slam Dunk.”
“That’s just because you’re a snob about sports anime.”
“No that’s just because i'm right about sports anime and you spend too much time talking with Wendy”
#craigs gang superiority tbh#theyre hilarious#south park#south park x reader#south park headcanons#tolkien black#craig tucker#tweek#jimmy valmer#clyde donovan#corporatefrog
243 notes
·
View notes
Text
Conjunction (~9.9K)
More menace4menace, based on @naffeclipse's Bloodstain Fool with the og detective au by sunnys-aesthetic!
Plays after the first doodle comic, and after Falling Into Orbit, but before Asterisms
—
“Got your target?”
Sighs sound different without any breath involved, you’re learning.
You’ve been following Eclipse for a small distance already, waiting for him to say something, to no avail. It’s not that you’re quiet about it, so you don’t think it’s a matter of not having spotted you yet - and his reaction to your question proves it.
Eclipse turns.
You grin.
Half lidded golden eyes glow even brighter with the sun starting to set behind the urban horizon. Not a true sunset yet, but darkness is starting to settle between the high rises. The lighting is gorgeous, and unfortunately, it’s rubbing off on Eclipse.
And that, in turn, reminds you of your impulsive compliment just the other day. Is it worse that you still mean it?
At least you don’t have to think about it for too long, thanks to his sparkling personality.
“Why are you following me? Can’t you take a hint?”
Ah. That’s why he ignored you for half a block.
You try not to let it get to you. It’s not the easiest task, waving off the rejection from the only person you somewhat know and who knows about you in this time, but you’ve had a bit too much practice putting on an act anyhow. You shrug, grin just barely strained.
“We have a saying for hints, a wave with a fencepost.”
The tired expression morphs into a scowl, one you’re a bit more familiar with. Now he’s confused - and that’s enough to soothe your wounded ego. Enough to make your grin genuine again, and then worse.
Eclipse’s glower evolves in parallel.
“Are you going to elaborate or not.”
Well, you can be gracious.
“You could throw the whole fence at me and I’d duck to look at a ladybug.”
It’s likely that the only reason you notice his hand twitch is because it’s just barely below your eye level. Tall bastard. The movement draws your gaze, but when nothing else happens, you tilt your head back up.
He’s no longer looking at you, eyes still narrowed as he stares off into the distance. His voice is quieter, too.
“A fence is about the only thing you could dodge.”
There’s a deja vu when he shifts and just walks away, except this time you do have other options. You still follow him.
“I answered your question, so? Did you catch them? Why target, anyway?”
As much as you want to keep an eye on his expression, unfortunately you’re too uncoordinated by nature and tripping on the uneven sidewalk is too much of a risk if you aren’t looking. Still, you spare him another prying glance he probably doesn’t see before focusing downwards.
“Curiosity killed the cat.”
“And satisfaction brought him back. So?”
“Him?”
Eclipse actually slows, his optics already on you when you look up to check. Not hostile, for once, but still confused. You shrug with a lighthearted smile.
“Or her. Either’s good. But I’d like my satisfaction, please.”
Just to emphasize, you make a grabbing motion with your hand, palm up. And trip over a loose tile in the pavement. At least you don’t fall - but the inelegant floundering isn’t quite helpful in your endeavor of figuring out Eclipse’s job.
He’s no longer looking at you when you regain your balance.
“You’re awfully sure there will be satisfaction involved.”
“Your mysterious deflections are only making it worse for you, you know?”
Again, a sigh. Either the low rumble of static is just part of an animatronic’s sigh, or he’s starting to get grumbly again. Given his disposition, your bet is on the latter. Thin ice, then.
Watch you stomp on it to find out just how thin. Maybe that’s why they call it ice breakers.
You skip a step, keeping even with him, and grin. Eclipse sends you a burning glare, as if in warning. But all too quickly he averts his eyes again, and then you have to speed up to keep pace. He’s not getting rid of you that easily.
And your stubbornness wins out after another few steps, and another fleeting glare.
“I’m a bounty hunter.”
You hum.
“Oh right, that’s a thing.”
This time, it’s Eclipse’s feet stuttering - but you don’t look up to see how your reply insulted him this time. It’s certainly less regulated nowadays than what you’re used to, and somehow, you can imagine him in that kind of field perfectly. Grumpy loner with ominous favors who also hunts whomever the finger of the law is pointed at.
Maybe that explains the suggestion of a gun, too.
Silence stretches for just a bit too long, so you end up glancing back up at his face despite the risk of tripping. He’s facing away from you, so that tells you nothing. Are you imagining the tension in his shoulders, or is he waiting for something?
Looking up comes with other nice surprises too - there’s a few clouds starting to smother the orange of the sunset. Oh, you hope it’ll rain tonight. Falling asleep might be a little easier that way. Your sleep schedule has suffered enough.
You focus back on the path in front of you, preventing any other tripping accidents.
Given that you haven’t been sent away or glared at again, you decide to say something else. It might not be anything particularly smart, but that’s his problem.
“I’m assuming it’s not like the movies. Worn Wanted posters, ‘Dead or Alive’, that you can dramatically rip from pin boards or something.”
Eclipse looks back down to glare at you, just as the street lamps buzz on. More golden light all around, even more so with his pupils shrunken to pinpricks.
“What movies are you talking about?”
Bastard has no right looking this pretty.
“Westerns, mostly.”
That actually stops him in his tracks. In an attempt to remain aloof you continue walking, except - you have no idea where you’re going. You halt just a few steps later, turning back with the best innocent smile you can muster.
You’re kind of glad his eyes are such an easy tell for his emotions - they’re narrow, but golden, and his pinprick pupils have once again expanded. He just looks tired, maybe annoyed.
“It’s a miracle you even survived the week.”
The snort escapes you before you can stop it. A miracle, after he so pointedly got involved?
“Well, only thanks to you. Food and a roof over my head are some basic requirements that helped a lot.”
You wink, just to keep the air light. It doesn’t do anything to stop Eclipse from scowling.
“Stop that.”
A widened grin, and a deepened scowl. Somehow, this seems to be your pattern. You shrug.
“Just saying.”
With another rumble Eclipse starts walking again, brushing past you without concern. You jump a step to get back into the motion, and then match his pace. Who even needs a workout regime if you have a grumpy animatronic to keep up with?
“I see you still haven’t learned to keep your mouth shut.”
Despite the cutting words, you don’t feel like the tone quite matches that sharpness. Not friendly, mind you, but much less hostile than you’ve heard from him before. Laughter bubbles up in your voice, and you don’t care to smother it.
“Bold of you to assume I ever will.”
The long suffering sigh you get in reply only makes you laugh harder. Though only for a moment, before a question is directed at you for a change.
"How are you still dressed like that?"
He gestures towards you, eyes on you as he waits. Though he doesn’t slow down at all.
You blink, and look down on your outfit. It’s certainly a choice to walk around in something that won’t be worn for another century, but then again… Your choices here are rather limited. And as far as you’re concerned, you’ll gladly wear familiar outfits rather than worry about buying new ones with money you don’t have.
Eclipse only narrows his eyes at your shrug.
"Would you believe me if I told you the stuff just shows up in my closet every morning?"
Silence sure isn’t the answer you expected. You glance back up, head tilted, waiting for his judgement. After a moment of consideration he looks away. The noise he makes isn’t hostile enough for a snarl, but too grumbly to be a sigh. It is a concession, though.
"Your anomalous existence affecting your surroundings should faze me more, but sure, why not."
The defeat in his tone startles a laugh out of you, and you skip the step it costs you.
"Yeah, same. I went inside, didn't go home. Not even Narnia."
Ah, hm. Maybe you shouldn’t have said that.
"Narnia?"
Yeah, no, that is not a story you want to get into. You’re not even sure how similarly history will play out with animatronics around. Also not a topic you want to analyze further. So once again, you shrug.
"Wait a couple years, it'll make sense."
And if not, by then he’ll hopefully have forgotten about it.
“I would hope you’re not just volunteering future information to other people.”
This time the sharper tone is accompanied by a quick matching glare. Naturally, you wink.
“Nah, don’t worry. You’re special.”
The frustrated grumble is wordless, and you have to press your lips together to not laugh. But he does pick up pace again, and you hurry after him.
Something wet hits you.
You look up.
The sky isn’t just night dark - it’s covered in heavy clouds, and just like that, the next fat raindrop hits your face. You blink. Another.
So you get your wish of a rainy night. Now if only you were in your bed, you’d be all set. Mild panic creeps up in your throat, and you run a few steps to catch up with Eclipse.
“Uhh!”
Eclipse turns, frowning at your tone. But he does stop, which honestly? You didn’t really expect. So you take the plunge.
“Where are we?”
“Where -”
His scowl deepens in record time as he looks around, and then his eyes are blazing even in the twilight granted by the nearby street lamp. Mostly the light illuminates the steady increase of rain hitting the ground.
“You followed me home. You followed me home?”
Your first instinct is to smile again, though this time it’s a lot more wobbly than before. You didn’t think this through, at all. You didn’t even notice how far you were going, all because you were too focused on talking.
Maybe you can find your way back, retrace your steps - but you’ve been following Eclipse for a while now, and even before that you weren’t exactly close to the boarding house. You’ve been wandering a lot these days, for lack of other activities, and now you’re looking at a good distance to walk. In the rain. At night.
But maybe Eclipse knows a shortcut. It’s not like you have many options.
“Uh. How far to the boarding house?”
“Too far.”
Quick way of shattering your hopes, then. You deflate.
In your periphery, Eclipse reaches out - but aborts the motion with a curl of his fingers. Just as you look he turns, instead waving over his shoulder. Yours are getting wetter by the second, and you see the matching darkness growing on his coat.
“Follow me. You’re not dying without paying me back for that favor.”
You’d hopefully just get drenched, but if that’s what he has to tell himself to help you’ll take it. Thinking about how much better he knows this city by night isn’t really helping your anxiety. You’ve been a duckling for this long, so there’s no reason to stop now.
Somehow you just keep getting yourself into these objectively dangerous situations, huh?
For once, you stay silent as you follow Eclipse past the last block. There’s tension in the line of his shoulders and you’re pretty sure you’re about to owe him again. He doesn’t seem happy about it. You can’t blame him. This was avoidable, it shouldn’t have happened. Anxiety is churning your stomach.
Only when he takes a turn into a nearby apartment complex do you find the courage to speak up again. Your steps echo on the tiled floor, breaking the silence for you.
“You’re waterproof?”
You can figure, given his lax reaction to the rain, but you’d feel better with the confirmation. Despite everything, animatronics are new to you, and you’re missing a lot of what would be considered common knowledge.
Eclipse just glares, obviously not happy over having to state the obvious.
“Do you think I’d be done in by a bit of rain?”
Your shrug doesn’t feel half as cheeky as all the preceding ones.
“No, but wanted to make sure.”
Something in his expression shifts, so you duck your head. If you can’t see his annoyance, it can’t hurt you.
Silence reigns.
Eclipse turns on his heels, and continues down the hallway. You shuffle after him, chancing a glance back up at his back.
Have his shoulders relaxed, or is that wishful thinking?
“Don’t you think I would have been more concerned about the rain if I wasn’t?”
Some of the edge has left his voice, and unfortunately you immediately read into it. Your own shoulders drop with the relief as you follow him up the stairs. This is a worse workout than everything before. He’s so fast.
“I mean, yeah, but I prefer checking in with the expert.”
“Surprising enough that you’re admitting ignorance.”
You can’t see his face, but his tone makes you picture an eye roll. Still annoyed, but the edge hasn’t returned. You crack a smile.
“I don’t know a lot of stuff. Would you like me to elaborate?”
He steps away from the stairwell, and you notice just how high the ceilings are - but still only high enough to leave a few meager inches between his top most sunray and the stucco on the ceiling.
Mostly, you’re just glad you only had to climb the stairs up one floor. He’s fast enough on even ground, where he doesn’t get to skip steps.
“Don’t.”
With a grin you start listing things, eyes closed for posterity.
“Physics, never had a good teacher. Social cues - no one tells you those rules, and I hate it. Taxes are nebulous too, even after I’ve started - ough.”
You’re yanked back by your collar, and make an ungraceful sputtering sound. Shouldn’t have closed your eyes then - seems like you missed Eclipse stopping at his apartment door. But his hand lets go of your shirt as quickly as he’s grabbed you, and you’re left rubbing the spot where the fabric dug into your throat.
Eclipse scowls, but there’s something new to it. His grin is wider than usual, just a bit.
“When to shut up.”
You test it, just a bit, and let your own smile grow.
“I think that’s part of the social cues.”
His eyes narrow, but you don’t feel apprehensive.
“The fences.”
You nod sagely.
“The fences.”
A huff of static, and he unlocks the door. A snort? You’re starting to get amusement without it being at your expense then, that’s progress.
Stepping past the threshold makes your anxiety spike again though. With the room he got for you it was different - this is his space, and you’re only here because you didn’t pay enough attention.
Well, also because Eclipse is nicer than he lets on. Or believes himself to be, maybe. You’re still convinced you wouldn’t have died walking back to the boarding house.
But it’s strange. Following him through the foyer, the coat and shoe racks are the only things indicating that anyone lives here. No decorations to the wall, no carpets on the bare floor, barely even any furniture in the hall. That’s a lot of wasted storage space.
The first thing actually indicating a personality for the place is in the living room.
“A leather couch?”
There’s more furniture of course, dark wooden drawers and shelves, a desk covered in documents and a chair, and a high coffee table matching the couch. But somehow the obvious source of comfort is what stands out to you.
“Easier to clean off.”
Comfort, huh?
Eclipse continues walking down the hallway stretching on beyond the room, but you halt with a frown.
The dark leather on the large (Eclipse-sized) three seater looks well maintained even with the worn creases on one of the edge seats. Eclipse’s preferred spot, it seems. The furthest from the window, and with a good view of the entrance. A realization about as cheerful as his comment.
You trace a deeper line on the armrest, bright where the leather broke.
“Ominous. Have they invented blacklight yet?"
You hear rustling from an open door, and you don’t think he heard you. Warily you step away from the couch to follow. Probably best if he didn’t hear you, actually.
Except he did, and his reply echoes from what you must now assume is the bathroom.
"Why?"
The suspicion is evident, and you have no other option but to commit. Not that he sees the shrug, but it helps you remain lighthearted. He heard you all the way over there without issue, but still you raise your voice just slightly.
"I’m taking that as a yes. Even cleaned up, you'd still see a whole lot in blacklight. Urine, blood, platypuses."
The confusion echoes, too.
"Pla-”
Eclipse ducks back out, stepping out of the bathroom with a scowl directed at you.
“No. Don't do that here."
Shame, you almost got him with the platypuses. It makes not grinning very hard, and you fail much too quickly. His eyes only narrow further as he steps back into the living room, and then his hand is moving too fast for you to process.
Fabric covers your head. You blink against the bright terry cloth, yellow from the light passing through it, then pull it away from your face.
A towel - you aren’t even that wet. But what gets you more than the gesture is the sheer size of it. Nearly a blanket, really.
“Something wrong?”
The words are barely more than a growl, a storm just waiting to be unleashed. The question, not really a question - a dare. Seems like you look just a bit too taken aback.
Honesty it is, then. Baffle him too much to be upset with you. You look back up to meet his glare head on, fingers still buried in the soft fabric, and blink.
“I kind of expected red towels. White doesn’t match you.”
Eclipse blinks, too, and for a breath his eyes are just wide and golden. Plan, success. But much too soon he averts his gaze, eyes narrowing as if on instinct.
You want to see him relaxed more often.
And where did that thought come from? Challenges usually aren’t your thing, and this guy is tougher than a rock with about as much emotional awareness.
Honestly, that might even be too generous an assessment.
“Red can’t be bleached.”
The response startles you out of your thoughts, and it takes you a moment to process. It clicks, just a bit belatedly - Eclipse has already brushed past you back into the hallway.
“Oh.”
You don’t leave the living room, but step closer to the threshold to the hall. Watch as he takes off the wet coat and hangs it up on the coat rack, nearly bunching up at the ground.
Again you raise your voice.
“Thank you.”
The glare hits harder from the dark hallway, but it doesn’t faze you. You’re getting desensitized.
“I told you to stop that.”
You stick out your tongue, then cover your head again and towel your hair dry, just a bit. Plausible deniability in terms of disrespect, or something. Mostly hiding from retaliation, given that you’ll disappoint him yet again.
“I won’t stop saying thank you if you keep helping me, that’d be rude.”
“Don’t test me, I’ll kick you out.”
As expected, his tone is sharper than your knife collection. Though, to be fair, you got yours for the looks, and not for their functionality.
“I don’t think you will.”
You pull off the towel just a bit, holding on to it as you look up to where he’s scowling. But angry as he looks, he’s not making any move towards you, remaining more than an arm’s length away. One of his, too.
It’s a gamble, daring him to go through with his threat - but if he wanted to get rid of you, he really wouldn’t need to threaten it. From the start he hasn’t tried particularly hard to make you someone else’s problem. Your police bluff couldn’t have been that convincing, unless he’s really worried about involving them, and just running for a block would have shaken you off easily.
He’s not as uncaring as he wants you to think, and unfortunately for him, you won’t play along.
You blink, ending the staring contest, and his shoulders drop with a static huff.
“You’re a walking headache. Dry off, I’m not dealing with a sick you.”
It’s hard not to smile, so you just hide it behind the towel and a ducked head. You’re still pretty sure you earn a glare for your quiet snort, even though you try to cover it up with a cough.
Pulling down the towel you unfortunately see the next issue.
“Uhh? Eclipse?”
Where did he disappear to, anyway?
“What?”
Your drawn out hum doesn’t seem to incite any confidence, because he stalks through an open door back into the hallway.
“What?”
You grimace.
“So, uh, the bleach? You might need that. Usually the dye washes out without issue, but that’s with the cleaning stuff from a hundred years in the future, so…”
The frown deepens as confusion starts to weigh on him, and he steps closer. You pull the towel away from your neck and hold it out. The red and purple dye spots are faint, more orange and pink respectively, but definitely visible, and you really should’ve thought about that before. It’s not like your hair was that wet either.
Eclipse stares.
You swallow.
No reply.
“I’m sorry -”
Faster than a cobra his hand darts forward, and snatches the towel from your grasp. You fumble just a bit as he drags it away from you, holding on out of instinct before letting it pass through your hands. No rope burn for you today.
Without sparing you another glance, or even the chance to gauge his expression, he vanishes back into the bathroom. An insistent clank makes you jump, and then he reappears with a dark static brewing in his eyes like a storm. His pupils flicker ever so slightly, but you don’t get the time to really look.
A new towel is flying your way, and you scramble to catch it out of the air before it hits the ground.
You blink.
“Don’t stain it.”
When you look up, the door to what must be his bedroom slams shut. You think the doorframe vibrates, even.
It makes no sense. The old towel was fine, and if he doesn’t want them stained, why give you a new one? You could go grab the other one, making sure this one won’t get dripped on, but after what felt like progress his reaction to the stains throws you off. Risking the dark eyes isn’t really on your agenda for this unorthodox sleepover.
Wrapping the towel around your damp shoulders instead, you step backwards until you hit the leather of the couch. Kick off your shoes, and then curl up on the seat closer to the window.
It’s going to be a long night.
—
You don’t know how late it is when the door to Eclipse’s room opens quietly. Definitely late, long past your bedtime, but your mind is too restless to grant you any reprieve.
Golden eyes find yours in the darkness, and the tall shape that is your reluctant host steps into the hallway. You turned off the lights earlier, feeling more comfortable in the darkness, so the only sources of light are his optics and the faint illumination from the moon and street lights reaching through the window. The light doesn’t reach him.
“You’re still up.”
Huddled in your towel blanket, you shrug.
“Can’t sleep.”
The rain outside has trickled away to nearly nothing, and you’ve spent the last few hours lost in thought as you watched the raindrops race down the glass of the window.
Eclipse remains in the hallway, where the faint light from outside won’t reach. You still see his eyes narrow, bright as they are.
“I don’t have any bedding.”
“It’s not that.”
He shifts, but it’s too dark for that to tell you much.
“Ah. I didn’t expect you to be that prudent. I wouldn’t trust me either.”
You should have figured he’s being an idiot. The glare you send his way is probably the worst you’ve directed at him so far, and the glow of his optics disappears for a moment as he blinks.
“I’m not you. I was trying to figure out what I did wrong with the towel, not waiting for you to come kill me while I sleep. What the hell am I supposed to do if you decide to do that, anyway?”
There’s hardly anything you can do to stop him if he decides he’s had enough of you. Your only reassurance is his continued inaction despite all your pestering. Well, and the fact that you refuse to default to that kind of paranoia.
Still frowning he steps forward, just into the space where the moonlight dips into the hallway. Just that amount of light is enough to let you see the confusion evident on his face.
“... The towel?”
“You got angry.”
You don’t like how quiet your voice is. But any louder and it would crack.
So instead you just duck slightly, resting your chin on your knees. The perspective and your hair should hide most of your face. Maybe you pull the towel tighter around you, just a bit. It’s warm, offering just a bit of a shield.
Eclipse takes half a step forward, though you hear it more than you see.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. My reaction had nothing to do with you.”
That makes you look up. If he wasn’t mad at you for staining his towel, then why was he mad?
“Then why?”
Confusion furrows your brows as you right yourself. Eclipse dodges your gaze much too quickly.
“I won’t answer that.”
Given the reaction and now his tone, you’re starting to wonder if you even want to know. In any case you don’t feel like pushing him further on this, not tonight. You can let it go.
“Okay. But you’d tell me if I did something wrong?”
That part is important - and actually earns you another static snort. This time the narrow eyes aren’t angry, more a squint. Amusement. Back on track.
“Little star, have I hesitated to criticize you before?”
The bluntness makes you laugh, just a bit. You quell it quickly, but the smile doesn’t leave. Relief floods through you, and you feel more at ease.
This time when you rest your head on your knees you don’t look away from him.
“Good point. Why are you still up? Don’t you have to, I don’t know, charge some time?”
His shoulders rise, and that is an answer in and of itself. Right, he thought you’re “prudent” for not trusting him. Of course he’d manage to think of you as a threat.
“Ah, right. I could come into your room and kill you. Somehow.”
“Nothing personal. But I won’t trust you on principle.”
Your sigh hopefully tells him just what you think about that. Still, you decide to let him off the hook. And besides, you’re already talking, neither of you planning to sleep, or otherwise rest, so maybe you can have a little fun.
You extract a hand from your cozy cocoon to pat the couch. An invitation.
“Can’t blame you for that, I guess. Will you sit with me then? If neither of us is going to sleep.”
Eclipse frowns as he follows the motion with his eyes. Warily, he takes one step closer, into the dim lighting of the living room. The line of his shoulders relaxes just a bit, and then he closes the distance to the couch in resolute steps.
He does sit down in his spot, and you can’t even take the space between you two personally. Not when he looks so out of place looking back at you.
“And now?”
You huff, smile crooked where it’s pressed against your knees.
“I don’t know. It’s been a while since my last sleepover, and I don’t think you have a bottle to spin. We could play truth or dare.”
For a moment, his pupils flick away from you. But just for a breath - and then he relaxes against the backrest, settling into it.
“You go first.”
You perk up.
“Wait, really?”
One eye narrows, the other remains wider, and it gives the impression of a quirked eyebrow. At least, that’s how you choose to interpret it. The amusement in his tone speaks for it, too.
“A free pass to learn more about you and how you got here, and you don’t think I’d take you up on that?”
Snorting actually hurts - you pull your head down on instinct, knocking your nose against your kneecaps. Enough of that, then. You readjust just a bit, leaning into the crook between armrest and backrest. It allows you to face him more easily too, and you don’t hide your grin.
“I’ll pick truth, then.”
He doesn’t even hesitate.
“Why would you trust me? Follow me?”
You don’t know which time he means - which honestly just makes his question all the more relevant. For now you’ll answer for both, can’t go wrong with that.
“I didn’t really have a lot of options. And you haven’t made me regret it yet.”
He frowns.
“That’s reckless.”
You shrug.
“Sure is. Truth or dare?”
Best to move the game along. You can see he still wants to argue, but there really isn’t more to it. He’s helped you whenever you needed it for as long as you’ve known him - sure, it hasn’t been many times, or for long, but a hundred percent is a hundred percent. Grumpy or not.
There’s a moment of silence, and then, like pulling teeth, his choice.
“... Dare.”
Shoot, now you have to think. That’s the downside of these games, having to come up with questions and dares yourself. There’s not a whole lot you can ask him to do, given that this is his apartment and you don’t want to overstep.
Unless…
Your grin grows instinctively as the idea takes hold. Eclipse’s eyes narrow in suspicion, but you voice your dare before he gets to backtrack.
“Let me thank you, without being grumpy about it. Accept it.”
Golden eyes blaze before narrowing back at you.
“Wha-”
You squint, channeling your strongest little shit energy.
“Backing out?”
Even in the darkness you can see his expression twitch. It’s not what he expected, but pride forces him to let you go through with it. Pride, and the fact that he probably still has questions he wants to ask, and can’t end the game prematurely.
His tone does little to hide the strain, and you nearly laugh.
“No. Go ahead.”
Perfect. You straighten a little, as if that will help reflect that you mean it. Even with the dare, you don’t think he’ll actually believe you, but it’s the best you’ll get without being glared at.
“Thank you, for letting me stay tonight. And for getting me a room. I would’ve been majorly screwed without you, and I appreciate you cashing in a more lucrative favor to get me settled.”
The lemon face is back. You’re trying very, very hard not to laugh.
“You usually say ‘You’re welcome’ to expressions of gratitude.”
If his face looks like he’s bitten into a lemon, yours now looks like you’re trying to be unaffected by a sour candy. You’re pretty sure your eyes are tearing up from the strain of keeping the laughter down.
“You’re welcome.”
Words near dripping with disdain. You'll have to watch out for a puddle later, or you’ll slip.
You duck your head, hiding your face behind your knees again. Only this time you’re shaking with silent laughter.
“You sound like I’m holding you at gunpoint.”
Your voice warbles ever so slightly in amusement, and you’re not surprised when Eclipse cuts to the chase immediately.
“Truth or dare?”
He has questions, and you’re not sure you want to invite retaliation. Easy choice.
“I’m scared of the dares you’d come up with. Truth.”
Eclipse tilts his head, settling with a click. The suspicion isn’t new - in fact, it’s old enough to give you an inkling of what his question will be.
“What do you know about how you got here?”
Bingo. Unfortunately, there’s no prize to win, and you just sigh. You’ll have to disappoint him.
“Answer is absolutely nothing. One moment I’m back home, taking a little walk, I blink, I’m here and looking at a whole ass animatronic. I’ll give you a do over if you want.”
There’s a yawn creeping up on you, but you don’t want the game to end. You stretch your arms over your legs with a hum, hoping the tension will cover up the tiredness, and then relax again.
There’s a flicker to Eclipse’s expression that you can’t read, but then he sighs, too.
“No, an answer is an answer, satisfying or not. Truth.”
That’s barely better than dares, just on the other end of the spectrum. Dares are hard to come up with, whereas with truths… There are so many things you want to ask him, about this time and this world and about him and -
You hum, trying to stall for time, and scrunch up your face deep in thought. Maybe you need to approach this practically. For now you’re living here, so perhaps it’s good to learn about some rules you simply know nothing about.
“What do I need to know about animatronics?”
“That’s a broad question.”
Fair point. But he doesn’t sound inherently against the question, so you decide to elaborate. Maybe that will help him answer.
“I’ve been fumbling for over a week now. I just want to avoid obvious mistakes, things I shouldn’t mention, things not to ask. Like if you’re waterproof.”
For a moment he squints, amusement sparking in his eyes. But then he looks away, expression falling into something more thoughtful, and he hums.
When he meets your eyes again, his expression is hard. No trace of amusement left.
“Don’t ask about assignments before the revolution, before we had rights. It’s been twenty years, but too many humans still believe it was better then. Do not imply we should submit to that again.”
A revolution, huh? Of course things couldn’t be peaceful. It’s good to know about it, you figure, though you also can’t help but think that not knowing wouldn’t have been that much of an issue. It's not something you would have assumed blindly, and thus nothing you would have brought up. Maybe asking in and of itself was the faux pas you wanted to avoid.
Still, you want to go back to the lighthearted air you had going for you just before his answer, so you shrug.
“Well, that’s easy. ‘Don’t be a dick to people’, I can do that.”
“‘People’?”
That's a weird emphasis. Bad weird emphasis.
You crack your eyes open again, with a bit more effort than it should take you. Then again, it’s late. Then again, you already abandoned your sleep schedule for tonight.
Eclipse is frowning at you, and you have no idea why.
“Uh, duh.”
“We’re not human. And you can just accept that?”
You match his frown, if for different reasons.
“Why are you arguing against your personhood after just telling me not to do that?”
Silence and a deepening scowl are the only answer you get. You stare for a moment, but when it becomes clear he won’t elaborate, you sigh. Sounds like this runs deeper than you have the brain cells to spare tonight.
“I don’t know your history. I came here, and you helped me. That’s all I need to know you’re a good person.”
“I’m really not.”
There’s more gravel in his voice than in a good quarry. He’s still being difficult, and you’re a bit too tired to be gentle about your questioning.
You huff, barely dodging another sigh through spite alone.
“Do you want to be?”
Squintier and squinter, and then he’s avoiding eye contact again. Of course.
“It’s not your turn to ask.”
You throw your head back with a groan. It’s frustrating, not getting a straight answer. But “an answer is an answer, satisfying or not”. You’ll take it, and just hope the rest of the game will be more fun.
“Ugh, fine. Truth.”
Eclipse seems to be out for revenge now. His tone is still sharp, and you can’t say you’re a fan of his line of thinking.
“How are you so cheerful here? You lost all you know.”
Stating the obvious there. Whether purposeful retaliation or not, you figure you can look past one unfortunate question too.
You rest your head on your knee again, your cheek squishing almost uncomfortably.
“Yeah, but I also escaped late stage capitalism trying to kill everyone’s future.”
There, that’ll do. Except a snappy reply won’t really bring back the fun of the game, and only makes both of you feel awkward.
Maybe… maybe you do have a way to turn this conversation around. The smile comes automatically, small as it is.
“I do miss my sister though.”
“You have a sister?”
Surprise softens his tone. Seems like your little redirection worked even better than expected. You widen your grin then, thinking about how Eclipse would react to meeting her.
“Yup. Menace. She’s younger, but taller. Honestly, if you can’t handle me, she’d wreck you. She has a knack for sniffing out insecurities, and pulls no punches.”
You stretch, humming along. It does little to dampen your amusement, and you squint at Eclipse. His eyes are still narrow, but much more relaxed than before. Amused, maybe? He relaxes against the backrest again - you didn’t even notice him straightening.
“... I see she learned from the best.”
Your laughter is more a bark than anything else, and you slap your hand over your mouth quickly. Who knows how thin those walls are, and how many sane people are actually trying to get some sleep right now.
With the volume control back in place you do allow yourself a chuckle though.
“Student surpassing the master, if anything. Your turn.”
His eyes wander, moving away from you, and then he’s staring out of the window. You glance back, too. The rain is starting up again, a gentle background noise.
“Truth. Don’t make me regret it.”
You untwist your spine to look back at Eclipse, finding yourself late to the party. His glare doesn’t feel hostile, but it does remind you that there was something else you’ve been eager to ask. And while you’re already on the topic…
Time to figure out whom Eclipse doesn’t hate. You spare him a smile, aiming for a reassuring look, but the way his shoulders slump in resignation you don’t think you succeed.
“No fun in you ending the game early. Who's 'not everyone'?”
The quotation marks are more a suggestion from underneath the towel, but you don't care. You trust Eclipse understands - and he does, because he looks down. Almost melancholic. You don't know if you like it.
“... I have two brothers.”
A blink. A small part of you is intrigued by the technicalities - family by choice, but how so? Without blood in the way, when really all you have is choice, how does a family find together?
But even though it’s not about any revolution as far as you’re aware, this just screams insensitive question. So instead, you let excitement take over.
“You have brothers?”
As your grin grows, his frown deepens.
“Why is that so sur- why are you looking at me like this.”
The couch isn’t the bounciest, but soft enough to let you swing forward. You land on your hands, splayed on the leather of the unoccupied middle seat. Eclipse actually leans back, surprised by your sudden approach, or maybe put off by the mischief promised by your smile.
“Younger or older? Shorter or taller?”
At least he relaxes again, though not without his expression twisting into annoyance.
“... Your priorities are off, little star. And it’s not your turn.”
“Consider it a follow up. I need to know for science!”
You bounce once, insistently, and nearly laugh when you see it reach Eclipse. Scary scary bounty hunter, moved by your shenanigans.
“... Science.”
He says it just as the couch settles again. Too much fun. You bounce again.
“Younger or -”
“Little brothers.”
“Ahw man.”
You’ll keep the bouncing tucked away as an effective method of getting him to talk. Whether or not it’s just to keep you from talking is a secondary concern. For now, you groan in mock frustration, and push yourself back again. Your back hits the armrest, and you tuck the towel close again.
You huff, and Eclipse tilts his head slightly as he squints at you.
“Why are you disappointed?”
As you explain you wiggle a bit, shifting your legs into a position that doesn’t hurt your stiff knee.
“I have this theory of younger siblings outgrowing their older siblings. Though I guess with you in the mix I’d seriously be concerned for your brothers’ heads.”
For a second, you imagine it. Two more animatronics, even taller than Eclipse. Given that you know nothing about them so far, your imagination supplies you with two more Eclipses, somehow looking even grumpier as they flank the already grumpy Eclipse of your mind.
The real Eclipse isn’t any more cheerful in his reaction.
“... Do I have to tell you that animatronics don’t grow?”
Animatronics are not early two thousands robots, you forgot.
“... I might have been thinking of a movie again.”
At his groan you press your lips together tightly to avoid laughing. You’re pretty sure if he had a defined nose bridge he’d be pinching it.
“You’re incorrigible. Truth or Dare?”
You know what, you’re feeling daring.
“Hit me with a dare.”
Eclipse is much quicker than you in choosing dares, and you don’t like this stormy expression.
“Show me your shoulder.”
Your brows furrow on instinct. Your shoulder? Which one? Why?
“Huh?”
There’s no change to his expression, but he does elaborate.
“The one I hurt.”
Now you blink. That was over a week ago, and you haven’t even paid attention to the bruises. They’re gone, probably. You think. Moving around hasn’t hurt after the initial soreness wore off, and you don’t like the thought that he’s that hung up over an accident.
“It was barely anything, really. The bruises all faded.”
Still he won’t let up.
“Show me.”
No way out then. Though no one said you have to be happy about it. You peel yourself out of the towel blanket, and then push away the fabric from your shoulder.
In the dark, you can’t see shit. Maybe the bruises are gone, or maybe they’re just too faint to see. Without thinking you raise your finger and test instead, poking around where you remember Eclipse’s fingers digging in. You don’t get far before a larger hand wraps around yours, immediately pulling you away from the exposed skin.
You blink at Eclipse. His eyes are wide, flickering to something darker in the corners, and his hand twitches around yours. He snaps to the movement, as if unaware of his own actions, and then rips his hand away again.
“Don’t do that.”
He sounds like he’s hanging on by a thread, and you don’t think you want to know what happens when it snaps.
His sudden departure after learning he bruised you back at the boarding house. The strain in his voice then, and now. And, for a second, you think about the towel again. You don’t know how it relates to the bruises, but his eyes looked like this earlier, too.
The dark static calms somewhat, though he glances back at your shoulder for a moment. There’s no better word for it - he slumps in his seat.
“I’ve seen enough.”
You spare him one more wary glance, then sigh.
“I didn’t see anything, and the touch test was negative too. You can stop feeling guilty.”
No reply. You get started on restoring your layers of comfort. As you pull up your sleeve your eyes fall on your hand again, and you think about how big Eclipse’s is in comparison. You knew, he even grabbed your head before, but just like then you can’t let it go.
On the one hand, you would have liked some more time to actually process what his hand feels like. On the other hand, you’re mad at yourself for thinking like that.
Eclipse seems eager to move things along. His eyes may have brightened, but his voice still hasn’t.
“Dare.”
You hum. If you don’t know how to reassure him your best course of action is to ignore the weirdness entirely. Maybe one day you’ll figure out his deal with bruises. Maybe not. For now, not your circus and not your giant monkey.
“Ah, hm. Give me a moment, I need to think.”
There’s a brief pause, but then, slowly, almost hesitantly, Eclipse huffs.
“If I wanted to, I’d take that as the dare.”
So he’s fine with trying to keep things lighthearted. He doesn’t want to linger on whatever that was, either, and it strengthens your resolve. Said resolve may involve a lot of silliness, but he’ll have to deal.
“Shush, or it’s going to be something stupid.”
Just for posterity you scrunch up your face in thought, then tap your toweled finger against your chin.
Never looking away from your antics, Eclipse relaxes further. He leans back against the couch, even going so far as to rest his arm on the backrest. For a second, you believe him. Except then you notice the way his fingers are digging into the leather, and his careful projection shatters.
“Your last dare was stupid.”
You do have to admit he’s trying though. Unfortunately for him, you just had an idea, and it’s entirely self-serving. Well, maybe it’ll distract him, too.
“I don’t want to hear that from you. Show me your hand.”
A blink.
“My hand?”
“Yeah, like this.”
You grin as you raise one hand from your cocoon, splaying the fingers in the air. Eclipse looks on, tilting his head as if he’ll understand you better from a different perspective. From the way his frown twitches you don’t think it’s helping. But he does mimic the motion, glaring first at you and then at his hand. Slowly, hesitantly, he holds out his hand in the space between you two.
No time to lose. You scoot closer, and press your palm against his. He jerks back, but you only stretch further, following the motion.
“Stay. You’re not grabbing, it’s fine.”
He stills.
A soft laugh escapes you, now that you have the time to look. His hands are proportional to his body, which is to say they’re ungodly huge.
Not that you mind.
“Oh, big. I mean, I knew, I saw, but the side by side comparison sure is something.”
Eclipse tilts his hand, and you move with him. There’s a twitch that you ignore.
“You’re just tiny.”
Again you scoot closer, and extract your other hand too. Again he starts, but then you’re already pulling his hand closer. He lets you.
Absentmindedly, you prattle on.
“Look - okay, I can’t argue, I’m short even by human standards - wait! I think I’m actually pretty average in this day and age!”
One hand you keep on his, just so he doesn’t get any ideas about the dare being over. With the other you trace the lines on his palm where the casing is broken up to allow for movement. You move towards his thumb, the indent of the lower joint and the upwards, brushing past the rougher shell of his fingertip. Worn down from all the grabbing he does, for who knows how long.
You’re so lost in thought, you nearly miss his quiet retort.
“That doesn’t matter.”
It takes you an embarrassing amount of time to remember just what you were talking about, but then you huff.
“Because you’re big.”
The moment is over, and Eclipse’s patience runs out. He pulls his hand back and leans away from you, out of reach.
“Shut up.”
Despite his glare he still doesn’t sound hostile. You stick your tongue out at him, then shuffle back against your cozy nook.
“No, I’m choosing truth.”
The question comes much too quickly after another glance at his hand.
“Why aren’t you scared?”
You freeze.
The anxiety you’ve managed to keep down rears its ugly head again, churning your stomach, and you pull the towel tighter around you. Duck your head, even if you can’t escape his gaze.
Sometimes, silence is answer enough. He understands.
“You are.”
Try as you might, you don’t think he buys the nonchalance of your shrug. Still, you have no other option but to continue the act.
“Pretty much always, yup. You get used to doing things despite it.”
There’s a pause, the silence weighing heavy as you wait. Turns out you’re not off the hook yet.
“You had a follow up question earlier.”
Part of you wants to sigh. So you do, even as it turns into a yawn halfway through. Tiredness is starting to win out over the anxiety, so you look back up.
“Shoot.”
There’s an expectant hum in the air. Not like the intentional ones, more like the soft sound from old TVs. Well, old for your time, not this. Eclipse weighing his words, perhaps. A click, and he speaks.
“How scared are you of me?”
Ah. That probably shouldn’t surprise you as much as it does - from his perspective a valid concern, and of course something that would occupy his mind. After his very first question tonight, it just makes sense.
But he doesn’t understand what you’re scared of.
“Not as much as I probably should be. Not as much as you think I should be, anyway. Mostly just on principle - you’re bigger, stronger, and one of few people who even knows I’m here.”
No one who would miss you, or bother looking for you. You were lucky to meet someone who isn’t interested in making you disappear, not even to make his own life easier.
Someone who knows societal rejection first hand, too.
Anxiety quells, and you breathe easier. You relax against the backrest of the couch, accepting that you’ll have to peel yourself off later.
“I’d probably be more scared if you were human, actually.”
The tension you expelled is the tension Eclipse soaks up, it seems. His shoulders harden into a straight line, and his eyes narrow.
“That makes no sense.”
Earlier you thought you’re getting desensitized against his glares. Right now you’re just way too drowsy to care.
“Does it? I’m not really a human humans in power like. I’ve got things ‘wrong’ with me that don’t even have names yet.”
You take in a breath, barely concealing yet another yawn. The quotation marks you mimic with your fingers are about as energetic as your tone, so you can’t be sure he even notices.
For a moment, Eclipse just stares. But then he too sighs, and his shoulders drop again.
“I don’t doubt that. I’ll concede the point, I have no reason to antagonize you for who you are.”
Even so, this isn’t the tone you want to end this conversation on. You smile, tired as you are. At least he can interpret your squint as amused, too.
“Just for how much I’m annoying you.”
And you got him.
“So you admit you’re doing it on purpose.”
There’s no fire behind his words, and you chuckle softly.
“Never said that. Plausible deniability is my friend.”
His glare actually makes you laugh. It’s overly dramatic, and you’ve seen him be scary - this is so far from it. Maybe if you hadn’t been playing a silly little game for the better part of an hour you would be more inclined to be properly impressed, but now? Nope, no can do.
You sink a little lower on the couch, and your cheek squeaks slightly against the leather. Ough.
“One last round for you? I have one more question.”
Your enunciation is slowly but surely saying goodbye. Lack of sleep is catching up on you.
But for now, Eclipse indulges you.
"Truth."
"Why did you help me?"
If he can wonder just why you aren’t appropriately terrified, you can wonder just why he cares. Coincidence is the only thing tying you together, and that doesn’t actually seem like a big enough incentive for him.
He sighs again, turning a bit where he sits. Drapes his arm over the backrest again - no more need for distance then. Or maybe it’s just more comfortable. He’s not even looking at you, rather past you, out of the window. The rain is still pittering away.
"My reputation at the station is bad enough as is. Didn't want you running into either of my brothers telling them how I abandoned you."
What crumbs of energy you have left let you perk up at that implication.
“Your brothers are cops?”
“Yes. Don’t call them that to their faces.”
You snort. If you ever meet them you’ll have to remember, but for now you can’t help but abuse that newfound crumb of power.
“So that's how to get you to -”
The hand you so thoroughly inspected before now covers your entire face, and you laugh against it. There’s not much to see - the bit of light passing by his palm is barely enough to make out his fingers.
Though you didn’t get to sniff it before. If you were any more awake you might refrain, but right now you’re tired and his hand is right there. Given that you need to breathe, not smelling is harder than just giving into the impulse. Heavy and metallic, but mixed with something sweeter - some of it the leather, almost earthy, and some of it you don’t recognize.
At least he doesn’t seem to notice what you’re doing.
“Shut up. Don't even try.”
There’s something else you might try. Your impulse control is so dangerously low.
He’s not holding on tightly right now, barely even holding rather than just covering, but you’re not sure how well-advised it would be to translate your impulses into actions.
… Did he even wash his hands earlier?
Maybe you can distract yourself.
“Can you imagine though? ‘Hi everyone, I’m from the future, and also I met this grumpy animatronic who wouldn’t help me out. Name’s Eclipse, anyone know him?’. Makes me almost sad it was a bluff.”
“You were bluffing?”
Can’t make bad decisions if the temptation is out of reach. Eclipse pulls his hand away, just so you can see his wide eyed glare in all its glory.
You manage a satisfied grin despite your eyelids weighing all too heavy on your eyes.
“Oh, thanks, my next idea was to lick it and I don’t think either of us want that.”
For a moment he stares at his hand. You’re glad you’re looking, because you notice the near imperceptible shake of his head before he drops it again. Your laugh is barely more than a tired huff.
And yet, despite all that interesting bonus information, he hasn’t actually answered you yet.
"That's not really it though. That bluff came way later. Why not just dip when I started screaming?"
Again that half squint, leaving one optic wider. Sardonic, maybe.
"A human in hysterics and the bounty hunter with a violent reputation. What do you think people would have assumed?"
That sobers you up, too.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's out of your control."
He’s no longer looking at you. His back is against the couch, and he looks off into the room. Not at anything specific, you don’t think. Just staring off into space. Maybe pondering some what ifs, too.
What if you hadn’t appeared in front of him. What if right now, he could be charging in peace, being owed by someone who can actually pay up, and who won’t antagonize him at every turn.
You shrink in on yourself.
"Still, I've been causing trouble for you from the start."
Silence settles between you. It’s heavy, but your eyelids are heavier, and sleep might just win even against the fresh wave of guilt.
The moment stretches, and then golden lights find you again in the darkness.
"It's not all bad."
For someone who doesn’t believe in friendship he’s doing a shit job of keeping you at a distance. How can you not read into that?
"Yeah?"
Amusement sparks, even as the lights dim as he squints.
"I've learned many interesting things already. Like platypuses being fluorescent under a Wood's lamp."
A squeak, or a huff - you don’t know what your laugh resembles more. Eclipse is still squinting.
You stretch again, but there is no stopping this yawn. If you’re already standing by your sleepiness, you’ll make yourself comfortable too. First you unstick your cheek from the leather, then let yourself slide down. The couch is big enough for you to curl up in the corner and rest your head on the armrest, the towel between the leather and your skin. Avoid the bad stickiness.
Eclipse watches you silently, and you lazily blink his way.
“Don’t scratch the couch.”
“Hm?”
“Nothing.”
“Hrm.”
Whatever he means, you’re not in the mood to ask. Words are escaping you at record speed. Instead you close your eyes, shuffling closer into the corner.
“That can’t be comfortable.”
Just because he can’t try. You’d shoot him a squinty glare if you had any inclination of opening your eyes right now.
“‘m small, ’s perfect.”
It’s comfortable, despite it being leather. The towel is a good barrier against the stickiness, and a warm little cocoon. Not as heavy as you’d like, maybe, but you don’t think weighted blankets have been invented yet.
At least you have the rain as background noise.
“The boarding house isn’t too far away from here, if you’re walking in daylight. I’ll map it out for you when you’re awake again.”
Eclipse’s voice startles you out of your daze, and you jolt. Still, your eyes remain closed, even as you huff.
“Not asl’p.”
There’s a low rumble of a laugh, and you smile against your cozy nest. He should laugh more often. Maybe you can tell him a few good jokes, see if he likes any. Not now though. Enunciation is too hard right now, whether you’re awake or not. You totally are.
“Keep telling yourself that.”
You don’t have the awareness to argue.
Tomorrow. You’ll tell him tomorrow.
#post let luce#dcamv#bloodstain fool#menace4menace#my fic#headinhands. 1K in I was like “haha maybe thisll be another 4K long can you imagine”#then [REDACTED] happened#maybe not quite as lighthearted as the first one?#but nothing I'd warn for in particular#maybe with this out of my system i can focus back on building a nest fghdjs
97 notes
·
View notes
Text
thoughts on the fionna and cake ending
-it was a bit boring. ok not Boring just, not on the same level as all the other eps? especially not on the same level as the previous two (the star+jerry). like it was more of a Cake the Cat ep. it was fine just not world shattering and thats fine ig
-that being said the casper&nova scenes were sooooo boring i couldnt care less. it kinda made me feel like they wanted to show shermy and beth but didnt know how so they just made up whatever??? it wouldve been cool to see more of future Ooo instead of. whatever that was. they couldve made the parallel to simon and betty some other way. or even if they absolutely Needed to show thay weird video game they couldve made it like one scene and shorter lol. tho the detail of it had being astrid that started the story was cute
-i actually liked the resolution to betty and simons relationship. again they couldve shown More of it instead of it just having like, one scene, but i liked how they did it. getting them back together in a fairytail Everything Works Out And Theyre Happy Ever After!!!! wouldve completely taken away from how tragic their entire story is, but making something even worse happen wouldve just made simon feel worse and his character development wouldnt.... exist much lol. having simon come to terms with it, SEND HIM TO THERAPY THANK FUCK and try to move on w his life is exactly what i was hoping for
and i looooove how they portrayed their relationship. ive seen ppl be mad ab it but like didnt yall like that is was codependent and insane and they were obsessed w each other to the point theyd destroy their life for one another? OBVIOUSLY its going to be unhealthy. thats not saying simon is a bad person, or that they didnt love each other. they obviously did. simon loved betty more than anything. but he was selfish. unintentionally, yeah, he didnt realize how dependent/obsessed she was with him and that she just went along with anything he did which i dont feel its his fault, but it still happened, and it still affected her, it made her get deeper into that. its a new spin on their relationship that feels really real and i really like that. yeah turns out that when ppl are so obsessed w someone that they go insane and almost destroy the world twice thats probably indicative thay theres something wrong there who wouldve thought!!!!
adventure time is The "people have flaws" show (bonnie, marcy, finn, jake, etc etc all the characters are shown to be selfish sometimes snd to varying degrees! and theyre all still good people! theyre still just people) so it feels a bit insane to see ppl acting like the show saying "simon too btw" means theyre portraying him as irredemably bad
-i didnt want the fionna world to completely change and go back to bein magic but i was at least hoping the characters world :( like a "modern with magic" situation it wouldve been cool. and the farm/baby/vampworld characters coming in felt a bit random but like eh sure whatever
-IM SO PISSED FIONNA DIDNT LOSE HER ARM
-i dont think the lack of resolution in all the universes we visited was a bad thing? like i dont even feel like its "lack or resolution" i just felt like. thats how the stories were meant to be told. we come into a world that has nothing to do with us and then we leave them behind, yk? its not our world so we just pass by and dont know how it ends. leave it up to imagination. i thought it was cool we dont need to know Everything
-we shouldve seen marcy and simon interacting when he got back. even if it was just like a interaction without dialogue in some sort of epilogue sequence theyre so incredibly important to each others story and the show even made sure to show us that and we get nothing????? the lack of a scene where he talks to her about how hes feeling and how he almost put on the crown again felt so!! FRUSTATING. the scene in ep two where he calls her even felt like it was setting up for a scene like that! im so mad we got nothing. like i understand the adventure time market is flooded with marceline so maybe they didnt want to focus on her much but still theyre too linked for that relationship to get completely ignored in the Last Fucking Episode of the show
-the implication of fern/phoebe made me pause the episode and stare at a wall for a moment. auaugh.
-SO NO MARSHALL SONG?? *THROWS LAPTOP AT A WALL*
-WHY DID THEY DO NOTHING WITH FIONNA AND CAKE GLITCHING STUFF????? WHY EVEN SET THAT UP IF IT GOES NOWHERE UGHH
-im glad they finally made the lich a bit more interesting instead of Ooh spooky guy is evil
-simon getting therapy from minervabot was awesome 10/10
-once again saying im mad they let fionna keep both her arms. BOOOOOOO 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
#thats all i think#fionna and cake#adventure time#simon petrikov#betty grof#fionna and cake spoilers
60 notes
·
View notes
Text
Yeah no I'm still not cool with the pet situation. A character's pet is for the animal's life, not for [one emotional scene].
Titus makes sense. There have been several generations of Ace the Bat-Hound over the decades. There was at least one when Dick was Robin. There's another when Tim is a young Robin, back in Knightfall era (he hid out in the tunnels with Harold while JPV was Azbats!)
Bruce, trying to win Damian's affection and teach him how to connect and bond with others, to give him a responsibility and someone who will love him unconditionally, getting Damian a dog? Makes 100% sense. He clearly thinks kids should have a dog, they're set up to have a dog, they're familiar with having a dog, particularly large working breeds that protect the property.
And Tomasi & Gleason use Titus several times, in several different comics in the run, for emotional beats.
Alfred the Cat exists entirely for the emotional beat of Alfred giving Damian a cat that swipes at him, then Damian in the next comic 'winning' the cat's affection while feeding him and playing with him, showing as a character the cat (and by parallel Damian) has changed in his time at the Manor. I get the comparison. It's cute, but I don't see the point in doing this immediately before killing Damian, particularly when Titus, who was established earlier, is right there in the scene and doing...nothing.
A similar moment of Damian appearing like a child playing with his puppy and looking innocent could have occurred, and it would feel less like Damian's affection is hoarding and transitive - he can only care about his latest animal, the earlier ones are present but forgotten in the glee for more and newer pets.
Batcow is completely superfluous beyond being a visual joke. Nothing about her holds up in any way.
"Sure, you can keep the cow," says Bruce through his gritted teeth, because he wants his son to like him and not run back to Talia. Despite that being a plot point well established as not likely to happen, as we've been over it before during Reborn and Damian rejected Talia and the League of Assassins, and we're at the start of a story where Damian's going to choose to go to his mother to save Gotham while the rest of the family are desperately trying to protect him from having to face her, because they're worried she'll kill him/end the world.
"Sure, we can have a cow living in the Cave. It's not like we know any farmers with superstrength and flight who could take a meat-raised cow off our hands and care for it in better circumstances, who you could still visit occasionally."
#mostly me grumbling about the fact a good editor would have pointed out there was already an animal character available for the scene#if DC editors were doing their jobs#I get the collaborative and multi writer nature of comics means beats get repeated and people lodge clashing ideas almost simultaneously#but in this case it's just particularly poorly thought through#Damian gets to have better and more pets than all the other kids who have ever lived in the Manor#and acquire them in the shortest amount of time#because he's the Real Blood Son#And outdo everyone else#plus the fact it's ALFRED and a CAT and he's refused to have a cat around the Manor previously when another kid asked (temporarily!)'#yeah no#I know it's a new timeline and universe but also the hypocrisy is noticed
29 notes
·
View notes
Text
MOONLIGHT CHICKEN – SOME PRELIMINARY RAMBLINGS ON POSSIBLE META
We're only two episodes in (soon to be three), but noting that Moonlight Chicken is an eight-parter – that means we're already a quarter of the way through. 👀
So (based on Director Aof's previous work, like Bad Buddy) I'm fully invested in believing that the first few episodes (at least the first two) are going to be reasonably heavy with planted elements that will reveal their true significance as the plot unfurls.
It's a bit of a guessing game at the moment what these elements are, but there are already some leading contenders. And how they'll be relevant to later plot developments remains to be seen, but we should be finding out pretty soon! 😍
Top of everyone's list so far has got to be the moon, of course. It's in the title of the series, in the theme song, it's the brand of Jim's favorite beer and it's the central element of the Mid-Autumn Festival (which is exactly when Jim meets Wen).
According to Chinese belief (remembering that Moonlight Chicken is set within a Thai-Chinese context), the moon is at its roundest and brightest on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon in Chinese culture and tradition is referenced in various ways, but its chief significance at the Mid-Autumn Festival is that it represents the concept of reunion, especially reunion of the family (paralleled by the belief of the moon returning to its fullest and most complete form at this specific time of the year). And I think this conception of the moon as a metaphor for idealized completeness (whether in home or family life, or even in your own heart) is especially relevant to Jim and Wen.
What we see in Episodes 1 and 2 is that their lives are still incomplete in some ways. Wen's home life is marked by emptiness, with his partner Alan most notable for his absence than anything else. The lack of even a household animal for companionship in the residence they share is made all the more stark when we see how naturally and immediately affectionate Wen is with Jim's pet cat at Ep.1 [2/4] 1.11. (Part of me wishes Jimbo was a rabbit though! Because in Thai and Chinese belief it's a rabbit that lives on the moon. 🐇🌙💖 You can see a bunny on Jim's beer can because of this.)
Jim, on the other hand, does have (found) family all around him – Saleng and Li Ming read like his surrogate children to me, and he's also somewhat of a patriarch to the neighborhood (everyone calls him Loong, meaning Elder Uncle). But Jim's is a one-parent family that is rambunctious, needy and sprawling, and in giving so much of himself he's finding it tough to cope alone (while at the same time mysteriously rebuffing all efforts to shift him away from his state of singlehood).
I think this point about the incompleteness of Jim's family life is also underscored right at the very start of Ep.1, when he steps out of his diner into the street at the end of the opening scene – in the forefront of the shot is a makeshift altar for Mid-Autumn offerings, which you can logically expect to be the focal point of a family's rituals during this season of reunion.
But Jim stands there alone, and contemplates the moon, the altar and the street with no one by his side. 😥
This moment of solitude is referenced yet again in the scene at Ep.1 [1I4] 11.58, when the kindly neighborhood auntie reminds Jim to pray at another moon festival altar, and then speaks of his (or his and Wen's? 🤔) future children – once again the idea of completing one's family is being evoked (with the subtext being that Jim's own family life has yet to achieve completeness).
I also think Auntie mistakes Jim and Wen for a couple, and Jim plays along by taking Wen's joss sticks from him to plant into the holder together (which is why Wen looks a little taken aback at his forwardness, but this moment nevertheless foreshadows their coming together later):
So far, so obvious. But for me the one element in Ep.1 that absolutely crackles with parallels and sparks of potential future significance was revealed at Ep.1 [2/4] 3.20, when Wen looks at Jim's DVD:
The subtitles are a bit of a mish-mash here, and do not match what Wen reads off the DVD cover.
The English title for this 1996 Hong Kong movie is Comrades: Almost a Love Story (and it's a much-loved classic of contemporary Chinese cinema). But its Thai name is very different: เถียน มี มี่ 3650 วันรักเธอคนเดียว, which translates to something like Tian Mi Mi 3650 Days of Love for You Alone. (The Thai title is what we hear Wen reading.)
The Tian Mi Mi part is actually a nod to the movie's Chinese title (甜蜜蜜, pronounced tián mì mì in Mandarin, and this means something like sweet as honey, i.e., very sweet). But it's not the literal meaning that's being referenced here – Tian Mi Mi is also the title of an iconic Mandarin pop song by the singer Teresa Teng, and indeed the extensive repertoire of the late Taiwanese chanteuse is heavily used in the movie Comrades: Almost a Love Story, not just as background music but also as a feature around which a lot of the plot revolves.
Significantly, Moonlight Chicken's own theme song is another of Teresa Teng's greatest hits – The Moon Represents My Heart (月亮代表我的心/yuè liang dài biǎo wǒ de xīn) and it's no coincidence that Moonlight Chicken's creators have chosen it.
youtube
Among all of Teresa Teng's recordings, The Moon Represents My Heart has also acquired an unexpected queer connection (see this explanation linked here). This surprising relevance to (Chinese) LGBTQ+ history and romance thus makes its use in this Thai-Chinese BL especially appropriate, in addition to the lunar reference. (Interestingly, the lyrics aren't so much about the reunion of loved ones, but more about the authenticity and unchanging nature of true love, with the moon here symbolic of that which is profound, constant and without guile.)
But the inclusion of The Moon Represents My Heart in this BL is also a nod to the songs used in Comrades: Almost a Love Story. I think they're making it clear that there will be other parallels between this movie and Moonlight Chicken, and so we should watch out for them too.
With that mandate in mind – Comrades: Almost a Love Story is about two very different individuals from mainland China (northerner Li Xiaojun and southerner Li Qiao) who move to vibrant 1985 Hong Kong in pursuit of their dreams for a better future. After a brief dalliance, their lives take them in different directions, and they only reunite, in New York City, after 10 years have passed. Their old feelings having remained true, and we are shown not just them getting back together, but also (in a flashback) that their pairing was always cosmically meant to be.
Moonlight Chicken's lunar symbolism at the Mid-Autumn festival (that of reunion) and its theme song are certainly called to mind by Xiaojun and Li Qiao's inevitable reunion at the end of the film. And the 10-year interval in their relationship explains why Comrades: Almost a Love Story's Thai title mentions 3650 days (approximately 10 years).
My Big-Brained Sweetheart (the other beloved BBS in my life) is watching along with me, and thinks that Wen's misreading of "3650 days" as "365 days" is signaling Moonlight Chicken's own trajectory for its two main protagonists – their proper coming together (or coming together again, if it is to be a reunion or reconciliation) may happen after a year, not ten. And I can't say I'm not intrigued by this idea.
So maybe they'll tie up Jim and Wen's story at the following year's Mid-Autumn Festival? With a resolution that calls to mind Li Qiao and Xiaojun's? The series' short run of only eight episodes means that this will precede 2023's actual festival by more than six months (taking Moonlight Chicken's timeline out from the past and into the future). Unless there's more of their story planned for broadcast when the Mid-Autumn Festival rolls around again in September 2023... 🤔
Anyway, that's not the only connection Jim's DVD movie has with Moonlight Chicken.
In Comrades: Almost a Love Story, the character of Li Xiaojun is played by the singer-actor Leon Lai (a superstar of the period). Leon Lai is better-known as Lai Ming (黎明) among Cantonese speakers (his surname is pronounced Lai in Cantonese, as it also is in his dad's Hakka dialect), but in Mandarin his name is pronounced Li Ming – and it's exactly the same name as that of Fourth's rebellious, restless character in Moonlight Chicken.
So Moonlight Chicken's Li Ming is named not after Li Xiaojun, but after the actor who plays him – I wasn't sure before, but now that the Mandarin subtitles are out I can confirm that this link is true. (There are many different Chinese characters that are phonetically rendered as li and ming – the only way to be absolutely sure of Li Ming's name is to see the actual characters themselves.)
But Leon Lai himself has acknowledged (in a Cantonese interview, cited on Wikipedia at this link here) that Xiaojun's story also parallels his own (they share the same surname 黎, and Leon was also uprooted from his Beijing birthplace in the north and moved to Hong Kong during his youth, when his Indonesian Hakka father shifted them there).
So Li Ming's story in Moonlight Chicken may well have parallels with Li Xiaojun's in Comrades: Almost a Love Story. I can certainly see how his yearning for a different life, possibly in the faraway west (when he was drawn to the Work/Travel scheme in Ep.2 [3I4]) could match how Comrades: Almost a Love Story's Xiaojun ends up in New York.
And there's still more. 👀
Li Ming's Chinese name (黎明) also plays off themes involving the moon, glinting with variously shaded meanings depending on how you illuminate it. This may have been why the writers chose to use Leon Lai's name instead of the character Li Xiaojun's – the layers of meaning are off the charts. 👍
The Li part of Li Ming (黎) on its own can mean muchness or plenitude, but it can also mean darkness or blackness. The Ming part (明) means brightness (and can mean both well-lit as well as intelligent, just like it does in English).
So one reading of his name is an abundance of brightness, but that's not the usual connotation. The words li ming together (黎明) actually mean dawn. Aside from signaling new beginnings, the dawn is logically (and poetically) also one time when the darkness of the night (li/黎) meets the brightness of day (ming/明). It is thus also a time when polar opposites (night and day, but also moon and sun) meet in a shared moment of reunion, echoing one of Moonlight Chicken's (possibly) central themes. 😍
This coming together of contrasts is also reflected in the Ming part of Li Ming's name. The character 明 (ming) that means brightness is itself made up of two characters that denote the two brightest elements in the sky – 日 (ri, that used to mean sun but is now more identified with day) and 月 (yue, that means month or moon – to refer to the moon formally it's usually combined with the character 亮/liang to form 月亮/yueliang, which is what we see in the Moonlight Chicken theme song title.)
So the Ming in Li Ming's name quite literally encompasses the conjoining of opposites (sun and moon) as well.
I've not fully decided who or what all this refers to yet, but a post by @respectthepetty (linked here) has more to say on the significance of the dawn in Moonlight Chicken and certainly helps point the way. 👍
For the moment though, the characters of Heart and Li Ming seem to me to be as much kindred as they are contrasting, despite their obvious differences in station. Both boys are trapped by circumstances in settings from which they long to break free – Heart within an oppressive, non-communicative family, and Li Ming in his uncle's world, where he feels he doesn't belong. In this, the plight of Li Xiaojun and Li Qiao as outsiders in Hong Kong and later New York also parallels Heart and Li Ming's fish-out-of-water situations.
And reading in tandem with parallels from Comrades: Almost a Love Story, Li Ming's name is undoubtedly signaling certain directions.
Both Heart and Li Ming are from different worlds (like Li Qiao's Guangzhou in the south and Xiaojun's Tianjin in the north, and also the dark night and bright day referenced in the dawn meaning of Li Ming's name).
But they are similar too, just as the sun and moon (that we can see in Li Ming's name) are both bright celestial bodies, and like how Li Qiao and Xiaojun are also bonded in their shared love for the songs of Teresa Teng. Like both sets of examples, (Li Qiao and Xiaojun, the sun and moon) it could be that Heart and Li Ming are destined to come together at some special point, in spite of their differences (as difficult or unlikely as this may be).
To escape the constraints of their vastly differing worlds, they'll need to find that secret third place (their own dawn) where their own union and new beginning can happen, and for their light to shine together. (I can see this perhaps applying to Jim and Wen too, so... nothing is confirmed! 😊)
Sorry to ramble, but they've given us a lot of food for thought. 🤔Now on to the rest of the show, and to see how much of this pans out (and how much will fall by the wayside). Episode 3 is taking us to Loi Krathong, so hopefully we'll get to see more of the Thai side of things as well. 🤩
126 notes
·
View notes
Text
MLB Paris special
I've been saying it before and I'm saying it even louder now: these writers are good at self-contained episodes, it's serialisation they can't handle. This is yet another testament to the fact that when they get the time to flesh out their ideas and dwell on their details, this universe is brilliant.
That said, this is by far the weakest of the specials yet, thanks mostly to the way it falls back on some of the mawkiest lines this show has produced. Where Shanghai and NYC had moments of Our Heroes in genuinely dire situations, this one was essentially your normal akuma battle with a few extra bells and whistles, which they resolve by giving their emo counterparts a pep talk about how they can totally be good people like them, just look on the bright side of life! The lucky charm blatantly frames this as some sort of facing-your-inner-demons tale, which would have worked if
a) these had been doubts Marinette and Adrien had faced this very episode, but last time Adrien had a thought about the fact that he recently lost his mum in canon timeline was "Felix", and Marinette's experience in being bitter and alone was, oh yeah, never.
b) we had a bit more background on emoverse ladynoir than their telling us the reason they're angry
In essence: this brings about zero epiphanies to our ladynoir like the NYC special did, and emoverse ladynoir don't have the on-screen backstories like Fei for their turn-around to be narratively satisfying. Marinette's speech at Emobug reads like an inspirational quote our aunts post on Facebook; harmless, and true in essence, but ooooh boy the that's easy for you to say.
It works simultaneously better and worse with Adrien-Emonoir, where Adrien's side is A+ character moment and Emonoir's is jazz_music_stops.jpg because this boy lived better circumstances than our Adrien, but became a trigger-happy supervillain? and here I thought losing a parent and being neglected by the other one wasn't a sympathetic explanation for why you'd turn to violence against the world around you
Where NYC and Shanghai had my heart, this one was just sparkly, but sparkly at least in a way it's been a while since this show has felt.
(I mean, there's the "Gabriel Agreste is a hero at his core and deserved the statue" propaganda and "why yes, their team-up in the end can be taken as foreshadowing of Marinette's decision to side with Gabriel in the S5 finale being framed as a good and kind thing for Adrien", but I'll refrain from going into that wank. We're all strong independent adults capable of grappling with the unfortunate implications of a work of fiction)
Have some bullet points:
I called them "bells and whistles" but emoverse ladynoir carries this special alone, and boy howdy do they CARRY it
Some really nifty scenes here, with particular kudos to the slo-mo akumatisation of Cat Noir
ouch but the parallel akumatisation of father and son from different universes was an unfortunate one (see: "Gabriel is a hero at core" propaganda)
speaking of: ~Cat Blanc trauma~ died with "Jubilation" and this is the funeral
So much lore being made up just to justify the plot beats of this special, gotta love it
Excuse me, I got brainworms from emoverse ladynoir being physically marked by the damaged caused by their misuse of their miraculous and the way this never is compared to Gabriel's shiny new handprint
Or at least named as the reason why they're so desperate and bitter, rather than the diet coke explanation we got
I can't believe what a bitter old crone I've become to roll my eyes when Ladybug has a moment of shoddily set up "oh no I can't do it" so that Cat Noir can put a hand on his shoulder and look her in the eye and say "I always believe in you, milady". To be fair I think this would've touched me if it hadn't been like a year and half since "Strike Back" aired
On the bright side, this one episode does Alya more justice than all the rest of S5 did
did emoverse!Chloé have Sabine deported?
I can't believe Claw Noir didn't at least get rid of the mullet
I can't believe that trailer showed us all we were getting of emoverse Alya and Nino. ROBBED.
The emotional aftermath of "Destruction" really was
ADRIEN: Plagg, I think I killed a man and that makes me uncomfortable
PLAGG: Okay, but please consider: cheese
Why, IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, was this scene of Gabriel almost going into Adrien's room after the cataclysm not in the show proper
Adrien was so excited to talk about Nino's favourite film. It is now canon that Adrien is that person who genuinely enjoys avant-garde cinema
Best part: emoverse ladynoir teaming up with Hawkmoth to form a visual kei Team Rocket, complete with sarcastic nicknames
Monarch, sorry (something something you're giving into his power by acknowledging his self-proclaimed change in name), but I dig that they kept up the continuity of the fashion disaster he was for these early S5 episodes
Worst part: Superfluous multiverse jumping fanservice. If you needed to pad for time, it should've been spent on emoverse ladynoir flashbacks
I can't wait for the S6 reveal that Chloé personally caused the climate crisis, founded daesh and killed Mother Teresa
16 notes
·
View notes
Text
How to Rest Director's Commentary—Chapter 5
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |
Chapter 5 is all about the vibes and the warmth and little moments that are full of feeling. It’s a short chapter, but it’s a major turning point for Essek and Caleb, even though nothing happens that is terribly surprising or even out of the ordinary. For Caleb, he is integrating his past with his present and trying to reconcile the pride and grief that comes with doing that. He is ready to really settle into his new life, and he wants to make it clear to Essek that he is included in it. And Essek, well… he has some feelings about that :)
Let’s discuss!
(spoiler warning for the entirely of How to Rest)
Going into this chapter, I knew that it was going to be where Essek realizes that he is in love with Caleb. The reason I use ‘in love’ specifically—and frequently with italics—is that I need there to be a distinction between that and “they love each other,” because of course they love each other. This fic is about the development of Essek and Caleb’s relationship, but I feel it would be ridiculous for me to say that they don’t love each other at the start but by the end they do. Love is such a vast word that can encompass so many feelings and versions of feelings, and I think they have felt many things for each other that could be classified as love. But I feel confident in saying that they weren’t in love at the start of this fic. On their way there perhaps, but it’s in this chapter that things start falling into place so that by the end of it, the wizards can land softly and happily in love.
It was all still quite new to him. His towers in Rosohna had been impressive, but for all their spaciousness, they had never held so much warmth and welcome. He had never had someone he was eager to return to, nor anyone who was excited to see him return, and he had never anticipated how much good it would do his heart.
For all the ways his life is more difficult now, Essek is happier than he has ever been. He has friends who care for him and who he cares for. He may not have a home, but Caleb’s house is as good as, and whenever/wherever he is with Caleb, he feels at home.
Currently, he sat on a couch in Caleb’s study, eyes half-lidded as he basked in late afternoon sunlight filtering through gauzy curtains—another new warmth Caleb offered him.
Essek has always been extremely cat-coded, and it showed up here. mostly by accident lol
My mental image of Essek relaxing while Caleb worked plus atmospheric descriptions equaled Essek basking in the sun doing squinty, slow blinks at Caleb. Yes, he’s got sensitive eyes that he must protect from the sun, but he’s also doing the cat “I love you” because parallel play is a love language and Essek loves Caleb very much.
And with Private Sanctum making it so that no one can see inside their windows, Essek can enjoy the sunlight without fear. And the sunlight is “another new warmth” because Essek’s feelings for Caleb are warm, Caleb’s actions are warm, the space and time they share together are warm. The warmth is essential.
Caleb stoppered the vial in his hand and set it on the shelf above his desk. He stilled for a fraction of a second, then he reached for one of the gemstones laid out before him and began the process of transmuting it into dust. “I know this cannot be home for you just yet—maybe ever—but I thought that perhaps it could be something close to that. A home base, of sorts. A place you can rest.”
Last chapter, Caleb told Essek that there was a place for him here with Caleb, but Essek’s response of “someday, maybe” seemed to indicate some doubt in that statement. It’s not that Essek doesn’t want that and it’s not that he doubts Caleb, but Essek was in the thick of it, and couldn’t really see Caleb saying that as anything other than a naive hope.
And Caleb realized that it kind of was, at least with things as they were. So he’s making good on that promise by securing his house even more, so that even if Essek can’t stay forever, maybe he will be able to see this house as somewhere he can always return to.
Caleb realizes that what he is doing is not a small or casual gesture, which is why he hesitates for a moment and why he is turned away and doing something to occupy his hands while telling Essek. He’s nervous. What if it’s too much? What if it’s not wanted?
Essek stood silently from the couch and drifted to the other side of the room, the sunlight less compelling than the growing warmth in his chest.
We open with Essek appreciating the sun and its warmth, but ultimately, it is Caleb and the things he does for Essek and the things that he makes Essek feel that draw Essek in.
Were it not for his respect for Caleb’s sorting, knowing it was his own kind of meditation, Essek would have turned Caleb around and kissed him.
This is another instance of it being pretty obvious when a part of this fic was drafted. Shoutout to that one 4 Sided Dive where Matt said that Essek would generally be an annoying roommate, but that he and Caleb would room well together because they are both very organized. The sorting and preparation of components is a sacred time in the shadowgast household, not to be interrupted by such base things as kissing.
But seriously, there is a time and place for dramatic kisses, and this is just not the chapter for them.
But as it was, he merely stepped up beside him, grabbed a knife and licorice root, and began cutting it into long, thin strips for Caleb to use later.
In his periphery, he saw Caleb pause and take a breath. Then there was the increasingly familiar pressure of Caleb’s lips against his shoulder for a second. Two. Then back to work.
This is Essek saying yes. Yes, his home can be here, with Caleb. He’s ready to be more than just a visitor. Caleb recognizes this and has to take a moment to breathe. In another world (another chapter? the next one perhaps 👀?), this would be a time for something big and romantic, but they are talking with too much subtext, even though their understanding of each other is clear. It’s just… not time for that yet. And with the way that they are, a quiet moment like this is big and it is romantic.
In time, the golden glow of late afternoon shifted to a blazing orange, then again to a soft pink heralding the swift approach of night. Caleb stilled Essek’s hand as he reached for a label to affix to a jar and tangled their fingers together.
“I want to show you something,” he said, eyes bright, his smile gentle.
Caleb waited specifically for dusk so that Essek wouldn’t have to deal with the bright sun in his eyes while he showed him his apple trees.
Caleb scratched at his chin with his free hand. “I have been thinking again. About time and the past and the future,” he said. “My parents were farmers, you know. Every Harvest’s Rise, they would tear me away from my books and make me help with planting that year’s crop.” He chuckled. “I hated it, but there was something special about harvesting them in the fall and knowing all the work and the waiting that went into a meal. And now that I am making a home for myself here, I find that I have missed it. So…” He gestured to his saplings. “Apple trees.”
I picked apple trees as the meaningful plant for a couple reasons. First, there is the obvious: Caleb loves apple tarts, and the memory of his mother’s is a fond one. Second, apple trees don’t produce fruit for a few years after planting, so he is committing himself to this place and making plans that won’t see results for some time. Time and the past and the future.
Apple blossoms also apparently symbolize ‘preference’, so there’s that too. (But I didn’t know that while writing this chapter, and I don’t think it adds any significant additional meaning, buuuut it’s kinda cute kinda sweet.)
“I have submitted my application for Soltryce.”
“Oh,” Essek said. He hadn’t realized it was time for that already. Still— “That is good.”
“If all goes well, ja.”
“You think it won’t?”
Caleb pursed his lips. “No. But it is good to consider the possibility.”
“True enough.”
Another plan for the future, though this one is a little more immediate. It will be a big change though, so it’s nerve-wracking, which is why he’s steeling himself for the possibility of it not working out.
Figuring out the placement of this section was difficult. I didn’t have a discussion of Soltryce in my plans for this chapter, but I needed to establish that it was happening for the next chapter. I was worried that its inclusion was clunky, but I think applying to Soltryce and having to tell Essek works as a catalyst for why Caleb is having so many thoughts about what brought him to this point and what his life will look like years from now.
“I have not regretted my decision to destroy the T-Dock, but… I like the life I am building here, and I—” His voice caught. “I wish that my parents could be part of it.”
Caleb realizes that him bringing up the past and his parents could potentially read as regret, so he’s getting ahead of that, but it’s important for him to be able to express grief that he does feel proud of where he is and what he is doing but that his parents won’t be able to see it or celebrate it with him.
“I know I cannot go back,” Caleb said. “I don’t feel that pull anymore. But I do miss them.” He sniffed. “But this way—using what they taught me—it is like they are here with me. Not just in the Tower in a room frozen in time. A piece of them is moving forward with me, growing as I do. I am not just leaving them behind.”
For so long, Caleb kept his parents alive in his mind through his plan to go back in time and save them, but now that he has let that dream go and destroyed the very possibility of it, he has had to come up with a new way to keep them with him. Yes, there is the Tower, but it is ephemeral and if that’s his only “physical” connection to his family, he’s still living in the past. And again, he likes his life now; he wants to live it.
So he puts his memory of them into trees that remind him of them, but that will grow and change.
“Someday, I will be gone. A long while from now, if I am lucky. […] But these trees will remain. And because I helped them to grow, so will I.”
Caleb doesn’t have ambitions of living forever or extending his natural lifespan, but I don’t think it’s out of the question for him to want to feel like a part of him will live on after he dies. And I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that Caduceus had a chat with Caleb similar to the one he had with Essek back in Chapter 3, with the
“Missing people is a consequence of loving them; it doesn’t just go away,” Caduceus said. “But a part of them stays here in the flowers they planted, and every day I can go into the garden and see the evidence of them and feel their love—for me, for each other—even if they aren’t here physically.”
“It is not the same, though.”
“No,” Caduceus said. “But it helps, on the bad days.”
How these apple trees grow will be a direct result of the work Caleb puts into cultivating them, so they will, in a sense, be keepers of his memory. And because Caleb has already designated them as keepers of his parents’ memory, he will live on with them in these trees.
And I think there is a part of Caleb that hopes that by sharing this thought process, the trees can be a gift for Essek after Caleb is gone. The same way Caleb keeps his parents with him through them, Essek can perhaps feel like Caleb is with him. And even though it won’t be the same, Caleb knows that this thinking helps him and hopes that it may prove true for Essek as well.
A nascent, premature grief seized Essek’s throat at the thought, forcing itself to be known before he was able to set it aside. He knew this. Had acknowledged it, considered it, and accepted it. It was as Caleb said: there was a long road between then and now, and whatever sadness lay at the end of it was inconsequential to the happiness Essek knew because of Caleb Widogast.
At this point in time, I don’t have much interest in delving into the details of the shadowgast lifespan angst in my own fics, but it’s not something I can just ignore. So this is kind of where I sit with it. I don’t want either of them to be in denial about how this will end, but I also don’t want it to be a constant source of anxiety or fear (kinda goes against the vibes of this fic). One day, Caleb will be gone and Essek will miss him terribly, but Essek’s life is better with Caleb in it now, and will continue to be better as Caleb stays in it. It doesn’t do either of them any good to temper happiness now with grief from the future. It will inevitably show up from time to time, but it does not have to be a constant companion.
“It will be a good life, I think.” He turned to Essek. “I am glad you are a part of it.”
These lines make me feel insane (tone indicator positive so positive). Like, here’s Caleb, who for so many years had very little regard for himself, imagining the whole of his life and saying “yeah, this is a good thing.” And THEN telling Essek that he wants to include Essek in it??? that he is part of what makes it good??? help me????
Essek smiled, not caring to hide it. He brought their intertwined hands up to his chest, hoping Caleb could feel how his heart leapt. “I am glad to be part of it.”
Like shut up he loves Caleb so much and Caleb loves him. The showing and the telling and they’re just HAPPY to have each other it’s cool I’m FINE
Caleb’s eyes crinkled at the corners, the sunset colors bringing out the pink in his cheeks, and Essek had a realization.
It hit him with a longing ache that buried itself deep in his bones. He had caught glimpses of it before—during evenings spent reading on the couch, days spent creating spells together—but it had never been so clear as it was in this moment. He wanted more of this. He could have more of this.
It was important to me that Essek was not blindsided by this realization. This is where they were heading this whole time. He had pieces of the puzzle before, but now he’s seeing the whole image and it makes perfect sense that this is how it all fits together.
But what does surprise him is how deeply being in love affects him. Before the Mighty Nein and before Caleb, I highly doubt Essek Thelyss imagined himself sharing his life with another person, let alone wanting to. And to have that be a feeling that excites him, that doesn’t scare him anymore, is an incredible thing.
Caleb was offering this life—his life—to Essek.
Back on my Ed/Winry FMA:B bs. I mean, how could I not be when “something something hands used to killing becoming hands that care and tend to life something something fullmetal alchemist knew what was upppp” is like, the third sentence in my planning doc for this chapter.
Listen, there’s just something about transmutation specialists offering their lives to someone else that really gets me. I’m not drawing a parallel between Ed/Winry and Essek/Caleb—I don’t think there’s enough there to make a good one—but I won’t deny that the FMA:B train station scene had some influence in phrasing when I realized what was happening here (and some influence on my life in general tbh).
They could tend to these trees and watch them flourish under their care. Caleb would grow old beneath them, and Essek could be by his side, and they could have months and hours and years of being together, utterly and completely in love.
There it is! He’s put a name to it!!! He is in love with Caleb and wants to spend every part of Caleb’s life with him! The thought of Caleb growing old beside him is a good one!
“In a couple years,” Caleb said, unaware that Essek was in love with him, “these trees will produce fruit. And one day when that happens, I will come home from work, and you will come to visit, and we will bake apple tarts.”
This is another way Caleb tells Essek that he expects him to be part of his life for years. And it also shows an acceptance of the fact that Essek perhaps cannot stay with him long-term and that he has found a way to incorporate Essek’s transience into his plans.
And I love the line “…Caleb said, unaware that Essek was in love with him,” because Essek has just had this huge moment of clarity and Caleb is thinking about them baking together. Nothing has changed except that now Essek Knows. He is having these big feelings, but Caleb reminds us that this is just a small moment, and I love the juxtaposition of these things.
I adore this chapter. It was a unique challenge to figure out how to write Caleb just talking and Essek just listening while they stand in the backyard, and to make that interesting and engaging and making sure it conveys how important this moment is to both of them despite the lack of action and two-way dialogue.
#y'all ready for some FEELS#because I am in them in this chapter#and so are Caleb and Essek#shadowgast#essek thelyss#caleb widogast#eve talks#eve’s writing#how to rest#how to rest director's commentary#chattering at birds
5 notes
·
View notes
Note
mr bones! what are your plans for Mousewhisker, Berrynose and Hazeltail in your AU, since they're some of the very few genetically pure lines in ThunderClan? I always thought it was such a waste to kill Hazeltail off and then to have Mousewhisker alive and kicking, but, like, never father kits or even take a mate?
If the Frostfour haunt my dreams (derogatory), the Daisychain haunts my dreams (affectionate)
They were done MEGA dirty by the narrative and I plan to shake them up massively, but because they have so many things going on, it's really hard to commit.
I'll go in order of MOST SOLID reworks, and finish off with the Daisykin I'm still waffling about
Berrynose
Virtually unchanged. He's great as-is. He will be the mate of Poppyfrost and have two kits with her; the only thing different about Berrynose is that he's getting a fiercer rivalry with Lionblaze.
I will tell you that I briefly considered having them be enemies-to-lovers because I have brainrot. But I ruled on the side of preserving canon and drawing out drama between Lion and Cinder, lmao
Mousewhisker
Is going to be a relatively tame background warrior like in canon, up to The Broken Code. We're following up on his secret relationship with Minnowtail, possibly even giving him RiverClan kits.
He gets targeted in the codebreaker saga, and is going to receive a punishment of some sort. He will probably take the place of Rosepetal in this arc, being Bristlefrost's mentor, and dying in that skirmish. Berrynose and Mousewhisker are both going to die in TBC; but when is undecided because of Cherryfall, see below
Hazeltail
I'm annoyed by her unceremonious greencough death, but I'm not completely against her dying in an epidemic. She may also die in the Great Battle.
If she lives, she will be taking the place of Mousewhisker after his death in TBC, ESPECIALLY if the Erins get some sense and give him a canon litter.
She is also a transwoman; an identical twin of Mousewhisker. Start praying that Mousewhisker gets that canonical litter because whoever the mate is WILL get lesbian'd by this.
Daisy
Daisy deserves a much better treatment from the narrative. She saves her kittens from being taken by a twoleg who took Floss' litter before they were old enough to open their eyes, helps to raise every litter post-TNP, and makes a statement that there's more to a clan than just fighting
She's staying in my arsenal as a level head who the more reactionary cats of the clan shout over when conflicts are spiralling out of control. A shorthand for "ThunderClan is no longer being rational."
She's also a really close ally of Squirrelflight, and becomes a very good builder along with Spiderleg and Jessy. If Squilf gets another mate, it'll be around the Daisy's Kin era, after they both help each other realize they don't need to keep crawling back to mates that aren't good for them
(It's still a maybe though! But it does parallel something I went through, so I would really want to get it right for them <3)
Also side note Smoky can go weave a basket, absolute loser
Rosepetal
I care immensely about Rosepetal.
She CANNOT have that unceremonious death in TBC it was an absolute waste. One of the worst in the series. I refuse.
I am considering giving her most of Cherryfall's screentime, since they both have overlap as a set of overlooked Daisykin twins with no offspring. Rose will be going on Alderpaw's journey, however it ends up being reworked.
Molewhisker & Cherryfall/Toadstep
I want to keep at least one of Berry/Poppyfrost's kids around, and I'm leaning towards Molewhisker. He's named after his uncle who didn't survive apprenticeship, and the 'competent respected warrior' role is already filled by Rosepetal.
So Cherryfall will probably get killed as background fodder (possibly in the imposter skirmish to infuriate Berrynose like in canon), and Toadstep is dying of greencough while Spiderleg/thorn survives. I want Spider to feel the pain of burying a child to regret his absence in his son's life.
It's a bit of a shame because I quite like Toadstep, and I love Cherryfall's name, but everything about them is covered better by their siblings. They're better off as kills.
#Daisykin#Daisychain#Toadstep#Cherryfall#Rosepetal#Daisy#Spiderleg#Hazeltail#Mousewhisker#Berrynose#Bonefall Rewrite
66 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hellloooo there! 💖💖💖 I come bearing questions for both Jia and Miraak, my beloveds!
3. weapon of choice? any particular reason they chose their weapon?
7. favorite animal? why?
9. favorite food? least favorite? are they a picky eater? do they have any dietary restrictions?
11. what do they have in common with you? how are they different? would you get along with them?
17. how did they spend their summers/free time as a child?
19. are they quick to anger? what sets them off?
24. do they have any creative hobbies? (art, writing, music, etc)
🧡ask game🧡
OUAARGH SO MANY QUESTIONS FOR THE BLORBOS...😭🥺 Thank you so so so much, my friend, both Jia and Miraak kiss you and love you! 🥰
3. That's actually a very interesting question and something I look forward to writing in TPATD! First off, Jia is a spellsword, so she mostly uses a conjured sword, bow, or dagger—she likes being light on her feet, so she doesn't carry too much weight on her. Miraak, on the other hand, is a battlemage so he also relies on his magic as well as blunt and blade weapons. BUT! At some point in their story, two specific weapons will be their absolute signature weapons... For Miraak that will be the Staff of Magnus and for Jia Auriel's Shield; they'll both have SUCH badass moments while utilizing their powers... Let's say that these weapons kind of chose their owners! 👀
7. Oh, that's a difficult one because they're both so in love with nature it's challenging to pick just one! I'd say for Jia every kind of bird—swallows, sparrows, ravens, owls, falcons, hummingbirds, skylarks, starlings, wrens, you name it! If it's feathered and winged, she loves it! For Miraak, I believe he would eventually end up choosing sea mammals. After all, growing up in Jylkurfyk and having the Sea of Ghost's cetacean awe before his very eyes, it's only natural!
9. Picky eaters??? Dietary restrictions??? Hell no, these two dragons can eat literally everything. Jia has a huge sweet tooth, so anything that has sugar in it, she'll devour it—her favorites are either snowberry crostata or lavender dumplings! And Miraak—while he likes sweets like her, he's more inclined to the savory food. He favors salty and spicy meals, so put every herb inside his broth and he'll purr like a content cat.
11. Hmm... I'd said before that Jia is my self-insert in many things. I believe that her anxiety, her dangerous balance between confidence and insecurity, and her avoidance are some of our shared negatives. Her loyalty, her selflessness, her need to nurture and protect her loved ones, and her love for the world, are our shared positives. I'm not as courageous and resourceful as her, and she's not as jolly and humorous as I am, so I only hope we take more traits from one another! As for Miraak... He's written as both my idealized man as well as the male version of myself—again, his love for nature and arts, aka his inclination to music and poetry, his general awkwardness, and his cringey social attitude are definitely my vibes. I'd get along very well with both of them, really. I don't know if they'd like me though. I'd invade their personal space with frequent hugs.
17. I want you to make the mental pictures: imagine a little Jia escaping the Companions' training sessions, and either carrying a pile of books taller than her, sitting in Jorrvaskr's garden and trying to read under the sun (even though she couldn't yet, those books were her father's and were written in Old Cyrodilic), or plucking every single alchemy ingredient she could find around, shoving it into her mouth and having Skjor and Kodlak scold her. And then, in some parallel universe, imagine a little Miraak with his bare feet and dirty, threadbare clothes escaping his father's exhausting chores, and either singing around Jylkurfyk, helping his mother heal the ill, or getting taught magic by her, when she had free time...🥰
19. I think I've described this before, but yes, Jia is very quick to anger and she has no patience whatsoever. Her anger ignites like wildfire, and it's a very difficult feat to calm herself from her wrath. That's one of her greatest weaknesses as she becomes uncontrollable and lethal, nearly losing her sanity... Miraak, on the other hand, keeps his cool in his anger. In contrast with Jia's, his is like ice spears—precise, but no less deadly than her firestorm. It's this juxtaposition I have set on them, of ice and fire, both different but destructive in their own way.
24. Jia is certainly less artistic than Miraak but... is gardening considered a creative hobby? 🤔 If yes, she can spend many many hours in her garden, tending her plants and vegetables, planting, watering, weeding, fertilizing, pruning, and harvesting to promote the growth and health of her cultivations. If baking, alchemy experimenting, studying, and making little diaries of useful bits of information and facts are considered creative hobbies I'm also adding those. Miraak is a bit more creative, art-wise. He sings and psalms a lot when no one's listening (except Jia), he writes poems to her like the sappy man he is, and he sews with Alteration Magic so his magic needles are always enchanted and his clothes always shimmer with magicka. 🥰
#ough that came out big#i loved these questions tho!#miraak#oc: jia#otp: twin flames#the priest and the dragoness#skyrim#skyrim fanfiction#skyrim ocs
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
Season 1, Episode 8 the lucky cat caper for @csweekly
Another of my favorite episodes almost entirely thanks to Chase Devineaux and his beloved coat. RIP
The screen is SATURATED in red the ENTIRE exam. Trying to show that Black Sheep was SAFE even if she didn’t realize it at the time.
I find it a neat detail that Carmen here isn’t looking to see if she has the dollar until she’s tried several pockets and has stopped to rest. The scene is really effective for me to show exactly how good she is.
More of Player and Carmen talking through nightmares for their health, please. How many times has this happened before and where are the fics. In general I crave to see more domestic in between caper scenes like this. The downtime. On that same vein, love the insight into the team that the whole scene provides. Player just literally hangs out on the phone with Carmen all day, just for fun. Presumably this is what they always do. Nice reminder that capers aside, they are still each other's best friend and they want to hang out.
CARMEN WANTS TO SPOIL HER FRIENDS. I love the entire auction sequence because probably unsurprisingly her love language to others is gifting/acts of service. Zack’s favorite movie? Yeah let’s get him the car because he’s my driver and I can’t wait to see his reaction. Player wants to spontaneously take up stamp collecting? Yeah I’ll get him the one of a kind stamp to START. Yeah I love Carmen loving her friends. This episode is so chalk full of between the lines team red bonding.
IM SORRY. THE SHOE kills me every time. Season 1 Chase is such a good fumbling foil. I love him so much. He’s on the right track usually but soooooo wrong. Julia again has such patience that she really shouldn’t have to put up with. She’s the most right track but everyone around her has blinders on. Otherwise this show wouldn’t be near as long lol.
First episode with Mime Bomb in the field! He’s such a funky dude. Nice to see that the Faculty have become proficient in mime for him. They took a while to get what he was saying in the opening episodes but now Maelstrom gets him right away. There’s a fic in there somewhere with several (probably creepy) one on one sessions between the two.
I really love that the Cleaners actually clean throughout the show lol. They don’t seem to mind. Probably my favorite of the VILE operatives. They’re just so. Done. Dangerous. Chill.
AND they pause for TEA and gossip. As in Coach Brunt and Shadowsan tensions. Love these guys.
No one backs up Brunt that VILE is family. Like yeah she can live in her own little world. It’s such a pity the show wasn’t able to explore this fully you can see the set up. They wanted to do something and it needed another season to bring it around.
FINE FINE SEND WHOMEVER. The Faculty are simultaneously the cruelest and absolute silliest people on the planet. I love them muchly. Their interactions with each other tickle me to bits.
Assuming The Troll has always been with VILE (since Shadowsan is aware of his existence), he totally made that bomb icon for the tracker app.
Mime Bomb is super clever honestly, to do the bait and switch like that. He uses Tigress and the cat and the store to make a clean getaway (at least from Carmen) WITH the stamp. The entire sequence of events in this episode is extremely entertaining. There’s so much cool stuff going on, either paralleling a previous episode or something new and fun.
Love the shop owner lol. Takes everything in panicked stride.
Chase and Julia are SO close. (Look at that lack of keycard) I'm amused that Carmen gets to witness part of that. And speaking of this interrogation scene, I do think of the interrogation scene from Detective Pikachu every single time I watch this episode. Then I double over laughing.
ON BASTILLE DAY
And the stamp goes into the lucky coat. I'm always in awe of so many moving parts to this episode that all tie neatly together at the end.
When I first watched this i really thought that Carmen would get there in time but Chase’s coat getting shredded is better because then we get one of the best deliveries of any line in the show. The *cracked sob* of SHE iS VICIOUS AND CRUEL is magical. Please appreciate this with me.
Even VILE makes sure their operatives use a seat belt.
LOOK AT HOW HAPPY ZACK iS. And how he wants to replicate the movie he is absolutely a top notch driver but he is a cinnamon roll. The duality of Carmen’s focus and Zack’s childlike delight makes me so happy. And then when he gets into serious mode LOOK at Carmen. She’s halfway convinced she’s not going to make it lol. Take notes, Carmen does not like not being in control of a situation that makes her uncomfortable. She’ll fall off buildings but when she’s being driven somewhere in a high stress situation she fears for her life.
For the record, I hope team red watches the whole Rogue Vendetta series for movie night.
Also the music in this sequence slaps.
“THIS IS EXACTLY WHY IM NOT INVITING YOU ALONG. I CANNOT BE SLOWED DOWN BY CAUTION WORDS” This man. These writers. Off the wall bonkers great.
“The woman beams herself from a fountain pen she can do anything.” Fhfhfgcff
What car number is this again the ongoing joke is superb.
The amount of upper body strength from both women to climb the bridge.
So cool that it’s all parallel to the exam and Carmen gets to sorta put her nightmares to rest. Just in time to have new nightmares next week! :D
I like how the Cleaners just stand by with their metaphorical popcorn and shine a spotlight. Running theory is that they just like the drama.
She got the phone too! I love this ending. Carmen got validation on her own, she doesn’t need the answer over the coat. Even though she gets it next episode haha. It’s freeing though for her to get some resolution here. She’s not dependent on Shadowsan’s reasoning in preparation for the next episode. It’s the message that she’s continually freeing herself from VILE every day.
Oh boy oh boy I can’t wait for next week. The angst monger in me is SALIVATING.
#carmen sandiego#carmen sandiego netflix#carmen sandiego 2019#csweekly#carmen sandiego weekly#cs liveblog
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
There is something neat about Bristlefrost being the one to make the sacrifice play to get rid of Ashfur given the parallels set up between them during the first book. Namely, that like Ashfur, Bristlefrost gets rejected by her love interest in favor of another cat, Spotfur. But by the end of Lost Stars, she's coming to terms with it and actively working to let go of her jealousy toward Spotfur, while Ashfur obviously let his fester. At the very least, it seems clear that Bristlefrost's chapters being unusually focused on romance (especially for the first book in an arc) was purposeful.
#Warrior cats#Warriors#Lost Stars#Spoilers for the rest of The Broken Code but I am p sure people know the end by now#A Light In the Mist spoilers
18 notes
·
View notes
Text
Part 1
Sorry, Tumblr has a 10 image limit, so I had to split this into 2 posts. Back to the cute figures I don't need and will not buy like the responsible adult I am!
Bingfeng is kinda like if two pigs got smooshed together, booty first. Apparently two heads make it twice as stubborn (talk about boar headed, am I right?).
Next.
A floofy little kitty, so cute! Though more often it's compared to a fox or a ferret, it's 100% adorable. In fact, it's considered to be a great pet as just being with it can ease all worries (as real cat owners can affirm).
Next.
No, this is not the birb form of Erlang Shen, though it does have his third eye. Looking mostly like a normal owl except for the extra eye and sounding like a deer for some reason, this little guy was more likely to end up on your plate than as a pet. Apparently eating this cutie could cure certain illnesses, but the guilt you feel will be forever.
Next!
A multi-eared monkey? This seems familiar... but no, this is not Liu'er Mihou, the Six Eared Macaque from JttW, but an entirely different simian with extra hearing holes. This is Chang You, and I couldn't find much about him either. All I could get was that he lives on a mountain (also named Chang You, confusingly), sounded like a person singing, and was an omen of floods in the area, hence the water. He has some overlap with Wuzhiqi, another flood-associated primate, though they don't seem to be related. Perhaps in another sh*tpost....
Next!
Last but not least, Tao Tie! He's actually part of a set with Hundun that I'll talk about some other time that parallels the 4(5) Guardian Beasts called the 4 Fiends. This guy eats everything. The only thing that kept him from eating the whole world was accidentally eating itself!
Whew.
I feel better now, and I totally still don't need these figures at all. Nope, I don't need them one bit!
Seriously.
I don't.
Sh*tpost Masterlist
#mythology sh*tposting#my mom said these were too geeky#no such thing#chinese mythology#journey to the west#bingfeng#jttw#feifei#di niao#tao tie#chang you#liu'er mihou#six eared macaque#wuzhiqi#pop mart#pop mart figures#unfolding the classics series#lmk#lego monkie kid
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
Dissecting the past:
In 2021 I came to realize that I have a past life from another source that is parallel to my life as Ciel. Well, as close to parallel as possible, my birth was 4 years and a few months off. This life and world are an altered version of the one I had as Ciel. One could argue my life as Ciel is from an altered life as well when compared to the current world. I will not bore you (reader) with my rambling on alternate universes or multiverses. The basic idea is that someone changed the world as it was known and now everyone still exists but perhaps differently than how they were. There are now other supernatural beings that have clashed with humans.
As Ciel, I was not aware of this other life. As…hmm what should I call him? Let’s go with “Vincent.” As “Vincent,” I was aware of my life as Ciel. I had the ability to see some of the alterations that took place and what the “true past” was like. I only gained this ability after I inherited what I deemed a curse. Most of my childhood I was unaware of this other life. It wasn’t until my late teens that I was marked. By the time I ran into Sebastian, who wasn’t a demon but something else, I knew it was him instantly. I came on a tad strong, in my defense I was dealing with two lifetimes of trauma. Sadly, he didn’t recall me as most did not. I decided to not divulge our shared past. I was stubborn and hoped he would remember it on his own. I hoped anyone would. (As I still do, yet here I am being vague. I don’t name a source because I want the memories to come back organically. I want someone to stumble upon it and connect the dots for themselves. And yes, there is a bit of fear of someone going, “meh, I don’t see it.”)
Now with two pasts…current day me has had some confusion. It’s kind of like watching two movies at the same time with the exact same actors, set in the same period, and trying to keep them straight. There are some common themes as well. I adopted someone else’s name/identity. I was orphaned. I had a traumatic childhood. I had a brother, though not by blood originally. Undertaker brought him back, yet again. Sebastian wasn’t human and I was still appetizing to him, though he wasn’t a demon. He still loves cats. Undertaker was causing chaos behind the scenes.
More: Sieglinde was considered a witch of the forest, and she had Wolfram by her side. William was too serious for his own good and wanted everything done by the book. Grell was just as murderous as before and still had gender issues. Edward had some weird rivalry with me, though this time he was a woman, and he was interested in Sebastian. Mey-Rin had a small crush on Sebastian. Finny was sunny as always. Bard was kind of moody. Madam Red met her end in front of me again. Lizzie and I loved each other, though it was a little different.
I’m sure you can see how difficult it can be to separate everything. There were things I remembered that I thought was from my time as Ciel that really was as my time as “Vincent.” One major thing, I thought the cult had conducted medical experiments on me and my brother. That was as Vincent. I thought I might have struggled with a morphine dependance at one point, also Vincent. I thought I went through some kind of transformation, despite being very aware of my death…Vincent once more. I’m now filtering any memories that come through, which life does it make more sense in? Some are obvious, others are trickier.
Why am I writing this? I guess I just want to be transparent. I know I can’t be the only one going through this and maybe by sharing this it could help someone else. I tend to keep to myself in the kin community, I am rather shy. But I haven’t heard much on anyone experiencing this. My messages and inbox are always open, if anyone wants to chat or has questions. At the least, I hope someone found this interesting and maybe they’ve gained a new perspective.
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
Stargate rewatch: 1x16 Enigma
Volcano planet!
Narim is the first, but certainly not the last, to fall in insta-love with Sam.
There’s a weird panning shot out from the water jug in the briefing scene. William Gereghty directed the one - he also did The Broca Divide and will go on to several more over the course of the series. They were already getting bored of shooting the briefing room I guess, but why focus on Sam pouring a glass of water she doesn't drink from?
She does hold the glass for the entire scene though, and I can only imagine Amanda Tapping figured that the director made her pour the glass of water, she needed a character reason for it. It's Sam Carter's comfort glass! She needs to know refreshment is nearby after being on hot ashy volcano planet.
Daniel back with his coffee though I see. No hydration, only diuretics Daniel Jackson.
Omoc, you crotchety bastard, I love you. I know Tobin Bell is Jigsaw in the Saw franchise, but I don’t watch those movies, so he’s just Omoc to me.
Nothing says advanced culture like a silver jumpsuit.
Sam is setting up the UAV - this is the first time this appears in the show, and Daniel brought along his coffee to gleefully elude to Narim's crush.
There’s a pattern with the parade of love interests for Sam, a tendency for them to be written/portrayed as…for lack of a better word…wet?
Garwin Sanford commits to the softboi hearteyes vibe though. He’ll bring a similar energy to Narim’s Earth doppelgänger/Weir’s ex on Atlantis.
Daniel has another (?) cup of coffee watching the UAV footage.
Did they ever sell merch of those SGC mugs? I want one!
And Daniel with yet another cup of coffee in the briefing! At least Hammond’s got one too this time. Jack is making the better hydration choice and drinking water. Well, he has a glass in front of him, but like Sam he does not drink from it.
Sam naming the cat Schrödinger is so cute. Also how I, as a teen, learned the concept of Schrodinger's cat.
“I’ve studied [quantum physics] - among other misconceptions of elementary science.” LOL
This was another Katharyn Powers episode. She had some misses, but she sure had some hits too.
Omoc can sense romance a-brewing, and he is Not Happy about it.
Tuplo! So happy to see this guy again. He thanks Hammond for allowing him to be the first visitor from the Land of Light “to your Earth.” Precious!
lol, everyone has a glass of water except Daniel, with his coffee.
“We know that you are in need, and that you are here among those who have proven themselves our friends.” So damn precious! Honestly the people of the Land of Light didn’t deserve to be subjected to the snooty Tollans anyway.
Hammond is appalled by Omoc's rudeness. Just livid, a nice little character beat.
One of the strongest ongoing themes of the series is the morality around advanced technology and whether it should be shared with us, if we should share it with others, what justifies its use and who decides.
But when does non-intervention become amoral - the Tollan know of the Goa’uld but “don’t interact with them” - thereby allowing others to suffer and be enslaved because of their isolationist policy, but on the other hand where is the line drawn? When does help become artificially advancing a culture that's not ready for it? Arguably the SGC engages in quite a bit of the latter, hence this meme:
The Tollan’s perspective - that technology should never be gifted to a society who cannot obtain that knowledge themselves - is very similar to the Nox, so it’s appropriate that’s who they’ll be collected by at the end of the episode.
The SGC gobbles up as much tech as possible and often misuses it - there’s a parallel here to Jack’s son, who dies because he was toying with a weapon he didn’t understand, that I don’t think is ever really articulated in the show.
And let's face it, if the SGC got it's hands on some cool advanced weapons from the Tollan the US government would totally use that shit to blow up its enemies and probably themselves in the process.
“What your mind doesn’t know, your heart fills in” is a very sweet description of Sam.
Enter Maybourne in his slimeball era, throwing his weight around and drinking coffee not from an SGC mug so we know he's Not Welcome.
Daniel pulling the Civilian card - sure he can’t be court martialed, but he could be fired (or arrested for treason). I guess they’re banking that he’s too valuable to the program, and since he seems to face no repercussions for this, they're right!
But Omoc starts to thaw, trusting him and even trying to explain Tollan science like he would to a child. I do enjoy it when an advanced alien adopts one of our team like they’re a stray puppy.
I really wish we’d seen Omoc again, I love a grump that somehow can't help but be won over by our earnestness.
“We have that custom too.” Okay that’s cute, I kind of like Sam/Narim in this episode.
"Your race has learned nothing...but you have." I love Lya. I want her to tell me she's proud of what I've learned.
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
my sweet escape(s), delineated
August 18th, 2023
This is it, confidence is all I need
This is how you're going to save me from myself
From all that fails
I see you & me & everything in between
And I know I'm wrong but you long to
Fuel the fire beneath these tired bones
I really, really hate that overtly religious songs from yesteryear have had such an impact on me and I can't stop listening to them.
Progress, I confess is way overdue
I get caught up in the things that I've held onto
OK. STOP!
Anyway.
I used to belt this song out driving my 97 Cavalier after work as the summer sun was setting. Driving home to my cheap, tiny, whitewashed apartment on the edge of town. "What's with you always living on the fringes?" one of my friends asked once. He's got a point, even now.
You'd think it was a goddamn palace. I LOVED living there. That was such a sweet summer. I had gotten away from a shaky, unsupportive, unsafe situation and I was thriving on my own.
A couple years later, I cried tears of joy as I left the keys on the kitchen counter of that apartment and sang this song on the way to my new home the day after my wedding. I'd outgrown the whitewashed walls and pale blue floor tiles that kept coming unglued. A whole new life awaited me.
There's so many parallel feelings in the present day. I have once again abandoned a shaky, unsupportive, unsafe situation and struck out on my own. This time I drive to the edge of a different but nearby town, and the wood paneling and kitschy wallpaper of a 1970s mobile home. And it's only half the trailer! And I have to wash my dishes by hand and haul my laundry elsewhere.
And I don't even care! Because again I am thriving. I'm not getting drunk anymore, and I am eating better food, and I am doing yoga and cuddling with my cat and getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night.
Next year will hopefully be the next sweet escape. It will hopefully put an end to this every-other-weekend business, and I won't have to miss my person all week anymore. Moving 60 miles away feels like a big thing - bigger than anything I've done before. I have a lot of feelings about it.
But I still feel used and taken for granted around here sometimes, too, and it would be nice to leave that behind.
I'm stronger every step I take back to...
RUN back to you
A place of sweet escape I fell into
I legitimately hope it's the last time. I don't want to spend my life feeling like I continually need to escape situations that weren't what I had hoped for.
Whatever happens next, I know now that it's me. Not god. Not another person. Nobody can save me. Only I can do that.
And I have done that, over and over again. It would be nice to take a break for a minute.
Just to rest in knowing I have saved myself and it's the last time I'll need to.
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
fool's errand first thoughts
warning: this is not really a structured review, more of a ramble
I finished Fool's Errand a few days ago, and couldn't even fathom writing any sort of review because I was sad, okay. I managed to convince myself that the way Hobb was setting up Nighteyes's death throughout the whole book meant that someone else would die first, and then. nope. after the climax I felt so relieved, because everything was okay, Nighteyes was going to make it to the next book, Fitz and the Fool were together and going back to Buckkeep... and then Hobb did what she'd been promising to do all book, and Nighteyes died. it was a really beautifully written scene but it made the ending of the book feel a bit hopeless to me. (it didn't help that I wasn't in the best mood when I finished, and was also in the middle of another hopeless, depressing book.)
I do really love Fool's Errand though, and I love it for very different reasons than I loved Liveship. it was so nice to come back to Fitz and reconnect with some of our old cast of characters after what was for me a few month gap. (Kettricken!!! we saw Kettricken!) the first part of Fool's Errand feels so nostalgic, and it's so easy to pick up where we left off with Fitz. it's interesting because Fitz has changed, as would be expected in fifteen years, but those changes are easy to fill in because we already know Fitz. he still feels familiar to us, and we can see how his solitude has changed him, but it also is perfectly logical when he decides to re-enter the action and we see that side of him again. Fitz is just such a great character.
the pacing and plot structure of this book was... funky, in a good way. Fitz didn't leave for Buckkeep until somewhere around page 220 - that whole first third of the book was just for readers to re-acclimate to Fitz (and Starling, Nighteyes, Hap, and the Fool), and read the domestic fluff Fitz/Fool fanfiction of our dreams witness his slow realization that he's dissatisfied in his current life. I think this was my favorite part of the book, honestly. (I tend to love Hobb's beginnings, at least so far.) no plot? no problem!
but then once the plot did kick off, I thought it was compelling and was very interested in the tensions between the Old Blood, Piebalds, other Witted folk, and non-Witted people. lady-in-the-cat plotline was solid, I forgot her name already but oh well. I’m not a huge plot person but this one kept the story moving along just enough, and left lots of room for character moments. and humor! there was a lot of humor, which I didn’t expect. I live for Tom Badgerlock and Lord Golden’s antics.
there are so many standout emotional scenes in this book too. one was at the end with Chade. their dynamic was so great and it’s so interesting to see how Fitz has changed (specifically how his view of loyalty has shifted) and also how he’s stayed the same. also the very last scene was so bittersweet, when Fitz was at Jinna’s and was reflecting on how he never really got to fuck around and make mistakes in the way that young people should, bc of all the pressures on him, and how Dutiful can’t do that either but Hap is able to. the Fitz-Dutiful parallels were really well-done and his line about Hap being free was so touching.
overall, this book just felt very tidy. everything was pretty nicely wrapped up at the end, and I felt like it was a logical place to stop (I don’t usually feel like this with Hobb books, so it was a nice change). after getting over my initial sadness about Nighteyes, I think this was definitely the easiest RotE book to read so far and is one of my favorites. can’t wait for Golden Fool!
11 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
dinhduongchobe
Dinh Dưỡng Cho Bé
pubble
pubble
tiredhermitgirl
Nothing Specific
stark-and-shield
I love you 3000!